“Always.”
Throwing caution to the wind, he unbuttoned the flap on his trousers, freeing himself into her welcoming hand. She stroked down his length with a hum before guiding him to her, and with one thrust he plunged into her molten heat with a growl of satisfaction. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he drove into her again, taking her mouth with his as she lifted her legs around his waist.
Capturing her mouth with his once more, he pounded into her again and again. She tightened around him, pulsating, until he felt as though the earth was literally moving beneath them. She climaxed with a cry of ecstasy, and with a final violent thrust, he came apart with a hoarse shout.
And then the ground did shift.
Or at least the wall did. Under the force of their movement, the foot-wide wall began to break apart with the grind of rock against rock. One stone fell away before he was able to regain his senses and realize what was happening.
Catching Hero about the waist, he lifted her away just as the stone directly beneath her gave way.
“What the hell?”
As he stood with her weight suspended against him, the stone where he braced his hand for support also began to crumble. One large piece broke away, skipping audibly against the cliffside on its decent to the crashing waves below.
Setting Hero back on her feet, Ian fastened his trousers with haste and bent to examine the wall. Following the mortar line with his finger, it was easy to see that the mortar binding the stones together had been chipped away. The little cement that remained was disintegrating under the weight of the stones. He lifted one stone, then another. Each came away as if it had never been secured.
The damage had been deliberate
“Fook it all! I thought we were done with this.” He held out a hand to Hero. “Come away from there now. I don’t want you close to that wall until I can have someone in to repair it.”
And to inspect the remainder of the castle for any other failings that might result in another “accident.” How many traps had been set for them before Daphne had been apprehended? Would they still find traps ready to be sprung in another week? Another month?
“I sit there all the time,” Hero whispered in horror as she too bent to look at the damage and the wall around it. The mortar had been scraped away only on the low indentation and on a radius of about a foot or so surrounding it. Ian could see the reality of the situation hit her. This was the first time she’d been a direct target.
“It was probably done days ago,” he told her. “Perhaps a week or more before Daphne or Jennings left.”
“We come here so often,” she reminded him. “I never noticed that.”
“Well, we don’t often provide that much reason for it to shift so.” He ground his teeth in frustration. Obviously, their habits were well known. He couldn’t recall how many times he had pressed Hero against that wall to kiss her.
“We need to tell the magistrate, Ian.”
“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
They both turned toward the deep voice that came from the growing shadows that extended toward the far end of the ramparts, and a second later Camron Kennedy appeared with a pistol trained on Ian.
“Camron?”
“You?” Ian overrode Hero’s exclamation with his own, his mind spinning.
“Don’t bother shouting for your guards,” Kennedy said. “They are all sleeping off the effects of too much celebration.”
“You drugged them?”
“Aye.” He offered a leer in Hero’s direction. “My apologies for my tardiness; I would have made my appearance earlier but the view was so titillating, I fear I was momentarily distracted from my purpose.”
The knowledge that this man had watched them make love while plotting their deaths sent Ian’s temper skyrocketing. Regardless of the pistol trained on him, the urge to charge consumed him. Hero must have sensed his intentions, however, because she lay a light hand on his arm to restrain him.
“I admit I’ve done a shoddy job of it, haven’t I?” Kennedy chuckled. He waved the pistol to indicate the wall. “It was hard to gauge how subtly it could be done. You must admit I’m getting better, aren’t I?”
“You did this? There is nothing for you to gain.”
“Is there not?” Kennedy said with a sly smile. “You think I would allow a mere woman to take line in the succession if you were gone?”
“You would kill your own sister?” Ian balled his hands into tight fists. “Why haven’t you done so then?”
