Chapter 10
“ I have never seen anything so beautiful in my entire life,” said Hunter later that day, looking at Regina even though he was sure she thought he was talking about her bird. He watched Hera take off from Regina’s glove, lifting up into the sky. The bright white plumage of the bird almost seemed to glow in the sun. The falcon flew so fast that it didn’t take long for her to almost seem to disappear in the sky.
“Yes, it is a wonderful feeling as well as frightening,” stated Regina, digging into the pouch hanging at her side for a piece of raw meat for the bird.
“What do you mean?” asked Hunter.
“My heart speeds up every time one of my birds takes off in flight. I know they are trained to return, but there is always a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach that they might just like being free and not want to come back.”
“Has that ever happened?” Hunter watched the bird loop around above the lake and start heading back toward Regina.
“Nay. Not yet, anyway. And I hope it never will.” Regina whistled for the bird and held up her arm, letting Hera know it was time to return.
Hera swept through the sky, landing expertly on the falconer’s glove. Regina quickly rewarded the bird with a scrap of raw meat.
“What kind of meat is that you are feeding the bird?” he asked.
“Usually whatever the kitchen has. Chicken, rabbit, or even rodents. The birds love pigeon but of course I am not allowed to give them any since my father has his carrier pigeons at the castle. He gets very upset if the cook even suggests making a pigeon stew.”
“Regina, the hounds are ready and the hunters have spotted ducks on the water,” Robin called out to her. “Is the falcon ready too?”
“Yes, Hera is ready as well,” she answered back.
“What happens now?” asked Hunter.
“The kennelgroom will take the hounds down to the water where they will flush out the ducks. The water fowl will fly up into the sky and Hera will hunt and bring what she catches back to me. The same thing will happen as soon as the hunters spot grouse in the bushes later on when we hunt ground prey.”
“So the bird can hunt in flight and catch game on the ground both?” Hunter wanted to learn as much as he could about these interesting birds.
“Yes,” she answered with a nod. Then she looked over at her bird. “Are you ready, Hera?” Raising her arm in the air, the falcon flapped her wings and took off in flight.
Hunter heard the hounds barking down at the water and then the sound of many beating wings against air as a flush of ducks took off in flight. Hera was truly amazing. Flying above the flock, she dove down, catching one in midflight, clutching it with her talons. Then she flew back to Regina.
“Watch out,” shouted Regina, running toward the water probably so the bird wouldn’t have to fly as far with the heavy duck in her talons. Hera landed at Regina’s feet with the duck still in her grip. “Good girl, Hera.” Regina put the raw meat in front of the bird to lure her back to her glove, getting the falcon to drop the prey. One of the huntsmen scooped up the duck and took it away.
“That was fantastic! Just amazing beyond words.” Hunter joined her, beaming with pride, almost as if the bird were his. “You should be proud of what you’ve trained this bird to do,” he told Regina.
“I am proud of each of my birds as if they were my own children. I don’t know what I’d ever do without them.”
The day went by fast and before Regina knew it, the sun was already setting. They had made camp for the night and were sitting around the fire eating roasted duck, compliments of Hera. The hunt today, with the help of the falcon and also the hounds had been successful. They managed to bag a dozen ducks, six rabbits, four pheasants and even a lone badger. Regina was tired and she knew that Hera was probably exhausted. The falcon had more exercise today than she’d had in a long time.
“So, Hunter, what did you think of the hunt?” asked Robin, raising a cup of wine to drink. The night was still and the hounds had been rewarded with a rabbit each for their meal. Robin’s squire had cooked meat for them all and the huntsmen had helped to set up camp. There were three tents. One for Robin and his squire, another for the huntsmen, the kennelgroom and the dogs, and the last for Lady Regina.
“It was an experience of a lifetime that I’ll never forget,” Hunter answered. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in my life.”
Regina looked over to realize Hunter was staring at her when he said that. Did he mean she was beautiful? Somehow, she thought so. She was sure the others must have realized it too and would see the blush rising quickly to her cheeks.
