Light to Valhalla (33 page)

Charley paused before a picture window
.
Resting her hands on the sill she leaned toward the glass, looking out
.
His mouth positively watered
.
The sight of her sultry, petite figure framed against the window was better—more provocative—than any fantasy weav
ed by his ima
gination
.
Tan breeches enunciated the lush line of her hips and thighs
, molding to her
curves
.
Russet
curls tumbled down her
back, entirely devoid of pins
.
Sh
e was a goddess
, divined on this earth for the sole purpose of tempting mortal men
.

“When I was a girl we’d come stay out here in the summer,” Charley murmured, drawing a finger along the glass
.
“
A stream runs just beyond the garden and the green
est clovers you’ve ever seen grow along the bank
.
Mama and I would spend hours picking w
ild flowers
and arranging them in this very room
.
I miss those summers,” she whispered, in a voice so broken and wistful a piece of his heart swel
led up and ached
.

He swallowed against the lump in his
throat
.
Suddenly he wanted nothing more than to give her one of those magical summers
.
He wanted to see this place through her eyes, miles of lush clover and brilliant wild flowers, but mostly he wanted to see her smile and wash the melancholy from her tone
.
Alex cleared his throat
.
“You’ll have to show me one day.”

Charley
turned to him
so s
udden
ly
Alex was caught entirely unprepared for the
enchanting smile she bestowed upon him
.
“It is so peaceful here
.
Not another soul
in attendance to judge or eavesdrop
.
We are perfectly alone.”

“I’d noticed,” he murmured, taking a heady step toward
her
.
Blood hammered in his ears—along
with other, infinitely more male, parts
of his anatomy—making it
exceedingly
difficult to concentrate on anything
but the cling of her trousers or the lithe, fluid movements of her body as she
moved
slowly about the room’s perimeter
.
Dainty fingers ran across the lamps and end tables; Alex was hard pressed not to dwell on the memory of those very digits trailing paths of fire across his chest
.

“
We could always light a fire
to warm up
,”
she continued, stopping before the hearth
.

Hot on her heel
s
, Alex
slipped
behind her
, bracing his arms on either
side of her along
the mantel
.
“I have a better idea
.”

Startled, Charley spun
.
T
he loose mass of her hair
slapped his forearm
, her palms falling naturally to the flat of his chest
.
“
I didn’t realize y
o
u
were so close.”

Moving quietly was an asset he’d come by in the army
.
He tilted his head,
taking in the sleek
curve of her face, down the column of her swan’s throat
.
Gently he placed his hands on her upper arms, closing the space between them
.
Charley gasped, her breath coming in quick gusts, but made no move to escape him
.
Warmth seeped through the fabric of her coat, tempting and tantalizing, until the desire to feel her skin on skin
,
was near to unbearable
.
To hell with slow
.
Alex wanted her with a burning need that proved more than a little frightening
.
He’d spend the rest of his life
exhibiting
what a devoted husband he could be
, but today he just wanted to make mad, mindless love to her
.

“Where do those stairs lead?”
he queried
.

“
Up
stairs,” she hedged.

He leaned closer
. H
er sweet breath
rolled
across his lips, more erotic than any touch
.
“And what is upstairs?
”
T
hose huge green pools flicked up to him, robbing him of breath
.
Not for the first time the obscure notion he could fall into those eyes—drown if he wasn’t careful—whisked through his mind
.

To his immense surprise
Charley
stood on tip
toe, closing the
hairs distance
between them,
and softly pressed
her lips to his
.
V
elvety smooth
,
the kiss sent a rush of unequivocal desire through him
.
“The bedroom
,
”
she
whispered against his mouth
.
His gut clinched
.
She drew back, coy lashes fluttering over wide, all too innocent
eyes
.

Alex’s throat ran dry
.
He couldn’t move
.
Couldn’t think
.
Hell he was paralyzed
.
Falling into oblivion
.
F
alling
…
for her
.

“Would you like to see it
?”

