The Dark Knight (40 page)

She cried out in protest against his mouth when his hand left her and she felt him turn slightly away, and then she felt him working at the laces at the front of his pants. A moment later she felt his hot, hard staff press against her bare hip and then his hand resumed the sweet torture. The fire continued to build inside her, centered where he impaled her over and over again with his fingers. Her head began to turn from side to side of its own accord and he dragged his lips down the column of her throat until his mouth closed over her breast again. The moment he drew her into his mouth there was an explosion inside of her. She fisted her hands in his hair,
desperate to hold on to him as she fell apart. As the waves of passion crashed over her, she was dimly aware of him pressing his hips harder against hers and then a hot dampness between their skin as he threw his head back and spilled his seed with a growled shout of both frustration and completion.

She could feel the tremors in his body mix with her own, and then he collapsed next to her, his leg thrown over hers and his arm wrapped around her waist to hold her close, his face buried in the crook of her neck. The harsh sounds of his breathing and hers intermingled as she stared up at the inky darkness of the ceiling, stunned by the experience, her muscles trembling in new and previously unknown places. She’d had no idea that such pleasure was possible, although she knew there was more to the act of lovemaking than what they had done, and was intimately aware that their bodies had not joined. If this was the result of love play, she wondered how she would survive when the play turned serious. Her whole body felt contented beyond belief, and yet there was a lingering ache. No, more a sense of emptiness, her body’s innate knowledge that what she experienced was very pleasurable, but not entirely fulfilling. She was ready to learn all of the mysteries of what happened between a man and woman. Well, perhaps she would be ready when her body recovered from that first, very satisfying taste.

Eventually their breathing returned to normal and he stirred from her side. He used one of the grain sacks to wipe away the evidence of their tryst, readjusted his clothing, and then gently rearranged her own until she was modestly covered.

“Are you all right?” he asked. He stretched out beside her again, but propped himself up on one elbow and studied her face. There was a worried look in his eyes as
he tenderly brushed his hand over her cheek. “Tell me what you are thinking.”

She looked up at his shadowed face and said the first thing that came into her mind. “I am in love with you.”

He blinked once, and then continued to stare down at her as the silence stretched out between them. It was not the reaction she had expected. She pressed her lips together and turned her head to one side as rejection washed through her.

“Look at me, Avalene.”

He had to take her chin in his hand before she reluctantly complied with the order. His severe expression had not changed.

She tried to dismiss her words. “I did not mean to—”

His fingers covered her lips and he made a hushing sound. “Let me savor this moment.”

Her brows drew together in confusion.

“Tell me again,” he commanded.

A wave of relief washed over her. He was not rejecting her declaration. He was amazed by it. This time the words came hesitantly and she felt suddenly shy. “I love you.”

His eyes closed and his expression became almost reverent. When they opened again, raw emotion blazed in his eyes. His voice was hoarse and raw. “Thank you.”

It was an odd thing to say, but she did not have long to think about it. His lips covered hers again, but this time his kisses were tender, gentle, no longer driven by physical needs, but the emotions behind them were just as powerful.

At least, the kisses started out short and sweet as they innocently explored each other with their lips. Then the kisses began to linger on places like the pulse point of a wrist, then the corner of a mouth, the curve of an ear, and the need gradually returned, rekindled in the embers
of desire. Soon she felt the familiar yearning as her body strained toward the man who could fulfill her desires.

This time she wanted to explore his body as thoroughly as he had explored her own and she slipped her hands beneath his shirt to touch the warm stone wall of his chest. She soon discovered that she could make his breath catch when she pressed her hips against his, and drawing his tongue into her mouth produced a sound like a low growl in the back of his throat. She breathed his name into his ear and felt him shudder. He tilted his head back and she dragged her lips down the strong column of his throat. He shuddered again as her tongue darted out to take small tastes of his skin, and then he firmly but gently pushed her away from her feast.

“We must stop.”

