A Year & a Day (39 page)

She relished its sticky sweetness then very deliberately licked her fingers in a most provocative way.

Lynx stole her hand and lifted the tempting fingers to his own lips. He watched with delight as her mouth curved, revealing her dimples when he licked her fingers, then playfully bit down on them. As if to taunt him, he watched her withdraw her hand and in one fluid motion she gained her feet and moved away.

"I know what you would like," she murmured suggestively and walked across the room to the wine table.

"I'll just bet you do." His voice roughened with desire as thought of everything and everyone save this sensual woman melted from his mind. From across the chamber he watched her pour the wine, saw her turn to face him. His eyes followed her hands as they went to the neck of her bedrobe, unfastened it, and let it slide from her body.

His eyes widened as he saw the black silk emblazoned with the silver lynx. The jupon, slit up both sides, revealed her creamy flesh to his hungry gaze. She is seducing me, a voice inside his head warned.

Like a flash of lightning, he experienced a revelation.
Splendor of God, she does know about her
brothers!

As she undulated toward him carrying the goblets of wine, his mind cried out,
Do
n'tdo this, Jane!But of course, he knew she wouldn't stop. This was a seduction, quite blatant and quite effective by the reaction of his lusty body.

Lynx cursed himself for an unsuspecting fool. He thought Jane was different, but now he knew better. He watched her

through cynical eyes as she drew close and sank to her knees before him, offering up the wine as well as herself.

Jane,please stop now. Only a whore barters her body.He felt his throat go dry as the perverse voice inside his head suggested, Let's see how far she will go!

Lynx took the wine cups and set them down on the carpet, then he pulled her into his arms. He would take what he could before she began negotiating. As he kissed her she became highly aroused and slid her hands beneath his doublet to caress the bare muscles of his chest. He wondered cynically if her arousal was part of the performance she had carefully planned.

"Help me, Lynx," she begged prettily, seemingly at a loss about how to undress him. He stripped off his clothes, wondering if she thought him more vulnerable when he was naked. He stretched his legs to the fire, leaned on one elbow, and waited for her next move. He didn't have to wait long. Jane pushed him back on the cushions and came over him in the dominant position.

In spite of the womanly wiles she was plying, Lynx thought her utterly lovely. She was small and delicate and more exquisite than any female he had ever known. How could he possibly have been attracted to bony blonds? He felt her soft thighs brush against his groin and his manroot rose up.

He saw her mouth curve with pleasure at the power she had over him. Lynx smiled too, deciding to enjoy the game she was playing. Slowly, delicately, Jane moved upon him until her hot cleft lay against his rigid shaft. Then, as if she were a queen, sitting on her throne, she picked up her wine and took a sip.

She rolled it about her tongue with a feline sensuality, then growled deep in her throat.

His eyes fastened on her breasts beneath the black silk and the wildcat emblazoned across the jupon seemed to undulate. She shook her head until her flaming hair cascaded down over his naked chest, then she bared her teeth and lightly raked her nails across his hard belly.

"Have you ever experienced a she-lynx?" 298

At her erotic question, a throbbing began in his thick manroot. Slowly, slowly, she came down over him, inhaling the scent of his tawny mane of hair, then her pink tongue came out to delicately lick his cheek. When she heard him groan, her tongue moved down to lick his neck, then trace his collarbone.

Her tongue, no longer quite so delicate, licked the muscles of his wide chest, then curled about a male nipple. Her teeth nipped him sharply and she was rewarded by his groan of pleasure.

Boldly, she moved lower, letting the rough texture of her tongue torment his belly. When she arrived at her goal, she lifted her head and murmured huskily, "A she-lynx toys with her prey before she devours him." Then she proceeded to make good on her promise.

Lynx's lust erupted. His thirst for her was so acute, he knew he must quench it. His powerful hands rent the black silk in half, baring her flesh to his savage mouth. The night exploded as he unleashed the fierce desire she had so wantonly aroused.

