by Sherry Ewing
“Is something wrong?” Katherine asked, and watched the men seemingly become uneasy at her question.
“’Tis nothing you must needs worry about, Katherine,” Riorden answered honestly. “We are but looking for a missing prisoner from Bamburgh, in order that Danior remains in possession of his head.”
This time it was the women of the group who cast glances from one to the other. For the time being, they kept their mouths shut and did not offer any advice.
“I see,” Katherine said quietly.
“Let us be on our way,” Riorden called to the group, and he pulled Katherine’s hood over her head. “Hold tight, my love.”
Any further chance of talk was lost to her as Beast moved beneath her. She held on to Riorden and the pommel of the saddle to help keep her balance. As she watched the scenery pass swiftly by, with the horse picking up speed, Riorden’s term of endearment finally registered in her mind. He had called her his love. A most promising sign, for sure.
A sudden, uncontrollable shiver consumed her with the premonition she should be telling Riorden of Tiernan’s aid. First, she needed to talk with her friends alone, and she promised herself she would do so at the first available opportunity. She tightened her grip around Riorden’s waist and felt him lightly press her head to his shoulder with a gentle caress of his hand. She sighed contently and felt the gentle swaying of the animal beneath her. They rode for most of the day. In the late afternoon hours, Beast’s steady and sure-footed gait began lulling her into a state of complete sleepiness. She dismissed the small voice nagging at her inside her mind and, instead of voicing her concerns, she closed her eyes and slept.
Chapter 20
The heavy mist that had surrounded them began to lift as Katherine cried out his name. Riorden stood there with his arms crossed against his chest. An angry expression was planted firmly on his face, and he looked as if he was so disappointed in her that it shook her to her very core. She began to tremble in fear that she couldn’t make things right between them.
“You lied to me,” he said briskly.
“I can explain,” she pleaded as she tried to reach out to him. He drew back, as if he couldn’t stand to have her place her hands anywhere near his body. “Please, Riorden…”
“I do not wish to hear your explanation, Katherine. You betrayed my trust and lied to me,” he firmly voiced, yet again.
“I withheld information. There is a difference,” she said shortly. “If you would listen to me, I can account for everything.”
“I have had one lying, deceitful woman in my life,” he began gruffly. “I will not have another, no matter how I feel for you.”
“She was a fool to hurt you, but you can’t punish me for something that happened in your past and before we met,” she argued.
“Aye...I can.”
It was a simple statement that spoke volumes. He turned from her, and she felt him slipping away. “Riorden,” she cried out and saw him hesitate in furthering the distance between them. He at last turned to stare at her, and she rushed across the space separating them.
“I love you,” she whispered, ever so softly, and reached up to tenderly cup his face with her hand. He held her hand, for just a moment, until he at last let go. The burning look he gave her made her feel as if she had been scorched. Since she was obviously given no choice, she dropped her arm. It hung limply at her side while tears streamed down her face. She had hoped that by telling him her heart’s deepest desire, he would forgive her. His expression, however, didn’t change with her confession, much to her dismay.
“Sometimes, that is not enough, Katherine,” he exclaimed, voicing his displeasure.
She stood there, never taking her eyes from his. Her breath became caught in her throat with misery from the turmoil she was feeling inside. The mist returned and all but consumed his body until he disappeared in front of her eyes, much as he did when she had seen him as a ghost.
“Riorden…come back to me, my love,” she called out, but silence was the only answer to her heartfelt plea.
She stood there alone, shivering in the cold air, with the realization at what her omission had reaped. It had cost her everything. She had lost him.
* * *
Katherine jolted awake and sat up, gasping for air. Her heart was hammering so hard, she felt as if it were about to be ripped from her chest. Disoriented, she looked at her surroundings. The mound of soft moss she had been lying on made for a comfortable bed. She had no clue how she had gotten there or for how long she had slept undisturbed.
She gathered Riorden’s cloak around her. He must have given it to her, to keep her warm. She inhaled. The scent, which was all Riorden, reminded her of a rich, full-bodied, red wine and engulfed her as if he had wrapped his arms around her himself. For the most part, she was alone, with the exception of Patrick, who appeared as if he was anxious to be anywhere else than where he stood, guarding her.
She cleared her throat to gain his attention. Excitement leapt into his eyes at the prospect, she assumed, of leading her to the rest of their group, wherever that may be. She then heard the distinct sound of swords clashing. Her show of alarm and panic alerted Patrick, who came to her side to help her rise.
“Have no fear, Lady Katherine,” he said. He gathered his sword and began to escort her through the trees.
“We’re not at war?” she asked hesitantly.
He gave a boyish laugh and smiled broadly. “Nay, my lady. ’Tis but a bit of swordplay to keep us fit. I am glad you are awake so I may at last join the training.”
She gave him a tiny smile, still feeling the effects of her nightmare. “Then lead on, Sir Patrick, so we don’t delay. Far be it for me to keep you from your training.”
