His brows drew together in puzzlement, “Why?”
Noelle had known there was something special about Nicholas from the very moment they had first met at the pool in the woods, and now her heart told her this was right. “Because I love you.”
Nicholas didn’t know how to respond to her softly spoken words. “We have a far more weighty problem than just the wager,” Nicholas said. “You are promised to another.”
“I do not love him.”
Nicholas’s cheek rested against the top of Noelle’s head. “I’ll not let him have you,” he murmured fiercely, and then he grew quiet as he fell asleep with Noelle still held in his arms.
The next morning Tristan stood just outside of Noelle’s chamber, trying to wipe the smile from his face. Finally, with an effort, he resumed his stern expression.
Tristan had been told last night that Nicholas had returned, having rescued Noelle. Tristan had wanted to go and see her right away. Instead he’d stayed away purposely. Noelle had told him that Nicholas was the one, and Tristan wanted to give her a chance to find out before she married another.
However, if Sir Nicholas was the one, what were they going to tell the king? Not a pleasant thought, but Tristan would deal with that matter later.
Now, if his hunch paid off, Noelle had the time to find out if she’d finally found “her” knight.
If she had Christmas might never come to Camelot when King Arthur heard about Noelle’s liaison with Nicholas. Tristan could just imagine that the king’s ire would be far, far worse than Noelle’s stubbornness.
Tristan took a deep breath, and shoved Noelle’s chamber door open.
The door to Noelle’s chamber flew open and Tristan burst through. “Noelle. Are you—” Tristan stopped. He still wasn’t prepared even though he thought he was, to see his sister in bed with a man. He frowned. “This is your idea of rescuing my sister?” Tristan demanded. “You have broken your oath, sir? She is promised to another.”
Nicholas sighed. “I broke many things last night,” he said with little remorse as he sat up in bed.
“Do you have no shame, Noelle?” Tristan asked.
“Nay,” Noelle admitted.
Tristan finally smiled. “Then he is the one?”
Noelle nodded.
“And you would marry him?” Tristan asked.
“Aye.”
Tristan was frowning again. “Who is going to tell the king?”
“I will speak with Arthur,” Nicholas said as he slid out of bed taking one of the blankets with him. “Leave us now so we may dress.”
“Well, I cannot say I am unhappy, though Sir Gavin is a good knight as well. But I cannot say the same of King Arthur. I believe he will be very angry.”
Nicholas smiled grimly. “I do not anticipate the meeting with the king to be pleasant. He cares nothing for having his orders disobeyed. Of course, he will be glad that he has won his wager.”
“What wager?” Tristan asked.
“It is between the king and myself.”
Tristan turned to leave. “What do you think King Arthur will do?”
Nicholas thought a moment. “He could very well have me put to death. Or relieve me of my title and banish me from the kingdom.”
When the door had shut, Noelle protested “Nay! This is not all your fault. I will explain to our king.”
Nicholas reached over and placed his hand on the side of Noelle’s face. “I will fight my own battles. I don’t want you fighting them for me.”
“But we are in this together.”
“Then I will face the king for both of us and accept whatever punishment he deals out.”
“But what if the punishment is death?”
Nicholas leaned down and brushed her lips. “Then I will die a happy man.”
CHAPTER 15
The next two weeks were spent putting Cranborne Castle back together. Where once a small city thrived behind the high walls, only shells of huts now stood. They would have to be reconstructed, and since so many of Cranborne’s men had been killed, Nicholas, his soldiers, and Tristan decided to stay and help in the rebuilding.
Tristan and Nicholas walked along the tops of the outer curtain checking for damage so they would know where to direct the masons for the needed repairs.
Nicholas spotted a small section of the battlement that had crumbled and would need fixing. He glanced over the battlement toward the base of the wall. “Tristan, come here,” Nicholas called, then waited for Tristan to join him.
“See the base of the wall,” Nicholas said, pointing down below. “If you will have your masons construct a batter, a sloping base, it will strengthen the structure and give better defense.”
Tristan straightened back up. “How so?”
“When the stones and missiles are dropped from the top of the battlement they will bounce toward the enemy and roll away from the castle.”
“I admit, since much of the castle’s care was in John’s hands, I have much to learn,” Tristan said. “I appreciate all that you point out to me.”
Nicholas smiled. “You will do admirably—much better than John ever did, I wager.”
Tristan beamed at the senior knight’s praise. “Let’s go down below and see what needs to be done there. I’ll have the masons repair this battlement and construct the batter.”
Once down in the inner ward, Nicholas told Thomas, the master shoemaker, that he wanted to help the old man restore his building.
“But sire, we are capable of making the repairs ourselves,” Thomas protested. “You needn’t bother if you have something else to do.”
Nicholas looked at the friendly, white-haired man. “I have nothing else to do and would be honored to lend you a hand putting your shop back together. When I was young, I spent many an hour working on the huts in the village.” Nicholas didn’t add that was the only way he could earn his meals.
