War of Hearts, A Historical Romance (16 page)

“And I am very glad you did,” Sarah
whispered, her hand rising to her injured throat.

“If you confess your escapades to Mr.
Radcliff, please leave the Colonel out of it.”

“Oh, of course! Um, Ryan?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you, for saving me.”

“Anytime; after all, who would I take to the
ball?”

Sarah groaned as she woke. She had collapsed
in her bed with exhaustion after replacing the knife in the drawer
and returning the wig and dress to the chest. Her body ached from
head to toe and her breath sounded raspy as she took in air past
her swollen throat.

She needed to check herself in the mirror,
to see if she could hide her wounds from Tristan. However, she
could not muster the strength to face the day. She jumped at a
knock on the door.

“Miss Smith?”

It was Cecilia’s voice.

“Are you still ill? Should I bring a tray up
for breakfast?”

“Yes,” Sarah barked out. The footsteps were
barely discernible as they moved down the hallway. Minutes later,
another knock sounded. This knock was much louder, and she froze as
Tristan called out to her.

“Sarah?” he asked again, unlocking the door
when he received no answer.

She wanted to shout out for him to stop, to
not enter. But she did not have the strength. Instead she hid under
the covers to hide her shame from the world. She felt the bed sink
down as he sat on the edge.

“Are you feeling better?” he asked. His
voice was thick with concern and her heart ached at her deceit.

With her eyes broadcasting her pain and
fear, she lowered the covers so she could peek out, and shook her
head no.

“Do you need a doctor?”

The door creaked open and Cecilia stepped
into the room, her arms laden with a tray of food & beverages.
“She’ll be fine. I’ll tend to her. Why don’t you go down and have
some breakfast?”

“No, I think I’ll stay,” he replied, taking
the tray from her and shutting the door after she left reluctantly.
Sarah tried to push herself up into a sitting position with her
injured hand and gasped out in pain. He was at her side in an
instant; he pulled back the cover and his eyes widened with shock
as he took in her bruised neck and arms. “Who did this to you? It
was Randall wasn’t it?” Tristan spat out, his rage barely
contained. “I’ll kill him.” He turned to leave, to do just that, as
Sarah flung herself forward and grabbed onto his arm.

“Please stop! It’s too late. It’s too late,”
she sobbed as her body shook with emotion. She let go as her
injured wrist gave way and she held it to her body, rocking back
and forth in the bed.

Tristan turned to look at her as the door
opened again. The Colonel stepped inside and shut it behind
himself.

“Have a seat, Tristan.” The Colonel waited
patiently as the worried man set on the edge of the bed. “Major
Johnson is no longer with us. I can personally vouch that Miss
Smith was in the house the entire evening. I surmise he ran off
with a trollop. He always was careless with his conquests.”

“I don’t understand,” Tristan muttered.

“Exactly.” The Colonel winked at Sarah
before turning and heading down to breakfast.

“What the hell happened last night?” Cold
blue eyes turned to her and she shut her eyes tightly, tears
cascading down her face.

“I’m so sorry Tristan. I didn’t mean to get
everyone involved.”

“Well what were you planning?” he asked.

“I was going to kill the bastard myself. He
threatened me, forced himself on Cecilia, and was planning on
getting you locked up,” she whispered, even though it was
painful.

“Why didn’t you tell me? I don’t need your
protection. I’m supposed to protect you.” He reached out and lifted
her colorful wrist. He held it gently as he ran his thumb over the
angry bruises.

“I have nothing to lose. You have
everything,” she said, lifting her good hand to caress his
face.

He shook his head. “If I lost you, I would
have lost everything.”

Tears filled her eyes with his tenderness as
he leaned over and gently kissed her mouth. He pulled away
reluctantly. “Now, what happened?”

“I tricked him into meeting me at a bar. I
took a knife from the kitchen and planned on slitting his throat.
He grabbed my wrist and started choking me. I would have died if it
were not for Ryan. He saved me and we escaped together.”

“Then I am indebted to Ryan.”

