Coins and Daggers (14 page)

Ulric lifted
her and dumped her lightly in the middle of the bed, her raised hem
giving him quite a pretty view of her dainty little drawers.
That
would have to go very soon. His hands worked easily and
quickly, easing the nightgown up and over her head, her small
breasts jiggling teasingly by the movement. Sliding over her
length, he took one hard nipple in his mouth and sucked hard,
grinding against her as small feminine fingers gripped into the
hair at his nape.

“Say my name, Audelia,” he whispered
fervently against her smooth skin. “Tell me what you want.”

She sighed and wrapped her thighs about his
waist. “Touch me, Bryce.”

Groaning, he slipped a hand between them,
reaching inside her drawers. His fingers brushed through the low
soft curls that he found there and then pressed firmly against her
hard bud. Audelia’s hips shot off the bed but he held her firm,
teasing and taunting her as she writhed and squirmed beneath him.
Good heavens, she was so very passionate, an attribute that did not
serve well in dampening his growing ego. Passion such as this was
certain to keep him coming back to her bedchamber for more and
more...and damned more.

Ulric slid his tongue inside of her mouth,
thoroughly pleased when Audelia pulled him in closer and took
control. Her small wicked tongue swept in and sparred with his own,
teasing him back into an ardent kiss. Slipping two fingers inside
her already damp heat, Ulric hissed a low curse and pumped in and
out, feeling the tremors that coursed her body.

“
Oh god,” she gasped, clutching on to his shoulders tightly,
her low nails biting into his skin. “That feels... That
feels...
Oh
! Oh
my...”

Audelia squeezed her eyes shut, reaching for
Ulric’s hand where it was doing deliciously wicked things to her
body. She yanked on his wrist and he obliged, looking down at her
with a satisfied grin.

“I’ll only do what you permit me to do,” he
said, brushing his mouth across her sweat dampened cheek.

“I want to feel you,” she panted, swallowing
deeply and trying to catch her breath. “Let me feel you.”

Ulric rolled to the side and eased from the
bed, yanking off his shirt in record speed. He could feel her gaze
on him just as much as he could see it, and his manhood twitched at
the very thought of it, its head straining at the front of his
loose breeches, raring to go. Slowly unbuttoning his trousers,
Ulric watched her as she watched him, her glossy brown eyes eager
and showing him just a hint of the pleasures he would be
accomplishing tonight.

“You stare so boldly,” he stated, sliding
the garment down his thighs and kicking them off his feet.

“And you tease.”

Audelia’s chest was still moving in a
rhythmic heave, her fingers unknowingly and gently tugging on one
ripe nipple. The action aroused Ulric to the brink and he moved in
on her and pinned said hand down above her head, licking at the
nipple. “You are a wicked woman.”

Before she could even take another breath,
Ulric found his way back between her accommodating thighs and
pressed deep until every glorious inch of his length was buried to
the hilt inside her sweetness.

Audelia’s moans echoed in his ears, growing
louder and louder with every firm thrust of his hips. He kissed her
then, swallowing her fervent whimpers and sighs. If they were in
his own bedchamber, Ulric would have allowed her to scream and
groan all she wanted and as loudly as she wished. But as much as he
loved the way she moaned in effect of his own doing, Ulric hardly
desired to wake the servants who were less than two doors away in
this otherwise silent night.

Holding her tightly to him, he continued to
kiss her senseless. He pushed her legs even further apart as he
pounded harder and harder inside of her until she was shaking like
a leaf beneath him, clutching to his body as if her very life
depended on it. It was not much longer that her nails sunk deeper
into his back, stilled for a blinding moment...and then her damp
beautiful body went totally limp.

Ulric gasped, releasing a wild curse and
then whispered her name as he released his seed deep inside her
womb. When he rolled off her, his own limbs felt weak, his strength
drained and he pulled her over onto his chest before succumbing to
sleep.

