Enchanting the Beast, page 14
Phil made small whimpering sounds against his chest, and Nico smiled. He kept himself inside of her as long as he dared. But when she clamped his shaft with her own inner release he couldn’t hold back any longer. He pulled her off of himself and rolled over barely in time, his body ramming against the bedding from the force of his own climax.
When he finally came back to earth, every muscle in his body felt limp, but he reached out one arm and gathered Phil close to him before he sighed and allowed himself to relax. His head was turned toward her, his face half buried in her hair and he breathed in her scent, amazed by what she’d made him feel.
Nico’s arm lay over her ribs and he held it slightly aloft so that he wouldn’t crush her. He heard her quiet sobs before he felt them. “Phil? Did I hurt you?”
“No.” She drew in a ragged breath. “I just didn’t know it could be that…”
“Neither did I,” he replied, something stirring inside him as he gazed down at her soft face. His lust had dissolved into pure affection for this woman at his side. “Stay the night with me. At least until dawn breaks.”
She shivered.
“Phil?”
“All right. I don’t want to leave you either.”
Nico smiled into her hair. Even in the summertime there was always a nip in the castle at night. “Are you cold?”
“A bit.”
He covered her with the edge of the bedding before he rose with an extreme display of willpower, lit a candle, and went into the washroom. He wet a cloth and cleaned himself, frowning at the dark color that stained the rag. Nico picked up another cloth and went back into the bedroom, yanking the bedding off of Phil and holding the candle over the spot where they’d lain. A small dark stain colored it as well.
He blinked stupidly at it a moment longer. “Philomena?”
She sat up, the wealth of her hair falling over her beautiful breasts. “Yes?”
“I thought you said that I didn’t hurt you.”
She tilted her head. “I felt only a bit of pain for a moment but it went away.”
He cursed under his breath. “You were a virgin.”
“Of course.”
The imp had the temerity to sound offended. Nico’s mind whirled in confusion. “But the things you… How could you know…?”
She shivered and he cursed again, setting down the candle and sweeping her up into his arms. He pulled down the bedding and slid her inside. “Still cold,” she said, smiling up at him. Nico crawled in beside her and gathered her next to him, warming her with his body heat. She gave a sigh of complete contentment and closed her eyes.
“Phil,” he rumbled.
“Yes?”
“Where did you learn the things you did to me?”
“What things?”
Nico felt surprised that his wolf hadn’t risen in response to his frustration. And then he realized he hadn’t felt the nature of his beast since she’d… “The things with your fingers and lips and tongue.”
He felt her shrug. “Oh. That.”
“Yes, that.”
She spread her fingers through the hair on his chest, exploring the contours of his muscles. “It’s my house in London, you see. It used to be a brothel.”
Nico groaned. “And I suppose it’s haunted?”
“Yes.” Her fingers swirled the fine hair around his nipples. “In the past few years, a certain ghost named Fanny has appeared quite regularly.”
He tried to ignore her wandering fingers. He thought back to their first meeting in her parlor. “She was there the night we met, wasn’t she?”
He could feel Philomena’s smile. “So, you aren’t so insensitive to the spirit world, after all.”
“On the contrary. I’m just sensitive to you.” Nico tilted her face up to meet his eyes. “I thought I was taking an experienced woman to my bed.”
She blinked. “I don’t see how that matters.”
“It does. To me.” He had seduced a complete innocent. He had wanted nothing more than a casual affair, a satiation of his extraordinary lust for the ghost-hunter. An experienced woman would understand that. Now…now he couldn’t be sure how he felt about her. Only that something had changed with the realization that she’d never given herself to another man before.
Or perhaps something had changed when she’d shown him how to make love without his beast. With more tenderness than he had ever known.
Phil snuggled her head onto his chest and Nico placed his hand over her fingers and closed his eyes. He would think about it tomorrow, when he didn’t feel as if every muscle in his body had been stretched and pummeled. When he didn’t feel quite so absolutely satisfied.
