Read While Angels Slept Online
Authors: Kathryn le Veque
Cantia didn’t
know how long she lay there, staring at the ceiling and thinking of Tevin. She
didn’t even know what time it was, though the room was a soft shade of gray so
she imagined it was somewhere close to dawn. Suddenly, the door to the chamber
opened and closed and she sat up quickly in time to see Tevin rounding the side
of the bed,
His gaze fell on
her, the nearly-black eyes intense. He was naked from the waist up and for the
first time, she got a very good look at just how enormous the man’s chest and
shoulders were. A soft matting of dark hair covered his chest, hair that had
been fuzzy and wonderful against her skin. Gazing up at him, all of the passion
and excitement from the night before washed over her and she shuddered.
“Did you
discover what the herald was about?” she asked.
He nodded. “I
did.”
She waited
expectantly for him to continue, but he lowered himself to sit on the edge of
the bed and looked at her. His gaze lingered and she smiled.
“Why do you
stare at me?”
He lifted a dark
eyebrow, a smile on the corner of his mouth. “Because you are so beautiful,” he
reached out, taking a strand of her hair between his big fingers. “Honestly,
Cantia, it seems that all I can do is stare at you.”
Her smile turned
modest. “What is happening in the bailey?”
His eyes took on
a hard cast. “Trouble, I’m afraid.”
“What trouble?”
He sighed,
leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. “It would seem that my
cousin has arrived early,” he said. “Geoff and his entourage are filling the
bailey as we speak.”
Her eyes
widened. “So soon?”
“I’m afraid so.
Unfortunately, he’s made very good time upon the road and arrived sooner than
expected.”
“But… what do we
do? Do I still go to Darland?”
Tevin was silent
a moment, his gaze lingering on her lovely face. “Not right now,” he said
quietly. “You and Hunt will stay put. I will have Val brought up to your room.
She can stay with you until I can figure out what’s to be done.”
“You intend to
hide us?”
“For the time being.”
“I do not mean
to cause problems, but I am not sure how long we can successfully hide Hunt,”
she said. “He is a very active little boy. He will want to run and play.”
“Then we must
explain to him that, for now, he cannot,” Tevin replied. “I’ll think of
something to tell him. Perhaps if we make it into a game, he will willingly go
along.”
“What kind of
game?”
He shook his
head. “I do not know. But we shall have to think of something.”
She nodded, her
mind racing to encompass all of the possibilities that might coerce her son in
to playing a restrictive game. But her thoughts also inevitably turned to Val,
and in doing so, she spoke before she could stop herself.
“If Val stays
with me, then you and I.…” she trailed off, unable to finish.
He looked at her.
She looked so entirely beautiful in the early morning light. He was secretly
glad that Geoff had come early, secretly glad that he would not have to send
her away. He could not bear the thought of sending her away, not after last
night. With his big hands, he reached out to take her face in his hands.
“Then perhaps I
had better steal a kiss when I can,” he said softly, kissing her gently on the
lips. When he pulled back, their eyes met and they grinned at each other. “And
more.”
She smiled
broadly as his mouth came down on her again, gently at first, then more
insistently. He left the bed and ended up lying beside her on the floor,
holding her in his arms and kissing her as if to never let her go. She was
still nude, warm and cozy in the bedclothes, and in little time he pulled off
his breeches and boots and joined her in that cozy warmth. His mouth moved
across her shoulder, her chest, familiarizing himself with the taste of her.
She most definitely had a taste, something between honey and silk. It was
delicious, like food to a starving man, and he suckled deeply of her flesh.
The second time
around, he was more familiar with her and it only served to intoxicate him.
Her nipples were succulent and tender, the flesh of her belly delicious. He
could hear Cantia’s moans of pleasure and it spurred him onward until he
reached the soft mound of curls between her legs. Even then, he did not stop.
