Aye… damned.
The shoes and hose came off, yanked off by Chad in his lust. His hands slithered up her shift, coming into contact with her hot, silken flesh, and Alessandria shivered violently as he touched her. Her nipples grew hard, like pebbles, and Chad ripped the shift over her head, his heated mouth descending on her peaked nipples. He suckled powerfully as she writhed and bucked, groaning, uncertain and unfamiliar with his touch but loving it all the same.
She was too drunk to be frightened.
And Chad was too drunk to realize he was about to deflower the woman. All he knew was that his attraction to her was stronger than anything he had ever known. He was numb to his sense of reason and as he suckled on her breasts, he began to fumble with his breeches. He was still in a mail coat, which made things difficult, and when the thing got in the way of him cleanly removing his breeches, he rolled off the bed with a grunt of frustration and bent over at the waist, pulling the mail off as fast as he could.
Fortunately, he was an expert at pulling on and removing mail, so it came off with some ease, as did the padded tunic beneath it. But he still had his breeches and boots on, and he leapt back onto the bed where Alessandria was still pressed down into the mattress, and wedged himself between her legs.
His mouth came down on hers, kissing her with passion that left him breathless, as his fingers gently stroked the dark curls between her legs. She gasped at his touch, unaccustomed to it, but her hands were entwined in his hair, holding his mouth to hers. She was rapidly becoming adept at matching him kiss for kiss, his tongue snaking into her mouth as she mimicked his actions. She liked it very much and her heated body was responding to his touch as if she’d been doing it all her life. When he inserted a finger into her wet sheath, gently, she groaned and lifted her hips. It was as if her body knew what her mind did not. Crazed with lust, Chad shoved his breeches down to his knees and thrust into her.
The pain of his entry was unexpected and Alessandria bit off a cry, biting her hand, as he took two more thrusts to fully embed himself in her tight body. Pressed down into the mattress with his weight on top of her, she felt smothered and fearful, but the moment he began to move, measured thrusts in and out of her body, she began to feel the thrill of his body buried in hers.
Something magical was happening.
Alessandria groaned as he moved in and out of her, his mouth to her neck and his hand to her breast, kneading and pulling at the nipple, exciting her beyond reason. The feelings he was stirring within her made her want to open her legs wider for him, and she did. Chad must have felt her relax beneath him because he fell atop her, shifting so he was mostly lying next to her as his hands grasped her tender buttocks, thrusting into her with measured power. There was something so natural and beautiful about this coupling, as wrong as it was, all of it conducted in a drunken haze, but there was no mistaking the true emotion and attraction that drew them together.
As if it was always meant to be.
Wine gave Chad tremendous stamina and he was able to maintain an erection for several long minutes, using that heated manhood to thrust so hard that he rattled Alessandria’s teeth. Alessandria, in turn, clung to him, her hands in his hair, on his shoulders, touching his face as if to convince herself of what was happening between them. It never even occurred to her that they shouldn’t be doing this; that their actions were so very wrong in the eyes of God and of society, but nothing this wonderful could ever be wrong. Chad was touching her as only he could, making her feel things she never imagined he could.
The moment was pure magic.
The beauty of her first climax came upon Alessandria swiftly, unfurling through her body and causing her legs to tremble. Feeling her tremors start, Chad thrust hard and released himself deep into her tender body. Even after his release, he continued to move and continued to thrust, grinding his hips against hers, causing her to climax again. That only made him lusty again and in little time, he was hard once more and continued making love to her.
That went on three more times into the night until Alessandria fell into a heavy sleep and Chad passed out on top of her.
CHAPTER NINE
“He should not be riding,” Daniel said. “The man is barely able to remain conscious. Leave him here, Torran. We will take good care of him.”
Torran sat atop his big black rouncey in the bailey of Canterbury, listening to Daniel’s pleas. He turned around to look at de Garr, who was sitting on his horse unsteadily. De Poyer and d’Vant were on either side of the man, making sure he didn’t fall, but this was with the horse not even moving. Torran wasn’t entirely sure what was going to happen when the beast actually started to move.
