Knight Dreams

by C. C. Wiley

  “Only when I need him to behave that way. Otherwise he’s as gentle as a kitten.” He yanked the bill of the cap down to cover more of her features. “Now stay put and stay out of trouble.”

  Terrwyn watched him enter the tavern. The loss of security struck her hard. She had come to take comfort in his bristly presence. She caught her reflection in the horse trough. Filth coated her face and clothing. She rubbed at a spot on the jerkin. Too late, she realized it looked worse from her efforts.

  She heard the scuffle of soles against the drive. Thinking James returned for her, she shifted toward the sound of footfalls. The smile she placed for him slipped when she saw the approaching men. Suspicion coated their eyes until they glittered with animosity.

  She gave them the best welcoming grin she could manage. While she nodded in goodwill, she felt for the quiver and arrows hanging from her shoulder.

  The men did not seem to approve of her movements. They advanced, keeping their hands close to their weapons.

  Terrwyn gripped the rolled edge of the trough. Lifting her chin, she refused to give way to their threats. She caught a few of their stares and held them defiantly. She might be a displaced daughter, but by god she was a Welshman’s daughter. And a Welsh lord’s, at that.

  “You there.” A rotund-bellied man evidently deemed he was the spokesman for the group. “Have I seen your face before? What do you want here?”

  “To be left alone, you horse’s arse.” Terrwyn let go of the trough and stepped forward. “Shoo! Be off with yourself and take the other arses with you.”

  “Arse, is it?” The leader of the band of men closed the space between them.

  Her irritation with James ignited. He should have known it was unsafe to leave her exposed to the establishment’s riffraff. Her best means of escape was to find Zeus and ride out.

  Panic rising, she searched for a path of easy access to the stable. When long tapered fingers wrapped around her shoulder, she nearly leapt out of her boots.

  “Come, for once the fates shine on us.”

  To reach the attic they had to walk past three long planked tables, each one littered with food spilled from the night before. The scent of ale and smoked meats filled the air. Terrwyn’s stomach growled. It had been too long since they had a decent meal. Maybe she could slip out and find a scrap or two for them to eat.

  The narrow stairway leading up to the attic looked as if it were in need of repair. She gripped the railing and prayed they would not fall through the wooden planks. The door to their room was stuck and it took James several shoves to get it open. After the third push with his shoulder, it swung in on squeaking hinges.

  James’s silence made her nervous. She eyed him warily. She wished he would get on with it and yell out his accusations. Then she could defend her innocence.

  He held the door open, motioning her in. Their bodies brushed as she walked through. Terrwyn flinched from his touch. She snuck a glance and knew by the look in his eye that he saw it.

  She swallowed the apology that wanted to leap out. She had done nothing wrong. But he looked furious. Sad. It was the sadness that nearly did her in.

  Desperate to put space between them, she walked into the room. Dust flew about in the stale warm air. A rickety table stood next to a small cot. Pieces of straw used to stuff the mattress stuck out from the ticking. A thin blanket lay at the foot of the bed.

  She pressed her fingers to her mouth. She had never been in a bedchamber with a grown man before. What did he expect from her? What did she expect from him?

  The door swung shut. The space between them seemed to shrink into the darkness. Except for the bit of daylight streaming past the shuttered windows the room was cast in shadows.

  Surprised to discover she was not raining curses down on his head, James attempted to shake free of the rage. The layers peeled away until only a furious need to grab the troublesome woman to his chest remained.

  His shoulder braced against the door, he gripped the wooden latch. His hold loosened and he left the safety of the outside behind him. Indeed, his attraction to her was dangerous.

  Terrwyn had not moved from the center of the room. Presented with only her back, he lifted the ugly cap from her head, releasing the braid from its mooring. The cap came to a spinning stop where he tossed it on the rickety table. She turned with a startled look in her eyes.

  James opened his arms and let her tumble into his embrace. “Hush now, little one.”

  With the palm of her hands pressed into his chest, her fingers kneaded the leather panel of his jerkin. She pulled back, her face ashen and pale. “We cannot stay here.”

