Chapter Twelve #3
“You must think me shallow and fickle if you think I would walk away from you simply because your father may or may not agree to a marriage,” he murmured.
“Or because Ansel thinks he could prevent such a thing. When I told you I wanted to marry you, I meant it. I did not mean only if it was easy. I meant no matter what comes. But if you do not think I am worth the effort, then you must tell me now so we may part as friends. If you are not brave enough for the task, you must tell me.”
She looked at him sharply, her eyes wide. “I am brave enough,” she insisted softly. “But I am also fearful. Fearful that what we both want will not happen if we do not do something about it. We are trusting our future to men who do not care if we are miserable or not!”
“So you think we should take our happiness into our own hands?”
“Shouldn’t we?”
It was a very good question, because he understood what she was suggesting.
It wasn’t that she didn’t have courage—it was that she was unwilling to trust men who had disregarded her for her entire life with her happiness.
She wanted to take control of it, and, truthfully, he wasn’t opposed in the least. He was only going to her father or, possibly, her brother because it was the proper way to do things.
He was trying to do what was right by her.
But maybe doing right by her was to make their decision for them and not trust it to men who might possibly deny him purely out of spite. At least, one of them would.
It was a situation that threatened to destroy everything.
But then a thought occurred to him.
“When my father met my mother, she was a postulate,” he said quietly.
“She was meant for the church, but my father fell in love with her and married her without anyone’s permission.
He simply married her and faced the consequences because he knew, once they were married, that neither the church nor man could tear them apart.
My parents took their happiness into their own hands.
They acted first and sought permission later.
Mayhap it is my destiny to do the very same thing. ”
Katiana looked at him, surprised. “Did they truly marry without permission?” she said, incredulous. “Was your father punished for such a thing?”
Titus shook his head. “Not really,” he said.
“His father was very upset with him, from what I was told, but there was no punishment. Until my mother’s father showed up in Berwick, not realizing she was married, and brought a husband for her.
My father had to fight a giant Northman to keep my mother. It’s quite a story, truly.”
Katiana smiled faintly. “It sounds like it,” she said. “I do not care if my father or brother are angry, but I do care if your father is. I’ve already told you that I do not feel adequate for a de Wolfe son, so his anger is a… concern. He might think I have coerced you into it.”
Titus snorted. “My father knows that no one short of God can coerce me into anything,” he said. “And he cannot become angry at me for doing the same thing he did. But the question remains—are you brave enough to do this?”
This time, Katiana grasped his hands and held them tightly. She’d never done that before. “Oh, Titus,” she breathed. “For the chance to be with you, I will be as brave as you want me to be.”
With a glimmer in his eyes, Titus put his arms around her and pulled her to him, slanting his lips over hers in the first true kiss they’d ever experienced together.
It was sweet and warm, sending fire through his veins in a manner he’d never experienced before.
The woman set him on fire in so many ways that it was difficult for him to think clearly.
But the taste of her, the sweet smell of her, filled him like strong drink.
Even if he hadn’t been slightly tipsy, he was positively drunk with her.
He knew then that he would never, ever let her go. He’d kill anyone who tried.
Even her brother.
It was incredible to him that less than two weeks ago, he was focused on his duty for the Executioner Knights and the turmoil that was erupting as a result of Lancaster and Warwick’s movements.
Now, his focus was on a woman that consumed his entire being.
That impulsiveness that marred his character was verging on causing a good deal of trouble, but on the other hand, nothing had ever felt so right.
As he tasted Katiana and inhaled her scent, it seemed to him that there was nothing more important than what was happening right here, right now.
When he heard Katiana gasp for air because he’d been feasting on her, he realized that he should probably loosen his grip before he smothered her.
But God… things were heated and sultry between them.
“We will go tonight and rouse the priests in the village,” he said, his voice heavy with passion. “We shall be married and we will ride to Callerton and announce it. After that… let them rage, but they cannot separate us.”
Katiana was breathing heavily, struggling to catch her breath. “This seems like a dream.”
“It is no dream, I promise.”
She took a couple of deep breaths before lifting her hand and running her fingers through his hair. All the while, she simply studied him.
“You knew this was right from the beginning,” she murmured. “You spoke of courting, and I resisted. But you knew, even before I did, that this was meant to be.”
“Are you sure of it now, too?”
She nodded, a smile tugging at her lips. “Let us begin our forever tonight,” she said. “Let my forever begin with you.”
Titus grinned, kissing her hands, her face, and finally her lips. “I already know that I cannot live without you,” he said, his lips against her flesh. “I would kill for you and I would die for you. If that is not love, I do not know what is.”
Katiana laughed softly. “That sounds quite romantic,” she said. “What lady would not wish for her knight to speak of love and killing in the same breath?”
Titus was so giddy that he joined in her laughter. “I can do better than that,” he said. “I can speak of kisses and rotting bodies that will heat your blood until you beg for more.”
Katiana continued to laugh, putting her hand over his mouth to stop him. “I will settle for love and death,” she said. But quickly, she sobered as she gazed into his eyes. “When will we go to the church?”
Titus’ attention turned in the direction of the stable where he knew Jesus was bedded down for the night.
But the village was about a half-mile from the castle, and he didn’t want to walk that stretch with her in the darkness.
This evening’s plans called for swiftness and safety, and that was what he intended to do.
From this point forward, there was no turning back.
“Now,” he said, releasing her from his embrace and taking her hand. “Come with me, my lady. We’ve something to do.”
Katiana followed without hesitation.