Wolf Bride Read Free Page A

‘but it is your father’s will.’
    She raised her face to his, looking for some sign of grief or torment. ‘But do you not love me, Simon? I thought we were to be wed.’
    ‘Oh my sweet fool,’ he muttered, suddenly his old self again, his eyes dark with passion. He gripped her by the waist and pulled her close. ‘Of course I love you. How can you doubt me?’
    Simon kissed her fiercely. She felt her fears dissolve under that searching mouth, her lips parting daringly to admit his tongue. His kiss deepened and she clung onto his shoulders, her head spinning pleasantly.
    ‘You are so very beautiful, Eloise,’ he whispered against her cheek. ‘I am only surprised no other man has tried to claim you before now.’
    His lips slid down her neck to the low-cut bodice of her gown, kissing the soft skin there just above her breasts. He groaned her name under his breath, clasping her more tightly. Then his hand moved slowly round to cup her breast, squeezing it, but gently, as though afraid she might repulse him.
    For once Eloise did not push him away, telling him they must wait until they were married. Instead, she allowed him to caress her, sighing with pleasure as his fingers sought her nipple through the stiff fabric and played it skilfully.
    ‘Simon,’ she breathed, and raised her head, kissing him back.
    Perhaps he was right: this was no time for doubts and arguments. He was her beloved, and she was his. Their lives would be intertwined forever. But whatever Simon was planning that would allow them to be together, she wished he would share it with her.
    Simon had pushed her against the wall in his passion, kissing her more forcefully, and she had not protested. But now the stones felt cold against her back, and she shivered, opening her eyes to the grey sky above them. His knee pushed against her gown, nudging her legs apart.
    ‘No, Simon, we must not,’ she groaned.
    ‘Why not?’
    He kissed her palm then placed it firmly against his own body, showing her how aroused he had become.
    ‘It is cold, I grant you that, but we will be quite safe here if we are quick. There is no one about to see us. They will all be in the presence chamber at this time, attending the king.’
    ‘But . . . we are not yet married.’
    ‘Who cares for that?’ He kissed her again, his tongue pushing into her mouth. Then, as if sensing her reluctance, he sighed and raised his head. ‘What’s the matter now? Come, speak your heart to me. Are you afraid Lord Wolf will discover you are not a maid on your wedding night?’
    She stared, speechless with astonishment that he could consider making love to her and still allow her to be married off to a stranger afterwards.
    Speak her heart to him? It was hard enough not to let the hurt and anger show on her face. Had Simon no intention of marrying her himself? She had foolishly assumed by his kisses that he intended to suggest an elopement and a secret wedding before her father could intervene, but apparently such a thought had never been in his mind. He had used her. And he had not finished the task, it seemed.
    ‘Do not distress yourself, my dearest Eloise,’ he whispered in her ear, his hand once again caressing her breast, only this time in a more lewd manner, pinching her nipple. ‘I can teach you a trick that will make your husband think you are still a virgin. The queen herself must know it, for she was surely no maid on her wedding night. Yet the king found nothing amiss.’
    ‘How dare you say such a thing of Her Majesty?’ she exclaimed, pushing away his hand. ‘You must know how it disgusts me.’
    ‘My love, all I mean is that we need not let this arranged marriage stand in the way of our pleasure. True, it is a long way to York. But you will return to court soon enough. Lord Wolf is too ambitious a man to remain in the cold north forever.’ His smile teased her. ‘And then we can lie together at court while he is busy with the king or campaigning abroad.’
    ‘You