his head away from the tantalizing
bud.
***
Staring down at her, with her eyes
so glazed over and her lips parted in
invitation as she undulated against
him, he couldn’t help what he did
next. His lips captured hers in a hard
kiss as his hand moved quickly
between their bodies to position
himself. He drove forward and Jaisyn
winced at the full invasion. Feeling her
tense, he gentled his kiss and waited,
nibbling on her bottom lip. She arched
into him, taking more of him into her,
and kissed him back. Her hands
wound around his neck and she
moved her hips with him, angling up
for his downward thrusts.
“Do you love me, Jaisyn?” Vulcan
demanded, his mouth at her ear as his
lower body sunk into hers.
She shook her head. She wasn’t
going to say it. He hadn’t returned her
love. She wasn’t going to—
“Do you still love me, wife?” he
repeated, his tongue closing over her
earlobe. She was so close. It
approached like a wave, a torrent,
steady and sure, and then—he
stopped. His harsh breath and her
cries were the only audible sound in
the room.
“Do you, Jaisyn?” he asked after a
deep breath. She rolled her pelvis
against him and he groaned before
settling both hands on her hips,
holding her steady.
“Why? It does not matter, Vulcan,”
she cried, her head twisting violently
on the pillow. She was being held
from ecstasy by her cruel husband.
“It matters,” was all he said.
“No,” she lied, trying to move her
hips again. He held steady. She
looked into his eyes. They had grown
a bit cold, and his face was now
impassive and raised over hers. “You
don’t love me, Vulcan.”
“I do not know the meaning of that
word,” he replied evenly.
Jaisyn lifted her hands to his face,
moved her face closer to his and
clenched her muscles on him. He
growled softly, but held her gaze. “It
means that you’re always thinking of
the person, you always want to see
the person, that you’re always
worried of how the person will think
of you, and you feel like you’re dying
when something bad happens to the
person. That is love to me.”
He nodded and lowered to her once
more. His hips began to flex and she
cried out and clenched her hands
about his back, stroking and digging
into his flesh until her back arched
and she came apart, calling his name.
Vulcan paused mid-thrust and stared
down at her. She spasmed around him
and he bit his lip, drawing blood, and
relishing the pain to keep himself from
spilling.
Jaisyn felt wondrous as the tremors
left her body. Her arm wrapped about
Vulcan’s waist and she paused. He
was still hard inside of her.
“Vulcan, aren’t you—”
His lips captured hers again and he
began to move purposefully once
more. She was sensitive from the
previous orgasm and didn’t last long.
A scream tore from her lips as she felt
his warm heat mark her, and soon she
was riding the clouds in bliss.
She surfaced with his sweat-covered
body draped along hers, crushing her
into the mattress. She pushed at his
arms and he rolled onto his back,
pulling her up against his chest.
“I love you.” His voice was an
unmistakable rumble in the room.
Jaisyn’s eyes widened and she
pushed herself up so she could stare
down at him. He lifted his lids, stared
up in her eyes. His eyes were earnest
and a bit of insecurity flickered there
as well.
“What did you say?” she heard
herself ask softly.
He cleared his throat and spoke
once more, unfamiliar words that
were as foreign to him as the emotion
itself. “I love you, Jaisyn.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Are you
certain?”
She was on her back with him above
her less than two seconds later. A
smile was beginning to form on her
lips.
“I said that I loved you, woman!”
Vulcan burst out, his gaze pinned to
hers. “I don’t want any other woman
but you and you’re constantly on my
mind. When your bastard cousin had
that blade to your throat, I felt as if I
were dying.” He buried his face in the
crook of her neck and inhaled. “And
you always smell so good. Especially
when you wear my scent.”
A soft laugh erupted from her lips
and he lifted his head to glare down at
her, until he saw how she was looking
at him.
“I already told you how I felt about
you,” she murmured softly. “It pleases
me to know that I am not alone in my
feelings. I love you, Vulcan.”
***
A smile lit his face and Jaisyn
thought once again that her husband
should smile more. Smiling added a
look of boyishness to his hard and
chiseled features. He rolled onto his
back and pulled her up against him.
She turned in and placed her face
against his warm chest.
She was drifting to sleep when a
thought crossed her mind, “Why did
you ask me about Bael?” She knew
better than to mention Varian again.
Her husband shrugged his big
shoulders. “I wanted an honest
opinion.”
“Why?” she persisted. His hands
tightened around her and he drew her
even closer to him.
“I have thought of a way to keep
one of my wayward vassals under
control,” he replied drowsily.
Her lids closed and she blinked them
open once more. “Who and how?”
“I will tell you when I have thought
it through.” Jaisyn might have argued
but she was tired. She’d been tired
before her husband had come into her
room and scrumptiously worn her out,
all over again.
