Page 66 of The Pirate and the Pagan
His thighs pressed against hers, letting the velvet head of his marble shaft rub against her belly, just above her sensitive mons. After he roused her to near madness, he began to stroke and caress her, to gentle her like some wild creature until all her resistance was broken away. When the kiss came, it was unbelievably gentle, changing subtly to one of overwhelming sensuality. His lips traced her throat in old remembered patterns until she wanted to scream with need. All the while his lips brushed her ear and he whispered, “Yield to me, yield to me!”
The scent of him filled her head as he reached above her to untie her wrists. She thought she would never yield, she would die first, and yet … and yet … she knew she had a power over him. Her hands sought his hard body. Perhaps if she ravished him, he would never be able to bear their parting. Suddenly she was on fire for him and wantonly she let him know her body’s needs. She was kissing him back sinfully, letting him know that his seduction had caused her body to beg him. Then she opened herself to the flame that was Ruark Helford.
Suddenly he took his mouth from her and sat up. “I needed to know that you are still trained to my hand … that I can still tame your wildness … that you will yield to me whenever and wherever I desire you, my little pagan bride.”
She was panting with need and the painful ache of frustration as he picked up his robe and walked away. “You swine! I hate you!” she screamed, not caring if the servants or Mr. Burke or the whole damned world heard her.
The King’s weather held and the next day was absolutely glorious. Ruark had organized races using his ten fastest horses. They drew lots among the men to see who the lucky riders would be and the serious business of placing their wagers began. Ruark had decided to combine the races with Summer’s suggestion of cooking lobsters on the beach so the sands could be used for the races.
A large tent pavilion was set up down there and the house servants spent two hours carrying down tables and chairs, cushions and blankets to make the guests comfortable.
A lot of the ladies wore wide-brimmed hats to protect them from the sun, but Summer and a few of the more adventurous went bareheaded and let their hair fly loose in the sea breeze.
Since the King’s great height and weight would be a disadvantage in a horse race, he contented himself with being a spectator. Buckingham was in charge of the betting and held all the money. Jack and Bunny Grenvile had both drawn lots to be jockeys, as had Lord Buckhurst, Sir Charles Berkeley, Henry Jermyn, and Wild Harry Killigrew. Three riders were men of Cornwall: John Arundell, Richard Carew, and Sir John St. Aubyn. The tenth man was George Digby, the Earl of Bristol. Ruark Helford chose not to ride since he would have an unfair advantage in being able to choose his fastest horse.
Only two horses at a time raced each other as the beach was not wide enough to safely race more at once, which made a total of nine races before a winner could be declared.
The men weighed up the horses very carefully before they made their wagers, but the women bet strictly on the men. In each race they either chose the better-looking man or a particular favorite. When the Earl of Bristol raced, every woman present bet heavily on him. Summer, too, placed a large wager on him, not because he was the best-looking man at Court, but because he was astride Ruark’s beloved Titan and she knew the horse’s capabilities.
By being reckless enough to wager a thousand pounds, Summer had doubled her money and was now in possession of two thousand. Only two horses remained which hadn’t yet raced. One was ridden by Wild Harry Killigrew, who was known to ride hell-for-leather as he did everything else in life. He was definitely the odds-on favorite with the crowd, but Summer put her whole two thousand on Jack Grenvile. She knew he’d been in the cavalry and the story of his mounting his father’s horse after Bevil had been killed by the enemy gave her total confidence in him. The crowd screamed and cheered them on, championing Wild Harry, but Jack Grenvile outrode him in every way. He showed such superb horsemanship, the crowd was swayed to his side and at the finish he was being cheered on even by those who had bet against him.
By the time the final race was ready to be run, Summer knew without a shadow of a doubt who the overall winner would be. It came down to a race between Jack Grenvile and George Digby— the Earl of Bath against the Earl of Bristol, but since the latter was mounted on Titan, she knew the race would be between the two horses, not the men.
Buckingham, of course, was hidden by the throng placing wagers. When it was finally her turn and she bet her whole four thousand on the Earl of Bristol, Buckingham said, “You won’t be flattered by the comparison, but you do things with abandon exactly like Barbara.”
“All or nothing at all,” said her husband’s voice in reply to Buckingham.
“And I don’t really give a damn which!” she threw at him. Her blood was up and she was in a mood to be reckless. She didn’t need to watch the race; its outcome was a foregone conclusion. She’d show them abandon … she’d give them something to whisper about behind their damned aristocratic hands!
She climbed the cliff to Roseland, put on a pair of old breeches and boots, and rode Ebony down to the beach. By the time she got there, the races were ostensibly over and those who had bet on the Earl of Bristol were counting their winnings.
Ruark came over and took hold of her bridle; he knew she was up to mischief.
“Lord Helford, I challenge you to a race.” Her voice rang out clearly and sparked a great deal of interest from the guests. Those who had whispered about her being pregnant were now not quite so sure of their facts. Those who had whispered about the Helford’s great love match were also not quite sure of their facts.
“Think you that misbegotten bag of bones can beat Ebony?” she challenged.
Most thought Lord Helford would not take his young wife seriously, but the King murmured to Barbara, “Helford’s got a hell of a pair of balls; I think he’ll take her up on it.”
“How much have I won, my lord Buckingham?”
“Eight thousand,” he said, enjoying himself immensely. One of them would be beaten and brought low; it mattered not to him which.
Helford said, “You have the advantage, madame, Titan has already run three races.” She smiled her secret smile. “I know.”
He bowed in acceptance and took Titan’s reins from the Earl of Bristol.
“Double the course … there and back,” Summer’s voice rang out.
Once more he nodded, but his eyes narrowed at her behavior. She was aware of Ruark’s temper, but heeded not the warning signs. They lined up at the starting post and as the flag was dropped Summer shot ahead of Ruark. She had her heart set on winning sixteen thousand pounds and wiping out the mortgage. She had confidence that they could win if they put their hearts into it, for they had made this run almost every day of their lives. Ebony was fresh and he carried only half the weight that Titan labored under.
She knew she was going to make the turn ahead of him. Elated, she glanced back and her eyes fell upon his hands. He held the reins strongly in check—he was actually holding Titan back! Her blood began to sing in her veins … he was going to let her win! In that moment she realized just how much she still loved him. Then he came up level beside her and shouted, “The loser comes to the winner’s bed tonight.”
She looked at him in disbelief. “Go to hell!” she shouted angrily, and dug her heels into Ebony’s sides.
It was very simple really. All he did was give Titan his head and the powerful Irish Thoroughbred did the rest. He thundered past her just before she crossed the finish line. Summer’s heart plummeted with her disappointment. Not only had she not won the sixteen thousand, but she had lost the eight thousand she had accumulated so easily that day. Ruark’s maddening words echoed in her brain: “All or nothing at all.”
Gallant Jack Grenvile lifted her down from the saddle and a small knot of the men who had been championing her gathered about her protectively. She gave them a gay smile and said, laughing, “In the end I couldn’t shame my husband before such grand company.”