Thomas went back to stirring the clay he would use to rebuild his hut, so Nicholas moved over and picked up a wattle, which was a mat of woven sticks and reeds. Nicholas hoisted the wattle up and held it in place so Thomas could smear the clay on the mat to strengthen and seal it in place.
Nicholas liked this physical work because it kept his mind off the other problems he needed to face.
So he stayed with Thomas all afternoon, working hand in hand with him.
By the end of the day, they had completed the cobbler’s shop. Thomas turned to Nicholas and said, “I misjudged you, sire. You are truly a fine man. May I mend some shoes for you?”
Nicholas waved his hand. “Nay, you have done a good day’s work. But I’ll bring you some work soon,” he said as he turned to leave. “You will have ample opportunity to repay me.”
Tristan joined Nicholas as they walked across the bailey. “I must ask you something,” Tristan said.
“Go ahead, ask,” Nicholas replied.
“The past few days, as we have been working, you have yet to ask me anything about my sister,” Tristan said and then looked sideways at Nicholas. “You do plan to marry Noelle?”
Nicholas resisted the urge to curse. He had successfully kept his thoughts off Noelle all day, and now Tristan had to remind him. “Noelle is very special. If I did what was best for her, I would leave her now, for she needs someone far better than I.”
“Nay,” Tristan said and added, “she wants you.”
“Why me?” Nicholas asked. “Surely, she knows my reputation for never being faithful to anyone.”
“Then you are willing to let Sir Gavin marry her?”
“Nay! But I want you to tell me why she has set her heart on me,” Nicholas said.
“This goes back to when Noelle was a small girl. Merlin predicted that she would meet her knight-in-armor, and she would know that he was the one. There would never be another for her, and you, my friend, seem to be her chosen knight.” Tristan chuckled and then added in a very serious tone, “Do not hurt her.”
“That is what I am trying not to do.”
The servants were still jittery, so Noelle had to constantly tell them that there would be many men left behind to protect them in the castle.
Nicholas slept with his men in the barracks. With his many unanswered questions, he had some thinking to do, and he didn’t need the distraction of having Noelle so near.
Of course, he had his meals with Tristan and Noelle. They would sit and talk after their meal until it was time to retire, and much to Nicholas’s regret the time would always pass too quickly. Noelle was interesting and smart, and he reluctantly admitted to himself that he enjoyed her company.
Tonight he lay on his cot, staring at the ceiling. However, his thoughts kept drifting back to Noelle and how much he’d enjoyed her body, and how he would like to forget that she was a lady and seduce her all over again.
So what was the problem? He’d never had a problem with seducing damsels before.
Noelle deserved better. That was the problem. She deserved someone who could give her children. He had decided a long time ago that he would not father any children. She deserved someone who could make a commitment. He couldn’t do that, either.
They damn well needed to talk.
Perhaps if they talked, he could convince her to change her mind.
A momentary look of discomfort crossed Nicholas’s face. He bent over, his arms resting on his knees. His life used to be so simple when all he had to worry about was which sword to use in battle, or decide which battle he needed to fight next.
“I take it something has displeased ye?” Dirk asked from the cot across from Nicholas’s.
“Nay,” Nicholas said.
“Are ye ready to return to Camelot, then?” Dirk asked as he leaned back against the wall.
“It is time,” Nicholas said.
“What do ye think of Cranborne?”
“With a little work, Tristan will have a fine holding.”
“Aye.” Dirk nodded thoughtfully. “I wager Tristan will lose some of his land to Sir Gavin once he marries Lady Noelle, though.”
Nicholas straightened and glared at Dirk.
Dirk looked surprised by the scathing look. “Had ye forgotten that small fact?”
“He’ll not marry her,” Nicholas said, a slight edge to his voice. If he couldn’t have her, no one else could either.
“Is there something ye’d like to tell me?”
With a long, exhausted sigh, Nicholas stood up. “Nay.”
Dirk was beginning to lose his patience. “Then ye intend to sit here and simmer until ye explode?”
Nicholas glared at Dirk.
“And glaring at me won’t help ye either. Ye need to face your problem. Are ye goin’ to marry her?”
Nicholas stood. “You are not going to leave this alone, are you?”
“And ye are avoiding the question. Are ye goin’ to marry her?”
Nicholas started toward the door. Before he went out, he glanced back at Dirk. “I wish I knew.”
Once outside, the crisp air helped clear Nicholas’s mind. He glanced up at the sky and noticed that the stars were brighter than usual this night. He realized he was walking in a direction he shouldn’t go, but he kept moving anyway, covering the short distance across the bailey to the Great Hall.
He knew what he had to do. He needed to speak with Noelle. It would be the last time he had a chance to speak with her alone, if at all. For when they returned to Camelot, he wasn’t sure what would happen.
His life could suddenly become worthless.
Nicholas nodded to the guard at the door. He was one of Nicholas’s men, and he knew the guard wouldn’t dare question where he was going, so Nicholas continued on his way, deep in thought.
He should have known better than to get in this situation, he berated himself. Not only had he betrayed a fellow knight, he’d lost the chance to win Briercliff, and he more than likely had angered the king.
