Ria Cantrell - Celtic Storm 03 (15 page)

“I know. I came to talk to you, but I heard you crying. I just wanted to help.”

“I was not crying,” she said defensively.

“You were. It sounded as if your heart was broken. I did not know what to do.”

“Well, I am fine. You need to leave now.”

“I am not going to hurt you.”

As the dream faded away to a place she did not want to visit, she said, “I realize you are not going to hurt me but it is not proper for you to be here.”

“Ii admit, it is not proper…but we are.…”

“I know. I know…we are betrothed. Still, I think that even though you have won over my captain, he would still have you hanged should you be found in my bed.”

Erik moved closer and held out his hand to her.

“Well, then that will solve all your problems won’t it. Come, you will fall if you get any closer to the edge and I am not in a position to catch you this time.”

Was he teasing her? She murmured shyly, “It would not solve my problems to have you hanged,” and then tossing his own words that had so recently touched her heart back at him, Rhianna said, “I would not forgive myself if something were to happen to you.”

Erik felt his heart open at her words.

“Well, then come away from the edge, lest you fall and make a loud thump which will cause an alert and your guards will find me here and bring me straight away to the gallows.”

She smiled at his attempt to make light of it. She tentatively inched closer, still gripping the bedding tightly in her fingers. Even in the darkness, Erik could tell her knuckles were turning white from the clasp she had on it. As she shied away from the edge, she saw Erik move just a little closer. He said, “There, now. Allow me to just let you settle and once I am sure no more nightmares plague you, I will leave you to your rest. I feel responsible for them. If anything I said has caused….”

“It is not your fault, Erik. It is just dreams. They plague me from time to time.”

“I see. Do you wish to tell me about it?”

“No.”

Erik sighed. He would not force her to talk about what had caused her nightmare and he said, “Alright. Come lay beside me and I will see you relaxed so that sweeter dreams will be waiting for you. If I can, I will even protect you from the nightmare so that it will not return.”

Rhianna wanted to tell him that being this close to him would do anything but relax her. Still, he was being so sweet; she did not want to thwart his efforts again. She shifted to her side and he tucked himself behind her. He was not beneath her covers but she could feel the heat of his body next to her. He leaned over her and kissed the side of her face. Rhianna tried to enjoy the feel of his comforting arms as they touched her, but it was making her wish he would kiss her in earnest…like he had done before. She was pretty certain after speaking her terrible words to him, kissing her was the last thing on his mind. As he stroked over her shoulder he whispered soft little soothing things to her, as if she was a child in need of calming. Erik still felt like she was tense and he said, “Just rest now. It has been a long and trying day.”

As he leaned over to kiss her cheek a final time, Rhianna turned slightly so that he actually caught the corner of her lips. It seemed to startle them both, but she then turned onto her back and watched him lower himself so that his mouth pressed ever so gently to hers. What started out so innocently soon turned the tides when he felt her kiss him back. This time it was much less tentative and when he felt her hands draw around his neck, pulling him to her, he kissed her no longer to soothe her.

Rhianna could not stop it if she wanted to and to tell the truth, she did not want to. She raised herself to meet his lips and she felt glad to be lying down. Her legs went weak when he kissed her and she lost herself in the taste of his tongue. Her hands wandered into his long hair, and she pulled him closer to her. He broke the kiss only to place gentle bites down her throat to her collar bone. Since she was no longer holding the sheeting in a death grip, Erik yanked the bedding down so he could touch her. She did not try to stop him, so his hand pressed into her waist, causing her to suck in her breath. She was only wearing a thin nightrail and he could feel her through it as if she was wearing nothing at all. His hand eased up her side and he rested it gently beneath the swell of one breast. This time, when she gasped, he stilled his hand and he said, “Sshh, my love. I’ll not hurt you.”

She was not afraid he would hurt her. In fact, it was not fear at all that made her gasp, but the way her body thrummed with new awakening feelings that had long been hidden and untried. The feel of his strong hand on her was both soothing and unnerving. He kissed her again, taking her bottom lip gently between his teeth. She tasted sweet, like honey and he guessed she had laced her nightly brew with it before she had retired. Her little tongue flitted into his mouth and he sucked it less gently. She moaned against his lips and he felt her arms tangle about his neck. His hand pressed into her stomach, softly kneading the feminine swell of her beneath his fingers. As her mouth sought his, his same hand came up and moved over the breast he had almost touched. She arched up, thrusting her breast into the palm of his hand, so that he could feel her nipple pearl beneath the fine fabric of her nightrail. She moaned again, and Erik was undone by the innocently sexy sound. He kissed her while his hand rotated slowly over her breast. Rhianna was awash in sensation and she wanted more but she knew she should stop it. It was wrong for them to do this before their wedding night, but before she could protest, Erik’s fingers found their way inside her nightrail and when the contact of them on her bare breast was made, Rhianna forgot all of her reservations. Erik groaned softly and he said, “You are so beautiful.”

Despite the rising ardor between them, Rhianna giggled and said, “Much more to your liking than Andarra?”

“Drew should not have told you that.”

“Well, maybe he should not have, but still I am glad that you would rather wed me than Andarra.”

“Yes, even with your sharp tongue, I find you most….”

“What,” Rhianna asked; her eyes imploring his, in the dark of the room.

“Desirable,” he answered, taking her mouth with his and settling his hand inside her shift. When his hand made contact with her breast again, Rhianna moaned a little louder. She did not realize it was going to become more intense until his mouth left hers. He moved the nightrail down, exposing that precious breast completely and his lips closed over the hardened little nipple. She keened, “Erik, please,” but did not really seek an answer from him nor did she know what she was asking of him.

