WolfeHeart: de Wolfe Pack Generations, page 22
“It was clumsy of me, wasn’t it?” he said softly. “I do not think I made myself very clear.”
Amabella shook her head. “You were not clear at all. But your kiss to my hand… that was very sweet. I’ve not been flattered like that in twenty years.”
He smiled, but it was a weak one. He continued to stare into the fire as it softly snapped. “I do not know how to answer you,” he said. “I suppose I never should have said those things, but I could not help myself. Ama, I have known many women in my life. I have had more than my share of female admirers.”
Amabella laughed softly. “You do not need to tell me the obvious,” she said. “I knew that the first day I saw you. How many fathers have come beating down your door with offers of marital contracts?”
His smiled turned embarrassed. “A few.”
Her laughter grew. “I would say it was probably more than a few,” she said. “And you’ve not accepted any of them?”
He looked at her, then, shaking his head. “Nay.”
“Why not?”
He shrugged. “Because they were for marriage to a girl,” he said. “I am not interested in young women who have yet to grow up. I have never been interested in someone like that.”
“What have you been interested in?”
His gaze was intense. “May… may I make a confession?”
“Please.”
He sighed heavily, turning back to the flame, the mantle, looking at anything but her. “The first day I saw you, I remember thinking what a spectacular example of womanhood you were,” he said. “Roget de Sauque had a goddess for a wife and what did he do? He spit on that fortune. He shite upon it. He did everything he could to diminish the fact that he was married to a lush, compassionate woman of unearthly beauty. He was the most fortunate man in the world and he didn’t care.”
Amabella was stunned by his words. She opened her mouth to reply but had no idea what to say. At least, for a moment. She had to let those words sink in, like salve for her soul.
“Oh… Markus,” she breathed. “That is the kindest thing anyone has ever said to me.”
He looked at her, then. “I know,” he said. “That’s the problem. I know how badly de Sauque treated you. Atlas knows. Every allied knight serving in de Wolfe properties probably knows. Atlas hates his father so much that he will only address him as Roget because he, too, knows how badly the man treated you. And that makes me so angry at Roget that if he wasn’t already dead, I would probably kill him. I would have given anything to be in Roget’s place when he married you, but I would have done it because of the magnificent woman you are, not because I would inherit a property. I would care not for Trastamara and her wealth. It’s you… you are the true prize, Amabella. It’s a pity Roget never realized that.”
Amabella was staring at him, wide-eyed. As Markus watched, her eyes filled with a lake of tears that suddenly spilled down her cheeks. Swiftly, he went to her, standing in front of her as she sat upon the chair.
“I am sorry,” he said quickly. “I did not mean to hurt or offend you. If I did, please forgive me. I did not mean to.”
Amabella blinked and tears splattered, but she reached up to take his hand and squeeze it. Markus took a knee in front of her, holding her hand in his two enormous mitts. It was a moment before she could compose herself enough to speak.
“You are the kindest, most compassionate man I have ever met,” she whispered tightly. “You will never know what your words have meant to me. It is difficult to speak of it. I… I am not sure how to…”
He cut her off gently. “You do not have to speak of it.”
But she shook her head, strongly. “I must,” she said. “I want you to understand why your kindness has meant so much to us. To me. I have spent the past twenty years being treated as a possession, an afterthought, a breeder of heirs. That is all Roget ever saw me as and that is something I have never confessed to anyone. Up until a week ago, I was resigned to the fact that it was all my life would ever be, but so much has changed since then. You have changed our world more than you can ever know. My world. And I shall be forever grateful.”
Markus smiled faintly before bringing her hand to his lips, kissing it gently. “I am supposed to assume a new position next month, a very important one,” he said. “It will bring me wealth and prestige, and it is something that will make my father very proud, but now… now I am not entirely sure I want to accept it.”
She looked at him, startled, as she wiped her cheeks with her free hand. “Why not?” she said. “Markus, you must. You have done great things here at Trastamara, but this is not your destiny.”
