If she had turned him away, Niall would have stepped back, but Viviane did not. Indeed, she sighed with such contentment and leaned against him with such abandon, that Niall thought his heart would burst with its thundering.
Niall dropped his bag, swept the lady into his arms and kicked the door closed behind them. He carried her up the stairs without breaking his kiss or heeding the complaints of his knee.
Aye, he could find that fine pallet in the dark this night, he knew it well, and neither of them would regret it.
*
Viviane twined her arms around Niall’s neck and returned his kiss with abandon. This was the best surprise of all.
Maybe he wouldn’t even need to read her book.
His tongue slid between her teeth in that instant and drove coherent thought from Viviane’s mind. She sighed and opened her mouth, surprised to find herself on her own bed, Niall’s shadow looming over her. They knelt there for a moment, wavering against the tide of their desire, then Niall broke their kiss.
“Viviane,” he said simply, his voice low with desire. The way he said her name stole Viviane’s breath away, the tenderness in the hand that rose to caress her jaw made her mouth go dry.
She melted when he rubbed the rough edge of his thumb across her cheek and understood when this perfect knight shook his head, as though incredulous that she was not only before him but welcoming of his touch.
“Tell me,” he urged. “Tell me what ’tis you desire.”
Viviane framed his face in her hands and smiled. “Niall,” she whispered, leaning closer to barely touch her lips to his. She opened her eyes in the act of that kiss and found his bright gaze fixed upon her. Her nipples grazed his chest, she could feel the heat of his erection near her thigh even though her nightgown.
But he waited, granting her the chance to decide.
Viviane’s smile widened. “I want you,” she whispered. “In every way I can imagine.”
Niall’s eyes gleamed like emeralds in the shadows for a heartbeat before he caught her against him once again. The purpose in his touch made Viviane tingle in anticipation. This time there would be no halting short of the finish.
She could hardly wait.
Niall’s strong hand slid into her hair to cradle her nape, his mouth settled on hers once again as his other arm locked around her waist. Her curves molded to the hard lines of his body as though they were made to be together. She could smell the distinctive scent of his flesh, the hint of ale, the wind and sun that clung to his hair.
Viviane was captive within his embrace and could think of no where else she would rather be. He held her with that tempered strength that was so characteristic of him, of a strong man striving to be gentle with an infinitely precious gift. She could feel the thrum of desire running through him - and was well aware of the answering cry within herself.
Niall’s lips grazed her jaw, her temple, her earlobe. Viviane closed her eyes and surrendered to his sure touch, savoring the sweet brush of each butterfly-light kiss. His hands roved over her, ceaselessly gentle, as though he would memorize every mole she had, as though he would seek them out and taste them each in turn. His hot kisses trailed down her throat and Viviane arched her back, sighing then shivering, when he pressed a languorous kiss into the hollow of her throat.
Then Niall was kissing her moles, each one in succession, running a line between them with the heat of his tongue, his breath fanning her desire ever higher. He caught her waist in his hands, the span of his fingers nearly surrounding her and lifted her to his questing lips, his mouth locking around her nipple. His tongue and his teeth teased the peak until Viviane squirmed, but there was no escape.
And Niall only teased her more. Viviane buried her fingers in the thick silk of his hair and urged him closer, leaning back in unbridled delight. This was her knight, after all, the man by whose side she was destined to be. There was no need for secrets between them, no need to hold anything back.
Niall flicked his tongue against her, making her shudder from head to toe, and Viviane forgot everything except his touch.
He treated the other breast to the same thorough attention and Viviane heard herself moan aloud. She thought she heard Niall chuckle, but couldn’t be sure. His questing kisses slipped lower and when his tongue flicked into her navel, Viviane felt her knees buckle. Niall eased her back onto the mattress, his hands cupping her buttocks and lifting her hips to his kiss.
