Lady Danger (The Warrior Maids of Rivenloch, Book 1)

by Glynnis Campbell

  At last she calmed, though her breath still came in half-gasps, half-moans that gave voice to his own silent longings.

  He wished to take his time with her. He wished to make love to her slowly, patiently, the way she deserved. But the nights of unrequited lust would not allow such leisure. He’d be gentle with her, aye, but his need was great. And imminent. He wouldn’t last long. Not with the way her womb enveloped him. And not with the way her eyes fluttered open at that moment, revealing in their indigo depths both satisfaction and desire.

  Trying to keep the intensity of his craving contained, he held himself up on his elbows and cupped the sides of her head, stroking her velvety cheek with his thumb.

  “I didn’t wish to hurt you,” he whispered.

  Her eyes glittered, not with tears, but with courage.

  “The pain will pass,” he said, “I vow.”

  His gaze fell upon her irresistible mouth, so full, so pink, and he lowered his head to taste her. Her lips were warm and soft and accepting. Gradually she answered his kiss and initiated her own, tilting her head and lapping timidly at his mouth. He wondered if she liked the salty-sweet taste of her sex upon him.

  Slowly, carefully, he withdrew from her, tensing his jaw against the exquisite friction, then pressed inside again. She gasped in wonder, echoing his awe. It was wholly divine, the way her body embraced him. He retreated briefly, then plunged forward once more.

  This time she groaned, a low sound of pleasure that drove him to new heights of passion. Unable to resist the natural rhythm of desire, he eased back and advanced more urgently now, savoring her sultry moans almost as much as the sheer euphoria of her flesh caressing his.

  His blood pumped too fast. His lust rose too quickly. Too soon he felt his loins tighten, eager to spill their seed. And then, by some miracle, Deirdre was gasping in tandem, catching up with him on her own steed of desire. When she threw her legs about him, squeezing his buttocks in ardent demand, her body lurching with release, it was his utter undoing.

  Like a pinecone exploding upon the fire, his body seemed to burst into a hundred bright sparks. The heat was excruciating, unbearable. Yet he craved its purifying fire. Where they joined, it felt they fused. Every spasm of ecstasy they shared, like two riders on one beast. He cried out in joy and terror, for never had he joined so completely with another. His loins reveled at the sweet relief, aye, but his rapture ran far deeper.

  Deirdre was his. At last. He’d fought hard for her and won. She trembled beneath him like a conquered rival fallen to the earth, breathless, beaten, subdued.

  And yet his triumph was a two-edged sword. Even as he loomed over her in victory, shuddering with the vestiges of passion, he became ruefully aware that his beautiful warrior, his magnificent bride, now possessed him as well.

  The first fiery spear of sunlight pierced the misty morn, igniting the needles of pine and fir, and lodging in the moss-mottled wall of the stable.

  Deirdre took note of the dawn, absently sweeping her sword through the air, then returned to her restless pacing before the tiltyard gate.

  He was late.

  It was bad enough that she felt uneasy about addressing Pagan today after the unsettling intimacies they’d shared last night. But for him to delay that confrontation made her even more anxious and led her to dangerous introspection.

  What if their relationship had changed?

  She swung her sword along the ground, decapitating a dandelion.

  What if he deemed her surrender in bed proof of his dominance?

  She bit her lip.

  What if he faced her today with the smug condescension of a conquering foe?

  She wheeled about so violently that she stumbled over her own feet, catching herself against the gate. She immediately pushed off in irritation, glancing furtively about for witnesses.

  What troubled her most, what quickened her pulse and made her fists work like a maid’s at milking, was the realization that their relationship had indeed changed, but in ways she’d never foreseen. As incredible as it seemed, when she’d awakened this morn to the wreckage of their tryst—the cool bath, the lumps of melted candle wax, the rumpled bedlinens—the rush of memory that washed over her had been anything but regrettable.

