by Grant, Donna
“Are you hurt?” he asked as he rolled off of her and sat up.
“Just exhausted,” she said and slowly sat back on her knees. “I don’t hear it anymore.”
“Hopefully we confused it.”
She sighed. “I guess we should continue. I hate not being able to see.”
“There were probably some torches at the entrance, but we didn’t have time to look.”
His hand reached forward and touched her face, then moved to her arm. “Let me help you up.”
She allowed him to aid her, mostly because she was too weary to do it herself, but there was also a part of her that wanted his touch.
“I’ll take the lead now,” he said. “Keep a hold on me.” She wasn’t about to balk at having free reign to touch him. With his hand as a guide, he moved hers until it rested against his waist. The strange fabric of his tunic beneath her hand heated.
He moved forward, and she gripped his tunic. For what felt like endless hours, they stayed like that as he moved them deeper into the tunnel.
“How long is this tunnel?”
“I don’t remember. I haven’t been here in years. There is only one fork and you’ll know when you come upon it.”
“So, it’s something like this?”
She peered around him and saw the dark outline of the tunnels as they branched off. “That’s it.”
“Which way to the castle?”
“Left.”
They trudged onward. Many times she wanted to ask him to stop, but she held her tongue. She was weary and hungry, but she refused to appear weak in front of him.
She must have dozed as they walked because she ran into his back when he stopped.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“The tunnel is blocked.”
She moved to his side, wide awake now. “What? How can that be?” But it was solid earth before her hand.
“The ground must have caved in.” He was silent for a moment. “We must turn back and head to the monastery.”
She couldn’t go another step though. “Hugh, I know you wish to return to your men, but I need to rest.”
“Forgive me,” he said and helped her sit down. “I’m not used to having a lady around.”
She heard the grin in his voice. “’Tis I who should apologize. Not only did I leave the castle, but I’m holding you up.” She saw his outline moving around her.
“What are you doing?”
“I found a piece of wood. I wanted to see if there was more, and there is. I think I’ll be able to build us a fire so we can see.” For the first time that evening, she smiled. “That would be wonderful.” And as amazing as it sounded, it wasn’t long before he had done just that. She looked across their small fire to the man that had saved her for a second time. As she looked, he watched the smoke from the growing fire.
“What are you doing?”
“Making sure there is a vent somewhere so we don’t inhale the smoke. See how the smoke drifts away, then up? There must be a small hole nearby where the smoke can escape to.”
She sighed and realized she was very lucky to have him with her.
“Tell me why you ran from the castle?” he asked while feeding more limbs to the growing fire.
“I wanted to give you and the men time to get inside the castle before the creature killed anyone else.”
“You were safer inside the castle walls. We all were.”
“I thought for sure I could have reached the cottage before it caught me. And I would have if I hadn’t become lost.”
He nodded. “Brave but foolish.” His eyes burned golden in the firelight. “Don’t do it again.”
“I won’t,” she promised.
She looked down during the silence that followed her response.
“I don’t understand you.”
Her head jerked up at his words. “There isn’t much to understand. There isn’t another more complex man on this earth than you.” He chuckled. “I guess you could say that. I have a reason to be as I am.”
“And you’re saying I don’t?”
“Nay. Tell me about your parents.”
She leaned her head back against the tunnel wall and let him change the subject.
“Everyone loved them. The villagers would do anything for them. While they lived, Stone Crest prospered.”
“Did you spend a lot of time with them?”
“Not really. They had so much to do with the castle and villagers. My mother never turned anyone away in need, and Theresa commanded a lot of her attention.”
“And your father?”
She smiled to herself. “I used to sit in the field and watch him riding. He was a great horseman. He fostered many young men at the castle, and he was a magnificent leader. Bernard was with him almost constantly.”
“So when did they spend time with you?”
“Whenever they could.”
“Give me an example,” he prodded.
She looked away from his gaze. “I didn’t need them like Theresa and Bernard did, and they knew that. I spent most of my time with my mother’s old nurse, Gertie.” Hearing the words out of her own mouth brought back all the painful feelings she had tried to bury. She blinked rapidly, but moisture collected in her eyes anyway.
Hugh wanted to kick himself for pushing as he did. He rose and went to her. She refused to look at him, but it wasn’t hard to see the tears in the firelight.
He reached up and wiped a lone tear from her cheek. She raised her gaze to him.
“Is there something wrong with me that would make my own parents shun me?”