***
When he awoke, he immediately sensed something had changed. Phil. He stared at the empty place beside him. She’d promised to stay with him all night, and he could only think of one thing that would take her from his side. With a frown of annoyance he got out of bed and pulled on his trousers, determined to hunt her down and fetch her back. He wanted her again. Badly.
Nico shifted to wolf, his nose to the floor, following her scent. It led him into the cellars, down to the dungeons.
Nico heard a low whining growl and realized it came from his own throat. Philomena lay on the dungeon floor, her eyes closed, her face as pale as one of her ghosts. The tunnel door stood open, and an eerie wind made her white gown float around her body and her hair swirl like a ginger halo around her head.
Nico shifted to human and gathered her in his arms. She didn’t stir, and his heart stopped while he studied her. The soft rise and fall of her chest made him close his eyes and press his cheek to hers in profound relief. The ghost-hunter hadn’t needed to go into the tunnels for disaster to find her, but Nico growled and kicked the door shut with his foot anyway. He had told Royden to put a new lock on it, but apparently he would have to take care of that himself.
Nico spun and carried Phil out of the dark chamber, calling for a doctor as he pounded up the stairs.
Ten
Philomena awoke to the most ghastly headache. Sunlight streamed into the room like beams of torture. A strange man stood over her, his hazel eyes blinking at her from behind wire-rimmed spectacles.
“I’m Dr. Darknoll. How do you feel?”
“I’m pleased to meet—what happened?”
Sarah’s glossy black eyes wavered into view. Phil could just see the slight rippling of Sarah’s skin from the start of her shed, but at least the worst part had passed. “You had an accident, Lady Radcliff.”
Ah. Memories of last night sprang into her mind, and Phil felt her face go hot. Nico. Smooth skin, hard muscle, tangled limbs. The place between her legs throbbed to remind her and she suddenly felt him in the room. She sat up, then winced and gingerly investigated the back of her head. “I do believe there’s a lump.”
“You took a bad fall,” the doctor said, lifting the lids of her eyes and peering into them. His breath smelled of garlic and onions. “But it appears that you’re going to be just fine.”
“That’s a relief,” Royden said.
Phil squinted across the room. Royden sat on the fainting couch, a bored-looking Edwina at his side. Nico stood next to the fireplace, his arms crossed in front of his chest, the gold flecks in his dark brown eyes glittering dangerously. His wolf shadowed him.
Philomena’s heart did a flip at the sight of him and she helplessly began to babble. “Yes, but it begs a question, doesn’t it? How on earth did it get there? Because I certainly don’t remember falling. I recall a brief moment of pain as I stood in the dungeons, staring at those tunnels. Then I must have fallen…but I was alone, and I don’t remember encountering a spirit. And an apparition doesn’t have enough strength in the material world to cause such an injury.”
Dr. Darknoll stared at her in horrified consternation. “Er, well. A blow to the head can confuse your memories. You may return to your regular…duties tomorrow. I advise you to rest today.” He gathered his tools and stuffed them into a well-worn carpetbag and headed for the door. “Now, I have a birthing to attend. Master Royden, you will let me know if the sleeping draught I gave you is effective?”
Royden nodded and Phil raised a brow at Sarah. “Ssir Nicodemuss insisted that hiss brother consult the doctor while he wass here,” her assistant whispered.
Philomena nodded. Perhaps it would help, although she had her doubts. Some opiates could make people more open to spiritual energy. When the doctor walked out of the room, her eyes were drawn to Nico again. His aura had darkened to a black cloud, and he looked ready to implode. He moved to her side and growled into her ear, “You will not leave your room again without someone with you, do you understand?”
A rush of pure desire swept through her. And this time, she knew exactly what her body ached for. Before she found her voice, Nico turned and stormed out of the room.
“You scared the blooming daylights out of him, you know,” Royden said. “Don’t look so upset. A day of hard labor at the home farm will calm him down.”