  Indeed, those recollections had been most pleasurable as she gazed upon Pagan, slumbering in deceptive innocence beside her. Her heart fluttering, she’d feasted on the sight of his tousled hair, his sensual mouth, his stubbled jaw, his open hand. Her bare thigh had brushed his and, like metal upon flint, sparked a tingling heat that swept through her whole body quicker than wildfire. Aye, she knew her enemy now, thoroughly. Knew him...and desired him.

  It was an awful coil, one that left her recklessly vulnerable. For Pagan knew her weakness now. It was him. And if he realized how easily she could be vanquished, how readily she could be controlled...

  She let out a shuddering sigh. She mustn't let him find out. She must appear to be unaffected by what had transpired last night. She must act as if they’d never kissed or touched or, God help her, shared their bodies.

  She sliced a sunbeam in half with her blade, spun, and lunged a few times, trying to focus on anything but the magnificent Norman who’d kissed her so sinfully and filled her with his seed. And his power. And his love. Whisked her to heaven in his arms...

  “You’re early.”

  Deirdre gasped, nearly tripping over her sword. There stood the man himself, dressed in a blue surcoat and braies, handsome and golden, as resplendent as the dawn. By the Rood, her memory hadn’t done him justice. Had she truly surrendered to this Adonis last night? Had she lain, mouth to mouth, breast to chest, flesh to naked flesh, with that splendid body?

  Feeling the blood rush to her face, she forced her gaze away, examining the hilt of her blade as if she’d never seen it before. “You’re late,” she managed to choke out.

  He chuckled softly, a sound that curled seductively around her ears. “I indulged in a very potent sleeping draught last night.”

  Her glance was drawn upward, catching his suggestive smile. Her cheeks grew hot, and her heart raced. Lord, he was irresistible. His sleepy grin was enchanting. The ribald flicker in his eyes beguiled her. Even the careless riot of his hair caused a thrill of lusty memory to course through her veins. Faith, how would she ever manage to conceal her attraction to him?

  Distraction, she decided. Anything to take her mind off of him. And the best distraction was sparring.

  There was just one problem. He obviously hadn’t come to fight. “You have no armor.”

  He shrugged. “No time. But that’s all right. I can defend myself well enough to spar.” Then he narrowed his eyes at her with feigned reservation. “Unless you intend to strike to kill.”

  Smiling weakly, she shook her head. She was only lightly armed herself, wearing but a mail hauberk over her gambeson. She sliced a challenge in the air between them. “Shall we?”

  Unsheathing his weapon, he opened the gate to the tiltyard for her, murmuring as she passed, "Are you sore today?"

  Blood rushed to her cheeks. He was a knave to ask such a thing. Aye, there was a faint ache between her legs, but...

  "Did the massage help?"

  She blinked. Her muscles. Of course. He meant her muscles. Instantly contrite, she mumbled, "Aye. Thank you."

  Lord, it was going to be a challenge to keep her mind focused.

  Contrary to her expectations, rather than distracting her from wayward thoughts, battling with Pagan brought them into sharper relief. Never had she realized how like the act of mating sword fighting was—advancing, retreating, withdrawing, thrusting. Pagan fought much as he coupled, with passion and skill and patience. He moved with easy grace, and yet wasted no motion. Every grunt, every lunge, every thrust reminded her of their tumultuous joining. Soon, despite the residual ache between her thighs, despite the wrongness of place and time, despite her determination otherwise, her desire warmed as quickly as her blood.

  CHAPTER 23

/>   Ravishing him was not a conscious decision on her part.

  Indeed it started innocently enough.

  The tip of her sword caught on his sleeveless surcoat and slashed the shoulder through, leaving the garment sagging.

  “Pah!” He threw his hands up in mock displeasure. “‘Tis my best surcoat, damsel,” he growled. But despite the vexed shake of his head, there was amusement in his eyes as he engaged her again.

  Her heart racing at the impulsiveness that suddenly seemed to possess her, she attacked him again, this time ripping the opposite shoulder. With only his leather belt to hold it up, the surcoat drooped from his chest, exposing the linen shirt beneath.

