So Worthy My Love (54 page)

“So! That is why you're dressed the way you are.” Justin nodded as he began to understand the Englishman's reasoning. “You knew the guards would easily accept your statements as truth because it would be something Hilliard would readily do to gain the Easterlings' trade.” His eyes narrowed as he sought further answers. “But how did you get the clothing?”

“I've made a few friends in my years of travel,” Maxim rejoined. “Having themselves acquired an aversion to Hilliard, they were willing to assist me.”

“It must have been some Easterling prince, the way you're garbed. I suppose you even speak their tongue.” Though Justin expected the subtle probing to gain more answers, the sharp jutting of a tawny brow assured him he would gain no further information.

“ ‘Tis your choice, of course, whether to accept me as a trusted friend,” Justin needled. “Or you can wait until Hilliard's men find you. If you return to the Von Reijn house, you'll endanger all who are there, and I'll not allow that. Better you learn to trust me as I, this night, have come to trust you. I've no intention of doing a favor for the one who murdered my father, and if Hilliard did not do it himself, he gave the order.”

Elise laid a hand upon her husband's sleeve as she issued a small measure of advice. “I believe he can be trusted, Maxim. He means no harm to us.”

A nod and a smile acknowledged Justin's gratitude for her faith in him. “You're most gracious, Elise.”

Maxim stared at the man a moment longer as if he would make up his own mind, then he spoke. “I choose to honor the lady's confidence in you, but should you prove anything less than trustworthy, I shall see that adequate recompense be delivered to your door posthaste. Mark my word.”

“I understand explicitly, my lord,” Justin declared. “I must admit I didn't hold you in the best esteem a few hours past either.” A brief smile touched his lips. “I hope you have room for another guest at your castle. You'll need as many men as possible to defend it when Hilliard comes calling. I don't intend to miss the event.”

Maxim crossed to the desk and, with quill in hand, scrawled out a note on a scrap of parchment. As he handed the piece to the younger man he asked, “Do you know the Lowentatze?” He saw the other nod. “They await word there.” Maxim removed a small coin from his coat and gave it over with further instructions. “You'll give them the note and show them this coin with Elizabeth's face on it. They'll trust you then.”

Justin tucked the piece away securely. “I shall not disappoint you.”

“Good!” Maxim's voice carried a note of concern, for he had need to be wary, as had the knights, Kenneth and Sherbourne. They were virtually on their own until the ports came free of ice in the spring, and there were many others in his care who would suffer should Hilliard gain the upper hand.

Justin crossed to the door and announced in a lighter vein, “I shall remove the hatch and light a fire in the galley for you ‘ere I leave.” He paused at the portal to consider them with a hint of a mischievous gleam in his eye. “ ‘Twill be my wedding gift to you both.”

Elise was taken back by surprise. “How did you know?”

A rather cocky grin traced Justin's lips as he tilted his head to the side in a mode of museful pondering. “I believe ‘twas something Sir Kenneth said that made me wonder about you two, and then I sorted the rest of the puzzle out as we came here. Is it to be known when the vows were spoken?”

“It was only this morning,” Elise murmured, taking comfort as Maxim's arm settled about her shoulders.

“Obviously you've not told Nicholas?” The last was presented as a question, and Justin waited until the maid answered with a slow nod. “Then be assured, fair Elise, that I'll not tell him either.” He started to step through the door, but turned back again. “Of course, you know if Hilliard remains in power, you'll be in danger as long as you stay in this country. You should make arrangements to leave at the first possible chance, at least as soon as the ships can sail again. Perhaps I shall speak with Nicholas about the matter of your leaving. He'll no doubt be waiting to question me when I arrive home.” He sighed as if he found the idea rather tedious. “In any case, be assured that Hilliard will not cease until he has salved his hurts. I've no idea what your business was with him, but you can stand assured that he
does not take well to being played a fool, especially by spies.” He smiled briefly as the other man's brows gathered
into a scowl. “Though you deny it, my lord, I find no other explanation, but you can trust that I'll hold my silence. Also, I would warn you that Hilliard has his following.
His
spies are everywhere.”