  “You don’t mean to tell me the great Archer is fearful of a few wagging tongues.” He shook his head. “There will be no talk.”

  “But the way the innkeeper looked at us. I’m certain she has a suspicious heart. She won’t leave us be until she unearths the truth.”

  “’Tis pity that you see.” He patted her hand as she continued to worry his clothing. “I spun a tale for Mistress Alice while I procured our rooms. She believes you are my runaway brother. It took great trials and tribulation before I caught up with you. ’Tis an abandoned, broken heart that brought you to heel. Your love was a light-skirt and deserted you because you lacked funds.”

  A small gasp left Terrwyn’s lips as she continued to focus on the center of his chest.

  “Here now,” James said, affronted by her disapproval. “Her taking pity on your broken heart is probably what saves us from having to bed down in the cow byre.”

  “I cannot believe you think I would give a faerie’s damn what that well-padded woman thinks.”

  He tilted his head to kiss her ear. The dainty shell pinked from his touch. He pushed the jerkin off her shoulder. Her skin was smooth, her muscles strong and supple. He longed to shove his fingers in her hair and possess her body.

  When Terrwyn groaned and leaned into his embrace, James wanted more. When she gripped the back of his neck and reclaimed his lips, he wanted to claim what he knew he had no right to. He should turn himself out. Bed down in the cow byre. Sleep with Zeus.

  The leather thong holding her braid in place uncoiled in his hands. He tossed it on the table. Quickly, carefully, he loosened her hair. The rich mahogany flowed down her shoulders in waves.

  “Beautiful.” He wove his fingers to her scalp. He tilted her face and kissed her forehead, her chin, the slope of her neck. She shivered when he ran his tongue over her skin.

  He swore at the knock at the door and smiled when Terrwyn echoed his sentiments with a curse of her own.

  “A moment.” He picked up the cap and held it out for Terrwyn. He waited until she had shoved her hair in, wondering how they had managed to fool anyone. Were people so blinded by their own misery they did not see what was before them?

  He tilted her chin and caught her mouth. “Beautiful,” he murmured against her lips.

  The knock came again, this time more persistent than the first. “Have the comforts you required.”

  He opened the door and let the mistress of the tavern in. She carried a tray loaded with a pitcher of ale and a platter of food to break their fast. Two serving wenches followed behind her, their arms full of rags and soap. The stable boy had been recruited to carry several buckets of steaming water.

  They followed her brisk orders. “Put that there on that table. Place those here. Tobia, fetch another bucket, but make it a cold one.”

  The boy nodded and turned to do her bidding. He squeezed by the two serving girls and hurried out the door.

  Terrwyn’s stomach growled as soon as the scent of warm bread and smoked meat filled in the air.

  The portly woman paused at her efforts and turned to stare openly. “You’ll feel better once you fill yourself with Mistress Alice’s good food.”

  “Please excuse my brother. He is too distraught for conversation,” James said, expecting the woman to draw Terrwyn to her ample breasts.

  “He’s a quiet one, is he? An
d small, too, if you don’t mind my saying.” She turned her attention to Terrwyn. “Lord love you, that heart of yours will mend in no time at all.” Her eyes narrowed when Terrwyn only nodded. “Imagine you’ll be in want of a clothes washing too. Go ahead and strip them off. Leave them outside the door. Tobia will pick them up when he brings that other bucket of water. He’ll brush your leathers while you eat and wash up.”

  She shooed her staff out the door, then slid her hand down James’s sleeve. “You come see me when you are rested and finished here. If you have another need, I’ll see to that too.”

  James lifted her hand and bowed over it. “I knew I would find safety and discretion the first time I visited this fine establishment.” His lips bussed lightly over the back of her knuckles. “I shall join you when my brother and I have reached our fill.”

  Her ample breasts seemed to grow as she leaned forward. “You’re certain you don’t need someone to wash your back?” Her gaze shifted irritably from his attention. “I believe your brother has choked on a crumb of bread.”

