Drake's Honor

by Madeline Martin

  He should have withdrawn his touch, but the fullness of her breast filling his palm made doing the right thing impossible. She pushed herself against him, encouraging him with the way she ground their bodies together and with every breathless gasp of pleasure.

  Her nipple pebbled beneath his touch, coaxing the teasing of his fingers. God, how he wanted it to be his tongue instead.

  With a growl of resignation, he gently tugged at the neckline of her kirtle, freeing her breast for his hand to touch skin to skin and his mouth to close over. Her nipple was rose pink against her alabaster skin, its center drawn tight with anticipation.

  He cupped the silken weight of her in his palm as he bent over and flicked his tongue over the nub.

  Greer cried out, and her fingers raked up into his hair, keeping his head where he was at her bosom. As he loved her one breast with his mouth, he fondled the other before bestowing upon it the same attention.

  His cock was hard as stone, shoving against his trews, desperate for the release he denied himself so often.

  His was a life of control. Not of whims.

  Her hand traveled down his abdomen and curled around the column of his arousal. The shock of it made his body lock up as his cock lurched in appreciation, straining toward the heat of her palm as she began to caress up and down over his hard length.

  “Greer,” he ground out. He meant to tell her to stop, but the words would not emerge.

  “Touch me the way I’m touching ye,” she whispered hoarsely.

  He hesitated, aware that if he did as she asked, there might be no way to stop for either of them.

  “Please,” she whimpered.

  His blood was too inflamed, his mind too far away from his grasp to deny her. He ran his hand up her leg, dragging her skirt with it until the whisper of petal-soft flesh teased at his fingertips. She trembled under his touch and mouthed the word “please” once more.

  It was a request that was impossible to refuse. He continued up her leg to the sweet juncture between her thighs, where he gently swept a caress against her sex. She cried out in pleasure as his fingers came away damp with her arousal.

  A low, rumbling groan rose in his chest, the sound desperate.

  He was a man who prided himself on his control, of his body and his mind. Now both were being pushed to their limits, and he found his hold over them wavering.

  Greer’s hand on his arousal became more insistent as she rubbed the outline of his thick cock with her cupped palm, her breath coming in frantic gasps as his fingers glided over her ready sex. It was all Drake could do to keep himself from snatching her into his arms, tossing her on the bed and sinking into the tight, wet heat of her.

  His heart thudded in wild beats that threatened to pound out of his chest. He pulled her more snugly against him, his fingers moving over her sex, finding her bud and caressing her with a quick, circular motion. Her knees buckled, but he held onto her firmly as he loved her with his hand. He reveled in every gasp, every moan as he watched the bliss play out over her face.

  It didn’t take long for her brows to flinch together and her cries to pitch with her climax as her sheath spasmed against him. He kissed her to quiet the sounds of her pleasure and did not remove his hand from her until her eyes opened.

  She grasped the ties of his trews and tugged at them, but he stepped away with a shake of his head. “Drake,” she gasped.

  He clenched his teeth to regain his resolve. It would be so easy to allow her to free his arousal, to draw him into the tightness of her body, primed for coupling, to take her fully.

  But no. He was not that man.

  “Nay,” he said, his determination firmly in place. “I’m no’ like those other men, Greer.”

  “That’s why I want ye. Because ye look at me with respect, because rather than hurt me, ye want to protect me.” She reached for him, her slender, chapped hand palm up in an invitation that was more tempting than he cared to admit.

  “I canna,” he said gruffly and left her room. Before his will could splinter.

  In the hall, light streamed up from the staircase leading to the tavern below. He remained outside her door for a moment, breathing in a deep, calming breath. Even then, his hands fisted on either side of him.

  He took swift, quiet strides back to his own bedchamber, where he basked in the dark silence that greeted him. His emotions had controlled him once before in his life.

  Anice.

  Golden hair. Lovely blue eyes. A keen intelligence that people failed to notice when blinded by her beauty

  His heart had beat its rhythm to the sound of her name for his time as Captain of the Guard at Werrick Castle on the English side of the border. Even after he had stood as the best swordsman for her marriage to another man. Even after he watched her slowly fall in love with her husband.

  He had learned to wrest the power of his sentiments into submission then. If he had not, the ache of losing her might have been too great.

  There had not been another woman who plucked at his resolve after Anice. At least, not until Greer.

  Her feisty spirit, her sharp mind, the woman he knew her to be when her façade fell away, as exemplified by the way she gave to a child when she had nothing. It was in these ways that she chipped away at his fortitude.

  And though he was tempted to embrace the whisper of those emotions, so too was he afraid.

  He could not allow himself to suffer a broken heart again. Not when it could be so easily avoided.

  10

  All of Greer’s plans slipped from her thoughts that night. She should leave, venture off on her own to steal enough to buy her brother’s freedom. And yet, she could not bring herself to go.

  Never had a man looked at her as if she were a person of value. Not like Drake, who had given her pleasure without seeking his own in return, putting her needs above his.

  Mayhap she could trust him with her need to free Mac. The very thought set her heart slamming in her chest. It was such a great risk, and yet…and yet he might be able to help.

