Seducing His Lady: Novella (Norfolk Knights Book 2)

by Saskia Knight

  Melisende turned to look at him. “‘Home’? Of course, you are also from Poitou. So your parents, they knew the Abbess well?”

  He nodded. “My father, aye. During the years she spent in Poitou with her mother who was from there, she got to know my father. My father wished to marry her but she always had her sights set on being a nun in England. I believe it broke his heart. But they maintained contact after he married my mother.”

  “I didn’t realize. She didn’t mention it.” She looked at him hurriedly. “Of course there was no reason to. I mean, I knew that she’d gone to live with her mother in the place of her mother’s birth, when my grandmother and grandfather became estranged. It was only a few years, I believe, before my grandmother died and my aunt returned to Norfolk.”

  “A few years, a few months, a few days.” He looked at her intently. “It doesn’t take long to fall in love.”

  She held his gaze, crumbling the bread in her fingers as she sought the courage to ask him what she needed to know. “Are you talking from experience?”

  “Yes, I am talking from experience.” It was like someone had doused a light inside her. She looked back at the charcoal streak of the cloudy, uneven horizon. She didn’t reply and he turned to her with a narrowed gaze. “Why do you ask?”

  It couldn’t matter to her. Her heart, her destiny was different to his. She sighed. A half-truth would have to suffice. It was still the truth, even if it were part only. “You will be gone by this time tomorrow and I shall never see you again. I just wanted to know…” She swallowed. She’d thought she could talk normally, could hold a conversation as if they were nothing but friends, but she found she couldn’t rely on the steadiness of her voice. She cleared her throat.

  “If I’ve known love?” He asked quietly.

  She nodded. “Are you married?”

  “No,” he smiled, “I’m not married. And I never have been.”

  The light inside her flared again, dimmer than before, but present nevertheless. She nodded. “Oh.”

  “Up until now, I’d no thought of marriage. I had a heart set on avenging the death of my family. I have begun it with the death of my father’s killer but ’tis not ended yet. I thought that the memories of my family’s death would loosen their hold of my mind. But… they linger still.” He pressed his lips together but Melisende saw the pain in his eyes that he could not hide.

  She tried to think of things she could say to wipe it away, but part of her knew such pain was etched deep and would always remain. All she could do was make him forget for a while. She reached out and lay her hand gently over his. His gaze rose immediately to hers and the haze of memories receded. Emboldened, she curled her fingers around his and brought their joint hands to her lips and kissed his hand.

  “Oh, Melisende, where did you come from? Out of my imagination where hope still lies?”

  She shook her head and pressed his hand against her cheek. “I’m real. Feel me.”

  “Too real.” He pulled his hand away. “I cannot touch you, Melisende. I cannot allow myself to be touched by you. Your home is here. This is where you belong, by your own admission. And”—he looked out at the black horizon once more—“I have no home. Nor ever will have. I will be gone on the morrow and you will never see me again.”

  He stood up and she followed him to where he looked out to the dark line of the horizon, where he would shortly be. She drew in a deep breath, needing to find fuel to say the words she needed to say. “But, I am here, now.” She wondered if he’d heard, her words were so soft, almost drowned out by the rustling reeds and distant noise of the sea. He was so completely still that she reached out and touched his shoulder.

  He turned instantly and brought her to him, wrapping her body tight within his arms. “You are here now. That much is true.”

  She closed her eyes at his intimate embrace, relishing the heat and strength of his body. She felt his lips against her hair and looked up, wanting him to instead kiss her lips. “And I, too, will return to the priory after you leave, to continue my work at the hospital. But mayhap I will cease pestering my aunt, the Abbess, to allow me to be a nun. “That much, your presence has helped me realize. She was correct all along. I am most definitely not suited to the role.”

  He laughed. “You have too many gifts to strike you dumb within the confines and limits of an Abbey. You should marry and go out into the world.”

  Her heart thumped in her chest. “And who should I marry?”