Ten

Charley ducked beneath Alex’
s arm and strode to the stairs
.
Blood roared with dizzying force in her ears and she could scarcely believe she was actually doing
this
.
She was not a vixen or a tease
.
She had absolutely no idea what she was doing
, and yet she flashed a
demure
‘come hither’ glance over her shoulder, beckoning him to heed her
untried
siren’s call
.

For a moment Alex
looked so shocked she feared he’d fall flat on his face
.
“There are a number of things I would like to
see
,” he recovered quickly
.
Alex
took one long step forward, snaring her a
bout the waist be
fore her foot hit the first carpeted stair
,
and
spinning her into
his
embrace
.
“It’s more a matter of what you’re willing to show me.”

Charley’s breath caught at the fevered gaze her husband fixed on her
.
Intoxicating power and s
trength emanated from hi
s massive frame
, surrounding her, pulling her under his
carnal
spell
.
P
assion
s
roamed thick and dark in his midnight eyes,
lending him an
aura of
supreme
danger
.
This game she played
could become very dangerous
indeed
.

Deftly Alex
plucked open the buttons running down the front of her coat
.
She shivered beneath the practiced touch
.
“Perhaps this?
”
His big hands slipped inside the jacket, smoothing over her shoulders until the heavy wool hit the floor with a
thud
.
The heat of his broad chest burned through the layers of her clothing
.
Alex leaned forward with obvious intent to kiss her
.

“Don’t you want to go upstairs?” she asked breathlessly, heart knocking frantically against her ribcage.

“I can think of nothing we couldn’t do right here on the stairs.
”
He captured the back of her neck, drawing her in for a searing kiss
.

The stairs?
 
Charley scarcely had time to wonder
what
he planned to do on the stairs
.
Alex gathered her up in his arms, crushing her to his chest with a desperation matching her own
.
She moaned, opening
to him
.
He
answered the invitation slipping his tongue into her m
outh, tickling, teasing
.
F
orbidden sensations coursed through her, scattering her wits to the wind
.
She wanted this
.
Him
.
Alex’s hands on her body, his lips over her own
.
She’d always known their hearts were connected and perhaps fate had set right what man had got wrong
.
Charley curled her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, molding herself to every hardened contour of his frame
.

Alex lifted her up, pinning her back against the wall, never once breaking the bond of their lips
.
A thrill shot through her
.
The position was so provocative
.
So new
.
The length of her hair draped in an intimate shroud around them
.
She took his face in her palms and whispered, “Take me upstairs.”

He groaned, the hands holding her thighs tightening
.
“Don’t tease me, Charley
.
My heart can’t take it.”

The words tugged at her
heartstrings
.
She drew back and met his gaze
.
Her
breath caught
for all she saw mirrored there
.
Yearning poured from his eyes, so intense, it quite literally took her breath away
.
The need she saw and felt in the rigidity of his muscles held no malice or ulterior motive, only desire… dare she hope the beginnings of a
future they could share
together
.
This man was not callous or
calculating
.
He was not the daunting Lord
Major
Coverstone
who struck fear in the hearts of passersby, but simply Alex
.
Her Alex
.

Sex wouldn’t solve their
problems, quite the opposite to be sure,
but it was something she wanted to experience
.
As a married matron she
’d been thrust into many a lady’
s drawing room with a gaggle of other married—or widowed—women who’d alluded to the pleasures of a lover’s bed
.
Charley did not want to be left in the dark of those conversations any longer
.
She wanted to know those elusive pleasures
for herself
.

She hesitated, slanting her face over his, mouth hovering just above his
lips
.
“I would
n’t dream of teasing you.
”
Her
arms se
ttled
naturally
about his shoulders and s
he wrapped her le
gs more
securely
about his waist
.
L
owering her face she kissed each of his eyes and the corners of his mouth in turn, memorizing him as she’d longed to do for so long
.