“It’s too bad we didn’t have two birds as was planned,” said Robin. “We could have brought in twice as much game.”
“Yes, I hope Roger is all right,” said Regina. “I wonder what he ate that disagreed with him so violently.”
“I was sitting with him last night at the meal,” Baldwin spoke up. “I ate the exact same food as he did, yet I feel fine.”
“Us too,” agreed Paul. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Nay, it doesn’t,” agreed the second huntsmen, Gregory. “Especially since Roger has always had a stomach that could withstand anything. I swear if he ate poison, it still wouldn’t bother him.”
“Poison?” Hunter stopped eating and looked up. “Tell me, who else sat with Roger for the meal last night?”
“Just the usual,” said the kennelgroom, brushing his dogs. “You know, me, Gregory, Paul, Baldwin, the stable groom and his grandson, and the old deaf man from the mews.”
“Do you mean Cassian?” Hunter seemed extremely interested in this bit of information.
“Aye, that oddball,” said Paul. “He couldn’t even hear that nephew of yours when the boy was bragging how he won a pair of boots off a castle guard in a card game.”
“Luke was playing cards?” asked Hunter in surprise. Regina could see the tension building up in the man’s face.
“Aye. The boy is damned good at it, too,” said the kennelgroom, chewing as he spoke. “After he bled the rest of us dry, he headed up to the battlements to cheat the guards out of their share.” He licked the grease from the rabbit off his fingers.
“So that’s why he was up on the battlements in the first place,” mumbled Hunter. Then under his breath Regina heard him mumble to himself. “I never should have taught him how to gamble.”
“My guards were playing cards with a boy?” Robin’s temper raised now as well. “I’ll see that it is stopped immediately when we return.”
“Excuse me, Abe,” Hunter said with finger in the air. “Did you say that Luke cheated?”
Abe looked over at the huntsmen and they exchanged quick glances before he focused back on his hounds and started petting them. “Did I say that he cheated?”
“Yes,” answered Hunter. “You said after he bled the rest of you dry, he headed up to the battlements to cheat the castle guards out of their share.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that. I guess I was just upset because the boy is so good at what he does.”
“Yes. I’m sure he is,” grunted Hunter.
Regina decided to intervene to keep the mood uplifting. It had been a good day and she didn’t want any arguments or heated discussion ruining the night. Especially since Luke wasn’t even here to defend himself. “I think Hera deserves a taste of her kill today. Hunter, please pass me some of that duck.”
Hunter handed her some cooked duck off his plate. She giggled because he really didn’t know a thing when it came to falconry.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, looking down to the duck in his hand.
“Nay, not the cooked meat,” she explained.“Falcons eat it raw.”
“Oh, sorry.” Hunter looked around. “Did you want me to cut up a duck for her?”
“I’ll get it,” said the squire, heading over to the horses that held the kills from the day dangling from ropes. He returned with a whole duck and handed it to Regina.
“The whole thing?” asked Hunter in confusion. “Isn’t that a lot?”
“Hera will take what she wants.” Regina had a perch set up next to her. She took Hera down off the perch and placed her atop a log and put the dead duck in front of her. Hera used her beak to pluck out the feathers and to pull at the meat as she devoured the prey.
“I thought you were always careful not to feed her too much,” said Hunter. “Didn’t you say that you always wanted her to stay hungry so she’d return to the hand that feeds her?”
“Yes, that is true. But since we won’t be hunting tomorrow and Hera will have a day of rest, it doesn’t matter.”
“Aren’t you afraid she’ll fly away during the night?”
“Nay. She’ll be in the tent with me,” said Regina. “I have a perch set up in there and I will keep an eye on her.”
“Oh, that reminds me, Hunter.” Robin yawned before continuing. “I hope you don’t mind sleeping out here tonight. We need someone to tend to the fire and watch the horses so no wild animals try to steal our kills.” Robin yawned once again.
“Nay. I don’t mind,” he said, acting as if didn’t bother him in the least. Regina wondered if a man like him often slept in the outdoors under the open sky.