Viviane wasn’t sure exactly what he was doing, until the heat of his mouth landed upon her in a most distracting fashion. She gasped aloud and grabbed fistfuls of his hair, but this time Niall did chuckle. And he did not move away. His broad shoulders braced her thighs, opening her to his persuasive touch, his tongue teasing her much as his fingers had the day before. Viviane felt the heat rise beneath her skin more quickly than it had before, though it was hotter this time as well.
Though this time, Niall teased her. He halted when she was just shy of reaching the summit, paused for a telling moment, then began his sensuous assault once more. Viviane felt herself climbing higher each time, release tantalizingly close but still out of reach.
On the third time, she wriggled demandingly against him, uncertain she could stand it if he denied her this time. Niall gripped her buttocks and lifted her hips off the bed, his tongue dancing with gusto, flicking and suckling in turn.
Viviane writhed, her nipples tightened like beads, her hips bucked of their own accord. The heat rose beneath her skin like a tide and she understood just as the crest hovered over her that this time, Niall would see her through. Her heart pounded at the gift of pleasure he was intent to give her,
And then, suddenly, the release flooded through and over her. She shook to her core, she cried out, she shuddered like a leaf in the wind.
In that moment, Niall dove the length of the bed, capturing her in his arms, holding her fast against the storm. Viviane felt his shoulder against her cheek when the last ripple left her and she leaned against him with a smile.
Her knight was back.
*
She was beautiful, even in slumber.
Niall held Viviane close, watching her doze against him. She had been pleased, he knew it well. And Niall felt like a victorious king for his role in that.
This ’twas that Viviane gave him. This ’twas that astonished him and made him feel more the man than he knew himself to be. She believed in him, she trusted him, she expected valor and honor from him.
She made him feel whole again.
The lady sighed and stretched contentedly, her lashes fluttering against her cheeks before her eyes opened. Niall’s heart clenched - his desire for her was unsated, indeed it raged, but never would he force himself upon a woman.
But Viviane smiled. She curled against him and slipped her arms around his neck, her lips brushing his in that way that fired everything within Niall. Her hand fell upon his erection with a certainty unexpected, the weight of her hand there making Niall gasp.
“We’re not done,” she whispered, her gaze warm and welcoming.
Niall needed no second invitation. He slipped her fingers into her heat, ensuring that she was well prepared for him. He kissed her, nursing her desire once more, surprised by how quickly she arched against him, every move she made a silent demand.
The musky scent of her was inescapable and infinitely arousing. The floral scent clinging to her flesh from the shower this morn teased Niall with the memory of how she had tormented him. She echoed his slow thorough kisses, her tongue nudging between his teeth and making Niall’s blood boil.
He lifted his head, knowing he could not last unless he halted for a moment, but Viviane was not inclined to let him cease. She followed him with her intoxicating kisses, locking her hands around his neck and tumbling across him when he rolled to his back.
Her hunger for his touch enflamed him as naught else could have done. The ripe perfection of a buttock fell beneath one hand, Niall found a turgid nipple with the other and he was powerless
to escape the lady’s touch.
She eased across him as they kissed, her hands running over his flesh, her breasts crushed against his chest, the sweep of her smooth thigh across his erection nigh making him explode. He whispered her name and her laughter fanned across his neck.
“Show me, Niall,” she said softly. He looked up to find her eyes sparkling with humor. “I don’t know what to do.”
Niall gripped her buttocks and lifted her so that she straddled him. He savored how pliant and pleased she was, his heart pounding at the welcome in her smile. The meager light coming through the window must be of the moon, for it painted her in ethereal silver, making her look like a fairy lover come to make Niall her own. She looked gossamer-wrought, as delicate as a cobweb, as silky smooth as a white flower opened beneath the moon.
He hesitated anew, afraid he would hurt her. But Viviane framed his face in her hands and kissed him soundly, wriggling her hips until his erection encountered her softness. ’Twas so easy to shift his hips, to find his destination, to ease against her welcoming warmth.