She looked up to see if he jested. There was a fierce look of determination in his eyes. “I do not want to stop.”

“Nor do I,” he admitted, “but you have no idea how tempting you are and my willpower is especially low right now. I do not want to do something I will regret.”

Her eyes widened and uncertainty returned. “Do you regret what is already done?”

“How can you even ask?” He gave a frustrated, exasperated sigh, and then pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Avalene, I want you more than anything I have ever wanted in my life, even more so, now that I have sampled your delights. I do not regret our love play, but I would have it go no further.”

“Then why—”

“We are only a day’s ride from London where an exceedingly comfortable bed awaits us, where we need not worry about a villager stumbling across us, or an attack
by mercenaries, or being captured by the Segraves. I want to devote my full attention to you. I want to pamper you with silk sheets and soft pillows.” He released a deep sigh and kept a firm hold on her shoulders when she tried to move closer to him. “You need to lie down and go to sleep now. I will keep the candles burning until you are asleep.”

She stared at him and tried to decipher his suddenly incomprehensible language. Lie down? Go to sleep? Her pulse still raced and her breath came in small, uneven puffs. “Uhm, sleep?”

“I know you have heard of the word.” The trace of a smile curved his lips and he brushed his knuckles across her cheekbone. “You deserve more comforts than a bed of old grain sacks in a musty barn the first time we …” His eyes seemed to lose focus for a moment, and then his jaw tightened. “ ’Tis time to stop this love play while I still can.”

“Just a few more kisses,” she whispered. “Please?”

He groaned and lowered his mouth to hers again. Soon her thoughts focused entirely on the feel of their bodies where they touched and the way his mouth moved against hers. He was so much larger than she, but somehow he made her feel as if she could control all of the raw, male power beneath her hands. She smoothed her palms over his shoulders, then looped her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his.

In one skillful motion he turned her in his arms and pressed her down onto their bed. His hands kneaded her back as he pulled her closer, pressing her hips against his in a way that left no doubt that he wanted her. She made a small sound that was rewarded with the sharp bite of his teeth at the base of her neck, followed by the soft stroke of his tongue. She felt her heart turn over in her
chest. His lips moved to her ear and she felt his words vibrate through her.

“This is not the right time or place,” he murmured.

“You deserve a proper bed for what I have in mind. I can wait until we reach London.”

She stroked his hair, sifting her hands through the soft strands. She wanted to be his in every possible way. “I only want a few small tastes of the feast to come.”

His answer was another kiss. He kissed her neck and she remembered the way her skin had tingled just before the lightning had struck the tree above her. His mouth found hers again and she heard herself moan, startled that the sound had come from her, yet unable to make it stop. He deepened the kiss and hooked his leg over the back of hers to pull her even closer, fitting the soft curves of her body against the rigid planes of his own. She twined her arms around his neck and gradually realized that he had shifted her to lie on top of him. He held her so tightly that she could scarce breathe. Finally she had to lift her head to catch her breath.

“That look makes me nervous.” His eyes narrowed as he studied her face. “What are you thinking?”

“I am thinking that I could make you forget about a warm bed.” She wriggled a little within his hold to better balance her weight and felt him shudder. She did it again just to see if the response would be the same. Interesting.

“You can make me forget almost everything,” he admitted. “And I do not think this bed could get any warmer unless we lit it on fire. Still, you are upset by what you witnessed today. I do not want those men to taint our first time together in any way. If you still feel this way tomorrow, I will be more than happy to comply, but there is no need to rush. I said I would court you. You deserve to be courted.”

The reminder of the mercenaries made her hesitate, but only for a moment. He had banished the ghosts of the mercenaries from her mind and she would not allow them back in. Now when she closed her eyes, all she saw was Dante. How had she even for a moment thought him coldhearted? Instead, she almost smiled at his look of stubborn belligerence. He was still upset that she had never experienced a courtship and seemed determined to provide one for her, even if it meant his courting took place while he was bedding her. “Does anyone else realize what a kind and considerate man you are?”

