Princess in a Strange New Land (7 page)

“You are drunk, my lady,” he pronounced gently. “And you are not yourself. Perhaps you should sleep.”

“But I don’t want to sleep,” Akna protested. “There is so little time, and I need to know…”

She began to trace lazy circles over his jawbone with her fingertips.

“Know what?”

But Akna did not answer. Rising to her toes, she slowly drew the tip of her tongue over his chin and then tugged at his bottom lip with her teeth. His question forgotten, John’s heart began to thud quickly in his chest as Akna pulled him down into a slow kiss. His loins began to ache as she pulled his hands down to her hips and guided them over her most sensual curves.

“Do
you
want to sleep?” she purred.

“No,” he admitted with a groan. “But—”

“Well, I definitely am not interested in sleep right now,” Akna told him with a seductive twist of her hips. “But I do want you to carry me over to your bed, throw me onto your—”

Suddenly, John lifted her in his arms. He marched over to the bed and tossed her, giggling, onto the mattress. Looking down at her prone form with lustful eyes, he began to loosen his tie, tug at this jacket and shirt and unbutton his trousers. After shedding most of his clothing, he crawled over her on all fours, caging her with his muscular limbs.

“Now what?” he asked, his voice a purr.

Akna smiled playfully and tugged at the hem of her shift.

“This thing,” she said, batting her eyes. “It offends me.”

John sank lower and took the hem of her undergarment between his teeth. He began to tug the thin material upward, the stubble on his chin grazing her sensitive flesh and eliciting round after round of girlish giggles. When he had pushed the slip over her hips, John settled down at her side, wrapping one strong arm around her shoulders and pulling her body to his. His lips captured hers, and he engaged her in a passionate kiss as his other hand slid past her shift and up her bare skin. With a sudden jerk, he tore the shift from her body and began to nip and nibble at her heated flesh. Akna moaned and arched into him. He anchored her more tightly to himself and let his long fingers rove lower. He spread her thighs gently and then pushed two fingers into her ready sex, slowly rubbing and massaging her into a shuddering peak. Akna mewled and twisted against his muscular frame as he coaxed her body into release, his sharp eyes taking in her every reaction. When she finally slumped over his shoulders, he gathered her close to his side and pulled his coverlet over them both. Gazing down at her slightly trembling form, he could clearly see that she was still heady with wine, though her body was alert with sensual tension. His groin ached for release, but he would not take her selfishly while she lay intoxicated in his bed.

“What about—” she whispered, already drowsy.

“Shh,” he hushed her, pressing his lips to her brow. “You need to sleep the liquor off.”

“John?” she began to ask, her voice sweetly childlike.

“Sleep now, my dear.”

“How dear?”

“What?”

“How dear am I to you?”

“As dear as any could be?”

“Dear enough to leave England for?”

“What is this talk?” John murmured, nuzzling her gently. “Sleep now, my sweet.”

“Would you sail West?” Akna asked drowsily, curling up against him like a sleepy kitten. “Sail with me?”

He watched as her lashes fluttered closed. He watched as her jaw relaxed and her head nestled into his neck. He watched as her breathing lengthened and deepened into sleep. Her words were garbled but he thought he caught the gist—and he dared wonder if her feelings were true or if it had been the alcohol talking. Could she want him for longer? Could she possibly be asking him to go back with her to the New World? He pressed a kiss to her smooth brow. He was not yet ready for this adventure to end. When she woke, he would ask her if he could accompany their delegation back the Labrador. His resolve grew firm; he would lay his cards on the table and risk it. Finally, he, too, allowed his eyes to close, gathering her into him for a short rest.

The room was dark and the firelight was low when Akna blearily opened her eyes. She shifted slightly, and warm blankets twisted around her bare legs. She was safely cocooned on a soft mattress…with a man’s bare, muscular arms twined around her naked body. She sat up with a start and stared down at her bed partner. She wondered if he had ever considered visiting her homeland—but as a guest and not a warrior. Her eyes traced the stubbly line of his jaw. No, she thought, perhaps she needed another course of action. She wanted to invite him to go back with her…but not yet. First, she wanted to see more of his land—with him. She wanted to test his affection for her, to see if it would last while he showed her around
his
homeland. And also, she wanted to see Britain through his eyes. There was so much she might have misunderstood and so much she had yet to see if she wanted to know who he really was. And would he be happy to know that she was staying longer? Or angry that she was not departing as planned so he could move on to his next conquest? A plan formed in her mind as she watched him sleep.

As if sensing that he was being watched, John rolled onto his back and sleepily opened one eye.

“Up so soon, my lady?” he rumbled, pushing himself up onto his elbows.

Akna placed a hand to her forehead, frowning. Flashes of the previous evening flew through her mind, and she struggled to process how exactly she had ended up naked and in bed with John. Though the memories were hazy, she could remember two things quite distinctly: the taste of sour grapes, and the absolute pleasure wrought on her body at John’s hands. A flush rose up her chest.

“Remembering?” John teased, walking his fingers up her outer thigh.

“What
was
that foul drink?” Akna asked, looking down.

“That,”
John told her as he pulled her down for a kiss, “was the legendary wine your Southern neighbours fight so hard to get. It muddles the mind and makes you…less controlled than usual.”

“And gives you a headache, apparently.”

“I can help you forget that, now that you’re back to your full senses.”

John rolled atop her, his arms encircling her shoulders and his hips pinning hers. He nuzzled her neck as he splayed his fingers over her thighs, gently pushing them apart. She moaned as he pressed his hardened length against her core.

“What do you mean?” she asked, writhing as he squeezed her breasts and ground against her.

“I mean that your headache will soon be a distant memory.”

“No,” she said between heady kisses. “Why did you wait?”

