A Knight to Desire (17 page)

Kaden stood and excused himself from the other knights. "Has Bella taken a turn for the worse?" he asked, his expression solemn.

Brianna shook her head. "I need to speak with you about something else entirely." She paused as she signaled for him to follow her to the wall near the tapestry bearing four knights returning from a victorious battle. Brianna frowned at the familiarity of the scene, the knights, until she recognized her own dark red hair escaping from her helm. Her breath caught at the sight of Simon, Alan, William, and herself as they left the battle of Teba behind. Simon carried in his hands the heart of Robert the Bruce.

"One of Simon's retainers made the tapestry for him after he and William returned to Scotland. She was quite grateful her lord had not been taken from her in a land so far away," Kaden said, breaking into her thoughts.

"That's not how it happened," she said, her tone grim.

"I know." Kaden studied her face. "What do you wish to speak with me about, because I doubt it is the tapestries?"

"Simon."

"Why?" A note of surprise colored his voice.

"I need your promise to protect him, no matter what."

Kaden frowned. "From what?"

She dropped her gaze from his face. "I dreamt about his death at de la Roche's sword. There was a battle with the ten of us and hundreds of them. Simon was disarmed and the Frenchman cut off his head." She swallowed against the sudden tightness that entered her throat. "I cannot allow that to happen. Promise me that you will stay with him, protect him."

Kaden expression softened. "It was only a dream, Brianna."

She shook her head. "My dreams are different. They have a way of becoming reality."

Kaden reached out and placed his hand on her arm. "I promise you, with my life, that I will protect Simon from that man, no matter what."

She drew a sharp breath as emotion once again tightened her chest. "Thank you, Kaden, for your friendship and your loyalty." She placed her fingers on his hand. "I am relieved, sharing my dream, and the burden of protecting Simon with you." She offered the knight a weak smile. "To a different future than the one I saw."

"To a different future," he echoed.

Brianna was grateful when after her meeting with Kaden, Gillis led her to a candle-lit chamber down the hallway from Bella's sickroom. Exhaustion had suddenly made her weak and she needed sleep.

"Shall I send someone with food, milady?" Gillis asked from the doorway.

Brianna was too tired to correct his assumption she was a lady. "Nay," she replied with a wistful look at the large, canopied bed in the center of the chamber. "I require only sleep."

With a bow of his head he shut the door, leaving her to silence. She walked to the bed made from a foreign dark wood. It was so dark it appeared almost black. She reached out and ran her fingers over the carved edges. The workmanship was exquisite, featuring the trailing leaves of ivy branching out from a heart, with a crown rising above it. She'd never seen anything like it. From the canopy, a rich green cloth hung that was embroidered with darker green ivy, flowers, and the same red heart. She sat on the edge of the bed and searched the chamber. Hanging from a hook on the front of an overly large armoire was her finest green gown and a fresh chemise. Someone had unpacked her travel sack while they'd been attending Bella.

Brianna looked around the chamber at the fire that had been lit in the hearth. A bucket of water, a sheet of linen and shavings of soap waited nearby. She leaned back against the thick bedding, staring up into the canopy overhead. The soft scents of rosemary and cloves tickled her senses. The scents of a well cared for home.

But who cared for this castle? Simon's steward and his staff, or was there someone else? Brianna suddenly realized how little she knew about Simon on a personal level. She knew his likes and dislikes, she knew he dropped his left shoulder as he tired during a battle, and she knew how stubborn he could be at times, but outside of the things she'd learned about him in the Templars, she knew nothing at all. And suddenly, that fact bothered her more than it should.

She lay there on the bed, staring into nothingness, too exhausted to move, but her mind whirled with thoughts of Simon. When he'd kissed her she could sense both his hesitation and his passion. She understood that about him at least. He was a monk. She was a warrior. Passion had no place in either of their lives, and yet…

Brianna forced herself off the bed. She had best keep her mind from such thoughts. With renewed strength, she unfastened her belt and sword and laid them on the bed. She withdrew her dagger from her boot and placed it beneath the pillow, then smoothed the fabric back into place. She had no doubts she would be safe in Lee Castle, but old habits died hard. She would sleep better knowing her dagger was within reach.

Loosening the laces of her dirty gown, she pushed it over her shoulders, allowing it to slide down her body to the floor. Her chemise followed. She undid her boots, removed her stockings, then left them at the foot of the bed before she folded her discarded clothing and placed them over the back of a chair by the hearth.

When she was done, she knelt before the bucket of water. Cupping her hands she drew out lukewarm water to rinse her face. Freed from the travel dirt that had coated her face, she longed to free the rest of her body from the same. She dipped the cloth in the water and washed. The soap carried the scent of heather, and the fragrance, combined with the sensation of being clean, brought a sigh from her lips.

Reaching up, she loosened the ribbon holding her hair back and let if fall freely around her shoulders. She ducked her hair into the bucket before lathering it with the remainders of soap, then rinsed the long strands. She squeezed the water from her hair back into the bucket, and tossed her hair back to fall down her back, feeling the remnants of water slide down her flesh. She reached for the soft sheet of linen beside the bucket just as the door creaked open and the soft rap of boot heels sounded on the floorboards.