  “Nay, he is fine.” James gently led the tavern mistress to the door and gave a little push. As soon as her backend was through, he kicked the door shut.

  Terrwyn’s face was reddened but not from choking. He searched the tray and prayed the knife was dull.

  “Whoreson cur,” she ground out. “You kiss me, then place your lips on her skin?” She threw the rag and soap at his feet.

  James bent to retrieve them. “You will keep your voice down.” He returned the items on the bed. “From now on, you will trust me and you will not question my actions.”

  He ripped off a hunk of bread and shoved it in his mouth. His chewing slowed. He tore off another and held it out to Terrwyn. Warm butter dripped off the flaky crust. When she did not take it, he shoved it in his mouth. Ignoring the mugs, he grabbed the pitcher and swallowed deeply.

  “Monster.” She folded her arms defiantly. “You cannot force someone to trust.”

  “Shrew.” James picked up a chunk of cheese. Instead of slicing it with the knife, he tore it with his teeth.

  “Beast!” Her insult was softened by the growling of her empty stomach. Her nostrils flared, daring him to mention the sound.

  James pulled his leather jerkin off. The padded gambeson was next. The linen undershirt came with it. The silver band he wore on a leather thong glistened against his skin.

  “What do you think you are doing?”

  “I intend to eat this food and make use of the hot water I purchased. You think I’m a beast and I aim to show you different.” He paused, grabbed a chunk of bread and stuffed it in his mouth. Then sitting down on the bed he struggled to pull off his boots.

  “I cannot—” she started.

  “You will,” he cut in. “Or will you let fear keep you from what you want?”

  He untied the string around his waist. The band rolled down to his groin. He slipped out of his leggings and wrapped a bathing sheet around his middle. He padded barefoot to one of the buckets.

  Terrwyn drew in a ragged breath. While his back was turned she stole a piece of cheese from the tray and shoved it in her mouth. Her mouth watered from the scents floating up from the table. But now she hungered for more than food. He had called her a shrew. Dared her even. Fear did not keep her away. Did it?

  Water sluiced into a washing bowl.

  Terrwyn swallowed the cheese then gulped down some ale from the pitcher. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Her empty stomach a bit happier, she concentrated on the half-naked man standing before her. She had never seen a man so beautifully made.

  His shoulders rippled with every movement. The slope of his chest was sprinkled with coiled black hair. She counted at least six sets of muscles on his flat stomach. The angled plane of his low regions was still hidden by the bath sheet. Curious, she peered intently at the shadowy form underneath. Her knees nearly gave out when he bent to test the water.

  “Better hurry, ’tis getting cold.” James wetted the soap and rubbed it into the small cloth. A large tub stood in the middle where the servants left it. He paused in front of it. Looking over his shoulder, he cast his silent challenge then let the bath sheet drop to the floor.

  Terrwyn took a bite of a green apple. Its sweet tangy flavor filled her mouth. She licked at the juice sticking to her lips.

  He stepped into the metal basin and, while standing, rubbed the soapy cloth over his body. He moved to add more soap and his position gave her a side view.

  Fascinated, Terrwyn sat on the bed and watched. He raised the bucket and poured its contents over his head. His black hair gleamed. His skin was slick and looked—“Delicious.”

  “Am I?” He paused in his ablutions.

  Did I say that out loud?

  A slow, languid smile lifted the corners of his mouth.

  Oh, Lord in Heaven! Aye, I did.

  He winked at her and soaped his thighs. She moaned in resignation when he lifted his leg to soap the manacle wound around his ankle.

  She toed off her leather boots with ease and glanced back. James was watching her, a wicked gleam in his eye.

  This is madness.

  She lifted the leather jerkin, gambeson and linen shirt as one and swept them over her head. Her arms got stuck, caught in the triple layers of clothing. Exposed and unprotected, she began to panic.

  The sound of water sluicing onto the floor came before the muted padding of footfalls over wooden planks. The scent of soap and leather melded together. The warmth of James’s freshly bathed body heated her skin.

