Chapter Nine #2
His kisses had fogged her mind. But when he stopped, the fog cleared and Derica was becoming uncomfortable with her state.
“Garren, I….”
“What?”
She wasn’t sure how to put the words. “I… I have never let anyone, save Aglette, see me without clothing. I am not sure….”
“I am your husband. ’Tis my right, and only mine, to see you unclothed. Does this disturb you?”
She shrugged. “It should not, I know, but….”
“If you are uncomfortable, we can stop. I shall be content to hold you in my arms all night long, with or without clothing, however you wish.”
She looked into his eyes and steadied herself. “I do not want to stop,” she assured him. “I have been waiting for this moment for as long as you have.”
He touched her face, her hair. When he spoke, it was almost a prayer. “Christ, what have I done in my life to deserve someone like you?”
She smiled timidly, trying to be brave, anxious of what was about to happen between them. All she knew was that she wanted him, although she knew not how.
His body was big, hard, warm and musky. Though she’d never known a man intimately, she knew he was something she would come to crave.
As he kissed her strongly, his hands moved to her breasts and he fondled her tenderly.
His mouth moved down her neck, biting her gently, until he reached her nipples.
Derica gasped as his warm and wet mouth began to suckle her, gently at first but with increasing ardor.
When he finally took her, it was with little pain.
She thought the sensation a bit uncomfortable at first, but that quickly passed.
The fog of passion quickly shrouded her mind again and her body began to behave in a way she never thought possible.
She clung to him, wrapped herself around him, relishing every move he made.
She could hear herself gasp with every touch, every stroke, and it oddly excited her.
Excited was not an adequate word for Garren.
He’d never had anything so sweet. It was as if they had been doing this together their entire life, so brilliant the sensations.
Although he’d always exhibited remarkable control, he knew he would not last much longer with her.
He could feel his loins burning with a fire that could not be controlled.
When he touched the place where their bodies joined, Derica stiffened and cried out as though seized by the most exquisite pain.
It was his undoing, and he allowed himself a tremendous release.
His thrusts slowed until they stopped completely as their first frenzy of passion was sated.
It was dark in the room, quiet but for the crackling of the fire.
Wrapped in Garren’s arms, melded to his flesh by heat and sweat, Derica lingered in the wonderful world between a dream and reality.
She never wanted the night to end; to lie with him, as they were, for eternity would have been fine with her.
Garren continued to caress her, rub her, his kisses soft against her forehead.
“Are you all right?” he whispered.
She sighed contentedly, snuggling closer to him. “I have died and gone to heaven.”
He laughed softly. “I know how you feel.”
There were no more words spoken for some time. Garren’s touch said everything words could not. Derica fell asleep in his arms, waking abruptly when he stirred.
He was out of the bed, pulling the coverlet over her before she was aware of what he was doing.
“What’s wrong?” she asked sleepily.
“Nothing, sweetheart.” He was over by the window, peering out of the oilcloth. “Go back to sleep.”
She sat up. “Did you hear something?”
His eyes were riveted to the street below the inn. He didn’t say anything for a moment. “I heard horses,” he let the oilcloth fall back. “Just a merchant. I doubt your father and his horde would be in disguise.”
She heard his words, but her focus was centered on the sight before her; frankly, she’d never seen a nude man before.
Garren’s shoulders were impossibly wide, his neck thick and his chest muscular and broad.
His torso was narrow and rippled with muscles.
As he turned to look for his breeches and weapon, she noticed the perfect roundness of his buttocks and the defined muscles of his legs.
She felt her cheeks grow hot and her heart race, slightly embarrassed but wildly attracted at the same time.
Garren noticed she was staring at him. He picked up his broadsword and leaned it against the wall, grinning. “Is there something I can help you with, Lady le Mon?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that you are staring at me as if I am a prized bull. Is there something I can do for you?”
She blushed furiously. “No.”
His grin widened as he made his way over to the bed, breeches in hand. “Are you sure? I would be happy to….”
“No!”
