Underground Captive (64 page)

             
Shaking his head, but not uttering a word, Jared bent and took her hand.  Pulling her to her feet, he led her to the dance floor.

             
Twirling around in the limited space, shivers of desire rippled through Nicki from the feel of Jared's arms around her waist.  This did nothing to placate her anger toward him nor herself for feeling the betrayal in her body.  The need she felt suggested to her she was probably such a wanton hussy she deserved no better than what she was getting.

   
             
Nicki went through the rest of the evening in a fog, trying to enjoy the attention heaped upon her.  Feeling ill and tired, she was grateful when the long, tedious event finally ended.  Once she and Jared were in his bedchamber, she fidgeted with the tiny buttons on her gown and wondered if she would ever stop feeling the effects of that wretched bout she'd had with pneumonia.

             
"Here," Jared said gruffly.  "Allow me."

    
             
Her hands settled at her sides as he deftly began unfastening the buttons.  He closed his eyes, smelling the clean scent of flowers and herbs in her silken tresses.  His hands lingered on her shoulders and he caressed them possessively.

   
             
Nicollette stepped out of his reach.  "Thank you," she said, a distinct chill in her voice.

    
             
Jared gave her a smoldering look as she slipped off her gown.

    
             
She raised her gaze to his face.  "Will you now add rape to everything else you've done to me?" Nicollette asked bitterly.

    
             
"Don't flatter yerself, madam," Jared snapped back.   "I take only what is freely given."

    
             
"I'll never give myself freely to you again, milord.  For all I care you can go back to Judith!"

    
             
"Ye needn't delude yerself either, my sweet wife.  The law now says I

have a right to avail myself of yer...yer charms.  Freely given or not."  He walked over to her and gripped her by the shoulders looking insolently into her face.  "Ye'd best not concern yerself with Judith.  She's twice the woman ye are with thrice the integrity.  She would never lie to me or keep anything from me or deny me anything!  So be careful, wife, what ye say to me, for I just might take yer suggestion."  Releasing her, he stalked out of the room, leaving Nicki trembling with impotent anger.

             
The bastard!  How I loathe him.

    
             
Nicollette walked to the armoire, where the contents of the trunk had been placed.  She'd been surprised to see the amount of clothing and accessories in the trunk.  Despite her anger and unhappiness, she couldn't resist a smile when she remembered he had said more would come.  Retrieving a white silk nightrail among the gifts, she slipped it on.

             
A pleasant warmth filtered in the room at the moment because a fire blazed in the fireplace.  But once it died out, the room would become chilly.  When that happened she would get up and put on the matching wrap.  She was deter
mined not to end up next to Jared seeking the warmth of his body close to her own.  Getting into bed, she hoped that she would be as
leep when Jared returned.

*  *  *

    
             
Jared looked down at his beautiful, young wife in exaspera
tion.  Nicollette had fallen asleep at an angle, leaving little room on either side of the bed for anyone else to lie down in comfort.  How in bloody hell did she expect him to sleep in that small space?  She did this on bloody purpose, he fumed, trying not to fall off the end of the bed after undressing and attempting to lie next to her.  He laid on his back, knowing if he would turn on his side away from her, he would end up on the floor.  He laid shivering with his hands behind his head.

    
             
Nicki stirred in her sleep.  Suddenly, her hand went up and landed with considerable force on his jaw.  Startled, Jared in
stinctively rolled away from her and fell to the floor with a loud thud.

    
             
Nicki awakened immediately and sat up.  She looked into Jared's angry face as he grinded his teeth together.

             
"Ye spiteful, little minx, ye did that on bloody purpose," he snarled.

    
             
"I don't know what you're talking about, Jared.  I was asleep!" With that, she went to the opposite end of the bed and turned her back on her husband of eight hours, wearing a self-satisfied grin.

45    

             
With each passing day, Jared became more affronted with Nicollette for refusing to tell him of her impending motherhood.  It had been eleven weeks since the night she'd come to his room during that fierce storm.  If he hadn't planted his seed in her then, she was even further ad
vanced in her pregnancy.  She would be close to sixteen weeks.  He wondered how long she’d keep it a secret.

    
             
A small voice in the back of his mind always insisted that Nicki would never purposely keep something like this from him.  She couldn't know that she was with child.
             
Nay, Nicki was too learned and well read
not
to know.  'Twas hard for him to believe she was ignorant of the knowledge of how babies were created.

    
             
But was it possible?  Thinking back, she had no knowledge of the workings of the male anatomy.  She thought he'd taken ill when he was in a relaxed state.

             
Nay, she just refused to tell him.

    
             
Working long hours with his stable hands, he cared for his horses.  Some of the mares had began to foal and he was needed in the stalls.  He was grateful for the long hours away from Nicol
lette.  He wanted her so badly.  And his heart ached with the knowledge that she hated him so much, he would have to take by force what was legally and rightfully his.  But her delicate condition would never allow him to do that.  Neither could he ever again go to the arms of another woman.

             
He needed and wanted his wife.

