Onyx (17 page)

“I . . . just wanted to know what the charms said. I’m sorry.”

“No’ as sorry as I am. I am so tired of e’eryone lyin’ te me thet I dinna ken why I’m surprised ye’d do the same.”

“I didn’t lie to you,” she said, wrapping her arms around her, feeling the chill of the room.

“Are ye cold, lassie?”

She just nodded slightly.

“These rooms dinna have a fire. The only fire is downstairs and hell if I’m lettin’ ye down there wit’ those drunkards. Stay here. I’ll get them te bring up a hot bath fer ye and also some food.”

He walked over to the door and stopped with his hand on the handle. “I hoped it coulda been different between
us,” he said, “but I can see thet was me mistake. And while we’re sleepin’ on the same pallet tonight, I dinna want ye te think we’ll be doin’ anythin’ else. Because I willna couple wit’ ye again, knowing ye are no’ only a witch, but also tryin’ te deceive me.”

He slammed the do
or behind him, and she collapsed atop the pallet, and felt like crying. She’d ruined everything with her curiosity, and she had the feeling she could never fix things now.

She’d been so happy in his arms and it felt so wonderful when they’d made love in the cave. She just wanted that Onyx back, not the one who thought she was a witch and the one who didn’t trust her.
She paced the room for a while, not knowing what to do. Then, she finally decided there was nothing she could do to change Onyx’s opinion of her, and that made her feel even worse.

“Damn,” she said, pulling her pouch
from her side and throwing it down on the pallet next to her. The rolled-up parchment containing another Gaelic charm she’d taken from her mother’s personal things slipped out of the bag and onto the bed. She’d almost forgotten about this one.

She reached out for it curiously, unrolling it, and was looking at it when there was a knock at the door. She hid it behind her
back. “Come in,” she said, and several men carrying a wooden tub entered, placing it in the center of the floor. More servants entered carrying hot buckets of water and filled it without even saying a word. Then she noticed a Scottish whore standing at the doorway, and she wondered what she wanted. She had long, red hair and a gown that trussed up her breasts, making them very visible.

“Yes?” she asked.

“Ye are the Englishwoman thet has taken Dagger’s heart?” she said, making Lovelle very curious as to what she meant.

“Come in, please,” she said,
getting up, and holding the parchment in her hand.

The whore walk
ed into the room with her hands on her hips.

“What did you mean by that?” she asked, noticing the woman called him Dagger instead of Onyx.

“I mean, I ken him well, and whate’er ye did te anger him ye’d better undo the damage if ye want him te bed ye again.”

“Why would you say he’s bedded me?”

“Come on, lassie, ’tis me profession. I see the look on both yer faces.”

Lovell
e held up her hand to silence the girl and waited until the servants left, then shut the door so no one would hear them.

“Can you read Gaelic?” she asked.

“Does a Scotsman like whisky?” she said in return. “I may look like only a
doitit
hoor, but I’m actually able to no’ only read but write the language as well. I’m the top o’ me profession and I only bed the best.”

“I’m sure,” she said, unrolling the parchment and holding it up to the woman. “Read this for me.”

The woman just raised and brow and sucked in her cheeks.

“Like I said, I am
the top o’ me profession, and I dinna work fer free.”

“Of course not,” she said, rushing back to the pallet and pulling a coin from her pouch. She hurried back and gave it to her and held up the parchment again, hoping this time Onyx wouldn’t catch her.

The girl inspected the coin, then seeming satisfied, dropped it into her cleavage, then took the parchment in her hands. She read it to herself, nodding her head. “Ah, this is guid. Really guid,” she said.

“What is good?” asked Lovell
e. “What does it say?”

“This is some sort o’
love charm,” she explained. “It tells how te make someone fall in love with another person.

“How?” she asked. “Read it to me, please.”

“It says ye need te take a strand o’ hair from each o’ the two people and hold it high above a candle so as no’ te burn it.”

