by Kristen Cobb
Conri noticed Marta’s fingers seemed a bit less curled, the potion apparently already helping. Looking up his eyes met Nessa’s. It felt like a moment where he should say something, respond to her comment, but everything running through his mind felt too intimate. Did she realize how special she was?
Marta’s voice broke the awkward silence. “Nessa mentioned wanting to find somewhere private to bathe. I thought you might know of a place.”
An image of Nessa slowly undressing then walking naked into the water momentarily robbed Conri of the ability to speak.
Not having bathed in quite some time she was beginning to offend herself. She’d been on campaign with Dermot for quite some time, bathing in a camp full of men being something she tried to avoid. “I would not want to impose. You have done so much for me already. There is no need…”
“It is not an imposition. I know a spot that is relatively private.” The vision of Nessa undressing was now seared in his mind, apparently controlling the words that flew from his mouth.
Their eyes met and held. The entire discussion seemed far too intimate given how little they knew each other but in the end she trusted this man. Conri would keep watch and be respectful enough not to sneak a peak. She smiled at him then walked over to a corner of the cottage, grabbing her bag. Might as well wash the clothes she was wearing while she had the chance. Slinging the bag over her head and across her shoulder Nessa headed back to the table.
Conri stood, walking toward the door. She followed behind him, thrilled at the prospect of being able to bathe. At the last moment Nessa remembered Marta. She turned to find the woman smiling. “Do you want to come with us?”
“No thank you dear. I am going to rest these old bones. It has been a long day.”
“I will not be long. Will I? How far is this place of yours?” Nessa had not even thought to ask.
Conri continued out the door without turning around as he answered. “Not all that far.”
“No worries dear. The cottage and I will still be here.”
Nessa caught a glimpse of Marta as Conri closed the door behind them. She wondered for a moment if the woman had some ulterior motive for suggesting Conri take her with him. Marta seemed far too pleased as she watched the two of them leave together.
Nessa followed along silently next to Conri, letting her mind wander to other things. It was a beautiful night, the perfect temperature for a bath in the river. Darkness had already descended, the stars sparkling brightly in the night sky. The waning moon provided just enough light to illuminate their way.
They walked down to the water then followed the winding path of the river, eventually leaving the castle walls behind. The tranquility of the moment felt completely comfortable, walking quietly with Conri in the moonlight, neither of them felt the need to speak. Just when she was about to ask him how much farther they came upon a cluster of mature trees bordering the river. Conri led her along the edge of the tree line to a large boulder. Soft green moss covered the ground all the way to the riverbank. Moonlight glittered against the surface of the river, illuminating the darkness with brilliant crystals of light.
“What is she doing here?” The quiet peace of the night shattered as Alana stepped out of the shadows between the trees.
Nessa glanced at the object of Alana’s affection. Conri’s fists were clenched at his side, eyes shooting daggers at the stunning brunette. Not even a slim chance existed that he would be able to get rid of the woman on his own. Conri needed her help. For once she could do something for him.
The pertinent question at this point being how to convince Alana to leave him alone, what would bother her the most? Another woman. If Conri showed serious interest in another woman Alana’s pride would most likely force her into letting up a bit on her quest to win Conri’s affection. Complete abandonment of her goal seemed highly unlikely. For that Alana’s interest would need to be transferred permanently to someone else. Nessa decided to store that idea away, keeping her eyes open for potential victims. A short-term solution seemed the only option at the moment.
Would Conri be amenable to feigning a relationship with her? Would she? The way things stood right now she had no chance of seducing Rory. She was not even allowed within the castle walls. Becoming Conri’s woman would force Rory to accept her. Rory mentioned that he liked a challenge, a comment steeped in sexual innuendo. If she were someone else’s woman would that not pose the greatest challenge of all? This might be just the solution she needed to breathe new life into a dying plan.
Nessa turned her back toward Alana, keeping her voice low. “I have an idea but it involves you kissing me again. I…”
Conri’s lips were on hers before she could even finish the sentence. Passionate beyond anything she ever experienced her hands wound into his hair as he pulled her up against his warm body. She was quickly carried away as if they suddenly entered another world where only the two of them existed. His tongue sliding sensually into her mouth caused her to emit a pleading moan, his engorged shaft pressing hard against her abdomen. Conri suddenly pulled away, staring at her, brown eyes wild with passion in the moonlight.
“Her? How can you possibly want her? She is a dirty, smelly, manly soldier.” Alana’s shrill voice carried quite clearly in the quiet of the night. “She is…”
“The woman I want.” Conri’s eyes never left hers as he said the words, his voice a husky whisper that Alana could not possibly have heard.
Alana’s presence ceased to matter. Nessa never even heard the rest of what the woman said. He wanted her, the truth clear to see in his eyes. This was dangerous territory. Conri had not let her explain. She only meant to fake a relationship. He did not seem to understand that.