  “What!” he exploded in surprise, reeling backwards. “My lady, what do you—“

  Before he could finish, she slipped her sword betwixt the laces of his undershirt and sliced them open. The shirt slid from his shoulders, catching below his elbows. Then, while he stood in open-mouthed awe, she swept his sword away with her blade, sending it clattering against the fence.

  Breathless with her own aberrant daring, she rested the point of her blade against his chest, his magnificent chest, and prodded him back one step, two.

  He frowned warily. “Damsel, what is it you—“

  ”Go,” she said, her voice strangely hoarse. “Into the stable.”

  Hampered by what was left of his shirt, he nonetheless raised his hands in a gesture of concession, reminding her all too vividly of his surrender to her explorations last night. Step by step, her heart cantering in her throat, she backed him through the stable doorway, all the while questioning her own sanity.

  The sweet scent of fresh hay and the shadows of the stable interior welcomed and inspired her. Her heart began to pound against her ribs, and the womanly core of her seemed to throb in synchronous anticipation.

  He must have read her intentions in her eyes, for he let out a shudder that was half groan, half sigh as she backed him against the stable wall.

  Her breath coming feverishly, she pinned him with her sword in one hand and used the other to reach for his belt buckle. He clenched his jaw as a flick of her wrist unbuckled the leather. His surcoat fell away, but his undershirt yet bound his arms. She cast her sword aside, and the blade clattered against the stall, eliciting a soft whicker from one of the horses. Then she seized the linen of his shirt in both fists and tore it in two.

  “Ah, wife,” he sighed, his eyes growing liquid.

  But her mood was far from tender. The fighting had stirred her blood. It was impossible to tame the wild currents raging inside of her.

  “On your back,” she gasped, pushing at his chest with the flat of her palm.

  He staggered, collapsing onto a mound of straw. Then, rising up on his elbows, his clothing in shreds, his chest heaving, he riveted her with a stare of raw lust.

  All the breath deserted her, and the air quivered with tension. Acting on pure instinct, she knelt before him, scrabbling at his braies, tearing them away to free the handsome beast within.

  Her own garments thwarted her. She couldn’t remove her hauberk quickly enough. With a cry of frustration, she struggled to loosen her swordbelt, but her desperate fingers fumbled at the task.

  His hands took over, and he tossed the belt aside. Then she tried to work her arms out of the hauberk.

  “Never mind,” he bid her. “Just lift it up.”

  She gathered the chain mail in her arms, hefting its considerable weight, and Pagan reached beneath and swiftly rent her linen trews, the last barrier between the two of them.

  Deirdre could wait no longer. Her blood was afire. Her skin craved his touch. Her loins ached with need. She straddled him and lunged forward, impaling herself on his swollen cock.

  “Ah!” he cried out, arching his head back as if she’d mortally stabbed him.

  Her mouth fell open in wonder. There were no words to describe the rapture of their union, the heady triumph of command as she held him there, then her unfettered bliss as she initiated the motion of coupling, rocking to a current as old as the sea.

  The links of her chain mail jangled with every thrust, like a timbrel accompanying their tempestuous dance. Her blood, already warm from battle, simmered now like lava in her veins. The exquisite friction of his flesh within hers made her swell with insurmountable yearning. A strange buzzing began in her ears, rising in volume and power, encircling her in sensual music, a portent of euphoria to come.

  He braced his palms on her shoulders as she sat astride him, trying to slow her. “I can't...wait...” he gasped.

  Why he wished to wait, she didn’t know. She wanted him now. She seized his wrists and forced his arms back, plunging forward and trapping his hands in the straw beside his head.

  This seemed to upset him more. “Ah, God, wench!” His eyes darkened with helpless lust. “Ah, God!”

  But she didn’t care. This was her tryst. Today she’d have delicious vengeance. Today she was his master.

  Her chain mail pooled upon his chest now, undulating in waves of increasing speed. He squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head aside. His jaw clenched, as if he tried to stem the inevitable tide. Deirdre, however, kept her eyes open. She wanted to witness his defeat, his surrender, his humbling.