Niall had a fleeting impression that something was amiss, that she was too tight for him, too tiny, too finely wrought, but Viviane put an end to any hesitation. She drove her tongue into his mouth and settled herself onto him, a move that could not have been better designed to override his hesitation.
And then, Niall was buried within her, dizzy with sensation and oblivious to all else. There was only Viviane, her sweetness, her silken thighs, her ardent kisses. The wet heat of her seemed to draw him deeper and deeper, her grip upon him and her beguiling tongue forcing all coherent thought from his mind.
Niall was lost and did not want to be found.
They moved together in that ageless dance, temple to temple, whispering incoherently to each other and gasping in turn. The heat was easily conjured between them once more, the lady’s embers stoked to a flame. Niall moved his hips to caress the lady, savoring her moans and fleeting smiles. Already he could read her response, as though they had been together countless times, already he could feel her proximity to release.
This time, they would share the pleasure.
Niall slipped his hand between them, his thumb landing upon Viviane with a persuasiveness that made her cry out. She sat up and strained for the sky, a vision of silvered femininity high above him, her knees digging into his waist as they rocked together.
She suddenly threw her head back and moaned, the secret heat of her clutched him with a surety that made Niall bellow in turn. For one electric moment, their gazes held, the world stopped and there was naught but the explosion of pleasure between them.
Then Viviane collapsed atop him and Niall caught her close, rolling against the tangled lines. Their bodies were spent but he was loathe to release even a fraction of her touch.
Even when he felt her drift into slumber once more.
Niall leaned back and closed his eyes as he nestled Viviane more tightly against his side. His thumb stroked the softness of her shoulder, marveling at what they had shared, as he drifted off to sleep.
*
Chapter Eleven
Viviane awakened the next morning to find sunlight slanted across the floor and birds chirping outside the window. And everything was right with the world, because the heat of her knight was right beside her.
She was tingling right to her toes and lazily satisfied in a way she had never imagined possible. Her mother had been right to insist that it was worth waiting for the right man to savor the pleasures of love.
And now that she had found her knight, Viviane was ready to savor some more.
Viviane propped herself up on one elbow to survey Niall, delighted to find him not only awake but watching her. She smiled at him and to her pleasure, a crooked smile eased across his firm lips.
“You should do that more often,” she teased, unable to resist the temptation to trace the curve with her fingertip. Niall captured her finger and kissed it, his intent gaze holding hers as he slid his teeth across its tip.
“Do what?”
“Smile. It makes you look less forbidding.” Viviane wrinkled her nose. “As though you’re actually happy about something.”
Niall chuckled and rolled her to her back, meshing his fingers with hers and stretching her arms over her head as he loomed over her. He braced his weight on his elbows, the move bringing them breathtakingly breast to chest as he slowly smiled. Viviane could feel his erection against her thigh and her heart skipped a beat at the dark hue of Niall’s eyes.
She knew what he had in mind.
And she had no objections.
He bent and nibbled on her earlobe, his breath making her shiver. “Aye? And what would I have to be happy about this morn?” he teased, then flicked his tongue against her earlobe.
She caught her breath, then rolled him to his back, echoing his gesture and liking how his eyes twinkled. He let her push him around and Viviane knew it, but still she was enjoying herself.
“I never knew lovemaking was so marvelous,” she whispered, wrinkling her nose with delight. “Or is it just that you are so skilled in the amorous arts?” She bent and slid her tongue across Niall’s nipple, liking how he shivered.
The man in question snorted amiably as he freed his hands, his thumb moving to slide across the small of her back. The lazy caress made Viviane feel warm and shivery at the same time, the warm weight of his hand made her feel delightfully feminine.
“Not I,” he rumbled, then smiled at her. His dark blond hair was tousled, his emerald eyes gleamed with a sensuality that made her want to blush scarlet. He reached up and pushed a hand through her hair, the warmth of his hand cradling her cheek. He smiled up at her and rubbed his thumb across her temple.