“Then what?” she asked eagerly, making a mental note of all of it.

“Then ye put the strands into a cup o’ wine, and say these words: Let forces fly, on the wings o’ a dove. Bring these two together in passionate love.”

Lovell
e repeated it in her head twice just so she wouldn’t forget it. “Anything else?” she asked.

The whore looked down at the parchment, squinting to read the rest of it.
Then she looked up to Lovelle and a grin spread across her face.

“
Aye, there’s more,” she said. “Next, the one doin’ the spell has te turn a full circle in front o’ the other one.”

“I can do that,” Lovelle
said.

“
Three times.”

“Three?” she asked.

“And naked.”

“What?”

“While purrin’ like a kitten.” With her Scottish burr, she rolled the r, making it sound very provocative.

“Are you sure?” She grabbed the parchment from the girl and looked down at it, but of course she couldn’t read a word, so it didn’t matter.

There was another knock at the door, and the whore adjusted her bodice, making her breasts more noticeable. “Anything else I can do fer ye?” she asked.

“No,” she said, hiding the parchment under her arm and answering the door.

“Me lady, Onyx said I should bring this up to ye and thet he would be up soon.” A kitchen servant held a tray of food in her hands.

“Please
put it down on the pallet,” she said. The girl did as told, and the whore whispered to her.

“Ye plan on u
sin’ thet spell on Dagger, dinna ye?”

“What?” she said, flabbergasted that the woman could see through her so easily. “Nay, why would I do that?”

“Why wouldna ye?” she asked and licked her lips. “After all, he is too good te pass up. If I were ye I’d do it in a minute.” With that, she turned and headed out the door.

Once the kitchen servant left, Lovell
e closed the door and took a deep breath. She wanted Onyx to want her again, and she felt as if this was her last chance to do something about it. Once they got to England, things would be different. And they would probably never have time alone together again after tonight.

She walked over and looked at the wine in her cup. She felt terrible for doing this, but she had to try. After all, he’d already told her he wouldn’t be coupling with her tonight, and if she wanted to change his mind she was going to need a little help.

She put the cup on the bedside table, right next to the candle that was burning. She only needed to get a hair from each of them and hold them over the candle and say that little spell to herself. She was sure she could accomplish that without him knowing what she was doing. And if she were in the tub when he came in, she’d have reason to be naked. Turning in a circle three times shouldn’t be hard either. But purring like a kitten might give away what she was doing. Still, she had to try.

She thought she heard his voice in the hall, and quickly pulled off her clothes and got into the tub. She had just leaned her head back, enjoying the hot water when the door opened and Onyx stepped into the room.
His cat darted past his feet and disappeared into the shadows somewhere.

“How’s the water?” he asked, not even looking at her, but rather going to the opposite side of the room. He sat in a chair and took off his boots.

“Fine. It really helped to warm me up.”

“Glad te hear it.”

He took off his clothes, all except his braies. She busied herself washing, and she thought he was going to join her, until she saw him settling on the pallet instead. He had his hand on her pouch and she could see the parchment with the charm sticking out. She couldn’t let him find it.

“I could use help . . . I can’t reach the towel,” she said, pointing to the towel on the chair across the room.

“What?” he said, looking up, then pushing her pouch aside. “Oh, let me get it.”

He walked across the
room, and she stood and exited the tub just then, giving him a full view of her naked body. He stopped, and his eyes scanned down her body slowly. She liked the way he looked at her, and hoped she was tempting him.

“Here’s the towel.” He handed it to her quickly, and turned to go back to the pallet.

“Oh, Onyx,” she said, and when he turned back, she pretended to slip and he caught her in his arms. “Why don’t you use the bath, as I’m done with it.”

“I jest might do thet.” He stripped off his braies quickly and got into the tub and started to wash. She tied the towel around her, and went to join him. “Here, let me help you,” she said, taking some soft soap and rubbing it into his hair. She heard him moan and saw him close his eyes and his head went back. Perfect. She plucked a hair from his head.