John rose to his knees and raked her body with his eyes. He placed his large palms on her shoulders, gently pinning her to the bed as he caught her eyes with his own. Then, with one sharp stroke, he thrust inside her, sheathing himself to the hilt. He watched as she writhed beneath him, her eyes wide with pleasure. He leaned forward, his eyes dark with passion.

“Because when I am inside you,” he told her in a low purr, “I want you to remember every moment clearly.”

He withdrew slowly, only to drive into her again swiftly.

“I want you to feel every stroke,” he said.

He lifted her legs, hooking her knees over his shoulders. He pushed even deeper, and she moaned appreciatively.

“Yes,” John said. “I want all of you here and now.”

And then he began to plunge into her in earnest, his hands holding her legs to his chest and his eyes on her passion-filled face. The room was filled with her echoing cries of delight, and she thrashed as they drew nearer and nearer to climax. When he spilled into her with a throaty cry, he released her legs and collapsed above her, his face pressed to her hair.

They rested like that for a while, until the sheets grew cool once again.

“You are magnificent,” Akna breathed, her fingers stroking his hair.

“And not nearly done yet.”

To her surprise and delight, Akna felt him grow hard within her once more. She twisted and bucked beneath him until his girth was full and rock-hard. With a grin, she pushed him onto his back and sat astride his hips, her hands on the rippling relief of his abdomen. John gazed up admiringly at his lover, her inky black hair flowing over her shoulders. He reached up to tweak one of her dark nipples and then cup her breast.

Thoughts of conversation disappeared from both their minds. Talk could wait…until after. Let their bodies do the communicating, each thought earnestly.

“I hope you’re ready for a long night,” Akna said with a seductive smirk.

And then she began to ride him, first slowly and then with wild abandon. Sounds of their love-making echoed around the room, and they filled each other with ecstasy until they were both so spent and sated that they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

Chapter Six

John rushed from his chambers. Somehow he had not woken with the sun as he normally did. Even worse, he had awoken alone, with Akna nowhere to be found. Cursing himself as he practically ran through the castle, he remembered the day—this was the day that the emissaries from the Northern colonies were to be sent off, back to their homeland.

Why hadn’t Akna mentioned it to him last night? Did he mean so little to her that she thought simply to leave without a word of farewell? Perhaps he had just been a simple carnal diversion after all. He frowned. He had had every intention of asking her if he could go back with her, but now he began to doubt if she would welcome him along—not if she found it fit to leave his bedchambers without so much as a word!

He skidded to a halt and composed himself before he entered the great hall, schooling his features into his customary mask of casual indifference. The herald announced his arrival and all eyes turned to him.

But he only had eyes for Akna.

She stood before the king, the Inuit elders a few steps behind. She wore all the finery of her station, with feathers in her glossy black hair and a luxurious sealskin cape around her shoulders. When she turned, her hazel eyes were grave. John could not help the furrow in his brow as the king beckoned him closer with a wave of his hand.

“Yes, Your Majesty?” John said with a bow.

“The Inuit delegation returns by sea this very afternoon,” the king announced. “And you are to see them off.”

John nodded, his throat tight but his face carefully blank. He turned stiffly to Akna, who was regarding him with her sharp gaze.

“Thank you for your visit, my lady,” he said woodenly, his heart freezing as he spoke. “I trust I have been a satisfactory guide.”

“More than satisfactory, evidently,” the king cut in dryly.

John looked from Akna to the king, his expression puzzled.

“My King?”

“Indeed,” he continued, raising a brow. “The lady Akna was so impressed by her time here, that she has requested to stay in England for a while longer—in order to learn more about our way of life.” The king paused, and then said, “And, of course, she has requested you as her guide, seeing as how you are already…familiar.”

“You want to stay?” John asked Akna incredulously.

Akna tilted her head to one side, her smirk barely concealed. The joy that leapt into his face was proof enough for her. He had not tired of her; in fact, he seemed more than happy for her to stay—and for him to be her closest confidant. Her face lit up in a giddy grin.

“Perhaps you would not be the best guide after all,” she said with her usual sharp tongue. “You seem to have problems understanding the most basic of ideas.”

“You wound me,” John said, feigning a sigh. “I am simply expressing my surprise at your willingness to stay among such
civilised
people.”

He took her hand, his fingers squeezing hers in relief.

“I am overjoyed to be your guide, my lady,” he said in a hushed whisper. “And I would welcome any opportunity to follow you in England or abroad.”

The king chuckled and waved them off.

“It would seem that all is in order,” he announced. “Please escort the Inuit elders to the docks, where they will board a ship back to the New World. Then you have my leave to tour the country with Sir John Frederick as your guide, Lady Akna. Now please, take your bickering elsewhere.”

Akna curtseied and John bowed as they led the delegation away from the royal dais.

“I thought you couldn’t wait to leave England,” John said under his breath as they were formally marched out of the hall with great fanfare.

“This is a good opportunity for me to show your people what we
savages
are really like,” she said with a wry smile. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “I trust you’ll be a satisfactory guide once again?”

“Oh, I can promise you hours upon hours of satisfaction.”

They walked briskly through the corridors, arriving at the carriage that awaited them in the courtyard. John took Akna’s hand as he helped her to step up into the carriage.

“Is there a particular place you’d like to start your extended tour of Britain?” John asked as he climbed in after her.

“Well,” Akna said with a gleam in her eye, “there is a rose garden that I’m just dying to visit.”

“That would be my pleasure,” John answered, lifting her hand to his lips.

As the carriage rolled forward, their laughter echoed throughout the courtyard.

eISBN: 978-1-4603-3966-4

PRINCESS IN A STRANGE NEW LAND

Copyright © 2014 by Linda Skye

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.