Without any warning he kissed her again, effectively ending any ability to think rationally. Tongues plundering, hands roaming, she felt her hair tumble free over her shoulders. His tongue slid softly against hers, caressing this time rather plundering. Conri’s hands ran through her hair as his body pressed up against hers, the evidence of his desire begging for entrance.
They were both out of breath as if they’d run a long away when Conri stopped kissing her. Nessa glanced over to the spot where Alana had been standing. No one stood there. Had she really left or was the obsessed woman still out there watching them?
“Is she gone?” Conri almost hoped Alana was still watching them. It would give him an excuse to continue kissing Nessa.
“Yes, but she could still be out there watching us. She is quite taken with you.”
“I wish she would become taken with someone else.”
“That is the long term plan.” Did she really intend to go through with this?
“You have a plan?” Conri ran his hand through her long blonde hair. He’d been dying to see it flowing freely over her shoulders since the moment he laid eyes on her. Now he had a new wish, to see her naked in the moonlight, hair flowing over her shoulders, just barely covering the peaks of her breasts. He nearly groaned out loud at the thought.
“Two plans actually. One would only get rid of her temporarily.” The way he was looking at her made her entire body tingle with desire. She could feel the warmth radiating off his body even though they were no longer touching.
Conri wrapped his hand around hers, leading her toward the river. Was this what it felt like to have a partner, holding hands and working together to solve a problem? It was not an unpleasant sensation. He squeezed her hand just a bit harder as they reached the large rock by the edge of the water.
He released her hand then sat down on the boulder, facing away from the river to give her some privacy. “You can tell me all about it while you wash up.”
“The only way I can think of to dissuade Alana is for her to believe you are in love with someone else. If we pretended to be in a relationship it might discourage her pursuit a bit.” Nothing about his expression changed. She had no idea what he was thinking. It seemed to take forever for him to say something.
Setting her hemp
satchel down on the boulder next to Conri she slipped off her leather boots, digging her toes into the lush green moss, cold and damp but oh so soft. The river would probably prove to be a mite chilly but the thought of being clean outweighed that particular concern. She was just about to take her shirt off when Conri spoke.
“What about Conor?” How far would they take it? Would he be able to kiss her whenever he wanted? Would she kiss him back with the same overwhelming passion she did a few moments ago? Would they do more than kiss? In the end the most important question seemed to be her feelings for Conor.
She stood there looking down at Conri debating whether to tell him the truth. Well, part of the truth anyway. Should she allow him to continue believing she was in love with Conor? It felt wrong to lie about this, odd that this particular lie bothered her. She was lying to him about so many things. “I am not in love with Conor.” Something deep inside of her needed Conri to know that. Unfortunately that particular confession would lead to others. It would necessitate explaining her relationship with Conor.
Conri swiveled his muscular body around quickly to face her. Avoiding eye contact she turned toward the river, slipping her tunic off over her head. “Alana could still be watching. If you want her to believe we are together you should probably join me.” She peeled off the tight fitting pants knowing he sat right behind her watching, the boldest move she ever made in her life.
Carrying the filthy garments she walked to the edge of the bank. Without so much as a backward glance she started down into the river. The water was cool but not truly cold. The instant it reached her knees she dove in. In no time at all her body would acclimate and the river would not feel nearly so cold.
A telltale splash sent an entire swarm of butterflies free in her stomach. She began rubbing her shirt and pants together, attempting to wash out some of the sweat and dirt. Sleeping on the ground as she’d done the last few days tended to get your clothes dirty.
“You told me you loved Conor.”
Far too nervous to look at him, ferociously rubbing her clothing together under the water was the only way she could cope with the nervous energy that seemed to have taken over her body. “I do love Conor. Just not the way you assumed.”
“Who is Conor MacMurrough to you?”
“I have known him since the day he was born. I love Conor in every way you can love a person, except for the way you think.” She started wiping the grime off her body with her shirt. The only thing she had to wash with.
“You cannot be much older than Conor. How is it that you were present at his birth?” There were a thousand questions floating around in his mind but none were more important than those seven words she just uttered, ‘I am not in love with Conor.’ He was dying to kiss her senseless but she refused to even look at him.
Now she had a choice to make, lie to him or be honest. What harm could revealing the truth do? He already knew her loyalty lie with Dermot. “I was abandoned by my parents shortly after birth. Laurence found me outside Glendalough Monastery. I lived at the monastery until I was about six. Women are not actually allowed to live there so Laurence asked his sister Mor to take me in. Dermot and Mor raised me along with their own children.”
“Dermot MacMurrough took in an orphan and raised her as one of his own?”
The incredulous tone of his voice annoyed her. “Why is that so difficult to believe?” She finally turned and looked at him, an enormous mistake. Intense brown eyes immediately heated her entire body. Drops of water clung to his bare muscular shoulders. Each individual droplet seemed to glisten in the moonlight, drawing her eyes to his skin, making her want to touch him. This was an intimacy she had never shared with another man, not even Will. Wet hair pushed back off his face somehow made the previously cold aloof warrior seem more vulnerable. Dipping her head back to try and wash her hair allowed a brief reprieve from looking at him, something that seemed to be wreaking havoc with her mental focus.
