11.

Before Esther could even register his reaction to her latest provocation, William snatched her up and slammed the door shut behind them. He pinned her against it and kissed her. His kiss was not kind. It was hard and demanding. William wondered if he might be frightening her but he didn't care anymore. Esther had finally pushed him too far and his days of holding her and loving her gently like he was some kind of damned eunuch were over. He drove his tongue into her mouth, but the taste of her only made William more desperate to have her.

For a moment Esther was indeed frightened. When his mouth crashed down on hers she worried that maybe she had bitten off a little more than she could chew. Her hands being pinned to the door in William's iron grip only added to her anxiety level and she turned her head away, breaking the kiss so she could speak. It was a sorry attempt. William simply turned his attention to ravaging her neck and she had to remind herself as to what it was she wanted to say.

"William?" She said in barely a whisper. "Please let go of my hands."

The instant her words registered in his mind he let go and Esther slung her arms up around his shoulders, locking her hands behind his neck. William wrapped his arms around her in a crushing embrace, clutching the fabric of her gown with his fingers. He dragged his lips up the side of her neck and murmured gruffly next to her ear, "Did you think I was bluffing?"

His tone and the heat of his breath made her shiver and she fought to make her response coherent. "I was hoping you weren't."

William captured her lips again. He skimmed his hands down over her bottom and pressed the proof of his desire against her hip. Esther gasped and softly moaned in his mouth. She was not afraid, she knew he was as desperate as she was at this point and he would not hurt her. She trusted him.

Daringly now, Esther slipped her hands around to the base of his neck and untied the kerchief he wore, tossing it aside. She unbuttoned his collar, never letting her lips leave his and frantically tugged his shirt tails loose from the waist of his breaches. When she slid her hands up under his shirt, he sucked in his breath and she marveled over the way his feverish skin felt. Satiny skin ripped with muscle from years of soldiering and now farm work. He was smooth and lean. Her hands worked their way up his body and she felt him flinch as her fingers passed lightly over his ribs. His shoulder blades moved under her touch and to Esther he suddenly felt incredibly real.

William was a little more than shocked that Esther would make such a move. Perhaps she wasn't as shy as he originally guessed. Her touch was cool and light on his skin and William forced himself to remain in control. When Esther pulled his shirt off over his head, he watched her face intently for any sign of fear. He vowed however, that at anytime she balked, he would stop. Even if it killed him.

William unhooked the front of Esther's gown, pushing it off her shoulders and down her arms, unwrapping her like the gift that she was. He felt her lips on the sensitive skin of the bayonet scar on his neck as he plucked her cap off her head and dropped it. He tugged at the knot on the back of her head, letting her hair fall and ran his fingers through the silky locks.

Over the next few moments; moments that seemed agonizingly slow, they became a frenzied entanglement of hands and limbs and clothing, until both of them were bare. Esther's skin flushed pink as William's eyes drank her in and he pulled her back into the security of his arms. The press of her naked body against him caused an almost feral sound to resonate from his throat. And then they were kissing, kissing like two people starved of each other.

William's scent enveloped her. Earthy and male; spicy. A scent that was distinctly his. And the thought crossed Esther's mind that had she been blindfolded in a room with a hundred men, she would find William by his scent alone.

William walked backwards with her towards the bed and she giggled when he tripped over his boots, nearly toppling them both to the floor. He guided her on to the bed and then lowered himself next to her. He kissed her again and slid an arm under her neck, letting his other hand roam over her, exploring her. His fingers cruised across her shoulders, over her sinfully generous breasts. She writhed in his arms, pushing her hips against his. William knew what she wanted even before she did. He could feel it in her response, her movements, and the soft sounds she made. He gave it to her. He dipped his head low and his mouth closed over a rosy nipple as his hand began it's decent over the gentle rise of her belly.

Esther made a whimper when she felt his long fingers slide into the place where she was aching. She felt possessed by pleasure and need of him and couldn't seem to touch him enough. Her hands trembled as they roved over his body until they settled along his jaw. She could feel his mouth working on her with her fingers, moving from one nipple to the other. A strange and exciting pang shot through her, flooding her with heat all the way to her toes. Between what he was doing with his mouth and his clever fingers, Esther was quickly overwhelmed. She cupped his face in her hands and brought his mouth back to her lips.

