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“Not like this.” He eases my fear. “Not until you ask me to.”
That will be never. Sebastian lays me on the big bed and brings me a tankard of water. It spills down my chin wetting my chest when I drink. My leg is throbbing, but I am used to pain. I hope it heals soon because I cannot leave here on a broken leg.
“I will not sleep here with you.” I argue. “People will assume we are lovers.”
“Let them think what they want. You may sleep here until I think it is safe for you to do otherwise. After what happened today, I do not trust anyone except for Nicholas.”
“Little Nickie has been very kind to me since I arrived. He is a good man.”
“Little Nickie?” Bash smirks removing his bloody shirt. He holds it to his face breathing in the scent of me before tossing it aside. I stare at his bare chest. The Bloodtaker is not as broad as my husband, but his form is equally pleasing to the eye. His smooth, pale skin is painted over the dips and bulges of the muscles underneath it. The dark hair sprinkled on his chest continues down his rippled belly disappearing into his waistband where his cock is tucked away like a sleeping serpent.
“Do you see anything that catches your eye, witch?”
I turn away in embarrassment. Yes, I do, and it scares me. I never thought I would look at another man this way. Or suffer the thoughts and emotions that Sebastian stirs in me. This is dangerous. I need to get away from him before I do something that I will regret. He tempts me, and I tempt him. We will end up in bed together if I am not strong enough to deny him. I made a promise to my husband and myself. I plan to keep my word.
His tub is beaten metal and long enough to fit his long frame. I am swimming in warm water when he settles me in it as I groan in pain. My leg is swollen twice its size and I am already warming with fever. An infection is setting in and I will probably die from it. Do I care about dying? I close my eyes and put my hand on my stomach where I find the strength to fight on. I will fight for her because she deserves a chance at life.
“You will make a good mother, Mae. No harm will come to you, or your child. I care not who the father is. You are a friend to me and it has my protection too.”
“She will be an outcast, Sebastian.”
“Which means that she will fit right in with us.”
I smile wistfully. Yes, I have to get away from him before something crazy happens. Something worse than making love. We could fall in love or worse yet, we could end up together. He pulls up a chair and begins to unravel my frizzy braids. This is when I should push him away so none of that happens. I need to profess my love for Christian and assure Bash that he is who I want. I want my husband. But I do not stop the Bloodtaker with his fingers in my hair. I do not stop him when he takes up a brush to remove the tangles and lint. I settle in the hot water and close my eyes. It feels so nice to be touched this way again. So nice, that I close my eyes against the tears that threaten to fall.
“I feel your pain, Maeve.” His voice breaks through the quiet surrounding us. “It goes deep to a place where the sun can never heal it. Your pain and fear have no place here. Whatever you fear cannot best me. The funny-looking little girl who followed me with her love-struck gray eyes and left flowers in my shoes has grown into a woman who follows me with the same look. It makes me feel the same things that I felt back then.”
“Did you truly care for me, Bash?”
“Of course, I did.” He admits softly. “How could I not when you wore your love for me like a dress for everyone to see? You tried to hide it, but we all knew. The other boys teased me behind my back because none had the balls to tease me in my face.”
“You were mean to me.”
“I was mean to everyone, sweetheart.”
“Not Beth-Ann or Freda.” His endearment makes me forget to be sad. “Is it because they were the prettiest?”
“Yes.” He admits. “But, as pretty as they were, Beth-Ann and Freda were not the girl that I went home and thought about.”
“Are you saying this to make me smile?”
“I married a Princess that I did not know, but my affections were always with you.”
Bash turns my head and raises my chin to look me in the eyes. Will I always get queasy when I look at him? His eyes are bluer than heaven. The blue is too bold to be set into one’s face and clearer than a mountain stream. I cannot stop staring. My breath catches and my insides flutter with excitement when he slips his hand behind my head bringing our faces close together. So close, that I am breathing the air that he exhales. My arm raises on its own accord wrapping around his neck, inviting him to kiss me. I am not ready for the shock that rocks my body when our lips meet. I am not ready at all for the fire coursing through my blood. His arms wrap around me smashing my breasts in his need to hold me closer. My fingers lock in his curly, black hair. His fingers entangle themselves in mine. I gasp for air when his lips travel down my chin to my exposed throat. Sebastian’s tongue teases the throbbing blue vein that I offer up to him. He kisses it. He licks it. But he does not accept my gift. He takes my lips again instead.
