Blind Impulse (21 page)

“
I don’t understand.”

“
Look at him.  Garin has managed this entire situation with skill and diplomac
y.  He listens to what those around him say and he makes wise choices.  Did you see him in the bailey today?  He stripped off his tunic and helped carry rocks to the top of the towers.  Most of the men could only heft one but he managed two at a time, ribb
ing those who could not match him.”  Her father paused and chuckled.  “He had the men laughing and jesting while they worked.  I daresay Garin has earned the respect of his knights.  What more can a baron - blind or not - do?”

Alyna looked at Garin, worryi
ng her bottom lip with her teeth.  “Aye, father,” she said.  “I just hope others will see it that way.”

“
I think they will, Alyna.”  He rose and smiled at her.  “And you have not escaped their notice either.”

“
Me?”

He chuckled softly.  “I’ve heard the men
talk.  They see how you and Garin work together and care for each other.  Many wonder if their own wives would stand beside them as solidly as you do for Garin.”

“
Oh father,” she said, certain he jested with her.  “I doubt that.”

“
Do not, Alyna.  They watc
h you two quite closely, and they see both of you rising above expectations.  You and Garin have earned their respect.  And trust me, that will be the most important factor in Garin’s bid.”  He smiled and gave her a wink before striding off to speak to Ele
anor.

Alyna watched him leave in stunned silence suddenly feeling self-conscious.  She had always known her actions would reflect on Garin but now she felt as a very small rabbit surrounded by a pack of wolves.

She rubbed her eyes, dizzy and out of breath.
  Spotting the doors to the balcony, Alyna moved toward them.  She needed to escape the press of people and grab a breath of air.

****

“
By the Rood, Swein,”
Ousby
said, laughing.  “That’s the fifth game you’ve won.”

Garin sat back and chuckled.  “Well, p
erhaps I should give everyone else a chance.”  He stood and stretched.  “Besides, I should not ignore the other revelers.”

Simon stood with him, guiding him from the circle of chairs.  “Garin, perhaps you should attend your wife.”

“
What’s wrong?”

“
I don’t
think anything’s wrong, but she just went to the balcony and her face was rather pale.  She might be working herself too hard.”

“
Aye,” Garin said.  “Alyna has outdone herself with this feast and revel.”

“
That she has.  Worry not, Geoff and I will attend th
e revelers.”

“
Thank you, Simon.”  He found the edge of the high table and oriented himself in the direction of the balcony, quietly slipping away.

As he stepped through the doors, Garin was abruptly reminded of his return home and when he first kissed Alyn
a.

When I could see
.

“
You were so beautiful you stole my breath,” he whispered.

She gasped and spun.  “Garin, is everything all right?”

“
I was just about to ask you the same thing,” he replied and stepped forward.

“
I am fine, I just needed some air.”

His h
and touched the balcony railing and he stopped, lifting his face to the heavens.  He sighed heavily.

“
What is wrong?”

“’
Tis what I miss most about the loss of my vision.  During the day I can feel the sun on my face.  I know if it is bright or if it hides
behind clouds.  But at night, I cannot feel the light of the moon or the stars.  I feel the soft caress of air against my skin and smell the heavy perfume of flowers, green foliage, and the rich scent of earth.”  He paused sucking in a deep breath.  “I can
not see the beauty of my wife as she stands watching the night sky.”

“
Garin,” she said softly, her hand closing on his.

He shook his head, dismissing his words.  “Is there a moon tonight, or do the stars fill the sky like diamonds in black velvet?”

Alyna m
oved closer to him and he wrapped his arm around her waist.  “The moon is full tonight, low in the sky and appears as large as your fist.  It casts a brilliant light making the night appear only as a shimmering veil.  Because of its brightness, only the st
rongest stars glow in the sky.”

“
Just like before,” he whispered.

“
What do you mean?”

Pain rose within him, the terrible ache of loss.  Never would he see Alyna’s beauty again.  “At least I can remember every detail of that night.”

“
What night?”

“
The night
I first kissed you.  I remember how the moonlight danced in your hair, how your skin glowed like an ethereal vision.”  He pulled her closer, lowering his head.  “And your eyes sparked as quicksilver.”  He lightly touched her face, his fingers tracing over
her mouth.  “The night christened the rose of your lips with a dew bestowed from heaven.  The scent of lavender held me in thrall.  And when I kissed you....” he lightly brushed his lips over hers.  “My lips caressed silk and I tasted the sweetest honey I
have ever known.”  Again he kissed her,
laving
her mouth with his tongue but then pulled away.  “I knew the answer then, just like I know it know.”

A soft pant escaped her and Garin pulled her even closer, as it had that wonderful night, her body molded p
erfectly to his.

“
What was the answer?” she asked, her voice a bare whisper.

Pain and joy swelled side by side within him.  “That I love you heart and soul, my
wildefyr
.”

Her breath caught in her throat.  Garin’s fingers caressed her face and he smiled, ab
le to feel her expression of surprise.

“
You were right about one thing, Alyna,” he said.  “I was afraid.  Afraid of failing, afraid of falling in love...if I did love you and this bid failed, what would it do to my heart when they annulled our marriage and
sent me to the church?”

“
And now?”

“
I’m still afraid, but I could no more stop myself from loving you than I could stop a raging river with my hand.”

“
Garin,” she whispered and he felt a tear trickle down her cheek.  “I love you too.  I think I fell in lo
ve with you when you started writing to me.”

