One Winter Knight

by Townsend, Lindsay

  Some time later, from far away, she heard her name being called, but she was comfortable now, the subsiding swells lulling her as her crate cover rose and fell in the warm, Mediterranean waters rocking like a cradle. Just a little sleep was all she needed.

  “Kaitlin!” The voice roared at her and she heard the splash of oars. Then, strong hands gripped around her waist, pulling her up. She struggled to open her eyes. Adair. She was safe. It was over. Gratefully, she slumped against his chest, dimly aware that he was muttering something that sounded like an apology and “I love ye”, but that didn’t make sense. She had nearly died; she was just imagining what she wanted to hear.

  As the lifeboat approached the frigate some minutes later, her mind had cleared somewhat. She watched Adair toss the painter line up to secure them, and a rope ladder was let down. Even though feeling had returned to her arms and legs, Kaitlin wondered how she’d have the strength to climb when Adair pulled her toward him, put her arms around his neck, cupped her buttocks and lifted her. “Wrap your legs around my waist, lass, and hold tight.”

  A strategic part of him was pressing on a most sensitive part of her, and whatever lethargy remained in her brain disappeared. Kaitlin hugged herself closer and felt Adair pause for a brief second. Then, he resumed climbing.

  Once on deck, Adair shouted orders for hot water and towels and carried her to their cabin. He wrapped her in a warm blanket while they waited for the tub to be filled and once that was done, he bolted the door.

  She was too tired to protest when he removed the blanket and unbuttoned her soaking shirt and slipped it off. He stared hungrily at her breasts and reached to caress one, but then dropped his hand. Instead, he helped her out of the wet boots and pants and carried her to the tub. Being held naked in his strong arms felt so good. If she weren’t so weak, she’d do something about that.

  He set her down in the heated water and then stripped to join her. That beautiful, hard body, with its wide shoulders, perfectly sculpted muscles, flat stomach and rigid shaft, lowered himself behind her, splashing water out. She felt his glorious manhood press between her buttocks. Maybe she wasn’t so tired after all.

  “Your hair, first,” he whispered as he applied shampoo and lathered her hair.

  His strong fingers gently massaging her scalp was heavenly. It was enough to put a woman to sleep if she weren’t all too aware of how much male he was. He dipped her and cradled her head while he rinsed the suds out, then he soaped a cloth and began bathing her with slow, sensual strokes over her shoulders and back.

  Adair wrapped his arms around her, and she leaned against him as he squeezed soapy water over her breasts. The nipples budded immediately and Kaitlin felt an aching need for them to be touched, but he moved on, slipping the cloth over her belly and then softly between her legs, sliding it back and forth lightly until the throbbing that began at her very center spread itself like liquid fire through her veins. She was fairly sure that her skin was sizzling in the tepid water. And then, he kissed the nape of her neck. Her body shuddered. One of her most vulnerable spots.

  Adair laughed softly and nudged her to stand. He lifted her out of the tub and encased her in a big, thirsty towel, pulling its ends toward him, forcing her slick body against his. He nuzzled her throat. “Did ye like your bath, lass?”

  The most she could emit was a weak squeak, but he hadn’t waited for a reply. He nibbled her ear and rained butterfly kisses on her forehead, down her cheeks, and across her chin while his hands roamed her back and cupped her buttocks, pressing her even more closely to him. The towel dropped to the bearskin rug, unnoticed, as he gave her a necklace of soft, sucking kisses that were sure to leave a reminder of his passion. Kaitlin groaned in pleasure, and for one moment, those gleaming golden eyes bore into hers… and then, he kissed her.

  Perhaps kiss was an understatement. The man was making love to her mouth. He brushed her lips with his, so lightly it was almost a tickle. Then came slow, gentle kisses as if he were asking to know her. Lots of them, as though he had nothing better to do for days on end. Dear Lord. That was a thought. Enough of them to make her want more, harder and pressing. He teased her with his tongue, licking her lips sensuously, tugging her lower lip between his, sucking it. Kaitlin moaned low in her throat, her body at fever pitch, every nerve-ending tingling in anticipation. She wanted more. Much more. She wanted him to plunder her mouth, plunder her body. Oh, yes. Please.