“We will see to him,” he said to Daniel. “Once we reach London, Henry’s physics will tend him.”
Daniel could see that Torran was being standoffish, as well he should be. Daniel had permitted his son to depart from Canterbury with the lady the day before and wouldn’t tell Torran where Chad had gone. More than that, he’d kept Torran and his men locked up for the entire night, only releasing them in the morning when Chad was too far away to track. It was natural for Torran to be annoyed, and worse, for being denied his quarry, but Daniel had no regrets. He’d done what was necessary to give his son the best chance of escaping Henry’s men.
“De Garr is too ill to ride,” Daniel stressed. “If he falls off that horse, he could do worse damage and you know it. Stop being so stubborn about this. Leave him here until he is at least well enough to ride by himself.”
Torran wasn’t budging. “No need,” he said. He’d long since stopped addressing Daniel as “my lord”. “We will be in London in a day or two.”
“You are being foolish about this.”
“And you should not be so concerned for someone your son nearly killed.”
Daniel sighed heavily. “You were the one who drew your weapon first, Torran. It was not I,” he reminded him. “What my sons and I did was to defend ourselves and well you know it. We have been through this conversation before. Did you really think we would not meet violence with violence? Did you really think we would simply let you hold us captive and not react?”
Torran’s jaw ticked. “We were acting on order from Henry, a man that I thought you also supported,” he said. “I can see that I was mistaken. Be assured that Henry will know of the mistake as well.”
Daniel wasn’t going to be intimidated. “Do as you must,” he said. “But you know as well as I do that telling Henry the House of de Lohr is no longer loyal to him will create more chaos than he can adequately handle. How do you think Henry will react if he thinks my entire family has turned on him? Do you think that will help him? Of course it will not. Therefore, when you tell him of this incident, tell him the truth – that you tried to take the lady by force and were summarily beaten back. The House of de Lohr always protects family, and that innocent woman you tried to abduct is family. It has nothing to do with failing to support Henry.”
Torran was growing increasingly upset. “Paint this situation any way you please, but the truth is obvious,” he said. “The Earl of Canterbury is siding with the Lords of Thunder, and the Lords of Thunder side with de Montfort.”
Daniel shook his head in disgust. “If that is all you see, then you are a fool,” he said. “Get off my property. Go back to Henry and tell him your lies. If he wants the truth, I will be more than happy to discuss it with him.”
With that, he turned away from Torran and headed over to the group that had gathered near the entrance to the keep to watch him deal with Henry’s unhappy men. Stefan, Perrin, Chris, Arthur, and William were there as well as de Russe and du Bois, all of them watching Daniel as he dismissed Henry’s Six from Canterbury.
As the group thundered from the gatehouse, trying to keep de Garr in the saddle, Daniel approached the host of young and talented knights. He was feeling some disappointment in the situation in general but mostly for the sake of the young knights. If Henry attacked, they would be on the front lin
es. It was a sad thought, indeed.
“He will tell Henry that we have betrayed him,” he said, scratching his head in a resigned gesture. “I am not entirely sure what will happen now, but we may find ourselves on the wrong end of Henry’s sword.”
That was a sobering thought for the young knights. They all looked at each other, various stages of concern on their faces at Daniel’s words.
“Henry would not do that to you, Papa,” Perrin said, ever the optimist. “He needs you too much.”
Daniel smiled thinly. “Mayhap,” he said. “Remind me to tell you of the time I openly defied Henry. It was when I was courting your mother, well before you were born. Henry issued a direct order that I ignored. For years, I ignored it until one day I happened to come across Henry and that very situation came up through conversation.”
Daniel’s sons had never heard of this instance, which was unusual. Daniel often spoke of his past great deeds which, they suspected, were told in a much more grandiose fashion by their father than what actually happened. Therefore, for him to mention disobeying the king – and not having told them about it before – was something of a surprise. It would have been much more like Daniel to have gloated about it.