He continued to taste her, to savor every movement, every flavor. She had him
by the hair as he held her tender core to his mouth, her legs over his enormous
shoulders and his tongue doing wicked things. When he felt her stiffen in his
hands, her body convulsing, he abruptly lifted himself and drove into her,
feeling her tender walls throb around his manhood, drawing him deeper and
begging for his release. But he could not answer so swiftly; he thrust deeply
into her, so deeply that in little time her body was convulsing again and this
time, he joined her.
Tevin lay with
Cantia in his arms, still embedded in her sweet body, hearing the sounds
wafting up from the bailey and trying not to listen. He did not want anything
to interrupt this moment because he knew, more than likely, their next chance
at being together would be far in the future. With his cousin around, there was
no telling what was to happen during the course of his visit. Geoff was, at
best, unpredictable. He found himself wishing he could run away and take Cantia
with him, someplace where no king nor queen or cousin could find them. Someplace
peaceful. He sighed heavily; he wondered if such a place really did exist. It
was the first time in his life he’d ever entertained such a thought.
“What’s wrong?”
Cantia’s muffled voice came to him.
He shifted
slightly, gazing down into her sleepy-eyed face. “Not a thing in the world, madam.
Everything is wonderful.”
“But you
sighed.”
The corners of
his mouth twitched. “I suppose I am sighing with contentment. Or with
discontentment at the thought of leaving you.”
Her head came
up, mussed and lovely. “Leaving me? Where are you going?”
He gently
pinched her chin. “Downstairs, to my cousin. Remember?”
She looked
sheepish. “I thought you meant… we’ll, it doesn’t matter anyway. Surely if your
cousin is here, you must go and retrieve Val immediately.”
He just looked
at her. “Does the thought of me leaving distress you that much?”
“Of course it
does.”
His smile
broadened and he kissed her again, realizing he wasn’t finished with her, and
rolled her onto her back. As the sounds of the bailey below grew louder and the
room brightened, he took her again, savoring every stroke, every touch. When
they were finished after particularly strong and multiple releases and lay
sated in one another’s arms, the sound of a young boy at the door quickly
roused them.
“Mam!” Hunt was
pounding on her locked door. “Mam, I’m hungry!”
Tevin sat up,
pulling Cantia with him. She looked apprehensively at the door until Tevin
silently encouraged her to respond.
“A moment, Hunt,”
she called out. “Be patient and wait a moment.”
“You cannot go
to the kitchen,” he reminded her with a whisper. “I will go and bring some food
to you both.”
She nodded. “And
do not forget to collect Val.”
He sighed
heavily. “Madam, would that I have enjoyed my time alone with you, for I fear I
shall not be able to survive until our next encounter. The strain will be more
than I can bear.”
“You will have
to unless you can think of a better sleeping arrangement. We do not want an
audience.”
With a grin,
Tevin tossed back the bedding and Cantia stood up, a little unsteadily at first
and they both laughed. Her legs were slightly sore from the strenuous morning.
But in the soft glow of daylight, Tevin had a full view of her delicious body
and he was not disappointed. She was soft, round, and perfect in every way.
Watching her heart-shaped bottom cross the room to collect her shift had him
licking his lips at the sight of her. His heart was thumping loudly against
his ribs, his breathing doing strange things.
Shift in hand, Cantia
wandered near the bed in preparation for dressing and he abruptly reached out,
taking her by the waist with his enormous hands and shoving his face into her
belly. Cantia giggled softly as he nipped at her and kissed her flesh, but her
giggles soon turned to moans of pleasure when his hands moved to her buttocks
and his mouth began to tease the soft mound of curls between her legs.
“Tevin,” her
legs were growing weaker and she struggled to stop him. “Not now. Hunt is
waiting.”
His response was
to gently shove her backwards on the bed. Cantia tried to leap up again but
his big hands were on her, holding her down as he wedged his head and shoulders
between her legs. His tongue was exploring her intimate pink folds and she had
not the strength to resist. With her shift shoved into her mouth to bite of her
screams, she experienced release after release at his expert tongue.
Twice, Hunt
yelled at her from the other side of the door and she breathlessly quieted him.