“
Ow! God’s eyes, what’re ye doin’?” He sat up quickly, and she took the hair and held it behind her back.

“Sorry, I guess my finger caught in your hair. Now you just close your eyes and relax and enjoy your bath.”

While he finished up, she hurried over to the candle and plucked a hair from her head as well. Then she held them in her closed hand over the fire and recited the words of the charm quietly so he wouldn’t hear. “Let forces fly on the wings of a dove. Bring these two together in passionate love.”

“What did ye say?” he asked from the tub.

She picked up the wine, dropping the hairs into it, and headed towards him. “I said would you like some wine?”

“I dinna think so.”

“What?” she asked, her heart beating rapidly. If he didn’t drink it, than she knew this wouldn’t work.

“I think I’ll jest have a bite te eat and get some sleep.” He darted out of the tub and dried himself with the towel
, then tied it around him. She watched him in the firelight, and felt herself warming, wanting to couple with him so badly right now that she was almost frantic.

“Oh look at that, I dropped the towel.” She released it, then turned around pretending to get it, counting to herself until she’d made three full circles.

“What are ye doin’?” he asked, picking it up and handing it to her.

“Thank you,” she said, then thought of the last part of the charm. She closed her eyes and . . . purred.

“Did ye jest . . . purr?” He looked at her as if he thought she was addled.

“Nay,” she said quickly, holding the wine in front of her. “I’m sure it was just Tawpie. Now have some wine.”

“I told ye I dinna want any.” He went over to the pallet and looked at the cat that was curled up into a ball and fast asleep. He just shook his head and sat down on the pallet and started eating the bread and cheese on the tray. “Did ye want some?” He held out a piece of bread to her.

“Aye, I suppose.” She handed him the wine while she took th
e bread and tied her towel around her. Then she sat down next to him, giving up on the notion of the spell working after all. She was foolish to even believe in it, and now felt as if she truly was a dolt.

“Mayhap I’ll have me some wine after all.”

She took a bite of bread and wasn’t even paying attention, until she felt the heat of his hand on her back.

“Ye look so allurin’
that I canna take me eyes off ye, Lady Love.”

“What?” She threw down the bread on the tray, swallowed
, and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I suddenly feel as if I want nothin’ more than te take ye in me arms and kiss ye.”

“Really?” she asked, her eyes opening wide. The charm must have worked after all.

He rubbed his hand on her back, and tilted her chin upward, his mouth coming closer for a kiss. Her eyes closed in anticipation, and her heart beat quickly, knowing she was going to feel the
ecstasy of making love with him once again.

But the
n, he released her chin and lay back on the pallet. “But I willna,” he said.

Her eyes popped open and she frantically grabbed for the wine he’d set on the bedside table.

“Mayhap you’d like some more wine,” she said, reaching over him to get it.

His hand grabbed her arm and when she turned to look at him, she saw a fierceness in his eyes that led her to believe he knew what she’d done.

“If ye want te couple wit’ me, why dinna ye jest tell me te me face instead o’ tryin’ te trick me wit’ yer witchery?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” He let go of her arm and she backed away from him on the pallet.

“Ye’re forgettin’ what a bad liar ye are. Besides, I happened upon Morag in the hall on the way up here and she canna keep her mouth shut in more ways than one.”

“What do you mean?” She rubbed her arm and looked down to the pallet knowing he wasn’t going to buy her innocent act.

“She told me she read the charm fer ye, but what she didna tell ye was thet she added a few things thet werena in there at all.”

“Oh.”
She forced a smile. “So . . . I’m guessing the part about turning in a circle naked wasn’t really in there?”

He just shook his head, his eyes staring right at her all the while.

“And there was . . . no purring involved either, was there?” She looked up to see him shaking his head again, his arms crossed over his chest.