  He shook his head. “I have nothing to offer you Melisende, otherwise I would ask you to be my wife in a heartbeat. I’m returning to France to continue my fight for my lands, to continue to work against the King who destroyed my life. I’ve killed the man responsible for the slaughter but I have to go on, gain back my lands and make them secure from the King of England. That is no life to share with a woman.”

  “So… You offer me no life in France, no marriage. And for my part, I would not give up my work. My patients need me, they need the medicines I can source, they need the remedies which the book provides me with.”

  “But you have your assistant, the young girl, and others you are teaching. And also the copy you’ve made of the medicinal text. You must take it and make a bigger life than the one you’re leading. There is so much you’re missing. There is so much for the world to gain by having you in it.”

  He pressed her more tightly against him, his voice vibrating through her body as he continued. And for one moment Melisende thought he was going to ask her to come with him—marriage or no. She shook her head against his chest.

  “You have your life ahead of you, I have mine—both different.” He cleared his throat. “There will be no future for us both.”

  She looked up at him, determined he would understand her meaning. “But we have here, now. Show me, Galien, what I will be missing. Show me what communion your body can bring to mine.” The words had tumbled out and she took a deep breath. “If it’s all I am to have of you, then here, now, show me.”

  Chapter 10

  Melisende felt his frustrated groan travel throughout the length of her body.

  “You ask too much, Melisende.”

  “Nay, I ask not enough.” He could never know how much she wanted him. Body and soul. Forever. She couldn’t tell him because they were two different people with two very different destinies and she would never ask for more than he could give. “But this must be enough… for now.”

  She took his hand and pulled him inside the cottage. He unclasped his cloak and spread it over the straw pallet. She looked down at the soft lining, exposed and intimate and felt a sudden thrill of fear surge through her body at the thought that she’d soon be feeling the wool’s softness against her naked skin.

  He must have sensed her hesitation for he lifted her chin so she faced him. “Are you sure, Melisende? For I fear this is madness for you. I would be wrong to take advantage of you.”

  One look in his eyes made her realize what she felt wasn’t fear. How could there be anything to fear from a man whose eyes revealed his desire but who purposefully held himself back, awaiting her command? No, the thrill was in the decision to give herself completely to him. It seemed that, contrary to all that she’d been taught, this man was too honourable to seduce her. She had no alternative—she would have to seduce him.

  She stood on tip toe until her mouth was close to his but apart. She was so close she could see every detail of his face, from the stubble on his chin to the dark lashes that fringed his eyes when he looked down at her. “But would it be wrong if I were to take advantage of you?” His lips quirked into a smile and she kissed each side of his mouth before pulling away. “Mayhap I should seduce you, sir, if you are unwilling to do the job.”

  “You? And what do you know about seduction?” She continued to hold her face close to his and he licked his lips, his eyes focussed on her mouth, as if he wished it were her lips he was licking.

  “Ah, you have me there. I may not have any practical exper
ience but you know how much I like to study.”

  “Your medicinals.”

  “Aye. And more… The Art of Love was a book my father found entertaining.”

  Galien raised one eyebrow in query. “My Melisende, a seductress? I have not thought.”

  Lust throbbed in her belly and lower, at the possessive note in his voice. “There is no need to think. For I see this is the perfect occasion for me to put my knowledge into practice.”

  He threw his head back and laughed. “I cannot resist you, Melisende. No matter what my good sense tells me.” The smile dropped away and the need was exposed in his darkened eyes. “Do what you will. Seduce me. Where will you begin?”

  She closed her eyes as she remembered the sequence she’d learned in De Amore. “I think I’ve already begun. The first stage consists of arousing hope.”

  “Indeed, my lady. Among other things, hope is indeed aroused.”

  “Then the second is in offering kisses.” She rose to the balls of her feet so that her lips were closer to his. She slipped her arms upon his shoulders. “I am offering you a kiss, sir.”

  “Mmm”—he moved his face close to hers, breathing her in—“I accept.”

