And other, more hidden places as well.
Jerking his gaze up to her face once again, he tried to thrust the thought from his mind. He nudged her, hoping to ease her from the doorway. But she didn’t move. Her free hand had tangled itself in the cloth of his cloak, and she squirmed and pushed back in her effort to keep him from leaving their chamber.
“Please, my lord. Take no action against him. It is enough that he no longer has rule over me, and that I can hope for greater mercy at your hands. I beg of you, let it be!”
“Nay, lady. I cannot.” Gray looked down at her, exasperation filling him at her stubborn defense of a villain. “No one may harm you with my knowledge and then continue as if naught occurred.”
Elise looked horrified. She searched his face desperately, as if seeking some measure of mercy. Finding none, her expression went blank, then took on a reckless, bitter cast. She blinked back her tears. “Yet you may continue the righteous hypocrite! Can you say thatyou’venever corrected a woman in anger, my lord? Now that you hold dominion over me, do you not intend to beat me whenever you deem it necessary?”
Every muscle in Gray’s body tightened. “Regardless of what other men may do, lady, since I was but a lad of fourteen, I’ve never suffered another to harm a woman in my presence. And while there’s no denying that I dislike the slashing barb of your tongue, I do not intend to beat you for it. Now or ever.”
Dead silence greeted him. Elise blinked twice more and then the fight seemed to leave her, seeping away until she went limp and pliant against him. Yet Gray found that he couldn’t continue his plan. He couldn’t just push her aside to go after Eduard.
He felt the warmth of her palm, still resting, forgotten, on his chest; it burned through his cloak and shirt, holding him captive far more effectively than any steel shackle or metal bars might have. The curve of her breast and hips, pressed so intimately along his body in her struggles, branded him with heat. His desire jolted to full awareness, and he tried to shift away to curtail the swelling need that rose from being so near to her soft curves and enticing warmth.
But his abrupt movement made him pitch forward, and he came into complete, overwhelming contact with the length of her body. The erotic heat burgeoned, sending waves of pleasure through him and making him want to groan aloud with the sensation.
A soft moan broke from Elise’s lips; her face tipped to his, and he was startled to see an answering awareness in her gaze. Without further thought, he bent his head, taking possession of her mouth, savoring the soft, salty taste of her lips. His tongue flicked into the honeyed recess, need for her burning hot and heavy in his groin.
She didn’t resist, and so he deepened the kiss, taking his time, tasting fully of her. Her mouth slid smoothly across his, and he felt the soft sounds of pleasure she breathed against his lips. Every fiber of his being screamed for him to take her to their bed. To strip away her ruined garments, to satiate his hunger deep inside her moist heat.
It took all of his willpower to remain still as he kissed her; his palms were pressed to the door at either side of her head, and the muscles in his arms twitched as he fought against the urge to let go, to pull her body into him and the molten force of his desire.
But another part of him reveled in the teasing, the tantalizing sensation of holding back. Her body burned him like the kiss of a thousand fiery butterfly wings, making him loath to end the erotic tension that was rapidly spiraling out of control.
Deep in the recesses of his mind, Gray knew he should stop. He knew that he was casting years of self-discipline to the winds as he tasted of this pleasure. But he also recognized that he could as easily harness a storm right now as he could walk away from the temptation that was his wife.
With a groan of defeat, Gray slid his hands from the door to cup her buttocks, cradling her against the heat of his erection. She leaned into him, yielding and warm, and the soft pressure of her breasts, the sweet fit of their bodies, made him groan again. He lavished nibbling kisses down the side of her throat, pausing to breathe in her delicate floral scent as he captured the lobe of her ear with his lips. But when he moved his hands up her back, lifting, preparing to carry her to their bed, her sigh of pleasure ended on a hissed intake of breath.
Pulling back, Gray saw her bite her lip as tears sprang to her eyes.Christ in heaven.Releasing her immediately, he stepped back. But it was too late. He couldn’t take away the hurt he’d just caused her by touching her bruises.
Elise shook her head without speaking, trying to reassure him, but he could see the suffering on her face. Her fingers clenched as he’d seen them do so often in the hours since their wedding, and the sight made him feel sick and helpless.
Damn Montford. Cursing aloud, Gray turned away from Elise. He raked his hand through his hair and took a deep, shuddering breath until control ebbed back, thickening his blood with slow, painful beats of his heart. He allowed anger to replace his desire, let the cooling force of it drown the liquid heat that had filled him moments ago.
Averting his gaze from his wife, Gray turned back to the door, intending to go past her and find her bastard of a brother this time, pleading or no. But the feather-light touch of her hand made him pause.
“Nay, my lord,” she murmured. The pain seemed to have receded, leaving her expression open and vulnerable. “Grant me one boon in this, I beg you. Do not seek out Eduard this night.”
Desire battled in Gray—the need to beat her abuser to a pulp, warring with a sudden, unaccountable wish to please her, to give balm to the suffering he’d caused her. His hands fisted, even as she tried to lead him back toward their bed. Forcing his control to remain firm, Gray pulled away from her grasp. “Nay, lady. I cannot—I will not—join with you this night.”
Elise stopped, and her face went ashen again. “But—but we must consummate our union.”
“Aye, we will. But not tonight. I would not be able to complete our joining—” He broke off, uncertain how much he needed to say to her about the intimate act between men and women. He cleared his throat. “I do not wish to hurt you, and so I will not share our bed until your bruises have healed.”
“No, please,” she grasped his arm. “I do not care. We must finish this.” She looked stricken, even more fearful than she’d looked when she’d thought him about to strike her. “Sweet Jesu,” she whispered, as if the words were wrenched involuntarily from her, “If Eduard were to discover that ’tis not in truth…”
Anger swelled anew in Gray. The wretch had far too great a hold on her, he decided; the sooner he broke that connection, the better. As his wife, she needed to learn that she had no more to fear from her brother or anyone else. But until that happened, he saw no reason for her to agonize over Eduard’s reaction. Not when he could easily provide the proof that she seemed to seek so desperately.
Grasping the corner of their bed linen, Gray yanked it from the ticking. At the same time, he slid his dagger from its sheath at his waist, ignoring Elise’s gasp as he sliced a small cut at the edge of his palm. Making a fist, he spattered blood on the sheet’s pristine white; after he dabbed the flow to a stop with it, he tossed it to the floor.
“There. Now no one will question the validity of our marriage. ’Twill serve as proof that I breached your maidenhead.” His cut throbbed, and he welcomed the burning sensation as he stalked to the door. “I’ll not be forced into barbarity by anyone, for any reason.”
“Wait! What…where are you going?”
Pausing for one moment, he swung to face his wife, willing himself to keep his emotions in check. Her eyes were huge in her face, and the frightened look made him clench his jaw before he was able to answer her.
He took a deep breath and attempted to gentle his tone. “Allay your fears, Elise. None will know of my absence from our chamber to gossip about it.”
