The One Knight
Collection
Samantha Holt
For John, who didn’t give up after one night.
Copyright 2012 ©Samantha Holt
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organisations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Cover Model: Ray Scott
Photographer: Marcus Ranum
Table of Contents
One Knight
Highland Knight
Black Knight
White Knight
One Knight
Katerina sat next to Guy at the main table during the wedding feast. It was a sumptuous affair, fit to celebrate their nuptials, with many dishes of roast meats, custards and jellies. A large sugar sculpture announced the end of the meal and Katerina’s tension increased, aware of what was to be coming soon.
She risked a glance at her new husband as he watched the entertainers with a stern face. Lord, would he never smile! Not even as she had walked to the church with him had he released even a hint of pleasure at their coming union. She feared her marriage was going to be a long and tiresome one.
Indeed, she had been surprised when he had petitioned her father for her hand. Aye, she had a sizeable dowry, but he had never shown the slightest bit of interest in her, and she had come to view him with indifference over the years.
Upon their first meeting, some four summers ago, he had visited her father’s castle on some business. She remembered that even as a girl of fourteen she had recognised what a handsome figure he had struck. With a strong jaw, long dark hair and a warrior’s physique there would be few women who would not be moved by such a man. But he had regarded her with cold distaste and she felt stripped bare under his stare.
Ignoring the thrill that pervaded her every time she saw him, Katerina had managed to continue her aloof behaviour towards him, even as she felt his eyes follow her about the room. Why she inspired such aversion, she could never understand. Most men found her pleasing to look at. With long, auburn hair and a delicate figure, she frequently found herself under the attentions of many a noble man. Mayhap it was her strong-willed temperament that he found so displeasing. It was most likely why she had not successfully secured a suitor until now. Her argumentative ways were hardly in keeping with the docile, gentle lady that most men wanted for a wife.
Still it begged the question as to why on Earth Guy would want her!
Her father had been thrilled about the match, claiming him to be an honourable man. Honourable mayhap, but Katerina wanted more than just honour. She wanted passion and love!
Guy must have noticed her observation as he bestowed her with a grim smile. Although smile was putting it generously. It was more of a grimace, but she couldn’t tell if it was directed at her or the jesters in front of them. They were uncommonly terrible, so she smiled back, attempting some kind of connection, and was surprised to hear a rumble of a chuckle emanate from him.
A flush of pleasure spread through her at the unexpected sound and she snapped her gaze back to the entertainment, hoping he had not noticed. It was not the first time she had felt pleasure in his company. After sitting down to feast, he had served her. No unusual occurrence, as it was a man’s duty to see to the woman first, but, as he watched her intently, shivers of sensation shot through her. Bringing each morsel carefully up to her lips, she had vigilantly tried to avoid his fingers, but there were several occasions when her lips brushed across the calloused tips and images of them on other parts of her body had fluttered through her mind.
As if detecting where her thoughts were headed, he leant in to murmur to her, “Katerina, ‘tis time to retire now.”
Her eyes flew wide, panic threatening to take a hold of her. She knew this was coming but she hardly felt prepared to perform her wifely duties. Servant’s gossip and her mother’s advice aside, she was still terrified.
Katerina nodded stiffly and accepted his hand as he escorted her to the spiral staircase leading to the solar. The guests cheered and laughed, jumping up to snatch a bit of her gown. Startled, she remembered her garter and flung it into the baying crowd before making to dash upstairs. Guy surprised her by scooping her up into his strong arms and fairly sprinting up the winding stairs.
He placed her down carefully as they stepped over the threshold into the large solar. The room took up the entire floor - the sleeping area separated from the rest of the room by way of a curtained partition. Candles and oil cups gave the room a gentle glow but with the butterflies churning in her stomach Katerina wished it was dark.
Guy took her hand carefully, leading her past the large oak table that spanned much of the room and through the curtains. A large, canopied bed awaited them and Katerina stared at it in apprehension.
Mayhap sensing her fears, Guy coaxed her carefully towards him, slowly easing one arm around her waist until his large hand rested on the base of her spine. His other hand came to her chin, stroking along her jawline and tilting her face to meet his. His eyes startled her. Instead of the cold, unfeeling blue, they seemed warm, almost…tender.
He lowered his mouth to hers with excruciating leisure and she waited breathlessly for the moment they would touch. His lips skimmed across hers, sending a tingling sensation through her mouth, straight to the core of her, and Katerina struggled to remember who this man was. He hated her, surely? Yet he kissed her with such tenderness that it almost buckled her knees.
Brushing across her lips again, he slanted his mouth, pressing harder this time, coaxing her lips open with his, until his warm tongue could gain access. She gasped at the sensation before gratefully tasting him back, tentatively touching her tongue to his. He groaned and clutched her to him, his hand meshing in her hair.