  If she had made the first move, she was in no doubt as to who’d made the second. Her offer was immediately taken up by his lips that pressed themselves against hers and took complete control. Her hands gripped his shoulders tighter now. She had no thought for anything other than the caress of his lips against hers, stirring her inside in a way she’d never felt before, enticing her with the promise of more to come.

  Her breath hitched and caught in her throat as his tongue traced her lower lip, as if asking for entry. She opened her mouth, giving him the permission he sought and touched his tongue with her own. The sensuous slide of his tongue against hers was shocking in its intimacy. She tried to step away to regain her breath but was halted by his hands pushing through her hair, holding her head steady as his mouth took control of hers. And she submitted to a mindless bliss that swept away all else. It was like opening the gate to a secret garden of joy she hadn’t known to exist.

  All too soon, he pulled away from her. She didn’t want the kiss to end and lifted her face to his, trying to recapture his mouth. He laughed and swept his thumbs over her lips and cheeks. “Chère, you are so beautiful… a temptress.”

  “A temptress.” She nodded. “That is good.” She looked up to the roof, trying to focus on the words of the game of seduction they’d been playing. “For the third stage of love is the enjoyment of intimate embraces.”

  “I never thought to so appreciate your learning.”

  “My learning, sir, gave you a swift recovery.”

  “Indeed. And I was most appreciative. But this… this is something more powerful still. Tell me what you know of these ‘intimate embraces.’”

  She took her hands from his shoulders and tentatively slid them around his back, over his shirt and down to where its hem hung loose. She kept her gaze on his as she slipped her hands beneath the shirt. His muscles clenched under her fingertips and it made her bold and she watched his reaction as she spread her fingers over his heated skin, exploring it as if she had a claim to it. He sucked in a tremulous breath. “You like this?” she asked.

  “I will not tell you, I’ll show you how much I like it.”

  His hands echoed her movements and slid down her back, over the length of her hair until his hardened palms pressed against her bottom, pulling her tight against him. She felt weak with desire as she felt his hard cock pressed against her stomach. “Oh…” she sighed.

  He pulled her harder against him still, claiming her mouth with his once more, while she pressed her hips against him, moving herself over him, exploring the shape of his body with hers.

  He gripped her bottom and lifted her so that his hard cock was against her sex, moving against that intimate part of her, upon which all her thoughts and senses were focussed. She wanted him closer to her still, she wanted him to fill her.

  He too, seemed to have other ideas, as he left her mouth bereft and kissed her cheek, her jaw, her neck and lower… His fingers had already loosened the fastening at her neckline—she hadn’t even been aware of it—and he now pressed his lips first to the top of one exposed breast and then the other.

  She let her head fall back to allow him greater access, her breasts straining under the suddenly too tight constriction of her bodice. He undid the bodice and it fell open, leaving her breasts exposed.

  She was dizzy with need and held on tight to his shoulders as he kissed her breasts and his tongue played with her nipples. She gasped as his mouth tightened around her breast and suckled, sending coils of sensation surging and retreating, before surging higher again. She hadn’t been aware she was panting until his lips were upon hers once more.

  She was desperate for him. Her hands couldn’t get their fill of him and ranged over his body as their kisses intensified, escalating into an urgent need from which there was no retreating.

  She pushed the shirt from his shoulders, needing his flesh to be next to hers. He pulled it off and threw it aside. He smiled. “Look at you, my lady, standing there, your breasts exposed, yet your eyes bright and commanding. You don’t know what you do to me.”

  She licked her lips, unable to find any sense of modesty to cover herself. She loved the way he looked at her and revelled in his need for her. “In which case, sir,” her voice had become impossibly husky to her ears. “Mayhap we should move on to the fourth stage of love.”

  “I hope it’s what I think it is.”

  She laughed. “Aye, sir. ’Tis not prayer, that’s for sure. The fourth stage is the abandonment of the entire person. I want to know intimacy with you. I want to know nothing else at this moment.”