“Sebastian—”
We break apart and he jumps to his feet. His hard cock is strangling in his tight hose. He is hard for me. It makes me feel... powerful. Not the power of a witch. The power of a desirable woman. It makes me feel beautiful. He adjusts his heavy cock for comfort before turning to his brother.
“Do you know how to knock?”
“How was I to know you were in here molesting our ward?”
“Molesting?” Bash scoffs. “What do you call what you are doing with her sister?”
“Beth-Ann came to me in the middle of the night.” Nickie argues. “I was weak, and it will never happen again. Mae is too important to our plight to take to your bed. It will only complicate things. She carries a Christian child and can never be queen.”
“You need to mind your own affairs and keep your nose out of mine.” Bash drinks from a bag of wine before tossing it aside.
“It is up to me to decide who will be my next queen, Little Nickie, not you.”
“This is wrong. She is a healer, brother. Why do you think the church wants her so badly? I hear the price on her head is a wagonload of gold. That is enough gold to turn anyone against her. She is too valuable to keep as a whore.”
I am alarmed when Sebastian grabs his brother around the neck and chokes him. Nickie is no match for Bash’s strength. The younger Bloodtaker struggles in his brother’s hands.
“Bash!” I yell angrily. “Release him at once. He is your brother!”
His hands fall away, and he steps back shaking his head in confusion. This is what I do to men. They forget who they are, and what they are doing when the rage takes over them. It makes me sad and dangerous to those around me. Nickie clutches his throat as he backs further away from Bash.
“I do not know what came over me...”
“It is her.” Nickie points at me. “We must not let her come between us.”
“Never, brother.” Sebastian embraces him. “I will never let anything come between us. Are you harmed?”
“Only my feelings brother.” Nickie grins before punching Bash square in the face. “You crazy bastard.”
Sebastian tackles him, and they roll around the floor wrestling like boys. I shake my head and sink low in the tub as they laugh and throw insults at each other between punches.
“The lady is not dressed to receive company. Fuck off, little Nickie.” Bash smirks.
They both look at me when I laugh aloud. I love how they are behind closed doors.
“Ever since she showed up and called me that childish name you have been beating me over the head with it. I am big Nickie now, and the two of you will show me the respect that I deserve.”
Me and Bash burst into laughter. Nickie scowls at us before grabbing his crotch.
“I can show you how little I am, Mae.”
His brother’s fist sends him flying onto his back. Bash stalks him as he crawls backwards away from him. Sebastian ignores my pleas and kicks Nickie in the face.
“The next time you speak to her that way, I will have you flogged, Nicholas.”
He hauls his brother to his feet and shoves him through the doorway before slamming it shut.
“Do not give me that look, woman. If he was anyone else, he would be dead.”
My mouth snaps shut. Sebastian is protecting me, and I will let him since my husband put a child in me and pushed me out into the cold. He motions for the maid to wash me. He kissed me and touched my hair, but that is a right reserved for a husband or a lover. Since he is neither, he leaves the room until my bath is finished. He returns to lift me from the tub. I try hard not to scream when my leg moves the slightest bit. It hurts like hell witch or not. I am shaking and exhausted when I am finally settled in Sebastian’s bed. The red and black coverlet is made of the finest silk and the pillows are plump with goose feathers. I am propped with my leg up. My relief dies when he approaches the bed with two flat pieces of wood and leather straps.
“Your splints are ready.”
“Take them away.” I cross my arms in refusal.
“Hold her down.” He instructs his guards.
They hold me down while my leg is straightened, padded, and set with the wooden flats. It is stiff and uncomfortable after it is propped up again on a mound of pillows.