Janemet hisbody‘severy command, proud that her sexuality matched his. As the last surging wave of need spent itself and their wild ferocity gentled slightly, Jane gazed down at him with slumberous eyes.

He was still anchored deep inside her and she flexed her supple young muscles to hold him there.

"The time of our handfasting is almost run out. Soon it will be spring and I will have to decide whether I want to wed you," Jane teased. The corners of her mouth lifted. "Such a difficult decision. Do you suppose you can find a way to persuade me?" She lifted her cup of wine, dipped her finger in it, then slipped her finger into her mouth, relishing the taste of it and the taste of Lynx on her tongue.

Twenty-Seven

Jane gasped as Lynx knocked the wine cup from her hand. She saw the desire in his eyes instantly change to anger.

"Damn you, Jane!"

She stared down at him in horror. "W-what?"

Lynx grabbed her wrists and rolled with her until he was in the dominant position and she was pinned beneath him."What?" he snarled. "How many times have I asked you to marry? Your answer has always been, 'Oh, Lynx, I'm not ready,' " he mocked. "Now, you are suddenly ready! Just to save their miserable hides you are willing to discuss marriage. What a noble sacrifice!"

She looked up at him as if he had suddenly turned into a stranger. She could see that her words hadn't just angered him, somehow they had wounded him, and Jane was at a complete loss. "What have I done to anger you?"

"Stop pretending! You know damned well I had Ben and Sim arrested. All of Dumfries knows!"

Jane went cold all over and began to shiver. "Let me up," she said quietly. He reminded her of a beast, toying with its prey. He sat back on his haunches, allowing her an opportunity to escape him, yet knowing he was in full control. She got quickly to her feet and stood her ground. "You think I have been seducing you so that you would free them?"

"That's exactly what I think!"

"You are wrong. Tonight wasn't about seduction, it was about love!" Her eyes flooded with unshed tears.

"Save your tears, lady, they are wasted on me."

"You are so hard, and I understand that. You must rule over an army of men and fight wars, and you couldn't do it unless you

were flint-hard and unemotional, but I thought you were beginning to feel a tenderness toward me." A single tear rolled down her cheek. "I didn't know about my brothers. However, you are right, I love them and I beg you to save their miserable hides, but I ask it openly without subterfuge."

Jane saw the doubt writ plainly on his grim face. "Not all women are deceitful, my lord." She watched from beneath downcast lashes as Lynx began to pull on his clothes. When he was dressed he searched her face. "When Taffy came for my war chest, are you telling me that he said nothing about your brothers?"

"Taffy would never say or do anything that would hurt me."

"You did not know that we leave for Edinburgh tomorrow?" he demanded, disbelief showing in every line of his hardened face.

Jane shook her head, unable to speak for the ache in her throat. She felt as if her heart were breaking. How could he leave her like this? Last night, when he had given her his body and showed how much he desired her, she had thought it was enough. Tonight, she realized that unless he gave her his trust, she had nothing.

He padded toward her wary as an untamed animal. He did not trust her because she was the female of the species. In that moment Jane made her decision. It was finished between them unless he gave her his trust.

"Don't touch me," she warned.

His green eyes narrowed. "Are you challenging me?"

"In your male arrogance you think me no match for you, but you are wrong, Lord de Warenne. I am more than a match for you." Jane drew herself up to her full height and walked regally to the door that led down to her own chambers.

As Lynx stared at the closed door, he wondered how in hell he had managed to turn hislast night at home with Jane into a disaster. Christ, what if she had been telling the truth? What if she had remained in the MasterTower all day, absorbed with her baby, resting from the demands he had made on her throughout

their night of passion? What if, in sweet submission, she had decided she wanted to be his wife?

Lynx grimaced as he realized howfierce he'd been with her. He had flung her offer in her face! In his male arrogance he had thought he knew all there was to know about women, but perhaps he did not.

