Chapter Nine
Christopher awoke before dawn, burrowed down into the thick mattress with his wife cradled against him. He smiled into the darkness of the room as the events from the night filled his sleep-warmed mind, and he kissed his wife’s head softly, fondly remembering.
Outside it was still pouring rain, yet he had dozens of things to attend to.
Dustin’s trunks still needed to be loaded onto the wagons, something he had neglected to do last night due to the circumstances, and he intended to be on the road to London before noon.
Thunder clapped and he was reluctant for Dustin to travel in such weather, but they had no choice.
The prince and his bastards were waiting for him at Windsor, like jackals waiting for fresh meat.
He rose, carefully disengaging himself from her, and proceeded to order a bath for his wife. He sternly admonished the maids and serving men who brought the tub to be quiet, standing over them like a great sentinel, watching every move they made and glaring at them for any small sound.
When everything was prepared and waiting for her to awaken, he went over the wardrobe and drew forth the traveling clothes he would wear beneath his armor.
“Aren’t you going to take a bath, too?” Dustin sat up in bed, her hair tousled wildly and a huge smile on her face.
He felt his heart go soft at the sight of her. “Nay, lady, I shall be wet enough this day, I assure you.”
She scooted forward in the bed, her smile fading but her eyes alive. “I shall bathe you.”
Christ, how could he resist her? Of course he could not, and within a minute or so he was submerged in the water and she was up, lathering a great horsehair brush with a cake of plain soap. He smiled as she came over to him and began to scrub him silently.
It was amusing and highly erotic. With the new heights their relationship had reached, they were both eager to explore it again.
Dustin could not believe she was bathing a man, she being naked as well, no less.
When did she become such an exhibitionist?
She knew her mother, from her perch in paradise, must be having fits at her behavior.
As she soaped his chest she purposely grazed him with her full breasts, the second time drawing a growl from deep in his throat.
She giggled with delight with his torment, feeling very powerful to affect him as she did.
She even washed his hair, making sure her nipples teased his bronzed back mercilessly.
When she came around front to wash the rest of him, he would have no part of it. He snaked a massive arm out and pulled her right into the tub. Dustin squealed and giggled, her protests very weak because she was delighted with the newness of his intimate attentions.
“Now, you little nymph, I will wash you,” he said in a husky voice that sent shivers up her spine.
He did just that as she sat between his legs in the great copper tub.
Starting at the top of her blond head, he lathered her completely with rose-scented soap and didn’t stop until he had soaped every one of her toes.
Even after he rinsed her feet, he kept his eyes glued to her face while he brought a dainty foot up to his mouth and suckled passionately on her big toe.
Dustin went stiff with the sensation, her whole body running hot and cold and her loins turning warm and wicked. He grinned and returned the foot to the water.
She was sitting opposite him, her wet hair slicked back and her gray eyes wide and alive.
All Christopher could think about was making love to her again and again, knowing he had many tasks to accomplish in a short time, yet not wanting to leave the warmth of the room and the company of his wife.
It would seem that after last night, it was as if seeing her nude was like teasing a man who was dying from thirst with a drink of water. He had to have her.
“Come here,” he growled.
She grinned, biting her lower lip, and complied, laying atop him in the tub of cooling water. He lay back, stroking her wet hair, touching her face.
“Why is it that you affect me so?” he whispered, more to himself than to her.
She gazed back at him, thinking the very same thing, yet afraid to admit it to him. She was feeling vastly comfortable with him now, yet she was not quite ready to reveal her most intimate self.
His hands ran down her back, to her buttocks, and out to her knees. He parted her legs and forced her to straddle him.
“Do you feel my want for you, lady?” he asked hoarsely. She nodded, indeed feeling his organ rub up the cleft of her bottom. “Aye, my lord.”
“What do you intend to do about it?” he asked of her.
She shook her head. “What would you have me do?”
He cracked a lopsided smile and lifted her up in the water, bringing her core to bear on top of his pulsing shaft.
Her eyes widened, but she quickly began to melt as her slippery passage gave way to his thick maleness.
