The Beast of Renald (The Northern Knights) (11 page)

His head shot up so fast she flinched. His eyes blazed a breath from hers, unreadable but she could feel the heat emanating from him and his long and thick length lay against her legs. So he was roused.

‘Nay.’

‘But-But I wish to.’ Caroline blurted, feeling the burn creep up her neck. It was truth. She did want to kiss him. The closeness of this man did something to her. Heated her blood. Even if he tried to pretend indifference, something had happened the last time between them. His body’s reaction to her told her he felt the same.

Still, she did not think it was just Cedric that bothered him. There was something else too. Something he kept caged and locked away. His secret. His demons. Either way, his ardor was not cooled by whatever it was.

‘Nay,’ he repeated even though his hands trembled as they moved up the column of her neck, gentle and softer this time. Caroline almost released a sigh of relief until he moved her body into a position to receive him.

Damn him to hell!

She wanted her kiss and she would have it. She leaned up and planted a kiss on his scar. She did not fear his movement when he drew back. She reached up to caress his cheek and his stubble felt soft and rough against her palm at the same time. He pulled away from her touch slowly.

‘Do not.’

‘Why not?’

He stared at her, speechless. She touched him again. His iron grip on her wrist stopped her movement.

Undeterred, she shocked him when she reached up and touched him with her other hand. The   gentle caress of her warm hand against his cheek bothered him.

How dare she act as if he’d not seen the truth? He’d no intent of having any closeness between them outside of this age old act.

Women! Always talking and never at the right moment.

He would not, could not allow this one in. Today in the presence of Cedric had proven that fact. She pretended innocence, even caring laced her tone, but he knew she was just as faithless as the first bitch he’d had.

Darc did not want to respond, his heart thumped hard in his chest reminding him of what he once had with another. He wanted, nay he should question her, but on his ride he’d decided against it.  He feared he might not like what she revealed. Then surely he’d never consummate their union. He wanted to erase all memories of Cedric or any other man’s touch from her mind. And why he did, he did not know he just did.

His words were hard and his desire almost fled. But looking at her mouth called him a fat liar for it only boiled for her more.

Angrily he growled over her ‘Cease this prattle. What do you hope to gain with it? We are here to finish what was interrupted the eve before and nothing more. The sooner it is over, the better. Trust me in this.’

He released her hand with a snap of his wrist and she let it drop to her side. The less he knew about this woman, the better. Darc read the disappointment in her wide and shocked eyes before her lips turned down and she told him.

‘Make haste then if you must. All I ask is that you have a care with me in the taking.’

The bitterness in her tone was not lost on him. She dare tell him what to do?

She had no reason to be so short with him. She had borne a child to Cedric and was far from a virgin.

More than they’d realized had gone on under Halvard’s roof. But none of that interested him now. He was not eager to bed her any more than she was him.

Darc gritted his teeth as he told himself the lie. It did matter.

Lifting her chemise higher, he spread her thighs by pushing one leg between hers. He just wanted it over.

He didn’t even caress her as he had before to see if she was ready to receive him. He pulled her down closer to him by her full hips none too gently. He knew his touch was rough and felt her wince under him, but he was too cross to care.

He surged into her sheath in a single thrust and froze right after when her loud scream tore out of her chest, filling the room as he ripped through the maiden head he did not expect to be there. 

He drew back to look down into her tear stained face.

‘Caroline!’ her name burst from him in a surprised shout.

Darc suddenly felt terrible. She sobbed under him and pushed at his shoulders, grunting in pain. Little did she know her hips moving had him sink further and deeper into her. She gasped and choked on her tears as she took him in inch by inch. 

‘What the hell goes on here?  How is this possible?’  His angry words bounced off the walls. 

‘I-I, oh…!’  She arched her back to dislodge him. He pinned her there, not moving, giving her body time to accept him.  

‘It is done. The pain will cease in a moment. You must wait a moment…hold steady. Wait.’  His soft command only caused her to push at him harder. Passion and anger at this further deceit raged through him, but he could not stop now.

