A Knight of Passion(7)

Bryant wrapped one arm around her waist, grasped the phallus, and knelt up. He forced her forward onto all fours and thrust, keeping the wicked toy steady as he drove it deeper. She cried out. He quickened his thrusts. His gaze caught on the picture hanging over the bed. There was something strange about the eyes. Pleasure burst across his senses. He held the slick length of lacquered wood rigid as Riana’s cunt lips slammed against the edge of his palm.

Overwhelming need throbbed through his cock and tightened his balls. His cum spurted into her arse as she spasmed around the phallic device. Her cry of pleasure sent a message straight to his shaft, and the convulsion shook his body. She rocked against the false cock, milking the last vestiges of satisfaction as he groaned through a final, long thrust and they collapsed onto the bed.

His gaze caught on the painting, and understanding of the oddity he’d noticed earlier penetrated his desire-clouded brain. Someone watched from behind the picture. But who—? Then he remembered the rumours, and knew. The duchess had been watching him f*ck Riana.





Chapter Four

At last, Riana satisfied herself that the rise and fall of the knight’s chest meant he was in a deep sleep, and she slipped from beneath his arm and off the bed. In two steps she reached the table with the two goblets. She dumped the poison-laced wine into the chamber pot tucked away in the corner, took a long gulp of the other wine, then released a slow breath.

The thought of Sir Bryant drinking the wine, then the duchess’ hasty order to bury his body when the paralysis set in, churned her stomach. Riana envisioned Sir Bryant awakening, the smell of damp earth filling his senses in the last minutes of life as he tried to claw his way through six feet of packed soil. A shiver skittered down her spine. Even his powerful arms wouldn’t be enough to dig him to freedom.

She crossed to the chair sitting in the corner left of the door and grabbed the linen nightshift thrown over the cushion alongside the dress she’d readied. She slid the shift over her head, then the dress. Her gaze caught on the knight’s face, visible through the open curtain. Red hot embers cast soft light across his chiselled features. In the great hall, dressed in chain mail and surrounded by his comrades, he radiated danger. In sleep, the full mouth that had caressed her body had softened. The slight rise and fall of his massive chest belied the strength she’d felt when he’d lowered himself onto her. She’d sensed the tight rein he kept on his desire, his determination to make sure she’d taken her pleasure first.

Riana had ridden him hard. She’d seen the duchess’ eyes behind the painting when he’d spread her legs a second time and pumped into her while sucking her breasts. A tremor rippled through her. She hadn’t forgotten that her objective was to keep the duchess busy long enough to give Glen and Siusan a head start. Yet while Sir Bryant f*cked her, she had forgotten the duke and all other the men who had lain between her legs. She had even forgotten Stuart. Her core clenched with memory of the pleasure he had given her, pleasure beyond that she had shared with her husband.

Guilt stabbed. How was it possible she could want another man as she had her husband? Stuart had been gentle, where Sir Bryant was demanding. Yet there was something more… Her stomach did a flip. She had felt helpless in his hands, small compared to his strength, yet safe. Her throat tightened. He had made her performance for the duchess easy. For that she would always be grateful—that and the reminder that not all men were cruel.

* * * *

Once the door had clicked shut behind Lady Ellis, Bryant rose and quickly donned his undergarments and tunic, then crossed to the bed. The duchess’ sexual tastes were no secret. It had to have been her watching them.

By now, Riana would already be in her chambers. Her Grace’s room was to the right in the hallway that turned off from this, which meant a direct line between the two rooms. Bryant crawled onto the mattress, lifted the large picture from the wall, and leaned it against the wall beside the bed. Two circles were easily visible where the eyes of the picture fitted. The Peeping Tom could slide aside the strip that covered the small section, then peer directly down on the lovers. The duchess had been watching the entire time—and Riana had been aware of her.

His jaw tensed. Lady Ellis was clearly accustomed to the duchess watching. How many times had the bitch forced Riana to perform like a trained hound while she spied from behind the picture? And the duchess’ appetite wouldn’t be quenched by merely watching. She had touched herself, probably even had companionship when the whim moved her. Had she ever forced Riana to submit to her vile hand?