She was a bit tender from losing her innocence, but it was bearable.
In a rush of heat and pleasure, she was impaled on him and she wound her arms around his neck for she was sure she would slide right under the water.
“Do you know how to ride a horse when it canters, so that you will not bounce up and down?” he asked in a husky whisper, almost mad with his need.
“Of course,” she answered haltingly. “Move your hips with the animal’s gait.”
He caught her lips with his own, biting her lower lip gently, his rapidly filling-in beard scratching her. “Ride me.”
Dustin threw her head back and was lost, riding him, feeling him full within her, creating her own heat.
His hands were running all over her and she thought it terribly wonderful to be touched so gently, so caringly.
She went with the motion, oblivious to everything else except the exciting new feelings and Christopher’s big body underneath her.
Christopher was so far gone with excitement that it was no time at all before he was climaxing deep within her.
When he felt his own release approach, he reached down and rapidly manipulated Dustin, bringing her to her own peak at nearly the same time.
She cried out as her body stiffened with wonderful spasms before collapsing on his broad, beautiful chest.
He held her against him in the cooling water, never wanting to move ever again. She felt too wonderful exactly where she was.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked. “You must be somewhat sore.”
“Not much,” she replied. “Not enough to matter.”
She sat up and he cupped her face with his big hands, completely swallowing her head up. “You are a remarkable woman, Dustin. I believe God had a plan in mind when he chose you for me.”
“What sort of plan?” she asked.
He shook his head. “I do not know, at the moment. Mayhap it was to show me that I wasn’t the only perfect soul on this earth. Mayhap it was to teach me humility. I simply do not know.”
She shrugged vaguely and shivered. He suddenly realized that the water was cold and he did not want her to catch a chill.
“Out, sweetheart,” he said briskly. “We have a busy day ahead of us.
*
Lioncross was a chaotic mass of servants and soldiers, all preparing for the baron’s trip to London.
The rain had yet to let up, although the lightning and thunder had somewhat dissipated.
The two wagons were led into the bailey and close to the front steps of the castle so that Dustin’s trunks could be loaded and covered with straw to protect them.
After Christopher had dressed and left her, Dustin took more time than she could ever remember taking to prepare herself for the day.
Usually, she tossed on the first dress she came across, but this morning she found herself actually debating about what she was going to wear.
She finally chose a burgundy silk surcoat that had belonged to her mother with a wide, embroidered collar and long sleeves.
It was heavy and very warm, and had a thick cloak to match.
If she was going to be riding in rain, then she wanted to be well-protected.
The surcoat went on, albeit a bit tight, and she pulled on thick stockings and doeskin boots that she wore in winter.
She also wore a heavy shift and a heavy off-white underskirt for extra warmth.
When she was finally finished, she felt as if she were wearing an entire set of bedding.
Her nearly dry hair was pulled back to the nape of her neck with her ivory clip.
Dustin made a trip a-purpose to look at herself in her mother’s polished bronze mirror, and was not displeased with the woman she saw before her.
The closer she looked, the more she realized that she had somehow changed over the past several days.
It was difficult to put the change into words, but she could see it in herself and knew that her mother would have been pleased that her rough-and-ready daughter was finally starting to show signs of growing up.
She had had to grow up with everything she had suffered through and endured, yet mayhap even the negative had a positive side.
Christopher had told her that he believed God had chosen her for his mate with a plan in mind.
She wondered if the same theory applied to her, mayhap God had sent Christopher to her for a purpose. She wondered.
By the time she went back to her rooms, the knights were taking her two trunks out. She actually smiled at David as he passed by her, drawing a curious-but-amused stare from the man.
“My lady is jovial this day,” he commented.
She shrugged. “Not jovial, but content. We are going to London!”
He laughed softly at her excitement. “I know,” he let one of the soldiers take the heavy burden from him, wiping his hands. “It seems that I am going with you, as are Edward and Leeton.”
“You are? How wonderful,” she exclaimed. “Tell me, David, have you ever been to court?”
“I have been there,” he said casually.
Dustin expected more of an answer, encouraging him to go on when he stopped. “And?”