‘I cannot wait nor bear this. Your thing…it has burned me raw. Stop this, please, I beg you, it will not work.’  She exclaimed.  

Taken aback by her words, Darc felt his anger dissolve a little. ‘I cannot stop now. It will work. The act always does and has been done for ages. The hard part is over and the pain will go away. Nay, do not…I told you not to move like that.’ Darc groaned as she tried to close her legs. She was tense and her hot body squeezed him tightly. The feeling was the most sensual thing he’d ever felt in lying with a woman and it took him by surprise.

He’d let his anger direct his actions tonight and now he wanted to ease her fears.

He should have made her ready to receive him virgin or not. He’d ignited passion in her the first time. He was angry at himself for letting the belief she’d been another worthless and unfaithful female, and with Cedric drive him into behaving the beast in taking her. Darc lowered his voice and tried to soothe her. Her tears left as quickly as they had come.

His hand moved down between them and she bucked against him tensing in wait for more pain. He spoke more soothing words while his fingers found her softness and after a moment, a throaty cry from her filled the room.  

‘Oh-goodness! Wh-What is that?’  She gasped in breathless awe.  

Darc moved his fingers, eliciting another response from her and said, ‘There, there. Do you like that? Is that better?’

She did not voice her response. Her body did in relaxing under his. When she did open her mouth to respond, she muttered something incoherent and moved her hips. Darc found himself watching her expressive face as she began to moan. Finally she settled her hips and looked satisfied that she had found a comfortable spot, and she replied, huskily, ‘Aye, much better.’

Her wetness made his first thrust easy and she shrieked with the pleasure he gave her until a deep groan tore up and
out of her chest with her swift release as it rocked her body hard
and pulled him deeper inside her.

He marveled at the change in her. Her honey-colored eyes opened wide and stared at him in wonderment at the pleasure he’d given her. Darc was ready, her velvety heat too much. After a few hard thrusts, he lifted her right leg, hooking it under his arm. He was rewarded with her careening cry as she took all of him inside as she found her satisfaction once more.

‘Darc!’ she screamed.

Her muscles contracting and sucking at him along with hearing her speak his name was all it took to send him over the edge, and Darc quickly withdrew and spilled his seed.

Rolling over onto his back, he waited to catch his breath, his tunic stuck to his chest soaked through with his sweat. The woman had sucked the very life out of him. Never had he experienced such surprising and swift pleasure.   

Neither of them spoke a word. 

Caroline waited, her body humming and her mind out of sorts. A part of her wanted to hold on, to savor and discover more about the new sensations enveloping her but she knew now was not the time. The silence was deafening and her unsteady breaths rang loudly in her ears.

He would have lots of questions and they came as she suspected, quickly.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

‘Whose child is he?’ 

The tight ball she’d carried all these years unwound and the words poured out of her like a dam. She blamed it on the stressful events of the past few days and on the passion they had just shared. Her emotions were jumbled and she was too relaxed to be rational about anything. This time she needed a different kind of release.

‘Halvard had only one child of his loins from his first of three wives. The child died by some ailment before his tenth summer had come to pass. He is the son of Lord Halvard’s second wife, my cousin, Helen. I have been with Kelbie since the day he left her womb and I am the only mother he knows.’   Caroline took in deep breaths and waited.  He was quiet for so long.

‘Tell me all of it and leave
nothing
out,’ he growled next to her. He rose up just enough to remove his tunic over his head, and then he laid back, his body stiff next to her, with a hand to his brow.

She glanced at his bare chest. Sweat beaded on the sparse hairs in the middle and across his taut and muscled stomach. Caroline swallowed and looked away.

‘It-It-is rather confusing. Lord Halvard is - is not Kelbie’s father. Kelbie’s father is the cousin that came with the king today. Cedric.’  She shuddered with a pause, waiting and held back from saying as you well know. She knew he’d known, yet he said naught and she went on, ‘Lord Halvard made Helen and I promise to hold the secret or death would visit our door.’  She shook with the memory of how hard he had beaten them both that night until they had agreed to more of his evil and sick lies.