“I’m sorry,” she said, feeling more of a fool than the court jester. “I just wanted you to like me again. I just wanted to feel . . . happy. With you. Together.”

“Why no’ jest say it, lassie? Ye wanted te feel me manhood inside ye and ye wanted te scream out in passion the way ye did in the cave?”

“It’s true. I do.” She still couldn’t look at him, and a tear escaped her eye.

He scooted over to her on the pallet, and reached out and wiped the tear from her cheek with his thumb.

“Ask me,” he said.

“Ask you?” She looked up and met his gaze.

“Tell me what ye want. I want te
hear it.”

“I couldn’t.”

“Aye, ye can. Now do it. I wanna hear ye say exactly want ye want, and dinna leave anythin’ out.”

“I do want you, Onyx,” she blurted out before she could stop herself. “I want you to take me in your arms and kiss me the way you did in the cave. I want to feel safe in your embrace and feel the warmth of our naked bodies dancing together in the act of making beautiful love.”

“What else?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she said, starting to cry.

“Look at me, Love.” He tilted her chin up until she did just that.

“What else?”

“I want to feel your hardness inside me and I want to feel the burning passion that is felt between two lovers. I want to cry out your name when I find my release, and I want to feel your lifeseed spilling into me and making me feel alive and whole . . . and  . . . loved.”

That’s all Onyx needed to hear. He pulled her toward him and pressed his mouth to hers in a punishing kiss. He needed to feel everything she’d just told him she wanted, as well. Only he needed it even more than she did.

“That’s all I wanted,” he told her,
laying her back on the pallet, slowly taking away her towel and removing his as well. “I jest needed te hear someone say thet, lassie, as I have ne’er heard it afore in me entire life.”

They kissed, and his tongue entered her mouth, and
she opened, willingly accepting him into her. He lifted his leg and straddled her, feeling his manhood harden instantly. Then he ran a hand over her hair, his eyes locked with hers, and he felt as if he were falling into her wishes, into her life. And they were about to become one and the same.

“I’ve never said that
to anyone,” she admitted, and that, to him meant more than anything. He’d never had a woman want him for who he was. And he knew her feelings were genuine because he could always tell when she was lying.

He let his hand skim down her shoulder and he gently ran his fingers over a nipple, delight
ing in watching her become taut by his action. She reached out and touched him on the chest, slipping her hands around his back. He instantly felt the connection, and he swore his skin sizzled with heat as the friction between them heightened with both of them exploring each others bodies.

He kissed her once again, and this time she pulled him closer, and to his surprise, let her tongue reach out this time. This excited him, and he pulled back slightly and licked his lips, savoring the flavor of her essence, never wanting to forget it, and only wanting to taste more.

“I canna wait much longer,” he told her. “Ye have me so excited they I feel as if I am ready te burst.”

“You don’t need to wait,” she told him. “I am more than ready.
See for yourself.” She took his hand and guided it between her thighs, and as she opened her legs for him his hand settled atop her womanhood, hot, wet, and ready. “Take me, please,” she begged him, lifting her hips to meet his hand. “Make me scream. I need to feel you inside of me right now, and I can’t wait any longer.”

He knew it was no time to play games with her, but though he was enjoying this as much as her, he needed to make her know that he didn’t appreciate her deception earlier.

“Purr like a kitten,” he told her, meaning to punish her, but the thought of the action made him excited.

“What?” she asked, with a
smile that lit up her face and a small laugh.

“Ye
were willin’ te do it te lure me into yer bed, now I want te hear ye purr if ye really want this. Loud.”

He had been so excited when she
purred earlier, that he’d wanted to throw her to the ground and drive himself into her, but he’d just pretended like it hadn’t affected him. But just thinking about it had him growing even harder, and he had to hear her do it again.

“On
yx, please don’t make me do this.”

Her reached out and gently rub
bed his fingers down her body, teasing her, taunting her, causing her to squirm. And her breathing deepened when he took the other hand and let it rub against her nether regions at the same time.