A wild heat pervaded every part of her and suddenly her clothes were too hot. And his clothes were too thick. She itched to touch him, to see what he was like under his tunic. Her hands scrabbled over him as his did the same, clutching at her buttocks through her skirts. He pressed her to him, rubbing his rigid manhood against the juncture of her thighs and she was amazed by the feel of his hard body moulding to her softer one. Katerina cried out as a wonderful ache throbbed between her thighs with each press of his body.
His hands dropped to his side suddenly and he pulled back. Had she done something wrong? She looked at him with anxiety as he ran a hand through his hair.
“Forgive me, Katerina. I intended not to rush you. I will be gentler this time, I promise.”
She gaped at him in puzzlement. He was worried about her? Who was this man she had married? Katerina was sure the Guy she knew had been replaced by someone else entirely. Realising he was awaiting an answer, she blushed, wondering how to explain herself.
“Nay, my lord, you do not rush me. I want…” She gulped. “I want you to…”
It was all he needed and he bundled her back into his arms, pressing fevered kisses to her lips and throat.
“Guy,” he growled. “Call me Guy.”
“Guy,” she moaned as he trailed kisses across her collar bone.
His hands tangled at the back of her gown, attempting to undo her laces, and she turned, eager to be rid of her cumbersome gown. Slowly the laces unravelled as he brushed aside her hair, pressing his lips against the skin of her back. Pus
hing the bliaut down her arms, he turned her around and she stepped out of it, leaving her in naught but her chemise.
Her nipples poked through the thin linen and hardened as his gaze raked up and down her. Her heart pounded in her ears, partly from trepidation, but mostly from the passion in his gaze. Feigning boldness to cover her fear, she stepped out of her slippers and rolled down her stockings as his eyes feasted on each glimpse of her legs. Finally she tugged at the tie at the neck of her chemise and it slid from her body.
Guy stared at her in awe for a moment, his throat working, and all fear dissipated. She felt utterly beautiful under such a gaze.
“Sweet Lord, Katerina,” he rasped before lifting her into his arms and placing her on the bed.
His large body pressed her into the mattress as he devoured her mouth. She tugged at his tunic in frustration until he finally wrenched it over his head, flinging it carelessly aside.
His muscled chest frightened her briefly until she reached out and touched it. The smooth heat of him worked to soothe her and she watched, mesmerised, as his muscles contracted under her touch. Allowing her exploration of him, he closed his eyes with a look of torment as her fingers skimmed down the ripples of his stomach to the top of his braies. His manhood tented them, revealing the full length and size of him. She tried not to show her eagerness to see it in its entirety, but she could not stop herself from tugging at the waist of his braies in impatience.
Guy yanked off his braies and hose in one swift movement, almost falling over in the process. A smile tugged at her lips which she quickly tried to control, fearing he would not take well to being laughed at, but Guy looked at her in equal amusement, laughter dancing behind his eyes. Her merriment was quickly forgotten as her eyes travelled down his body to his jutting manhood. Thrusting from a thatch of dark hair, Katerina wondered if she should be frightened - how would such a thing fit inside of her? But all she could feel was wonder as she reached out gingerly to caress the surprisingly soft head.
He jerked under her touch and her hand darted back, worried she had hurt him.
She lowered her eyes. “Forgive me…”
Guy chuckled, lowering himself over her as he drew her hand back, guiding her fingers around the breadth of him. The heat and solidity of him seemed to leach through her arms, increasing the ache in her womb. He groaned as she explored the length of him, working her hand up and down him as he moved restlessly in her gentle grip.
With a flash of movement, he snatched her hand away, carefully setting it above her head so he could run his fingers down the underside of her arm, pausing to stroke at the side of her breast, before trailing down her ribs. He laid kisses upon her skin as he went, occasionally licking and sucking at her squirming body. His thumbs pressed into her hips as his mouth worked down to her thighs, nipping at the tender skin there, before trailing down to circle her ankles with his hand.
“Pray…” she implored him; barely sure of what she was begging him for.
In response, he drew himself back up to the juncture of her thighs, eyeing her greedily as he carefully eased apart her legs.
All Katerina’s inhibitions were gone in the heat of the moment and she pushed her hips towards him as his fingers danced over the delicate skin of her sex, dipping lightly into her damp heat before swirling around the sensitive nub. She whimpered his name as pleasure uncoiled in her belly and exquisite sensations shot through her.
Guy shifted upwards, his fingers still teasing at her folds, and settled his mouth over a taut nipple. Katerina nearly came off the bed as his teeth grazed over the hard bud. A steadying hand came behind her back and drew her to him as she bucked against him, his mouth moving from one breast to the other.
Finally he released her, allowing her to flop back down to the bed as he positioned himself over her, nudging her legs apart with his hard thigh. Katerina clutched at his shoulders as he kissed her with fervour, his hands cupping her face with desperation.
“Katerina, I…forgive me.”
She barely had a moment to comprehend his words before he pressed into her, filling her to the hilt. A short, sharp pain registered briefly and she was aware that she must have cried out as he brushed his hands reassuringly over her cheeks. As the discomfort eased, she became conscious of the sensation of being utterly complete. He filled a breach that she hadn’t even known existed and she relished the feeling of his hard length nestled within her. A sudden realisation dawned on her as Guy gazed down upon her with eyes filled with passion, waiting for her to adjust.