  Adair crushed her to him, his swollen shaft jutting hard against her stomach as he obliged, deepening the kiss, thrusting his tongue inside, exploring her mouth. His lips were demanding and he slanted them on hers, first this way and then that, until Kaitlin’s mouth was hot and puffy.

  Kaitlin panted, her eyes glazed, her mind half-numb. She didn’t have much experience with kissing—her brothers wouldn’t let her alone with any man—but she was certain that all men didn’t kiss like Adair did. Her body had never felt so inflamed. She stretched on tiptoe to give Adair another kiss.

  A corner of his mouth quirked up. “I take it ye don’t mind my kissin’ then.”

  She stared at him. Mind? He was making fun of her. She felt her face flame.

  He put a finger under her chin and forced her to look at him. His golden eyes gleamed in the low lamp light. “There’s much more I want to do with ye, lass, but I’ll give ye this chance to say no. If ye say naught, I will nae stop until I’m done.”

  More? Oh, yes. She wanted this man. In every carnal way she could imagine. Not that she knew…

  Adair put his arms around her waist and drew her down on the bearskin rug with him.

  “Turn over, lass.”

  Kaitlin gave him a wide-eyed look before complying. What could he possible want with her backside?

  She was about to find out. He caressed her back with long, smooth strokes of his hand, kneading her buttocks, sliding his finger into the folds of flesh between them. Kaitlin quivered beneath his touch. How could such a strong hand be so gentle? And then she gasped as he began a slow trail of kisses down her spine, his tongue circling lazily in the indention where the curve of her back met her buttocks. Adair nipped her buttocks, lightly at first, and then more sharply, filling her with new and strange scintillation. He moved languidly down her thighs, laved the skin with his tongue, and kissed the backs of her knees. Kaitlin began to shudder. What else was he capable of?

  He kissed his way back up her spine and rolled her over, covering her mouth with his own, claiming her lust as a hand cupped a breast, the thumb and forefinger rolling the nipple gently between them. Kaitlin whimpered. Her breasts felt heavy and swollen and ached with need—and Adair was bedeviling them, flaying a nipple back and forth with one finger, then lightly pinching the other. He dipped his head and began to suckle. Kaitlin ran her fingers through his silky hair and pressed his head to her, causing him to suck harder and longer, the sensation driving deep and straight through her belly to the very core of her center.

  Adair moved downward, placing light kisses across her stomach. “Spread your legs for me, lass.”

  Kaitlin gulped and closed her eyes. So this was it. As much as she wanted him, she was scared. Would it hurt? She had heard from the serving girls in her father’s castle say that there was pain. Would he even fit?

  She lay panting, scarcely aware that Adair had slid his body upward and over hers. He nudged the thickness of his shaft into the entrance of her womanhood and entered slowly until he met the barrier of her virginity.

  “I doona want to hurt ye.” He pushed a little harder, and Kaitlin gasped. “Try to relax. ’Twill be easier for ye.”

  “I’m trying.”

  He claimed her mouth then with his own, his tongue probing deeply, demanding her attention. His lips lavished hers until she was lost again in heady sensations. He withdrew his tongue, then dipped into her mouth again. With one powerful thrust, he plunged inside her.

  The pain was sharp and searing. Kaitlin stiffened and bit her lip to keep from crying out.

&
nbsp; Adair held himself quite still, not moving inside her. “The worst is over now. Let me know when the hurting stops.”

  She took a ragged breath. The pain was receding. She was beginning to feel him. He filled her. Completely. Nerve endings she didn’t know she had came into play. An urge to feel him move inside her was overwhelming. She wiggled her hips.

  Adair grinned. “Aye, lass, I think ye’ll be a quick learner.” He began to withdraw and then penetrated her again. She gasped, this time in pleasure. He kept the strokes long and slow until her movements told him she was ready for more. Then he lost himself in her, plunging deeply.

  Kaitlin arched up to meet him. She writhed under him, legs wrapped around his, as he ground his hips against hers.

  The burning in her blood had long blazed into an inferno. Kaitlin began to tremble, the tremor starting slowly, building until it claimed her entire body. For an eternal moment, she didn’t know where her body ended and his began. They were only one.

