She flew at him. "You are a devil!" she cried, tearing off his bandage so savagely that the wound began to bleed again.
"Why didn"t you tel me you were wounded by the wildcat?
Why did you let her tend you?"
Suddenly he knew she was jealous of Morganna and he felt exultant. She would not experience jealousy unless she cared for him. She felt the need to inflict pain on him only because she had been hurt. He towered above her. His eyes were clear green crystal, his skin stretched smooth and brown over high cheekbones. He took hold of her shoulders and she watched as the dark pupils slowly obliterated the clear green.
He looked down at her with his eyes stained almost black by desire.
"Princess Jasmine, the untouchable. My lovemaking turns you to ice. Take off that robe ... get into bed," he ordered.
"De Burgh, you took knightly vows to be gentle and honorable with al womanhood."
"d.a.m.n it, Jasmine, I"m not some courtly knight from a legend .
. . I"m a flesh-and-blood man, with flesh-and-blood needs. You haven"t the faintest idea what I"m talk- ing about, have you? But you"re going to learn. Al I have to do is think of you and I am hard and ready. When I am actual y in the same room with you, where I can see you and hear your laughter, my blood races like flames until I am so hot for you I am dangerous to be near. On the rare occasions I am permitted to touch you, I almost go mad with the need to taste you, the need to bury myself in you, to hold you impaled on me al through the night, to fal asleep with my body joined to yours."
His impatient hands seized her and stripped off the bedgown, then he lifted her high against his heart and let her slide slowly down his hard body.
"You lecherous beast," she cried in anguish, "don"t touch me minutes after you"ve held her in your arms!"
"I wil decide when to touch you. You wil learn that I am master in my own castle. I wil take you wherever and whenever I desire you."
"Have me then!" she panted her chal enge.
He tossed her onto the bed, stripped off the rest of his clothes, then came after her. He towered above her in a white heat of pa.s.sion. His hot, demanding mouth came down on her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. He kissed and sucked and licked every inch of her satiny skin from her neck to her knees.
Suddenly she was more afraid than she had ever been for she felt a tiny spark deep within ignite and an answering response she had no control over began to pulsate inside her bel y and b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Her mind began withdrawing the moment she felt the strange sensations. She would not let herself become a slave to this man, her body craving his the way he described how his body craved hers.
She remembered things she had heard at court, things she had closed her ears to. Whenever Falcon de Burgh"s name had been mentioned one woman always said, "The man is a G.o.d. I get wet just looking at him." Jasmine hadn"t known then what she meant, but she knew now.
As his fingers probed her intimately, she knew that for the first time in her life she was wet and slippery.
He was in no hurry now. His foreplay was leisurely, drawn out.
He stroked her body with firm but gentle hands, savoring the feel of every delicious satiny curve and swel . Touching her was never enough for Falcon. He always had a driving need to see every inch of her. He pushed off the covers, knelt beside her on the bed, and gazed at her until his eyes were stained black with pa.s.sion. Then, starting at her feet, he traced kisses al the way up her legs, not stopping until he reached the delicious golden triangle. He raised his head to again fil his eyes with her delicate loveliness, then dipped it with a ragged groan to tongue and lick the two tiny moles that sat on either side of her mons.
For seven months she had fought him, and every step of the way it had been fruitless battling against his strength. Now, locked in his embrace, it was as if she lost separate ident.i.ty.
She would not let it happen. She refused to become just another possession. She centered her mind on his wound just inches from her mouth and imagined the searing pain he must have experienced. At that precise moment he plunged into her, but her mind and body were separated from him. She went limp as she felt the mountain lion attack her, then plunge its fangs into her soft body. Then her mind closed off the pain as she wil ed herself to feel nothing. He felt his seed start and cried out in his pa.s.sion, and at that precise moment she bit her sharp little teeth into his raw wound.
"You b.i.t.c.h!" he hissed through clenched teeth. She drew back her hand and slapped him ful in the face. He would not retaliate by striking her but would have his revenge in his own time, his own way. She s.n.a.t.c.hed up her bedgown to cover her nakedness. "How does it feel to have your blood on the sheets for a change?" she mocked.
They looked at each other with hatred, each vowing silently to be finished with the other. The feast at Mountain Ash had definitely ended in climax!
Chapter 31.
Morganna had been shattered when Falcon de Burgh returned to Mountain Ash with an exquisite bride on his saddlebow. Though she was a hostage, she had had the freedom to escape every day she had been there, but had chosen to stay and await de Burgh"s return. The months had been long because of his absence, and it had gotten to the point where she lived only for his return. She was obsessed with him. He was easily the most satisfying s.e.xual partner she had ever known, and she had known several, including Llewel yn, self-styled King of Wales.