Darc looked at her then. ‘Who knows of this now?’

She pulled her shift down over her nakedness and his eyes followed her movements, causing a flush to come to her cheeks. 

 ‘Just me. Helen took the horrible secret to her grave days after the birthing.’ 

‘Let me make sure I have this aright. Cedric is unaware that the child is his?’

‘Aye! But, I think he suspects it. Kelbie has begun to look just like him.’ Again she bit her lip from telling him she knew he knew this. ‘I fear this is what caused the bloodshed the week before the Nor- you and the king came and…and why he is after me.’ She looked at him then; his narrowed gaze told her they were thinking the same thing. 

She had not meant to reveal that part of it. But now that she had, Caroline was glad. She wrung her hands nervously in her lap.  Had she done the right thing? She found herself looking away from his intense gaze and she knew he was aware she had not told him all of it. To her surprise, he did not question her further.

Darc rose and walked naked over to one of the large tables across the room where a basin sat filled with water. He came back to the bed with it and a swathe of linen cut for use as a towel. 

‘He is too late. You are under my protection now. There is naught he can do. You and the boy have nothing to fear from anyone.
Do not
ever lie to me again.’ He warned her as he dipped the cloth into the lukewarm water and turned to her. ‘Lie back so I can wash you.’

He ignored her horrified and embarrassed gasp. But she spread her thighs and he wiped his seed and virgin blood from her thighs. ‘You were virgin.’ he stated quietly, so quiet she had to strain to hear him.

Caroline did not understand why he was so angry again. Her brows dipped as she tried to focus on something else whilst he touched her. ‘Aye,’ she choked out. 

‘You were married for years.’ he remarked coolly.  

Her own anger and bewilderment caused her voice to rise. ‘Aye. I was.’ She’d not known he would’ve discovered the truth once he’d taken her. She had heard of plenty of men bedding women and not being aware they’d bedded a virgin. Guess her screaming had given it away too. 

‘Did you love Halvard?’

‘Nay.’ She answered quickly, the bile rising up at the mere thought to lodge in her throat and she shot him an odd look. Why was he asking her about this? ‘Did you love your wife?’ she threw back at him.

‘Aye. For a time.’

His answer stung and Caroline wished she had not asked. She lowered her eyes to the rush covered floor.  

The memories of the cruel years with Lord Halvard came flooding back and she continued her tone full of disgust. He did not deserve to be called lord any longer.

‘Halvard was not much of a man. He overindulged in many things that caused him to lack in many others.’ Her shame was out and she did not care. ‘He had not been capa-  Well, he was incapable of completing the act.’

And he had tried several times and in many different ways. Aye, she’d suffered at the end of his fists and other forms of abuse for his failed attempts, but she’d preferred to suffer that than suffer through his pole inside her. She ended, ‘He suffered great perversions that I cared not to share.’

‘What sort of perversions?’

‘Ones that caused pain, humiliation and- and-‘   Caroline’s bravery slipped and her voice cracked as her body shuddered at the memories. She had never spoken the words aloud before now and upon hearing them something changed inside her.

She had been so ashamed.

The embarrassment had been so great she’d not shared the intimate details with anyone. But then again there had been no one to share them with. It was bad enough she’d suffered the looks and stares from Halvard’s men and could’ve only imagined the tales the man had told to boast of his actions in their chamber, even though the cries his men heard had been from him hitting her. They would believe whatever their lord told them. He had always struck below the neck, areas covered by clothing to further cover the nightmare she endured. Her clothes hid the real truth.

Caroline twisted her lips. ‘My only regret…Word quickly reached me that he took to the servant girls throughout the day…no matter where and whose eyes were upon them.’

‘You need not say anymore, Caroline. Many are like that.’

‘Even so, it does not make it right.’

‘Nay, it does not. Though I disagree with the actions and behavior of some men, nevertheless, it is a common occurrence.’

Darc noted the faraway look in her eyes and knew she was remembering things he would not press her more about now. Her body had gone rigid under his touch.  He lowered his eyes back to his task. ‘Halvard was rather wealthy.’