Truth be told, he was struggling, too.
“I have had time to think about everything since this morning, so I want to discuss it with you,” he said quietly, seriously. “Only yesterday, we were declaring our feelings and, today, we have already had to face serious opposition. Would you agree with that statement?”
She nodded. “I would.”
“But that does not mean it is ruined. Nothing is ruined, Cissy. Do you understand?”
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm. “I do,” she said. “I am sorry if I sounded snappish and weak.”
He smiled at her. “You are dealing with the stress of this situation far better than any woman I know of,” he said. “Ever since we reached Norwich, this has been a tribulation for you. You’ve had to deal with an amorous king, an angry father, and an unsympathetic commander. But you have dealt with it all beautifully and you will continue to do so. Every moment shows me how strong and capable you are, and that simply makes me adore you all the more. So, I swear to you, nothing is ruined. But we do have to think of a few things about our future. It sounds ridiculously premature to say that, but it’s necessary. I have no intention of letting you go, so if we have a plan in place, we’ll both feel better. Agreed?”
She was visibly calming in the wake of his logic. “Agreed,” she said, smiling weakly. “And thank you.”
“For what?”
“For not letting me go.”
He shook his head, reaching up to gently touch her cheek. “Never,” he whispered. “For now, I think we must adhere to the plan we set earlier – that you must leave the castle until the king departs. That will keep you away from him. If your father does not know about last night, he soon will, so I am sure he will agree. The fastest and safest thing to do is take you to the inn near the cathedral, as we discussed. I will escort you there myself, so you should pack a satchel and be ready to leave as soon as I can secure the horses.”
She nodded. “What about my father? Will you tell him?”
He nodded. “Of course,” he said. “As soon as you are safely away, I will tell him everything. I suspect he may even come to you at the inn and I further suspect he will want to take you back to Lioncross Abbey with him.”
Her brow furrowed. “I am not entirely sure I want to go there.”
“Why not?”
“Because it is a massive fortress and once I am there, it would be a simple thing to keep me locked away from you.”
Alexander chuckled. “Do you seriously think those old walls would keep me away? You do not know me very well.”
She grinned. “That is something I hope to change,” she said, squeezing his hands. “I was so hoping we would have more time to talk and come to know one another. But if my father takes me back to Lioncross…”
He cut her off gently. “It will be the safest place for you right now,” he said. “You will be far away from John and he can focus his attention somewhere else.”
Christin thought on John and his determination, and of a future where she and Alexander were separated for an unknown amount of time. “And then what?”
He shrugged. “The Marshal and I must have a serious discussion about the situation,” he said. “It may be that you will stay at Lioncross for some time and I will come to you when I can. It may be that you must give up your life of spying altogether, which I hesitate to say because I know you love it. I do not want to see you unhappy, but I will say this… as my wife, I would prefer you not continue to serve The Marshal.”
She cocked her head thoughtfully, looking at him in such a way that told him she was considering everything quite carefully. Perhaps that wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but at least she wasn’t outright denying him.
“I do love serving The Marshal,” she finally said. “Susanna continues to serve him even though she and Achilles are married.”
“That is true.”
“May I serve as she does?” she asked. “As time and the situation allows? It’s simply that I feel it is important work, Sherry. I have told you this. I would not do anything you did not approve of.”
She said it in such a way that he didn’t immediately flare. Not that he would have, and he didn’t expect her to give up so easily, but what she said made sense. Moreover, she was willing to give him the control, even this early on in their budding relationship. That spoke of her willingness to compromise. Regardless of what he wanted, however, he couldn’t have denied her.
She was gifted.
He understood that.
“We do not have to decide anything today,” he said. “I suppose that I do not see any issue with you continuing to serve in some capacity, but that is far in the future, sweetheart. Let us get through the immediate situation and we’ll address the rest. But I think, for now, getting you to the inn and then on to Lioncross is the best course of action. You will be safe with your father, in any case. The king cannot touch you.”
Reaching up, she gently touched his hair and he closed his eyes, savoring the sweetness of her touch. It was such a gentle moment of discovery, having the freedom to touch one another in a setting that allowed them complete privacy. At the moment, there was nothing lustful about it, simply the excitement of something new and wonderful at hand.
“You are worried about the king, still,” she said. “You do not think that last night truly discouraged him?”
Alexander opened his eyes. “With John, we have no way of knowing,” he said. “All I know is that we should not take any chances when it comes to you. I want you safe and away from Norwich.”
“Today?”
“Today. Right away.”
“Will you do something for me, then?”
“If I can.”
She smiled, embarrassed, and he could see her cheeks flushing. “I am not sure how to say this,” she said. “I fear we may spend a good deal of time apart and I was wondering… you see, I’ve never been kissed by someone other than my father or mother or uncle. It would give me a memory to take with me if you would…”
Alexander was on her in a flash, his hands cupping her head as his lips slanted over hers. Instead of stiffening with surprise, she was immediately soft and compliant, and he pulled her into his arms, kissing her deeply. Everything about her was warm and honeyed and the more he tasted, the more he wanted.