She loved this man.
Katerina had no idea for how long these feelings had lain dormant for but she understood that her preoccupation with him, with his disinterest in her, had all been borne of her love for him.
“Katerina, I have wanted this for so long.”
“But you hate me!” she spluttered, forgetting momentarily the way they fit perfectly together.
“Nay. I love you, Katerina.”
He moved against her, tentatively at first and then with increasing power as she responded to each thrust, raising her hips instinctively. Surging together, Katerina cried out as each lunge brought him deeper, increasing her pleasure.
“I need to see you,” he rasped, sliding his hands under her back and rolling so that she sat on top of him.
Still coupled, Guy’s hands guided her hips, driving himself into her as her hair brushed across his chest. Again and again, he pulled her down onto him as she rocked against him, her nails digging into his glistening chest. Arcs of pleasure unfurled deep within her and her breath came raggedly as she plunged down repeatedly while one of Guy’s hands curled over her breast, his roughened thumb sweeping across it.
A sudden burst of pulsations shot through her and Katerina gasped Guy’s name as she collapsed against his chest, quaking as her womb clenched as wave after wave of gratification rocked through her. Guy held her to him, thrusting upwards in a few frantic movements before hoarsely calling her name as he spilled his seed inside of her.
They lay like that for several moments, Katerina clutched to his chest as he stroked his fingers up and down her back. Finally feeling the strength to lift her head, Katerina placed a tender kiss to his lips.
“I love you, Guy.”
His face lit with love and gratitude and he kissed her furiously, well and truly sealing his place in her heart. Carefully turning, he disentangled her legs from him, settling her into his muscled arms and brushing kisses across her nose and cheeks.
“I thought you hated me,” he confessed.
“And I you,” Katerina laughed. “You always treated me with such disdain.”
“I was nervous - nervous of my reaction to you. I think as soon as I met you, I knew you would one day grow into the woman I loved and then when you did, I knew not how to behave around you. You always looked at me with such indifference.”
“Because I believed you disliked me. You were forever scowling at me and making me feel as if I had done wrong.”
“I was a fool, my love. I was jealous of anyone receiving your attention and yet I did not know how to approach you. I sorely wished to be the one receiving your beautiful smiles.”
Katerina shook her head. “Aye, you are a fool, but you are my fool now.” She frowned slightly. “But if you thought me to be indifferent to you, why did you ask my father for my hand?”
“I could stand it no longer. I decided that I had to have you for myself, whether you liked me or not. I could not have lived with myself had I let you walk into the arms of another man.”
She grinned at this. “I do not think any other man would have me.”
“Thank the Lord. I love you more than anything, Katerina. Will you forgive me for my foolishness?” He clutched her closer, pressing kisses to her ear and neck.
Katerina considered this. “Mayhap. I may need some convincing first…”
Guy’s eyes glittered at the challenge and Katerina squealed as he quickly flipped her onto her side, pressing her bottom int
o the crook of his thighs. His arousal prodded her, already hard and promising. His hand slipped down between her thighs, toying easily in the moist heat there and she moaned with joy as feelings of rapture began to build.
Impatiently, he groaned as he impaled her upon him, forcing a cry from her lips. Working together, he ground into her as she writhed against him.
“I shall spend the rest of my days convincing you,” he murmured in her ear as he bit at her lobe.
Katerina smiled to herself. Mayhap married life would not be so bad after all.
***********************
Highland Knight
“No harm will come to ye, lass. Would yer Da send ye off with a scoundrel?”
“But, Da, he’s a Sinclair! Ye cannae expect me to marry a Sinclair?”
“Anna, I’m an old man. Yer brothers are yet young and peace beckons. I cannae pass up the chance to settle the differences between the Sinclairs and the Mackenzies once and for all.”
Anna scowled. She understood well enough the importance of an alliance between the Mackenzies and the Sinclairs. The clans had been warring for many a lifetime and she had been brought up to hate the very sound of their name.
But now her father wanted her to marry one? An arrogant, thick-skulled Sinclair?
“I know, Da, but marriage? Is there no other way?”
Her father regarded her, his grey eyes softening. “Ye know I’d not ask this o’ ye if I did not think it necessary. Ye turnin’ into an old maid, lassie, and ye need caring for. Niall may be a Sinclair but he’s a fine warrior and a good man. I’d not part with ye to anyone less, Sinclair or no.”
She folded her arms. “Ack, if Ma were here…”
“She’d say the same, as ye well know, Anna. She’d have no’ let ye remain unmarried at nineteen summers. I’ve let ye run wild and now it’s time to do ye duty.”
Wild? She wasn’t wild. Aye, a little strong-willed occasionally but not wild. “I’ll no’ expect a Sinclair to want a lass like me. I cannae do submissive, as ye well know.”
The One Knight Collection (Medieval Sensual Romance) Page 1
