The Mermaid's Knight (16 page)

Father Andrew followed them, still all smiles. “That is good news indeed, Lord Royce.

You will forgive me if I seem a bit prying. I am merely concerned for the well-being of one of my flock, and Gideon has been unhappy for some time.” Cheer wreathed his face. “It is good to know that you are taking such good care of the people here.” Leah wanted to punch him in his fake mouth.

Royce glanced down at her, as if seeing the annoyance she fought so hard to hide flashing across her face. He stopped, his hands sliding around her waist. “Would you excuse us, Father Andrew? I need to speak to Leah privately.”

The priest appeared surprised by the request, but the soft smile returned, curving his lips once more. “Of course, my lord. Forgive me for disturbing you. I must be off to pray.” He raised his hand, showing his rosary to the two of them. “Good day to you, Lord Royce, Leah.” The rosary in his hand stilled Leah. He hadn’t forgotten his ultimatum to her, and as she watched him walk across the courtyard in his long, dark robes, she resisted the urge to cry.

Warm, gentle hands squeezed her waist, reminding her of the present. “Is something bothering you, Leah?”

She looked up into Royce’s concerned face. Father Andrew’s insidious words rang through her mind.
“Seduce him. Keep him distracted so I may go about robbing his coffers.”
What could she do? Father Andrew would tell her secret if she didn’t do what he asked.

Even though she hated herself for doing so, Leah took Royce’s hand in hers and brushed her mouth against his knuckles, giving him a suggestive look and letting her teeth graze against the sensitive flesh. An unhappy twinge shot through her, but she pushed the feeling aside.

Royce’s eyes darkened, and concern was replaced with the hot stroke of desire. He pulled her closer to him, the front of her hips brushing against his, and she felt the evidence of his desire. “Are you… recovered, then, lady? Enough for the eager attentions of a bastard warlord?” Excitement rushed through her, and she forced herself to remain slow and sensual as she flipped his palm over and gently bit the flesh there.

He groaned and slid a hand under her knees, hoisting her into his arms as if she weighed nothing. Surprised, Leah hid her face, blushing. She could feel the hot stares of everyone in the keep as they watched their lord carry his leman across the castle grounds.

Royce chuckled. “Don’t be such a coward, Leah. If you play a seduction game, don’t be surprised when it works.” He leaned in and whispered against her hair. “And they’re smiling –

the men are envious that I get to make love to you, and the women are jealous because of the attention I show you. You worry too much as to what others think – I am the master of this castle, and I shall do as I please.”

Oh, really? That sounded like a challenge if she’d ever heard one. Leah unburied her face and quirked an eyebrow at him. Her hand slid between the laces that stole up the yoke of his tunic, and she maneuvered her hand inside, brushing her fingers against one of his nipples suggestively.

He groaned against her hair. “Someplace private. We need someplace private right now or I’m going to take you in the middle of this courtyard.” They passed by another horse in front of a low building, and Leah pointed at it, feeling rather bold at his encouraging responses.

“The stables? You’re a wicked woman,” he murmured against her hair.

The stables? Oh lord, that wasn’t quite where she’d imagined having their romantic interlude, but she noticed that he didn’t complain. In fact, he changed course and made a beeline for the building, shoving the heavy wooden doors open and startling the stable boys inside.

“Everyone out,” he growled, and the boys nodded and touched their forelocks before racing out the door.

Leah began to rethink the whole thing when the door slammed shut behind them, leaving only trickles of light streaming in between the wooden boards and the thatched roof. He set her down gently on her feet.

And then Royce’s hot, hungry mouth was on hers and she forgot about whether or not this was a good idea. She returned his kisses with an intensity of her own, and her arms went around him, her nails digging through the back of his tunic. His hands slid down her waist and

grasped her buttocks, kneading them and sliding her hips against his groin. A familiar whimper escaped her.

“Ah, Leah,” he groaned against her lips, his fingers digging into the flesh of her behind.

“It’s been too many days since I’ve tasted that sweet flesh of yours. It’s been torturing me for days… you’re in my dreams when I sleep, teasing me with your eyes and those long legs of yours.”