“Lay with me?” she asked.

He carefully moved next to her and pulled
her into his arms. She buried her head into his chest as she
listened to his heartbeat. Soon she was asleep.

The days ticked by. Tristan headed off to
finalize plans with Gabriel as Sarah helped Ryan pick out
tablecloths. Randall’s name was never mentioned in the house, but
Ryan told her during an outing to the florist that he had been
found three days later. Surprisingly, the body was found floating
in the river. She guessed the Tavern didn’t want the army snooping
around. Not that the army had been looking for him.

This freed up her mind some and she was able
to fully concentrate on their plan. Her neck was healing slowly and
she wore a scarf and gloves to hide the bruises. Her wrist was
feeling much better; no permanent damage had been done.

She was eager to see Tristan. He had been
sleeping in her room since the incident. He just lay next to her
and held her; she felt so safe. She was desperate for more though,
and she would wait no longer.

There was much less tension at dinner these
nights and Sarah ate her fill, needing to regain her strength. The
rescue was coming up soon and she needed to be ready.

Tristan cleared his throat as he laid the
napkin on the table. “I have a proposition to make.” Everyone
looked up at him; however his eyes were only on Sarah. “I’m going
to be leaving soon; we have a new shipment for London. Sarah, I
would like for you to go with me. Let me take you away from all
this war nonsense.”

Sarah covered her mouth in surprise. They
had not discussed this; it was brilliant! “Umm, why I don’t know.
It’s so sudden.”

“I know, but I need to return to the sea,
and I want you with me… as my wife.”

Sarah mouthed the words, unable to speak.
The Colonel clapped his hands in glee. “Brilliant! We can simply
turn the ball into a wedding! How grand is that?”

Sarah looked from one man to the other in
confusion. Was this part of the plan or had he simply gone mad?

“I appreciate the offer, Colonel. However, I
would prefer to marry in London with my parents in attendance. They
have the most wonderful cathedrals,” he added, picking up Sarah’s
hand and kissing it.

“I don’t know what to say,” Sarah replied,
finding her voice.

“Say yes,” Ryan chimed in with a soft
smile.

“Umm…yes?” she said a bit shyly, wondering
if she should kill him for putting her in this position. He grinned
from ear to ear as he leaned over and captured her lips in his.

“Excuse us but I think we will skip the
pudding tonight.” He stood up and gently pulled Sarah to her feet,
guiding her upstairs to his bedroom.

The door had barely shut as Sarah turned on
him. “What the hell was that?”

He smirked, pulling her into his arms. “I
thought it was an excellent idea. Plus, it buys us more time and a
reason to leave the party early.”

She still frowned at him, which was
difficult being so close. “What about the wedding?”

“I’m sorry; I just wanted to see the
expression on your face. You looked so surprised, it was
perfect.”

“I see. I’m glad I could amuse you.” She
turned angrily and tried to hide the tears that sprang
involuntarily to her eyes. For a second her heart had hoped it had
been real. How foolish could she be?

“Sarah, it’s not like that. I didn’t mean to
upset you.” He again pulled her into his arms and kissed her tears
away. She cursed her body for responding to him. She turned her
head defiantly and he just used the action to gently kiss her
throat.

“What’s the matter?” he asked, finally
pulling away.

She shook her head. “It’s my fault. You
never promised me anything except a ship, and until tonight, I
haven’t thought about my future. For so long, I haven’t even been
sure if there would be one.”

“Sarah…”

“I don’t have time for fairytales; my
priority is saving those men. No matter what the cost. We will need
lots of blankets, clean clothing, fresh water and food. I assume
you can arrange that?”

“Already done.”

“Thank you,” Sarah whispered, stepping
toward him and pulling his head down in a hungry kiss. She did not
know what the future held but she would enjoy him while she
could.

Tristan returned it with equal vitality as
he lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bed. He tried to
lay over her, but she twisted at the last second knocking him to
his back.

Taking advantage of his prone form, her
hands ripped at his shirt eager to feel his flesh. Tristan lifted
his hips, pulling his shirt free from his pants and allowing her to
find what she sought.