  Wouldn’t it be better to convince him to lend her the coin, or to find a way to earn it? Perhaps he could get her a job at the castle to pay off the borrowed amount?

  Her heart lifted with more hope than she’d allowed herself in far too long.

  After all, he continued to say that he meant to protect her. Wouldn’t that include her brother as well?

  It was with that thought in her mind that she slept soundly through the night, only waking when sunlight limned the slats of the shutters. She rose with exuberance, eager to face the light of a new day. To see Drake.

  Her cheeks burned, recalling how he had touched her and brought her to climax with his large, capable hands. She wanted him to caress her thus again, to set her body on fire for him again.

  Never had she allowed herself to even harbor any interest in a man before. Now, she was practically giddy at the prospect of seeing him downstairs while they all broke their fast. She washed her face and left her hair loose as she knew most men seemed to prefer.

  She floated down the stairs and found Drake and Bean at the same table where they’d supped the night before. Joining them, she sat beside Bean and beamed at Drake. He gave her a half-smile that lifted the corner of his lips. It was boyish in a charming, endearing sort of way and set her heart knocking against her ribs.

  “Are ye feeling better?” Bean asked.

  She turned to the lad in surprise. “What do ye mean?”

  Bean looked up at her with concern. “I heard ye moaning.”

  Greer pressed her lips together and intentionally kept her gaze from Drake lest she erupt into laughter. “The stew.” She grimaced. “I think the bit I had might have turned. I’m much recovered now, but ’tis kind of ye to look after me.”

  The worry lifted from his expression, and she tousled his hair. “How did ye sleep?”

  He shrugged and tore off a hunk of bread. “Well enough. My da always says no bed away from home is nearly as comfortable,
and while I agree with him, mine was quite fine last night.” He shifted his focus to his food, no longer broaching the topic of any sounds that might or might not have come from her room.

  Finally, she locked eyes with Drake, but any mirth on her lips died at his fierce expression. She shook her head to indicate Bean didn’t know anything, but he only frowned in return.

  Damn.

  They finished eating swiftly, as happened with three hungry souls prior to a long journey.

  “Beathan, will ye see to the horses?” Drake asked.

  The lad ran off with a grin. Drake waited until he was out of earshot before speaking to Greer. “I’d like to speak with ye privately.”

  Her pulse stumbled, then raced to catch up. Surely, he would relax once they were alone. Mayhap he’d draw her into his arms and kiss her senseless again. Possibly touch her, draw the pleasure from her body with teasing circles.

  She led him into her room and turned to face him, determined to kiss the frown from his lips.

  He stepped back. “I shouldna have stayed last night.” He swallowed.

  “I dinna mind.” She stepped forward.

  “I do,” he said firmly. “What we did…” He shook his head, his jaw locked. “It shouldna have happened.”

  His words were like a slap, stopping her dead in her tracks. “Ye regret it?”

  She held her breath as he studied her with those dark eyes that she’d spent all night dreaming of.

  “I lost control,” he replied after a long pause.

  She reached for him. “I liked it.”

  “It canna happen again.” His voice was resolute.

  Rejection.

  Her heart, which had only recently softened for the first time in her life, had been left vulnerable, fragile. His declaration put that hardened shell back up, protecting what should never have been laid raw.

  “Dinna worry,” she reassured him as she lowered her hand from his person. “It willna happen again.”

  He stared at her for a long moment before turning away. When he got to the door, she couldn’t help the words building in the ache at her chest. “I thought ye said ye meant to protect me. Did ye mean for these three days of travel and nothing more?”

  He hesitated where he stood under the assault of her questions. “I’m no’ my own man, Greer.” When he finally spoke again, his words were heavy with regret. “I have to remain at Lochmaben.”

  She’d known the truth of it from the first, that their time had to be fleeting. And for a little while, it had been enough.

  Before she’d allowed herself to want more.

  He might have been a reiver once, but now he was on his way to becoming a knight. And she was merely a peasant who had to steal to afford the bribe needed to free her brother from prison. A thief.

  Now, she was glad she hadn’t trusted him with Mac’s secret.

  “I know,” she bitterly said when he didn’t answer. “Ye’re on yer way to become a knight.”

  “I would still protect ye,” he said, so quietly she almost didn’t hear him. He looked over his shoulder. “If ye were at Lochmaben as well…” He shook his head. “I still dinna even know where ye’re going.”

  His unasked question hung in the air between them like a challenge.

  “South,” she answered.

  He nodded, more to himself than to her, and quit the room, leaving her in resounding silence. It was too late to depart on her own now. Not when Bean would stop her and give her those sad eyes like a wee pup.

  She should have known better than to have fallen for the likes of Drake, with his high morals. His casual manner in dismissing her left her bruised in a way no one had been able to inflict for some time.

  An exaggerated sigh huffed from her lips as she hastily plaited her hair, then crammed her few remaining items within her bag. There was nothing for it but to travel to Lochmaben with them and figure out what to do from there.