“Why not?” he said, overlapping her last word. When he realized he’d been forceful, he took a deep breath to steady himself. “What I mean to say is what if a man’s destiny isn’t what he’d planned? Sometimes destinies are expected. Sometimes they just… happen.”
She wasn’t quite following him. “Trastamara was never your destiny. It belongs to Atlas.”
“That is true. But you do not.”
“What do you mean?”
“What if you are my destiny?”
Amabella blinked in surprise. Then, her eyes widened. “What… what do you mean?”
He shook his head. Then, he snorted like a man who was about to lose his mind. “I am not entirely sure,” he said. “But I do not think I want to leave this place or you. You consume me, Ama. I do not even know how it happened. But the moment I saw you, I knew you were something unique. I have never had a woman catch my eye as you have. I feel… I feel as if we are destined to know one another. Mayhap even belong to one another.”
Her wide eyes grew wider. “You… Markus, you cannot mean that,” she said. “I am older than you are. Much older.”
“You are ten years older than I am. That is not terribly old.”
She sat back in her chair, staring at him in disbelief. “I have had four children,” she said. “I have been married. I told you that I have had my time. But you… you have not had your time. You must find a young and lovely woman who can give you a dozen children, fine tributes to the de Wolfe name.”
“I do not want a young and lovely woman to give me a dozen children,” he said. “Amabella… you are ageless in my eyes. Do you not understand? You are wise and mature and reasonable. You are everything a man could want.”
Amabella could hardly believe what she was hearing. When he’d told her that he wanted to flatter her, she could have never imagined this was what he’d meant. But he seemed unsure, even as he said it, torn between whatever he was feeling for her and the destiny as Edward’s Lord Protector that await him.
He was torn as she was torn.
She was older than he was. Ten years older, as he’d pointed out. But it didn’t matter to him in the least. Was it possible that it mattered to her? Perhaps it did in the sense that he was in his prime, a young and powerful knight who deserved a young, beautiful, and virginal wife.
Not an older woman with four children who had already been married.
But the truth was that she probably fell in love with him the very first day she met him. He’d been so very gentle with her, and kind, and he treated her in a way she hadn’t been treated in years. Add his male beauty and powerful form, and there was nothing about that man that was imperfect.
Did she want him?
There was no doubt in her mind. This beautiful, impetuous boy had her attention.
He had her everything.
Gently, she disengaged her hand from his, and both of her hands came up to cup his face. For a moment, she simply looked at him, those gorgeous blue eyes, the nearly-black hair, the straight nose and square jaw. My God, he was spectacular.
It had been such a long time since she’d longed for a man’s touch that when the feeling crept over her, it was difficult to resist. In fact, she didn’t even try. She knew what it felt like to have a man make love to her, from long ago when Roget had actually been gentle with her. She remembered the excitement, the pleasure, something she never thought she’d ever experience again.
But here it was, in front of her.
Before Amabella realized it, her arms were around Markus’ neck as her lips slanted over his.
The magic began.
Markus responded instantly to her, engaging in a heated kiss as tongues plunged deep. He was so surprised, and so overcome, that he ended up pulling her out of the chair and into his arms. He tried to stand up with her but in his haste, he ended up tripping, backing into a wall with his big arms around her as if to never let her go. Amabella had her arms around his neck, his head, trapping him against her, and when she suckled on his tongue, Markus nearly went out of his mind. With a growl, he picked her up and set her on the table of her solar.
Amabella was no shrinking maiden. She was a woman, with woman’s needs that had been pent up for years. They were needs she had resigned herself to never being fulfilled again until Markus came into her life.
Until he kissed her hand.
Now, she was on fire.
Amabella took on the aggressor role. She wrapped her legs around his waist, skirts and all, holding him tightly as they furiously kissed one another. Markus’s hands were beginning to roam, gaining confidence, as he went from holding her tightly to stroking her back and arms. When she didn’t stop him, he grew bolder and moved to her buttocks, squeezing them and pulling her body up against his. Her legs were parted and his body was wedged in between them even though they were fully clothed. Markus sincerely wished, at that moment, that they were not.