“Beautiful,” he murmured, his voice low with admiration, and Viviane felt cherished.
She folded her hands atop his chest and dropped her chin to rest upon them, hardly able to believe that her knight truly had come. Even though he was right here beside her. Niall stared back at her, the sight of his mingled appreciation and awe making Viviane want to laugh aloud.
Oh, she had lucked out again.
She traced a pattern amidst the hair on his chest with a playful fingertip. “You must have dozens of women clamoring for your touch,” she teased, then sighed contentment. “Hundreds of ladies intent on winning the favors of Sir Niall of Malloy.”
Niall snorted again, the image of masculine skepticism. “Hardly that.”
Viviane tilted her head to consider him. “Why not? You certainly seem to have a talent for…”
“I do not couple frequently with women,” he interrupted sharply and looked away.
Oh, he was embarrassed! Viviane warmed to this man who was so determined to not trumpet his desirability.
“Well, I can’t imagine why not. You certainly have a skill for it.” Viviane brushed a fleeting kiss across his flesh. “Not that it’s a surprise or anything - I knew the first moment we met that you would know how to thoroughly please a woman. In fact -” she tapped a fingertip on his shoulder “- I wondered even in that dungeon what it would be like to kiss you.”
Niall’s gaze flicked to hers, then away. His golden brows drew together and his lips tightened, his thumb stopped its lazy caress.
Though he still lay beside her, it felt as though he were a thousand miles away.
“A knight in shining armor,” she teased, but Niall’s frown deepened.
“Viviane, I am not the man you think me to be,” he said sternly and looked away.
“No, you are much less dour than you would have me believe,” she jested, kissing the tip of his nose.
Niall’s gaze locked suddenly with hers, no playfulness in his expression. “Nay, I am not the knight you believe me to be. ’Tis time we had the truth between us.”
“What do you mean? You’re a knight. Anyone can see that.” Viviane snuggled closer. “And you’re my knight, I can see that.”
Niall shook his head. “Nay, I am a knight in name
alone, but not in role.”
Viviane frowned. “I don’t understand.”
Niall sighed. “I am a knight in name alone, for I have earned my spurs and none can take them from me.” His lips thinned. “But I do not ride as a knight any longer. ’Tis not mine to defend my patron or his holdings, ’tis not mine to quest and conquer, ’tis not mine to ride to battle.”
There was a wistfulness in his tone that made Viviane nestle closer. “Why not?”
He shrugged as though the tale didn’t matter but Viviane knew better. “’Tis not a tale worth telling.”
Viviane reached out a fingertip to touch his jaw, gently compelling him to look to her again. The shadows in his eyes wrenched her heart. “Tell me,” she urged softly. “It’s a tale I would like to hear.”
“You would hear of my failure?”
“I would hear everything about you.” As he watched, clearly incredulous, Viviane stretched to kiss him. Far from a gentle reassurance, the kiss immediately became incendiary, that heat rising quickly between them. Niall opened his mouth to her and bracketed her waist with his hands. He pulled her closer, then rolled atop her once more, his lips both demanding and pleasing. His knee was between her thighs, their limbs entangled, and their breathing ragged when he lifted his head.
“You are a marvel,” he murmured, tracing the line of her jaw with one fingertip. His touch made circles on her skin as he frowned in thought, then his gaze flicked to hers. “Indeed, you make me recall those days before my shame.”
Viviane looped her arms around his neck. “What shame could you have?”
Niall grimaced and rolled to his back once more. His tone was flat. “I was bested in a tournament before the archbishop three years past. ’Twas my role to defend his cause, for he had chosen me to carry his colors against the champion of his neighbor and rival. All of Cantlecroft gathered for the match and though ’twas in sport, there was an element of truth riding on the outcome. ’Twas a telling responsibility and a trust I dared not disappoint.”
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