Through The Leaded Glass (13 page)

“
Provide you with—? God, I’d almost
forgotten what century I’m in.” One of William’s balls rolled by
her feet. She tossed it back.

William squealed and rolled another one toward
her. “More!”

Kate sat on the grass and rolled it back.
“Look, Alex,” she said, tilting her head back, and Alex was gifted
with the most exquisite view of the tops of her breasts.

He was a knave for noticing.

No, he was a man.

A lonely man who missed the comfort of a
woman—and there was no denying Kate was a woman.

“
I’m sure I’m perfectly able to
bear children.”

He’d like to test that theory.

She rolled another ball back to William. “And
somehow I’ll get home, either with the window or by Alicia, so
it’ll be a non-issue. You’ll just have to find someone else to give
you your heirs.”

As he watched her play with his son, with
sunlight gleaming on her wine colored hair, a ready smile on those
soft sweet lips he hadn’t tasted enough of, and the rise and fall
of her breasts as she stretched and moved to retrieve the balls,
Alex knew he’d be hard-pressed to find someone he’d want
more.

***

He peered around the corner of the
outbuilding, as the
lord
and his lady-to-be played with the
child—the ruination of all his plans. There could be no
heirs.

He ducked from view and thought of his
strategy. How could she have found that damned ring? Had someone
turned traitor on him?

Ah, the irony if it were so.

But it wouldn’t matter. In a short time, Alex
would be no longer be earl—or alive, for that matter.

***

Kate thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon playing
with William, though the ball rolling had gotten old after the
first half hour, and the five games of Find The Frog had her
teaching him to play pick-up-sticks.

Alex had given up after the second Find The
Frog episode, saying he was content to watch she and William get to
know each other, but that’d been a cop-out; she’d seen his reaction
to their conversation about children.

Thankfully, he hadn’t acted on the desire
she’d seen in his eyes. Alex was one sexy guy, but he was also a
fifteenth century earl. Yes, she had to live by this society’s
mores, but they were doable only because there was an end in sight.
She would leave. She
had
to leave. Anything else was out of
the question. And while her society’s mores were all for having a
vacation fling, it would be a bit more involved with Alex. He was
honest and noble and cared so much for his son that if they were in
her world, nothing would stop her from starting something with
him—with the goal of happily-ever-after in mind.

But they weren’t and she was leaving and it
just wasn’t worth the heartache. She was already too aware of him.
Liked him too much for her to be able to walk away heart-whole.
It’d taken her too long to put her heart back together; she didn’t
want to go through that again.

William scattered his pile of sticks and
yanked on her dress. “Sweep, pease.” He let out a big
yawn.

Kate’s heart melted when she picked him up and
he plopped his chubby cheek on her shoulder with another yawn.
“Let’s go see your father. It’s pretty late.”

William was too cute. As Emma would be. Kate
had already fallen in love with the pictures she’d seen of her and
couldn’t wait to hold her in her arms. This adoption
had
to
go through. She’d never get another shot. There were hundreds of
couples waiting and the process was so long. It’d been tough to get
accepted as a single parent, but she’d done it. It couldn’t all go
belly up because of some twist of fate. It couldn’t; Emma needed
her.

She needed Emma.

She hugged William a little tighter while she
carried him back to his father. “I think the little guy is
pooped.”

Alex raised an eyebrow. Her temperature went
along with it. “That term doesn’t mean what I think it does, does
it?”

She laughed. “No. It means he’s
tired.”

Alex took William. “He or you?”

“
Hey, I’m fine. No three-year-old
is going to wear me out.”
His father, however, was welcome to
try
.

Not
the thought she ought to be
having.

“
So you are prepared for the feast
this evening?” he asked once William had been handed off to his
nurse.

“
Feast? What feast?” No one had
mentioned any feast. And that twinkle in his eye wasn’t reassuring
her.

“
The one you discussed with
Cook.”

“
And I did this when?”

Alex glanced back as Maude and William headed
down one of the corridors, then took her arm and led her toward an
alcove by the door. “This morn when you met with Beatrice for your,
what did you call it? Your countessing lesson.”

“
Beatrice did mention something
about dinner, but—”

“
Supper. Dinner is the midday
meal.”

“
Semantics.” Kate waved her hand.
“Anyhow, she mentioned something about supper, but I had no idea I
was supposed to be doing any party planning. Cook rattled off a
bunch of things I’ve never heard of, so I just nodded. I hope you
trust your staff, Alex, or you’re going to have to postpone your
feast.”

He swiped a hand over his mouth and that
twinkle in his eyes disappeared. “Kate, you agreed to this. You
assured me you could do it. Is this how you conduct your affairs in
your time?”

Her blood went from boiling to full steam in
two seconds. “I’m damn good at my job, Alex, when I know what the
job is. Next time you might want to come up with something better
than, ‘go with Beatrice.’”

“
What about your claim that you
could handle it? Women do this all the time. I would think such
things wouldn’t change in five hundred years.”

“
Hold it right there. Women do this
all the time? You’re unbelievable. I don’t care what century you’re
in, you can’t honestly think this is second nature to anyone.” Her
eyes narrowed. “Did you really offer a reward for the window, or
have you decided you found a convenient someone to keep the king
off your back? Someone to run your castle and perhaps keep your bed
warm?”

Just like Jay. When would she
learn?

She tried to wrench her arm free, but he
wouldn’t let go. “You can keep your charm and your chauvinism and
find someone else to run this place.” She yanked again. “I can’t
believe I let you kiss me. You can just forget any repeats of
that—”

He hauled her against him before she knew what
was happening, then ground his mouth on hers.