“It had to be done. I was not spending my night arguing with you. I have guests that I need to meet for after-dinner drinks. Please behave until I return.”
“A woman guest?” I blurt out impulsively.
I regret it immediately. As a married woman, why should I care? It’s his life and I have no say in what he does. Sebastian has a bad habit of not letting me turn away from him. He gives my chin a nudge until our eyes meet. I believe he does it because he knows how unnerved I am when he is looking me in my eyes.
“Are you jealous, Maeve Payne?” His smile is sweet and all-knowing.
“Why would I be jealous?”
I want to look away, but if I do, he will know that he makes me feel twelve again. A wide-eyed, baby witch with romantic notions of a blue-eyed, Bloodtaker Prince and becoming a Princess. I am jealous, damn it. I am upset because I am jealous.
“You are jealous because you love me.”
“I am in love with Christian Beaumont.”
I push his hand away and avert my gaze. Sebastian sits beside me and takes my face in his hands trapping me in his web of dark perfection. His soft lips beckon to me. Kiss me, they say. You know you want to. I do, damn it.
“You love me.” Bash is confident in this. “You have always loved me. The Beaumont had your body first, but I had your heart and that is deeper than the wetness of a woman’s pussy. Where the heart goes, the body will follow.”
I whisper his name when his lips come down on mine. We wrap our arms around each other as our mouths mash together very unromantically. There is nothing sweet or pretty about the way Sebastian is kissing me. It is hard, sloppy, eager, and a long time coming. In our desperation to taste one another, he is mindful of my leg. The Bloodtaker King is always mindful of me. He is right about everything. He is the only boy that I gave my heart to.
“I love you too, Mae.” He whispers against my lips. “I always have and now that I have you with me, I will never give you back to him. You are mine.”
“Sebastian.” I whisper huskily. “I cannot lay with you while I carry his child.”
“I know, sweetheart.” His lips trail down over my jawline. “Do not worry your beautiful head about that. There is no rush.”
I protest when he kisses my forehead and stands to his feet.
“Try to get some rest.”
“Are you going to another woman?”
“Yes.” He does not lie. “I have needs that you would not understand. It is best if you keep your nose out of my affairs. You will only end up hurting your own feelings.”
I laugh aloud when he leaves. He loves me. Why does that make me so damn happy, when I know that I am going back to my husband? I have to. I may have loved Sebastian first, but I love Christian harder. Nothing will stop me when I leave to find him. Not Sebastian. Not even my sister. Nothing, except my body in a grave can keep us apart. But it does not stop me from counting the minutes until Sebastian returns. I eat myself to sleep knowing Brandy and Janet are posted beside the bed to help me should I need them.
“Mae.”
I am face-to-face with Bash when my eyes flutter open. I smile softly.
“Yes?”
“You can accept my gift, or I can force it upon you.”
I know what he means. There is no reason to play stupid or fight him. His offer is not one that I can refuse.
“What do I have to do?”
“Swallow.”
His fangs should scare me, but they do not. It is my first time seeing them and to me they make him all the more mysterious. He bites into his wrist until his blood drips from his arm. I open my mouth, close my eyes, and swallow. I expect it to be warm and salty like tears. Only to find that it is sweet and cold like chilled wine. I moan when the first swallow hits my stomach and warms me on the inside. So sweet. So good. I hold his wrist to my lips and suck like a nursing babe. It makes me feel things. Lustful things that make me yearn for more than blood. As sweet and delicious as it is, I push his arm away and grab his head instead. I kiss him and attempt to pull him against me. He refuses.
“No, not like this.” He pushes me down again continuing to serve me his blood. “When I make love to you the first time, it will not be from bloodlust.”