    
             
Several more trunks of clothing arrived for Nicki and she didn't even acknowledge them to him.  Indeed, she didn't even open them.

    
             
Ten days after their wedding, he gifted her with all of the jewelry he'd purchased for her.  She didn't give him so much as a smile.

*  *  *    

             
After Jared had eaten and bathed, he went into their bedcham
ber and found Nicollette sitting in the big chair by the window with a book in her hand.  She glared at him as he entered the room.  They had been married exactly two weeks and her hostility towards him seemed only to grow.

    
             
"And a pleasant good evening to ye too, my Lady Fleming," he said with sarcasm, smiling brittlely.

    
             
"Sometime ago you told me to make access of this room as though it were my own," Nicki began coolly.

             
"Aye, I did," Jared responded.

    
             
"Well, I was looking for space to store the generous amount of jewelry you gifted me with and thought I'd found it in the rosewood box you have in the bureau of your manchest.  My opinion of you continues to get lower, milord
monsieur
.  How could you steal from my father's house?  What good will my brother's snuff box and knife do you?"  Nicki took the items from beside her in the chair and placed them on the bed.

    
             
She gave him such a contemptuous, disgusted look, it sliced painfully through him.  His hurt could have been no worse if she had cut him with Ricard's knife.

    
             
Jared's eyes landed on the two hated objects.  Then he looked back at Nicollette.

    
             
The frightening metamorphosis startled Nicki.  In an instant, Jared's face  appeared to be etched in stone.  His eyes held no warmth.

    
             
"Yer opinion of me matters naught, madam," he said, his voice low and menacing.  "'Twill surely reach an all time low when I carry out my revenge on yer miserable brother for murdering Patricia and Robert.  I found those items in the cabin where my wife was murdered four years ago.  But it seems now my search is over.  Captain Ricard has slithered from under his rock."

    
             
Nicki stood, clutching her hands to her breasts.  She hobbled to the other side of the room, unable, unwilling to accept what she'd just heard.  "R-R-Ricard is not a murderer," she whispered.  "Y-you lie!"

   
             
"Ye sat with the proof, Nicollette.  I can buy and sell yer father a dozen times over.  Surely, if I wanted a silver snuffbox I could buy that, too.  Except for proof, what other reason then, would I have for having Ricard's things?"

    
             
"Then you're g-going to k-kill Ricard?"

    
             
"He might kill me.  Then yer worries would be over.  I would be out of yer life."  He fixed his cold gaze on her, looking for her reaction to his statement.

    
             
"Jared," Nicki implored.  "If Ricard did kill Patricia, I'm sure it was an accident.  He's too gentle to commit cold-blooded murder.  I'll lie with you again.  I'll give myself to you again.  Only please don't kill him!"

    
             
She put her arms around his neck and placed her small mouth against his, burning and branding him.  His lips parted, receiving her tongue.  He crushed her to him and plundered her mouth.  Her touch sent signals to the throbbing ache between his thighs and his manhood became engorged.  He kissed her hungrily.

    
             
"Promise me you won't kill Ricard," Nicollette mur
mured, taking her lips from his.

    
             
Jared stiffened.  "Have ye taken to using yer charms to gain favors, madam?  I won't make that promise, Nicollette, because I fully intend to kill Ricard.  Or he'll kill me.  And I will not accept yer...offer in exchange for his life.  I don't make bargains for what is already mine.  In time, I will possess ye again.  Whether ye give freely of yerself will be yer decision."

             
She stood watching him, shock, hurt and anger chiseled into her features.

             
"Good night, madam.  I'm going to my study to log some sales."  Turning, he walked out of the door that he'd so recently come through.  He closed it quietly behind him, his rock hard shaft raging against his breeches.

    
             
The full force of Jared's words hit Nicki and the contents of her stomach reached her throat.  She had just time enough to reach the commode before the vomit spewed out through her mouth and nose.  She vomited until there was nothing left to come up.  Still, the retching continued.  She retched until she was weak and could barely move.

    
             
Panting hard and feeling sicker, mentally and physically, than she'd ever felt in her life, she laid her head on the floor.  She'd thrown herself at Jared in an effort to keep him from carrying out his threat against Ricard and she'd humiliated her
self in the process.
             

             
She wanted to die. 

    
             
For a time, her breathing became easier.  But even lying down, the room  spun and tears blurred her eyes.  She began retching again and turned over on her side for relief.  It didn't help her.

    
             
Despite the rugs, the floor was cold and hard.  She wanted to lie in the warm softness of the bed.  Too weak to get there by herself, she called, "
Jared!
"  He would never hear her.  He was downstairs in his study.  Nicki's tears flowed freely when in frustration and desperation, she decided to give it another try.

    
             
Lifting her head, she yelled his name with all the strength left in her.  "
JARED!
"  Her head fell gently back to the floor, her body shaking with tears of crushing defeat and bitter disap
pointment.

    
             
I haven't the energy to call out to him again.  If I don't freeze to death, I'll probably retch to death.