She was exhilarating.
He lost himself. While one hand held her against him, the other began to roam. He touched her hair, feeling the long and silken strands, before he gently stroked her arm, her back, the curve of her torso. Everything about her was so soft and beautiful, and his mouth left hers to nibble on her jaw.
Her neck…
Her shoulder.
He wanted to move lower on her. God knows, he did, but it wasn’t the right time. At least, he didn’t think so until Christin untied the front of her garment and yanked it down. Suddenly, both shoulders were fully exposed as was the rise of her full breasts. She’d pulled it down just short of her nipples and he didn’t ask questions. He didn’t chastise her or pull the front of her dress up.
He feasted.
He suckled on the top of her breasts, gently kissing, gently tugging at the tender flesh. Christin gasped at his intimate touch. As he bent lower to plant his face in the valley between her breasts, her small hands snaked into the neckline of his tunic, her bare hands against his bare shoulders, caressing him.
Touching him.
Now, he was on fire.
Never in his life had he ever known a woman to be so immediately and insistently intoxicating. There was something about Christin that drove him mad the minute he touched her, as if he’d always meant to have her, as if they’d always been meant to be.
Nothing had ever felt more natural.
The front of her gown came down to her waist.
Now, his mouth was on her nipples, suckling her furiously as he laid her back on the bed. Christin didn’t put up a fight. She lay down, with him on top of her, arms around his neck as he nursed her breas
ts, first one and then the other. All the while, she was gasping with pleasure, her hands in his hair, until her fingers tightened around the strands and she yanked him up. This time, her mouth claimed his and, somehow, in all of the kissing and fondling, he ended up on his back with her straddling him.
He was more aroused than he’d ever been in his life. His hands found their way under her skirts, which were merely a shift and a surcoat, so there wasn’t much resistance. His hands gripped her hips at first before sliding to her buttocks, tender and soft. Christin didn’t flinch, allowing his hands to roam as she continued her role as aggressor, suckling his lower lip, responding when his tongue probed her mouth. Everything he was doing to her, she was responding and then some.
In fact, Alexander could hardly believe how responsive she was. He pulled his mouth away from hers and resumed suckling her breasts, partially sitting up as she sat upon his lap as a man would sit upon a horse, with her legs parted. The harder he suckled her, the more she bucked and gasped until his hand moved down her belly to the thatch of dark curls between her legs.
Since she was straddling him, the jewel between her legs was an easy target and he stroked her gently. His touch in a very intimate place caused her to start, unfamiliar with someone touching her in such a place, but she didn’t try to pull away. She let him stoke her as he suckled her breasts, one hand her holding against him while the other went to work between her legs.
God, he knew he should stop. He should stop at that very moment but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. She was alluring beyond measure, unafraid of his touch, brave as he’d never seen a maiden in this situation. Visions of Christopher de Lohr running his sword through his gut had occurred to him, but they were fleeting because some things were worth dying for.
Christin de Lohr was one of them.
She was already very wet and hot, and he carefully inserted a finger into her. Christin gasped at the tender intrusion but didn’t try to shake him or pull away. In fact, her head rolled back and she closed her eyes, experiencing the tender trails of his touch. One finger went into her, thrusting gently, before he inserted two.
Christin shuddered.
“Cissy,” he murmured against her breast. “I should not go on. You know I should not go on.”
Her response was to roll her pelvis forward, awkwardly, but the message was obvious. “Please don’t stop,” she breathed. “Please, Sherry… I am yours. I will always be yours. Give me all of you to remember during the time we shall be separated. Will you not continue?”
He sighed raggedly. Her nipples were in front of his face and he leaned over, taking one between his teeth and gently tugging at it.
“You already have all of me, Cissy,” he whispered. “But what you are asking… are you certain this is what you want?”
She thrust her pelvis against his hand again and Alexander had his answer. Therefore, he untied his breeches and freed his engorged manhood. Grasping her hips, he pulled her forward so she could feel the long, hard length of him.
He thought it might give her pause, but it didn’t. She had simply found something to rub her wet heat against and Alexander moved his member so the tip of it came to bear against her virginal passage. Christin was so highly aroused, but so inexperienced, that she thrust her hips forward again to capture him and he ended up sliding nearly his full, long length into her.
The sting of possession brought a yelp from Christin. All of the fondling and suckling had been pleasurable, but the actual act of mating had been something different. She came to a halt in her wriggling, her head dropping to his shoulder to bite off her gasp of pain, and Alexander grasped her hips again and held them steady as he thrust hard, all the way into her.
With a groan, torn between pain and pleasure, Christin wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in the side of his head. He could hear her breathing heavily in his ear and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.
“You are more courageous than any woman I know,” he whispered. “Relax, sweetheart. I promise you will like this.”