William's mouth moved over hers urgently searching for relief. Everywhere Esther touched him left a tingling sensation embedded deep in his skin. The anticipation was killing him. Her breath quickened into short gasps as he stroked her into frenzy. He knew she was close when she pressed her hips into his hand and made an impatient sound.

William nuzzled his face next to her ear, whispering his encouragement. "Don't fight it, love….just let go."

His fingers continued moving inside her and when he pressed his thumb over her most sensitive spot, she gave in and shattered.

William was hard and hot and entirely too aroused to wait for her to recover. He moved over her smiling at the way she looked, flushed and boneless, with kiss swollen lips, sprawled naked across his bed. He couldn't think of anything lovelier than the display before him. He settled between her thighs and felt her tense for a moment. Her eyes were squeezed shut and she covered her breasts with her hands.

Bracing himself on his elbows he stroked her hair and kissed her brow. "Esther, open your eyes."

Her arms slide around him and yet she still didn't seem to hear. William cradled her head in his hands. "Esther, look at me."

She made the effort to open her eyes and stared at him as if she wasn't quite sure what to expect.

"I'm the one who's loving you. No one else. You're mine," he told her. "Mine."

Esther wasn't sure exactly what she saw in William's eyes at that moment. But any fear she may have had seemed to dissolve with those very words. He did love her. And even though he still had the power to destroy her and hurt her, she knew he wouldn't. She nodded and lifted her head to kiss him. All the pain and anger, the sadness and sorrow she suffered with her violation disappeared. William drew his hips back and in one smooth motion, he slid into her. She felt her body come alive again. The feel of him was like nothing she expected. There was no pain. He filled her, claiming a part of her she never knew existed. It was better than anything she ever imagined. And it was just begining.

William ground his hips into her. He watched the pleasure overcome her as he drove her to her climax over and over. Turning her body this way and that with each change of their position, he gently teased and tormented her. He moved quickly and then slowed his pace. He drove into her deeply and then withdrew to slide along the delicate folds of her flesh. He used his hands and lips to caress and kiss wherever he wanted and whispered wicked things against her skin that no self-respecting man would ever say to a lady. He provided no shelter, no retreat, as he took her again and again.

Esther cried out and moaned, arching and raking her nails down his back, becoming more exhausted with each release, yet not wanting it to end. She felt as if he had touched her so deeply that she was forever branded by him. And finally, when she felt her body begin to shatter once more, William made a guttural sound and dipped his head down, burying his face in her neck. He flexed his hips, clutching her tightly against him, spilling himself into her.

While Esther was wondering what the hell had just happened, William recovered and lay panting next to her. Once his breathing steadied, he pulled her into his arms and brought her hand up to his cheek, kissing her palm as he did so. It would have made her smile had she not felt so worn out and lethargic.

Esther let her hands glide over Williams body. She felt the ridge of a scar on his right breast. She lifted her head to look when she noticed another on the bicep of his upper arm. Soon her curious fingers found a dimpled scar above his right hip and a star-shaped scar low on his chest that was similar to one at the base of his neck. William watched her silently.

"Battle scars," he said taking a long ragged breath.

"What did this?" She asked, touching the star on his chest.

"Bayonet."

Then Esther lightly touched each scar and as he told her what caused each one. She kissed each one of them, amazed that he had lived to tell her about them.

"How did you survive?" She asked.

"I don't know, I passed out after that one," he answered as she kissed the scar on his neck again.

Esther settled against him again and said sympathetically, "I wish I could have been there for you, you know? If I had known you then…"

"No," he cut her off. "You wouldn't have wanted to know me then."

"Surely you weren't all that bad, William."

William sighed and turned on his side to face her. And Esther thought she saw a kind of deadness in his eyes, something she had never seen on his face before.

"Yes, Esther, I was. Life had a different meaning for me then. I didn't see the value in the lives of men, women or even children. I lived and fought for The Crown with the idea that Victory was the only thing that held any meaning for me. I was a miserable man and I went out of my way to make everyone else as miserable as I was. I had no real purpose other than follow orders and I see that now but I didn't then. I would have destroyed you."

She looked at him with disbelief. "I can't imagine you destroying anyone."

"Believe what you want. But don't bother me with questions you don't want the answers to."

He sounded cold and it made the hair on Esther's neck creep up.

She would never ask him about his time in the military again.