He’d never been more consumed by a woman in his life.
Markus’ mouth went to her neck, gently suckling her tender skin, and a hand began to gently pull back the neckline of her garment. It wasn’t too tight, and he was able to pull it off her right shoulder, baring her skin, as his lips suckled her delicious flesh. He could hear her grunting with pleasure, her hands on his head, her face in his hair. He made no move to touch her breasts, but he continued to slowly and steadily pull her bodice off her shoulder, exposing the swell of her right breast.
Still, she didn’t stop him.
Markus grew bolder.
He hadn’t been with a woman in over a year. He simply hadn’t had the time. Now, he had the woman of his dreams in his hands and he was consumed with her. If she wasn’t going to stop him, he was going to keep going, and the bodice was pulled further down. When the fabric resisted, he snaked his hands in behind her and untied the laces that were secured on the side of the garment.
It loosened the dress considerably.
Markus’ mouth was on her cleavage now, that delightful cleavage he had noticed the first day he ever saw her. That lush, beautiful body was in his hands and he feasted. Half of her bodice was pulled down her chest and he continued to pull, kissing the flesh as it became exposed, until he finally uncovered her right breast.
Amabella cried out softly as his mouth clamped over a tender nipple. She began to pull at his tunic, trying to undress him, and Markus went right along with her. He wanted her as badly as she wanted him, not stopping to think about the consequences of his actions. He didn’t care. All he knew was that he wanted her so badly that he couldn’t stop himself from pulling her bodice down around her waist to expose her full, luscious breasts.
His clothing was coming off in pieces until he was finally nude from the waist up. Mouth on her succulent breasts, he flipped up her skirts without any resistance whatsoever. In fact, she was working on his scabbard and his breeches, and he had her skirts up about the time she pulled loose his ties. His broadsword cluttered to the floor and his breeches slipped down to his mid-thigh.
He was between her legs, their bodies naked from the waist down, and his big arousal pushed at her. Markus was a big man and his male member was proportionate, and Amabella’s eager hands moved to his thick erection as she guided him into her. He was a hunter seeking his target, and when he felt her slick, wet heat, he thrust firmly into her.
Amabella bit off her cries of pleasure, sinking her teeth into his left bicep. It only served to inflame him. She was exquisitely tight and hot, and he thrust again, feeling her legs wrap around him and draw him in deeper. His arms went around her, holding her tightly against him as he began to move.
Markus’ mouth was on hers, kissing her deeply, as he made love to her on the well-made oak table of her solar. It was everything he knew it would be. He felt things for Amabella that he had never felt in his life, for anyone, feelings of attraction that he couldn’t control. It was more than the act of sex itself. It was a demonstration of emotions that had completely conquered him.
Amabella was nearly incoherent in her passion, feeling every move with the greatest of pleasure. He was so big, and thrusting himself so deeply, that the pleasure-pain of it was quickly driving her towards release. She’d never made love like this in her life; nothing had even come close. Markus was a spectacular form of a man that she had never seen equaled. Perhaps she was older than him, but it didn’t matter any longer. This moment between them was right and she knew it.
She never wanted it to end.
She wanted all of him.
Markus’ thrust grew harder, firmer, and he ground his pelvis against her every time he plunged deep. He suckled her nipples as he thrust, listening to her gasp with pleasure. It was moving and beautiful and powerful, and after one particularly deep thrust, he felt her release around him and pants of ecstasy escaped her lips. Still, he continued to make love to her, feeling another climax a few moments later. Their lovemaking was reaching frenzied proportions and he could no longer stop his own release.
Markus tried to pull out of her, but her legs were wrapped around him. He ended up spilling himself into her sweet body, feeling every last twitch and spasm with more pleasure than he’d ever known to exist. But he still kept moving, feeling what he’d put into her, having absolutely no regrets. Normally, he was much more careful about where he put his seed, but with Amabella… it seemed like the most natural thing in the world.
