Page 52 of The Sword and the Damsel

Who cared about the rest of the world? Especially Robert and his vicious rumors. It was so mortifying that she’d ever even considered him as a suitor. There was a snake hiding beneath that pretty face. It took her longer than it should have to see him for what he was. And now, she’d spend the rest of her life living down his lies. Thank God she came to her senses before accepting his proposal. Other people might whisper behind her back, but at least she had the right man by her side to defend and comfort her.

But why was she spending time thinking about Sir Robert when she could be thinking about Victor worshipping her body in ways she’d never dreamed of?

There was a noise at the door. It began to open. Victor was back. Time to entice him to bed for a long, decadent night.

But the head that appeared was not Victor’s.

Sir Robert closed the door behind him, and she stifled the urge to scream. What could he possibly want? Why was he in Victor’s bedroom?

“Victor will kill you when he comes back and finds you here,” she said, mustering her iciest tones.

“But he won’t find me here,” he answered, stepping toward her. “Because I’ll be gone by the time he comes back. And you’ll be with me.”

“No, I certainly will not.” She stood up and backed away from him.

“But I’m here to rescue you,” he said, putting on his most smoldering smile. It filled her with bile.

“Rescue me?” she asked, incredulous.

“From spending the rest of your life with my hideous cousin. This was obviously a marriage of convenience to save your reputation. Come with me, and I’ll get rid of him for you, and we can live happily ever after, as we always should have.”

Could he truly be this self-important? Or this delusional. It was astounding.

“I would never go anywhere with you after what you did to me, and I’ll have you know this is no mere marriage of convenience. I wanted to marry Victor.”

His face took on an ugly sneer. “Youwantedto marry me, but for some reason, you lost your mind and refused me. I’ll forgive your momentary insanity if you come with me now like a good girl. There’s no way you can choose that beast over me.”

She backed closer to the fire, within arm’s reach of the poker.

“Ididchoose Victor over you, and I’ll never regret my choice. He’s everything you aren’t—noble, loyal, loving. There’s nothing you could say that would ever make me betray him.”

He recoiled as if struck. “I don’t have time for this,” he said, lunging toward her.

She grabbed the poker and brought it up between them.

He laughed. “I’m an expert swordsman, Alais. You think you can fend me off with a poker?”

As he made a grab for it, she backed away, breathing hard. “All I have to do is keep you at bay until Victor returns, and then we’ll see who’s laughing.”

Her heart thumped loudly in her ears as terror and determination coursed through her. She brandished her poker as he stepped closer.

Sighing, he said, “Fine, we’ll do this the hard way.”

He grabbed the poker and yanked it from her hands, letting it clatter to the floor. She looked from him to the poker and back to him as he closed in. Dropping to the floor, she grabbed for the poker once again and managed to jab him behind the knee. His knee buckled, and he momentarily lost his balance. She scrambled up and kicked his shin, and he groaned as she circled closer to the door.

“Oh, no you don’t,” he said, an ugly grimace on his face as he grabbed the poker once again yanking it, and her, toward him.

The poker fell to the ground, and he wrapped his arms around her, trapping her. “So feisty. Too bad I don’t have time to make proper use of you,” he said, grabbing her buttocks and pressing her against his obvious arousal. “I want you, Alais, and I mean to have you. But that will have to wait until I get you away from here. Satisfying as it would be to see the look on your dear husband’s face when he sees me fucking you senseless, I know he’d run me through with a sword. And I don’t intend to die tonight.”

She fought with all her strength, struggling against him, but he was too strong for her. His arms wrapped around her like bands of iron as he pushed her toward the door. Frantic, she tried to scream, but he clapped a hand over her mouth. She bit down as hard as she could. He roared and loosened his grip briefly. It was enough. She slid down through his arms and bolted for the door.Almost there. Almost.

A heavy weight tackled her from behind, pinning her to the floor. Robert’s hot breath tickled her ear, as he bent her arm painfully behind her back. She couldn’t move.

“Good. I have you now. I just need to tie you up.”

His knee pressed her to the ground as tore a strip of cloth from the hem of her gown and bound her hands painfully tight behind her back.

Kicking and thrashing, she tried to squirm away, despite her bound hands. She landed a few good blows before he wrestled her into compliance and tied her legs and ankles. He tore off another strip from her skirt and turned it into a gag for her.

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