Timeless Tales of Honor

by Suzan Tisdale

  Arissa gasped loudly with surprise at the savage action, a sharp sting of pain rippling throughout her loins. He was seated to the hilt in less than a second and she felt all of the fullness and maleness of him that she could have ever hoped for. The pain, coupled with his closeness, brought tears to her eyes as she clutched his shoulders with white-knuckled intensity. In spite of her vow of bravery, his swift movement had startled her and she couldn't help the soft sobs that escaped her lips.

  Fully sheathed within her delicious tightness, Richmond struggled to remain still as Arissa writhed and panted beneath him. When he heard the faint sobs of fear and pain, however, he raised his head from her swollen nipple in a brief return of control and reality.

  "I am so sorry, kitten," he whispered huskily. "I would not have hurt you had there been another way."

  She wiped at her eyes daintily. "It's not.... I mean, ‘tis not the pain, but... but the closeness. I never knew it could be like this."

  She trailed off, attempting to regain control of her sobs. Folding his arms about her slight body, he began to move gently within her. Slowly at first, relishing the feel of his erection embedded within her unbelievably slick folds. She clutched him tightly, wrapping her legs about his hips and clinging to him with an instinctive need.

  Richmond's pace increased, quickening his thrusts as he was blinded to all else but the feel of her flesh encompassing his maleness. It was the most satisfying and amazing thing he had ever experienced. Against him, Arissa's resumed pants of passion told him that she was beginning to experience the same pleasure that had so easily engulfed his senses. Now, they were experiencing it together as it was always meant to be.

  But it was a pleasure that was building to a scalding peak faster than he ever thought possible; in fact, nothing on earth could have prepared Richmond for his lightning-quick climax. With a roar, he spilled deep into her womb, feeling every last spasm of his spent desire with the greatest of pleasure. But even as the evidence of his passion erupted, he continued to move within her, wanting her to experience the same searing joy that would erase the sting of her innocent pain.

  He shifted his weight, gazing down at her flushed face as he continued to thrust. Her eyes were closed, her head thrown back, and he found his gaze drawn to her magnificent breasts as they bounced against every thrust he delivered. One hand trailed down her neck, encircling a breast tenderly before moving toward the junction where their bodies were joined in passion. Where the magic of her pleasure pulsed and throbbed, begging for release.

  Seeking the hard little nub, he manipulated it fiercely, watching as Arissa's eyes flew open with surprise. In the next moment, she pealed off a loud shriek that echoed against the very walls of the chamber and he could feel her passage throb and spasm as her own pleasure was attained. Not only could he feel the delicious convulsions of her gratification, he deeply sensed it like nothing else.

  From pain to pleasure, gentleness to the heights of ferocious desire, Richmond introduced Arissa to a world where they would cease to exist as two separate beings. A world where the only matter of import was the love and emotion they held for one another, binding them together more tightly than any other circumstance. It was done.

  Enfolded in the protective warmth of his massive embrace, Arissa was not sure if she was dead or alive. Her body was limp, her mind a warm void of satisfaction as she felt the remains of Richmond's arousal twitching within her tender folds. It was the most remarkable, private sensation she had ever experienced and she would have been perfectly content to remain as they were for the rest of eternity.

  "Are you all right?" he whispered against her ear.

  Weakly, she nodded. "I do believe I am close to dying from contentment. Is such a thing possible?"

  "I hope so," he murmured, snuggling closer. "But I am truly sorry that there was pain for you, Riss. It couldn't be helped."

  She raised her head to look at him. "Stop worrying so. I have already forgotten about the discomfort. It.... it was an amazing experience. Much more than I ever imagined."

  He smiled faintly. "You are incredibly brave, my lady. I should possess such courage."

  She returned his smile, pressing herself against him tightly. The fire in the hearth was dying, casting a heady chill about the shadowed room. But against Richmond, Arissa had never been so warm or so loved.

  "Will you stay with me all night?" she asked softly, her delicate fingers lingering on his chest.

