She stood up and smoothed down her skirts. ‘We need to return. People will come searching for us.’
‘People will wait. They will be glad of a respite, rather than having me press them again on the latest shield technique.’
His body ached with the stirrings of renewed passion. He had not drunk his fill of her. All their joining had done was to make him want her more. But on a bed with soft fur and pillows instead of the hard ground. He wanted to spend the entire night exploring her depths.
Her cheeks flamed and she made a little moue with her mouth. ‘I would hardly like them gossiping about me.’
‘They already do. Your mouth appears thoroughly kissed.’
She scrubbed her knuckles against her lips. ‘You are teasing me.’
He leant over and plucked a wisp of fern from her hair. ‘Maybe a little,’ he admitted. ‘The men were teasing me earlier about training too hard and taking too much pleasure in defeating them because I desired this. I suspect I shall be a little kinder. They will be grateful to you.’
Desired it, but no longer? A shiver went down Liddy’s spine. What was between them was purely physical on his part and she knew how brief such things were. Brandon had shown her that. She snapped her fingers and Coll, who had been investigating a rabbit hole close by, bounded over. ‘Still, I want to get back.’
Sigurd watched them walk away, uncomfortably aware that he had wanted to linger. He wanted to lose himself in her again. Tonight, he promised silently. Tonight he would unlock more of her secrets and show her that she had nothing to be frightened about. He would free the passionate woman from the prison she had kept herself in.
Chapter Nine
The sounds of the feast echoed through the bedchamber. Liddy paced the room. She had pleaded a headache when they returned and Sigurd had accepted it without a murmur, explaining he had other business to attend to. He had other things to do. Coll had even chosen to tag along with him, instead of staying with her. Even her dog was deserting her now.
She clenched her fists. It might have been a mistake to quit the field, but she could clearly remember what a naïve fool she’d been with Brandon and how she’d had to endure his flirting with anything in a skirt. He’d laugh and say that she was over-sensitive. However, she had learnt the hard way that every woman he flirted with, he bedded.
She wasn’t ready for that with Sigurd. She’d seen his easy way with women. How he could charm them with very few words. All the women in the fort would sigh as he went by.
She wanted to think she was special for a little while longer. She’d been a coward to hide here, but she wasn’t ready. The bed seemed to loom larger each time she passed it. Should she get in and wait for him, or what if he chose not to come like Brandon had done? This time she wasn’t going to ask more than Sigurd was prepared to give. What had happened out in the woods was a pleasant idle moment, a time out of mind. She mustn’t hope too much. Brandon had certainly been in no hurry after their marriage night. But then his lovemaking had been rough and crude compared with what she had experienced with Sigurd.
She sighed. She might as well be truthful. Brandon had been surprised at her tears. He had never cared for her pleasure at all.
Her body thrummed at the memory of Sigurd’s lovemaking. She began to plait her hair. The sooner she restored herself to how she used to be, the sooner this madness would end.
A noise made her pause. Sigurd stood in the door, a quizzical expression on his face. Her heart leapt. She ruthlessly dampened it down. ‘You failed to appear at the meal.’
‘My head is better.’ Liddy straightened her apron. She could do this and get through the practicalities. She would act as though he had come for another reason. This sort of subterfuge had worked with Brandon—feigning ignorance and assuming he had come on mundane tasks. ‘I take it the ale casket is empty and someone has forgotten where I put the key to the storeroom.’
He didn’t move from where he stood in the doorway. ‘If the key was lost, I would simply order the door broken down. You and I have unfinished business.’
She fingered her birthmark and nodded miserably. For a little while, Sigurd had made her believe that she could be attractive. ‘We need to discuss our new rules, you mean? Only I don’t think there are really any rules... If you will excuse me... I need to find Coll and make sure that he isn’t into any mischief.’
She pointedly moved to go past him, but he snaked out an arm and caught her elbow. ‘Don’t...’ he said.
Her entire body burnt from his touch. She wanted to lean into him. She kept her back straight, but her heart hammered so loudly she thought he must hear it. ‘Don’t what?’
‘You have no need of that shield, after what we shared this afternoon. Put it aside and speak the truth. Why have you been hiding in here?’
‘You are talking nonsense.’ She twisted her belt about her fingers.
He touched her jaw and her flesh trembled under the onslaught. ‘Am I? Maybe, but you are required here. The kitchen has other servants. Coll is happy with the bone I gave him. You serve me and me alone.’
‘Yes, by looking after your hall,’ Liddy said slowly, hating the way her treacherous heart turned over.
He shook his head. ‘All the while I was in the great hall, listening to the men feasting and singing songs, I kept thinking about you and hoping that this was a feint.’
Her breath hitched in her throat. ‘A what?’
‘A feint to give me an excuse to leave early because I wanted to do this.’
He took her face between his hands and kissed her. Long and slow. Insistent, but also persuasive as if he wasn’t sure what her reaction would be. It amazed her that he could be so gentle.
Liddy’s body responded instantly and the kiss became more passionate in its intensity. Then he let her go. She stumbled backwards, putting out an arm to steady herself. Her mouth tasted of ale, but mostly of him.
