Page 27 of Brutal Serpent

I had to keep an arm around her when I let her down or she would have collapsed onto the ground, and the way her nipples peaked against my arm made me want to take her again, but unfortunately I saw my two drivers walking back from disposing of the robbers.

“You’re despicable,” she said, jerking out of my arms and opening the carriage door.

However, my sweet little wife hasn’t quite learned her lesson yet, and I shut the carriage door.

“You can walk,” I said sharply.

Her mouth dropped open. “Walk? How far away is it to Rosewood Manor?”

“Somewhere between 2 and 10 miles,” I said, even though I knew perfectly well it was only 2 or 3 miles. I hopped back into the carriage. “Maybe after a few miles I’ll let you come in if you suck my cock like a good girl.”

It amused me to see her tighten her mouth together tightly. I could take her anytime I wanted, but it would please me to see her beg.

“Never,” she said, and I smiled.

“Very well.”

Then I gave the order to go and shut the door behind me.

“You’d better walk quickly,” I added. “This area is known to attract bears.”

CHAPTER 14

Catherine

Itrudged along behind the carriage, my lovely petal-pink gown now inches-deep in mud and dirt.

My husband had said I could get in the carriage if I got on my knees to service him, but I refused.

I refused to get down on my knees unless he made me!

Fuming, I walked for what seemed like hours, alternating between despair and rage.

Then finally we crested a hill. I seethed, convinced that St. Erth was taking us the longest, most difficult path.

But there laid out in front of me was Rosewood Manor. It looked nothing like I had expected. Soft pale gray stone, expertly laid together. The front of the manor was a riot of climbing thick greenery framing jewel-like windows. A sprawling unruly garden of pale pink roses grew so vibrantly that it almost engulfed the front door. There were tall neatly clipped hedgerows growing in geometric patterns on the long expanse of the front lawn.

“Did you know Rosewood Manor used to belong to your family?” St. Erth asked, opening the door and hopping out of the carriage. Tall, lean, an uncanny feral elegance of motion that was wholly at odds with his brutality.

“I did not,” I said.

“Yes,” St. Erth replied. “The Wendovers drove the land to exhaustion and then lost the entire property and manor house in your grandfather’s time. I’ve taken it now. Just like I am going to take everything from your family.”

My breath caught in my throat. I couldn’t pretend not to know what he meant.

“I’m going to pray I don’t have a child,” I said, my voice trembling.

“Interesting, Catherine,” he said, his eyes like chipped ice. “I guess we’ll see who is stronger. Your God or the devil driving me.”

The sun was slanting across the hills, and for a moment I couldn’t look away from how its beams lit him up like a halo, golden light making his golden hair shine with an unearthly glow.

I tore my eyes away, looking at Rosewood Manor again. I shivered even though the evening air was warm. The sight of it frightened me. Like my husband himself, I didn’t trust its unearthly beauty.

I was ready for a trap.

“Come,” St. Erth said, his long legs headed toward the house as Liversedge and Gilly led the tired horses toward the carriage house, and I trudged with exhaustion behind my husband.

Meeting the servants and household that I was meant to be the mistress over was a tired blur, and I was relieved that I was allowed to bathe in peace while St. Erth went to take care of matters on our arrival.

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