She had a plan to become mistress of Falcon and Mountain Ash, and al she needed was something to bind him to her forever. She knew what she must do. She knew she must bear him a child. Jasmine"s appearance had thrown her plans into jeopardy.
So far she had been unsuccessful in luring him to bed, but she knew he and Jasmine had separate chambers and that al was not milk and honey between the newlyweds. There was already some bone of contention between them, so it should be simple for her to drive in her wedge and widen the distance between bride and groom.
She knew, however, she would need al her wiles as a woman to seduce him back to her bed. Even when she was in his arms she did not fool herself into thinking he received as much pleasure as he gave to her. Part of him was ever withdrawn. It was a deliberate reserve that kept his innermost being secret. It tormented her to the point of insanity. To bear his child would let her own and possess that vulnerable bit of his emotions. She knew him to be a man of honor. He would never discard a child that was his, nor the woman who bore it.
It was almost a month before the supply wagons Isabel Marshal had promised got through to Mountain Ash. At the same time, the lul in the bad weather permitted scores of de Burgh men-at-arms to get through the snow-girt pa.s.ses.
Accompanying both wagons and men was the indomitable Estel e. De Burgh welcomed her briefly and politely, but he was by no means sure if her appearance would augur wel for him.
Jasmine, however, was happier to see her grandmother than she had been in a very long time. Dame Winwood managed to bring with her everything Jasmine had left behind as wel as a profusion of herbs, simples, ointments, decoctions, electuaries, and the precious crystal bal . In addition to al this, the things Isabel Marshal sent along with the food and fodder were invaluable. She had sent linens, spices, wines, fine materials, cushions, carpets, and, unbelievably, a great oval mirror.
Tarn volunteered to carry al Estel e"s luggage to her smal chamber on the almost certain chance that he would get to see Jasmine. When she smiled at him and asked if he could carry the mirror up to her tower room, he lingered there a long time, looking at her feminine belongings, her brushes, perfume, bedrobe, and the soft white ermine wrap.
Estel e and Jasmine were final y alone, laughing at each other with tears of relief in their eyes. So many questions between them needed asking and answering that Jasmine insisted "You first."
"When I discovered Chester had put a guard on your door I knew I would be of no use to you. I realized he could use me to force you to his wil , so I disappeared. I went home to Salisbury, then went to Chepstow to speak with your father. I put my faith in de Burgh. If you had a psychic bond with him, he would be your salvation. Your father told me that he had indeed rescued you and carried you off to Mountain Ash. I worried over your having such an ordeal through the icy mountains, but I see that de Burgh took every care of you."
"I"l tel you al the gory details of my two weddings, they"l make your hair stand on end," Jasmine said. "But if you think de Burgh takes every care of me, you are mistaken. The moment we are together it is like setting a match to kindling. I am sure no man and woman ever fought more than we do. Estel e, whatever am I to do? I think I"m already carrying his child."
Estel e"s heart stopped. Al the anguish she had suffered years before when her beloved only daughter had quickened with Salisbury"s seed and died in childbed came rushing back to her. d.a.m.n men to hel , why did they need to destroy the women they loved best? She saw Jasmine"s delicate body and feared she would never be able to carry and safely deliver a child. She was as ethereal and fragile as a rare orchid. Why had she ever agreed to let her marry de Burgh?
Wel , there was no alternative but to confront him. She"d have this out with him now. She careful y questioned Jasmine about her menstrual flow, asking about al the cla.s.sical signs from morning sickness to tender b.r.e.a.s.t.s. When she was convinced the pregnancy was real she sought out de Burgh.
She found him in the shed that stored fodder for the animals.
With Gervase at his elbow he tal ied what stores they had against how many animals must be wintered, taking into account that more horses were arriving nearly every day.
account that more horses were arriving nearly every day.
"Men!" she exploded when she saw him.
De Burgh touched Gervase on the shoulder. "Leave us," he said quietly.
"Wel , are you satisfied?" she demanded as the man left them.
De Burgh kept a wise silence, knowing there was a lot more she was going to get off her chest.
"Was this some sort of race to see how quickly you could make it happen?" she asked, warming to her subject. "Did you have the need to prove your virility to your hundreds of men?" She took a deep breath. "Blood of G.o.d, you must have had her abed day and night to get her with child this quickly."
Estel e suddenly broke down. She covered her face and cried, "It wil kil her!"