“I'll be careful,” Maxim assured him. “And thank you for getting us here.”

“I could say it has been my pleasure, my lord, but in truth I think the pleasure will all be yours.”

Heaving a rather forlorn sigh that hinted of his own disappointment, Justin touched his brow in a farewell salute and left them, closing the door behind him. Maxim made the portal secure and set a kettle filled with small chunks of ice inside the hearth to thaw. He prepared the bunk as the sounds of Justin's footsteps came from overhead and then from the next room. He removed his drooping mustache and wiped most of the stain from his face. With the aid of a strong intoxicant, he freed his lips of the sticky substance that had held it in place. A short time later a blazing fire lit the interior of the galley hearth and spread its heat to the main cabin. Silence returned as Justin left the ship, but the couple hardly noticed as they came into each other's arms. Though the warmth was slow to push back the chill in the compartment, they doffed their outer garments and tossed them aside.

Elise giggled as she kissed the taste of brandy from her husband's lips. “I should be cautious,” she sighed. “This might be a ruse to get me well into my cups.”

“Give it nary a thought, my love,” Maxim breathed as his open mouth caressed her parted lips. “ ‘Twould be my intent only if you were reluctant and I had debauchery in mind, but I mean to cherish the fullness of your response in this moment of coming together, this joining of bodies and hearts.”

Elise stretched up on her toes and, looping her arms over his naked shoulders, teased him with a coy smile. “Perhaps you should remove the black from your hair and all the tan from your skin. Otherwise, I might think some strange man is making love to me.”

“Afterward,” he whispered, slipping his hands beneath her shirt and unfastening the wide cloth that bound her bosom.

A quick gasp answered his bold possession of the rounded curves. Her eyes sultry with passion, Elise moved into his embrace gladly. “On second thought,” she breathed, her lips against his cheek, “I don't believe you mean to leave any doubt.”

His mouth sought hers in a passionate frenzy, and it seemed an eternity passed before he broke away with a sigh, leaving her spent and breathless. As if he fought some inner battle on his own, he raised his head and stared down into the encompassing warmth of the sapphire blue. His own were aflame with fiery passion.

“I could lose myself in those pools, madam, and I'm hot to pursue the moment.” He drew in a ragged breath. “ ‘Tis a mountainous task for me to hold you and remain tender and patient when my hunger for you has brought me to the brink of starvation.”

“My lord, pray consider that I'm not a rose, nor nearly so delicate. You'll hardly bruise or crush me
by holding me close or caressing me. I assure you, my lord, I'm quite hardy. And very inquisitive. Truly, my love, might it occur to you that I yearn for what is to come as much as you? I want to please you, and yet I'm a stranger to the knowledge I need and am seeking. Is it acceptable for a woman to pleasure a man?”

“Indeed!”

“Then teach me how to make love to you. Let me know what is pleasurable to a man. Let me be your lover, replacing all thoughts of any other you might have once cherished.” With a softly teasing, beguiling smile she plucked at the fastenings of the bejeweled belt that encircled his lean waist. When it was free and flung aside, she slid both hands slowly over his wide chest, marveling as she caressed the rugged firmness of the muscular expanse. She guessed by the expectant stillness with which he accepted her touch and the warming heat in the green eyes that he enjoyed the play. Encouraged to a bolder mien, she slid her hands around his ribs and downward from the small of his back as she pressed herself to him.

Warmed and intrigued by her response, Maxim slipped the shirt from her shoulders, and Elise freed it with a shrug. The garment fell to the deck unheeded as his lips trailed down the pale column of her throat. Her round breasts gleamed enticingly in the golden firelight, and raising his head a moment, Maxim drank his fill of their perfection. Gently cupping the soft, scented roundness within his hands, he bent and leisurely caressed them with his mouth, pressing wanton kisses over their warmth. Elise's
head fell back as the fires raged in the depths of her body. A pulsing heat began to throb in her loins, spreading outward, reaching upward until she thrust out her breasts to luxuriate in the hot, flicking strokes. Her breath was wont to catch in ecstatic gasps, interrupting the quickening, shallow rhythm. She felt consumed by a pleasure that threatened to melt every fiber of her being and leave her naught but a quivering relic of herself. In truth, she was made of sterner stuff, but never in her wildest imaginings
had she guessed the height to which a lover's touch could catapult her. Indeed, when Maxim began to pull away her clothing, a fever caught hold of her, and her fingers joined his until at last she stood naked before him. In turn she plucked at the lacings of his breeches, and she rubbed her breasts seductively against his chest as his hands explored downward.

