A Knight in Central Park (17 page)

The stars and Sir Joe loomed over her, his gaze scorching. Despite a twinge of unexpected modesty, she smiled at him as she raised her hands to touch his broad shoulders and solid chest.

A wicked groan escaped him as her fingers trailed across his stomach. He rolled over, pulling her atop him, taking the brunt of pine needles and hard ground beneath the blankets.

She rubbed against him, his hardness catapulting forth without any resistance. Ecstasy is what she felt as instinct brought her full upon him, giving him no choice but to plunder deep. Instead of fluttering angel wings and sweet heaven as she’d expected, she felt a sharp searing pain instead. Her nails drove into his shoulder, raking midway down his chest.

She moaned, not in rapture, but in pain, unbearable pain.

He gritted his teeth, held her tight against him so that she couldn’t move. “Hold still,” he warned. “Why didn’t you tell me this was your first time?”

“I did.”

“But that was before...what about all of those men you talked about?”

“I lied.”

He exhaled.

A tear fell, trickling off of her chin and onto his. “I am no longer enjoying myself and I would appreciate it if you would kindly dislodge yourself.”

“It’s not that easy,” he said with a half-smile.

“Of course, it is.” She tried to push away.

“Hold still for a minute,” he said gently, holding her waist firmly with one hand while the other brushed the wetness from her cheek. “The pain will lessen and then all will be well again. I promise.”

“I believe you not.”

“You’re beautiful.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

His kind words did not help the pain. “I have changed my mind,” she said. “I do not jest. Nor do I care for you much anymore.”

The corners of his mouth turned upward, making her wonder if he was listening to a word she was saying. He gently rubbed her arms, making sure not to move his hips. He was still as hard as flagstone, but he whispered sweet sentiments, trying in earnest to make her relax.

She tried to focus her attention on the soft hoot of a distant owl. And then, just like that, it happened, like a switch of one of Sir Joe’s modern lamplights.

The pain subsided.

He rubbed her back and arms, keeping the chill at bay, gently pulling her closer so he could kiss her neck and shoulders. His lips made a hot trail down the hollow of her neck.

She sighed with pleasure. “’Tis over?”

He smiled. “Not nearly.”

“I mean the pain? Will there be any more pain?”

“No,” he promised, bringing her closer still so that he could kiss her lips and keep her warm within his arms, making her forget all else.

Before long Alexandra surprised herself by rocking her hips upon his, ever so slowly at first, and then faster. The pain had subsided, leaving her breathless and hot, and much more wanting than before. An odd feeling had built within. She knew not what to do, afraid any unnecessary movement might cause pain anew.

But Sir Joe knew what to do. Sir Joe knew exactly what to do, for he rocked her in a gentle rhythm to match his own. He kissed her mouth, touching and guiding her with strong hands until he brought her skyward to a high secret place, bringing them together like nothing else could, suspending them in time and making her love him all the more.

J
oe’s blood ran hot through his veins, his breathing ragged. An invisible force pulled at him, willing him to leave this place for good. He ignored this imperceptible nemesis as thoughts of kissing Alexandra long and deep took precedence over all else. But then he heard it again:
tap-tap-tap.

He winced. If only she’d stop tapping on his head. It was irritating as hell. He brushed her hand off, tried to get back to where they’d left off.

But there it was:
tap-tap-tap.

He jolted upward, alert and fully awake, his breathing uneven. He’d been dreaming.

Alexandra slept peacefully next to him, her hand draped across his leg. It was cold and dark. The fire was nearly out. He must have passed out the minute Alexandra shut her eyes. He was thankful wolves hadn’t attacked while they slept. But then what had awoken him?

He scratched his leg and arms. Before coming to this world he’d never been bitten by a flea, but now he had no less than two-dozen bites. He pushed aside the sheepskin cover and came to his feet. He squeezed into his pants, then peered into the darkness. Nothing but dark shadows.

He added a pile of sticks to the smoldering ashes within the circle of stones. By the time he finished, he was shivering. He moved back to where Alexandra slept. A movement in the brush caught his attention. He jerked about, straining to see into the darkness.