  He stroked her black hair, watching the distant flames. "That would not be wise, Riss. We cannot allow anyone to become suspicious of our relationship. Moreover, I promised Gavan I would take the watch tonight since he’s been occupied all evening with Lambourn's security."

  She knew what his answer would be, but was disappointed nonetheless. She sighed faintly. "I do not think I like the idea of being alone. Now that I have experienced you in my bed, I never want you to leave. I shall be empty without you."

  He kissed her forehead. "You fail to consider my feelings, kitten. Do you not think that I will miss you, too?"

  She rolled onto her back, gazing up at him with bright eyes. "Did you know that you are a silly, sentimental fool? Not only do you love me, but you miss me when I am not by your side. I thought only women had such ridiculous, romantic thoughts."

  "Then I suppose I am a ridiculous romantic."

  They continued to gaze at each other warmly as Richmond toyed with a tendril of silken dark hair. He was so caught up in Arissa's delicious vision that he failed to notice the slight movement in the giant wardrobe at the opposite end of the chamber.

  One of the carved paneled doors inched open, paused, and then slowly closed. After several moments, it inched open again, wider. As Richmond kissed Arissa's cheek tenderly, the door proceeded to yawn even further. When he moved to cover Arissa's body with his massive frame once again, giving in to the rejuvenated desire flooding his veins, the door flew open wide with a resounding crash.

  "You.... you hypocrite!"

  Richmond bolted out of the bed faster than he had ever moved in his life. His natural protective instinct was surging as he flew over the mattress, feet to the cold floor, fully prepared to do battle with the unknown intruder. Only when his hands closed over the dark, indistinct figure did he realize the shadow was a weaker being, non-threatening to a man of his incredible strength and size. His grip met with fleshy soft arms, struggling furiously within his iron grip.

  "You are a liar and.... and a deceiver!" Regine raged, wrestling viciously in Richmond's mighty grasp. "You punished me for the very same action you have just committed with my sister!"

  Bedcover clutched to her breast, Arissa watched in horror as Richmond yanked Regine into the weak light. Regine's face mottled an ugly shade of red, her eyes full of venom, and all of it directed at Richmond.

  "I knew you were an overbearing brute, but I had no idea you were a fraud as well!" she raged. "How could you have spanked me for sampling the identical pleasure you and my sister have just tasted? How?"

  Richmond was as naked as the day he was born, standing before a ranting twelve-year-old girl. With a long, hostile glare, he forced himself to calmly retrieve his breeches. Regine twitched and quaked in her anger, completely ignorant of his nudity and glowering at him as if he were the Devil himself.

  "Why were you spying on us?" his voice was amazingly steady as he secured his hose.

  Regine clenched her teeth so hard that she bit her cheek. "I was not spying! At least.... it had never been my original intention. But you proved to me that you are a deceiver and I shall...!"

  "And you shall what?" he put his hands on his hips, his voice as ominous as Arissa had ever heard it. He took a step, towering over the enraged young lass. "Do not ever threaten me, Regine. You shall not like the results, I guarantee it."

  Regine may have been furious, but she was not daft. It did not matter that Richmond had taken Arissa's virginity while she watched from her hiding place in the wardrobe; what mattered was the fa
ct that Richmond had punished her for the very same offense not hours before and she was outraged by his double standard.

  Richmond, however, was gravely concerned for quite another reason; should Regine tell the earl all she had seen, the consequences would be severe. To become angry with her would only inflame the situation and he fought to keep his calm; nonetheless, a natural fury bubbled within his chest as he faced off against the foolish young wench.

  It took him less than a second to carefully analyze the situation, the results, and the hazards. And it took him less than a second to realize there was little he could do to alter the course of a most distressing circumstance.

  Regine had witnessed something she most definitely should not have. In lieu of strangling her simply to keep her from spilling the secret, Richmond was greatly pressed to emphasize the confidentiality of what she had seen without making it known that she literally held their lives in her hand. God help them, their very balance hung in the slippery palm of a shallow, peculiar young girl.

