Free Immortal Love by Victoria Craven

prickled his skin and cooled the flames of his
desire.
    He and Eleanor had been married for nearly a
fortnight, and he remained true to his vow. Though they had passed
the last few days in a truce, she had yet to remove the sword from
their bed.
    Every night when she crossed the firelight in
her nightgown, the silhouette of her naked body sent him into
flights of erotic fantasy. He ground his teeth and did not turn
away. The proximity of her lying only inches away made him as hard
as granite. He tossed and turned in the night, trying to purge the
demons of passion with little effect, forcing him out of their
bed.
    As he walked the battlements, he thought of
their evening meal. She had looked exquisitely radiant dressed in a
new gown of red Egyptian silk. It was the first time he had seen
her in a new gown. He’d given up hope that she’d accepted his
gifts, until that night when she had graced him with that
honor.
    Her eyes sparkled like emeralds. A simple
gold circlet was the only ornamentation on her flaxen hair.
    While they ate, he kept the conversation
light, talking of the castle, the village, and the restoration. He
talked about the progress of the planting and how much the fields
would yield by harvest.
    Since Eleanor’s nightmare he hadn’t mentioned
her mother. His wife’s wounds were still too deep. He knew she
thought that her mother had abandoned her. Dominick understood a
great deal about abandonment, but shared his hurt with no one, not
even his brother.
    That night he felt comfortable introducing
his hounds to her at the end of the meal. She was quite wary of
them whenever she crossed their path, and he wanted to put her at
ease.
    With mutton bone in hand, he led her to the
two giant wolfhounds lying near the hearth. They stood at their
master’s approach. The tops of the animals’ heads reached as high
Eleanor’s chest. Taking a piece of meat from the bone, Dominick
held out his hand to the first one. Yet even with its great size,
it gently licked the morsel from his hand. When Dominick scratched
behind its ears, the dog waged its tail furiously.
    Pointing to the smaller gray one, he said,
“This is Jocelyn and that’s Mya. Mya requires more attention, but
both are just big puppies really.”
    “Big puppies that could tear an arm off,” she
said cautiously.
    “Not when they are raised properly.”
    “I have seen too many hounds such as these
rip each other apart for a mutton chop."
    “Not these girls.”
    As Dominick continued to scratch each dog’s
ears, they bent their heads into his hands begging for more. He
took Eleanor’s hand. “Here, hold out your palm like this and let
them catch your scent.”
    Hesitantly, she did as he instructed. Jocelyn
stretched her neck as her nose touched Eleanor’s fingertips. Then
the hound’s large tongue licked her hand. Braver, Eleanor patted
the top of Jocelyn’s head. Not to be denied, Mya nudged Eleanor’s
elbow, demanding her share of the ear scratching.
    Eleanor let out a small chuckle. “They really
are two characters, aren’t they?” She gave them both equal
attention.
    It was then that she’d looked up at him and
smiled. Women had smiled at him before, but somehow this was
different. When Eleanor smiled, her face lit up the room . . .
    The cold stone of the battlement wall brought
him out of his reverie. He was acting like an adolescent dolt.
    Clearing his head, he looked out into the
starry night. No doubt McPhearson’s men were still out there. The
man would be relentless in his pursuit of Godwin, its land, and its
lady.
    His fists clenched on the stone. Eleanor’s
poor mother had been one of McPhearson’s many victims. If it took
his last breath, that demon would pay for his evil.
    Randolf walked up beside him.
    Dominick looked over his shoulder at his
brother. “What are you doing out here at this time of night?”
    “Just making sure everything is tied down for
the night.” Randolf’s eyes narrowed. “Is all well with