  Adair growled low in his throat as their glistening, sweat-coated bodies strained toward fulfillment. Kaitlin was everything he had hoped she would be—and then more. The muscles in his neck and shoulders corded as he thrust one final time, feeling her contraction grab and hold him.

  They lay gasping, his shaft still inside her, their hearts still racing. Eventually, their breathing slowed and Adair slowly withdrew to turn on his side facing her, a hand lightly lifting her hair from her damp forehead.

  In the midst of her happiness, Kaitlin felt a pang of melancholy as reality returned. She had accomplished her alternative plan. Her virginity was gone. Would Adair still sell her to the sultan? If he did, she’d still have to escape. She had to find out.

  “When will we arrive in Constantinople?” she asked.

  “Not any time soon.” Adair nuzzled her neck. “Anyway, I plan to keep ye in bed with me for the whole week before we make port.”

  “A week? We were only a day out of Constantinople when the storm broke. Surely, we couldn’t have drifted that far off course?”

  “Nae, lass. We’re on course.”

  Kaitlin was confused and getting more distracted by the fact that she could feel his erection hardening again and nudging firmly against her leg. Nibbling on her neck wasn’t helping matters either.

  “Adair. You are not making sense. Why will we be out to sea for a week?”

  He cupped a breast, pinching the nipple lightly before he answered. “Because that’s as long as it will take to reach Alclud.”

  Kaitlin grabbed his hand. “Alclud? We are going back?”

  Adair grinned at her. “Nae only are we going back; I’m going to ask your father permission to pay ye court.” He hesitated. “That is, if ye’ll be willing to have me.”

  She stared at him for a long minute and then smiled slowly and wrapped one leg around his buttocks. “Why not try to persuade me that I do?”

  “Ah, lassie,” he said as rocked against her hips, “will ye be making me work this hard for everything?”

  “You can count on it,” Kaitlin answered as she ran her hand over his chest. “But right now, I think it’s time for another lesson.”

  ****

  A rapid knock on the door the next morning broke off their lovemaking. With a muttered curse, Adair went to the door.

  “This had better be good,” he said to the first mate.

  The man nodded. “We’re about to be under attack. Ye’d best come on deck.”

  MacDonnell’s schooners. They hadn’t been that far behind, and now that Adair had turned back, they’d be meeting them straight on.

  He reached the deck, half-dressed. The flagship was directly in front of him, the other two flanking him on either side. If he couldn’t talk his way out of this, both his ship and crew would be lost.

  “Has the flagman signaled yet?”

  “Affirmative,” the first mate said. “’Tis Lord Coltan that wishes to speak to ye first before they begin firing.”

  Adair breathed a sigh of relief. Once her father realized Kaitlin was unharmed…he stopped. Unharmed, maybe, but not un-violated. He had done that.

  His flagman signaled them to approach and a lifeboat was lowered, two oarsmen manning it as it approached. Both of them were fully armed.

  But that wasn’t what Adair was looking at. Coltan and his son were both in the boat, but so was his sister, Greer. Was she a hostage? Stupid of them for not leaving her on the flagship, then. He’d make sure she didn’t return with them, no matter what the cost. He’d already lost a chance for her dowry; he would not allow her to be held hostage for his own mistakes.

  As soon as Greer came on board, he swept her up in a brotherly hug and then put her behind him. He waited for the men.

  Coltan didn’t mince words. “You have my daughter?”

  Before he could answer, he heard Kaitlin behind him.

  “I am all right, Father. Mr. MacDouglas changed his mind and was returning me to you. No harm has been done.”

  Her father gathered her into his arms. “I will see you safely home from here.”

  For certes, he would. The steely glare in the man’s eyes made Adair grateful Kaitlin’s father couldn’t reach for his sword at present, but there was no doubt that he would like nothing better than to run Adair through. What had he been thinking? That he could abduct a pretty, young woman, hold her hostage on the high seas, change his mind, and then expect the father—a lord, no less—to allow him to court her? He must have been thinking with his small head. Profound desolation flooded him. He would probably never see Kaitlin again.

  Kaitlin gave him a strange look and then she turned on her brother. “Broderick. You are the one responsible for all of this. I think you have some explaining to do. How could you disgrace yourself and dishonor a young girl like this?”