“Nay,” he said and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
She turned toward him, and he let her cry against his shoulder. He wondered how long she had held that emotion inside.
“Whether you believe it or not,” he said against her hair, “there will come a time when your life will sort itself out.”
She leaned her wet cheek against his shirt. “I think for most people it does turn out that way, but for me I don’t think so. I know I’m not the only person to have my parents treat me like they did.”
“No one can say why parent’s act the way they do.”
“It wasn’t as if they were cruel to me,” she explained. “They always gave me a smile and a pat on the head.”
“You just didn’t feel part of the family.”
She nodded. “I always thought it was because of how I look.”
“I’ve already told you Theresa lied about that.” She raised her face and placed her finger on his lips. “And I’ve already told you I know what I look like. I think my parents were too kind to tell me the truth, so Theresa and Bernard did.”
Hugh barely heard anything she said once she placed her finger against his lips.
She was in his arms, snuggled against his chest with her face tilted toward him. All he needed to do was lower his head.
“You have no idea just how alluring you are, do you?”
She smiled and wiped away the tears. “I’ve never known a kinder man than you.”
“I’m not kind. I speak the truth,” he said and found his arm tightening against her.
The fullness of her breasts could be felt against his chest, and the heat of her body mingled with his giving him a heady sense. He began to shake slightly with a need he had not experienced in decades.
Pull away. She could be part of the evil.
__
The incessant words his conscience continued to repeat was soon lost on him as he looked at her plump lips and wondered what they would feel like kissing him.
He gazed into her blue-green eyes and was immediately lost. It didn’t matter if she controlled the creature or if she attacked Theresa. All that mattered was that his body craved her like a starving man. He knew to push her away now would be to deny what he needed most.
“Mina,” he said and lowered his head.
Chapter Twelve
/> Hugh watched Mina’s pink lips part as his head drew nearer. He closed his eyes when his mouth finally met her soft, full lips.
He began to pull back, knowing he had crossed a line that shouldn’t have been crossed when her fingers dug into his chest and her head moved towards him.
It was all the encouragement he needed.
He cradled her head in his arm while his other hand reached up and around her neck. He slid his tongue along her lips and heard her moan softly. With his thumb, he gently pulled her chin down until her mouth opened for him.
It was his intention to go slow and not scare her, but when her tongue peeked out and hesitantly touched his lips, it sent him over the edge.
He pulled her tight against his chest as his mouth slanted over hers. His tongue delved into her hot mouth and found such sweetness that he thought he might die.
Mina wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight, afraid he would let go.
His kiss was hot, demanding and sensual. He plunged his tongue into her mouth and mated with hers. Her body began to heat as his kiss brought a new sensation to her that quickly spread everywhere. When his large hand moved from her neck to her arm then down her side to her leg, she didn’t stop him.
With every touch he gave her, the fire within her intensified until she knew nothing but him and the heat he wrought from her. She let her head drop back against his arm and his lips moved from her mouth to her neck leaving a trail of kisses in his wake.
She held her breath, waiting to see what he would do next.
Her eyes closed, letting her body feel all of him. His hand moved slowly up from her knee. His fingers touched her thigh, her stomach and then skimmed over her breast.
She moaned and moved against him as her nipples peaked and hardened.
His hand moved back and cupped her breast. His adept fingers began to knead her breasts and tweak her nipples through her tunic. She squeezed her legs together and felt a sensation at the junction of her thighs that brought another moan.
She threaded her fingers through his dark brown hair and was surprised to find it thick and silky. With a small movement of her head his mouth slanted over hers again and robbed her of both thought and will. She had a single purpose now…him.
And despite what might happen afterwards, she would not turn back. Not even when his hand cupped her most private part. She jerked at his touch, but then heat infused her. His hand moved in a circle as he pressed against her, and it wasn’t long before her hips raised to meet his hand. A thrill raced through her at his deep, primal moan.
He pulled his head back and ended their kiss. She wanted to reach for him again, but one look into his dark eyes, and she knew something troubled him.
“What is it?” she asked, unable to take her hands from around his neck.
“We shouldn’t do this. You are a gentle born lady.” She smiled and ran a finger across his jaw. “We both know I will not receive any marriage offers. My betrothed chose Theresa, if you recall.”
“I remember,” he said and pursed his lips.