*

S
ome time later,
Audelia’s eyes fluttered open, her gaze taking in the complete
darkness that filled the room. She could not make out a thing
except for the warm wide chest that cushioned her cheek and the
strong heartbeat that echoed within it. One strong masculine arm
circled her waist, providing a protective embrace that she had
never had before. But the feeling was a good one, to be in the arms
of man. A man who made her feel so many heartwarming things. A man
who pleasured her beyond comprehension and with very little
restraint. Closing her eyes, Audelia inhaled lightly, taking in his
manly scent of rich spices, leather and a hint of
lavender.

“How are you feeling?” His deep voice
rumbled softly against her ear and her eyes shot open again.

“How’d you know I was awake?”

“Because I am and your breathing has
changed.” Ulric shifted on the bed which, more than likely, was far
too small to be comfortable for a man of his size. But if that were
the case, he gave no indication of the fact. “Are you alright?”

“I’m okay. Just thinking.”

His palm caressed her lower back gently,
tracing small circles against her skin. “About?”

“Medicine.”

Ulric chuckled and pulled her over on top of
him, his hardening manhood pressing between her legs. “That’s
hardly what a man would like to hear after a proper coupling
session. Are you trying to think up ways of how to poison me?”

Audelia beamed and pressed her lips against
his own smiling mouth. “I was only jesting,” she giggled softly,
cupping his right jaw. The light regrowth of beard along his cheeks
and chin tickled her palm and teased her fingertips. “I was only
thinking of you.”

“Now you mean to sweet talk me, don’t you?”
Ulric touched a finger to her sex, pleased to find her wet there,
and then lifted her hips, sliding her down onto his burgeoning
shaft. “I, for one, mean to make you think of nothing else.”

Fifteen

U
lric handed his
sister up into the carriage and pressed a kiss to her cheek. It
wasn’t a gesture he had done much over the last few years that
they’d shared the same home, and he found himself trying to at
least make up for it a little.

Ryia’s mouth dropped open and she grabbed on
to his shirt sleeve, eyeing him suspiciously. “Are you sick?”

Chuckling, Ulric unfolded her dainty fingers
from his clothing. “Possibly.”

“You are acting...courteous. Should I be
worried?”

“Can’t you just accept my kindness?” He
flashed a slanting smile and stepped back. “Chivalry isn’t dead,
you know?”

“Oh, I know it isn’t dead,” she remarked,
adjusting her light green bonnet. “But you certainly must give me a
moment or two to adjust to this...sudden change. In the meanwhile,
I shall stick to my theory.”

“Theory?”

“Yes. You have either hit your head on
something this morning or the Good Lord had paid you a very special
visit last night.”

Grinning, he shoved the carriage door close
and nodded to the coachman. “Enjoy your outing, sister.”

Ryia pulled the white silky curtains aside
and beamed through the window. “It isn’t too late to change your
mind, you know. I daresay Miss Agnete Galtran would love to meet
your...reformed company.”

Ulric snorted. “Miss Agnete Galtran is a
bad-tempered lass who ought to be locked in a nunnery.”

“Bless you, Bryce! At least some things
haven’t changed.” His sister giggled and rapped the roof of the
carriage, a signal to the driver that she was ready to go.

Ulric watched as the carriage circle the
graveled drive and then advanced through the heavy iron gates that
lead out of the estate. Turning on his heel, he shook his head,
realizing he’d still been smiling and headed up the steps towards
the front door.

His messenger boy, a wispy blonde-haired lad
of seventeen years old, met him in the foyer with a neatly folded
parchment.

“Milord, I received this missive for you
just this morning in the marketplace.”

Ulric took the letter and broke the wax
seal. Immediately recognizing Edwin’s handwriting, he nodded his
thanks and bounded the staircase. He’d had every intention of
seeking out Audelia for a mid-morning snack but perhaps, it would
be another few minutes until he was to do so.

The moment he entered his study, Ulric
settled down behind his desk and fully unfolded the parchment.
Edwin was not a man who penned letters often so Ulric was convinced
that something dire must have happened. He read through the
scribbled cursive and chuckled.