The trip to the main bedroom was a blur of heated kissing and caresses
.
Somewhere in the process Charlie lost
both boots
, her shirt, and the old trousers were unbuttoned and falling off. At the top of the stairs Alex—in a similar state of dishabille—slung an arm about her waist, sp
inning her into the bedroom
.
Both of them laughed and the light in his eyes matched the joy building inside her
.
This was perfect
.
A new beginning with the man she’d loved since before she knew what love was
.

“Today in the village,” Alex began, catching the garnet adorning her neck and
twirling
it between thumb and forefing
er, “I bought you something else
.
”
He stepped back, clasped the fingers of her right hand and sank down on one knee
.
“Twice yesterday you told me that we aren’t truly married, and after some thought I came to the conclusion that… you’re right.”

“
No,
Alex, I
wa
—”

“Just let me finish.
”
His Adam’s apple bobbed with boyish insecurity
.
He lifted his free han
d, revealing a delicate gold
ring
.
Charley clasped a hand over her mouth, tears blurring the perfect vision before her
.
“I don’t want for that to be,
Charley
.
I want to be more for you than a husband in name
.
It is my solemn vow to honor you all the days of my life
.
Would you do me the honor of being my wife in every way?”

The words were not poetry or the stuff of romantic verses to be laid down on parchment for generations to come, but to Charley Alex’s impromptu vow was music from the angels
.
Fervently she nodded, battling the tears of joy th
reatening to burst forth
.
“I will.”

Alex smiled, his true
special smile that showed
t
he
hint of shyness ever lurking beneath his austere exterior
.
He slid the
simple band
onto her finger
.

“It’s beautiful,” she murmured
, holding it up for better inspection
.
“
The gold inlay is braided.
”

“A
Celtic symbol
.
I’m told it means eternity.”

Moved beyond any
measure she’d believed possible, Charley dropped to her knees, pressing parted lips to her husband’s
.
Husband
.
For once the word did not taste a lie
.
Did not sound awkward or
a
n abst
ract
concept
in her mind
.
She shivered as his calloused
palms
brushed down her arms
.
His lips move
d down the column of her neck
across her right shoulder and his fingers slid to the strings of her chemise
.

“Charley… sweet perfect, Charley.
”
He kissed
the hollow of her throat
.
“You’re
trembling,” he murmured, tangling
his fingers
in
the length of her hair.

“I know, I can’t stop it.
”
She held her breath as one of his muscled arms circled her waist drawing her hips fully against
him;
his other hand grazed the tip of her breast
.
The trembling took on a new level, even her insides
quivered
beneath his touch
.

Slowly she opened her eyes and immediately wondered at why she’d
c
losed
them
in the first place
.
Golden sunlight filtered through the
wavy
windows highlighting the handsome angles of his face, illuminating the brilliance of his eyes
.
Emotion swirled with abandon through his gaze
.
In a word he seemed to worship her
.
She’d never dreamed to have a man look
upon
her this way
.
Even as her pulse
quickened her apprehensions dissipated
.
She rose higher on her knees wrapping her arms around his neck, relishing the feel of his sculpted chest against her scarcely clad skin
.

“Are you
nervous?
”
He stood, lifting her with him
.
The battered trousers slipped to the floor, leaving Charley clad only in a scanty cotton shift and stockings
.
As her
near
bare legs pressed against his toned thighs, the quickening in her belly increased tenfold
.
Wintry
air breezed over he
r skin, but she scarcely noticed
.

“Is it all right if I say, yes?” she asked as he guided her to the bed
.

“
Very alright,
” he murmured,
brushing
his hands
over the gooseflesh raised on
her arms
.
“You’re cold.”

Actually she felt
hot…
everywhere
.
“You promised to warm me up.”

He
r husband needed no further urging
.
He threw back
the green toned coverlet
and swept her
back onto the bed
.
He pulled the blanket ove
r them, rolling on top of her and claiming her lips in a fierce exchange
.

The world faded and swirled around her
, scattering any remaining fears
.
Charley wrapped her arms around his shoulders,
holding him to her
, never wanting him to leave
.
This was perfect
.
His lips stroked hers with urge
nt, delicious need, leaving her on fire
,
everywhere
.