Edwina plucked at the lace on her sleeve. “Perhaps we should look for another solution to your problem, Roy? It appears that things are getting entirely out of hand.” She rose, a graceful rustle of silk and petticoats. Phil scowled, certain that the girl referred to Nico’s increasing affection for her and not Phil’s well-being. Edwina glanced at her and stifled a yawn. “I’m only concerned for Lady Radcliff, of course. Her clumsiness might cause her even more harm.”
When Phil refused to rise to the bait and protest that she wasn’t the slightest bit clumsy, Edwina yawned again. “Nico woke everyone last night with his howling. I’m sure you’ll both excuse me. I’m sorely in need of my beauty rest.” She pecked Royden on the cheek and swept out of the room.
Sarah hissed.
“Fluff up my pillows, will you, Sarah?” Phil said. “Aah, much better. Now, Master Royden, surely you don’t agree with your wife? Not when I feel as if I’m on the verge of solving your mystery.”
The doubt faded on his face and he turned hopeful eyes on her. “What do you mean?”
Phil breathed an inner sigh of relief. For a moment there, she had thought he might just dismiss her, and she could use the money that they’d offered. It had nothing to do with the thought of not seeing Nico again. Nothing whatsoever.
Philomena sat up to accept the cup of spicy tea that Sarah handed her and used it as an excuse to think. She couldn’t exactly tell Royden that she’d spent most of the night in his brother’s room. That a new ghost had appeared—this time a lady in a medieval gown with long trailing sleeves—who had led Phil on a lively chase through the castle that had ended in the dungeons. Perhaps the castle had more ghosts than she had ever dreamed.
“Lady Radcliff?”
“Forgive me, Royden. I think that knock on the head has rattled my brain a bit.” She gave him a self-deprecating smile. “So far, I have encountered different spirits in different rooms.”
“Such as?”
Phil spilled a spot of tea. She just wouldn’t mention the ghost-lady. “Well, there’s the peasant and warrior in my room, a priest in the chapel, and a bespectacled lad in the library. My thought is that there may be many more ghosts in other rooms and that one of them may lead me to the source of the disturbance.” She didn’t hasten to add that she feared they might already have done so. With Nico’s aversion to going in those tunnels, she hoped that wasn’t the case. Perhaps an old forgotten graveyard or secret passageway between the thick stone walls could provide the answer to their problem.
“My plan is to sleep in a different room each night and discover just how many spirits this castle contains.” She handed Sarah her cup and settled back against the cushions.
“But Nico…”
Phil waved a hand. “Sarah will be at my side, of course. Your brother has nothing to object to.” Well, other than the fact that he wouldn’t be able to seduce her into his room again.
The room wavered a bit at the thought. She’d had an affair. Lady Philomena Radcliff, the rather odd but attractive spinster who talked to ghosts but was invited into the homes of the cream of London’s society, was no longer an innocent virgin. She blamed Fanny and the irresistible temptation that was Sir Nicodemus Wulfson.
And her blasted curiosity.
“Master Royden, when may I look through your father’s trunk?”
He frowned, making the lines of fatigue around his eyes even deeper. “It’s deuced odd, but the butler can’t seem to find it. I thought we had stored it in the cellars. But I assure you that as soon as we find it, I will have it brought to you.”
“Thank you.” Phil’s eyes fluttered closed as sleepiness overcame her.
She pulled the bed coverings up to her chin. Botheration, she couldn’t remember feeling more exhausted. Perhaps it was the knock to her head, but she suspected a night of lovemaking to be the more likely culprit. How could Fanny manage it with so many different men? Perhaps it had been an entirely different experience for the doxy. All technique and no…feeling.
Phil smiled. She couldn’t regret making love to Nico. She now had the most marvelous memories to cherish and would take them with her back to London and relive them, moment by moment. The ferocity of his beast…the tender heart of the man.
“You will tell me if she needs anything?” Royden said.
She’d forgotten he was still in the room, but her eyes weighed a ton and would not open.
