The flagon trembled in Alice's hand. She felt the blush rise in her cheeks. "Nay, my lord. You never mentioned it."

" 'Tis true."

"Thank you, my lord."

Hugh's brows rose as the wine splashed into a cup. "You are anxious."

"Is that so very strange under the circumstances, sir?"

He shrugged. "Mayhap not for most women, but you are not like most women, Alice."

"And you are not like most men, sir." She turned to him with the cup in her hand.

His fingers brushed lightly against hers as he took the wine. "In what way am I different from other men?"

This was not the sort of conversation she had planned to have on her wedding night, Alice thought. She wondered if he expected a serious answer to his question or if he was engaged in some new stratagem designed to disconcert her.

"You are more intelligent than the other men I have known," she said cautiously. "Deeper. More difficult to comprehend at times and yet, at other times, much clearer."

"Is that why you married me?" Hugh met her eyes over the rim of the wine cup. "Because I am more clever than other men? More interesting? Do I intrigue your curiosity? Arouse your questioning nature? Do you regard me as an unusual object, one worthy of adding to your collection, mayhap?"

A trickle of unease went through Alice. She was suddenly very wary. "Nay, not precisely."

Hugh began to prowl the chamber, wine cup in hand. "Did you marry me because I proved useful?"

She frowned. "Nay."

"I did rescue you and your brother from your uncle's hall," he reminded her.

"Aye, but I did not marry you because of that."

"Was it to gain permanent possession of the green stone, mayhap?" Hugh asked.

"Of course not." Alice scowled. "What a ridiculous notion, my lord. I would hardly marry merely to possess that strange bit of crystal."

"Are you certain?"

"Quite certain," Alice said through set teeth.

Hugh paused near one of the posts of the huge, black bed. He smiled his dangerous smile. "Was it because of the passion, then?"

Anger flared in Alice. "You are taunting me again, sir."

"I merely seek information."

"Bah. You believe that I would wed you simply for the pleasure of a few kisses?"

"Not for the kisses alone," he mused, "but for what follows upon them. You are possessed of a most passionate nature, madam."

"Sir, this has gone much too far."

"And there is your great curiosity." His voice roughened. "Your appetite for sensuality has been whetted and you wish to experience more of it. The only practical way of doing so is in the marriage bed, is that not true?"

Alice was stunned. "You did it deliberately, did you not? 'Twas all a stratagem. I had begun to suspect as much."

"What did you suspect?"

"That you kissed me and touched me and made love to me until I was breathless because you thought to ensnare me with passion."

"If you think that what you have experienced thus far is interesting, wait until you discover how much more there is to learn of the subject. Mayhap you should keep a pen and some parchment beside the bed so that you can record your observations."

"Oh, you are a demon, my lord." She slammed her cup down on the table. She clenched her hands into fists. "But you are wrong if you think I would have wed you simply to secure more of your lovemaking."

"Are you certain?"

"I do not comprehend your goal in this unpleasant conversation. Nor will I participate in it." She started determinedly toward the door.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"To my own chamber." She wrapped her fingers around the iron door handle. "When you have emerged from this odd mood, you may send word to me."

"What is odd about a man wishing to know why his wife married him?"

Alice whirled around, outraged. "You are far too intelligent to play the fool, sir. You know full well why I married you. I did so because I love you."

Hugh went utterly still. Something dark and desperate swirled in his eyes.

"Do you?" he finally whispered.

Alice saw the lonely hunger in him and forgot all about escaping to her own bedchamber. She knew the depths of his emotions because she had experienced them herself.

"My lord, you are not nearly so alone in this world as you seem to think," she said softly. She released the doorknob and ran to him.

"Alice."

He caught her up in his arms, holding her so tightly that she could not breathe.

Then, without a word, he untied her night robe and let it fall to the floor. Alice trembled as he put her down on the white linen sheets.

He jerked off his own clothing, tossing them aside in a careless heap.

When he stood before her, Alice drew in her breath at the sight of his heavily aroused body. A torrent of emotion washed through her. She was disturbed, excited, and apprehensive, all at once. She reached out to catch hold of his hand.

"My wife." He sprawled on top of her, crushing her into the bedding.

She glimpsed the aching need and the raw passion in his golden eyes as he bent his head to take her mouth. She knew in that instant that the turbulent gales that howled at the core of his being had been freed at last.

She was lost in the storm of his embrace. It was unlike anything she had yet known with him. This was no slow, calculated seduction. This was a furious ride on the winds of a savage tempest. She was buffeted and tossed about until she could barely breathe.

She was aware of his callused hand on her breast. The instant her nipple firmed, Hugh took it into his mouth. His teeth grazed lightly across the sensitive bud. Alice shuddered.

A ragged groan surged through Hugh's chest. His hand went lower, flattening across her belly, searching out the soft, tangled thicket. She gasped and squeezed her eyes shut when she felt him moisten his fingers in the dampness that materialized between her legs.

And then, before she could catch her breath, he was parting her thighs, settling himself between them. Big, he was so big. And warm. And hard. Alice felt as though she were being swallowed alive. The words of his beautiful compliment came back to her. Sunset before it is enveloped by the night.

Hugh levered himself up on his elbows to look down at her. His features were starkly drawn, his eyes brilliant in the firelight. He captured her face between his strong hands.

"Tell me again that you love me."

"I love you." She smiled tremulously up at him, unafraid. In that moment she could see the secrets of his soul. You need me, she thought, just as much as I need you. Someday I pray you will comprehend that truth.

He surged into her with stunning force.

Chapter 17

She loved him.

A long time later Hugh lay back against the plump pillows and contemplated the embers on the hearth. He was aware of a curious sense of peace. It was as though the dark storm winds that had raged within him for so long had quieted at last.

She loved him.

Hugh savored the memory of Alice's passionate declaration. She was not the kind of woman who would say such words lightly, he assured himself. She would not say them at all unless she believed them to be true.

He stirred and stretched cautiously in the great bed, not wanting to awaken Alice. She was snuggled close against him, her hips fitted neatly into the curve of his body.

Her skin was so soft, he thought. He touched the curve of her thigh with a sense of deep wonder. So warm. And her fragrance was more compelling than the rarest of spices.

She shifted slightly, responding to his touch even in her sleep. He tightened his arm around her when she nestled closer. He had chosen well, he thought. Alice was everything she had appeared to be that night when she had bravely faced him in her uncle's hall and dared to bargain for the future of herself and her brother.