Cecilia's Claim (7 page)

Caleb chose not to answer, as he eased the door open. He didn't
think anyone would be around, for the passageway had been created for
situations such as the one they found themselves in. The door opened out into a
small thicket on the side of the house away from the coast, but even so he
wasn't prepared to take any chances. To his relief there was no sign of the
telltale itch between his shoulder blades that had saved him on more than one
occasion.

As they emerged into the copse Cecy blinked. She looked around
her, at the tangle of trees and the canopy of leaves over them, and the
sunlight that filtered through to speckle the grass and bushes. A gentle breeze
set the branches swaying and leaves dropped to the ground like giant raindrops.

 
Caleb realized how lucky he
was with the site of his private exit. As autumn took a tighter grip, the trees
would soon be bare, and many pathways ever more unsecure.

That was immaterial now. Caleb watched the mass of emotions
flicker over her expressive face. It seemed she appreciated the small glade
ahead of them and the tiny stream that meandered through it. It was a place
that always pleased him, indeed a place he and Philippe had spent many an hour
in. No one could stumble upon it with ease as it was situated deep within his
grounds, well away from any tracks or paths.

"Are we safe here?" Cecy dropped her pelisse on the
ground and stretched her arms above her head. The gesture emphasized her
breasts, and they threatened to pop out over the top of her simple muslin gown.
Caleb swallowed, and held his hands tight to his sides, to curb his inclination
to touch and taste.

She stared at him, with her dark green eyes, the irises of which
were of a color he'd seen on no one else. Her head was cocked to one side, and
one eyebrow rose in query. He realized he hadn't answered her question.

"As safe as we can be. It's daylight, which could be a
problem once we move away and onto the moor. However I am expected to be out
and about during the day, so that is in our favor. Once your identity is known,
that will not be in yours or Randall's. I still fail to understand why it was
thought this was a good place to send you, when his job puts you in a position
as a bargaining tool. Peregrine slipped up there. It seems he put image and
position over your safety and in truth I'm amazed at his lack of forethought.
Seriously Cecy, you'll have to leave the village. I'll take you to the moor,
and get a message to Randall to say he needn't worry." He watched her and
waited for a reaction. When it came it was not the one he expected.

Cecy walked toward the stream and knelt beside it, dipping her
hands into the cool water and splashed it over her face. Her gown caught tight
under her and emphasized the curve of her arse. Caleb decided chivalry was much
overrated. He moved swiftly across the glade, the grass masking his footsteps.

He leant over, his chest hard up against her back. Cecy tried to
straighten, but he held her in the position she was and captured her hands in his.
Her moan was not a protest, nor was the way her breathing had increased. The
soft sheen on her skin was not fear or chill, and she pushed back as best she
could, which increased the contact between them.

His prick, ever ready willing and waiting, thickened and jerked
under the confines of his pantaloons.

Cecy gave a breathless laugh. "Ah my lord, your cock
remembers me, such a pity his pleasure must be denied."

 
Caleb kissed the nape of
her neck, and relished the shiver she gave. "Must it love? Why must it?
You want me, as you can tell I want you…" He kissed her neck again, sucked
and soothed as he encircled her in his arms and rested his hands under her
breasts, his fingers splayed across the fine material that covered them.
"So?"

She twisted her head to look up at him. "So, no thank you, my
lord. Oh my body wants you, there is no doubt of that, but my mind is wary. I
know what you and Philippe demanded of me, and I don't suppose your ideas have
changed much in such a short while. I do not embrace pain my lord, in any shape
or form. That includes in my mind as well as my body. And truly I am fearful.
It seems I am not such a rebel as I had thought. I worry for you and Philippe
as it is, in case you are decried in public and held to account. If we became three
and that was made public I fear for our lives. So it is not just the pain,
although that…well that is so alarming I feel sick just wondering in what form
it would be. It is the pain of uncertainty. And knowing how easily our
happiness could be destroyed."

Cal stood up and drew her to her feet, spinning her so they were
face to face. He brushed her hair from her cheek.

"Are you sure it would be pain, love? The line between
pleasure and pain is blurred, and often cannot be separated. All we want is to
show you everything we can do to give you the greatest pleasure." He
waited, scarce able to breathe. Her breath was ragged, and her eyes had taken
on that soft sheen of passion. "Remember how you felt when I touched you
here." He put his hand between them and rubbed her quim. Even through her
skirts he fancied he could feel her heat. She pushed into his hand. Emboldened,
Caleb moved his other hand behind her and gathered the material of her gown up
to lift it so he could then slip his hand underneath to caress her arse.

"Bastard."
There was no heat in her
words. "My lord, I don't want this."

Caleb moved his hand to her quim and slipped one finger between
her legs.

"You may think not love, but your body tells a different
story. You're wet for
me,
your body is hoping to feel
my cock deep inside you."

 
Cecy sighed and it was the
saddest sound he thought he'd ever heard.

"My body is not my mind, my lord, and my mind says beware.
For it would not be just your cock in my channel, and I do not wish
for more.
I cannot. Therefore either
take
me
home or to wherever you feel we must go."

She put her hands on his chest, and her fingers circled his
nipples, before she moved away from him. The sadness in her eyes brought a
sting of regret to his heart.

"Ah Caleb.
As to anything else?
I
dare not. For if I had to say no to either of you once more after sampling a
brief part of heaven again, I don’t think I would survive."

