Page 9 of A Husband for Esyllt
Oh, if only the reverse were true.
The memory of what had happened sent blood to her cheeks and heat to her core.Shehad been the one overwhelmed by the moment and desperate for more, while he had managed to remain detached. This marriage was a political move for him, not a way of satisfying his lust. He probably had dozens of women available for bedsport. He didn’t need her.
It wasn’t long before the door opened, and for the second time that day, Lord Sheridan walked into her room.
The circumstances could not have been any different. Tonight he was not a prisoner bound with ropes, in a position of weakness. Tonight she knew who he was, and he was entitled to use her as he wished. They were now husband and wife, not two strangers lusting after each other.
Heart in her throat, she waited for him to speak.
The woman standing in the middle of the room, looking utterly ravishing in her nightgown, was married to him. Possessiveness swelled within Connor, at the same time as his cock lengthened in his hose, a most disconcerting reaction. Considering the trick Esyllt had played on him the night before, he should feel resentment and wariness in front of her. His desire for her as a woman should be dampened at the very least. But it was not. Which was perhaps not so odd. After all, the last time they had been together alone, he had been inside her. It was hard to forget that fact.
Although she had now discarded her wedding finery, she had lost none of her appeal. Her hair was falling over her shoulders in a shower of gold streaked with copper, the color just as fascinating as he had hoped. And even in her nightgown, shewas all about elegance. That seemed to be part of her as much as the green of her eyes was. She was also taller than most women, even without her boots, a welcome discovery. As he towered above most men himself, he would have felt uncomfortable in front of a short wife.
He would have to keep her hidden from his king, he decided. Edward had a notorious wandering eye, and he would not let anything or anyone, much less someone as insignificant as Lord Sheridan, get in the way of his desire if he wanted to sample the Welsh lady’s charms, and Connor could not see how he would not.
Esyllt was just too beautiful.
Pushing those unhelpful considerations aside, Connor closed the door behind him. The king was not here right now. There would be time enough to worry about a visit at court later.
“I imagine you have questions,” he said, coming to a stop in front of her.
“Erm... Yes, I do.” He could tell she had not expected him to worry about that. He was pleased to surprise her. His wife would be made to see that they did not have to be enemies all the time—least of in the bedroom. And there were legitimate questions she would be asking herself. It was only fair he answered them, if he wanted her to answer his later.
“Ask them, I will ask mine afterward.”
“I hope you are not here to consummate our marriage,” she said taking a step toward the window when he moved forward.
“That is not a question.”
Nevertheless, it was not hard to see that it was all she had thought about ever since they had exchanged their vows in the chapel. Connor hesitated. What could he say? Without a doubt, he wanted to take her to bed, but he could tell she didn’t want him to touch her. Her fists were bunched tight and there was awild gleam in her eyes that made him uncomfortable. Was she afraid of him?
“Well, are you here to bed me?” she demanded.
“Whether I want to or not is irrelevant. As your husband, it is expected of me, and well you know it,” he said dryly. He did not care for her tone, or to be made to feel like a brute for doing nothing more than what was required. Though he would not force her tonight if she was so opposed to marital relations, he was still master of the place and he had no intention of letting her forget it. “But it is obvious that you do not wish me to bed you. I believe you would strike me if I tried to touch you and that is not the way I mean to start our marriage. Brute force is not my preferred method when bedding a woman.”
Had he expected her to dissolve in apologies? Perhaps. If so, he was to be disappointed. She merely straightened her spine and glared at him.
“No. Much better to resort to trickery, apparently.”
Oh, so she was not afraid to remind him of his little game. Even better, since they both knew she was the one to blame for it.
“I was not the one who initiated our... coupling.” He said the word with relish and saw thunder and lightning flash in her eyes. Why was he provoking her so, he wondered? Perhaps because she reacted to it so beautifully. No knight worthy of the name had ever tried to break a docile mule, there simply was no need. But a half-wild, spirited horse posed a stimulating challenge for any determined warrior. “You were the one who had me bound with ropes and brought to your room. You sat on me of your own initiative, bared your legs, and then allowed me to get you into bed. At no point did you offer any resistance. You opened your thighs willingly, you let me inside your delicious body, and you melted for me.” Her color increased every time he addedsomething to the list, as did the temperature in his own body. “But I believe I will not be so lucky tonight.”
No.
The word never passed her lips but he saw it in her eyes. His manhood, made hard by the description of all they had done the previous night, twitched in protest. How would she respond to his provocation? By ignoring it, it seemed.
“Why did you ask your brother to take your place?” she asked, lifting her chin.
Ah. He should have guessed this would be her first question.
“It was his idea, not mine,” he explained, helping himself to a goblet to wine. Esyllt’s lips thinned but she refrained from making any comment. Good, she was learning to curb her tongue. “He is highly suspicious of the Welsh and feared some sort of attempt on my life upon my arrival. It seems he was right to be wary of the welcome I’d get, even if I’d wager he never foresaw something like what happened.”
Connor allowed a smile to touch his lips. Matthew had talked of men coming to stab him in the dead of night, not of half-naked women trying to entice him into bed. If he heard what had actually happened, he would laugh in disbelief.
“Finding yourself between a beautiful woman’s legs is not exactly dangerous, neither is it what I would call a predicament,” his brother would tell him with a suggestive wink. “I’m sure you could handle such a situation.”
Indeed he could. Or at least... He would, in normal circumstances. But last night, his enjoyment had been cut short. Never had he left a woman’s bed with his shaft still hard as steel and it was not something he would recommend to anyone. He had meant to punish her but in the end he had suffered just as much from the unsatisfactory ending to the seduction.
