Journey in Time (Knights in Time) (36 page)

     
"Sorry, no, I was just curious." She touched the heels of her boots to Eclipse’s sides, cueing him into a canter. She touched him again and galloped the distance to the castle.

***

Alex was in their chamber packing for Wales when she returned.

"I’ll be gone at least seven days," he said.

She tossed her cloak onto a chair then stepped up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Since you’re leaving tomorrow, I wanted you to myself tonight and ordered dinner sent up here.” Her fingertips worked their way under the drawstring of his hose to tease his hipbones and tickle the line of hair that started under his belly button. “Do you mind?" she asked, resting her chin on the back of his shoulder, her fingers still dancing along his flesh.

"Have I ever minded having you alone?" He turned and pulled her close.

His kiss dispelled any doubt. At first a light brush, it built slow like Ravel's
Bolero
as he parted her lips. The soft contact evolved into a penetrating, deep demand for more. She broke away only to draw breath, then indulged in the luxury of giving him a tortuous kiss in kind.

Alex groaned as she nipped his lower lip and wet a supple path along the seam of his lips. Her tactics suggestive and seductive, there'd be no rush to plunder but to conquer bit by bit, until he was as enthralled as she.

Shakira was captivated, weak in the knees and drained of any awareness other than Alex's touch, his taste, his scent. His sensuous presence overwhelmed her. She savored the way he tasted of ale and apple. She reveled in the feel of stubble on a cheek that smelled of his shaving soap. She melted at the hotness of his hand when he splayed his fingers into the curve of her spine and pressed her tight to him. Muscled thighs blinded her to all but him and how he made her feel. Every pore became a pinprick of fire. She burned for him.

Is it a sin to want someone so much? To willingly lose your soul for a few kisses, a well placed touch, the delicious high when he’s inside you. Maybe sacrifice was the price of love, the trade-off for the sin of loving too much. She wouldn't dwell on that now. There'd be plenty of time later for sorrow.
 

His strong arm tightened over her shoulders as he whispered earthy, impassioned suggestions in her ear. The carnal and wicked deeds he would do, he wanted done--words that inflamed the senses. His other hand slid down and rubbed her buttocks. Even through the heavy wool of her skirt, she felt his hard erection jump when she wriggled her hips.
 

"Let me make love to you," she managed to mumble.

"You don't have to ask twice." He shot her a lopsided grin and winked, his fingers already undoing her tunic laces.

Shakira grabbed his hands, halting the rapid progress he'd made on the garment. "No, I have a plan."

"A shameless, down and dirty plan?"

"Will steamy do?"

"I'm yours to command, milady. Where do you want me?"

"Close your eyes."

Alex complied.

She withdrew a length of fine woven linen from her skirt pocket, blindfolded him, and then waved a hand in front of his face. When he didn’t react, she led him to the edge of the bed and had him sit. She knelt in front of him and began removing his leather boots. Easing the first off, she ran her fingernails along the back and inside of his calf, pleased with his sudden intake of air. With her other hand, she loosened the laces of her tunic and slipped it over her head before she removed the second boot.

Alex reached for her as she bent to her task.

"You’re not allowed to touch yet," she said in her stern lawyer voice and he dropped his hands to his sides. "Lie down," she ordered.

He quickly obeyed.

She retrieved the bowl of mulled wine she’d hidden under the bed earlier in the day. That morning she'd filched some late summer cherries the cook had pitted, dried, and then soaked the fruit in the wine all day.
 

She rubbed a plump, drenched cherry along Alex's lips leaving a trail of dark juice. His tongue darted out to investigate. He drew the treat into his mouth and held it for a heartbeat before biting into the delicacy. The pungent aroma of the wine’s spices filled the air. The sharp, tangy scent of cloves, the gentler, rich odor of cinnamon, and the sweet scent of honey drifted enticingly from his lips.

"Like it?" she asked in a husky voice.

"Hmmm," he nodded. "More."

Gathering her skirt to the top of her thighs, she swung a leg over and straddled him. "This one you'll have to work for." She held the cherry between her lips and bent, lightly pressing it to his mouth. He caught onto her game and extracted the morsel with artful expertise. But not before the succulent nectar dripped down her chin. Even blindfolded, he traced the sweet path with his tongue.

Remember tonight.
   

When the small bowl of cherries disappeared behind eager lips, he licked non-existent juice from her collarbone. Her skin tingled with the erotic contact and where his lips grazed with a soft caress. She clasped his ribcage tighter with her thighs, losing herself to the moment, to his ministrations.

Remember me.

Another minute of this distraction and her plan would disintegrate. "Stand up," she said with some regret. He slid his hands under her arms lifting her with him. As he stood, he cupped her breasts, pressing his advantage.

"What did I say about touching?"

"I wasn't touching for the reason you think. I was trying to maintain my balance," he said and began to sway.

She batted his hands away.

