This was consistent with what he had told her before.
“As I traveled northward and it grew colder, I noticed that the wax seal had broken on the stopper. I decided to satisfy my curiosity, as none would be the wiser, and I opened the bottle. Truth be told, I was chilled to my marrow and some eau-de-vie would have been welcome.”
“Eau-de-vie?”
“A beverage made by the Saracens by some skill they hold. It is potent beyond belief and burns all the way down a man’s gullet. We call it eau-de-vie, the water of life, because it often revives a fallen man, proving that he yet lives.”
Annelise nodded, marveling that such a substance should exist.
Her husband’s voice dropped. “But there was no eau-de-vie inside. There was a djinn.”
“The one who owned the palace.”
“The very same.” Her spouse seemed surprised by her attitude. “I would not blame you if you thought my tale a lie, for I was skeptical of her claim myself.”
“Did she not emerge from the bottle itself?”
“Yes.”
“Then why were you skeptical? You had seen the truth with your own eyes.”
“But it defied belief. One does not expect childish tales to prove true.”
“Whyever not? You said that the bottle was unusual. You could not have expected it to contain something mundane, like perfume or water, or even this eau-de-vie.”
“But that is precisely what I did believe to be inside it,” he confessed.
“Then you must have been pleased to have been wrong.”
He regarded her for a moment, then leaned closer. “Do you not see that it is illogical for something invisible to change my life?”
“I do not, not at all.” Annelise smiled at him. “Of course, matters invisible affect our lives. What of faith? You were in Outremer on crusade. What drove the crusade other than faith?”
Her spouse grimaced. “You are innocent, my Annelise. Greed and a hunger for power are the greater forces there. Otherwise, why would knight and bishop both grasp all that they could in the Holy City itself?”
“You will not convince me,” Annelise insisted. “Things unseen can be powerful indeed. What of love?”
“We have loved every night we have been together.” He raised a hand to her cheek. “I have seen you and touched you.”
“This is but an act to express the emotion,” Annelise chided. “Love itself is unseen. It fills the heart.”
He was still wary of that notion. “And how do you know it exists?”
“Because I have felt it. I have seen its influence.”
“Not in your father’s abode.”
“No. The merit of love is one thing I learned at the convent. Their love was for the Lord above and his son, but that love gave meaning to their days. They made choices for love, and sacrificed their own welfare for it. Love is selfless and lifts us to selflessness.”
Her spouse granted her an intent look. “And this is why you said you wished to wed a man who loved you?”
Annelise nodded. “My father could not have treated my mother as he did if he had loved her.”
Her husband considered this and she wondered if there had been no affection between his parents. To be sure, at crusade, he would have seen much of hate and wickedness. It would be easy to lose sight of love when at war.
“What happened when the djinn was freed?”
“Ah, she did not take kindly to my doubts about her nature. She was less happy that a curse upon her compelled her to surrender her palace to me, since I had freed her from the prison of the bottle.”
“What did she do?”
“She cursed me.” Her spouse’s gaze locked with hers again. “She condemned me to become a wolf.”
“But you are not a wolf now.”
“That is due to the intervention of the second djinn.”
“A second djinn? There were two in the bottle?”
“Yes, but fortunately, the second had a more kindly manner.” He paused and gazed thoughtfully at Annelise. “You truly believe this tale,” he said, as though amazed.
“Of course. It makes perfect sense.”
“Perfect sense?” he echoed, then flung out a hand. “There is nothing that makes sense about it! Whoever heard of a djinn changing a man to a wolf because he uncorked a bottle? Whoever heard of a man changing to a wolf at all?”
“One hears it all the time,” Annelise replied.
“In children’s tales.”
“And who is to say that they are not true?” she asked. Her spouse had no reply. “It only makes sense that if you insulted her, she would take offense and act accordingly.”
“I did not intend to insult her,” he said. “She claimed to be a magical, often invisible being who had been trapped in that bottle for several centuries. Clearly, this tale could not be true.”
“But you saw her come out of the bottle.”
He shifted uncomfortably and averted his gaze. “Yes.”
“And you did become a wolf?”
“Yes,” he acknowledged with reluctance.
Annelise smiled, sensing that his notions of the world were in tumult. “What happened next?”
He paced as he spoke. “I was less than pleased when the second djinn arrived. You see, the first djinn’s curse had begun to take effect.”
“You were changing to a wolf?”
He nodded.
“What did you say to her?” Annelise almost dreaded his reply.
“I begged shamelessly for her aid.” He winked across the fire in an abrupt change of mood that made Annelise’s heart flutter. She knew that, in that djinn’s place, she would have been hard-pressed to deny him anything he asked of her.
“A women might easily succumb to such an entreaty,” she said.
Her husband laughed suddenly, as though she had surprised him. “But not you?”
“I am not certain. You have yet to beg me for anything, sir.”