Alexandra stirred and so did the hairs on the back of his neck. “Did you hear that?” he asked.

She sat up and rubbed her eyes. “Nay.”

He grabbed the sword from the ground next to their makeshift bed. An owl hooted. He held the sword upright, his biceps straining from its solid weight. How the hell he was supposed to use the thing with any accuracy, he had no idea.

Alexandra heard something, too, and drew forth a small dagger, its blade glistening in the dark, its tip sharpened to a deadly point. An animal suddenly leapt from the thick brush to his left.

Precious whinnied and stamped her hooves.

Joe dropped the heavy sword and held his hands out in a karate move instead. A deer and its baby scampered through the campground. Exhaling, he dropped his hands to his sides.

Alexandra smiled.

“Get some sleep,” he told her. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Her smile stretched into a yawn. “’Tis nearly morning.” She put away the knife. “We should begin packing so that we may set off before sunrise.”

He glanced upward at the moon that showed no signs of disappearing anytime soon. “If I’m going to be scaling walls and dodging flaming arrows soon, I’ll need some sleep.” He climbed back into bed, pulled the blankets over his chest, and shut his eyes.

Alexandra began to play with the hair around his ears, hair that had grown too long for his liking.

“If you wanted sleep,” she said, “mayhap you should have thought of that before keeping us awake all night.”

He turned about and pulled her close. She brought herself upon him, her breasts soft against his chest and her hair a silk canopy around his head. She kissed his cheek, his jaw, and then his mouth before she pushed herself to her feet.

“You can’t just tease a man and then leave him wanting.”

She was already a few feet away, but she turned back to him, hands on hips. “Are you wanting?”

He turned on his side, his elbow propped on the ground. “Afraid so.”

“What if a man is always wanting?” She moved back toward him. “How does one ever get anything done?”

“One never does, I suppose.”

She was closer now. He reached up and covered her hand in his. She bent to her knees and climbed back under the blankets. Her leg brushed against him. “You are wanting, my lord, are you not?”

He smiled.

She kissed his throat.

He slid his hand over her waist and pulled her snug against him.

“What is it that you want, my lord?”

“You don’t know?”

“Aye, but I wish to hear you say it.”

She spoke the words so sweetly, he found himself complying. “I want you, Alexandra.” He twirled a strand of curly red hair through his fingers. “I just want you.”

F
or most of the day they rode over long stretches of deciduous woodland. Every few moments, Joe stopped and listened. Leaves crunched and tree branches rustled. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw nothing out of the ordinary.

Through most of the night, he’d heard the same thing: crackling brush and whispering trees. His paranoia either stemmed from lack of sleep or maybe it was a symptom of traveling through time.

Although Alexandra was well ahead of him, she, too, came to a stop. “We are going to have to quicken our pace,” she said over her shoulder, “if we plan to be outside of London within a sennight.” Repressing a sigh, she added, “If we were being followed, I do believe they would have shown themselves by now.”

“You didn’t hear anything?”

“Nay.”

Miraculously, Precious obeyed when Joe steered the animal a few yards back over the already trodden trail. He looked at his hands and noticed the dirt caked under his fingernails. He scratched the back of his neck, then used his switch to reach the itchy spots on his back. “I need a bath,” he said as soon as he caught up to Alexandra.

“Surely you jest.”

“Look at my fingernails.” He held up his hands. “And these fleas,” he said, twisting within the saddle, “they’re driving me nuts.”

Alexandra simply ignored him.

He stopped driving his heels into the horse, which is exactly when Precious decided it was time to set off again. “Damn horse.”

Alexandra unfolded the parchment in her hands. “If this map be well made, then there is a river not too far from here. We’ll stop there to eat and freshen up.”

She put the map away, then clicked her tongue to get her horse moving. Joe did the same, but Precious was determined to eat a clump of weed on the side of the path. “Precious is tired,” he said to Alexandra. “Her legs hurt and she is a hungry ol’ gal.”

“She said as much, did she?”

“More than once.”

“Her mind is not to be changed?”