I could be losing my mind, but I feel better already. Is that possible? After my feeding, I beg him to touch me to take the pain away. I bite my lips when his hand slips between my legs fingering the outside of my aching flesh. He brings it to his face to check for blood. There is none. The wetness on his fingers is my arousal, not blood. Bash grabs my hair and sticks his tongue between my lips. His hand returns between my legs where he fingers me and toys with the sensitive nub as I pant and moan in pleasure. His hard cock is pressing into my side as he ravages my lips with his. I wrap my hand around it and stroke it up and down the thick shaft. He pushes his finger deeper when he senses me reaching my climax. I cry his name when my body gives it up to him.
“Yes, sweetheart. Cum for me.”
Bash groans before he stiffens and spills his seed in my hand. He kisses me like he loves me, and we hold each other like we made love. Because we did make love and it was beautiful. I feel both happy and sad. Sad because I feel like an adulteress. Happy because I enjoyed it anyway. My leg prevents him from holding me as tightly as we both would like, but there will be other days for that. We have until I leave. I fall asleep in his arms and wake up in them. I am drowsy, but I feel no pain.
“Good morning.” I mumble shyly.
“Look at me when you speak to me, Mae.”
I feel bashful today and uncertain about what happened last night. I look up at him.
“That is better. Good morning to you. How do you feel?”
“Much better, thanks to you.”
“It was my pleasure.” His smile makes me blush. “Anytime.”
“Sebastian.” I blush deeper still. “Why are you still in bed so late? You will be missed.”
“I did not want you to wake up alone. I wanted to be here to tell you how much you mean to me. How much I enjoyed touching you last night.”
“You did?”
“I am hard talking about it. That is how much I enjoyed you.”
“But we only touched, we did not...” I cannot say it.
“I am no randy boy, sweetheart. I can enjoy your body without sticking my cock inside you. You mean more to me than a tumble in the sheets, Mae. We need not touch at all, and I will still enjoy being with you.” He laces his fingers with mine and kisses me gently. “You are my love.”
“You were so angry when I came here.”
“I was jealous.” Sebastian admits. “I wanted to kill him. I still do.”
“He did not force me, Bash. I fell in love with him.”
“The bastard loves you too.” He says grudgingly. “I heard how possessive and protective he was of you. I know how hard it was for him to give you up.”
“It is hard for me also.” I look down at our joined hands. “I miss him.”
“I miss my wife, but it gets easier with time.”
“What if I still want him?”
“What if he no longer wants you?”
“What if he does?”
“He is preparing for war, Mae. You are the enemy and he had to let you go.”
“Is that what he told you?” My eyes narrow accusingly. How do I know that he spoke to Christian? I sit up and he sits up with me. “What else did he say?”
“Mae...”
“Tell me!”
“You need to move on with your life without him. That is the message that he sent.”
“When did you speak to him? Why was I left behind when you met?”
“Because I thought I was riding into battle.”
“I want to see him.”
“It is impossible.” Bash leaves the bed. “I told him that he owed it you to say goodbye himself, but he did not want to see you.”
“Christian would not come this far and not want to see me. I do not believe you.”
“You call me a liar because you cannot accept the truth? I am not the one who lied to you.”
I watch him jerk on his hose one leg at a time. He is angry with me, but I do not care. He saw Christian and never spoke a word about it until after he was gone!
“When did you see him? Where was I?”
“You were here in bed.” Bash shoves his arms into his blouse leaving the front open and reaching for his boots. “I saw him when my spies told me that armed Christians, were riding toward the border, so I rode out to meet them. It was the Butcher with his message for you. He looked as though he had been ill. I know you healed him before you were banished and that is why you were so weak when Nicodemus found you.”
“How... how is he?” I feel ashamed for asking after our night together, but I need to know.
“Your Butcher king will live to break another heart and kill another innocent.”
“Sebastian.” I call when he strolls out of the chamber. “Sebastian, wait!”
The door closes behind him and I fall back on the pillows and curse myself for being so insensitive to him. Janet and Brandy come in when he is gone.
“Good morning, Milady. The king mentioned that you are ready to be moved back to your own chamber. How wonderful he is to care so much for your well-being. No woman has ever rested here besides the queen, bless her heart.”
That was fast. He put me out before tea and toast.