Hiking her dress up to her thighs she
straddled his waist and sat on his pelvis. Surprise covered his
face, which soon changed to desire as she drew her fingernails down
his chest to where his pants started. She then slid her hands back
up to his neck and gently caressed his chest, letting his chest
hair slide through her fingers as she spread her hand opened and
closed repeatedly.

She had never explored him like this before.
He moved to pull her down and she slapped his hands away as her
fingers drew small circles around his nipples. She watched in
amusement as they stiffened up and she leaned down to nibble on one
with her teeth. He moaned beneath her as he shifted her bottom to
accommodate his growing need. She ignored him as she moved to his
other bud, offering it the same attention.

She could feel his member pushing against
the cloth separating them. Feeling a bit guilty, she moved down to
release it. Unbuttoning his pants was more difficult than she had
expected. She glared at him as his hands moved in to assist
her.

Freeing him from the confinement, his member
stood up proudly. She took the time to trace his length with her
finger. Even though they had been together numerous times, she had
never been able to see him like this before. Usually he was tucked
away under the covers. Not tonight; tonight she would give him the
attention he deserved.

She pulled at his pants as he leaned down
and swiftly removed them completely. She sat next to him on the bed
and resumed her exploration. She gently cupped his sac and marveled
how it seemed to wither from her touch. Moving her hand back to his
manhood she encircled it with her fingers. She held it loosely,
slowly moving her hand up and down along his length.

She heard a groan from him and she pulled
her hand away quickly, afraid she had hurt him. He was grasping the
covers with his fists and his eyes were tightly closed.

“Did I hurt you?” she whispered.

“You’re killing me,” he groaned, unable to
take anymore. He pulled her down to him and kissed her lips.

His hands expertly removed her dress and she
felt the cool night air from the window washing over her like a
caress. She gasped as he flipped her onto her back, moving to cover
her. His hand slipped down between her legs, surprised to feel her
sopping with need.

“I need you,” he whispered, spreading her
legs wider and slipping inside.

She gasped; she felt so complete when she
was with him. All thoughts were soon wiped from her mind as his
pace picked up. She dissolved into pure emotion, gasping his name
out as he brought her to the brink and past.

She felt him growl, his body shuddering
above her. She felt his strength seep into her body as he collapsed
on top of her. He kissed her damp cheek, sliding off of her so she
could breathe. Keeping his arms around her, it was his turn to
think.

He added the marriage part in a spur of the
moment. He had not been serious about it at the time. Hell, he had
never even thought about marriage before. He was not the family
type.

They had made no plans past the rescue.
However, he could not imagine being apart from her. When he saw
what Randall had done to her he was livid. Sarah was such a loving,
giving creature, and she had asked so little in return.

Would marriage be that bad? He thought about
having her in his bed for the rest of his life, and the idea was
not unpleasant.

***

Sarah woke. The warm arms surrounding her
reminded her she was in Tristan’s bed. The rays spraying through
the window spoke of dawn. Regretfully she sat up to face it.

Tristan mumbled at the interruption and she
ignored him, gathering her things to leave. She arrived at her room
unseen and moved to wash in the basin. She had regrettably promised
Tristan she would accompany him today. They were to pick up her
gown for the ball and finalize plans for the rescue with Gabriel.
He would meet them on the
Vixen
.

Ruffling through the trunk, she came across
the dress she had worn here; the dress that had sustained her for
many months in the field. It was threadbare in places but held so
many memories. She packed it in the small satchel she planned to
bring with her. It was too precious to leave behind.

She looked around the room at all the
grandeur. Yet it meant nothing to her. The only things of
importance in this world were people. She just didn’t understand
how the King could not see that? His heart was filled with greed
for coin and land.

Hopefully, she could return to Washington’s
army, and if she could bring back some strong men, it would be even
better. Of course returning to the army meant facing Robert. That
would be uncomfortable; however it was he who had told her she
should seek out Tristan.