Willpower. Nicholas almost laughed at the word. He’d always been the man of steel who could resist or overcome anything.
So what had happened?
How had one mere slip of a woman undone him?
Evidently he’d thought with another part of his body, he told himself ruefully.
Arriving outside of Noelle’s chamber, he rapped on the door and waited, knowing it was not proper to seek her out there. But who was going to stop him? He smiled at the very idea. Where Noelle was concerned, he had never done anything proper, and that was the crux of the problem.
Noelle wasn’t like any of the other women he’d known. If she were, he wouldn’t be in this dilemma.
“Nicholas?” Noelle greeted him, her surprise evident as she opened the door a crack.
“We need to talk,” Nicholas said.
“Do you want me to meet you down in the hall?”
“Nay,” he said as he entered the room and shut the door with a backward shove, giving Noelle little time to get out of his way.
“Do you think it wise to be in my chamber?”
“Probably not,” he said with an ironic smile. “I will be leaving on the morrow for Camelot. My men have been hunting and have brought back fresh game for the holding. You will be adequately provisioned until Tristan can restore order here.”
“Thank you,” Noelle said as she stood before him. “We could not have saved Cranborne had it not been for you and your men.”
“Noelle, I would never have let Meleagant harm you or your home,” Nicholas said and at the same time cursed himself. Here he’d come to tell her he was not the man for her, and somehow he had already gotten twisted up in his thinking. He must stay steady on his course. “When I return to Camelot, I will go and speak to our king who, I grant, will not be happy.”
“And I will not be happy if he punishes you.”
“Nay.” Nicholas shook his head. “It was my wrongdoing. It is I who shall pay.”
Noelle frowned. Nicholas stood before her as still as a tree. He was acting strange ... as if he was afraid of her. This wasn’t the Nicholas she’d made love to, who’d taught her the pleasure of physical love. Noelle took a step toward him. “You have regrets?”
Nicholas stared at her, completely dumfounded by her question.
Noelle wanted to smile at the fierce knight who, at the moment, seemed very leery of her. For once, Nicholas didn’t hide his emotions, and she could read each one of them, and there were many. However, the one that seemed to draw his brow together was uncertainty.
Aye, Sir Nicholas was afraid of her.
“I am not worthy of your love,” Nicholas said finally in a voice void of emotion.
Noelle took another step closer until she stood right before him. “Do you not think that I should be the judge of whether you are worthy of my affections or not?”
“Nay.” He shook his head with the certainty of a man who knew everything and was never wrong. “You are young and know nothing of the world.”
Noelle reached out and touched him.
He jumped.
She smiled.
“I might be young, as you say, Nicholas,” Noelle said in a velvet-sounding voice as she placed both slender, white hands on his chest. “But rest assured, I know exactly what I want.”
Her husky voice sent shivers running rampant down Nicholas’s spine. Damn his traitorous body for wanting her. Damn him for not being able to resist. Nicholas reached out and pulled her next to him. “Do you not understand? I cannot marry you. There is so much you do not know about me.”
Slowly, Noelle slid her arms around Nicholas’s neck. His frown increased and he tried to draw away. “You are not listening, Noelle,” Nicholas insisted.
“Nay, I am not,” she said as her lips brushe
d his, teasing his lower body to life.
Damn! He’d never known a creature as wanton as the woman he held in his arms. His hands splayed across her back as he clasped her against his hardened body. His mouth found hers, and his lips were hot and demanding as his tongue slid smoothly into her mouth, probing with passion, savoring all her sweetness.
She offered him all of her, and Nicholas groaned with need. He’d never let her go. He could fool himself no more as his tongue plunged into her mouth, causing her to wrap her arms more securely around his neck.
Her response was as hungry as his.
Nicholas scooped Noelle up and carried her to the bed. They parted only long enough to hastily remove their clothes.
Noelle held her arms up toward Nicholas. His eyes had darkened with lust as he joined her, his hot body pressed against hers, creating an exquisite harmony. She snuggled against him as their legs intertwined and she could feel his hardness between her legs. She kissed him long and hard as heat rippled under her skin and Noelle realized just how much she wanted to feel Nicholas inside her.
Nicholas also felt the urgency of the moment. Later they would make love slowly and leisurely, he promised himself, but for now they needed each other and the waiting was torture. The force, he thought as he entered her, robbed him of his breath, his wits, his thoughts.
They were so much a part of each other. There was no beginning and there was no end. Instinctively, each seemed to sense what the other needed. Nicholas thrust into Noelle’s warmth over and over again until they both cried out their pleasure at almost the same time. Then Nicholas collapsed spent on her warm, soft body. He felt as if someone had sucked the life from him.
Nicholas was so sated that he didn’t have the strength to move. He could stay like this forever, he thought, buried in her warmth.
Their breathing, matching breath for breath in an instinctual rhythm, was the only sound in the room as they clung to each other. When they finally floated down to earth, Nicholas rolled to the side, cradling Noelle in his arms.
He took a deep breath and said, “I promised myself that this would not happen again.”
Super Summer Set of Historical Shorts Page 36