“What was this order, Papa?” Stefan asked, curious. “What happened?”
Daniel thought back to that time, thirty years ago, when he had been a young man very much in love. His thin smile turned genuine. “Henry wanted your mother to marry someone else,” he said. “I killed the man and ignored the order. Of course, there is more to it than that and mayhap someday I will tell you all of it, but know that I loved your mother so much that I was not unwilling to kill for her. Years later, when Henry asked me about the man who had been betrothed to your mother, I feigned ignorance of the entire situation. What good would it do to tell him that I killed his nephew?”
That drew a strong reaction from the young knights. “You killed Henry’s nephew?” Stefan said, aghast. “Papa, why are we just hearing about this now?”
Daniel snorted. “Because I meant that you should,” he said. “What happened with Henry’s nephew happened a long time ago. Bramley was his name but you will never repeat that, do you hear? It was all in the course of a very bitter struggle. Mayhap I am simply not ready to relive those days yet. Someday, but not yet. Still… I always suspected that Henry knew what had happened. I am not sure how he knew, but I think he did. Therefore, as far as him needing me… it is possible that he needs me simply because I am part of the de Lohr war machine. It would not do for him to punish me and weaken the House of de Lohr. He needs us, especially now.”
He effectively put an end to their questioning about his past, but they were awed by the revelation. It was clear they wanted the details of this great and terrible deed but no one would push him. Daniel had told them all he would, for the time being. But there was more in his message, something that they were coming to understand. It wasn’t merely about his behavior; it was how Henry had reacted to it.
And, to him.
“And that is how you look upon this situation?” Stefan asked. “That Henry will not punish you for what happened here because he needs you?”
“I am counting on that.”
It made sense to all of them but still, Stefan continued. “It is not the king I worry about, truthfully, but Edward,” he said. “Henry’s son is the battle lord. He may very well bring his army down on us to punish us and Henry would look the other way.”
Daniel shrugged. “It is possible,” he said. “But I have to believe that with everything Henry is dealing with at this moment, he may find some doubt in Torran’s assessment that the House of de Lohr has turned against him. I would expect a missive from Henry before I’d expect his army. Still, the seed of doubt may be planted and that could be problematic.”
It was troubling to think that the future for the House of de Lohr had become particularly uncertain. It was bad enough that Henry was bent on vengeance against those who supported de Montfort, but now the potential of the House of de Lohr being targeted as well brought great unease within the young de Lohr men. In spite of what Daniel said about Henry be unwilling to punish him, still, there was always the possibility that Daniel could be wrong.
“Edward is a friend,” Chris said. “I fought with him at Evesham. I have known him for years. I cannot believe he would know de Serreaux’s words to be true. He could not believe that we have all turned against the crown.”
Daniel shrugged. “Time will tell,” he said, looking at his nephews. “If I were you, I would return home to your father. Tell him what has happened so he knows. Tell him that I will send him word if I hear anything more, or if anything happens.”
The three sons of Curtis de Lohr nodded, hugged their cousins farewell, and headed off to the keep to bid farewell to Liselotte and Veronica. Daniel stood with his remaining sons and two knights, watching his cousin’s sons as they went about their business. The mood that had settled was somber and uneasy, for all of them.
“I fear the situation may be worse for Curtis,” Daniel finally said. “He has done nothing wrong yet he will suffer by our actions. He has the bigger army and greater holdings. He has more to lose.”
Stefan looked at his father. “Do you believe it will really come to that?”
Daniel shrugged. “As I said, it is difficult to know,” he replied. Then, he cocked his head thoughtfully. “Unless, of course, I am able to get word to Henry before Torran can speak with him. Mayhap if I explain the situation and reaffirm that the House of de Lohr stands behind the crown, he will dismiss Torran’s assessment of the situation.”
