Rowena Through the Wall: Expanded Edition (36 page)

I understood this yearning.

When I stretched out on the bed, he took the dress from me. His eyes caressed every inch of my skin. Every freckle and dimple.

I had never felt so exposed.

Ever so lightly, he touched my stomach. I arched automatically and moaned. This had an instant effect on him. He went rigid.

He slid into bed beside me. "Let me do this properly. Let me show you how I feel."

His hand moved to my breast and I hissed in a breath.

"Why were you really crying?" he asked. "Tell me. I need to know you better. You are more tenderhearted than I thought."

I thought about lying, but what more could I lose by telling the truth?

"It is horrid when your dreams are dashed," I whispered.

"You have dreamed of this too?"

I gazed into deep blue eyes and saw the man I loved. "Yes."

His hands touched me everywhere, the hollow of my waist and the rise of my hips, lower…

"Do you have any idea how much I have wanted you?" he said hoarsely. "For days and weeks you have haunted me. I turned to books to learn everything I could about what I could do with you. To you. I longed to know your scent, to taste you. You are beautiful, so lovely, so much more than I imagined."

There was something close to worship in his eyes.

"The beast is gone, I promise you. I won't let him back. Go back with me in your mind. To that day in Scottsdale. Remember what you saw in the bedroom? It was me. Look."

He took my hand and placed it on his chest, the same chest that had lit my desire before. The black hair was soft beneath my palm.

"This is my heart," he said. "You hold it in your hand. Don't crush it, I beg you." One finger traced my eyebrow. "I love your eyes. They are windows to your mind and soul. I could not be a man and not love your body. But, Rowena, it is your mind that captures me most. How could there be such intelligence in one so beautiful?"

His words mesmerized me, flooding me with hope.

He moved over me and kissed my mouth. He licked the tears from my face. "Sweet and salty." His finger moved to my mouth. "So many times, I've heard words from this mouth and wondered what it would be like to be this close. Let me in, Rowena. Taste me."

His mouth came down on my parted lips and I melted, welcoming his tongue. That warm caramel feeling flowed through me, working its way down. His mouth left mine and went down to my neck. He kissed, tasted and licked.

"What is this small indentation here called?"

"The suprasternal notch," I whispered.

"I love it." He trailed kisses from there to between my breasts. "So much to choose from. But I need to be closer."

In a flash, we were as close as two people could be. We moved in a slow, lingering dance. He groaned, his teeth grazing my breast. I moaned as we rocked together, bathed in moonlight from this world's two moons.

"It's me, Rowena," he said. "Not the beast.
Me.
"

His mouth came down on mine.

Sweet, sweet love. He held me until I was flying, my eyes closed, lost in his scent, in his arms. I felt a rush of warmth surge through me as he moved inside me, stroking, sending heat waves in every direction. Then the power arched and bridged to something calmer.

I drifted…

Thane kissed my lips. "I will devote my life to this pursuit."

I felt sweeping joy, unlike anything I had felt before.

I grinned and kissed him back.

"And wilderness is Paradise." He cocked his head to one side. "How does th
e rest of it go?"

I snuggled closer. "You remembered."

"I fell in love with you that day. And yes, I kept remembering parts of that beautiful verse. Say it again."

"'Here with a loaf of bread beneath the bough, a flask of wine, a book of verse―and thou, beside me singing in the wilderness―and wilderness is paradise enow.'"

"How true." Thane spoke softly. "This poet, he knows of what he speaks. "'Tis in my heart, these very words."

"Soon I will be heavy with child and you will tire of me."

He laughed without
mirth.

"That won't happen. Remember, I crave the knowledge of it and will cherish every step along the way. Besides…I love you, Rowena from Scottsdale."

I smiled. "And I love you, Thane from Sargonia."

We slept then, curled into each other.

When I awoke, light was streaming in.

Thane stood by the window.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's dawn."

My heart sank. Soon it would be time for me to go.

I reached out to him. "Come back for a bit."

He turned and stared.

"What is it?" I asked, feeling a warning chill.

"I've made a decision. I'm changing the terms."

My mouth went dry. "What do you mean?"

"Cedric may keep his freedom, but not you. I'm keeping you here. What kind of man would I be if I let you go after last night? Tell me that?"

"He'll kill you, Thane! He killed his own brother."

"It is
your
safety that concerns me. I will not let that demon near you." There was steel in his voice. "You may think me bookish, Rowena, but I am still a warrior. And king. My word is law. You stay with me."

He reached for me, kissed me savagely, and in that brief moment I knew his iron will.

Thane left me mid-morning to meet with his war advisors, while Jon rode in a frenzy to carry the news back to Huel.

I stood on the balcony overlooking the courtyard. Already I could hear the sharpening wheels spinning, honing the blades of war.

Chapter 36

The problem with falling through walls into alternate worlds is a person usually doesn't have time to pack a suitcase.

"I haven't anything to wear," I grumbled. This was true. After weeks in Land's End, I badly needed a wardrobe overhaul. Actually, I needed a wardrobe, period.

It was mid-morning in the castle at Sargonia. I was in the royal bedroom.

"
I like the white dress you were wearing when you rode in,
" Thane said.

The white dress—it was ivory actually, but what man would know that?—was in a heap on the floor. Sometime during the night it had been stepped on. Maybe rolled on. Most would call it ecru.

"I like it too, but that's all I've got. Wasn't expecting to stay the night, let alone the month."

"I'll get you more dresses. Anything you like."