She clutched the linen against herself with a gasp.

Simon froze in the doorway. He was wearing only breeches that clung to his muscular thighs. Droplets of water rolled down his chest from the damp tendrils of hair brushing his neck. "What are you doing in here?" he demanded.

"Gillis brought me here."

One hand rested on the door latch, the other hung at his side. His posture was not rigid, in fact he seemed almost relaxed, yet he radiated a tension that reached out and touched her with its barely leashed power. "To my chamber?"

"Your chamber? I'm certain it was a mistake."

"It was no mistake," he said haltingly.

She moistened her lips nervously with her tongue, trying to think of what to say that would rid the atmosphere between them of that disquieting emotional charge.

"Don't do that!"

Her gaze flew to his face. "I beg your pardon?"

He drew a harsh breath, his hand clenched the door latch and his other hand balled into a fist. "Never mind." He watched her with an intentness that made her heart pound and her mouth grow dry. He came into the room and stopped beside the chair. His fingers gripped the wooden backing so tightly his knuckles turned white.

She pulled the linen sheet more tightly around herself. "I did not mean to intrude. I'll get dressed and leave."

"Stay here if you wish."

"But this is your room."

"I shall find somewhere else to sleep this night."

She didn't know what to say as he headed for the doorway. She hurried to the armoire and with lightning speed slipped her chemise over her head. She let the linen fall to the floor. "Simon?"

He paused and turned to look at her. His gaze moved from her feet upward. Raw hunger burned in his eyes.

A shiver tingled through her as she met his gaze. What did he want from her? He was in need of something…She tried to tear her gaze from his and failed. Instead she took a step toward him but paused as his quick intake of breath filled the suddenly silent room.

His pulse beat wildly at his temple. "If you know what is good for you, you'll stay where you are, Brianna." His words were soft, yet conveyed the tone he used when ordering her about.

"When have I ever been good at taking orders, especially from you?"

He closed his eyes. "I am tired, pushed to my limits, and slightly drunk."

She took two more steps closer and could smell the honeyed sweetness of ale, sandalwood, and musk. The seductive mix lured her closer until she stood less than an arm's length away. "If you wish to sleep I could get you some—" 

Simon snapped his eyes open as the scent of heather enveloped his sense. He knew he should take a step back, hasten for the door, put aside the memory of Brianna standing by the armoire in the sheerness of her chemise. The fabric did nothing to conceal her from him. Instead, the fabric clung to her full breasts, delineating her nipples.

He was hardening, almost to the point of pain, just looking at the seductive image she portrayed. He clenched his jaw, fighting the overwhelming desire, and lost as his hand drifted up to slip beneath her wet hair. His fingers coiled in the silken curls at her nape and he gently urged her forward. Brianna lifted her head and he couldn't stop himself, he captured her lips. She softened in his arms and she filled his senses completely. Her skin was like velvet as he brushed his hand over her back. Her wet hair, silky and smooth and cool to his touch, did nothing to cool his need to touch her, to taste her, and hold her near.

His emotions warred inside him as he tasted her sweet innocence, wrapped himself in her touch. It had been far too long since he'd last been with a woman. Far too long since he'd been unsettled by anything.

And Brianna unsettled him in every way. She'd bewitched him from the moment they'd first met. He'd been assailed by unfamiliar emotions and feelings, half of which he could neither name nor identify. She filled him with more than simple desire or lust. She did something to him he couldn't comprehend. Part of him wanted to hold her, to kiss her, and the other part wanted to run as far and as fast away from her as he could.

He broke the kiss and stared down into her face. Her gentle green eyes searched his, but it was the concern there that touched him deep in his heart. Simon reached out to lay his hand against the flush of her cheek. The softness of her skin never failed to amaze or warm him. No matter how much he might deny it, she was a part of him in a way no one had ever been before. No matter their conflicts, Brianna was a deep and integral part of who he was.

Then let her go
. But he could not find the strength. He couldn't turn away from what had started between them years ago. She watched him so intently that it made his throat tight. There was so much emotion in those green eyes of hers: the same desire that coursed through him reflected there.

As though reading his thoughts, she lifted her face to his and laid a soft kiss upon his lips. He drew her to him and with a groan raided her mouth. He tasted her thoroughly, leaving no doubt that he wanted more.

Against his lips she said, "Is this wise?"

"Nay." The word ripped from him as he smoothed her chemise over her shoulder.

"The two of us have never been wise, only passionate." Her fingers fumbled for the laces on his breeches.

Heady with desire, he pushed her chemise over her arms, past her waist until it pooled at her feet and she stood naked before him. He brushed his fingers gently over her breasts, then came back to engulf the tender fullness to find her nipples peaked and straining with a need that etched itself plainly on her skin. When he brushed his thumb across her nipple, she gasped her pleasure.

Simon bent his head and his mouth hovered over one breast while his hand cupped the other. Brianna bit back a cry as she arched her back, pressing herself more fully into his sensual caress. His teeth bit gently on the nipple he'd brought to full arousal.