“I’ve heard tell so will I.”
Smiling at her captivating earnestness, he touched her chin so she’d lift her gaze and he looked into the depths of her eyes. “A sweet fire, my fair Cora. There is nothing warmer than the flame of love.”
“How do you know? Have you loved before?”
“I’ve never loved any woman. Nor have I wanted a woman as I do you. All I know of love is from the poets. I’ve bedded wenches in the castle. But there has been no one like you. Until now, there has only been my dream.”
She kissed him again, her lips eager and molten soft. Finally she edged up from his lap. “I’ll go outside and wash. We’ll use my shawl on the bed. Your blanket must cover us.”
“When you return, I’ll cover you with the blanket if you wish, while I go outside too.”
“I won’t be long.” She trailed her hand away from his, picked up the water bucket as she stepped to the door and ducked into the twilight. He smiled and ate another piece of the pie, took a swig from the flask. Memories of the court rose, the candlelight from huge chandeliers, the satin sheets, the silken gowns and the ladies who wore them. Not one of those shallow women could compare to Cora.
“My prince?” She peeked around the door.
“Come in, you’ll get cold out there.” He pushed himself from the wooden bench but kept his head well bowed because of the roof. “Sit by the fire, and I’ll go out. Take a mouthful of the wine.”
Carrying most of her clothes, she edged into the room in only her shift and the glorious ripples of her hair hung loose down her back. Perfect. He’d lose himself in the beautiful shimmering copper strands that beckoned his touch, and spend the night exploring her as he claimed her. She set down her bundle and sipped the wine he offered, her lips pursed as though ready for him to kiss her again. “Here, use this for the bed.” He peeled off the blanket. Though he shivered, naked, he used the stick to support him and hopped to the door.
The cool water from the bucket, swilled over his body, put paid to any immediate longing for her. The effect wouldn’t last, not once he lay beside her, and she’d raise him swift enough. A moment of concern rose while he shook off water droplets. He’d never had a maid and wasn’t sure how to make certain he didn’t hurt her. The best way surely must be to talk to her. She’d be honest and truthful. Cora filled him with more than desire. A kind of faith in her made him want her as much for the loveliness of her face as the beauty of her body and her certitude.
He pulled the hut door shut behind him and limped to the hearth. Beyond, in the corner bed, Cora peeped over the top of the blanket she clutched to her chin. Smiling, he approached. “How do I get in?” he asked, because the bedding dipped at the least touch and his injured ankle limited his movements.
“Lie on it,” she whispered, peeling back the blanket to reveal her spread shawl. “Just lay down.”
He set the stick beside the bed and did, astonished by the way the bracken rustled beneath him and supported too. “Cora.” He reached for her. “Hold me tight or I swear I’ll fall through this and wake to find the day a dream.”
She gave a throaty chuckle. “Here, my prince.” She wrapped her arms about him and pulled him close.
“Oh, my love,” he said. “All my most precious dreams have been filled with you, and tonight you’re real. I will make you mine forever.” He bent and kissed her.
Chapter 8
He raised his lips from hers and moved back a little but kept her close in his embrace. “I don’t want you to be afraid,” he whispered into the softness of her hair. “I want you to know we can wait if you wish.”
“Wait?”
“Yes, I’ll not have it alleged I took you when I shouldn’t have done.” The words and her closeness had him hard and aching.
“My prince, I’d never say so. I want you. Even if I only lay with you this once, I want you.”
A lump rose in his throat at so much honesty in comparison to the courtly world of conniving and grasping he knew. “My love, I swear to you, I will be yours for however long life lasts. No maid has ever gifted her man more than you have—life itself, trust and honor, devotion—and all discovered in just one day. What more will I have from you our life long?”
“Whatever I can give, it will be yours.”
He bent and kissed her, and she swept him away with the passion in her response. She stroked his body, had him trembling in her arms, and as he cupped one plump breast in his palm, she shook, eyes widened. Burrowing below the blanket, he pressed a kiss on her hot stiff nipple through the fabric of her shift. Moments later, she’d tugged the garment off and cradled his head against her breasts, and he licked the luscious, fragrant satiny skin in the shadowy valley and suckled on her nipples in turn.
He sucked harder, and her moans of pleasure sent a pulse of need deep into his loins. Gently he stroked between her thighs, was thrilled by the unctuous slippery promise of her pleasure. The small bud he searched for throbbed at his first caress, and Cora gave a soft cry.
“Tell me to stop or to go on. If I go on from here I might not be able to stop,” he whispered.
“Please, yes. Go on!”
He stared at her closed eyes, her mouth open in pleasure as he stroked her and wound one hand in the silken weave of her hair at her nape. Tilting her head back, he kissed her again. Determined to bring her delight, he concentrated on rubbing her clit with his thumb. Trembling, she whispered his name. Not the formal my prince, or sire, or sir, but Randolph, warm against his throat, and his blood beat swiftly with the joy of it.
Her body glowed like a warm hearth and she quivered beneath his caresses. “Tell me what feels good, my flower?” Careful, and as gently as he could, he slid two fingers inside her and readied her for more of him. Her soft hair moved like smooth sea fronds as she tossed her head.