He leaned low, had a quick conversation with the horse, then sat up and said, “Absolutely not. She thinks the lake through those trees will be perfect for bathing.”

“Precious has taken a liking to you?”

“Precious adores me, which would suggest you were wrong when you said no lady in her right mind would ever fall for a guy like me.”

Alexandra pulled on the reins and returned to his side. “There is one problem.”

He arched a brow. “Competition perhaps?”

“Nay,” she said with a quick laugh. “Precious is a male.”

“If you think I’m falling for that, then you must really think I’m...” He slid from the horse’s back and bent over to take a look. “Well, I’ll be.” With all the bags and saddle packs, he hadn’t noticed before.

By the time Joe straightened, Alexandra had tied her horse to a tree and was busily retrieving utensils from the saddlebag. Memories of last night had kept his mood light, but Alexandra seemed a million miles away. Was she angry with him? Did she already regret their night of passion?

He walked stiffly to a willowy elm and tied the reins to a low branch so Precious could graze on clumps of grass. He’d been a fool to let desire get the better of him last night, although their time together had been more than memorable. What Alexandra lacked in experience, she made up in creativity. But that wasn’t the point, or the problem. Like most women, she probably wanted to talk about what happened between them. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but then clamped his mouth shut. As much as he enjoyed being with Alexandra, nothing had changed between them. He’d warned her.

He grabbed his briefcase from the saddlebag and headed for the lake. “Are you coming?”

She shook her head. “I’ll stay here with the horses and fix us something to eat whilst you are gone.”

“Have it your way,” he said before heading off.

Alexandra watched him walk away. He seemed different from the stiff brooding man she met less than a sennight ago. Sir Joe had known their lovemaking might well make things more difficult. He had warned her. To lose her virginity to a man she valued, a man whose flaws only added to his allure, made her want him all the more. She thought making love to Sir Joe would fulfill her within, make his eventual leaving less painful.

But now she knew differently. Sir Joe was right. Last night changed everything.

As Alexandra pulled the tin plates from her bag, she spotted the bow and arrow attached to the saddle. Smoothing her fingers over the tip of the bow, she pulled it from its sheath, examining the craftsmanship. She made the bow herself, and she was well pleased with its accuracy. Plucking an arrow from the leather pouch, she held it firmly in place and pulled back on the bowstring, feeling its tautness as she aimed for the trunk of an oak. She fired, releasing the string with one swift movement of her fingers. The thin birch shaft sailed through the air, hitting squarely her intended target. Smiling, she retrieved the shaft and placed her weapon aside. After rubbing down the horses and readying a simple meal that she left wrapped within the saddlebag, she set off for the lake.

Finding a seat on the grassy edge, half hidden behind a patch of shrubs, Alexandra spotted Sir Joe as he broke through the surface and shook water from his hair. How dreadful it would be to lose her heart to a man who was determined to leave her, she thought. Perhaps if she remembered his flaws ’twould help her to keep a tight rein on any affection she felt for him. She plucked a wildflower from its roots and held it to her nose, breathing in its scent as she realized she couldn’t stop herself from feeling whatever her heart felt. If she lost her heart to Sir Joe, she decided firmly, then so be it. She could fair handle a broken heart. She’d done it before when her mother had died, then again when her father failed to return home.

Feeling much improved, she leaned forward and peeked through the shrubbery to see if she could spot him. Her gaze roamed over the smooth expanse of water. He was nowhere to be seen. Her stomach lurched with worry that he might have drowned. She shot to her feet, shielding her eyes from the sun’s rays as she scanned the lake.

“If you’re going to sit there and spy on me, you might as well join me.”

Startled, Alexandra laid a hand to her chest, squinting into the sun until she spotted him in the shallow waters, his head and shoulders rising until she could see a feathering of dark hair across a well-defined chest. Her cheeks heated as if she’d only just met the man. “I-I only came to tell you that I have prepared a bite to eat and th-that we should be setting off.” Sweet Mother of God, she thought, as her eyes roamed over him. He was built like a master builder, not like a professor.