Cherished Protector of Her Heart

by Laurel O'Donnell

  Cherished Protector of Her Heart

  Laurel O'Donnell

  This novella is intended to be a supplement to my novel Angel's Assassin. It fits in between the last chapter and the epilogue.

  Copyright © 2014 by Laurel O'Donnell

  All rights reserved

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  A Note About Cherished Protector of Her Heart by Laurel O'Donnell

  The characters in this story are the hero and heroine from my book Angel's Assassin. I chose to elaborate on their story because I simply fell in love with them. I wanted more. So, I continued their story. I wanted to follow Damien and Aurora and see what other obstacles they still had to overcome. This story falls between the last chapter in Angel's Assassin and the Epilogue. If you'd like to know more about these characters, please pick up Angel's Assassin.

  Thank you for reading Cherished Protector of Her Heart.

  Cherished Protector of Her Heart - Laurel O'Donnell

  Chapter One

  Acquitaine - 1402

  Damien of Acquitaine looked out over the Great Hall of Castle Acquitaine. The arched ceiling stretched high, sheltering the lords, ladies and many peasants who clustered inside, waiting for their chance to speak with Lady Aurora. Along the wall, placed at regular intervals, knights were stationed below the large stained glass windows. The line of people to see Aurora stretched to the back of the room.

  Despite being in Acquitaine for almost a month now, Damien’s instincts to protect Aurora were as strong as ever. They were taking many precautions, not because Damien believed anyone would harm Aurora, but because she meant so much to him. And with their wedding approaching, he knew some people were not happy with Aurora’s choice for a husband, namely him. His gaze locked with Sir Rupert, who was now captain of the guard.

  Rupert stood at the bottom of one of the three stairs leading to the judgment chair upon which Aurora sat. Rupert’s gaze moved back to the merchant approaching the dais.

  Damien’s stare swung to Aurora. She sat in the judgment chair, her back straight, her long golden hair braided to perfection down her back. She was a beautiful woman and he cherished her with every breathing moment. So many people standing in such close proximity to her unsettled his stomach, but he forced himself to remain calm. These were her people and they loved her.

  The heavyset merchant stopped before the steps, bowing to Aurora. The man sniffled as he looked up from his bent over position. “M’lady,” he said softly, reverently. “I bring a gift for your wedding. For all you have done for Acquitaine and for the trade. My business has increased…” he sniffed again. He held out a box to her.

  Aurora stood.

  Damien immediately stepped past her and took the box from the merchant who flinched back from him with a whispered, “M’lord.”

  Damien opened the box and found a jeweled dagger inside. He inspected it, lifting it from the box and then presented it to Aurora.

  “You frightened him,” Aurora whispered.

  Damien lifted an eyebrow. “I told you not to accept gifts here. It could be dangerous.”

  The ends of her lips lifted. “According to you everything is dangerous.”

  Her smile was infectious and he couldn't help responding in kind. How could he ever be angry with her? His gaze swept her face. She was stunning. Her skin was flawless, her eyes large and trusting and translucent. Her lips full and kissable; he knew the last from experience. And he wanted to taste her lips again. But he nodded and stepped aside. He had to remember his duty. To her.

  She took the dagger. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered.

  A small boy rushed up to Damien and he handed the empty box to the small boy.

  The merchant wrung his hands and nodded. “I had it forged just for you. As a compliment to your beauty.”

  Damien stiffened, his jaw clenched. He would never get used to other men speaking about her beauty before him. But it was meant as a compliment, so he grit his teeth and allowed the comment.

  “Thank you,” Aurora said. “What is your name?”

  “Alfonso of Dartmoor.”

  “You've traveled a long way. You will attend the ceremony and celebration afterward, won’t you?”

  Damien grinned to himself. Who could resist a personal invitation from Aurora?

  “Of course!” the merchant agreed excitedly. “I wouldn’t miss it!”

  “Thank you so much for your kindness.”

  The merchant bowed and backed away, his pudgy face beaming with excitement.

  Aurora held out the dagger to Damien. He eyed it with misgivings. “Don’t you want it?” she asked.

  “What would I do with a dagger like that?” Damien wondered.

  Aurora’s gaze shifted from his face to the beautiful dagger. “I suppose the same thing you would do with any other dagger.”

  A plain dagger was far less conspicuous. The perfect weapon for an assassin. But as he had to remind himself again, he was no longer an assassin. Once he married Aurora, he would be a lord. She watched him as if she knew what he was thinking. He lowered his chin and gave her that intense look that she knew, the look that said he wanted to grab her and kiss her lips. But that would be inappropriate before her people… people that were also soon to be his people. He took her hand and pressed his lips to her knuckles. She was beautiful, soft, and everything he could ever want.

  She rewarded him with a stunning smile. Perhaps for his reserve. Perhaps because out of all the men she could have chosen, she had chosen him. Perhaps for his love of her. He had not told her nearly enough that he loved her. He should tell her every day, every moment…

  He turned to see a cloaked man walking forward. The hood covered his face completely. Tingles shot across the nape of Damien's neck. The man approached. There was something in the way he walked that sent alarms off inside of Damien.