Lynx stepped out onto the parapet walk and filled his lungs with cold air, then he made his way down to the bailey where last-minute preparations were under way for tomorrow's departure.

With bleak thoughts for company, Lynx walked down to the stables and encountered his squires.

"Taffy, did you tell Jane we were leaving for Edinburgh?"

"Nay, my lord. She was so happy this afternoon, I couldn't bear to take the smile from her face. I knew how grieved she'd be when she learned about her brothers."

Lynx looked at Thomas. "Show me where you put the Leslies."

They walked down an underground passage into the bowels of the castle. Lynx took the torch from Thomas and lit the one in the bracket outside the dungeon. Though the light was poor as Lynx peered through the iron bars, he could clearly see the look of defiance had fled from the faces of the shepherds.

"For Jane's sake, I am going to set you free. If you are determined to join William Wallace, I cannot stop you, but be warned that we go to hunt him down. I pledge to you that he shall be found and he shall be destroyed. If you are still here when I return, I will know you have pledged your loyalty to Dumfries. The choice is yours." Lynx turned the key in the lock and opened the prison door wide. His motivation was purely selfish. It was a gesture to Jane, asking her to forgive him.

******************

"That is the best news I've had in years. Congratulations,

Lynx. I hope it is the first of many. I've never even met your wife yet. Is she well?"

"Yes, Jane is well." Lynx did not tell John that he was still unwed. "We named him after my father, Lincoln . . . Lincoln Robert de Warenne." When John frowned at the name, Lynx guessed that whatever the trouble was, it involved Robert Bruce. "Your message sounded ominous; I came as soon as I received it, though I wanted to linger at Dumfries."

"The king has ordered me to reassemble the army. He wants us to sweep through the Lowlands from the border up to the Firth of Forth. He orders me to nip this rebellion in the bud, and he wants Wallace." John hesitated, seemingly reluctant to continue and Lynx knew something unpleasant was sticking in his craw.

"Spit it out, John."

"It's fortunate you didn't linger at Dumfries. The king has specifically named you and Robert Bruce to spearhead this operation as proof of your allegiance."

"My loyalty to the crown is being questioned?" Lynx asked softly.

"Robert Bruce's loyalty is being questioned, and because of your close association with him, you are being tarred with the same brush. The rumors and suspicions will be laid to rest now that you have answered the call to arms."

"And if Robert refuses?"

"His English estates will be forfeit."

"Splendor of God!" Lynx's green eyes narrowed. "Somebody has been carrying lies to Edward."

A voice inside Lynx's head warned him that Robert could very well be involved with the rebels. "Let me talk with the courier you sent to the king."

John suddenly looked uncomfortable. "It was Fitz-Waren." The name hung in the silence that blanketed the chamber. John's voice filled the void. "Fitz arrived the day after you left for Dumfries.

When my report was ready, he generously offered to act as

courier. He caught up with Edward before he left York for the Cinque Ports."

"I see," Lynx replied tersely, firmly clamping his jaw closed so that he would not begin hurling accusations.

"Treasurer Cressingham has a large force in Berwick. As well, I've called Percy and Clifford to arms and Fitz-Waren's light cavalry is already here. If the Bruce answers my call to arms, it will prove his loyalty, at least for the moment." John de Warenne rubbed weary eyes that were bloodshot from too much paperwork. "Lynx, I don't want trouble to erupt between you and Fitz."

"What prompts you to think there might be trouble?"

"He has Alicia with him."

Lynx began to laugh, but there was little mirth in it.
That son of a bitch has filled the king
's ears with lies about my loyalty and you think the trouble between us is over a woman? "Rest easy, John, I have no interest in Alice Bolton."

******************

Edinburgh Castle, Montgomery memorized the message he was to take to Robert Bruce.

"Give the message to no other and make sure Robert knows it is from me. Tell him John's call to arms is a test of his loyalty. Tell him Edward Plantagenet is ready to confiscate the Bruce estates in Essex."