“Yess, ssir.”
The door opened and closed, and Phil rolled to her side, clutching one of the pillows to her breast. It would be best for her to finish this assignment and return to London as quickly as possible. Away from the temptation of gold-flecked eyes and smooth muscled skin. Of wild growls and gentle touches. Warm lips and soul-stealing pleasure.
***
A week later, Phil stood in the dungeons of Grimspell castle with a hissing Sarah at her side and a hovering Tup near her left shoulder. “Every single ghost has led us to these tunnels,” she snapped.
“It appearss that the answer to the mystery liess within.”
“Which is more than vexing,” Phil replied. “Considering that Sir Nicodemus will never allow me inside.”
“And he’s jolly well right,” Tup piped in. “Go in there and ye would be lost in a blink.”
Phil stared at the door, which Nico had chained the day after she’d had her little accident. She couldn’t get inside without the key anyway. She turned and made her way back to the cellars, her companions following.
Phil stopped in the cellar nearest the dungeon and stared in irritation at the piles of boxes and trunks stored in the room. She held up her fairylight and peered into the gloom. The room had to be as large as the dungeon, although the ceiling looked a bit lower. “How could they find anything in this pile?”
Tup walked over to a wooden crate, his footsteps making no impression in the dirt whatsoever. He placed his skinny arms on his narrow hips and scowled. “Crikey, Phil. If ye could just tell me what this missing trunk looks like, I might be able to help. I ken just float right into ’em.”
Phil smiled. “What a capital idea. Now, why didn’t I think of that? I shall speak to Royden on the morrow. Come to me tomorrow night and I shall describe the trunk for you in detail, Tup.”
He snorted. “And where will ye be sleeping this time? I don’t like that chapel place, I can tell ye.”
Phil made her way through the kitchen. She suspected Tup hadn’t taken to the priest, who had lectured the lad on the evils of stealing on the night that they’d slept in the chapel. The only meals the boy had eaten on the streets of London had probably been snatched from a costermonger’s cart. Phil felt the Lord would make allowances in times of need.
“I think we will return to our original guest rooms,” Phil replied.
Sarah gave a hiss of relief.
Phil understood exactly how she felt. Despite the bedding that they’d cushioned the floors with, it had been a most uncomfortable week, sleeping in the different drafty rooms of the castle.
Phil picked up her skirts and went up the tower stairs. The only benefit to their accommodations was that Sir Nicodemus hadn’t had an opportunity to seduce her again. Although, Phil couldn’t be sure if Nico would have even tried. He’d worked hard at the home farm all week, his head nodding from exhaustion at dinner, the only time they’d spent in each other’s company. His wolf had constantly shadowed him and he’d barely spoken a word to her, which had suited Phil just fine.
But she wondered at the way she’d catch him staring at her during dinner. As if he pondered some great mystery and she lay at the heart of it.
Phil shrugged off the fancy and concentrated on her job. As she had expected, each room in the castle had carried the memory of a different ghost. And they had all led her to the tunnels.
Phil turned to her companions when she entered the bedroom hallway. “Just because I don’t like the answer doesn’t mean it’s incorrect. There’s something inside those tunnels that has upset the castle ghosts. Now I will just have to discover a way to find out what it might be.”
Tup frowned. “I wish I could help more.”
“You’ve been an extraordinary help to me already—” He vanished before Phil could complete her sentence.
Sarah led the way back to their guest rooms and Phil followed, her footsteps dragging. She felt sure her unnatural despondency was due to her inability to solve the castle’s haunting and had nothing whatsoever to do with the baronet’s sudden disinterest in her. Nothing whatsoever.
When Sarah opened the door to her bedroom Phil eyed the huge tester bed eagerly. Perhaps all she needed to feel quite herself again was a good night’s sleep on a comfortable surface. She kicked off her slippers and crawled onto the bed, sighing at the sheer pleasure of feather ticking, and had just closed her eyes when a pounding on the door woke her.