Thane was in that lovely post-coital state where men promised women anything. In his case, I had no doubt it was true. He would move the earth if he could, this man.

"But it's no use. You'll just wreck them all." He laughed, a wonderful sound that did something to my heart. "The food fight was my favorite."

"It wasn't my fault," I insisted. "People are always trying to rescue me, and frankly, it's getting tiresome." It was also hell on clothes.

"You do present a problem. If you would only stay in one place."

"Listen, buster. It wasn't me who started the whole Texas brawl thing at the tournament last month. I didn't ask to be kidnapped. And I don't go about beheading people who get in my way, unlike some people."

Thane put his hands behind his head. "You use the most fascinating idioms. What is a 'Texas brawl'?"

"And another thing!" I was on a roll. "This change-the-terms rescue of yours could be interpreted as another kidnapping. So you're no better than the rest of them."

"Surely, I am better in bed." He grinned.

"Don't call me Shirley," I muttered from habit. But it was hard not to grin. This verbal sparring with Thane was unique among my lovers.

Life sure was different beyond the wall. I was stuck here, without a bank account, without a single charge card, and to top it off, I was a teeny bit pregnant. And I had no clothes.

The castle walls were made of stone and kept out a lot of noise, but even I could hear the commotion in the hall. Men were yelling and footsteps pounded.

A breathless page appeared in the doorway. "Eight riders coming, wearing Huel colors."

Thane jumped to his feet. "Have them wait in the courtyard until I give the word. Guard them." I watched him don breeches and tunic, then sling on his belt and sword. I, in turn, reached for the dress and whipped it over my head.

"Is Cedric with them?" I asked with trepidation. Would this happen so quickly? I had only been at Castle Sargon two days.

"I don't know," he said. Those deep blue eyes looked straight at me. "Come with me. They'll demand to see you."

We left the royal suite and moved down the corridor. When we reached the great hall, Thane went to his desk of office. He motioned for me to sit in the chair to the right. I obeyed, sitting up straight and nervously smoothing the wrinkled ivory skirt over my legs.

"Let them come," he told the page at the door.

I watched and waited, measuring Thane's mood. He seemed cool as usual, his muscled torso leaning back in the chair. I loved to watch him, the way his dark hair sprang back from that strong forehead. He had a Roman nose and carved lips and the only sign I saw of his discomfort was the way his hands clenched and unclenched.

Grandfather and Jon came into the room. I was relieved not to see Cedric. I rose to my feet, ready to embrace them, but something in the old man's stony face held me back.

Grandfather looked at me hard, seeming to check that I was well, then turned to Thane. "I have come for my Granddaughter."

Thane contemplated this for a moment and then shook his head. "She came to me to bargain. She met my terms. Cedric's freedom for hers."

A wave of horror crossed Grandfather's face. "You know Cedric will never stand for this. You hold his wife hostage here. That will mean war!"

"Are you here to declare it?"

Rage was building in Grandfather. "You make my Granddaughter a whore!"

Thane vaulted to his feet and shoved the table with both hands. It toppled forward with a crash. Grandfather yelled and reached for his sword. I was paralyzed with fear, knowing what this would mean. Jon leapt forward and seized the old Earl's right arm before the sword left the scabbard.

"Don't!" Jon pleaded. "You know what he will have to do."

I knew myself. One didn't pull a sword in Land's End without being forced to use it. Honor demanded it. Especially when this was the King, in the King's own castle.

My eyes switched to Thane, who was fighting for control.

"Get out," he said. His voice was gravel.

They glared at each other, the two men I loved. I began to move forward, but Jon caught my eye and shook his head. This was a silent battle between Titans, the older, venerable one and the strong new King. There was no way Grandfather could win this now.

Finally, he seemed to realize this. Grandfather set the sword back in its place, abruptly turned and left the room without looking at me. Jon followed.

I had never seen Thane so angry. He clenched his fists and his whole body shook. I kept my distance and waited for him to shake off the fury.

He turned to me. "Do you feel the same?"

"No!" My response was immediate and self-preserving. "In my world, women choose their mates and they can leave a marriage if they want to."

Thane looked unconvinced. The rage was changing to something equally powerful and just as scary.

"I've shamed you." His voice sounded appalled.

"I choose you, Thane. I choose you." What else could I say to defuse this?

"I've shamed you. He's right. I've dishonored you. And the damnable thing is I won't stop. I can't." Thane moved toward me. I held out my arms and he gathered me into his. "The second it's possible, I'll make you my wife. You must believe that."

"I do," I said with all the conviction I could muster. What I really felt like saying was, 'Who the hell cares?' I'd been married three times and none had worked out too well. But I understood the conventions here and the need to appear to respect them.

"You may want to reconsider that plan. I'm pretty hard on husbands." I tried to sound jocular, but it was no joke.

"Cedric will not kill me, Rowena. You underestimate me."

I felt a chill descend upon the room.

He reached for me and kissed me savagely. When he released me, his sapphire eyes looked into mine. "My dear, sweet Rowena, I am a scholar and my mother was a sorceress. Did you not suppose I had been well-schooled in the art of magic?"

My heart skipped a beat.

He laughed when he saw my face and drew me close against his chest. "Yes, I hid it well. A wise man keeps his greatest weapon cloaked until he needs it."

I felt his heartbeat, strong and hard, against my cheek.

He kissed my head. "It is ironic. I am King and my word is law, but the one thing I want more than anything I cannot have. As long as he lives, we cannot marry."