The men left one by one to retire to their tents for the evening. That left Hunter and Regina sitting around the fire together with no one else around but the bird. Hera had finished her meal and Regina had put on the bird’s hood and had her on the perch next to her again.
“Thank you for inviting me to join in on the hunt today,” said Hunter, breaking up twigs and throwing them into the fire. “I learned a lot.”
“Thank you for coming,” she answered. “So you weren’t too bored, then?”
“Bored?” He turned to look at her. “Never.” He brushed off his hands and scooted closer to her on the log that they shared. “You are amazing, Regina. I have never known anyone like you.”
“You aren’t so bad yourself.” She liked being with Hunter and would be sad when this all ended and he left the castle for good. “Hunter, what will you do once you apprehend the thief? Where will you go?”
“Back to my cabin in the woods, I guess. Back to catching thieves and trying to figure out how to raise a thirteen-year-old stubborn, defiant boy without going crazy in the meantime.”
“Mayhap Luke needs a mother’s guiding hand,” suggested Regina.
His head jerked upward and his eyes closed partially. “What are you saying?”
“I’m just saying that mayhap it is time you got married.”
“You think so?”
“It might help. Don’t you have a sweetheart? Someone you could ask to settle down with you?”
She was playing with fire and hoped she wouldn’t get burned. It was her way of putting the idea in his head that mayhap he needed to be around a woman more. Settle down. Start a family.
“Now that you mention it, I do have a woman who I’d like to consider my sweetheart.”
“You do?” That surprised her. Did he have a woman back home that he’d never told her about? She hoped not.
“Yes, I do. And I would even consider marrying her but I would never ask because I don’t think she’d want me as her husband.”
“Hunter, don’t say that. Have more confidence in yourself. You are an exciting, wonderful man. You’d make a good husband for any girl who was lucky enough to get you.”
“Nay. Not any girl,” he said, sounding suddenly sad. It made her wonder if perhaps he had his eye on a woman who didn’t want him the way he wanted her.
Suddenly feeling ill that she’d even asked about it, Regina realized it would be best to go to sleep. “I must take Hera to her perch in the tent now. She’s had a big day and is tired.” Regina stood up and took the bird onto her glove.
“Allow me to escort you to the tent, my lady.” Hunter was immediately on his feet.
“It’s not necessary,” she told him, feeling sad inside that Hunter sounded as if he had his eye on someone back home. She hoped for his sake it was a respectable woman and at least not a whore. Luke really did need a mother. Most likely the types of women Hunter was around all the time weren’t going to set a good example for the boy. “Didn’t my brother even give you a blanket to use tonight?” she asked, stretching her neck to try to see through the dark.
“I’m hot. I don’t need one,” he told her. “Sweet dreams, my lady.”
“Thank you,” she said, entering the tent with Hera and putting the bird on her perch for the night. “Oh, Hera,” she whispered. “My heart aches. I think I am falling in love with Hunter and I am the last woman he would probably ever want.”
She was awoken later by a clap of thunder and the fluttering of Hera’s wings since the noise startled the bird.
“It’s all right, girl,” she said, getting up to check on and comfort her falcon. The wind picked up causing the flap of her tent to open a little. That is when she heard the sound of rain pelting down against the ground. “Oh, no,” she said, peering out of the tent to see Hunter trying to man the fire in the rain. He had no blanket or covering of any kind. Her heart went out to him. Picking up her blanket, she put it over her head. In just her nightshift and with bare feet, she hurried out to join Hunter.
“Fast, get under here,” she instructed, holding the blanket open for him.
“My lady, you shouldn’t be out in the rain.” Hunter ducked and got under the blanket with her. His wet body pressed up against her dry night rail.
“Your clothes are soaking wet,” she told him.“You really need to dry off so you don’t become ill.”
“I’m supposed to be watching the fire,” he reminded her. “I promised Robin.” They both turned to look at the fire but it had been extinguished in the cold rain and now it only smoked.
“Come into my tent,” she told him.“At least until the rain lets up.”
“Nay. That wouldn’t be proper.”
“I insist.”
