Page 74 of The Damsel
They’d slept the day away, awakening when the sun had begun to set. He’d sent for a meal, and ensured Cassandra ate her fill. She confided that her captors had only allowed her bread and water, all but starving her for two days.
He hadn’t wanted to ask for more details, even as the wondering and guessing drove him mad. But, once he’d put the remnants of their meal aside and returned to the bed with her, she’d opened up and told him everything. He’d been relieved to know they hadn’t molested her, seeming to want to save defilement for when they had her locked away in Devon.
As he lay there listening to her account of what had happened, he was more grateful than ever that he’d followed through with his search for her. Had he allowed himself to grow angry and spiteful over her tying him up and leaving him here, she might have suffered a fate worse than death.
She’d spent another day sleeping, waking sporadically to eat and drink before falling back into a deep sleep. Robert had hardly left her side, wanting to be near when she awakened again. He wanted her strong enough to return home, where they could leave this all behind them. Already, word must be spreading that the Masked Menace had been Sir Downing all along, as well as the Earl of Stratford’s tragic death. Only those who had been present that night knew the truth, ensuring it never came to light.
He did not care what Cassandra had done … he only wanted it to be over. If she could let go of her vengeful vendetta, then perhaps they stood a chance.
He sat up straight when she stirred with a groan, then opened her eyes. She turned to find him sitting there, pain etching her features. Her lip had begun to heal, and the swelling in her jaw had gone down, but the bruising would need more time.
“Good morning,” he murmured, offering her a smile.
She tried to smile back, but the effort seem to hurt. “Good morning. I must look a fright.”
Reaching out to gently run a thumb over her discolored jaw, he shook his head. “No. You’re still my beautiful Cass.”
She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch with a sigh. “There is nothing beautiful about me. I am angry and mean and spiteful. I almost destroyed your life, and I did not deserve for you to rescue me. I do not deserve for you to love me.”
He frowned, pulling his chair closer to the bed. Stroking her hair, he planted a kiss upon her brow.
“None of that is true. You can be mean and spiteful, but so can most people. You most certainly have not destroyed my life. In fact, you have enriched it beyond measure. I’ve felt more alive, more myself, since that night at the public house. I was in pain, and you turned that pain into something else … something wonderful and all-consuming.”
A tear leaked from the corner of one eye. “I’ve held you at arm’s length when all you ever wanted was to love me.”
He chuckled, swiping the tear away. “As you can see, it didn’t work. It only made me love you all the more.”
Shaking her head as if she didn’t understand, she gave him a puzzled look. He moved from the chair to sit beside her on the bed, taking one of her hands in his.
“You see, you were right about me and Daphne,” he continued. “I thought I loved her, and in a way I believe I did. But it wasn’t this sort of love. It was … the idea of her, this woman I saw as perfect, unattainable. She was always running headlong into danger and I needed to be the one to save her, prove my love and win her heart. In the end, it was far too easy for me to let her go. Yes, it hurt. But you … when I thought of losing you I realized I would die. I would cease to exist because there is no me without you. That is real, lasting love, and it is worth fighting for.”
Another tear fell, then another, then she was sitting up and reaching for him, pulling him into her arms. He felt as if his heart would burst from the joy it gave him to be accepted without reservation, to be pulled toward her instead of pushed away.
“I love you,” she whispered into his hair. “I didn’t want to … I tried to fight it … but damn you, Robert Stanley, you broke me. You tore me open and put me back together, and now there is nomewithoutyou.”
He clung to her, reeling from the impact of her words. Never would he have thought to hear them from her. He had been content for her to know how he felt as he endeavored to earn her affection piece by piece, the same way he’d earned her trust. Now, he became overwhelmed by so many emotions at once, he didn’t know how his body would contain it all.
Tilting her head, she offered her lips. He brushed his mouth against hers, careful not to disturb the healing wound. But, she threaded her fingers through his hair and urged him closer, engaging him in a deep, soul stirring kiss. She leaned back against her pillows, urging him to follow, her tongue sweeping against his lower lip.
His body roared to life as it always did when she touched him, but he held back with a shake of his head.
“You are still healing. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I do not care,” she whispered, already loosening the buttons of his shirt. “I need you, Robert. You are the thing which eases my fears and my pain … you have been since that night at the public house. I need you to do that for me again now. Please.”
Her words broke him, and he couldn’t stop himself from coming down on top of her, allowing her to go on undressing him. He would never stop wanting to please her, giving her the things she couldn’t find with anyone else.
She pulled his shirt off over his head, then went to work on his breeches while he crouched between her parted thighs, kissing her cheek, her bruised jaw, her neck. He was already hard for her, groaning as she took him in hand and stroked him. Even battered and bruised she was his goddess, his fierce and strong lady who could command him with nothing more than the touch of her hand.
She paused, her hand still wrapped tight around him, her other hand resting on the back of his neck. “This need I have to dominate and control … it may never go away. I’ve come to realize it is part of my nature.”
The words came out as if she were apologizing for her eccentricity, which only made him smile. Didn’t she understand that he was her counterpoint in every way—that he would never want to stop submitting to her every demand?
“Well, that is a relief,” he teased, nuzzling her nose with his. “Because that is exactly what I want from you … now and always. I am yours, Cass … I told you that before, and I meant it.”
She smiled back at him, raising her hips and urging him closer. “Then we are well matched. But right now I need you to be in control. Love me, Robert … take me. I am yours.”
He slid into her with one smooth stroke, finding her already wet for him. The clench of her around his cock and her spoken surrender freed him. He wrapped his arms around her and took her with slow, gentle strokes, taking care to avoid creating too much friction against her injured thigh.