Chapter 16
The Season started without a hitch
and continued brilliantly. As the king
and queen had opened the Season
with a grand ball, the nobility
followed, hosting numerous events
that dazzled the already glamorous
aristocrats. Jaisyn had been received
by the higher-ranking nobles of
Morden, and along with her sisters
and ladies, had seen some of the most
beautiful areas of the kingdom.
After her night with Vulcan, things
changed. Calista still sat beside him,
but so did Lady Mor’an, who had
removed herself to his side once more.
He divided his attention equally
between the two, but Jaisyn caught
the looks he sent her way, as did most
of the people sitting around the table.
She would smile demurely in return,
trying most unsuccessfully not to
allow his ardent stare to affect her
body as they dined, before giving her
attention either to her sisters or her
ladies.
Although they were always invited
to the balls, Jaisyn recognized quickly
that her husband wasn’t the type who
enjoyed fraternizing where there
wasn’t a weapon involved. And while
she enjoyed the occasional dance, she
much rather preferred the long rides
she took on Ajax or Orion. Soon she
would be unable to ride and she
wished to make the most of it while
she still could. At times, her sisters or
her ladies accompanied her, but most
of the times, she rode with only her
guards following at a discreet pace,
enjoying the serenity of doing so.
She’d just returned from such a ride
when a messenger informed her that
her presence was requested in Lydia’s
chambers. It was the middle of the
Season and Jaisyn found it odd, as the
lady had made no move to spend any
time alone with her after the
conversation in which Jaisyn had
almost banished Calista from court.
Beyond polite and dull dialogue, the
lady had said little to Jaisyn over the
past month.
Lady
Mor’an
was
dressed
comfortably in a dark purple day
gown, with thin, transparent sleeves
and a V-fronted bodice to help with
the heat. Her dark hair was swept up
from her neck in a smart coif. Jaisyn
was still in her riding habit, and was
anxious to take it off and put on a cool
day dress such as the one the lady
wore.
As soon as Jaisyn entered, Lydia
dismissed the maids who were
bustling about the room and invited
her to sit on the edge of her perfectly-
made bed. After she sat, Lady Mor’an
took a seat as well.
The two women assessed each other
without saying a word. Finally, Lady
Mor’an spoke. “I have only known
you a few months but I can tell that
you are good person, with a good
heart. It is for this reason that I feel
the need to speak freely and to offer
advice in the strictest of confidences.”
“Lady Mor’an?” Jaisyn’s eyebrows
drew together in confusion and she
instinctively rested a hand over her
belly.
Smiling, Lydia held up a thin white
hand and shook her head. “Please,
call me Lydia. And might I call you
Jaisyn?”
Jaisyn nodded slowly. Lydia looked
at her hands, nervously twitching in
her lap.
“I wish to discourage you from
having much affection for your
husband.” The words were said
calmly, and Lydia faced Jaisyn boldly
after the declaration. Before Jaisyn
could respond, Lydia continued. “I
know that he has acted more
generously toward you in the past
weeks, but I wish to caution you on
thinking that it will last.”
“
Lady Mor’an
, I do not believe—”
She felt irritation rise within her at the
lady’s words. Who was she to tell
Jaisyn that Vulcan’s affections would
not last?
Lydia smiled sadly and held up a
hand. “I approached you in the salon
sometime ago and broached this very
same topic but did not continue. You
see, I did not think it as serious as I do
now.”
“You are not making sense,
milady.”
“I hope that you will understand
after I have divulged what I should
have months ago. Eleanor was
Vulcan’s mother and Frederick’s first
wife. She did not wish to leave her
homeland to marry Frederick Mor’an,
a violent and cold warrior whose
blood-lust was legendary. But she had
no choice. Despite his coldness,
Frederick managed to capture the
young girl’s heart, but her affections
were not returned. In fact, it is said
that after she birthed Vulcan, he took
so many mistresses that the queen
was humiliated and heartbroken. She
left for Seacrest, taking her newborn
and her ladies with her. Frederick did
not care, as he’d grown tired of her. It
was rumored he’d found a mistress
that he cared to take to wife, a
Morden woman. Many believed that
he would have broken the marriage,
taken his heir and cast her aside for
his mistress, had she not died before.
There are whispers it was a broken
heart that killed her.” Pausing, Lydia
stood and turned her back to Jaisyn.
“Frederick raised Vulcan to be
exactly like him. From the age of four,
he had neither the love nor the
affection of a woman. Even when I
married Frederick, he refused to let
m e
we a k e n
his heir. And so, I
watched a charming little boy with
raven black hair and inquisitive grey
eyes grow into a cold-hearted king. I
love Vulcan like my own blood, but
he cannot return affection. It is
something instilled in him by his
father.” A sigh left her lips.
“Lady Mor’an, Vulcan is not his
father. From what you’ve told me—”
“Even now, after I’ve told you the
history, you refuse to take heed,”