Page 37 of The Red Wolf’s Prize

The kiss was punishing. His tongue invaded her mouth,compelling her to accept him. Her body responded, her breasts sensitive to theweight of his powerful chest and her senses reeling from his warmth and hismasculine scent, now so familiar. He lifted his mouth from hers, and leavingher gasping, rained kisses down her neck. He murmured words in French she couldnot discern, his voice a low seductive growl.

When his teeth grazed the base of her neck she moaned. Heslid his hand to her breast where his touch rendered her nipple sensitivebeyond enduring.

She could not help but reach her fingers to the thickchestnut waves of his hair.

His palm swept beneath her short tunic to cover her nakedbreast and she quivered as her nipples reacted, producing a tingling sensationthat echoed through her body. His kiss was deep, his tongue moving like aflame, branding her as his. In spite of the all-consuming heat from theirpassion, she shivered as an unfamiliar ache arose in her most intimate flesh.

Overcome by the new sensations, every soft curve of hersembraced his hard body. He continued to kiss her while settling his lower bodybetween her thighs. Moving his hips with a slow rocking motion, she wassuddenly aware of his hard shaft pressing against her woman’s center, demandingto claim what was his.

She knew enough about the mating of men and women to knowhis intent. “Nay!” she shouted. With her hands, she pushed against him with allof her strength, squirming to be free.

“You only entice me with your movements, Serena.” The depthand huskiness of his voice told her he spoke truth. His lips brushed her ear.

Ignoring her protests, he pressed warm kisses to her neckjust beneath her ear. Without meaning to, she bent her head to his, meltingwith the touch of his lips on her skin.

He raised his head. “Do you see how we are together, Serena?You have always been mine. You were given to me afore I ever came to Talisand.And now I will have you as my wife.”

“But I will not have you!” Serena struggled to find the willto match her actions to her words, but her resolve was fading with hiswhispered words of love and his seductive movements.

She gripped his hair to pull him from her, but he kissed heragain and soon her hands threaded through his thick locks and she ceasedfighting and allowed her body to respond fully to his. She wrapped her armsaround him and held onto his strength.

The Red Wolf moved his hands to the open laces of her tunicand then to her linen shirt, moving the cloth aside to expose her breasts tohis eyes. “You are beautiful, Serena, as I imagined you would be.” He forcedanother sigh from her when he cupped her naked breast and the warmth of hishand made her pull him closer.

Taking her nipple into his mouth, he gently sucked.

She shivered, then sighed. “Nay…” But it was only a weakplea.

Suddenly he rose up on his elbows. “Look at me, Serena.” Hereyes fluttered open. In his silvered eyes she saw unrestrained passion. “Youbelong to me by the king’s decree. Why do you not give to me what is mine totake?”

“Your king, not mine,” she protested. Then looking away,“Take another for your wife.”

“Nay. I wanted you as my leman ere I knew you were my bride,and I intend to have you and no other.”

He bent his head to her breast, his tongue stroked hernipple, leaving her boneless and craving more. Against his strength, her weakefforts to resist availed little. In her woman’s flesh the ache grew demanding.

His hand slid down to her braies and quickly stripped themdown. The feel of his searching hand on the bare skin of her thigh was bothalarming and enticing. He was moving ever closer to—

She panicked. “You would force me?” she asked breathlesslyknowing only his own rules could stop him now.

At her words, he stilled, hovering over her, his breathingrapid as he stared into her eyes. Then, with sudden force, he pushed from herand sat back on his knees, breathing hard. He ran his hand through his hair.

“Though you say me nay, Serena, your body tells me somethingelse.”

“I am an innocent. You would seduce me against my will?”

“I would make you my wife in truth. For that is what youwill be, no matter your anger at being wed to a Norman. You are mine by right.”He let out a breath in a deep sigh. “But I would not take you here upon thehard ground. Talisand has beds enough. And you and I will find pleasure inthem, have no doubt.”

Still flushed with the pleasure he had called forth from herinnocent flesh, Serena experienced a wave of relief. Every time he touched her,whether as Sarah or as Serena, he created a desire for more. His words onlymade clear how close she had come to submitting. How much she already had.

* * *

Renaud looked down at his bride where she sat upon the grasspulling her clothing together. He was glad her words had brought a halt to hisfevered consummation. Her eyes told him she was bewildered by her own reaction.Serena had meant to fight, he knew, but was defeated by the passion betweenthem. A passion that pleased him. If that is all they had to begin theirmarriage, he was content. It was more than most marriages of state had whenthey began. He would use it to hold her. But he would not take her here, eventhough she was his to take. He wanted the memory of their first joining to be apleasant one.

“I will give you time to get used to the idea but know this,Serena: it will not be long. Your resistance and your deception are at an end,my lady.” The irony of it was that while his rules kept him from forcing theservant girl Sarah, a wife was another matter.

He retrieved the rabbits Serena had killed, and her seax,fixing them to the saddle on the white palfrey he found standing among thetrees. Whistling for his horse, he waited only a moment before Belasco enteredthe clearing and nuzzled his master’s shoulder. Renaud reached for the satchelof food tied to the saddle.

“Here,” he said handing her some dried venison. “Eat. Youmust be hungry if you are hunting. But I do not want to take time to cook therabbits now.”