Chapter Six

Her stomach had a column of ants marching through it, just like
the hundreds of insects she had seen on many occasion, oblivious to everything
except their final destination. That, Cecy thought, was how she felt, when
either Caleb or Philippe looked at her in
that
way.
As if she was not just their next meal, but also their end goal.

"To hear you say
so,
is perhaps the
end of my salvation." Caleb smiled. It didn't reach his eyes, and she
noticed a faint tremor run through him. "However, I dare say there are
many who feel I'm beyond redemption, so I imagine it matters little. Come on,
let's get away and plot and plan." He took her hand and began to walk
across the glade, toward a thick stance of trees beyond the stream.

All of a sudden, she needed to do the exact opposite of what she
knew was in her best interest. She needed to taste Caleb once more, to feel him
on her lips, in her mouth, and if possible in her channel. Not later not at
some distant point in the future, but then. Who knew if the chance would arise
again? She was considered to be wild and uncontrollable, to be little more than
a whore, so what had she to lose? Not for the first time Cecy wondered about
the edicts and diktats that ruled her world. Once a lady was married and had
produced the heir, dalliance and more was the norm. However until then, it was
beyond the pale.

As Cecy had long since decided the role of a wife was not for her,
she didn't see why she should follow the rules. She was tired of being judged
and found wanting on little or no evidence. But she had not even thought of
attempting half the things the ton considered she had tried. Maybe she should.
If this were to be her only chance to embrace even one tenth of what she had
been promised, then she would do so. As to the rest…her mind shied away from
what the rest might be. Baby steps she reminded herself, baby steps. She
stopped and jerked Caleb to a halt. He turned to look at her, enquiry in his
gaze.

"
Are
we safe
here?" she asked him. She had to be sure.
"Unlikely
to be disturbed?"

"As safe as anywhere other than the moor, why?"
Now his voice was
puzzled. "Cecy worry not, your wellbeing is our goal. Both Philippe and I
will do our utmost to spare you harm or pain."

She couldn't help it, Cecy giggled. "That my lord is somewhat
at odds with your previous statements. Oh not the wellbeing part," she
added hastily as his eyes darkened. "Or harm. But pain? That I seem to
recollect is somewhat high up on your list of predilections you both wished to
share with me."

"And something you chose not to explore." Caleb said
evenly. "We honored that."

"
True,
and I still think pain in any
guise is not on my list of exploration. I remember how it felt when Randall
dislocated my shoulder, and it is not something I wish to experience again,
ever.
The dislocation or the pain."

 
"Cecy, it is not
comparable," Caleb was at haste to point out. "Nothing
like
that, I promise."

"So you say. I'm not convinced. However there are some other
things I think perhaps we need to discuss."

"Here?" He waved his arm to encompass the glade.

"Well," she said reasonably. "You told me this was
as safe a place as any."

Caleb nodded. "'Tis true, this copse is impenetrable unless
you approach from the house or the way we will leave. To my knowledge only
myself
and Philippe are privy to those secrets."

A tingle spread through Cecy, from her scalp through her breasts
and down to her quim and beyond.

"Perhaps I have been too hasty, in not allowing you to be
privy to some of my secrets," Cecy said in a diffident tone, which she
prayed masked her anxiety.
"First, however."
She threw her pelisse and shawl onto the ground, put her hands to the ties on
her dress below her breasts and loosened them. The material of her simple day
gown slipped down her shoulders as the fastenings fell apart. Her heart was in
her mouth as she stepped out of her clothes and stood naked in front of him.
Surely he would not reject her? The pleasure he had given her all those months
ago, had been beyond her wildest imagination. Her body had shaken and throbbed
with the intensity of the feelings that rolled through her as Caleb thrust his
cock inside her. Each movement was but one small part of a dance so exciting
Cecy had almost cried. As her climax shook her, Caleb had pulled out to spill
across her breasts and his shout of completion was the most exciting thing she
had ever heard. She, Cecilia Gretton, had made him feel like that. In her
naiveté, Cecy hadn't thought any further about Caleb and his life. Not until
she'd come across him with Philippe.

She'd stood unobserved and watched how they touched and played
with each other and her body cried out for that depth of feeling to be given to
her. Now, with a flash of clarity, Cecy accepted how much her flat refusal to
listen to either man about their likes and loves must have hurt. They had
listened to her and accepted her edicts without complaint, or trying to
persuade her to behave otherwise. But had she even given them a chance to
explain what they meant? Cecy was ashamed of herself. Even after her total
denial of them, they had put their own lives on the line to keep her safe.

"Caleb?" she said softly. Could she show him how she
felt? Would she ever have the chance to explain to him or Philippe? Dare she
ask for more? Perhaps not, but she could plead for one small thing surely?
"I need you. I want to feel I'm a woman again. Can you show me?" She
waited, and tried not to display her anxiety or scratch her arms, which itched
with tension.

His stare seemed to go on forever, and Cecy decided his answer was
to be no. Well, she reckoned she deserved it, but oh, how she hoped his heart
was big enough to forgive her.

Caleb looked her up and
down,
and
abruptly spun on his heel to walk away for several yards. Then he turned and
stood still. He held one hand out toward her.

Yes? He is saying yes?
Before she had a
chance to ask if indeed it was an agreement, Caleb spoke.

"
Come
her and kneel in front of me.
Bow your head and clasp your hands behind you." She must have looked as
startled as she felt. His voice was demanding. Still deep, still like the
chocolate she drank each morning, but now with a note of command that was new
to her. Cecy hesitated, conscious that there was more to his words that a mere
desire for her acquiescence. Dare she question him?

No, for this is a test.