Page 19 of Spellbound
“And you have?”
“No. But others in my family have. Some were burned. Some were hanged. Others drowned. People like me have been hunted for years. And it does not matter how little or how much power we have. Only what othersthinkwe have.”
“He’s not this doing this because of any ability you have,” Desmond stated. “He’s doing this because he wants you. Because his mind is perverse and twisted and his desire for you is twisted as well. Inseparable from this anger and hatred for women. And I somehow doubt that you are the first.”
EIGHTEEN
Belladonna rose, but then swayed on her feet. Instantly, Desmond was beside her, catching her, leading her to the chair where she could sit. The incantation she had used was old and very powerful. She’d learned it in her youth, committed to memory with a keenness that wasn’t truly surprising. Amarantha had seemed to have an instinctual understanding of precisely what sort of knowledge Bella would need in her life. Those lessons had been heavily focused upon.
Still, it had taken quite a bit out of her. Peeling through the layers of his hatred and seemingly unending anger to get to the heart of his plan had been difficult. Far more difficult than she would have initially thought.
“Let me get you some water,” he said. “Or would you prefer tea.”
“Wine,” she said. “There is a bottle of wine in the larder.” It had been given to her as payment for providing a remedy. It was hardly the sort of vintage he would be accustomed to, but a bit of homemade elderberry wine was always a treat.
He returned a moment later, having fetched the bottle from the small hatch that opened beneath the kitchen floor. He carried a basket with him, with a note tucked into the side ofit. “It’s from Edwina,” he said. “She no doubt had one of the servants bring it over last night… Wine, cheese, bread, a bit of smoked ham and some teacakes.”
“A feast,” she remarked with a smile.
“Indeed. And you must be half starved. I know I did not break my fast this morning. I am relatively sure you did not either.”
“No,” she said shaking her head. “I wouldn’t have been able to eat a bite. Not until now.”
“Then let’s have a bite, get ourselves in a better frame of mind and decide then how we move forward.”
“I know how I want to move forward,” she said. “And I think I’d rather not eat just yet.”
“Then what is it you wish to do?”
With a boldness that shocked her, Belladonna said, “I want you to make love to me. Here. In this house.”
He placed the basket on the table and held out his hand to her. Placing hers in his, Belladonna allowed him to raise her to her feet. But he didn’t guide her toward the stairs. Instead, he led her across the room to the narrow bed that had been his while he recovered. Instantly, she was grateful for that. Stalker’s presence was heavy in the house, but heavier in her bedchamber.
When they were standing beside the bed, he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her again. As with every kiss they had shared, it simply took her breath away. The entire world ceased to exist but for the points of contact between them. The way his lips moved over hers, the slight rasp of his whiskers on her skin, the strength and curious gentleness of his hands as he touched her—all of those things combined to simply rob her of reason and caution. There was no hesitation, no fear, as she reached for his neatly tied cravat and slipped the knot free. Tugging the fabric from his neck, she tossed it aside and then slid her hands beneath his coat to push it off his shoulders.
Within seconds, he was stripped to the waist, his bronzed skin appearing even darker in the dimly lit interior of the cottage. The swirls of dark hair that covered his chest were soft and springy beneath her questing fingertips. In truth, his body was a marvel to her.
“You are an enigma,” he whispered, his voice thick with desire. “Entirely innocent and yet boldly seductive. I am the most fortunate of men.”
“I want to seduce you,” she admitted. “But I confess that I’m entirely certain how.”
His lips quirked in a half smile. “You’re doing well enough without any help. But if we mean for this to be a pleasurable experience for us both, I think perhaps you should refrain from touching me… at least for a bit.”
“That hardly seems fair.”
“The accounts will settle in the end,” he insisted. “And as for now, your pleasure will only heighten my own.”
Before Bella could ask what he meant by that, he had spun her around and was deftly releasing the ties at the back of her borrowed gown. When they were freed, he slipped the garment from her shoulders and let it pool on the floor at her feet. Next came her petticoat. When she stepped out of them he picked both up and placed them on the trunk at the foot of the bed. Then she was facing him once more and his adept fingers were making short work of her stays. He paused there for a moment, his gaze roaming freely over her.
Bella didn’t try to hide herself. It was quite pointless really. The chemise, like every other garment she owned, was terribly worn. Worn, she thought, to the point of transparency. To affect modesty now, when everything had already been fully viewable, would have been disingenuous.
“Do witches really cavort naked in the moonlight?” He asked her.
She didn’t take offense. There was amusement in his voice, but genuine interest, as well.
“From time to time,” she answered. “Does that bother you?”
“No. I find myself quite jealous of the moon, however.”
