Page 66 of Saxon Blade Norman Blood
Rowena inhaled sharply. “Are you hurt?” She had not considered the possibility before, but of course the men could have inflicted all sorts of wounds on him in their bid to spite and humiliate him.
Not to mention Cwenhild herself.
“No, I’m not injured, but a bit stiff. I was chained all night to the wall in a damp cellar.” His lips curled. “I do not recommend the experience.”
“Yes. I have heard that sharing a bed with an enemy is by far the more comfortable option.”
“Have you now? You will have to tell me everything about it.” His eyes glinted. Rowena’s insides turned to gruel. “Come.”
He held his hand out to her. She climbed in front of him and settled herself as naturally as if they had ridden that way athousand times before.It felt as if a knight was abducting her, except that she was fully complicit to the plan. Besides, she had yet to see a knight as dashing as William de la Falaise. They did not come by the hundreds.
The journey back to his castle passed in a blur. As soon as they dismounted, he led her to his room without a word. He did not seem to think for a moment she could be unwilling.
Or nervous.
But despite her unmistakable desire for him, Rowena could not suppress an all-too-familiar flutter of alarm at the idea of what was about to happen. William acted like a man with a purpose, and that purpose could not be mistaken.
He was not taking liberties in assuming she wanted him to bed her, after all she had given her agreement only the day before. Yet she could not so easily get over her anxiety. Part of her, the woman she’d become, was painfully aroused. But the girl she had lived with for so many months was wary.
He closed the door behind them with a kick.
The moment had come.
22
Nothing stood in their way now.
In a moment William would tumble her into the bed. She could see the intention to do so in his blazing eyes, had felt his arousal pressing against the small of her back while they rode on the horse. He was ready for her.
Her heart started to beat unbearably fast.
He took a step toward her but instead of kissing her senseless, as she’d expected, he took her face in his hand and cradled it against his palm. “I cannot believe what you did for me.”
She gave a shy smile. “Neither can I. If someone had told me I would end up saving your life, I would have laughed in disbelief. Nothing of what happened between us makes sense.”
No. It did not, and yet… it felt right. Even through her nervousness, she could not ignore it. They were made for one another.
“Will you forgive me for everything I put you through, for keeping you as my prisoner for so long?” he murmured, drawing her closer.
“There is no need for forgiveness. And you never made me feel like a prisoner.”
Her arms closed around him, and she gave a sob as relief, shock, confusion, and plain desire made her legs waver. It was truly over. William buried his face into her hair and held her tight against him for a long moment.
“I still don’t know your name. I’ve wanted to ask you for a while but thought I would let you tell me when you feltcomfortable. Forgive me but I cannot wait a moment longer.” He lifted her chin to trace the outline of her jaw with his thumb in a delicious caress. “What will it take for you to tell me what your name is? Will I have to kiss it out of you?”
“No,” she smiled. “My name is Rowena.”
William let out a sigh as if she had just bestowed a priceless gift onto him.
“Rowena,” he repeated softly. “I am going to kiss you anyway.”
At first, he was gentle, keeping his more passionate impulses in check like a man wary of frightening her with untimely fierceness. Soon the kiss became almost frantic, and she wasn’t sure if it was his or her doing.
Both probably.
He slipped one hand into her bodice as naturally as if he’d done so a hundred times before and groaned his approval into her mouth. Closing his hand around one breast, he started teasing the nipple with his fingers while his mouth carried on devouring her. It wasn’t long before despite her fears, she needed more.
Straightening his back William pressed her against his arousal. “I want you,” he rasped, speaking into the shell of her ear. Then he started to nibble at it, like he had that day in the herb garden when he had explained to her what an earlobe was.