‘Tell me that there is something more important to be done elsewhere,’ he said, watching her with hooded eyes.
She pressed her hands together to stop them trembling. ‘That would be lying. Why would I lie about something like that?’
‘Good, you are learning. You have much to learn.’ He gathered her into his arms. ‘I hope you will be a most attentive pupil.’
‘I will do my best.’ She scarcely recognised the husky rasp as her own.
Impatient but gentle fingers undid the plait in her hair and it fell about her shoulders.
‘Silken fire,’ he murmured. ‘Wear it down. It makes you look as you are—untamed and passionate.’
A small fire grew within her. He considered her passionate, not cold. She would have scoffed at being called that this morning, but now she wanted to be. ‘Untamed? Are you sure you have the right woman?’
‘You underestimate your charms.’ He inclined his head towards where the bed covered in furs stood. ‘This time, we have a bed and time. Let me show you what can happen in a bed.’
The bed loomed larger in the torchlight, reminding her of her failures. The burgeoning fire flickered and began to fade.
‘Liddy?’ he said with his breath tickling her ear, fanning the flames again.
‘I had a good time this afternoon,’ she spoke to the floor. ‘Better than I thought possible.’
‘It will have nothing on tonight.’ He smoothed the hair back from her face in a gesture which made her heart turn over. There were so many reasons why she shouldn’t allow her heart to become involved, but every time she encountered him, he stole a little more of her.
‘Let me see all of you,’ he whispered against her ear.
Liddy froze. All of her? Naked? Her heart sunk. The memory of how Brandon had turned from her after the twins were born sliced through her. ‘All of me? Why?’
‘Because I want to explore ev
ery bit of you.’
Her heart wanted to believe him, but her brain kept hammering on about how Brandon had been repulsed after she had given birth. His shuddering look remained seared on her brain. She knew how the pregnancy had scarred her belly. She shook her head and took a step backwards. ‘I’m not ready. My late husband understood—darkness is best. We should never have...not in the daylight. My body...’
She hated how her voice shook. He tilted his head to one side as if he was assessing a very nervous horse.
‘You’ve seen my body with its scars,’ he said softly. ‘It adds to my pleasure to see your face when we couple.’
Seeing her face—a reminder that he had coupled with many women. It was about desire for him and that always faded. She wanted something more and that was impossible. When he turned from her, it was going to hurt and she didn’t want to go back to that hollow feeling.
She started to back away, but his hands held her shoulders gently, pinning her in place. ‘Please. It is but a little thing. The priests used to say that this sort of thing was forbidden.’
He ran his hands down her arms, sending little tongues of fire lapping through her, sapping at her will to resist. She swayed towards him.
‘Very well, then we wait until you are ready.’ He lifted her hair from her body and placed a kiss at the junction where her neck met her shoulder. He went over and doused the torches one by one until one small lamp remained. ‘We go at your pace, Eilidith. No lights.’
Liddy closed her eyes. Sigurd was taking his time and he seemed to consider they would be together for longer than one night. ‘Thank you.’
He put his hands on her shoulders and held her away from him. ‘Did your husband treat you well? I want the truth, Liddy. I want you to look me in the eye and say what happened to you.’
‘I ran the house and he ran his estate. Everyone said that we were well matched in that.’ The half-lies nearly stuck in her throat, but what choice did she have? To admit the full truth would mean more explaining about how Keita and Gilbreath had died because of her incompetence and in their deaths, the true ugliness of her marriage had been exposed. Brandon’s damning words lingered in her mind. How he had only wanted the land she brought as a dowry rather than her. The soft words he’d used during their courtship had been lies. He’d never felt anything for her as a person and she’d been unable to fulfil him for even one night. How she had extinguished the only brightness in their marriage through her careless arrogance.
Sigurd laced his fingers through hers and brought her back. ‘You answered a different question.’
‘He treated me as well as could be expected.’ She took a step backwards. ‘Is that Coll barking? I should go to him.’
‘You are more nervous than a maiden on her first night. What did your husband do to you? Did he hurt you? Is that why Coll rarely leaves your side?’ His voice hardened. ‘I’m not your late husband, Liddy. Coll senses that. It is why he trusts you with me.’
‘It is in the past, Sigurd.’
‘Did he hurt you?’
‘He never beat me.’
‘There are other ways to hurt a woman.’
Liddy wrapped her hands about her waist and knew she had to give him something. It was wrong of her to hope. He would find out eventually and then his look would turn to disgust.
‘He disliked my birthmark. He called me cursed and blamed me for all that went wrong in his life.’
‘He was a blind fool and a weak man. To blame his failures on someone else. A man makes his own luck.’ His thumb brushed her chin. ‘It reminds me of a butterfly, wanting to taste the sweetness of your lips.’
A tiny bubble of pleasure exploded within her, but she tried to dampen it down. ‘You don’t know me very well.’
