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hands and the irritating tendency of her body to respond like a mindless thing. Tried to concentrate instead on the searing satisfaction of killing him at the earliest opportunity.

Taking out her pistol and shooting him. She could imagine the shocked disbelief the moment before he died...

He was suckling her and her damnable rogue body twitched.

Shooting would be too quick. Too indirect.

Picking up his knife and plunging it deep, again, and again -

Sharp sting on her cheek again.

Her eyes flew open.

"No, you don't," he said, still smiling. "Keep your eyes open. It's not wrong for me to touch you like this. Not as your husband."

"You're not my husband."

"Yet. I'd kiss you, but I fear you'd try to bite. Think what you're missing."

Then he moved lower down the bed and used both hands to push up her skirts to her waist. She tensed, thinking he'd have to feel the pistol, but her pockets were stiff, and he was far more intent on her.

"Very nice," he said, pushing her knees apart to expose her further. "Stay like that." He moved back to unfasten his breeches.

No. Though she was powerless, she would not submit. She closed her legs as much as she could, took a deep breath and screamed. It felt so good, she screamed again, louder. Again, and again, and again!

"Damn you, shut up!" He clapped his hand over her mouth. Gleeful to finally be fighting, she tried to bite. He grabbed his shirt one-handed and shoved it into her mouth, more and more until she was choking.

"Now will you shut up?" he snarled, straightening, his hair wild, and his eyes more so. "By God, if you didn't own a large part of the north I'd cut your throat and leave you to rot."

Panicked by the cloth against her throat, Diana made herself calm and breathe through her nose.

He glared at her, then smiled again, extremely unpleasantly. "I think you need a lesson, wife. You can stay like that for a while."

He took something out of his pocket - a flask - and went to sit on a settle beside the fireplace. As he tilted it and drank, he watched her with sickening satisfaction.

It might be wiser to close her eyes, but she felt she had to keep watching him, as if sight might help in some way. She struggled for every breath, struggled not to choke, struggled not to show fear.

"Remarkable," he said after a while. "I'm going to have to break you, of course, like a rogue horse. Or I could just clap you in a madhouse. Ah, a reaction. I gather the king's holding that threat over your head. A husband is in a much better position, and I suspect I could goad you into public insanity quite easily. So sad. Your unnatural position is to blame, of course."

He rose, came slowly over to the bed, and pulled the shirt out of her mouth a bit. "Going to behave now?"

Though she could hardly bear the thought of the cloth back deep in her mouth, she just looked at him. With a smile, he tied it in place, but not stuffed deep.

"See, you are completely at my mercy. I can do with you as I please. Even be kind." He picked up a rose petal again, and stroked it around and around her breasts. "Doesn't that feel sweet?" He put it close to her nose, where she couldn't help but breathe in the perfume. "Doesn't it smell sweet?"

Then he suddenly squeezed her nose shut, cutting off all air.

"Or I can be very unkind."

Though a cry escaped, she fought not to breathe in through her mouth, not to suck the cloth back down.

He laughed and let her go, then ungagged her entirely. "Your choice, my arrogant lady. Kind, or unkind." He unfastened his bulging breeches.

She sucked in deep breaths, but would not give him the satisfaction of a reply. She closed her eyes, and resolved to keep them closed. That was the only power she had left.

"Think you can resist, don't you?" he said in an unnerving sneer. "But bodies are funny things, wife. You'll doubtless not enjoy the first time, but we have the rest of the night, and I intend to use every minute of it." He thrust her legs apart again. "I'll make you explode with pleasure sooner or later, and then you'll change your tune. Remember that."

"As final words, they have a certain memorability."

Diana's eyes flew open. "Bey," she whispered, wondering if her mind had escaped into