His smile grew.  “I never imagined those letters would save my future but now I know why you fought so hard to keep the betrothal.”  He kissed her again, the taste of her dizzying him.  “Come,” he whispered into
her mouth.  “Let us quit this revel.”

“
But our guests....”

“
You are exhausted and need to rest.”

“
Why do I think what you have planned has nothing to do with rest?”

He chuckled wickedly and they left the balcony.

****

They entered the solar and Garin lo
cked the door.  Only a few candles burned with a weak hearth fire.  The light cast a soft ambiance in the room.  Alyna sighed, gazing at Garin’s clear blue eyes which would never reveal the lovely glow to him.

But he stepped forward, again pulling her into
his arms, and toward the bed.  She marveled at the change in him.  He was once again her knight, strong and confident.

Garin’s warm hands stroked her back then moved to her hair, deftly freeing it from its plaits.  She closed her eyes as he ran his finger
s through it, the pleasure was sheer heaven.  How long had it been since he had made love to her?  Things had turned so upside down that it seemed like months instead of days.

His hands caressed her back and her shoulders bringing warmth back to her exhaus
ted body.  Taut muscles unclenched.  He brought his hands back up, his thumbs stroking the sides of her neck until his hands cupped her face and tilted her head up.

His lips touched hers, a slow, languorous kiss, but she could almost taste his tightly rein
ed desire, his urgent need boiling violently within him.  She had shocked herself with her loss of control last time but Garin had responded in kind and had not rebuked her for it. 

A wicked thought occurred to her, perhaps it was what he liked.  It was n
o sin to enjoy her husband and he was her husband.  The wine she had drank made her giddy and lowered her defenses.  To truly enjoy him, to savor every moment with him for she did not dare think of the tomorrow which might bring their separation, an end to
their marriage.

His mouth burned a path down her throat.  Her groan was pure agony and pure pleasure.  He nipped her neck lightly, his fingers untying the laces of her bodice.

“
Damnation,” he muttered and yanked the gown down over her shoulders.  She gasp
ed at the unexpected display of force.  Cool air touched her breasts then his hot mouth closed over one and his hand engulfed the other. 

Raw power.

That was what she held to her.  Sheer untamed strength.  His mouth devoured her, as if trying to draw her
very essence into him, to bind her forever to his soul.  Her body thrummed in time with the wonderful torture from his mouth.  She tried to reach for his belt but her gown and his body slowly bearing her onto the bed hampered her arms.  Abruptly he growled
and wrenched away from her.  Her gown fell softly to the floor and Garin had hauled off his tunic. 

She caressed his chest, savoring the feel of the silk that encased steel.  His muscles flexed and bunched under her hands, lengthening and stretching only
to convulse again in a mesmerizing cadence of mortal harmony.

With a groan he released her breast and kissed her stomach, his tongue finding her navel.  A powerful jolt shot through her.

“
Garin.”

He raked his teeth lightly over her belly.

“
Oh God.”

Each p
lace he touched,
everywhere
he kissed and nibbled sent a blaze through her hotter than the first.  His hands slid over her legs, he nipped the inside of her thigh.  She felt the light sheen of sweat on his torso as he slid lower.

Her world almost shattere
d when he kissed her most intimate place.  She shivered and felt his tongue lightly stroke her.  For an instant, she closed her eyes unable to move, unable to breathe, wondering if anything that felt so wonderful could last more than a heartbeat. 

His han
ds locked around her hips and she squealed in delight when Garin showed her it could last for an eternity.  She panted and moaned, wriggling against him as he worshiped her with his mouth.  How could something swing so close to pain yet feel so good?  She
wanted it to end, needed it to stop, but never wanted it to be over.  Her body stretched and writhed reaching for something, but not quite obtaining. 

Garin pushed her closer, with agonizing slowness, and gently demanding.  With an exquisite art he brough
t her to the edge where she paused for and endless moment then hot glory burst within her ripping through her body, possessing the very fiber of her being.  Garin never stopped, driving her to greater heights.  She screamed his name as she fell through the
vortex of shattering pain and fulfilling pleasure, losing herself for a heartbeat that seemed to last a lifetime, only to land shaking in his strong arms.  Garin kissed her cheek and whispered soothingly, his hands caressing her with love and gentleness.

****

Garin held Alyna, his own need burning savagely.  But he savored the sensation of her body trembling in his arms as she came down from her heights.  She relaxed against him, pliant, ready to be molded.  She hardly moved when he covered her.  His loi
ns ached with a pounding heat he never knew before.  He couldn’t wait any longer, not after holding Alyna’s quivering body to him.  With a strangled groan he pushed inside of her. 

Her sheath, hot and wet, contracted instantly around him as if continuing
if only a small fraction of what it had just done moments before.  She whimpered as he filled her but it wasn’t in pain.  For a moment he did not move, feeling her body grip him as desire stirred within her again.  She lifted her hips and suddenly he was d
riving himself into her,
over and over again, harder faster as she moved with his every thrust.  Accepting him, wanting all of him, and loving him for the man he was.

“
God, Alyna, you feel so good.”

Her legs wrapped around him, he contorted against the mad
dening pleasure.  Not yet, please, not yet.  His hand touched her face.  Her eyes were closed.  He heard her tiny pants in time to his movements.  Her skin so soft against his.