Page 44 of The Saxon Lord's Unwanted Bride
“I’ve never stopped loving you, Eloise,” he said.
“I belong to Harald,” she replied, struggling to steady her voice. “He won’t look kindly on you dishonoring me so.”
He laughed softly. “You think that halfwit can stop me? Iwillhave you.”
“Leave,” Eloise said, “or I shall tell my husband.”
“Come, come, Eloise.” He moved closer until his breath fanned across her cheek. “Tell him what? I have his ear and he trusts me. You think he’d believe you? He values obedience in a woman and would not take news of our affair kindly.”
“There is no affair,” she cried, “y-you took me unwilling. Leave me alone!”
She tried to push past him but he grasped her deformed arm and she moaned in pain.
“I did no such thing, Eloise,” he said softly. “You led me into temptation in the forest, away from prying eyes to indulge in your passions. Who will Harald believe? A trusted friend who comes with the king’s favor, or a worthless whore? But I’m prepared to be generous—give me what I want, and I’ll keep our affair secret.”
“What would you have me do?” she whispered.
“I merely wish you to be pleasant to me, Eloise, as you once were,” he said. “A kiss, or maybe two, when the Saxon brute is not watching.”
“He’s no brute!”
Ralph laughed. “Why defend him? To him you’re merely a vessel for his lust—or, from what I hear, you’re merely one of many. I would be a faithful lover, Eloise, if you offered yourself to me again.”
“I did no such thing! She cried. She pulled herself free from his grip and stumbled to the door.
His warning rang across the room. “Go if you wish, but heed my words if you wish to keep our secret.”
She paused. She wanted to trust Harald. He was a good man, but would never believe her. Her past must remain buried—for her sake and for Violette’s.
Heaven help her—Violette! The child must remain in secret at all costs, and Eloise would endure much to her.
She closed the door and faced Ralph, watching him as a deer watches a wolf.
“That’s better,” he said. He took her chin and tipped her head up. Fighting her revulsion, she remained still.
“You know as well as I, that your husband would not take your infidelity lightly,” he said. His smile broadened. “Ah! I see it in your eyes! Was he angry when he discovered you were not a maiden?”
A tear spilled onto her cheek and he wiped it away.
“My love,” he said. “I only want to be friends, as we once were. I would have a kiss, Eloise, to seal our friendship.”
Her skin crawled as he lowered his mouth to hers. His tongue probed against her lips but she pressed them together firmly. A low chuckle rumbled in his throat.
“So cold! The Saxon has much to learn about women.Iwill warm you up yet.”
He bowed with mock courtesy and left, closing the door behind him. Shortly after, she heard Harald’s voice, followed by laughter.
Despair washed over her. Her husband would never take her word against that of his new friend. Ralph’s charm and grace captivated all he met. Only she and Papa knew the reality, though Henri may have suspected before he died.
She waited until the voices disappeared before venturing outside, grateful for the cover of darkness.
* * *
Ralph returned to his chamber,interlocking his fingers and cracking his knuckles with satisfaction.
She was as delectable as he’d remembered—that ripe little body with such fair skin, on which the marks of his hands created such beauty! So different to the women he usually fucked. Her uniqueness made her all the more tempting—the appearance of virtue, yet she was a whore who’d ensnared him with her easy smile and blushes at his compliments. She had let—nay, begged—him to rut her in the forest. How dare her fool of a father accuse him of taking her unwilling! Women did not deny him.
He was in no danger from her thwarting his plans. She might have been able to persuade her father, or that pathetic brother of hers to bend to her will, but the Saxon, for all he was a halfwit, was not so easily persuaded by a woman’s wiles.