“The man is not known for his kindness and generosity. I was merely surprised.” Conri watched her struggle to try and wash her hair while holding the pile of clothing. “Lean back. Let me do that.” Conri swam around behind her and began rinsing out her long hair in the water, running his fingers gently through the strands to separate them.
His body reacted with a ferocity almost too much to bear. He had not found release inside a woman in a very, very long time. His life could not accommodate a long term relationship and indiscriminate dalliances had never been his style. The last time he revealed the truth to a mortal had not gone well at all, an experience he would rather not repeat.
Touching her nearly pushed him over the edge, running his fingers through the silky strands of her hair incredibly erotic. His shaft throbbed with need, so hard it bordered on painful. “So this fake relationship, how would it work?”
“What do you mean?” Her eyes were closed, body completely relaxed. It felt wonderful, having his hands running gently through her hair in the water.
“Would we kiss?”
“I should think so, otherwise Alana will never believe us.” The wonderful relaxing moment was now over. The mere thought of kissing him set her entire body on fire, especially the area at the junction of her thighs. No man had ever stirred her desire to such an extent.
Her naked body was right there floating around in front of him. It would be so easy to reach down and… Conri closed his eyes for a moment in an effort to get all of the pent up desire under control. “Ness.”
He stopped washing her hair so she lifted her head, turning around in the water to look at him. The raw desire evident in his gaze shocked her.
“It has been an awfully long time since I have lain with a woman. I think the faking is done for tonight. If you do not want this to become very real you need to get dressed.”
Paralyzed with indecision she remained there floating in front of him. The man obviously had no idea how much she wanted him. She considered allowing him to join his body to hers, reaching out to touch his shaft, pulling him inside her. Then she thought about her eventual betrayal. It was inevitable. She intended to kill his king no matter what occurred between them. How much worse would the betrayal be if he were in love with her? Could arrogant obnoxious warriors fall in love? She guessed that they did.
This was the life she wanted, here with Conri making love in the moonlight, but it would remain forever out of her grasp. “I want you more than you will ever know but in the end I would only betray you. My loyalty lies with Dermot while you have pledged your life to defend Rory.”
She swam toward shore as fast as physically possible while carrying her clothing, the risk of changing her mind too great.
4
Morning dawned the next day and she felt no better than the night before. Sun was streaming in around the edge of the wooden shutters telling her the day would begin whether she liked it or not. Marta still slept soundly next to her. It felt odd sharing a bed with someone she barely knew.
Nessa slid off the straw filled mattress as quietly as possible. Much like most beds the mattress was little more than a bale of hay covered with a thick hemp cloth. Some were no more comfortable than sleeping on the ground. Extra layers of padding between the straw and cloth could make it a bit less lumpy. Marta’s bed proved no more comfortable than most of the other’s she ever slept on. Now that she thought about it the bed at Rory’s castle had been extraordinarily comfortable, possibly the best night’s sleep in her entire life. She’d been too distraught, cold, wet, and exhausted to fully appreciate it at the time.
Her recently washed clothing should be dry by now. They were hanging on a bush outside. Barefoot and wearing only the tunic she borrowed from the tower room in Rory’s castle Nessa made her way over to the door. Tunics generally fell to about mid-thigh. This one belonged to someone much larger than herself. The black tunic ended just below her knees, making it the perfect garment for sleeping since she currently had a home and a bed, at least temporarily.
Slowly ope
ning the door, hoping it wouldn’t creek and wake Marta, she stepped outside. Carefully shutting the door Nessa turned to find Conri sitting on the ground, leaning back against the front of the stone cottage. She froze with her hand still gripping the small iron handle of the door. He wore a faded black tunic, the hilt of a sword peeking over his right shoulder, the rounded tip sparkling in the morning sunshine.
She was wearing what looked to be one of his tunics and nothing else. “Did you take that from the chamber in the tower?” He barely forced the words out.
“Yes, I will give it back, I promise. It is just that…”
“No, keep it. I have plenty of others.” Conri grabbed the sack lying next to him on the ground and stood up. “I brought you some food.” Actually Sedric delivered the food a short time ago. He hadn’t been back to the castle this morning, spending the night outside Marta’s cottage to make certain no one threatened Nessa. At the moment she was not exactly well loved.
She wore Conri’s tunic to bed, one more intimacy in a relationship quickly beginning to twist her insides into knots. She should have realized it belonged to him since he seemed partial to black. Nessa stepped behind the bushes. She slept in his bed. Why had he put her in his own chamber?
Conri watched as Nessa flung his tunic on top of the bush then grabbed her own, the fragile branches of the spiky evergreen bending with the weight of the garments. “I have to help train some of the younger men today so I will be busy most of the day.”
Once fully dressed Nessa felt her emotions settle a bit. Grabbing Conri’s tunic she walked around the bush, holding it out to him.
Conri shook his head. “Keep it.” He reached for the door handle but Nessa laid her hand over his.