Page 40 of Saxon Blade Norman Blood
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“What is rosemary?” Rowena took advantage of the fact that William had come into the bailey to ask the question.
“It’s an herb used for cooking and healing,” he answered, appearing amused. No wonder. The day before she had been frightened he would slice her throat in the forest and abandon her corpse to the wolves and here she was, asking him about plants. “Why do you ask?”
“I overheard two of your maids talking this morning. Though it was clear they were discussing food, a lot of it did not make sense to me. They seemed to have a different accent to yours, which didn’t help,” she reflected. “Anyway, I thought I had better improve my skills in your language before meeting with the Saxon lords.”
“I doubt a knowledge of herbs will serve us with Leowald but I will show you what rosemary is if you wish, as it is a bit difficult to explain. A demonstration is often worth a thousand words, I find.” He led her to the herb garden just outside the palisade and picked up a sprig of spiky green leaves. She had never seen anything like it before. “Here. Rosemary,” he said, handing it to her.
“Mm. I see.” She crushed the stem between two fingers and inhaled a sharp, pungent smell that was new to her. “And parslow?”
“I imagine you mean parsley. Over there.” William indicated another, more fragile-looking plant to her. “Anything else you overheard while I’m here?”
“Yes. There was a sentence I did not understand. ‘He nibbled at my earlobe and fiddled with my nipple’,” she said slowly, doing her best to remember the exact words.
William made a choking sound and stared at her a long moment. “What did you just say?” he asked in a rasp.
“I-I thought they were discussing food,” she stammered. “To nibble is to eat, is it not?”
“Yes. In a way…” He made a face she had difficulty interpreting.
“I’m sorry,” she said, fast regretting asking the question. She hadn’t meant to sound so inept. “I just want to improve and I have never heard these words before.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” he muttered between his teeth. “But I suppose I had better show you what it means, if you are determined to learn,” he said in a low voice.
By now Rowena had seen enough to know she should refuse the offer, but the word was out of her mouth before she had time to blink. “Yes.”
William came to her slowly. In that moment he seemed taller than usual, all masculine intent. She gulped. They had never been so close to one another when not in bed and his proximity was affecting her more than she would have liked.
“I believe the maid was talking about her lover, not food, and she was describing what he had done to her, rather than tell her friend what delicacies he had eaten,” he purred. “Do you still want to know?”
“Yes.”
More than ever.
“Then close your eyes.”
Heart thudding in her chest, Rowena felt his arm wrap around her waist. She never should have accepted, but she allowed William to draw her closer anyway. He could show her whateverhe wished; she was tired of fighting the attraction between them and she knew he would never hurt her.
His mouth pressed against her ear, and when he spoke, her whole body trembled.
“As we agreed before, a demonstration is worth a thousand words.”
“Yes.”
Two lips closed on a part of her body she had never before considered worthy of any attention. What William did to it changed her opinion on the subject forever. He nipped at the nub of flesh with teasing little bites, before taking it into his mouth, licking it, suckling it slowly. Though she did not need such a lengthy, shocking demonstration to understand what an earlobe was, she was powerless to stop him. It was too delicious. Her eyes would have fluttered in rapture had she not made a conscious effort to keep them closed.
A sigh escaped her lips, and in a distant corner of her mind, she wondered if the maid’s lover had provoked half the sensations William was creating within her body. After what felt like an eternity he drew back, and she realized that part of the explanation was still to come. She whimpered. How was she going to withstand it?
“Do you understand now?” His voice was little more than a rasp. It pleased her to see he was as affected as she was, that she was not the only one drowning in sensations she did not understand or overwhelmed by feelings she had difficulty accepting.
“Yes.” Somehow between two shaky breaths the word got out.
“Good. Now I’m going to… How did you say? Fiddle with your nipple. Have I got your permission to do so? It doesn’t hurt but it is quite an intimate thing to do.”
Rowena nodded slowly. There was nothing he could do to her right now she would object to. Besides, it was unlikely anything the maid had discussed with her friend so openly could be too…
Oh God.
