 |
|
| |
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Chapter Twenty-Two
Katherine turned from the huge fireplace, a stone monstrosity that was at least three feet taller than
she was. It had a paltry little fire flickering against the cold stones in odd juxtaposition to its scale.
She d been brought to the private drawing room that connected to the bedchamber of Franco II,
brought and told to sit until he arrived. The room had a musky, cloying scent that made her reach
for her handkerchief to cover her nose.
Decorated in deep brown and rose velvet, every surface was covered in something soft, something
sensual an Indian scarf, a Moroccan rug, French chairs with pinioned, cushioned seats, and the
lush curved legs of the Louis XIV design. There were mirrors the frames all shimmering in gilt,
silver, bronze the shape of the frames curved and luxurious. If painted wood and metal
could be luxurious, these were, and they were everywhere. Paintings flickered to life in the candle-
light from the many branches of gilt candelabra. And it was the candles on the tables, she finally re-
alized, that smelled so horribly. She walked over to blow them out.
You prefer the darkness?
His voice was violent velvet.
Katherine leaned over and blew out the three candles of varying heights on a small, elegant table.
You ve had them scented. I don t like the smell of it. She straightened and turned to face him.
The remaining light in the room threw his face into stark relief one side lit while the other side
was shadowed. His beard was too sharp; his cheeks, hollowed; his eyes black and unreadable. Ex-
cept for the malice emanating from him, so strong she could almost see it, could certainly feel it,
like an evil force advancing, a cloud of darkness coming to consume her. She swallowed hard and
took a step toward it.
She tilted her chin and raised it, eyes shuttered to her soul. The room reeks of musk, Your Grace.
She said it like a deep caress.
I vow you will learn to like it.
She raised one brow. Will I? Perhaps. I have learned to appreciate many things I have found revolt-
ing. She shrugged. For one reason or another. She moved in agraceful sweep around the settee,
her hand skimming the cushioned top. You must be curious of our findings. She slanted him an-
other look, retreating a bit further into the flickering shadows of the room.
Oh, yes. I am curious about many things. He gestured toward one of the thickly upholstered di-
vans. I m most curious, at this moment, about your response to me rubbing your feet.
Katherine laughed. I hadn t thought you to be so staid in your peccadillos.
I assure you, Lady Featherstone. It is one of my more lethal talents.
Katherine paused, looking across the color-drenched, scented room at him. Fear a quick pulse in
the base of her throat rose to flush her cheeks. She drew in tiny breaths and followed his coaxing
hand to the deep cushions of the divan.
He knelt in front of her, placed a thick pillow under her feet, and flipped the hem of her skirt up on-
to her knees. He took one slippered foot and eased it into his hands. With the lightest of movements
he pulled the ribbon free of its knot upon her ankle, stroking and warming the silk of her stocking as
he slid the slipper free. She jerked her foot away, but he snatched it back into his hands with a hard
grip.
He took her foot into his hands and began rubbing in tiny circles around the heel and then arch.
She set her teeth and stared into the eyes of the woman in the painting on the wall across from her.
Her mind groped with questions about her reaching, desperate for anything to distract her fear.
Who was she? Had she been happy in life? In this castle?
He deepened the pressure, pushing into the places in the muscles that she hadn t known were tight
and stiff. An unraveling began deep within her. She turned her face away, trying to stop it.
He chuckled. A deep and dark chuckle, filled with velvet softness. You weren t meant for the likes
of him. He reached for her other foot as he pressed his cold lips against the inside of her stocking-
clad knee.
You know it. You see these things, don t you? You feel them. Look deep within. Test what I m say-
ing. He was only a stepping stone to your true destiny. Katherine. . . I understand you. You belong
with me.
Katherine. His hands drew up her skirt toward her thigh.
She jerked away.
Come now. You know you want this. He drew her stocking down and then off, caressing her bare
leg with his hands. Tell me, what have you found thus far? Augusto s cave? My spies have report-
ed that you stayed the night deep in the tunnels. Did you finally find it? Do you have the
manuscript, my love?
Katherine shook her head and in a sudden move, she leapt away from him, her eyes narrowed and
haunted. His eyes, his touch, his voice were deceiving traps. She had to remember that. The mines
are vast. We need more time. We haven t found anything yet. We have to have more time.
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pldoc.pisz.plpdf.pisz.plcs-sysunia.htw.pl
|
| |
|
|
|
| Podobne |
| |
|
| |
|