  “He dinna rape me. His friends tried to.” Greer stepped out from behind her brother’s back. “Broderick saved me.”

  Adair’s mouth fell open and he closed it with a snap. Greer had been beaten, bruised and there had been blood on her leg. He’d assumed it was from a rape. She’d been in such shock, she turned mute. “But ye pointed him out to me,” he said.

  “Nae, brother,” she answered. “I tried to speak, but I couldna. I put up a good fight like ye taught me. But there were two of them. If Broderick hadna stepped in, I would have lost my virtue.” She looked up at him with soulful eyes. “We want to post Banns, Adair. Mama and Da are dead. It’s ye who will have to give permission.”

  He stared at his baby sister. Not only had there not been a rape, she wanted to marry the brother of the woman he loved. A strapping, good-looking lad who had saved his sister’s life. He couldn’t have asked for anything better, Brighid be praised. He looked at Kaitlin’s father.

  “This is right by ye?”

  Lord Coltan frowned. “My son loves Greer. I have no quarrel with their wishes. I do not much like the idea of having you in the family, though. What are you, anyway? A pirate?”

  Adair drew himself up to his full imposing height. “Nae. Never. My ancestors have been seagoing merchants for centuries. My land abuts MacDonnell’s, and is about the same size.”

  Kaitlin stared at him. “You are a laird?”

  “Aye, lass.”

  “Why did you not tell me?”

  He shrugged. “Dinna seem important.”

  She gave an exasperated sigh. He’d probably have more explaining to do when she found out about the rest of what he owned. If he had the chance to tell her. Adair turned to her father.

  “I’ll give my consent to the banns for Greer if ye’ll give consent to post them for your daughter and me.”

  “What?” Coltan turned to Kaitlin. “What is the meaning of this? He was your captor. You love this man?”

  She smiled happily. “Yes, Father, I do. Posting the banns will be the best Christmas present I ever had.” She stepped away from him and into Adair’s embrace. “If you say no, I shall never marry anyone else.”

  Adair stif
led a laugh at her father’s defeated expression. His Kaitlin, it seemed, was willing to take on anyone. He could foresee many a hardheaded clash ahead, for he was fully as stubborn as she. But he knew, too, that there would be only one way to make up for those arguments. In bed.

  He thought about all the delicious ways to do just that.

  About the Author—Cynthia Breeding

  An avid reader of anything medieval, Cynthia Breeding taught the Arthurian legends in high school for fifteen years and owns more than three hundred books on the subject. Visiting English and Scottish castles is a passion.

  Cynthia lives on the bay in Corpus Christi, Texas, with a not-at-all-spoiled Bichon who happens to have her mistress very well-trained.

  Readers can reach Cynthia at www.cynthiabreeding.com or via snail mail at 3636 S. Alameda, #B116, Corpus Christi, Texas 78411

  See more of Cynthia’s work here:

  www.prairierosepublications.com

  A Promise Kept

  Linda Carroll-Bradd

  Will opposing political beliefs and family loyalty keep the lovers apart?

  Chapter One

  1175, County Leinster, Ireland

  Tonight, Thordia Ulfsdottir would take control of her small family’s livelihood. She certainly couldn’t do any worse than her drunken older brother, Soren, had these past two years. Most important, she was tired of being hungry.

  Seated at the scarred wooden table in front of a smoky peat fire, she rubbed a soft cloth over the intricate carvings in the hilt. Meager winter light shone through the unshuttered window. Commissioned by the ruler of the nearby castle, the Earl of Kilburren, the sword was to include designs of angular shapes. Only a keen eye might spot that the subtle lines connecting the relief outlines at their bases were, in fact, runes. A silent proclamation of her family’s Viking heritage. Once Soren the Hammer had been the most accomplished sword maker in the whole of County Leinster. How could possessing such skills be valued if once he finished a piece, he refused to deliver it as a misguided form of defiance toward the Norman rulers? Dissatisfaction with those rulers and his rebel faction’s inability to dislodge them from the castle along the River Noire turned him to strong drink, thereby endangering the lives of her and her younger sister, Embla.