He nursed at her breasts to distract her as he recoiled and thrust again, moving in and out of her gently at first but with increasing power. Christin remained straddled on his lap, her legs spread wide as she welcomed him into her body for the first time. He was skilled and he was gentle, and he succeeded in building a heat within her loins that had bursts of lightning surging through her. The lightning grew stronger with each successive thrust.
In very little time, Christin was experiencing her first release. Her body was young and highly sensitive, and Alexander held her tightly as wave after wave of ecstasy rolled over her. Just as she was catching her breath, another climax hit her and she cried out, loudly enough that Alexander had to put his hand over her mouth so others would not hear her groans of pleasure. But her pleasure fed his own and after one great and powerful thrust, he quickly removed himself from her body and spent himself on her coverlet.
Even when he was spent, he didn’t want it to be over. It had been such a soul-baring experienced that he thrust into her again, gently, and continued to stroke in and out of her, feeling her warm wetness surround him, feeling her climax yet again as her body bucked and shuddered involuntarily. He had to smile, thinking that it was quite miraculous, all of it. Amazing, even.
She was amazing.
And he was marked for life.
“Are you well?” he asked huskily. “Did I hurt you?”
Her arms were still around his neck, her face in the side of his head. She mumbled something but she was so muffled that he didn’t hear what she said. He shifted so she had to loosen her grip on him and lift her head.
“What did you say?” he asked, amused.
Her hair was hanging in her face. She even had a piece of it in her mouth, which he pulled out. When he pushed her hair away from her face, he could see that her eyes were still closed. He started to laugh.
“Cissy?” he said. “Say something.”
She grinned, peeping her eyes open. “I said that all is well,” she said. “And I think I love you.”
Her arms tightened and she kissed him again, deeply, and he responded instantly. It was a kiss of desire, of emotion, and most of all, of joy.
Of two people who had finally found one another.
“Am I truly so fortunate, sweetheart?” he breathed against her mouth. “Do you truly?”
She pulled her lips away long enough to look him in the eye. “I think I have loved you since before I met you,” she said softly. “My father and uncle would speak so highly of Alexander de Sherrington and when we met, I knew I already loved you. I admired you so much that the admiration became something else once we came to know each other. I cannot explain it better than that. I have been yours since the beginning, Sherry, only you did not know it.”
He grinned, holding her head between his two enormous hands. “I know it now.”
“You do.”
He kissed her again, gently this time. “Now,” he said. “It is time for you to pack a satchel and prepare to depart. I will return for you once I’ve finished preparing the horses.”
“Shall I meet you below, in the farm fields?”
“Nay.”
She looked at him, surprised. “Why not?”
“Because there are enough men around now that we can lose ourselves leaving through the main gate,” he said. “I am confident that there is so much activity, and everyone is focused on the evening’s feast, that we will be able to slip by unnoticed. Also, I do not want you out of my sight, so you will remain here until I return for you. I do not want you wandering alone with all of the soldiers around and with the king’s men lurking. Therefore, pack your bag and I will return for you shortly.”
He seemed determined. Christin simply nodded, trusting him and his plans. He kissed her once more, twice more, before moving to help her pull the top of her dress up. Realizing their time alone was ended, she made an unhappy face and begrudgingly climbed off him, refit
ting her dress, which was bunched up around her waist. The bodice went back up and the skirts went back down, and she looked at her coverlet to see the evidence of their activities.
Alexander was on his feet, tying off his breeches, as she went to the bed and noted a wet, slightly pink stain on it. He turned to see what had her attention and, noticing the evidence of their activities, reached down and flipped the coverlet over without a word. Now, the stain was on the underside with the clean coverlet above. When she looked at him, rather embarrassed, he smiled as he bent over and kissed her forehead.
“It is not that I am ashamed of what we did,” he said quietly. “But I do not want others to know of it, for obvious reasons. What we shared, Cissy… that is for us alone and no one else.”
She nodded. “Agreed.”
He put a big hand on her face, cupping her cheek and forcing her to look at him. “Are you sure you’re well?”
“I am fine.”
“No discomfort or regrets?”
She shook her head, throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing him tightly. “Never,” she murmured. “But already, I miss you. Please hurry back to me, Sherry. Every day of this separation will be torture.”
He enveloped her in his enormous arms, memorizing the feel of her against him to recall on the days to come. He honestly didn’t know what the future would bring them, or how long they would truly be separated, but he didn’t want to frighten her with his speculation. He wanted this moment to be as warm and without angst as it could possibly be.
“It will be torture, indeed,” he said after a moment. “But I carry your love and that will give me the strength of the archangels for what is to come.”
Kissing her on the side of the head, he let her go, heading for the door. He was about to lift the latch when a word from her stopped him.
“Will I carry your love, also?” she asked quietly.
He paused, turning to her. The twinkle in his dark eyes told her everything even before he spoke. “You do,” he murmured. “It does not seem possible that I am capable of saying this so soon, but it is what I feel. My love was only meant for you.”
The Agents of William Marshal Volume II: A Medieval Romance Bundle Page 19