  She sucked in a breath when James touched her stomach. Lifting the hem, he peered into her face. Tiny water droplets clung to his ebony lashes and glittered like stars in the night.

  “Let me help.” He pulled the offending garment off and tossed it on the waiting pile of clothing.

  Terrwyn shivered despite the heat coming from his body. She loved the way he looked at her. Like a child waiting for a sweet confection. She squealed in surprise when he lifted her and buried his face between her breasts. He tongued her skin then planted sweet kisses along her ribcage. He made quick work of untying the ribbon around her waist. The leggings fell to the floor.

  James brought her feet back to the floor and released her. “Close your eyes.”

  Terrwyn complied. His breath brushed her neck. “Stay where you are.”

  She hugged her body, trembling from his absence. Her head began to clear. “I think ’tis best I—oh.” She started to turn.

  “Don’t.” His whisper scraped over her shoulder. He swept her into his arms and carried her to the tub.

  The soft rosemary soap perfumed the air as he massaged slow circles over her abdomen until he reached her mons. With his other hand, he trailed a warm soapy cloth over her lower back. He moved slowly, rounding over the curve of her hip, sliding over her buttock, her thighs. A heavy sigh was wrung from her chest as she arched her back. He released a pleasured groan and turned her to draw each nipple into his mouth. His rod vibrated his need.

  Terrwyn opened her eyes and met his gaze. She knew she should put a stop to this before it was too late. Her maidenhood remained intact. Yet she could not. All the reasons for turning back dissipated when he touched her.

  She grabbed the sides of his head. Drawing him to her, she caught his mouth, tugging his lips with her teeth. Fire swept over her skin. She wrapped her limbs around his waist.

  James could barely think beyond his desire. He dipped a finger where her legs were spread. The moist flesh pulsated with passion. His muscles bunched, needing to feel the brush of her skin across the head of his rod. He would go slow, give her time to deny him. Her legs unwound from his waist as he stepped into the tub. The absence of her heat left an ache he had never known.

  He stepped back, admiring the tautness of her slender body. The ebbing daylight danced over her skin, rippling it with energy. Joy of life glistened from her head to her toes. Her essence drew him to her as if she cast a spell upon him.
She met his gaze, daring him to come to her. He could not turn away.

  Growling, he grabbed her buttocks and lifted her from the tub. He backed her to the bed. They fell as one. Hands on flesh. Fingers probing, scraping, soothing. Lips suckling. Tongues licking, tasting. Their breaths came, panting, eager to breathe in the other’s scents.

  James knelt before her, nudging her legs apart. Her knees moved together.

  “Sweeting,” he soothed. “I will stop if you demand it.”

  When she responded with an animalist mixture of a whimper and a moan, he bent over her and laid a gentle kiss across her kneecaps. He nipped at the underside of her knees, licking where his teeth had been. He kept his hands on the mattress, touching only with his mouth. He slid over and placed a kiss on the outside of her smooth thigh. Pushing forward, he made his way until his forehead touched the crest of her hip.

  Terrwyn grabbed the back of his head and rolled toward him. James buried his face into the apex of her curls. He made little swirls in the nest, licking along the crease of her inner thigh.

  Her legs languid and supple, she opened up to him, giving him access to her inner core.

  James groaned into her burgeoning flesh. “God, woman, you have no idea what you do to me.”

  Terrwyn gave him a wobbly smile. “Aye. It this it then? I would have thought there’d be more to it.”

  Stunned by her innocent challenge, James shook his head. “Nay, love, we have only just begun.”

  He stretched out over her body, his tongue playing over her nipples as he wound a leisurely path to her mons. Blowing softly he began to suckle the fevered flesh. His satisfaction came when he had her keening his name. She bucked and rocked against his hands and mouth, coming in a burst.

  Her legs apart, she nudged him toward her core. James hesitated. His eyes closed, he strove to calm his body. “Are you certain, love?” He waited, praying she would not turn him away.

  She responded by pulling him forward. The back of his neck cupped in her hand, she moved to help him gain entrance.