‘
15 March 1401

Henshire House

Dear Lord Recluse,

My mother is recovering rather well
especially since I’d discovered that her supposedly grave ailment
happens to only be a common cold that she had acquired from a brief
encounter with the morning rain. Apparently, she had exaggerated
her condition with the sole intention of forcing an earlier visit.
She misses me, she says, even though it had only been a week since
I’d brought her favorite lilac flowers for the sitting room, and
sunflower seeds for her precious garden. I daresay, the woman is
making me rather vain. No, I take that back. I’ve always been known
to be splendid company...’

Grinning,
Ulric leaned back in his chair and continued.

‘
Anyways, things seem to have become rather festive
here in Henshire over the past couple days. My sister, Giselle, has
become engaged just last eve to Sebastian Bastille, a rather
successful wool merchant with a bookish temperament. I am not
complaining at all. At least, she can focus her endless nagging on
someone else for a change.

My second cousin, Charmont, has also been
successfully hitched. I’m sure you remember him from our school
days at the Academy. He doesn’t drink much any longer, I’ve been
told and seems to be falling all over himself at the sight of his
new fiancee. She’s a gentle lass by the name of Jocelyn, Giselle
says.

All these festivities and smiles and
bride-talk is giving me quite a headache so do expect me back
within the next day or two. Until then, save me a bottle of brandy,
and don’t forget you owe me a re-match at chess. You cheated last
time.

Your loyal friend,

The Amiable Edwin.

Ulric
refolded the missive, still chuckling and shoved it inside a
drawer. Poor Edwin. He must be truly suffering over there at
Henshire but at least
h
e wasn’t the one
getting shackled into marriage. Ulric still viewed both of them as
bachelors to the very end because nothing felt better than the
ambiance of being a free man.

Except for... Shaking his head, Ulric
quickly dismissed the notion. Audelia Rolfen was proving to get
more and more beneath his skin with each passing day and with each
time they made love. It was almost impossible to get her out of his
mind, out of his head, out of his very thoughts. It was if the
woman had been sent purposefully to entrance him, a woman after his
own affection. Clasping his hands together, Ulric jumped out of his
chair, almost toppling it over and strode from the room, in search
of the very temptress who’d been consuming his thoughts all
morning.

He hadn’t
found her in her bedchamber or the library as he’d hoped but due to
a moment’s surmise, Ulric had found himself wandering towards the
kitchens once again. It was there that he’d discovered her, fully
engaged in a
tête-à-tête
with
Cook.

“Pardon me, if I am intruding,” he said. In
fact, Ulric truly meant to intrude as he had no intention of losing
time with Audelia that, by right, should be his.

“Your Lordship,” Cook exclaimed, her hand
stilling on the wooden spoon that she had been beating quite
ferociously inside a large bowl just a moment before. “What a
pleasant surprise to see you here again.”

Ulric smiled and nodded politely, passing a
fleeting glance in Audelia’s direction. She was standing, a tray of
eggs in her hands, and her gaze locked tightly on him. Sweet
heavens, even with flour dusting her hands and cheeks, the woman
still looked ravishing.

“Yes, I uh--I came to request that you pack
a basket for me. I am to go out for a ride and may tarry a
while.”

“Of course, milord.” Cook dusted her palms
against her apron and spun on her heels. “Say...in the next ten
minutes, Your Lordship?”

“Sounds splendid.” And he deliberately
turned away, heading for the door. But just at the very last
moment, Ulric pivoted, pretending as if he had forgotten something.
“Uh...Miss Moresen. I would also like a word with you.
Urgently.”

Audelia nodded abruptly, bid Cook a farewell
bob and then followed Ulric through the kitchens, down the hall and
then up the winding staircase. Her heart tapped wildly against her
rib cage and in a minute or two, she found herself being shoved
through the door of Ulric’s study and her back pressed firmly
against the wall.

Ulric’s mouth came crashing down on hers
before she could utter a single word, his tongue teasing against
the crease of her lips and taunting her mouth open, delivering a
kiss that pronounced a longing which mirrored her own.

“You’re...you’re going for a ride?” she
asked breathlessly, her hand shooting up to her heaving chest.