  Aurora followed his gaze to the hooded man.

  The man still moved toward them.

  Damien's eyes grew wide. God's blood! He knew the man! “Rupert!” he hollered.

  A swarm of guards rushed forward to surround the man as Damien stepped protectively before Aurora.

  The guards seized the cloaked man, preventing him from moving. His arms were wrenched behind his back.

  Rupert threw back the man's hood.

  Damien snarled. His face had aged, but Damien knew him immediately. Black eyes gazed at him through wrinkled lids. His jaw was grizzled. His black hair was speckled with gray.

  “Who is he?” Aurora asked.

  For a moment, Damien considered not telling her. He didn't want her to know. He wanted to protect her. But Damien knew she would find out. “My father.”

  Cherished Protector of Her Heart - Laurel O'Donnell

  Chapter Two

  Aurora paced the antechamber, her brow furrowed. She watched the floor with each step. “How could you lock him in the dungeon?”

  Damien sat in a chair as if he were being interrogated. “For our safety.”

  “Safety?” she echoed in disbelief. “What sort of danger could he possibly represent?” She dropped to her knees in front of him, taking his smooth face into her hands. “Damien. Not everyone is here to hurt us.”

  Damien shook his head and leaned back in the chair, pulling himself from her hold. She closed her hands and sat
back on her heels. “You don’t understand. The only thing he ever wanted from me was to sell me for a bag of gold.”

  “I know,” she whispered. She remembered his story about the bag of gold his father had sold him and his brother to slavers for. Her heart twisted. “But what if he is here to make amends?”

  Damien's dark eyes, so dark you could not see the pupil from the iris, hardened with reined anger. “It’s always about the good for you, isn’t it? People don’t change.”

  She felt the barb. He is angry, she told herself. He is not angry with me. Or maybe he is. “You did,” she answered quietly.

  Damien growled. “No. I’m still the same man I was before.”

  Aurora crossed her arms and said nothing. She had to let him come to the conclusion that he had changed. He had only wanted his freedom before. Not marriage. Not to save her. He had risked it all, even his life, to face his former slave master and save her from his twisted plans.

  Damien ran a hand through his black hair. “That’s not fair. I had you to help me.”

  “Can’t I help him, too?”

  He grit his teeth. “Even if I said yes, which I’m not, he’s here. Why did he come? What does he want?”

  “We can ask him together,” Aurora offered.

  “No.” Damien shook his head. “No. I don’t want you anywhere near him.”

  She stood. “But he’s family. He’s your father.”

  “He hasn’t been my father since the day he sold me.”

  The door suddenly burst open and Aurora jumped.

  Damien was out of the chair, grabbing her arm to pull her behind him, his sword out instantly.

  Gawyn ran into the room, ignoring Damien's sword. “Is it true?” he demanded.

  Through the open doorway, Aurora saw Rupert standing in the hallway behind Gawyn. Rupert slowly shut the door.

  “Damn it, Gawyn,” Damien said, his jaw tight.

  Through his black tunic, Aurora saw his chorded and tight shoulder muscles. She realized how anxious he was. He hadn’t been this coiled with tension since… Since he had faced his old master Roke. She rested a hand on his shoulder, trying to ease his anxiety.

  “Yes,” Damien said, sliding his sword into its sheath. “It’s father.”

  Gawyn was the only family Damien had ever really had. His brother had helped her save Damien from the flames at Roke’s castle. He was a trusted friend of both of theirs.

  “Have you spoken to him?" Gawyn demanded.

  “Long enough to send him to the dungeon.”

  Gawyn nodded in agreement. “And it’s where he should stay.”

  “Don’t you even want to know why he’s here?” Aurora asked.

  “No,” Gawyn said emphatically.

  Damien nodded. “I agree. I will not give him time to tell any more lies.”

  “But he’s your father,” she said softly. “Perhaps he regrets his actions. Perhaps –”

  “Perhaps he heard Damien was marrying the rich lady of Acquitaine and he wants more than a bag of gold,” Gawyn suggested.

  Damien nodded in accord.

  Aurora looked from the man she loved to his brother. They were so alike. Gawyn had brown hair where Damien's was dark as midnight, but they had the same eyes, the same cynical twist to their lips. She could not fathom the bitterness and distrust they held for their father. She had loved her father so much. And now that he was gone and Damien's father was here, she wished she could get to know him. He could never take her father's place, but she would like her children to have a grandfather.

  Damien sighed softly and took her hand, yanking her to him. “You must trust me on this matter. Tobias was never a father to Gawyn and I. You can’t change that. No one can.”

  “But perhaps –”

  “Aurora.” Damien’s voice was firm and she looked up into his black eyes. “I will take care of it.”

  She dropped her gaze.

  Gawyn chuckled behind them. “You already sound like lord of the castle. Who would have thought?”

  Still, Aurora didn’t like leaving an old man in the dungeon, let alone family. Because no matter what Damien said, his blood ran through his father’s veins. He couldn’t be all bad.