"Rubbish and stop weaving. You're not off balance. Hold onto your blindfold," Shakira instructed as she raised his tunic over his head. She slipped her fingers under the drawstring of his hose but didn't remove them yet. Instead, she kissed his throat and worked her way to his navel, stopping to blow on each warm, wet spot before she moved on. She lingered caressing the silky trail of hair on his belly with her face and lips.

She tugged on his hose. The warmer skin of his abdomen a marked contrast to the cool flesh her mouth so recently abandoned. Again, she tugged. The hose edged further down. The effort slowed as his eager arousal strained against the material. Finished, she threw the hose to the side and stroked him, her finger and thumb skimmed his length.

A low growl rumbled from deep within his chest and he reached for her hair. Already wet for him, her restraint slipping, a heart pounding rush of blood heated her cheeks. She pulled away and stripped the rest of her clothes off, cursing what seemed like zillions of bits and pieces.

Naked, she knelt again. One hand cradled and rolled his balls in her palm. With her forefinger, she pressed rhythmically against the vulnerable spot behind them. Alex moaned something unintelligible. What a turn-on the power was. He was as lost to her as she to him and she loved it. With the tip of her tongue, she swirled the droplet that leaked from the dark rose head and took him in her mouth.

Her eyes flew open as Alex jerked her head back with one hand, yanking the blindfold off with the other. "I want to watch." The hold on her hair gentled even as the veins she licked and teased throbbed.

He was close, so close, the urgency of his climax evident. Near the end he tried to use restraint, but Shakira continued, shattering his control. Spent, he withdrew and eased her up, kissing her with great thoroughness. He tasted of sugary wined cherries and that sweetness mingled with the residual saltiness of his essence.

"You didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to. I like toying with you."

"You're in luck. I believe you'll find me a satisfactory plaything for hours of entertainment. I have many movable parts." He wiggled his brows and squatted down to stoke the fire, not in the least self-conscious at his nudity. She marveled at the lack of modesty. The warrior body she ogled. At times, she longed for the artistic talent to sketch him, a token to keep nearby.

"If that was my send off because I'm leaving tomorrow, I'll have to go away more often."

"Let's not talk about leaving. Let's eat in bed and talk about the countryside you'll see and make love some more." Shakira turned so he wouldn't see she held back tears.

Later, she lay cuddled against Alex. Only she didn't sleep. He woke a couple of times as she stroked his chest and drew a light hand over his stomach. He mumbled, and she held still, listening, waiting to hear any variation of “I love you” his sleepy mind might manage. Without opening his eyes, he kissed the top of her head and fell back asleep.

Chapter Forty-Four

"I'll be back in a week, hopefully, ten days max," Alex said, while he and Shakira worked with the fasteners on his mail and plate.

"What’s this?" she asked, tapping a skirt of overlapping steel rows that attached to his breastplate and covered his abdomen.

"A fauld. It’s supposed to protect your stomach and keep you from getting gutted."

"Clever."

"Trust me, it’s highly overrated."

She placed her palms against his metalled chest then pressed her forehead on the cold steel.

"Are you crying?"

She shook her head.

"Hey," he said.

She glanced up. He’d seen the same haunted look in the eyes of men on the battlefield--an emptiness as they held the body of a lost comrade. "What's got you so upset?"

"Nothing," she said. "Last time you went away it only took four days."
 

"I’m traveling farther this trip. From here I ride to the Bristol Channel and sail a fair distance to Cardigan Bay." Until he saw the condition of the property, he’d leave his destination vague. "It’ll be brass monkeys cold. I expect by the end of the crossing my balls will be behind my sternum, but going by ship saves a lot of time." He shivered thinking about the frigid waters of the Irish Sea.

Shakira held him with a sudden ferocity. Pressed so close, he swore her heat would penetrate his armor. He started to kiss her goodbye when she buried her face in his neck and blurted, "I love you. Remember I love you." Alarm bells sounded in his head at the urgency of the muffled words.

A terrible sense of foreboding crawled up Alex's spine. She never told him she loved him before, although he knew she did, and he loved her. He believed himself impervious to the emotion, always able to control the depth of his attachments. This was uncharted territory for him. His love for her both excited and unsettled him. For now, he pushed his mixed emotions aside more concerned with the disquiet that filled him in her tone.
  

"What's this about, Rocky? What's wrong?" Alex tipped her chin and made her look him in the eye. "Don't say ‘nothing.’ Don't say you love me and then lie to me."

"There's nothing to tell you. It’s important you know how I feel. I wish I told you sooner."

"Rocky...we'll talk when I get back."

He bent her in a passionate embrace. The intent meant to reassure her even if he didn't have the words right now. Shakira stood the assault only for a minute before returning his kiss, harder and deeper, until he ran out of breath. He'd never been the first to run out of breath. Never.

"A few days, that's all. We have a lot to discuss when I return." He pulled up the protective mail head cover. "The time will fly," he said and adjusted the links where his hair caught.