“Oh, aye, ‘kind’ and ‘considerate’ are my middle names,” he said, with a bark of laughter. Their bodies rubbed against each other in new and interesting ways, and his eyes turned serious. “If you could read my thoughts now, you would have to devise a whole new list of words to call me.”

He wriggled his brows in a parody of a seductive glance and she gave him a delighted laugh.

“Ah, that every woman would find humor in my lovemaking.” He rolled his eyes, still mocking himself. “You have pierced me to the quick, my lady.”

The peculiar melting sensation rushed through her again. He was smiling. She had made him laugh. Not only on the outside, but inside, where she knew his spirits were lightened. For a man such as Dante, she felt she had accomplished something momentous.

He loosened his hold, then put his arms over his head and stretched his big body out. She clutched at his chest, but his arms went around her again before she could lose her balance. “This would be a good time to think again about sleep. I do not want you to make me forgetful to the point that I take you in a field like a common—”

She placed her fingers over his lips. “There is nothing
common about what you do to me, or what you make me feel.”

He released another long sigh, and then patted the pallet next to him. “Please, Avalene. Lie down and go to sleep. I have had little rest the last few nights, and we still have another day’s ride ahead of us before we reach London.”

She pressed her lips together to keep from arguing. He was annoyingly determined. She rolled into his side and nestled in the crook of his arm while he readjusted his cloak to cover them. The covers were of no concern to her. The heat coming from his body warmed her in a way that blankets never could. His tunic smelled of leather and wool, but it was his own indefinable scent that had the power to lull her mind. Still, her body was humming with dozens of emotions. After a few moments, she gave up.

“I cannot sleep.”

“Neither can I.”

She had expected a sigh of impatience and an argument, rather than ready agreement. “Now what do we do?”

“I brought us some food,” he ventured. “Are you hungry?”

She shook her head. “What else could we do?”

“Tell me how you intended to escape from me.” His suggestion made her frown, for it was definitely not what she had in mind. “I have tried to think of every possible scenario, but I can think of nothing that would have any possibility of being successful. What plan did you think would work?”

She bit her lower lip and debated what to tell him.

“The truth would be nice to hear.”

How did he do that? She frowned at his chest. “I was going to slip away into the crowds when we reached
London. I know, I know, it was a foolish plan,” she hurried to add, when his arms tightened around her. His body was suddenly rigid with stress.

“Do you have any idea what would have happened to you on the streets?”

From the tone of his voice, apparently it was something very bad. “Rather than speak of what will not happen, I would rather hear about something that will. I would rather hear you tell me more about Venice.”

He was silent for a time, and then he began to tell her about the rituals and celebrations of a carnival that took place in Venice, a fascinating tale that she wanted to hear, yet his low, soothing tones were hypnotic. His hand trailed a slow, soothing path up and down her spine that lulled her further toward sleep. The day had been long and trying, and soon she could no longer keep her eyes open.

Falling asleep in the arms of the man you loved was almost as enjoyable as waking up still cradled within his embrace. There was something sinfully delicious about the intimacy of shared warmth and being nestled together as tightly as stacked spoons. She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder and burrowed deeper under the cloak that covered them even as his arms tightened around her. Awareness came in slow degrees.

She really was in Dante’s arms. The pleasures they shared the night before were real. All of the things he had said to her the past few nights … that was real, too. Amazing. Her lips curved into a secretive smile.

It already seemed a lifetime ago when she worried that he would hold her this close at night only to make certain she didn’t try to escape while he slept. Instead he had declared his love for her. At least, he thought he was in love with her. She didn’t know how it was possible.
What did he see in her to love that everyone else had overlooked?

How many times over the years had she questioned what was wrong with her and tried to figure out the reasons why no one could love her as much as she loved them? Well, mostly she had wondered that about her father and her aunt. Now she was filled with doubts when someone said he did love her.