  Damien hooked a finger beneath her chin and lifted it until she met his gaze. All thoughts of family vanished at the look he was giving her. An concentrated look, full of desire and longing. And still very much forbidden until they were wed. She grinned. She loved him more than anything. And every time he gave her that look, that heated, knowing, scorching gaze, her insides melted and she wanted him inside of her.

  She ran her hand along his arm. She could feel the curves of his hard muscles beneath his tunic. She lifted up on her toes and pressed her lips to his warm ones, slanting them across his. Desire flared to life inside her, as it always did now that she was his. His hand moved up her back to the nape of her neck to pull her closer and the kiss deepened.

  Gawyn groaned. “Can’t you two at least wait until I am out of the room?”

  Aurora broke away from Damien to glance over her shoulder at Gawyn. “Gawyn!” she called.

  He paused in the open doorway.

  “Have you sent someone for the Bishop?”

  “Of course. Two days ago.” The easy smile he always wore slid across his lips. “Don’t worry, m’lady. Your wedding will go as planned.” He stepped out of the room and closed the door.

  Damien kissed her neck. “Are you getting nervous?”

  She smiled as he pressed kisses to her lips, then she tilted her head back so he could kiss her neck. “There’s still so much to do.”

  “Delegate. Get Helen or Jennifer to help you.” He peppered soft kisses down the line of her neck and up to her ear.

  Aurora turned to him, offering her lips. “They have so much to do. The guests will be arriving any day and…” Damien took control of her lips, stealing the words and thoughts from her. His hand swept over her breast and he backed her into the wall. Her body tingled in anticipation. He swept her arms over her head, kissing her until the world spun about her, until every coherent thought swirled away, giving way to feeling and passion. He captured her hands with one of his above his head.

  “This is highly inappropriate behavior for the lady of the castle,” he whispered.

  “Highly,” she repeated as his hand dipped down to her hip and gripped the fabric of her dress. His knee parted her legs, and he pressed himself up against her core. She could feel how much he desired her as he pushed his hardness against her stomach.

  He bunched the fabric in his hand, pulling it up. She lifted her leg to wrap it around his buttocks. His fingers dipped beneath her naked bottom to pull her up against him. He ground himself into her, a growl ripping from deep in his throat. He barely separated from her to undo his breeches. He shoved her dress away from between her legs and lifted her bottom until her foot was off the floor. She wrapped her legs around him and he entered her in one lunge, filling her.

  Aurora gasped, her hands resting on his shoulders.

  He supported her from beneath her bottom, keeping her core snug against him as he pushed into her and then pulled out, only to thrust in again.

  She reached for him as she always did, holding onto him as though he would suddenly disappear. She met his thrusts with her own. Her mouth parted with growing need, the growing…

  He covered her open lips with his own, thrusting his tongue into her mouth, sweeping it deep inside her.

  Again and again and again he thrust into her until she peaked and shattered, her body shuddering, her fingers clutching his shoulders. The world whirled, twisting in a love induced fog.

  When she had finished, gasping for air, he continued rocking inside her. And then he pushed into her, burying his face in her shoulder, his own body stiffening. He held her as his seed splashed into her. He leaned his forehead against her shoulder for a moment as he caught his breath. Then he whispered, “Highly inappropriate.”

  She chuckled in a throaty lusty vo
ice and he pulled back to gaze at her. She stared at him through lidded eyes. “I love you,” she whispered.

  He kissed her lips and pulled out of her, easing her feet to the floor before tying his breeches. Her dress fell into place as if she had commanded it.

  He rarely said it to her, but he didn’t have to. When he looked at her again, his eyes were full of warmth and appreciation and loyalty. It was a look he never gave anyone else. He cupped her cheek and kissed her again with tender devotion. It was all the promise she needed. She dipped her head and looked up at him through lowered lashes.

  His gaze swept her, assessing, making sure she was presentable in every aspect for her people. He took her hand and pressed it into the crock of his arm and led her toward the door. He opened the door and guided her out before following.

  She could barely take her gaze off of him. He had started out by saving her life only a month ago. Then he had become her bodyguard. Now, he was the cherished protector of her heart. And soon to be her husband.

  Rupert stood guard outside the room. He straightened when he saw them exit.

  Damien nodded to him.

  They had no sooner turned the corner when Jennifer ran down the hallway in a rushed hurry, but ended up walking very quickly. Her eyes were full of excitement. “The first guests have arrived,” she whispered in enthusiasm.

  Aurora smiled at her cousin. “The rooms are prepared, are they not?”

  “They are!” Jennifer squealed, then covered her mouth. She patted a strand of brown hair back beneath the veil she wore on her head. “My lady, it is the Count and Countess Dumas.” She jumped up and down, holding Aurora’s hands and the strand came loose again. “A Count and a Countess!”

  Aurora smiled at Jennifer’s excitement. She had already known high-ranking visitors were invited to the wedding ceremony and would be coming to Acquitaine.

  “Who?” Damien asked.

  Jennifer looked at him.

  “The Count and Countess Dumas!”

  Aurora glanced at Damien. His jaw tightened and his brow furrowed as he glanced over Jennifer's shoulder down the hallway. She opened her mouth to ask him if everything was all right, but he suddenly leaned over to talk to Rupert in a quiet voice.