Joanna Davis - Knights In Shining Armor (6 page)

              It didn't matter that she couldn't be trusted. Perhaps no woman could be. He wouldn't give her a chance to betray him again.

              He'd keep her too busy to even consider it.

**********

              Emeline had no idea what to make of Rowan's behavior. He was being so kind, almost like the boy she used to know and love. Well, he had never tried to kiss her like that before. Their kisses had been chaste for the most part, with just a hint of what was to come when they were married. Now he was pressing her against his big strong body in an intimate way that made her feel warm and off center.

              She didn't know what had accounted for the change but it was wreaking havoc with her resolve to fight him. She simply couldn't resist him when he was smiling at her the way he was now. She knew she shouldn't capitulate so easily but she was so starved for affection that she felt herself giving in. She desperately wanted to accept what he was offering. She stared up into his dazzlingly blue eyes. Those eyes had been so cold for the last few days. Now they blazed with warmth and desire for her.

             
Love.

             
Surely she was mistaken. He wouldn't have done any of things he had done if he cared for her at all. She had such little experience with men. Desire was one thing, and love was another. That much she knew for certain.

              When he lifted her chin and leaned down to kiss her this time, she kissed him back.

              His warm lips molded against her and then nudged them apart. She felt his tongue dancing inside her mouth an instant later and sighed. Tentatively she stroked his tongue with hers. He groaned and pulled her in closer, giving her courage to continue her exploration of this new way of kissing.

              Long minutes passed before he lifted his head, staring down at her with a sultry expression.

              "My god, Emeline. It's a good thing you never kissed me like
that
before."

              She realized her arms were holding his shoulders, holding him against her body as surely as he held her against his.

              "Why not?"

              He gave her a knowing glance.

              "Because I would have tossed your skirts up in the middle of your father's hedges!"

              She frowned, not understanding his meaning. He didn't notice though. He was too busy lifting her up and carrying her back to his bed. He set her down on her feet and smiled down at her.

              "Turn around sweeting."

              Oh dear. He meant to take her clothes off. She should stop him. But she felt certain he wouldn't let her. And she didn't want him to stop kissing and holding her. Perhaps that's all he wanted to do… she had only the haziest understanding of what came next.

              She was still confused about everything. What he meant, what he intended, and most of all, what he expected from her at this moment. She turned to face the bed and gasp when she felt his fingers unlacing her gown. He worked quickly, faster than any maid she'd ever had attending her. In moments he was reaching down and lifting her dress over her head, layer by layer. Finally she stood naked except for her thin shift as he leaned forward and slid his hands over her body.

              "Oh!"

              He chuckled and planted a kiss in the crook of her neck. His hand slid up her body to cup her breasts. She inhaled sharply at the sensation as he pressed his palms against her nipples.

              "Hmmmm… I want to see you. Turn around."

              She turned to face him shyly. He had a hooded look in his eyes as he leaned down to kiss her again.

              "Lift your arms."

              A blush seemed to spread over her whole body as he bent down the grasp the hem of her shift. Slowly he lifted it up and over her arms before tossing it aside. She closed her eyes in acute embarrassment, waiting for him to do something, to say something.

             
"My god, you are beautiful."

              She opened her eyes to look at him. He was looking at her body with an expression of awe, one of his hands coming up to touch her breast again, the other grasping her hip. His lids were heavy as he explored her, his hands everywhere, sending tingles of pleasure through her with each caress.

              "I can't wait Emeline. Oh god... lay down."

              His voice was harsh with need as she obeyed him. He disrobed quickly not taking his eyes from her as she lay back on the bed. She looked at him too. He was tall and slim as always but thicker now, with muscles carved into his chest and stomach. His shoulders were broad, his legs strong and shapely, his-

              Her eyes shut when she saw his arousal. It was larger than she'd ever imagined a man could be. Not that she'd ever seen an erect member before, only the peasant boys swimming on the beach. He climbed onto the bed beside her and leaned down, kissing her neck, her collar bone, her breasts.

              "Oh!"

              He chuckled as he pulled her nipple into his mouth, flicking his tongue against it repeatedly. His other hand was toying with her other breast as she reached down for his head. At first she meant to push him away but instead she found herself clutching his head as he worked her sensitive nubs, alternating back and forth until her back arched up off the bed.

**********

              Rowan was amazed by how responsive his beautiful Emeline was. She'd seemed timid at first but now she was writhing beneath him. He had already been aroused beyond belief but now the need for her overtook him completely. He forced himself to slow down, resisting the urge to plunge himself between her thighs without further ado.

              He lifted his head, staring down at the glorious creature beneath him. She was his, at long last. Her body was beyond perfection. He'd never seen or imagined anything so beautiful. Her breasts were high and round, topped with pink pert nipples. Her waist was tiny and swelled out into gracefully rounded hips. Her legs were long and shapely and between them was a soft patch of dark curls where he directed his attention next.

              His finger trailed down her flat smooth stomach to her apex. She jumped and clenched her thighs together. He stifled a laugh and contented himself for the time being with circling his finger in her soft curls.

              "Part your thighs for me Emeline…"

              Her eyes were wide as she stared at him, shaking her head.

              "Come love, it's not as if you're a virgin. Don't tell me your husband never touched you thus. I would have the same privilege."

