RulingPassion by Katherine Kingston Read Free Book Online Page A

remember how she came to be lying in his bed,
but she never forgot how it felt to have him moving over her, filling her,
taking her to the heights of rapture yet again, and then the peace afterward, the
solid warmth of him against her, the welcome bulk of his body in her arms.
    After a while he rolled off her, extinguished the lone
remaining candle and drew her into the circle of his arms. She had only an
instant or two of consciousness to consider the changes that had overtaken her
that day before she fell asleep. Not long enough to consider how they might
affect her future.

Chapter Six
     
    She woke sluggishly, opening her eyes after an interval of
considering whether to do so or not. The bed wrapped her in warmth and
security. But bright light filled the room and there was no denying morning had
broken. She rolled over and realized she was alone in the bed.
    Not far away, though, a figure stood in front of the room’s
only window. Straight, tall and gloriously clothed only in the radiance of
sunlight spilling in from outside, Lord Jeoffrey stared outward. Lost in some
private contemplation, his body was held tautly, his expression stern. Through
the mist of sleep still clotting her eyes and the haze of dust particles
swarming in the sunbeam, he seemed to her to shimmer with glints of light
sparkling off his golden hair and smooth, tawny skin.
    For a transcendent moment he was a creature completely
beyond her experience, something more than human, more than normal man. An
angel, or a saint, transfigured in the presence of God, perhaps, glowing with
power and glory and goodness. Bathed in light, he was radiant. The most
beautiful sight she’d ever seen. Tears burned her eyes, whether from joy at
being granted the privilege of such a vision, or from sorrow that such a
creature should be so far beyond her grasp, she could not have said.
    Then he turned and saw her. He stepped toward her, out of
the light, and was a man again. A slow smile chased away the hardness of his
face, softening it into warmth. He leaned down and kissed her slowly, but
backed away when a soft tap sounded at the door. Swathing himself in a robe he
pulled from a peg on the wall, he went to the door and accepted a tray with a
pitcher and cups, and a basket covered with a napkin. The tantalizing aroma of
bread fresh from the oven drifted from it. He set it on a table and returned to
stand beside the bed.
    “A fine morning, my love. No doubt you’re sore and stiff
from yesterday. Think you can rise?”
    She rolled over and then started to push herself upward. The
bedcovers fell away from her. Despite what they’d shared, she reached for the
cover and pulled it across her breasts as she sat. He smiled with gentle humor,
found the long-ago discarded shift, brought it to her, and turned his back as
she struggled her way into it.
    She started to stand and groaned. Oddly though, it wasn’t
her bottom that bothered her most. “I’m sore and stiff, but can move. The
discomfort is primarily…between my legs rather than on my backside.”
    He nodded and offered an arm to escort her to the small
table where breakfast awaited. “My punishments are intended to cause pain at
the time but no lasting damage. That aside, you were hard-used yesterday,
especially for one with no experience. I should express sorrow for it, but I
cannot be fully sincere in so saying. Rather do I regret any hurt done to you,
beyond the discipline you deserved.”
    He assisted her into a seat and went to occupy the other
one. Before touching the food, he gathered both her hands into his large ones
and looked at her across the small table. “My Lady Rosalind, may I say I admire
how whole-heartedly you fulfilled your part of our bargain? I truly hope no
harm has been done to you, and I vow I’ll do all in my power to ensure you a
content future.”
    She moved one of her hands to clasp it on the outside of
his. “I’m grateful, my lord.” She wanted to say more, to tell him how