Oh no, she was
not
one of those women
who went weak at the knees with shows of brute strength. He could
kiss her all he wanted, slide his tongue into her mouth, all warm
and moist and tasting of him and apples, and he could pelvic-thrust
against her, and she wouldn’t cave. Her palms wouldn’t get moist…
her breath shallow… her stomach fluttery with
butterflies…

Oh hell.

Kate groaned and gave up the fight. He really
tasted too delicious to deny and she’d been lying when she said
she’d
let
him kiss her. She’d been just as
willing.

“
Take that back, Kate,” he
whispered against the corner of her mouth. “You know I sent men out
to look for the blasted window. And you enjoy my kisses. Admit
it.”

Her eyes fluttered open and she found herself
staring at his mouth. Who was she kidding? Not him. “You’re
right.”

Alex slid his arm around her waist and lifted
her so her lips were at the perfect height for his. His tongue slid
between them, tangling with hers, thrusting in and out as his lower
body did the same against her and Kate grabbed onto those broad,
wide shoulders for her very life. How in God’s name did he do this
to her?

His harsh breath provided no answers, but
then, she wasn’t really looking for any. Her fingers threaded
through his hair as she angled her head to take the kiss deeper and
she ground her hips against him, needing to get closer.

Alex hiked up the back of her skirt, her thin
shift all that separated his hand from her bare skin, and plastered
his hand to her behind, lifting her, squeezing and kneading, the
ache between her thighs growing. The wall was at her back while he
leaned hot and heavy against her, her feet inches above the
floor.

Kate fought for breath as her mind swirled
into a knot of sensation, and she willingly held on for the ride.
It’d been so long, and it’d never—
never
—felt like this. Like
a flame burning from her center, setting everything, everywhere he
touched, on fire. She could never deny she wanted this, him, no
matter how foolish it was.

She traced his ear, his jaw, the curve of his
cheek, that eyebrow he raised so often to annoy her, and gasped
into his mouth. Hot breath filled hers as he murmured something—her
name?—before sliding his lips from hers on a tortured path of
seduction along her throat.

Her bones deserted her and she leaned into
him, really having no say in the matter at all. Not that she could
say much of anything. “Ohh,” was about it as his teeth grazed her
neck, his tongue dragging along it to her collarbone.

His body surged against her and Kate willed
her boneless limbs to grip his thighs, positioning him at just the
right spot. Her belly flooded with manic butterflies as heat
gripped her, making her one fluid, writhing being wedged between
his hard body and the cold stone. She slipped down a ways and bit
back the cry at losing his touch on the spot she wanted it
most.

Something tickled her brain about stopping but
she didn’t want to listen. Jay had done some serious damage to her
self-esteem; Alex was fast repairing it. She needed this, his heat,
the pressure, just a little longer, a bit more… She writhed again,
repositioning as Alex groaned against her throat. He gripped her
backside and lifted her into place. She wrapped her heels around
the backs of his knees, ran her hands over his shoulders, down his
arms, gripping his biceps as he pinned her against the wall, her
teeth clenching against the need.

The ache rose, throbbing, coursing through
her, and she matched his rhythm.

He nipped at her neck and she gasped as it
zeroed down to her groin. Her hips jerked, starved it seemed, for
forever. Her pelvis ground against his hardness, the perfect remedy
to ease the pleasure/pain, while his fingers thrust from behind
against the thin fabric of her shift.

She was on fire. Couldn’t get enough. She
writhed more, searching for that spot. There…

He caught her earlobe between his teeth, the
sensation and his hot breath doing amazing things to her insides.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her breasts, her
belly to him as close as possible.

Almost…

He thrust against her and she met it, him, the
pressure, the rhythm…

Almost
…

God, if only they had no clothing barrier
between them… But then Alex caught her lips with his, his tongue
filling her mouth as he thrust again, and the clothes no longer
mattered with the pressure just where she needed it most. Kate was
lost. She sucked on his tongue as waves of pleasure crashed over
her, her breathing frantic, swirls of light behind her eyes, the
thundering crash of her heart drumming through her veins, as the
sweet ecstasy of release filled her.

Then Alex held still, their mouths fused but
unmoving. It could have been a second or a century, but it was too
long.

“
Alex,” she breathed in a
hurry-up-what-are-you-waiting-for-sort-of-way and Alex shuddered
infinitesimally. Then his body began pounding almost uncontrollably
against her, his fingers biting into her backside and another wave
hit her.

Perspiration trickled down her throat between
her breasts when Alex groaned against her, every muscle taut as the
moment stretched between them, his breath harsh against her throat.
She took a deep breath, her sensitive nipples rubbing against the
fabric of her dress and groaned as she felt him still against
her.

“
Damn.”

That was
not
the reaction she was
looking for. Especially since it brought back the nightmare of
Jay’s rejection.

“
You can put me down now.” Whether
her legs would support her was another matter, but she’d deal with
that when it happened. Right now she just wanted to put as much
space between them as possible. God, she sure could pick ‘em,
couldn’t she? “

“
Kate, you
misunderstood.”

Uh, no. She didn’t. “Alex, just let me down.
This was a mistake.”

He paused for a moment, then ground out, “My
pleasure.”

And then the jerk did let her down—he let her
slide
down the entire front of him.

“
Yeah, it was certainly was, wasn’t
it?” She wanted that damn window
now
.

Alex tipped her chin up. “And yours as well.
You can’t deny it.”