“Can I get you anything else, Your Grace?” Delia asked.
Slowly, Caroline pulled herself from her thoughts and turned to her maid, willing a small smile.
“I am all set for the evening, thank you, Delia,” she replied. “And thank you for whatever you added to my bath. It was lovely.”
Delia smiled with pride before she dipped into a curtsy.
“A touch of buttermilk and lavender, Your Grace,” she explained. “The perfect way to soothe the body after such a tense day.”
Tense indeed.No matter what task she had set herself for the rest of that day, Caroline’s thoughts always wandered back to Damien’s naked form and the feelings she experienced when seeing it. It had left her shoulders and back tense, and only Delia’s miracle bath had managed to soothe them.
As soon as she was finished with the bath, however, her thoughts of her husband grew vivid once again, and already she felt the tension returning. Not wanting Delia to witness her mind running off again, Caroline dismissed her for the night, lockedher door out of habit, and then curled up on her bed, snuggling deep into the clean sheets and heavy duvet as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Warm, strong arms wrapped around her naked waist, pulling her flush against a wide, firm, bare torso, and instead of fighting them, Caroline let out a breathless sigh as she felt the hard press of him against her buttocks. His hands splayed across her stomach and began a slow, torturous descent as his lips found her neck, her ear, the sensitive curve of her throat, and she tilted her head back against his shoulder with a soft moan, her hips pressing back into him of their own accord.
“Why did you scurry away from me, Caroline?” Damien’s deep voice rumbled into her ear.
“I was afraid,” she sighed, letting her body sink deeper into the comfort of his.
Pleasure pulsed through her as his lips traced a slow, deliberate path down her neck, teeth grazing just enough to make her shiver, and as his hands turned her to face him, the full, hard length of him pressed against her belly and pulled a sharp gasp from her lips.
“Look at me, Caroline,” Damien coaxed as his hand settled around her throat and his thumb tilted her chin upward.
Slowly, she obeyed, and another wave of warm desire spread through her body as she met his amber eyes. They shone with a raw emotion she had never seen in him before. She nestled closer to his body, reveling in the way he made her feel safe and desired.
“Do not fear me,” he rasped, his deep voice pleading as his lips loomed closer to hers. “I will take care of you. I will keep yousafe.”
A whimper left her lips as his mouth finally found hers, hungry and unhurried all at once, and she melted into him, her hands fisting in his hair as she kissed him back with everything she had been too afraid to feel.
Then, suddenly, her lips, her entire body, were cold. Her arms, once wrapped around Damien’s naked waist, were empty. Caroline’s eyes snapped open, and her heart began to hammer as she discovered Damien was gone.
“Damien?” she called, panic bleeding into her sense of safety. “Damien!”
“You truly thought he could protect you, Caroline?”
She whirled as she heard Agatha’s voice, and a cry left her lips as she found her stepmother standing there, her eyes and voice as cold as ever.
“No... no,” Caroline croaked, stumbling back from her. “What do you want?”
A wicked smile spread across Agatha’s lips as she took a step toward her.
“You think you can fool me, you indecent little tramp? Think you could foil my plans and nothing would happen?” Agatha asked, taking another step closer.
Caroline attempted to step back, but her feet suddenly felt like they were rooted to the ground.
“Stay back!” she screamed, raising her hands.
Agatha vanished, but in a split second, she appeared again, this time nose to nose with Caroline as her hand fisted in her hair.Caroline let out another cry as Agatha wrenched her head back and slapped her. Pain blistered through her cheek, but it was nothing compared to the fear coursing through her veins.
“You will pay for what you did!” Agatha screamed into her face, then struck her again.
“No!” Caroline screamed. She reached up, clawing with all her might, but her curled fingers did nothing but brush through the air. “Help!”
A loud banging thundered from beyond as Agatha tightened her grip in Caroline’s hair with one hand and painfully clenched her jaw with the other.
“No one can save you! Do you hear me? You will pay!”
A bloodcurdling scream erupted from Caroline’s lungs as the banging grew louder. This time, followed by a bestial roar.