De Burgh was dismayed. "I had no idea," he said lamely.
Estel e dashed the tears from her eyes. "I warned you repeatedly ... we al warned you she was too delicate for wife and mother, but you would not be denied, you would have her at al costs. I thought you understood that you could not play stal ion and brood mare with Jasmine."
Suddenly he was afraid. It was a feeling alien to him, but he experienced it now. If he lost Jasmine his life would be empty.
In spite of the enmity between them, she was his woman, and he could not bear the thought that he could bring harm to her.
Above al other feelings she aroused in him was the need to protect and cherish her.
Estel e calmed a little when she saw the sobering effect her words were having on de Burgh. She would drive home her point while she had him at a disadvantage. "I watched my only child hemorrhage to death because she was too smal to give birth. When I look at the size of you and imagine how big the child wil be you have planted in her, I nearly run mad!"
"Estel e, what I have done can be undone," he said firmly, "with your skil s."
She sighed with relief that he would be wil ing to let her get rid of the child. "Then we are in agreement that I wil administer an abortificant to safeguard Jasmine"s life. But if she conceives by you so easily it wil happen again and again. You must find others who wil drain your l.u.s.t. I"m sure every woman at Mountain Ash between the age of fifteen and fifty would be eager for your attentions."
Inwardly Falcon recoiled, yet through the day the seeds that Estel e planted began to take root. His spirits were lower than they had been in years as it was brought home to him that he could never have legitimate children. He had coveted Jasmine from the moment he saw her riding the unicorn. He had suffered through an endless seven-month wait to get her. He had been triumphant when he s.n.a.t.c.hed her from Chester and married her, feeling invincible, almost G.o.dlike. But now his emotions had sobered and his thoughts were dark and emotions had sobered and his thoughts were dark and depressing. He would do whatever was necessary to keep Jasmine from harm, but he could not let himself even think of his child, which would never draw breath.
His men found him difficult and moody and gave him a wide berth. Falcon withdrew early to the privacy of his own chamber, preferring solitude over the company of others.
Jasmine had kept to her room al day, contemplating the changes in her life the baby would make. Now that Estel e was at Mountain Ash the smal knot of apprehension had been replaced by joy. She couldn"t real y believe her own good fortune. Al her life she had been told that she could never be a wife and mother, and now she was about to be both. She thought she would probably have a little girl, like herself, to love and cherish forever, but suppose, just suppose by some miracle she could have a boy. A son who would grow up to be a mirror image of Falcon de Burgh . . . handsome, strong, a valiant knight.
Whatever she had, she decided she would be the best mother there had ever been. She had not been a successful wife, not yet, but by the love of St. Jude she would be a successful mother. De Burgh didn"t know yet. What would his reaction be when she informed him? She wanted to see the light in his eyes turn to green fire as his pulses pounded hotly with the fierce wondrous knowledge that there, below her heart, she carried his child.
She quietly turned back the thick carpet and crouched down to She quietly turned back the thick carpet and crouched down to look through the crack in the floor to his room below. She could see his dark head engrossed in books that lay on the table before him. Immediately she surmised they were secret doctrine he studied, which gave him his incredible powers.
Her hand caressed her bel y. Wed only a month and already he had planted the first of the de Burgh dynasty. The corners of her mouth went up at her secret thoughts. Should she go down now and tel him?
She heard him utter a foul oath as a knock came upon the door. He careful y locked away his books before he answered.
She heard him say angrily, "What do you want?"
Then her joy was wiped away as she heard the unmistakable female voice say, "Estel e sent me."
She sat back upon her heels and flung the carpet back into place. Estel e? My G.o.d, didn"t her grandmother know this woman was his wh.o.r.e? She closed her eyes as the wave of jealousy washed over her. She should be the one down there with him. She should be the one who would lie beside him in his great bed with the knowledge of his child held warmly between them. She hated the physical act of s.e.x, but she liked to be kissed and embraced. She loved to feel the heat that came from his body, the scent of him in her nostrils gave her pleasure.
His strength lent her a feeling of absolute security, and she enjoyed their quick, barbed exchanges of parry and thrust when they pitted their wits against each other.
Yet she knew these things were not enough for a man. Not a virile stal ion like Falcon de Burgh at any rate. Perhaps Estel e thought she was helping Jasmine by encouraging Morganna to seek his bed, but it hurt ... oh, G.o.d, how it hurt!
Falcon was angered to have his solitude disturbed. His mood had been foul al day and it hadn"t improved with nightfal .