Her hands slid over his back, seeking purchase, but the thick weave of his tunic kept her from finding what she wanted, and she gave a little groan of frustration, her hands drifting down and searching for the edge of his tunic, jerking it up and through his belt and sliding her hands around the smooth skin of his back. The hard muscles played under her hands, and she gave a sigh of pure delight at the touch.

She felt his hand searching under her skirts, even as she reached down toward the front of his hose to unfasten them.

He growled in frustration at the layers of skirts preventing him from finding her. “You wear too many clothes, Leah,” he said, his mouth moving against her neck and nipping gently.

She gasped at the sensation, her hands flexing on his back in surprised pleasure.

Suddenly she was being lifted off the ground, and her hands dug into his skin for purchase, clinging to his waist. He grabbed her by the buttocks and hauled her a few staggering steps, her hips cradled against his erection, lips sucking at her neck with the same fevered intensity she felt. The wall slammed up against her back, surprising her and nearly knocking the wind out of her, but she forgot all about it when his mouth returned to hers and his tongue thrust at the same time his hips did. She wrapped her legs around his waist, letting him support her against the wall.

“Put your arms around my neck,” he instructed, his hands digging through her skirts again, and she did, sliding them over his shoulders and biting at his lower lip, teasing it gently with her teeth.

And then she felt his hand find her bare legs, and she moaned her encouragement as her skirts were shoved to the side, her hips now naked and cradled against his breeches. His fingers slid between their pinned hips, sliding against her folds. “You’re so hot and ready for me, Leah.

God, you’re wet.” He shifted her against the wall and she clung to him, and then she felt his erection slide up against the hot slickness of her sex, searching, and then he thrust home, pinning her against the wall.

She inhaled sharply at the shock of him, feeling that mix of pain and pleasure shoot through her again as her body stretched to accommodate him. The pain vanished within moments, and when he thrust again, there was nothing but the stroke of pure pleasure. The angle of his body against hers rubbed her clit with every stroke, doubling the intensity of each slow grind.

“Leah,” he moaned against her mouth. “Ah, Leah. Your body is so sweet.” His hands held her hips in a death grip.

Her hands clutched at him frantically, her legs wrapped around his waist as her body bore down against his with each thrust, encouraging him every step of the way. The wall against her was uncomfortable, but the thought only registered briefly in her mind, chased away with each achingly sweet thrust into her body.

And then he was whispering against her mouth again, and one of his hands slid away from her hips and latched on to her nipple through the fabric of the dress. “Come for me,” he whispered, stroking the sensitive nub through the thick fabric. “I want to hear you come, Leah. I

want to hear you gasp with pleasure… as I thrust into you… and I want to feel you clench around me… as you lose control.” With each pause, his lips met hers, seeking, teasing.

With a few quick strokes of his fingers, she shattered against him, crying out as her body quaked with shudders and she came.

“That’s it, Leah,” he murmured against her, clutching her body to his as he thrust again.

“Come for me, sweetling.” His thrusts became more insistent, and the words on his lips died into a low growl as he continued to thrust, harder and harder, as she moaned and her body continued to shudder. The orgasm had barely stopped before she felt her body tensing, anticipating the next.

A loud groan was ripped from his throat as his body shuddered and he came inside her as well, one final hard thrust sending her floating amidst the shockwaves again.

It took a few minutes for Leah’s racing heart to return to normal, and when it did she ran a hand through his sweaty, tangled locks of hair. His head rested on her shoulder, and he still had her propped up against the wall – a wall that was in danger of giving her some very nasty splinters.

He turned his face in and she felt his breath against her neck. “You make me mad with wanting you, Leah,” Royce said, a chuckle in his throat. “My men are going to be giving me odd looks for days.”

She was glad it was dark so he couldn’t see the blush on her face, and instead just tapped on his shoulder, indicating that she wanted to get up.

He let her go gently, and their bodies slid apart, Leah’s legs rubbery and sweat dampening the hair of her brow. She heard him lacing his breeches again in the dark, then felt his hands on her skirt, helping her smooth it. Her hand found his and she leaned in, bringing her lips

to his for a long, meaningful kiss that promised many things. His breath became ragged again.