He spoke, low, like a sound from deep within his throat and he said, “I want you so much right now, Rhianna.”

Rhianna’s eyes grew so wide at his statement, that Erik stopped what he was doing.

“Oh, my God, Rhianna. I am so sorry. I have forgotten myself and my promise to not dishonor you. I need to go.”

Rhianna said honestly, “I wish you wouldn’t.”

“You don’t know what you are asking.”

“Erik, I may be innocent, but I
do
know what I am asking.”

Erik kissed her and he teased, “Innocent? I thought you were going to meet a lover early tonight.”

Rhianna bit his lip playfully and she said, “You know I was lying about that.”

“I didn’t really, but I hoped you were.”

Then more seriously she said, “Please stay.”

Shaking his head, Erik said, “You make it hard for me to uphold my vow of honor, but I cannot. Not tonight.”

He pulled her nightrail back into place and covered her up. Kissing her deeply again, he said, “There, the nightmares have been banished. I will see you in the morning.”

“Wait, please don’t go. You said you wanted to talk to me. What did you want to talk about?”

“Uhm, I wanted to offer a truce of sorts.”

“Well, in a manner of speaking, I guess you just did. I wanted to apologize to you, as well.”

“You just did, Sweetheart,” he responded with a rakish wink.

Erik swung his legs over the side of the bed and he put his boots back on. He leaned over her one last time and kissed her goodnight.

“May the terrors of your dreams no longer plague you this night.”

And just like that, he left her, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Rhianna felt all sorts of new sensations. Her body felt alive but as taught as a drawn bowstring. She wanted more; needed more. Erik had made her feel things she had never experienced in her life. Her breasts seemed to strain against the fabric of her nightclothes. And there was something else. Moist heat had formed between her thighs and she fairly ached inside for something to fill her…for Erik to fill her. He had said he wanted her and by all that was holy, she suddenly knew what it meant to want him, too. She was certain she would not have any more bad dreams this night because she was also certain she would not be able to sleep a wink. That fevered feeling was back and she felt hot inside and out. She had half a mind to sneak into his bed, as he had done and finish what they had started; only she was not as brave as she had once believed herself to be.

~~~~~

Erik leaned against her door after he had shut it. His heart was pounding and it took every ounce of his will to not race back into her arms and into her bed. God’s teeth, he was hard! In all his eight and twenty years, he had never been so aroused in his entire life. He wanted Rhianna. There was no denying it. She wanted him, too. For all her bluster and abuse of him, she succumbed to his kisses and touches and responded so easily to him. Erik loved her uninhibited response to him. Knowing that she wanted him and that she was willing to be with him made him want her all the more. It also made him want to uphold his promise to not compromise her. He knew he needed to go slowly. She admitted her innocence and he did not want to forfeit her trust in that. He would do what he could to take his time with her and when the time was right, even if he had to wait until their wedding night, he fully intended to make love to her; in every way imaginable.

Right now, what he needed was to take a plunge into the cold stream beyond the keep. He was on fire from being with her and he had to do something. He supposed he could take care of things himself, but the heat that fired through his blood needed the shock of a quick and frigid swim.

He made his way through the darkened corridors and he headed out of the main hall. There were sentries on duty and they wondered at his leaving, but let him pass. He nodded to them and he just said he would be back after he had gone for a bath in the stream outside the castle walls. They shrugged in confusion to one another but opened the portcullis to let him through.

Erik’s eye sight was sharp even in the dark early morning hours before dawn. He found the stream easily enough and he peeled his clothes off hastily. He was grateful to release himself from his once again too tight trews. His cock throbbed for relief, and it sprang from his trews, erect and aching. Gripping it, he squeezed and moaned. He knew he would not get any rest until he cooled himself down and so he waded into the frosty stream and swam out to its deepest part. The temperature seeped into him rapidly; cooling his blood and his lust. That did the trick. The cold water had sufficiently staunched his desire and he suddenly felt tired. After one final plunge under the water, Erik dried himself with his tunic and put his clothes on over his wet body. By the time he got back to his chambers, his teeth were fairly chattering from the chill and he stripped down and climbed into bed. He thought sleep would come quickly, but it did not. He could not put thoughts of Rhianna from his mind and he could tell it was going to be a long night after all.

~Chapter Twenty~

Each day for the next few weeks, Erik had risen early. He had met with Tristan and they had made plans to fortify the keep against any invaders. As he promised, he rode out to the village and offered the keep as a safe haven to the village folk. He said that it was through Rhianna’s wishes that they seek out their safety and to make haste to come. They would keep the castle gates open until darkness fell and after that they would have to wait until morning if anyone still wanted to seek refuge within the castle walls. Rhianna was so grateful that Erik had wanted to help her people. After he had come to comfort her a few nights past, she now could not wait to see him and she needed to kiss him again, but there was much to be done to prepare the keep to receive as many people as possible. In the days following that stimulating night, Rhianna and Erik were kept apart by the duties that were at hand. If they got glimpses of each other, it was fleeting and by the end of the day, both were too tired to do aught but fall into their respective beds.

Erik and Drew took their men to the village that had been attacked to see what they could learn about the perpetrators of the violence. They would offer whatever assistance they could and then they would try to help transport those people who would not be able to walk easily to the keep.

Rhianna busied herself with setting up areas that could be used to house some of the villagers. Already, tents were set up in the bailey and behind the castle walls, toward her garden. Many of the local folk would need places to sleep and so she had readied as many linens that could be found to help those who wished to stay inside. She knew that many of the villagers would not want to leave their homes and so, Erik was going to have guards set in place throughout the village to protect those people who would not seek refuge inside the keep’s fortified walls.