She flopped back down on the bed and pulled the covers over her head. Garren laughed softly, tugging at the covers she was holding so tightly.
“Are you sure?” he teased. “Do you require my services again, perhaps? Or maybe you would like me to parade around so that you may stare at me until you have had your fill.”
She growled at him. “Go away.”
“You can touch, you know. Anything you want.”
She shrieked softly in frustration and he continued to laugh at her.
He finally stopped trying to pull the covers off of her and, instead, bundled them up all around her and gave her a massive hug.
She squealed like a child, with delight, and yanked the covers off of her head.
Her hair was wild over her face and they grinned at each other, playfully.
“I am thinking on going down and getting us some food,” he said. “What say you?”
“I am famished.”
“Then I shall return shortly.”
“Can I come?”
“You don’t want to rest here, in bed, and have a man serve you?”
She made a face at him and tossed off the coverlet.
Garren helped her cinch up the peasant bodice, not so much helping her as stealing a touch of her skin now and again.
Their entire world now was filled with discovery, laughter, and new sensations.
Derica grabbed the comb and tamed her hair, securing it at the nape of her neck with a piece of cloth the sisters had packed for her.
Garren stood behind her as she groomed, running his hands down her torso, around her waist. He watched her face as she fumbled with her hair. He was completely fascinated by her.
He left her long enough to put on his tunic, boots, and strap the sword to his waist. With his wife in hand, he quit the room and descended the stairs in to the loud, smoky hall.
It was more crowded than when they had first arrived.
People were laughing, eating, and becoming riotously drunk.
Garren kept hold of Derica as he ordered food from the barkeep and went in search of a table for the two of them.
Derica wanted to eat in the hall, since she had never been to a tavern before.
Garren hoped that one meal in such a place would cure her of any further curiosity.
He couldn’t see any charm to it, but she did.
The only table they could find was a small one by the hearth.
Garren sat with his back to the wall, facing the room, and Derica within arm’s length.
She was chatting on about something, but he was only half-listening.
His attention was on two knights on the far side of the room.
Knights tended to have a special sense around each other, always knowing another knight, another potential enemy or ally.
But Garren’s circumstances were slightly different in that his knightly duties took on a more subversive role.
It was essential he be completely aware of his surroundings at all times.
“Did you hear me?”
Derica was asking him a question. Garren looked away from the men in the corner and smiled at her. “I am sorry, I did not. What did you say, sweetheart?”
“I asked you if you’d ever been to Rome. Surely coming back from the Holy Land, you must have passed through?”
He shook his head. “I have not been to Rome.” It wasn’t the time to tell her, yet, that he’d never been to the Holy Land. “Is that some place you wish to go?”
She nodded. “I hear they have all manner of ancient buildings, built by the gods of some olden race. And there is a huge theatre where men fight to the death.”
“I have heard of this also,” he said. “Perhaps we will go there some day, if it would make you happy.”
Her face lit up. “Do you mean it?”
“Of course.”
She leapt up and threw her arms around his neck. “Oh, Garren, I am so happy. Thank you for being so wonderful to me.”
He held her, flashes of the truths he must eventually tell her filling his mind.
He’d pushed everything aside in light of recent events, but now with the event of their marriage and life together, he knew that he must tell her the truth of the matter soon.
It was not fair to hold anything back from her.
He struggled not to be fearful of how she would react, knowing he had basically lied to her.
“We will go anywhere you wish,” he gently sat her back in her chair; the knights in the corner had noticed him and eye contact had been made. He didn’t want Derica between him and any hostilities that might erupt. “Is there somewhere else you might like to visit?”
She was a-gaggle about their potential travel. Most definitely, she wanted to visit Spain and Corsica. Greece was another place she would like to go. Garren lost track of all of the places she had heard of as his study of the two knights intensified.
“But what if we have children right away?” she was saying. “Will we take them with us? Certainly we cannot leave them behind. Do you suppose…?”
Garren didn’t hear her after that. The knights in the corner were shifting; both of them were looking at him. Suspecting something might erupt, Garren took her by the hand and pulled her from the chair.