Her comment seemed to have the desired effect on the young man as he ushered her to only a slight distance from where she awoke. They broke through a stand of trees, causing Katherine to stop dead in her tracks at the wondrous sight before her. She rubbed her eyes, speculating whether she still dreamed…but no. There before her was a sight she never thought she would ever behold, unless it was on a movie screen. It left her feeling numb.
He was absolutely magnificent. There were just no other words to describe him. Her knees had become weak, like melted butter. They began to buckle, and she plopped down to the ground right there where she had stood. She watched the display in front of her that was all Riorden…shirtless…his muscles bulging from his workout…glistening sweat gleaming on his smooth firm chest…swinging a blade with a grin of pure pleasure that seemed to radiate from every inch of his incredible body.
Surreptitiously, she reached her hand up to her mouth, just to ensure she wasn’t embarrassing herself by having drool actually come from her lips. She was safe, at least for the moment. Still, she couldn’t take her eyes off him. Good Lord above, what a sight he was! It was not as if she had never before seen nice eye candy, as they would say in the future, of good looking men with a six pack for a stomach. But as she continued drinking in the sight of her knight, she swore Riorden must have been working on eight. There wasn’t one ounce of fat to be found on his sinewy body. She swallowed hard, just thinking of touching his skin.
Self-consciously, her hands went to her own body that was certainly on the side of curvy and not as lean as his. It made her feel insecure, and she began to wonder how she would ever be able to keep a man such as him. Katherine wasn’t going to fool herself by calling herself beautiful. She was, in her own way, she supposed, but she certainly wasn’t anywhere near model material. At least, she wasn’t some high maintenance kind of a woman, but preferred the simpler things in life to make her happy.
She moistened her lips and returned her gaze to the spectacle in front of her. In reality, she had eyes only for one. Although she had to admit, the other men who stood before her training in the small glen were just as glorious as her Riorden. If she hadn’t known better, she would have said four Greek Gods had come down to earth to tempt four young women to sin. From the lo
ok of her friends a short distance away, they were just as awestruck.
“My lady?” Patrick said, breaking the spell. “Are you unwell?”
Unwell? She was more than unwell! Unsettled, breathless, trembling with a need she hadn’t felt in many years and wishing she could run her fingers down Riorden’s resplendent body at her leisure. Or better yet, to take a dip in the pond, just the two of them, that now caught her attention. She could only imagine what Riorden would think of her if he could hear her thoughts. Lust rushed through her trembling body as she licked her lips. She was certain her face showed where her thoughts had wandered.
“Milady?”
“Huh?” she muttered and finally tore her glaze from her knight. “Sorry. What were you saying, Patrick?”
He chuckled, as if guessing what had befallen her. “Never mind,” he said, offering his hand as he helped her rise. He took his liege’s cloak from her, as if he thought it was too much of a burden for her to carry. “Lord Riorden has a fire burning, as you can see, for you and your ladies, once you are finished with your swim. They have been but waiting for you to awake from your slumber.”
She nodded, not daring herself to express any form of a response. She just knew it would come out as a jumbled mess. Instead, she made her way towards her friends, who sat in silence, watching the display that left them equally speechless.
Katherine sat down next to them and, finally, dared to look at Juliana. She reached for her hand, giving it a squeeze. “Wow,” she exclaimed, since that was all she could manage.
“That’s not the half of it as you can imagine,” Juliana said. “We haven’t even tried to form words. To do so would almost be unworthy of them.”
“Can we go swimming now?” Brianna asked impatiently.
“I wouldn’t mind a dip, either, although what I wouldn’t give for a nice chlorine filled pool right about now. I guess I’ll have to settle, since that’s obviously not an option,” Emily declared in a huff. “I feel as if I have all of nature clinging and attaching itself to my skin. I hate the great outdoors.”
They all shared a laugh, but before they could rise, Katherine leaned in to speak to the ladies in a hushed tone. “I’ve had a horrible nightmare. So, I plan on telling Riorden about our aid from Tiernan’s men. I have the feeling he may already have an idea of what’s going on, from the dead men that were left behind.”
“They can’t take him back to the king,” Emily announced shakily. “You know how they torture prisoners in this day and age, don’t you? I won’t have Tiernan subject to such a fate!”
“And I won’t have Danior lose his head,” Juliana said, just as nervously.
“Can’t we think of something else to change their minds?” Brie suggested.
“We’ll figure out some sort of alternative, but I won’t keep such information from Riorden. I have this terrible feeling it wouldn’t go well,” Katherine proclaimed.
Katherine rose, and the others followed her lead. They went to the edge of the pond, which was cast in shadows from the trees above their heads. Drying cloths had been set aside for them with some kind of rough looking soap. It was a thoughtful gesture on one of the men’s part, but Katherine could only imagine what the lye soap would do to their skin.
They all seemed to have the same idea at the same time and began digging in their respective purses. Between the four of them, they had travel size containers of shampoo and conditioner, lotion, and a nice rose scented bar of soap. It wouldn’t go far, but it would be enough to see to their needs for now.
They looked at each other and again seemed to be on the same page.
“Do you think we should?” Brie asked, as if they were conspiring to come up with some deep secret operation to overthrow the government.
“It’s relatively dark over here, and they are pretty busy,” Emily added.