Taking her with him to the bunk, Maxim sat down and tugged off his boots. Rising to his feet again, he freed the final cords that held the breeches in place and dropped the full-skirted garment to the floor. Surprise halted Elise's breath for barely a pause, and a sudden timidity made her raise her gaze to the slight, questioning curve that traced the handsome lips.

“Are you frightened?”

Thoughtful for a moment, Elise considered him with more boldness, plucking at the gutstrings of his awareness. It was as if rivulets of excitement pulsed through his body as she stared at him. Meeting his gaze again, she murmured through a soft, challenging smile, “Curious perhaps.”

Since their first meeting Maxim had never ceased to be amazed and fascinated by the enticing blend of innocence and boldness he had seen in this young maid. Each trait was wonderfully intriguing, and he was never more aware of his infatuation than at this present moment, when they were about to enter the realm of conjugal intimacy.

Slipping a hand admiringly over her bare shoulder to the back of her nape, Maxim pulled her close and, lifting her chin with a knuckle of his freehand, pressed light kisses upon her lips as he gave her words back to her. “ ‘Tis all for the sharing, love. If you have a curiosity, then by all means satisfy it. I'm quite sturdy and most eager. Nor will I bruise easily.”

Elise stretched upward to her toes and folded her arms around his neck. Maxim took her full against him, and holding her thus, he lowered himself to the edge of the bunk, at the same time settling her boldly onto his lap. His mouth blended with hers as his hands moved leisurely over her body. The sensations he aroused with his kisses and caresses, combined with the subtle pressure of his manliness, stumbled the evenness of Elise's breathing and set her heart beating to a new, frantic rhythm that suffused her with an expanding warmth. No chill could touch her, not when her husband roused her so completely.

A strange frenzy seized her, and the pain of penetration was but a brief discomfort that she forced back as she became aware of a driving need to appease a burgeoning, insatiable hunger. Maxim leaned back into the pillows and as she touched her lips lightly, almost reverently, to his chest, his hands
settled to her hips. A whispered word brought eager compliance, and she began to move. Amazement etched her countenance as he met her strokes with vigor, and the budding, blossoming pleasure in her loins intensified and swept her on with the promise of still greater heights to reach. His hands stretched up to seize her breasts, and she flung her head back, spilling her long hair down her back and over his thighs as she arched her spine and made love to him with all of her heart, mind, and body. In the stillness of the cabin she could hear his hoarse, ragged breathing as his hands seemed to touch her everywhere. Then her world reeled out of control as a ravishing, rapturous splendor burst upon her. It seemed a thousand,
twinkling lights flared through her body, touching off myriad scintillating flashes of ecstasy. She was woman; he was man. She was lady; he was lord. She was wife; he was husband. She was Elise; he was Maxim. Forever joined as one, they were, fused by the heat of their loins, joined by the love in their hearts.

A long sigh slipped from Elise's lips as she slowly collapsed upon the chest of her husband. For a long, blissful moment he held her close, kissing her brow, stroking her hair, and whispering words of love, then her body began to cool, and a small, shivering tremor shook her as the cold air settled on her back. Catching a corner of the fur throw, Maxim clasped her to him and rolled until he lay on top of her. A smile teased the corners of his mouth as his eyes gleamed down into hers. Though recently sated, he could feel again an awakening deep within his loins.

“Is your curiosity appeased, madam?”

Feeling the returning heat, Elise wiggled under him, deliberately arousing him as she slid her arms around his neck and breathed dreamily, “You've more to teach me, my lord?”

“You're not bruised overmuch?” he whispered with a brow raised questioningly.

Elise smiled up at him with sweet seduction as she teasingly decried, “My lord, I'm completely at your mercy.”