  Bean and Drake were waiting for her when she arrived at the stables. Drake’s deep red tunic made his black hair stand out against his tanned skin and dark eyes. He hadn’t had time to shave, and a shadow hovered over his sharp jaw. It gave him a rugged quality, and she couldn’t stop herself from wondering what it would feel like to kiss him thus. Would it rasp against her chin, a delicious contrast to the softness of his lips?

  She steeled herself.

  Damn him for looking so handsome.

  “Drake says we’ll arrive in Lochmaben by this afternoon,” Bean excitedly said as he mounted his horse.

  “This afternoon.” Greer looked pointedly at Drake. “How wonderful.”

  His brows furrowed, but still, he reached a hand toward her to assist her onto the horse before swinging up behind her. If bearing witness to Drake’s impossible attractiveness wasn’t already enough to nudge her mind to what she ought not to be thinking, it was nothing compared to the familiar spiciness of his masculine scent.

  He smelled like slipping control, like stolen pleasure and a quiet tryst. Her heart might be locked against him, but her body was melting at the recollection such scents evoked in her memory and made her ache to rediscover them once more. To go beyond their sensual petting and truly join together as one.

  It was all she could do to keep her back stiff in front of him once more, especially when she wanted to arch her lower back, to push her bottom into his groin and tease them both for the duration of the journey.

  They could not get to Lochmaben fast enough.

  The journey to Lochmaben was interminable. Drake’s arms were practically creaking with stiffness by the time the castle came into view, its boxy curtain wall visible from a distance. In front of him, Greer sat rigidly, her hair braided once more. Not loose as it had been that morning when she’d joined him and Bean to break their fast.

  It was a small mercy that Drake was grateful for.

  If her auburn tresses had been loose, the temptation would have been far too great to run his hands through them as he had the night before. To savor the sensation of the cool, silky strands slipping through his fingers. To breathe in her delicately floral scent.

  Far too often, the passion they’d shared played out in his mind on that long journey. Not only the way she had softened in his arms and how she’d cried out with her exquisite release. It was also the way she had bared her soul to him and had listened and appreciated things he had never shared with anyone else. They understood one another in a way few did.

  That realization made him want to curl her against him and hold her tight.

  I thought ye said ye meant to protect me.

  Something in his chest pinched. He did want to protect her. But how could he when she was to continue on, and he must remain at Lochmaben? Unless…she stayed with him.

  He quashed the idea as soon as it entered his thoughts. Doing so would be far too dangerous. Her effect on him was not only physical but also emotional. The loch on the left reflected the open sky above, the choppy surface catching and sparkling with the sunlight like precious gems. He shifted his focus to the stretch of water, centering his mind on the gentle lapping of its waves against the narrow shoreline. At least until the long stretch of a wooden fence appeared on their right where the village beyond bustled with so much activity that any sounds of nature were completely drowned out.

  Once they passed through the tall wooden gates, the castle was visible along the rear of the village. The portcullis was raised, and beyond it, the lowered drawbridge led the way into the fortified area for merchants and citizens alike. All along the battlements, red flags whipped in the breeze like dragon’s tongues.

  The structure was well prepared for an attack, as was evident by its unmarred appearance, especially when one considered the number of onslaughts they had endured in the previous years.

  They were finally at Lochmaben. Greer would now be left to go off on her own.

  Fear gripped Drake’s heart. For what might happen to her without him there to protect her. For the times she would inevitably enc
ounter a man who would seek to take advantage of her—for the one time she might not be able to defend herself.

  He leapt down from the horse and held his hand up to her. She gazed down at him for a long moment before setting her fingertips to his palm and allowing him to assist her from the height of his destrier.

  “Do ye think the guards will require our help immediately?” Bean asked from behind him. “There are many souls in this village. I’m pleased we’re here to ensure their safety and survival. I think my da will be glad I’ve been sent on this mission.”

  Greer glanced to the lad and then shared a smile with Drake, as endearing parents might do with one of their children. But almost as soon as it touched her lips, she looked away, hiding her face. “I should be on my way,” she said.

  “Nay.” The protest slipped from Drake’s lips before he could stop it.

  She returned her gaze to him, blinking in surprise. “Why?” she asked, wary. “Why should I stay?”

  Because the thought of her leaving was unbearable. Because he longed to explore what they had begun the night before. Because as much as he was afraid of what she did to him, he still craved more.

  “’Tis late,” he said. “Ye would be traveling on open roads at night.”

  “And ye want to protect me?” she asked bitterly.

  Aye, he did. For this night and all nights. But he didn’t say that. He couldn’t when it was nothing that he could promise.

  “I’ll pay for yer lodging and yer fare,” he said. “For as long as ye remain at Lochmaben.”

  She scanned the village. “I’ll stay only this one night. I dinna want ye to regret anything.”

  Her barb struck home.

  He stepped toward her, their proximity intimate. “Greer…”

  “Master Fletcher, we must go,” Bean called. “Lord Calver will be awaiting our arrival. Greer, I’ll ask if ye might dine with us at the castle tonight.”

  She gave the lad a tight smile.

  “Ye’ll stay tonight?” Drake asked for reassurance.

  Greer nodded.