              She opened her mouth to protest but he silenced her with a kiss… and another… and another. For a moment he'd been thinking of Peter but he'd silenced the distasteful thought. If she'd lain with him then that was in the past. Now she was his and his alone. That was all that mattered.

              After all, he'd had more than his share of tavern wenches.

              He rolled on top of her and used his knee to open her thighs. She was pliable now, distracted by his kisses. He reached down and held his shaft, pressing it against her plump nether lips. He groaned as he pushed forward, sliding into her tightness. She was smooth and so held him so snugly. He'd never felt anything so exquisite in his life. He pushed forward again until he was brought abruptly to a halt. Her passage was honeyed with dew but far too tight for him to gain access.

              "Relax for me Emeline… please… sweet Jesu!"

              He stared down at her flushed face. She looked surprised as hell by his invasion.

              "Sweeting, do as I say. I don't want to hurt you."

              He stared at her encouragingly until she closed her eyes. He watched impatiently as she frowned in concentration, trying to relax her body. He rocked his hips back and forth experimentally.

              "That's it love… hmmmm… do you have any idea how long I've waited for this?"

              Her eyes opened and she stared up at him with surprise and tenderness. He drew back and thrust forward, hard, embedding himself deeply in her sheath. She cried out beneath him in pain and he froze. He'd felt her barrier give way, the blood easing his way inside her.

              She'd been a virgin.

              His sweet girl had been untouched all these years.

              But how?

              He felt a fierce joy and pride in knowing that he'd been his first. She was his alone. No one had had her. Not her husband. Not Peter. She was
his.

              "Sweeting, oh god, I can't stop my love-"

              He withdrew and plunged forward again. He strove to go slowly, gently, but his passion overtook him. He kissed her deeply as he rode her, faster and faster until he felt his body tense up.

              He felt his shaft spasming as his seed erupted from his manhood, filling her womb. He thrust forward wildly, plunging into her  again and again until at last he was spent. Finally he rolled off of her, pulling her to his side.

              She was his now, in every sense of the word. He could avail himself of her whenever he liked. The thought of having her by his side filled him with a warmth he hadn't expected. He would delay his marriage, perhaps indefinitely. She would warm his bed every night and whenever he desired it. He could give her a child.

             
A child.

              He squeezed her against his side, rolling over to kiss her shoulder. She hadn't moved, just lay there and stared at the ceiling. Her thighs were covered in her blood and his seed. He stood and fetched a damp cloth from the basin. She turned her head away as he pressed it to her juncture. He could see her sex at last, her plump little lips crying out for him to taste them.

              He forced himself to wait. He didn't want to get carried away and hurt her. It was too soon to take her again. But he would soon.

              Very soon.

**********

              "Why didn't you tell me?"

              Rowan was rubbing a cool cloth between her legs while she lay there, feeling utterly bereft. When he'd been holding her, kissing her, the weight of what they were doing didn't seem so important. Now it did.

              He'd truly done it. He'd made her his whore.

              Why was he being so tender and careful with her now? Surely he'd go back to his anger, his coldness. He would tell her to leave only to order her back to his bed when he desired her.

              But he didn't. He was asking her something. She forced herself to pay attention, when all she wanted to do was run back to the tower and weep.

              She rarely wept in the past. But she'd been crying a lot since he returned.

              "Emeline. How is it possible that you are a virgin after all this time?"

              He lifted the cloth away and she pulled the blankets up and over her, shielding her body from his gaze. She felt so exposed… so vulnerable. If he turned to cruelty right now she feared that she would truly fall apart. She saw him frown but he left her the blankets as he put the cloth back in the wash bowl.

              In a moment he was back, leaning over her insistently.

              "Answer me Emeline."

              She took a deep breath.

              "Lord Fairhaven was taken ill on the day of our wedding."

              "And after that?"

              She just shook her head.

              "He never recovered."

              "There've been no suitors this past year?"

              "We've… discouraged that."             

              He sat down on the bed and smiled at her.

              "And how did you do that?"

              "We put out rumors that I was foul tempered, plain and barren."

              He was touching her again, sliding the blanket down and making lazy whorls on her stomach with his finger tips.

              "I can't imagine anything farther from the truth."

              She said nothing. Her shyness was overwhelming her. He'd seen her, touched her, done
that
to her. Surely he'd tell her to leave now… but he showed no signs of wanting her to go.

              "May I- may I go back to my room now please?"

              She hated the weakness in her voice. She sounded like a little girl, begging for something. She just wanted to
hide
. He straightened up and shook his head.

              "No Emeline. You will stay with me now. Every night. For as long as I see fit."

              His voice was firm, authoritative. But not harsh. The coldness hadn't returned after all. Perhaps he would be kind to her in private. Maybe she could bear it if he was kind… She felt tears welling up in her eyes.

              He climbed into the bed and pulled her against him. Their skin pressed against each other and he kissed her for a long time, without urgency, running his hands over her body soothingly.

              "You belong to me now, sweeting. I will keep you safe. You belong to me."

              She realized she'd been wrong. His kindness was worse.

Five

              In the morning he'd woken to the sun, and the soft warmth of Emeline sleeping beside him. He'd held himself back from taking her a second time last night, but he saw no reason to restrain himself now. A night of sharing a bed with her had left him in a state of permanent arousal. He'd allowed himself to touch and kiss her periodically through out the night, but that was all.