“Well, I’m not swimming with all my clothes on, that’s for sure,” Katherine said, pulling her shirt over her head. She watched as the other women started to do the same. Shoes were flipped off, socks unrolled, and jeans became unzipped then thrown into a dirty pile of clothes they had been living in for days.
Juliana giggled. “Katie’s gone all commando. I don’t know how you can go without undies, sis.”
Katherine gave her a lopsided smirk and reached behind her to unclasp her bra. She twirled it around by the strap and flung it into the pile with the rest of her errant clothing. “At least I don’t have a string up my ass, Jewels,” she laughed, seeing her friend wearing a thong.
“They’re comfortable,” Juliana retorted.
Katherine laughed again. “I’ll have to take your word for it.”
She went to the edge of the pond, put her foot in to test the temperature, pinched her nose, and dove into the warm waters. She came up laughing. “Come on in! The water’s fine!”
It was all the encouragement the other women needed. “When in Rome...” Emily declared pulling her camisole off and throwing it into the pile of dirty garments. With her bra and underwear still on, she jumped into the water. She was followed by the remaining two ladies who had decided to keep their bare necessities on, as well.
It seemed as if it had been so very long since they could just let go and do something playful. Soon they began to splash each other with water, and Brianna called out Marco to the response from the others of Polo.
The women were laughing so hard and having so much fun, they didn’t realize there was no longer any sound of clashing swords ringing in the air. Instead, their merriment came to an abrupt halt, and all four women got extremely sheepish grins on their faces while they stood together waist deep in the water, stunned by what they saw on the shore.
It wasn’t every day one looked up to see four grown men and a teenager with their mouths hanging open, apparently shocked to the very core of their very medieval minds. The women glanced at one another. They should have been blushing, especially since one of them was buck naked. The other three women might as well be, considering their soaking wet pretty lace bras clung to them in a way that left nothing to the imagination. But they were, in fact, modern women, thrown into the past yet used to showing skin in their own day and age. So, instead of being embarrassed, they did the most natural thing they could think of between them, given the circumstance. They began to laugh outrageously at the hilarity of it all.
Chapter 21
Riorden closed his mouth with a snap. For the life of him, he could not see what was so funny, causing the four naked women afore them to laugh so merrily. Well…not all of them were completely nude. Nay! It had to be his lovely Katherine, showing everyone her beautiful self with all that God had graced her. His beautiful Katherine, who was completely unembarrassed whilst he gaped at her, standing there with eyes focused only on him.
She began to blush a most becoming shade of red, even as he watched her tongue peek out of her mouth. A mouth surely just begging to be kissed. She licked her lips, and it was almost more than he could bear. Finally, she had the decency to duck down into the water to cover her breasts. Those perfectly full shaped breasts he swore his hands were just itching to feel. He felt a part of him stir and come to life.
“Patrick!” he called gruffly.
“Aye, my lord?” Patrick answered, grinning from ear to ear and obviously pleased by what was on display in front of his young eyes.
“Turn!” Riorden ordered harshly.
“B-but…my lord,” the young man sputtered.
Riorden gave him a glance that brooked no disobedience, causing Patrick to reluctantly turn from the vision he had been enjoying. He began muttering underneath his breath about life being unfair until Riorden held out his hand for his cloak. It was turned over to him without further comment from the lad.
“I think we have found us some mermaids, men. Shall we join them in their play?” Aiden teased and watched as the remaining women slowly sank down into the water at his remark.
“Do not even think it,” Riorden ordered.
&nbs
p; Danior appeared to be trying to find words to describe what little clothing Juliana was wearing. ’Twas obvious he was not pleased she displayed herself as she did.
“Really, Riorden, where did you say these four enchanting creatures came from?” Gavin questioned, although he was clearly in agreement with Aiden’s suggestion.
Riorden sighed heavily. “’Tis apparent an explanation is in order. But first, I believe you three should offer your cloaks to the ladies, once I have rescued mine, who appears in more need of assistance than the others. I should add, you shall be gentlemen and aid them with your backs turned. Patrick, you go and tend the fire.”
Riorden kept his eyes on his lady, unbuckled his belt, letting his sword fall to the edge of the pond and began to wade, hose, boots and all, into the warm water. He saw how Katherine began to move further into the shadows whilst he heard the other women making their way out of the water. A brief glance told him they were gathering their garments and going out of sight to change.
He continued his advance until he came but inches of her. His cape came to rest over her bare shoulders, not that it did a lot of good, for the garment all but floated behind her. He fastened the clasp about her neck with trembling fingers. He felt clumsy and wondered how one woman could affect him so. She was so very close that he felt heat radiate between them without so much as a single touch.
“You will not reveal yourself in front of my men again, Katherine. Do you understand me?” Riorden said through clenched teeth, trying to calm his irrational mood. She gazed back at him steadily, as if she had done no wrong.
“We call it skinny dipping in my time,” she shrugged, trying to calm him with her words. “It’s not a big deal.” She reached up and began to caress his hair, as if to distract him. He felt her fingers gliding between its lengths. “It’s so soft,” she said, almost to herself.