Stefan and Perrin liked that idea very much. “Our messenger will be able to move faster than Torran and his men since they are traveling with de Garr,” Perrin said eagerly. “The man will not be able to travel very well or very fast, and our man could easily bypass them. Shall I send for a messenger, Papa?”
Daniel thought on that a moment longer before nodding his head. “Aye,” he replied. “The more I think on it, the more I think I should. At least this way, Henry will hear what has happened from my own lips. I will go and write the missive immediately. Send the messenger to me.”
With that, the five of them separated. Daniel headed into the keep while Stefan and Perrin moved to the troop house to hunt down a messenger. De Russe and du Bois went on their way to the gatehouse, as they had duties to attend to.
From the somber mood of only moments earlier, the simple fact that Daniel intended to send a missive to the king about the circumstances surrounding Chad’s escape with the de Shera girl made the men feel as if the situation weren’t entirely hopeless. Perhaps Henry wouldn’t declare them enemies, after all.
But that remained to be seen.
He’d awoken with his breeches around his knees, his boots on, and no memory of how he got that way.
Chad had awoken with a splitting headache, lying in this very odd position in a bed he didn’t recognize. It was dark, telling him that it was still at some point in the night, but he could also hear birds outside of his window. Birds usually awoke before dawn. Now, he had a better sense of time but still no idea where he was or how he had gotten there.
Very concerned, not to mention puzzled, he moved his head slightly to get a better idea of where, exactly, he was, and he caught sight of a sleeping figure on the other side of the bed. Turning his head a little more, he could see the back of Alessandria’s dark red head as she faced away from him, sleeping soundly. She had a coverlet wrapped up around the lower portion of her body where she had pulled it up from the sides, but her back and naked buttocks were facing him.
The sight of her nude flesh caused him a good deal of shock. Coupled with the fact that he was lying in bed with his breeches half-off, he could only come to one conclusion no matter how hard he tried to think of another explanation. Wracking his brain, he tried to recall the previous night but memories were slow to come. He remembered arriving at Bexley Manor and he remembered telling Lady du Bexley
that his brothers weren’t married. There was a good deal of food and even sweets. Did someone ask him to sing a song? He had a recollection of perhaps singing a tune, but after that, he didn’t remember a bloody thing until this very moment.
He turned his head all the way to his right so he could get a full view of Alessandria as she softly snored next to him. Even though it was still dark outside, the fire in the hearth provided some light in the room, easily enough to see by. He could see the gentle curve of Alessandria’s back in the firelight and a hint of her pale buttocks. He simply lay there a moment, feeling himself grow hard simply looking at her, and he knew that he’d taken the woman even though he couldn’t remember it. His body was reacting to her nudity. Even if he did not remember, his body clearly did.
He wasn’t sure how he felt about it even though he knew he had feelings for her; he’d known that for some time. There was an attraction between them that he couldn’t deny and somehow, someway, the wine had gotten to him last night and his inhibitions had been lifted. He could only pray that she had been receptive to whatever it was he’d done because if she hadn’t been, that would be an entirely new set of problems. He could only pray he hadn’t been horrid and beastly.
He already felt ashamed and uncertain, even as he rolled out of bed, carefully, and used the chamber pot. He was ashamed and uncertain of his actions, of his behavior, knowing he should have been more careful with his wine intake because he was well aware that he became drunk easily. Drunkenness led to uninhibited behavior. His tunic and mail were in a pile on the floor, undoubtedly where he’d ripped them off in his lust, and he pulled them back on in silence. All the while, he kept his gaze on the bed where Alessandria lay.
She was sleeping like an angel, her luscious hair draped over her shoulders, breathing the deep, easy breaths of contentment. Chad stood there a moment and watched her, feeling his heart swell with emotions that were difficult to grasp. He’d known many women in his life and he’d been fond of a few, but not like this. Never like this. He remembered thinking that he’d not married because he hadn’t found a worthy candidate yet, wishing Alessandria could be that candidate. After what he’d done last night, he suspected he wouldn’t have a choice in marrying the girl now.
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