Morganna stood upon the threshold with a tempting flagon of amber liquid in her hands, and this was the only reason he let her pa.s.s into the room. "Did Estel e provide the potion?" he said with contempt.
Morganna was unsure of his meaning but ran her tongue around her lips seductively and replied, "I need no potion to make a man receptive to my charms." Nevertheless, she poured him a goblet of the strong Welsh liquor and brought it to him cupped in her long brown fingers.
He took it from her, drained it, and held out the goblet to be refil ed, then he took it to the fireplace and leaned on the mantel to drink with his back to her. His black mood did not daunt her, in fact she welcomed it. If he needed to drown his sorrows, she could manipulate him, seduce him with the lure of her flesh. This was the only way she could get him to center his attention on her for a short time. If she was shrewd enough she could manipulate a careless moment into a permanent hold on him.
When Falcon remembered her presence he turned and saw her lying on the bed. Her feet and legs were bare, her skirt hiked up to give him an unimpeded view of her thighs. He walked to the bed and sat on its edge.
"You are troubled," she said. "I"m. a good listener."
His mocking laugh rang out. "I have no desire to talk. Talk is the last thing I need."
Morganna went up on her knees and rested her hands upon the wide shoulders so that her face was close to his. Her tongue shot out to lick him and she said huskily, "Whatever it is you need . . . take! Al you ever have to do is ask. I wil be anything, do anything you ask."
His hands reached out roughly to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She moaned and fel back onto the bed, drawing him with her. Her long brown fingers reached out to play about his groin, now swol en with need. His mouth took hers savagely, then when he lifted his mouth from her she urged, "Fil me, Falcon, fil me with your seed. I want to give you a child."
He tore his mouth from her and flung himself from the bed. He threw back his head and laughed a hol ow, mocking laugh.
Fate was such a cruel b.i.t.c.h. The one thing you wanted above al other things you could never have, but everything else was laid out like a feast. Al he need do was take it.
Estel e brought Jasmine"s breakfast and stayed to feed and play with the young mountain lion, who by now was growing quite sleek. "I see you"ve had the good sense to cage Feather and Quil ."
Jasmine ignored her words. "Surely you realize that Morganna woman is de Burgh"s wh.o.r.e? Why did you send her to him last night?" she demanded.
"So she would drain his l.u.s.t, of course. Would you rather he used you?" Estel e asked bluntly.
"Of course not, but I don"t want him bedding her in the chamber beneath mine. "Tis a disgusting situation and one I shal not tolerate."
"You had best tread softly, Jasmine. I think it would be a mistake to insist that he choose between you. The girl serves a valuable purpose, which enables him to leave you in peace.
Eat your breakfast, child, you have far more important things to worry about than a Welsh s.l.u.t."
Jasmine threw back the covers and reached for her white velvet bedgown after Estel e left. Habits of a lifetime were hard to break, and she always bathed and brushed her hair before she could eat. Then she sat down to nibble on the delicious bread and honey and freshly churned b.u.t.ter from the dairy. She hugged her knees to her and decided it was time to become domesticated. She would start with this delicious b.u.t.ter and learn the whole process, but first she would find out about the secret books and papers de Burgh kept locked away so safely.
She absently picked up her goblet of mead and pul ed back the carpet with her other hand. If the room below was empty she would go down now. She lifted the goblet to her lips to drink, but her nose detected a peculiar scent. The mead contained the pungent odor of the juice of pennyroyal.
Pennyroyal was drunk to induce abortion! As the thought struck her, she clearly heard Estel e in the chamber below say "It is done. I have given her the de-coctiori as we agreed."
Jasmine was stunned. She had learned of so many things through this hole in the floor of which she had been total y in ignorance. Her husband and her grandmother had actual y entered into a conspiracy to rid her of her child! She felt a wave of anger build in her heart and sweep up to her brain.
She picked up her white velvet skirts and ran down the stone stairs that led to de Burgh"s chamber. There she flung open the door to confront them. Both looked guilty.
"G.o.d d.a.m.n you both to Hel !" she cried. "How dare you both take it upon yourselves to decide the course of my life for me?
" she panted. She flung at Estel e, "How could you tel him?
Did it not occur to you that this was something private, almost sacred, between husband and wife?"
"Your mother died in childbirth . . . you wil do the same,"
Estel e said firmly.
"No! I am not my mother, and anyway do you not realize my child means more to me than life?"
Falcon could not take his eyes from her. She was magnificent.
"Without even consulting me you give me an abortificant to drink!" Jasmine continued. "It is a d.a.m.ned good thing I am familiar with plants and their properties."