He lifted her chin and his eyes loomed large in the torchlight. ‘I searched out the rumours about you and your husband, Liddy, after this afternoon. Your husband had many women, didn’t he? But he didn’t know how to treat a woman.’
‘Why do you say that?’
He stroked her hair and gave a long sigh. ‘I can feel the passion in you, but you are too nervous to enjoy it. I won’t hurt you. I took you too swiftly this afternoon and apologise for that. Give me another chance.’
Her heart thumped far too loudly. He deserved to know about Keita and Gilbreath and her part in their deaths. Telling him about them might end this and she selfishly wanted it continue. She wanted to be in this dream world for a while longer. ‘Then you know everything about me. Soon I will have no secrets left.’
‘There are some things I am waiting for you to tell me.’ He rubbed his thumb across her lips. ‘I wanted to let you know that I only have one woman at a time. When we are done, I won’t humiliate you. I will provide for any children we have.’
Children. The very word sent a chill down her spine. She moved away from him and wrapped her arms about her waist. She’d fallen pregnant so quickly the last time. And Brandon had used her pregnancy as an excuse to abandon her bed.
‘Children may never happen,’ she whispered, hating that a sudden hope sprang in her breast. A second chance. ‘There is no guarantee.’
‘I wanted you to know that I take my responsibilities seriously. The world will consider them free-born, not slaves.’
She knew he was being more than generous, but it didn’t dispel her fear or the pain. Soon his eyes, like Brandon’s, would look on her with disgust or, worse still, pity. ‘You do me much honour,’ she said around the ashes in her mouth.
He dragged his hand through his hair. ‘Shall I leave? Was this a mistake?’
She knew if she let him walk out of this chamber, she would lose her chance. She focused on his mouth and knew what she had to do. When she was in his arms, all doubt vanished.
She raised herself up on her tiptoes. ‘Later, we can speak of what happens when we part in the future. Right now this is what I want.’
In the morning she would confess to Sigurd and explain why the thought of children excited her and terrified her. She would explain about Keita and Gilbreath. In the morning she’d watch his desire shrivel and turn to horror, but tonight she wanted to feel beautiful.
‘Later,’ she murmured again, looping her arms about his neck and pulling his face closer.
He claimed her mouth. The passion that was deep within her sprang to life. Her hands slipped under his fine linen shirt to his warm skin. She trailed up his chest until she encountered his nipples. She rolled them between her fingers, feeling them harden against the pads of her fingertips.
He growled in the back of his throat. Suddenly he scooped her up and tossed her on the bed.
Down, down she went into the soft fur, every bit as silky as she had imagined. Then he leant over and blew out the small lamp so the room was plunged into darkness. Within a blink of an eye, Sigurd had divested her garments and she lay naked. The air was cool against her skin. She stretched, enjoying the freedom of the darkness. Her body tingled with anticipation of what was to come. She struggled to stay still.
‘I want to know all of you, even if you will allow me only to learn by touch.’ He ran a hand down her flank. The touch caused warm pulses to shoot through her. Her body arched.
‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered. ‘I know I am supposed to keep still. My husband used to get cross.’
He laughed. ‘What is there to be sorry about? If your late husband was such a blind fool that he had no idea how to pleasure his wife, that was his loss. You are better off without him.’
Liddy blinked twice. Was he saying that Brandon had borne most of the responsibility for her failure in the marriage bed? ‘You want me to move?’
‘To move, to cry out and most of all to tell me what you like and what you don’t.’ His teeth nibbled her ear.
Liddy gave a soft sigh as her body arched upwards to encounte
r his bulk. ‘I definitely like that.’
‘By the night’s end, we shall have discovered a few other things that give you pleasure.’
‘Oh, I hope so.’
He gave a throaty laugh. ‘We are well matched. But fair is fair, if I can touch, you must also touch me. But see the light has no fears for me. Undress me.’
Emboldened, she tugged at his shirt and helped him to shed all his clothes.
She traced the raised lines of his scars as they snaked across his chest. The metal from the cross he wore was warm under the pads of her fingers.
Her hand strayed to his groin and she was left in no doubt of his desire for her. Giving in to temptation, she wrapped her hand around his shaft, marvelling at its strength beneath the silky smoothness.
He groaned. ‘If you keep this up, it will be over before it has properly begun. Tonight is about taking our time and enjoying. Giving you pleasure makes it more enjoyable, too, for me.’
He lowered his mouth and paid homage to her breasts. Taking each one in turn, suckling and nuzzling until the growing heat within her made her arch and then he traced a line down her belly to the apex of her thighs.
Then he positioned his mouth over her core. She had never been touched that intimately before. Her world exploded about her. She tugged at his shoulders and he understood her wordless plea for more.
He drove his shaft inward and her body opened, enveloping him fully. He rolled over so that she was on top and then he grasped her hips.
‘Ride me. You set the pace.’
She began to move her hips, driving him deeper into her until he was completely sheathed. Her body expanded, allowing the length of him. And there was no pain.
It was even better than out in the woods because she was able to match his rhythm. And she knew he wanted her. He wanted this as much as she did.
Their cries filled the room.
* * *
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