“I am not looking for marriage from you, if that is your concern.” She lowered her gaze to his chest since she knew she couldn’t continue looking into his eyes and not reach up for another kiss. “I have never felt like this before, and I don’t want it to stop. I feel like a woman should.”
Nothing but the crackle of the fire reached her ears. Then he turned her face to him and smiled.
“If it is a woman you wish to feel like, then I will oblige you, but I will not take you.”
She opened her mouth, but he held up his hand.
“Not here, Mina. Not on the dirt floor of a tunnel. You deserve much better than this.”
Who was she to argue with that?
She returned his smile and leaned up to kiss him. His arms wrapped around her and brought her fully onto his lap. She breathed in his scent of mystery, man, and power.
His lips moved over hers with skill as he pushed his tongue into her mouth and teased and cajoled until she was panting with a wanting that confused her.
It seemed that he knew exactly what she needed when she needed it, because his hand moved to settle between her legs. She instantly moved her hips against his hand and let out a groan when strange sensations quickened through her and moisture pooled between her thighs.
She gasped when his expert fingers deftly unlaced her trousers and slid inside to touch her bare skin. But that gasp quickly turned into a moan when his fingers touched her sex. He moved his fingers to dip inside her, then spread her own arousal over her throbbing clit that begged for more of him.
“My God, Mina,” he whispered against her forehead.
She barely heard him as his fingers moved against her. With her eyes closed and head thrown back, she let herself fall into the pleasure that was taking control of her.
Hugh didn’t know if he could keep from plunging into her. She was hot, moist, and ready for him. All he had to do was move her until she straddled him, but like he told her, she deserved better. So he would suffer through this torture and give her the pleasure she deserved.
His fingers parted her nether lips and slipped a finger inside of her tight, wet sheath. She gasped, moaned, and moved her hips against him. She was made for loving.
She had much passion inside of her that had just waited for the right man to unleash.
Her fingers dug into his upper arms as she lost herself to the throbbing that grew by the moment. Soon she would orgasm. That thought made him so hard he had to shift to relieve some of the pressure. He was in a bad way, worse than he had ever been.
He looked down and found her staring at him. With one hand cradling her against him and the other pleasuring her he couldn’t move.
“Remove your tunic,” he said, his voice sounding strained even to him.
She complied without question, and the sight of her bare breasts made his rod jump painfully. They were full and her nipples hard, just waiting to feel his mouth. He pulled her towards him and took a taunt pink nipple into his mouth and suckled while his fingers increased the tempo inside her while his thumb teased her clit.
He moved to the other breast and felt her legs tighten around his arm. It wouldn’t be long now, he mused.
She screamed his name as the climax overcame her, and she convulsed around him. He held her until the last spasm of pleasure faded. Then he withdrew his hand and wrapped both arms around her. Neither spoke. He didn’t want words to spoil what had happened.
He leaned his head back against the tunnel wall while she laid hers on his chest.
It wasn’t long before her breathing evened and sleep took her.
* * *
Mina awoke to a heartbeat in her ear. Hugh. She smiled and thought back to what had transpired. He might not have taken her virginity, but he had taken away any innocence she might have had. And that suited her just fine.
“Did you sleep well?” he asked.
She raised her head and smiled. “Actually, I did. Did you sleep at all?”
“A
little.”
His warm hands moved over her back, and she remembered she no longer wore her tunic. She shivered when she thought about what his mouth and fingers had done to her breasts.
“Are you cold?”
She shook her head. “Remembering.”
He moved one of his arms and brought her tunic to her. She pushed from his warm chest and slipped on her tunic. When she turned back to him, his eyes were on her breasts. He looked as if he were about to speak.
“If you are going to apologize for last night. Don’t. I don’t regret it.” He raised a dark brow. “That’s good because I wasn’t about to apologize.”
“Really?”
“Really. Now are you ready to make our way to the monastery?” She jumped to her feet and laced her pants. “I am now.” The fire was almost out, and Hugh quickly fed it to make it grow. “Find me the biggest limb you can.”
She set about doing as he asked. She found some, but they weren’t long enough to be a torch for them. Just as she was about to give up, she found a limb hidden behind a root.
“Here,” she said and handed it to him.
He examined it. “Perfect.” He quickly made it into a torch and, once it was lit, kicked dirt onto the fire. “Let’s go.”
She followed him as they retraced their steps from the night before. This time it was much easier since they had the torch. Since they were able to move faster they also reached the fork in the tunnel quicker.