“Yes, there. That feels so good.” She opened her eyes. “I love you.”
A jolt of desire speared through him and he rolled above her, needing her, all of her. “I want you. Give yourself to me, my love.” He kissed her and swallowed her response, found her slick entrance with his hungry cock and lodged himself inside. She stilled, and he caught the catch in her breath as he lifted his mouth from hers. He froze, fearing he’d hurt her.
“Randolph, please. Don’t stop.”
He covered her mouth with his and moved forward inside her with a moan of pleasure. Cora hooked her thighs around his, tilted to let him go deeper and he buried himself within her.
Her nails dug into his shoulders and roused him. He pulled back a little, lifted up on his arms and looked into her beautiful gray eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Go on. It’s done now. I’d have the pleasure of you if I can.”
“On my life, my love, I’ll give you everything.” He moved, watching her all the time. She followed his lead and responded to each thrust, pulled his face down to hers and covered his mouth with hers. Her delicious heat sped his rhythm. She arched her back with a cry, and the moment she relaxed, he hit the blissful peak.
He lay over her luxuriating for a short time, then finally moved and withdrew.
“No,” she whispered.
“I’m sorry.”
“I feel alone without you.”
A surge of love rose from his chest, and lying beside her, he cradled her close. “You will never be without me. I swear it on the blood of my father.”
She pressed a butterfly soft kiss to his face and another and another. “I believe you, Randolph,” she whispered.
“Good. I will lie with you every day, I promise. You are my love.” He cupped her smooth cheek in his palm and wetness rolled against his finger. “No, don’t cry!”
“If only it could all be true.” She gave a shuddery little moan and sniffed.
“Did you think I lied so I could bed you?”
Cora wrapped her arms tighter about him and gulped. “No, sire.”
He squeezed her tight and gave her pert rump a pinch. “I don’t lie, my sweet
. You are as much my wife tonight as you will ever be. I’ll fight to the death any man who should say you are not.”
“Truly?”
“I owe you my life. You have my heart and my body longs for another taste of yours. Truly.”
Chapter 9
Cora woke in the darkness. The fire needed tending. The ache between her thighs gave a throb, and while the prince slept warm beside her, she fought to dampen the doubts he’d send her away as soon as they reached the castle.
Slowly she moved and slipped from the bed. As tender as a lover, she stirred the ashes and coaxed a new flame to the smallest wood she had. It took and ate like a greedy infant, and she added more branches. Satisfied with the little blaze, she stepped out, into the moon-glossed night and laved her tender parts with water.
“Cora!” He stood naked, a stark white shape in the entrance to the hut. “Come in, please. I thought I’d lost you.”
Smiling, she returned to his embrace. “I merely went to wash.”
“Don’t leave me like that again, please.”
She nestled beside him in the flower-scented bed. “Never.”
* * * *
Light from the open door woke her. Randolph met her gaze with a smile and kissed her.
“I’ve waited an age for you to wake. The dawn is risen and it’s a beautiful day.”
“You’ve been out already?”
“Yes, I made you a gift.”
Her mouth quivered and she couldn’t speak. Instead she pressed a kiss to his lips. “Let me rise and dress and then you can tell me about it.”
Randolph caught her about the waist and hugged her. “I’ll show you it now.” He leaned across the bed beyond her, reached down to the floor and rose with a flower circlet in his hand. “This is for you.”
She blinked. Tiny dog roses, berry clusters, seed heavy grasses, the last of the lavender blooms small and bright, white heather too, and all wrapped into a circlet with ivy and laurel.
“You made this?”
“Yes, it’s like a bride’s. Get up, dress. We shall be on our way and when I get you home, you will have so much more.”
She lifted the circlet and sniffed the sweet fragrance. “I’ll never want more than this, sire.” His frown surprised her. “What’s wrong?”
The corner of his lip tilted toward a smile. “What is my name?”
A fierce heat rose to her cheeks. “Randolph,” she whispered.
“Then call me such, my love.”
“Right you are.” She shoved back the blanket, reached down for her shift tossed away so fast last night, and all the time she trembled at his slow perusal of her naked body.
“You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I wish we could spend the day here together.” His dark eyes glowed with warm amber depths. Convinced last night’s wine still coursed in her veins, she traced a fingertip against his lips. He embraced her, bent his head and took her lips with his.
When he released her mouth, she slowly took off the flower headdress and pulled the linen shift over her head. “We can’t stay here, Randolph. We must get you to the castle. And thank you.” His gaze met hers along with his smile. “Thank you for my gift. I have never been given a more beautiful present.”
“Then, my love, you should have been.” He rose and grabbed his stick, tugged the blanket off the bed, shook it out and leisurely draped it around himself.
She took a deep breath on looking at him as she put on her skirt and bodice. He was hers, all of him, and she trembled at the enormity of their newly made love, of what she’d done and the things he’d said. Her fingers fumbled as she tried to lace the bodice tight.
“Let me,” he said, and with the stick under his arm for support, he took the laces. Once he’d knotted them, he bent and pressed a kiss on her breasts. “Perfect,” he murmured.