Their gazes locked and held over the dancing flames. He smiled slowly, the expression softening his features and making her heart beat faster. Annelise was not fooled that his had been an easy life. She could see the evidence of his livelihood in the few faded scars that marked his skin. She recalled the well-used but meticulously maintained armor in the stables, as well as the fine warhorse. It was easy to imagine that her spouse would be a formidable foe in battle.
But he smiled for her. He loved her sweetly and tenderly.
And he had given her his guarantee of protection.
It was enough to tempt a woman to lose her heart.
“And what did the second djinn do?” she asked.
Her husband averted his gaze. “She changed the curse slightly and made me a wolf only by day.”
“That seems somewhat less than desirable.”
He laughed. “It does! I was less than enamored of her solution.”
“And you had already begged shamelessly.”
His quick glance revealed that the twinkle was still resident in his eye. “But that did not stop me from trying again.”
“Yet she resisted you?” Annelise could not help but tease him a little. “Perhaps your charm is less persuasive than might be ideal, sir.”
“Perhaps.” His eyes glowed and his voice dropped low. “Can you resist me, Annelise?”
Annelise stared into his eyes for a long moment, then recovered herself. “The question is whether the djinn could resist you.”
“No. She only granted me some hope of reprieve.” Her spouse frowned, but Annelise was delighted with his confession.
She repeated the words he had shared with her.
“Finally, by grace of the powers above,
let this curse be broken by the blessing of love.”
“Yes, that is it,” he acknowledged, watching her.
“You were the wolf that chased me to the palace,” Annelise guessed. “Why?”
“I saw the other wolf attack your steed.” He shook his head. “I could not let you per
ish like that.”
Annelise’s heart skipped. “You did not even know me.”
His jaw set and he stared straight into her eyes. “I am a knight, Annelise. I have pledged to protect those in danger, particularly those weaker than myself. I fulfill that pledge regardless of my own circumstance. It was the only honorable course and I did as well as I could, under the circumstances.”
Annelise was ready to abandon her heart to him in that very moment. A man of honor was not readily found in these times, let alone one who stood by his vows, and treated his wife as a thinking creature—never mind one who had shown her such kindness.
He pushed a hand through his hair. “I forgot that the djinn had insisted that the first woman to cross the palace’s threshold would be required to wed me.”
“A man cursed to become a wolf half the time.”
“Indeed.” He granted her an intent look. “What manner of marriage is that?”
Annelise knew. She closed the distance between them and reached for him, noting how he watched her, how wonder dawned in his eyes. She let her fingers slide over his shoulders and around his neck. She pressed herself closer, stretched to her toes, and was gratified to feel the accelerated beat of his heart when she brushed her lips across his.
It reassured her to know that he was not immune to her touch.
“I think this might be the best kind of marriage,” she whispered, then kissed him.
He caught his breath, but his hands closed around her waist and he deepened their kiss. The heat surged between them and he lifted her from the ground, feasting upon her mouth as if he would never get enough of her. Annelise hoped he would not. When he lifted his head, she smiled at him, loving how he whispered her name.
“I warned you that I meant to win your heart,” she said.
He smiled. “You did, indeed, give fair warning, my Annelise.”
“And I think the breaking of the curse upon you would be a fine start.”
He smiled with obvious reluctance, his eyes glowing as he looked down at her. “Do you?”
“I do. Tell me just one thing,” she urged before she kissed him again.
“No. No, Annelise. Ask me no more.”
But he halted to stare as she unlaced the sides of her kirtle. He inhaled sharply as she shed the woolen dress, then loosened the neck on her chemise. His eyes brightened when she bared her breasts to view and his gaze fixed upon one nipple as it tightened to a peak in the cold. She lifted his hand and curved it around her other breast, feeling his heart race as he watched the nipple respond to his touch.
“Perhaps it is not so surprising that you believe in magic,” he murmured, his words husky. “For you, my Annelise, readily cast a spell over me.” Before she could reply, he bent to touch his lips to that nipple. Annelise arched her back and closed her eyes with pleasure.
With an effort, she recalled the one thing she wanted to know most of all.
“Tell me just your name then,” she murmured.
He stiffened at her suggestion, then tried to hide his response. Instantly, Annelise knew that she had found an issue.
“I cannot.” He released Annelise abruptly and backed away, his expression wary.
This was no good. Annelise was determined to dismiss his curse and she needed his help to do as much. It was promising that he had confided as much as he had this night.
But she would have more.
There was one thing she could offer, one deed for which her spouse clearly had a weakness. Annelise was not above using the weapons she had.
She shook off her chemise, tossing her shoes and hose aside. When she stood nude before him, his heated gaze danced over her. He licked his lips and she smiled.
He wanted her. It was a start, but Annelise needed more from marriage.
She wanted this man to love her.
She was going to ensure that he did. She would break his curse and earn his love. She walked slowly toward him, pulling the pins from her hair and shaking the tresses out, and smiled.
“Then I shall guess your name, husband of mine,” she whispered.
His eyes widened. “You cannot. You should not.”
Annelise savored how his gaze burned when she stopped directly before him. She immediately set to unlacing the front of the shirt he had donned.
