Page 39 of Knight of Havoc
“Aye. As soon as the priest can be called, ’tis my plan. And from your words ’tis your intent as well.” His deep baritone voice sent shivers down her body, causing a warm blush to rush across her fevered skin.
“Aye, ’tis my fondest wish. You would have been my choice in a husband without the games,” she declared stepping even closer.
“I do not know if the empress will reward me any monies that will help you restore Blackmore let alone add to your estate’s wealth,” he said with a frown.
She reached up to smooth the crease in his forehead. “I care not what monies you bring toourcoffers.”
“Your parents will think I wed you only for your land and any wealth the empress bestows upon you,” he continued, appearing uneasy.
“I know better. Besides, Blackmore will be ours, together. My parents never cared for the place. It belonged to my grandfather, and he always told me it would belong to me once he was gone. My parents preferred our lands in Normandy, so they had no issue of letting me run the place when my grandfather began to age.”
“I still do not see what advantage our marriage will benefit you. I am but a lowly knight in service to our empress,” he admitted, showing his weakness.
A light laugh left her, causing the edges of his mouth to lift. “What advantage?” she said merrily. “Why, I will have you, mydearest Reynard. That in itself is the biggest reward I could ever have.”
“You are like a bright star lightening up my life, Elysande,” he murmured, taking her in his arms.
The sentiment warmed her heart and gave her the courage to state aloud the early unfinished thoughts that had swept into her mind. “That is why I propose we share the tub. ’Tis big enough for two and we can pull the table over to the edge and sup whilst we bathe.”
His eyes widened at her proposal before a chuckle escaped him. “You must think I am a saint if you think I can disrobe, get into a tub with you, and then not make you mine in every way.”
She pulled at the edge of his tunic until the linen went over his head. She looked her fill and she could not help herself from skimming her hands over his furred chest. Her fingers tingled at the contact.
“Then let our lives together begin this night for I have no intention of leaving this room a virgin. If nothing else, the deed will be done, and the empress cannot change her mind as to who I will marry.”
“You seem to have thought this all out.”
“I have had plenty of time to thinkeverythingout whilst I was tied up for the last two days. There is no sense in you waiting for me to complete my bath, not when we can accomplish two things at the same time. That is… unless you do not want to join me.” She hid her smile as she moved the screen that had been intended to shield her from his view. There was no need for it now if Reynard was to join her.
A hoarse croak sounded and she looked over her shoulder to see for herself that he wanted her as much as she wanted him. The evidence? The bulge clearly outlined under his hose now that he no longer wore his tunic.
“I would have to be insane not to wish to join you, Elysande.”
She nodded. “Help me pull the table over,” she ordered quietly and together they moved their feast so it would be within reach whilst they soaked in the tub.
She had no regrets as she stripped her soiled garments from her body, nor could she miss the hungry look upon the face of the man she loved. He watched her every move and she could only pray that outwardly she appeared like she knew what she was doing in the art of seduction. Inside she was terrified she would disappoint him once he took her to bed.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Reynard swallowed hardas he watched Elysande raise her leg to test the water before she slid her luscious, naked body into the tub. Knowing that she waited for him to join him made the tingling sensations in his own body grip like a vise. He had never ached for a woman this much in his life. Mentally he tried to calculate when the last time was he had taken one. Far too long, but that was not the reason for this intense hunger. None of the women from his past meant anything to him. They were frivolous encounters to satisfy his basic needs with the exception of Johanna.
He let the memory of a woman he had loved slip aside. She no longer had a place among the living. There was only one lady he wished to ever take to his bed again and she beckoned to him with a crook of her finger like a breath of fresh air. He would not let her wait any longer.
His boots thudded on the wooden floor beneath his feet as each one was removed. Reynard watched Elysande carefully whilst she took a sip of her wine. She appeared so confident whilst watching him begin to remove his hose, but he knew ’twas just a façade when her hand shook returning the chalice to the table. When his braies came next and he stood before her in nothing but what God had granted him, her eyes widened. Reynard held back a smile. She may look the seductress but there was no doubt Elysande was a maiden just as she claimed.
A virgin… once again, his mind slipped into his past. He had never taken a woman who was not already experienced. He would tread slowly for he did not wish for her first encounter with him to be anything but pleasant after the initial act of claiming her maidenhead.
He went to the opposite side of the tub and lowered himself into the warm water that sloshed over the rim. A light laugh came from the lady who moved her legs aside to give him more room.
“As husband and wife, they must have known we would bathe together,” she said taking a small chunk of cheese and pressing the tidbit to his mouth. He took her offering even going so far as to take hold of her hand and suck on the ends of her fingertips. He felt her tremble whilst his lips let go and she then took advantage of the moment to trace his mouth.
By Saint Michael’s wings… she was so beautiful and clearly she had no idea what she was doing to him. He would be lucky if he did not release himself before they even made it to the bed.
“I will have to give them a few extra coins to thank them for thinking of such a luxury,” Reynard said as he also took up a piece of cheese between his finger and thumb and offered the tasty morsel to the lady.
Her eyes sparkled in delight and she proceeded to copy his actions from but a moment ago. They continued to eat their meal in silence and Reynard began to wonder if she had changed her mind. But while she did not advance their congress, nor did she withdraw. The intimacy of the tub tempted him to take her here and now. Their bodies were already so close she might as well have been on his lap as their legs had become intertwined at their close proximity. He had already been uncomfortable with her riding in his lap for hours. There was only so much one man could take.
Or so he thought… apparently he was in store for so much more when she took the bar of soap and a linen cloth and began to clean her skin. His eyes glazed with need as he was able to watch her curvaceous body or at least what he was allowed to witness above the waterline. But he knew what awaited him soon for he had already seen for himself those perky full breasts, her smooth creamy white skin, and her legs that would wrap around his body perfectly once they were joined as one.