In her lust, she remembered thinking that she was glad he was only five years
old and would not wonder why his mother sounded so winded. When Tevin was done
with her and she lay satisfied, boneless and limp, he ran his tongue up her
belly, to her breasts, and pulled her up to sit by the arms.
“Get up now,” he
grinned as she fell back over on the bed and he pulled her up again. “Your
starving son is waiting and I must go retrieve his meal.”
She started to
fall over again, laughing when he put his enormous hands on her shoulders to
hold her steady. The lavender eyes lolled open, twinkling at him.
“I do not
believe that I can stand.”
He laughed
softly. “You’ll have to. I must dress and I cannot do that and hold you upright
at the same time.”
She wrinkled her
nose at him, grinning, and it was his signal to let go and hunt down his
clothes. He found his breeches, his boots, and finally his tunic, pulling them
on in that order. The entire time, Cantia sat on the bed, nude, and watched
him. As he pulled the tunic over his head, he caught her staring at him.
“Sweetheart, get
dressed,” he urged softly. “I must open the door and I should not like for your
son to see you stark naked. He might spread vicious gossip and rumors.”
She smiled dreamily,
watching him push the copper curls from his eyes. “Why do men fear you so?
Since I have known you, I have seen nothing to warrant that reputation. You are
one of the sweetest, kindest and gentlest men I have ever met.”
He lifted his
big shoulders. “With you, I certainly would not want to display any behavior
that suggestion destruction or death,” he said. “On the field of battle, or
with my men, my behavior is... different.”
“
How
different?”
He glanced up at
her. “Look at me; do I not look brutal and big? Frightening, even? I assure
you, the reputation is well earned and I am proud of it. It has served me well.
In fact, my brother was the one who would tell war stories of my skill to any
and all who would listen. He said there was no one in heaven or earth who could
best me on the field of battle.”
“What was your
brother’s name?”
“Torston.”
“You said that
he died. When did he die?”
Tevin thought
back on his younger, taller, and more volatile brother. He had been a quick
wit, a brilliant study, and far too rash. He missed him terribly. “In a
skirmish four years ago,” he said. “My father had been mortally wounded and
when my brother went to aid him, he was cut down as well.”
“Oh,” Cantia was
saddened at the thought. “I’m sorry for you. How old was he?”
“He had seen
twenty-five years.” He approached the bed, waving his big hands at her.
“Cantia, hurry and dress.”
She started, as
if she had completely forgotten that she needed to put her clothes on, and
quickly pulled her shift over her head. The emerald surcoat lay at her feet
where Tevin had ripped it from her body and she picked it up, tossed it over a
chair, and went to the massive wardrobe against the wall. Opening the doors,
the smile suddenly disappeared from her face. Tevin, fussing with the tie of
his breeches, noticed she had come to a halt. He glanced over at her, realizing
there were tears in her eyes.
He went to her.
“What’s wrong, sweet?”
She shook her
head, blinking away the tears. “’Tis… only that Brac’s clothes are still here.
I keep forgetting. I must remove them.”
Tevin looked at
the jumble of garments, tunics and leather breeches and pieces he did not
recognize. “You do not have to remove them until you are ready.”
She looked at
him, the light of surprise in her eyes. “Do you think I am not ready? Do you
think I would have carried on with you all night as we did if I was not ready?”
He put his hands
on her in a calming gesture. “I did not mean to offend you. I simply meant that
you will not be forced to do anything you are not ready to do.”
She reached in
and began pulling the cluster of clothes out, onto the floor. Hunt yelled at
his mother, again, and she shifted from Brac’s clothes to her own, pulling a
durable broadcloth surcoat on and securing it with a leather girdle.
“Coming, Hunt.
Be patient.”
Tevin had
already walked to the door, his hand on the lock as he watched Cantia cinch up
the girdle. She had a deliciously narrow waist, making her breasts appear
rounder and larger. His thoughts began to turn lustful again but he fought
them; now was not the time. They had been selfish enough. Still, after a night
like the one they had just spent together, he knew his thoughts would be only
of her. It would be difficult to deal with his cousin and the situation the man
brought with him.