“But I can.” She kissed his chest, liking when he caught his breath. “And I will,” she vowed, then kissed him upon his mouth. It took him only a heartbeat to respond. His hands found their way around her waist and he lifted her against himself, slanting his mouth over hers in a most satisfactory way.
“Be warned, sir. I am good at solving puzzles,” she whispered when he lifted his head.
Her spouse chuckled. Annelise glanced up to see him smiling down at her and the intent in his eyes made her heart beat faster. “I cannot dissuade you, can I?” he murmured.
Annelise shook her head. “No. I like you best as a man.”
He laughed.
His shirt was discarded in short order and she began to unlace his chausses, her touch silencing his laughter.
“But Annelise...” he began to argue, until her busy fingers made him gasp aloud.
“Is it Michel?” she whispered. “Antoine? Richard? Gautier? Christophe?”
“No, Annelise.” He groaned beneath her caress. “No, no, no...”
“Didier? Bayard? Edouard?”
“Annelise!” he protested when her fingers closed around him. He whispered her name again as she caressed him, and Annelise pulled his head down for a soul-shattering kiss.
It was some time before her husband had enough breath to argue with her again.
Chapter 10
Annelise would have been glad to sleep through the morning, but her husband woke her before the dawn. It was dark and cold in the tower chamber, for the fire had burned down to embers. Their nest within her cloak already chilled with his absence. She reached for him in the darkness, but he evaded her touch and continued to dress.
“It is time to leave,” he said with resolve.
Annelise propped herself up on her elbows and gazed around the small tower room. As romantic as their time in this place had been, it was easy to yearn for the luxury they had enjoyed previously at the palace. “This place lacks somewhat in comfort. Could we sleep at the palace tonight?”
Her spouse’s lips thinned as he dressed with haste. “No. I dare not return there.”
That statement captured Annelise’s attention and she sat up, fully awake. “Am I not to see you again?”
“Annelise, I do not know.” He appeared to be distressed.
“Why do you not know?” she asked, her alarm rising. “Why not return to the palace? It is much more comfortable than this place—at least it was before it became so cursedly cold. And if we were together, regardless of the snow, we might manage to warm the bed.”
He pivoted with sudden interest, his eyes bright. “It is cold there now?”
“Yes, the same as here. The garden is covered with snow. Did you not know?”
“No.”
Annelise rose with a sigh and tugged on her stockings and chemise. “It is sad to see the garden. The flowers were so pretty, but I suppose winter had to come at some point.”
“Would you prefer it was warm?” He spoke with such intensity that Annelise glanced up at him.
“Of course. There is not a shutter in the place and the snow drifts inside. For all its discomfort, I might as well remain here with you.” She fought with the knotted string in her chemise for a moment, then flicked a glance in his direction. “I would rather remain with you in the daytime, sir.”
“You cannot.” His tone was that of a man used to making decisions and standing behind them. “You will return to the palace for the day.”
“Will you come tonight?”
“I am not certain.”
Annelise folded her arms across her chest “What if I refuse to go?”
He glanced pointedly at the window. “Then you will not be
safe. I have already told you that I take my vows seriously, and I pledged to keep you safe. Get dressed, Annelise, and hasten. We must be back at the palace before the dawn. Make haste!”
Annelise tugged on her boots. She hastened down the stairs, vexed with him beyond belief, and began to retrace her steps toward the palace. She could still see her own footprints in the snow as well as those of the wolf.
Her husband.
His hand closed around her elbow and he hurried her onward.
They strode onward in silence until the palace gates loomed ahead of them. Annelise briefly considered fleeing the prospect of being imprisoned there again.
Then her husband turned to face her, lifting her chin with one finger when she refused to look to him. She knew he would kiss her, and her anger melted at that prospect. His gaze was solemn. He meant to ensure her safety and did not think of her freedom.
“How would you prefer it to be in the palace?” he asked.
“I cannot see how or why it matters. There are many more important issues that we might discuss—”
His finger landed firmly over her lips, and—curse him— his eyes twinkled.
“Warm like summer?” he asked, as though she had said nothing.
Despite herself, Annelise had to smile at his determination, but she smothered the smile as soon as she could. “Not too warm. Like late spring, as it was just after I arrived.”
He turned to glare pointedly at the gates and Annelise followed his glance uncomprehendingly. “I wish that it was so,” he said, and she recalled that the palace was supposed to reflect his will. Then he looked down at her and smiled so that she could not take a full breath. “I entreat you to take Mephistopheles for a ride for me, please, and give him my regrets for my inattention.” He studied her. “Will you?”
“You have yet to entreat me.”
His smile was quick and wicked. “Please, my Annelise, see to the welfare of my horse.”
“I already do,” she replied. “I would rather see to your welfare during the day, sir.” He silenced her argument with a potent kiss, one so heated that she nigh forgot her own name. Annelise felt her annoyance with him fade away. She was breathless when he broke his kiss and warm to her toes.
One Knight Enchanted: A Medieval Romance (Rogues & Angels Book 1) Page 20