“We can go upstairs…” he suggested, and she squeezed his hand in agreement. Upstairs sounded very nice, indeed.

“Fire!” Someone shouted, and then everything was forgotten.

Royce muttered an expletive and jerked away from Leah, running for the stable doors.

The door flung open a moment later and sunlight flooded into the room. Leah trailed after him, trying to straighten her skirts and stumbling along.

Dread made her steps slow as she looked for the telltale smoke and found it over the blacksmith’s small hut. Oh no. She watched, the world streaming by in slow motion as commoners rushed past, buckets of water in hand, hurrying to the smithy. The crowd of people near it was in motion at all times, moving and swaying as people brought water and then ran away again. Standing in the middle of the throng was Royce, shouting orders and handing buckets.

This was her fault.

She stood back, her arms wrapped around herself, unable to do more as they worked to put out the fire. Even when the flames died out and there was nothing left but charred and sooty rubble, she couldn’t force herself to go forward. She felt responsible.

The sight of Father Andrew stirred her into action. As she watched, he approached one of the men who lay on the ground and lifted his head, a look of concern on his soft features. Leah found herself rushing over, a curious mix of dread and reluctance mixing through her as she approached.

Royce moved to the priest’s side as well, maneuvering there at the same time that she did.

The blacksmith lay on the ground, his eyes closed and his mouth slack, and she bit her knuckle.

Had Father Andrew killed the man?

Royce rubbed his forehead, leaving a dark smear of soot across his face. “How is he, Father?”

“Knocked unconscious.”

Leah nearly fainted with relief. Thank god.

The priest spoke again. “And the foundry? Can it be saved?” Royce’s response was less than cheering. “The roof collapsed early. I doubt there’s much that can be saved in there.” He sounded tired – tired and depressed. Leah stood, going to his side and putting a hand on his chest in concern.

He gave her a tired smile and a kiss on her forehead. “Go back to my chambers, Leah.

There’s a lot of work to be done here, and you’re still too weak to be up and about all day.” She shook her head.

“Please, Leah, for me. I won’t be able to help the men while I’m thinking about you all the time. Understand?”

Leah nodded and touched his hand, heading back toward the castle. She wanted to look back at the priest again, but she didn’t dare. Royce had mentioned money earlier in the day, and she had no doubt that whatever was in the smithy was gone now. As she headed back down the great hall, she saw Christophe again, heading through with some rope and a few other men, and the look he shot her was accusing.

She deserved it.

Chapter Sixteen

She woke up later that night as Royce put his arms around her, pulling her close to him.

He smelled like smoke and sweat, a strong, pungent combination that filled her nostrils. He seemed so weary and sad, though, that she didn’t have the heart to push him away. Instead, she turned to him and stroked his hair away from his face, wishing she had words to offer him comfort.

“The money’s gone. The forge was robbed, and no doubt whoever stole the money set the fire. The coins have disappeared, as well as the jewels and gold I had set aside as a gift for the king.” He buried his face against the soft swell of her breasts.

Leah slipped out of his arms and went to her small trunk. She pulled out the velvet bag with the beautiful golden belt and handed it to him.

“No,” he said harshly. “That’s yours. I won’t strip gifts from you simply to have them snatched by another thief.”

She nodded and replaced the bag back in the trunk, then slid back into bed with him. Just thinking about the belt made her feel guilty, but of course she couldn’t tell him that. She couldn’t say anything.

He pulled her close. “Someone’s working against me, Leah, and unless I find out who it is, they’re going to drive me out of this castle. I won’t be able to afford my men, and I’ll be forced to sell my sword to whoever will have me.” His arms tightened around her. “I’ll be a

landless bastard again, Leah. A man unable to keep his own castle without it falling about his ears.”

Her hands soothed his brow, smoothed his hair, and she closed her eyes so he wouldn’t see the frustrated tears that threatened to well from her eyes. It was her fault. All she had to do was somehow tell him who was really behind the deeds, and he’d be free. He’d have his castle.