That’s how he knew that his feelings for her were real.
With his body still joined to hers, Markus finally opened his eyes to look down at her. Her bodice was down around her waist and her skirts were hiked up over her pelvis, her legs open wide to receive him. The sheer sight of it was enough to cause him to heat up again. Gently, he bent over, kissing her shoulder, the tops of her breasts, before gently taking a nipple in his mouth again and suckling tenderly.
In his arms, he could feel Amabella shudder. She had her arms around his neck, but when he started suckling her again, she put one hand down to where their bodies joined, gently fondling his testicles. Her warm, gentle fingers were wildly arousing and Markus could feel himself growing hard again. The woman’s touch set him on fire. His mouth captured hers again and she responded readily until a faint cry filled the air.
“Ama! Eggggggggggs!”
Mouth still fused to hers, Markus’ eyes flew open and he found himself staring into her deep emerald green eyes.
“Ambra,” she breathed against his mouth. “She has awakened from her nap and she is hungry.”
Markus withdrew from her in a flash, pulling her off the table as he pulled his breeches up. As Amabella tossed down her skirts and yanked up her bodice, Markus grabbed his tunics and began pulling them over his head in no particular order. The padded tunic close to his body ended up backwards on him, but he didn’t stop to fix it. All that mattered was that he dress, no matter how sloppy that dress turned out to be.
Next to him, Amabella managed to very quickly fasten her garment and she helped him straighten out his tunics. The belt with his broadsword had fallen to the ground and he swiftly picked it up as she rushed over to a chair that was near the windows overlooking the bailey. There was some sewing there that she’d left, little breeches for Alfie, and she quickly picked them up just as Markus finished buckling his scabbard onto his waist. He looked as if he’d dressed in complete darkness and Amabella struggled not to laugh. He bared his teeth at her menacingly, but it was in good humor.
The door to the solar rattled. Markus managed to lean casually back against the wall next to the hearth, quite a distance from Amabella, as the door flew back on its hinges and Ambra charged in with Savia on her heels. The little girl headed straight for her mother.
“Ama,” she said, climbing onto her mother’s lap. “I want yellow eggs.”
Amabella set her sewing aside, cradling her sleepy daughter, who was rubbing her eyes. “I do not know if there are any left, but we can see,” she said. “Can you greet Sir Markus?”
Ambra stopped rubbing her eyes and looked at Markus, just now noticing him over by the hearth. She grinned brightly and pointed an imperious finger at him.
“No eggs for you!”
Markus knew what was expected of him. He put a hand over his face and made sniffling noises, much to Ambra’s wicked delight. Markus chuckled at the devious little girl as he lowered his hand and turned for the open door.
“If you will excuse me, Lady de Sauque, I will go along my way,” he said. “If you have any further questions about Atlas and the situation we are facing, do not hesitate to ask. I am at your service.”
Amabella watched him cross the floor, with his tunics askew and his belt twisted, and his hair mussed from where she ran her hands through it. She noticed these things, but she wondered if anyone else would.
Not that she cared.
The price was well worth it.
“Thank you, my lord,” she said. “You have been most… gracious in your explanation.”
Markus merely smiled, quitting the chamber without another word.
Even as Ambra yanked her mother off the chair with her demands to go to the kitchen, Amabella’s thoughts were still on Markus, still on his miraculous touch. It had been an awakening for her, an awakening that showed her what she was truly capable of in the arms of a man. More than that, it showed her what she was truly capable of with Markus.
When he touched her, the sparks flew.
Roget had been inadequate and demanding in bed. He’d taught her what he liked, but as the years went on, she could never bring herself to do it, knowing she was sharing him with another woman. But with Markus, that reserve was gone. She was willing to explore everything with him and then some, and if their encounter was a foretaste of what the future held for them, she felt as if this went beyond an awakening.