  His face went suddenly serious. “Are you sure, Melisende?”

  She nodded. “I’m more sure of this than anything I’ve ever done. I want you, Galien. I want you to show me the love between a woman and a man.”

  In one swift movement he lifted her kirtle and swept his hands up her body, raking the dress upward until he pulled it off her, leaving her standing in her underclothes.

  She felt his sudden exhalation of air against her breasts as he dipped his head and kissed them. Then he slid the palm of his hand down her body until it held her at the apex of her legs, his fingers curling around her.

  A wave of hot desire swept through her and settled deep inside, with a melting throb, close to where his fingers were. He must have felt the moisture as he pushed his fingers and the material of her dress that lay between them, nearly inside her. He growled into her ear, a very male satisfied growl. He stepped back suddenly.

  He gripped her under-dress and whisked it off her, leaving her totally naked before him. But she didn’t have time to be shy for she was too busy watching Galien disrobe. When he tossed his trousers onto the rest of his clothes, he turned and for a moment was silhouetted against the silver light coming through the door. Her muscles, deep inside, clenched at the sight of his cock, rigid and ready for her. She looked up at him with a frown.

  He shook his head and drew her to him, whispering in her ear. “Do not fear, my Melisende, we will take things as slow as you desire them.”

  She kissed his neck and felt his cock pressing into her stomach. She wanted to touch it but wasn’t sure if she should. She bit her lip and tentatively reached out and stroked it. She looked up at him and he nodded. It twitched under her touch and he closed his eyes in obvious pleasure. It emboldened her. She let her fingers trail down its length, feeling the texture of it, its rigidity, and the flesh that hung beneath it, which she cupped.

  He swallowed and reached out for her.

  “Exploration over. I want you to feel me inside you, I want to come inside you, make you mine.”

  “I am yours, Galien.”

  He kissed her with a gentleness that reassured and, as his tongue slipped into her mouth and found hers, her heart beat like it would burst and a
ll her thoughts and fears disappeared, leaving only need.

  His hands tightened their grip around her bottom, and his fingers swept between her legs, moving the length of her wet quim, and slipping inside. She gasped and he pulled away.

  With a satisfied grunt, he picked her up and carefully lay her down on his cloak.

  She eased back on the springy mattress suddenly aware that she was completely naked before a man. She should feel shame. She should. But she didn’t. Instead, all she could feel was the sheer wanton thrill of the caress of the soft wool against her bare bottom, and the sweep of his hands as they moved up her legs, hips, stomach before resting on her breasts.

  “You are so beautiful.” He knelt down in front of her so his head was facing the apex of her legs. She felt a blush rise.

  She reached down to him and tried to bring him up to her.

  “Nay lady. You wanted abandonment of the entire person. And I am your slave, to do as you order.” Before she could remonstrate he leaned forward and kissed her quim.

  “Galien!” She shifted back slightly on the cloak in surprise.

  He gripped her hands in his own and looked up at her. “Stay still, my sweet.”

  He continued holding her gaze, and her hands, as his tongue lapped that most private part of herself. She gasped and she gripped his hands tightly, caught between a desire to push him away, and to hold him tight against her. She held him there, legs trembling, breathing coming hard.

  She could do nothing else. Each time his tongue moved against her most sensitive skin, each time his mouth tasted her, the tensions that coiled inside her ratcheted up another notch, until she could think of nothing else but the exquisite sensations that coursed through her body, intensifying until she felt a burst of release that made her cry out.

  Only then did Galien raise himself, a smile on his face and his hands sweep up her stomach and cup her breasts. He eased his body over hers and kissed her breasts, her neck, before settling on her lips.

  Despite the release, Melisende soon felt another wave of desire wash through her as his tongue explored her mouth, and his hands, her breasts. She wriggled her hips against his, caressing his smooth back and lower, curling her fingers around his bottom, feeling the flex of his muscles as he moved against her.