  A drop of sweat dripped from the tip of her nose onto his cheek, and suddenly his body froze. Beneath her hands, his fists tightened, and a grimace of intense agony twisted his face. The sweet sight catapulted her own passions beyond redeeming. And as he arched and thrust and bellowed with his release, she followed him victoriously into the violent melee.

  Moments later, spent, Deirdre sprawled stop him, listening to his slowing heartbeat, awash in feelings she scarcely understood. Aye, she felt powerful. And dominant. And smug. But she hadn’t won vengeance, and she never would, for she discovered the triumph of lovemaking was not hers alone. It was a triumph they shared, like two well-matched opponents whose every battle was destined to end in victory for both. It was a curious thing.

  “You’ve slain me, my lady,” he murmured in exhaustion.

  She smiled. “Nay. I can still hear your heart beating.”

  “Aye, my heart beats for you. But I assure you, the rest of me is dead.”

  Her smile broadened. “I know a way to bring the dead to life.” She ran mischievous fingers up along his ribs.

  He snatched her hand at once, groaning. “Oh, nay. Mercy, I beseech you.”

  She took pity on him, nestling harmlessly once more against his chest. His arms circled about her, and for a peaceful moment, they drifted together.

  “Do you know how amazing you are?” he whispered against her hair.

  His words flustered her. She didn’t know how to answer him.

  But before she was compelled to reply, he clasped the back of her neck in one gentle hand. “I am truly pleased ‘tis you I chose to wed.”

  She lifted her head and frowned at him. “You did not choose me,” she corrected. “I chose you.”

  “Indeed?” His eyes sparkled coyly, enigmatically.

  “Aye,” she assured him.

  He raised rueful brows. “I suspect ‘twas more of a... sacrifice than a choice.”

  She traced the scar upon his chest. “I am not...unhappy with my sacrifice.”

  “Not unhappy.” His chuckle made her words sound weak, inadequate. He added wryly, “I’m glad to hear it.”

  She settled back down to listen to his heart. It was a comforting sound, strong and steady and soothing.

  He stroked her hair. “You know, I was thinking...”

  “Aye?” she said sleepily.

  He furrowed thoughtful brows. “Maybe one sparring drill a day is not enough to—“

  She rose up and gave him a playful swat on the arm. “Greedy varlet. You would—“

  His hand abruptly moved up to cover her mouth. He’d heard something. She stilled instantly.

  Pagan was grateful for Deirdre’s warrior instincts. She'd sensed danger as well. She knew when to be quiet. />
  Muffled voices came from the tiltyard. Men’s voices. He strained to hear. Then he recognized them. His own knights, Rauve and Adric.

  He removed his hand from Deirdre’s mouth, leaving a finger upon her lips to silence her while he listened.

  “Come on, be a good lad,” Rauve coaxed. “I’ll pay you back in a fortnight’s time. You know I will.”

  “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Adric grumbled.

  There was a sound of clinking coins.

  “‘Tisn’t my fault, you know,” Rauve said. “That thief in the wood sneaked up on me like a, like a...”

  “Like a shadow? That’s what they call him, you know. The Shadow. What were you doing, ranging around the wood anyway?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Nothing,” Adric echoed. “You weren’t alone, were you? Was it the milkmaid or the serving girl?”

  “Mouthy knave, ‘twasn’t either of them. That’s why I can’t figure out how he stole up on me.”

  “Well, you deserved to be robbed,” Adric said, “after that sweet Lady Miriel made such a kind request for us to return our winnings, and you kept yours.”

  “That’s the cruelty of it. I swear, I was so deep in my cups, I don’t even remember winning. When that robber found the silver in my pouch, I had no idea where it came from.”

  “Until Lady Miriel reminded you.”

  “Nay, until the little damsel I took in the wood reminded me. She saw me win it.”

  “I knew it!” Adric crowed. “You did tryst in the wood.”

  Their voices grew louder, and Deirdre started fidgeting. Pagan knew if his knights walked in, there would be no way of hiding the truth of what had transpired here. After all, clothing was strewn everywhere, Deirdre’s hair was festooned with straw, and Pagan couldn’t wipe the self-satisfied grin off of his face. It was useless to jump up in panic and try to hide.