The day stilled until he let her go. She took her hair thongs from her boots and slipped them on then reached to the bracken bed and peeled her shawl off it. She spun the fabric until the shawl had rolled tight, and even though his gaze lingered, wrapped it around, covering the tops of her breasts. Quickly, she ran her fingers through the tangles in her hair and made two loose tied plaits. “I’ll pack what’s left of the food in the bag and then we should go… Randolph.”
He beamed a dazzling smile and placed the flower circlet on her head. “I think we should take the bracken out and scatter it. I don’t want to leave it here to decay.” He glanced around the room. “We will return here sometime, and I’d like it to be as it was when I first saw it.”
“Very well. Rest your foot. I’ll do it.”
Once she’d scattered the bracken into the undergrowth, she returned to help him out of the hut. They doused the last of the fire in the hearth and set off, Randolph with one arm draped around her, hobbling with the stick.
Chapter 10
“Oh, my.” Cora’s whisper, though sweeter of phrase, echoed his thought as they rounded a bend. The tremor had made a hefty mark here. Part of the path dove into a deep crack in the ground.
He squeezed her shoulder. “I don’t know what we might find in the castle or your village.”
Her dark gaze met his, eyes widening. “I’ve never heard tell of an earthquake this bad.” She raised her hand to her mouth.
“I know. We’ll go to the castle first. You will be safe there.”
“What about my aunt?”
“I will send men to the village to help them if they need it. They will be able to find your family and tell where you are. I’ll not lose you.” He assessed the pathway and found the best way past the gaping gash in the ground. “That way,” he finally said and nodded to the right hand side. “Listen.” He pointed toward the trees. “Starlight?”
The distinct whiffling neigh of a horse reached him.
“Look. There among those trees. It is him.”
He grinned and whistled a call in the hope the gelding had gotten over its terror. Several seconds passed until the horse approached. “Here, boy.” He held out his hand and the horse came closer, allowing him to stroke along the arch of its neck and take hold of the bridle. “The answer to a prayer. Can you ride, Cora?”
“I’ve not ridden in years.”
“Well, today you will. Can you help me up?”
She bent, cupped her hands. Keeping a good hold on the bridle, he tried to keep as much weight off his injured foot as he could and used her hands for a step with his good leg. Huffing and puffing, he hauled himself onto Starlight’s back then leaned down. “Grab my arm.” He lifted her and swung her behind him. “Steady. Are you on?”
“Yes, sire.”
He glanced over his shoulder. “Put your arms around me and hold me.” She did. “Tighter.” He smiled at her squeeze. “What’s my name?”
“Randolph.” The wicked little grin he’d discovered yesterday appeared, rounding her cheeks.
“Good. I’ll see if I can coax him into a trot once we get past this hole. Hold tight.”
Though it had to be the most damn uncomfortable ride of his life with no saddle and wearing the horse blanket, Cora’s arms around him made up for everything else. Starlight trotted slowly on as they got to a clear section of pathway. From here the view down toward the castle appeared. “The tower?”
Cora hitched her chin onto his shoulder as he slowed Starlight. “It’s crooked.”
The castle’s main tower, where all the state rooms were housed, leaned like a drunk against a wall. “We have to hurry. I need to find out if fate has made me king four months early.”
“People must be hurt.”
“Yes.”
He urged the horse forward. The view of the castle deepened his concerns. The small forms of guardsmen identifiable by their green and silver tunics stood on the castle’s curtain wall.
“I wish we could see my village from this part of the ridge.”
He nodded. “Don’t fear, we will do what we can once we get to the castle. I’ll send men to your village I promise, but
you are staying with me.”
She rested her head against his bare shoulder. Her cheek warmed him. He urged the horse on again. They needed someone in charge down in the castle. Could Owen be dead? A thrill flashed through him. Was it possible since the quake began he’d gained two precious things in his life? The woman he loved and the chance to govern the kingdom. So much needed to be done, and if Owen no longer stood in his way, he’d be glad to start his reign a few months before he might have done. Surely, there’d be no suggestion of another regent, not this close to his coming of age. “I’ll not have another so called guardian foisted on me.”
“What?”
He turned his head. “I want to take the throne in my own right, that is, if Owen is dead.”
“Of course, you should.”
“I’ll expect you to help me.”
She pressed her lips to his neck and he shivered at the touch.
“I’ll do everything I can to help you.”
With her words, he cupped one palm over hers where she hugged him and relaxed. For the first time, true manhood beckoned. “We’ll be so good together. You will be the best consort any king could have.”
Chapter 11
Starlight, scenting home perhaps, picked up his pace down the steep descent from the Ridgeway. Randolph assessed the landscape. The buildings seemed to have suffered most. There would be much repair work to do. The forest would provide the timber eventually, once the fallen trees were brought back and the wood seasoned. Until then, the people would need shelter.
A little further down the road they came to a group of villagers with a hand cart loaded high.
“My love, do you know any of those folk?”
“No. They aren’t from my village. Maybe they come from Westwick.”
He slowed the horse as they drew nearer to the group. “Where are you from?”
“Trevare. Everything is gone. We hope to find help in the castle,” a woman with an infant in her arms called out. “They will help us, won’t they?”
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