Rose of rapture by Rebecca Brandewyne Page B

forcing her face up to his—"what a merry chase ye have led me! But now... ye are mine!"

He ground his mouth down on hers hard, then abruptly flung her to the earth. For a moment, he stood towering over her like some tall golden god, noting the way her long lithe legs gleamed where her skirts had ridden up to her thighs; the way her full soft breasts heaved beneath the thin material of her gown; the way her generous, lush mouth parted and trembled; the way her mysterious, pale blue eyes glittered as she pulled the knife at her waist to defend herself. The man glanced at the dagger carelessly, as though it were little more than a pin to prick him.
    "Dost mean to use that on yourself or me, my lady?" He lifted one eyebrow devilishly, as though amused.
    "On ye, Tremayne!" she spat. "Think ye that I wouldst let ye touch me—ye, an enemy of my people?"
    "But not your enemy, Hwyelis," he purred softly, "not after tonight. After tonight, I shall be your lover, and when I am through with ye, ye will beg me to take ye and make ye so."
    "Nay!"
    "Shall we see, my lady? I will even make ye a wager to add spice to the sport."
    "What sort of wager?" Hwyelis gazed up at her captor suspiciously, wondering if he had thought of some means to trick her as she had his sentries.

    "I will wager ye this: If. even once, during my taking of ye, I cause ye to cry out with wanting for me, then when the child of our mating is eight years old, ye will bring him to me, to be raised as I see fit."
    "Child? How can ye be so sure there will come a babe of our mating, Tremayne?"
    "I feel it, Hwyelis—in my bones and in my blood. I knew, from the first moment I saw ye. that I must have ye, my lady. That is why I have not yet ransomed ye back to your father. Aye, ye will give me my son. Hwyelis: have no doubt about that.**
    She tossed her head scornfully.
    "And if I do not cry out?"
    "Then ye may keep the child—a bad bargain for me, since the puny brats my wife has bred are sickly lads, like their mother, not likely to survive till manhood; and since my previous mistresses—God, curse my luck—proved barren. I need an heir, my lady. I am the last of my name."
    "Dost think me a fool?'" she asked, sneering. "A half-Welsh bastard is not likely to inherit the earldom of a powerful Englislj lord, Tremayne. Tis a trick! Ye do but lie to deceive me!"
    "There is a little-known clause in the Hawkhurst charter that permits such a descendance if there are no legitimate males of the line remaining. On my honor, I swear 'tis so," he continued when she remained silent. "Ah. that sweetens your temper toward me, Hwyelis, does it not?" The Lord grinned wryly as he saw her eyes suddenly narrow with calculation.
    "Ye must have me first—and win the wager!" She pointed her knife at his heart threateningly, defensive again. "And I shall slay ye before ye do either!"
    "The wager stands then?"
    "Aye."
    "Your word on it, my lady."
    "Ye have it."
    Lord Hawkhurst laughed loudly once more, then kicked the dagger from her hands and fell upon her.
    "Ah, ye will be a fit mother for my son. Hwyelis. Thou art as wild as a savage hawk, my lady, but 1 shall tame ye nevertheless; never ye fear, my sweet Welsh witch." he breathed, his lips silencing any response she might have made.
    Then there was nothing for her but his lovcmaking and. sometime later, her single cry of surrender as he drove strongly between her thighs and smiled down at her with triumph in his strange amber eyes.

    :|e :tc *
    As though he could not believe his ears, the sentry stared down at the lone woman and four young lads who stood outside the portcullis of the old castle.
    "Did ye hear me?" the woman called angrily. "I am the Lady Hwyelis uerch Owein, and this boy"—she pushed one of the children forward—"is Waerwic, son of Lx)rd Hawkhurst. I demand ye admit us at once. I warn ye: Tremayne will have your head on a platter if ye turn us away."
    The young guard was new at this post and did not know what to do. At