  "I was not threatening you," Regine said after a moment, her rage dampening in the face of his intimidating expression. "But you were unfair to punish me for experiencing adult pleasures when you and Arissa did the very same thing."

  The tension filling the room was thick enough to cut. Smothering, encompassing. Arissa's breath caught in her throat as Richmond eyed Regine grimly. "What did you mean when you said spying had not been your original intent? What, pray, was your original intent?"

  Regine swallowed, the first flicker of uncertainty kindling in her blue eyes. "I....I followed Bart from the gallery, but he did not want to speak with me. So I came up here to wait for Riss to return from her party. I was waiting when I heard your voice in the hall and I did not want to see you because I was mad at you. So I hid in the wardrobe," she swallowed again, her gaze moving to her sister for the first time. A shade of genuine remorse crossed her features. "I saw you kiss her, and hold her, and I became curious because I did not know you and my sister were.... well, together. I could have come out of the wardrobe after you left, but I did not. I wanted to see what happened when you returned."

  Arissa, sheet still clasped to her breast, suddenly found her tongue. She was not embarrassed in the least that her sister had witnessed her first experience with ecstasy; she was damn well furious for the invasion.

  "So you spied on us!” she hissed. “Regine, how could you? After all I have done for you, defended you, made excuses for you, and even lied for you! I know you have spied on Penelope and Daniel, but how could you spy on me? How could you do this to me?"

  Regine turned to her sister, fury fading and being replaced by genuine penitence. "I.... I do not know. I have seen the serving wenches couple with the soldiers, but it seemed to be rough and over quickly. And this afternoon when I.... it was not as wonderful as I thought it would be. I suppose I wanted to see.... it was wonderful for you, was not it, Riss? Is that what coupling is supposed to be like, always?"

  Richmond stood with his fists on his hips, his gaze moving between Regine and Arissa. His anger began to dwindle as he came to understand that Regine, although her motives had been selfish and sly, was still in the process of trying to understand what went on between a man and a woman. Her experience that afternoon had been abrupt and unpleasant, and the curious, obsessive girl was still looking for her answers. Even at the expense of her sister's privacy.

  But Arissa was unable to see Regine's curiosity for what is was. She was furious and shaken at being betrayed by her own sister, and furthermore terrified that Regine would tell her father what she had seen. Clutching the linen to her breast, she leapt out of the bed and wound the sheet about her body as she approached her youngest sibling.

  "You will listen to me, Regine Margaret," she hissed. "If you mention one word to father, I shall tell him of every offense you have ever incurred and every crime you have ever committed. His anger at me won't be half as powerful as his shock and fury towards you. Do you understand me?"

  Regine looked hurt, confused. She opened her mouth to reply, but in light of her sister's fury she simply nodded her head. "Aye," when Arissa whirled away and moved towards the wardrobe, Regine's gaze followed. "Are you terribly angry with me?"

  Arissa let out an un-ladylike snort. "Terribly, indeed! If I had a dagger, I would use it on you!" she veered away from the wardrobe, returning once again to rage in her sister's face. "This goes beyond what I ever thought you capable of. I should run to father right this instant and tell him of the serving wench you kissed, of the stable boy you fondled simply to know the feeling of male genitalia, or the soldier you coerced into taking your virginity this afternoon. Sweet St. Jude, Regine, when is this going to stop?"

  Regine's expression was guarded, fearful. She opened her mouth, but her sister cut off her stumbling answer. "Well?" Arissa demanded sharply. "This must stop this instant or I will tell father everything!"

  "I do not want him to know anything. You always promised me you would never tell."

  "That was before you spied on Richmond and me!"

  Regine was staring at the floor as her sister's angry face loomed before her. She was wise enough to know that Arissa'a anger was a direct result of the fear that her liaison with Richmond would be discovered. And there was only one way to quell her fear. "I.... I shall bargain with you then. I won't tell father about you and Richmond if you agree that I do not have to tell him what happened this afternoon with Richmond's soldier."

  Arissa gazed at her sister’s fair head a moment before turning her apprehensive gaze to Richmond. He had given Regine several months to make her confession; now, she was throwing a most clever twist into the deal. Richmond's impassive gaze lingered on Arissa a moment before turning his attention to Regine.

  "A bargain?” he repeated. “Does it stand to reason that if I do not agree, you will carry out your implied threat?"

  In spite of her anger toward him, she was still deathly afraid of the man who did not hesitate to punish her for the slightest infraction. She shook her head, hard. "Nay, no threat. But I will know that my secret is safe, as I will keep your secret safe."

  Richmond's hard gaze lingered on her a moment before slanting a glance to Arissa; he had no choice in the matter. As they both had powerful secrets to be kept, there was simply no other alternative but to agree to the terms. Turning away from both ladies, he moved for the remainder of his clothing. "Your proposal is accepted, Regine. You had better pray that your word of honor is as good as mine."

  Regine watched the massive knight lumber across the room. Pensive and somber, she meandered to the mussed bed, perching her sore bottom on the mattress. As Arissa dropped the linen sheet in favor of a heavy brocade robe from the wardrobe, Regine pondered the predicament her curiosity had gotten her in to. However, her thoughts once again turned to the apparent double standard between herself and Arissa, and the harder she thought, the more indignant she became.

  "Why is it acceptable for Arissa to couple with you, yet it is not allowable for me to experience the act?" she muttered, more to herself than to the other occupants of the room. She wanted Richmond to hear her; then again, she did not.

  He pulled his tunic over his head, running his fingers through his rich brown hair to smooth it as he turned his focus to the young girl. "Because, as you have discovered, Arissa and I love one another. We were demonstrating that love." When Regine looked as if she did not understand what he was telling her, his manner gentled. She was trying so hard to grow up, to comprehend the complex realm of adults. Picking up his boots, he went to sit beside her on the bed. "Why do you want to mature so quickly, Regine? Why can't you simply enjoy your childhood and rely on time and experience to mature your mind and body? You are trying so hard to force nature, love. You must learn patience."

  Regine watched him pull on his boots, her cheeks a dull red. Shrugging lamely, she turned away from him; she could not provide answers for his sensible questions. Across the room, Arissa tightened the sash of her lu
xurious brocade robe and moved toward her sister and Richmond, her manner more subdued than it had been moments before.

  She heard every word Richmond had spoken and was forced to agree with his reasoning. As always, his wisdom worked wonders to soothe her fury and ease her anxieties. She did not hesitate to reach out to him as she neared the bed; still looking at Regine, Richmond caught her gesture from the corner of his eye and pulled her onto his lap.

  Regine turned to look at her sister, snuggled comfortably on the lap of a man she had grown up knowing as closely as one would a father. A man who had treated her with incredible gentleness, respect and caring.

  But now, there was far more than simple friendship between them and observing the tender expressions of Arissa and Richmond, Regine began to realize that mayhap there was supposed to be more between a man and woman than superficial pleasure and excitement.

  "Riss has always loved you," she said softly. "We have all known it."

  They turned to look at her, Arissa's expression one of surprise. "Who is 'we'?" Arissa asked.

  "Penelope and Emma and I. We have always known. But we never thought Richmond was in love with you, too. He’s so much...." she suddenly flushed a bright red, quickly averting her gaze. Swallowing hard, she stumbled over her words. "He’s a great knight, one of Henry's chosen, and we did not think he would...."

  "What you mean to say is that I am twice her age," Richmond supplied, the corner of his mouth twitching.

  Regine had the fearful look she often wore just before Richmond spanked her. "I never said that.... Penelope did!"

  Arissa let out a gasp of outrage, but Richmond snickered. “She’s right, Riss. I am nearly twenty-two years older than you are."

  Arissa still appeared offended, whether or not he was correct. Regine, sensing that Richmond was not at all slighted as an effect of her potential insult, peered at him curiously. "How old are you?"