“If I do that and your brother finds out, he’ll have my head,” said Hunter.
“Then stop talking so loud before you wake him.” She put one arm around him and walked with him to her tent. Once inside, she dropped the blanket. Hera made a soft clucking noise from her perch. “It’s just Hunter, sweetie,” she told her bird while Hunter closed the flap to keep the rain out.
“I’ll just stay for a moment,” said Hunter, brushing the water off of his arms. “I’m sure the rain will let up soon.”
“Yes, I’m sure you are right,” she agreed, spreading out the blanket and sitting down upon it. “Sit down next to me, Hunter. But first, you’d better remove your wet clothing.”
His head snapped around and even in the dark she could tell that he wondered what she’d meant by that.
“You’ll get my bedding wet otherwise,” she explained.
“Oh. Yes. All right,” he said. She heard him kick off his boots. Then she heard the rustle of clothing and he sat down next to her. She couldn’t really see him in the dark. But when she reached out and touched his bare arm she knew that he had removed his wet tunic like she’d told him to do. Just the thought of him sitting there bare-chested made her feel all warm inside.
“I don’t think it’s right that I’m in here with you,” he said in a whisper.
“Shhhh.”
“Nay, really, Regina. This isn’t right.”
“Then just don’t tell anyone about it tomorrow.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t. Not if I value keeping my head attached to my body.”
She giggled. “You are so sweet, Hunter. Whoever that girl of yours is back home, she is truly lucky to have you.”
“What girl?”
“The one you told me about when we were sitting by the fire. Your sweetheart.”
“Nay. You’ve got it all wrong, Regina.” She felt him cup her cheek, the heat of his big hand melding with her skin and feeling so inviting. She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes. “You are the sweetheart I was talking about. There is no one else.”
“Me?” Her eyes sprang open. “Really? Hunter, are you saying that you want me to be your sweetheart?”
“If things were different, then yes. I would want you not only for my sweetheart but for much more than that.”
Regina felt him cup her face in both of his hands next. Then his soft lips caressed hers in a kiss that was so gentle and caring that it was hard to believe such a big and rugged man could be so tender with her.
“What do you mean if things were different?” Her eyes were getting accustomed to the dark now and she could see his face clearly next to hers. They were sitting very close together.
“I am talking about the fact that you are a noble and I am just a commoner,” he said.
“Why do you have to bring that up now?” She put her arms around him, feeling his bare chest against her while her hands touched his strong, bare back. Pressing her lips to his chest, she placed kissed trailing across the wide expanse of muscles.
“Mmmm,” he moaned, pulling her closer and placing kisses down the back of her neck, managing to send a delicious shiver up her spine. She jerked, but in a good way. “Regina, does that bother you?” he asked in a truly caring voice.
“Not at all. I like your kisses. Very much.”
“That’s not what I meant.” His hands roamed and she didn’t stop him. He cupped her breasts and his thumbs flicked over her nipples beneath the fabric causing them to go erect. Her back arched. “I meant the fact that we are from two different worlds, sweetheart.”
Mayhap she could have answered if he hadn’t slid his hands up the inside of her shift, his fingertips softly making little circles on the skin of her back. Her breathing labored when his hands came up close under her arms and then he palmed her breasts, skin on skin.
“Hunter?”
“Yes?”
“You’d better stop all this talking before someone hears us.”
His hands stilled.“You’re right. I don’t want that to happen. Mayhap I should leave.”
“It is still raining out there.”
“It’ll cool me down.”
“I’m hot, too. Very, very hot,” she said in a breathy whisper, her mouth against his ear. She let her tongue flick out and lick him, making him squirm.
“Regina, don’t play with me because I am so hard right now with want for you that I am about ready to burst.”
His words excited her even further. She felt a pulsating between her thighs as her body came to life in his embrace. “I want you just as much,” she whispered, kissing his chest again wrapping her arms around him. That is when she discovered he wasn’t wearing any braies. “You are…totally naked again, aren’t you?”
“You make it sound as if I do it a lot.”
“Don’t you?”
“Only when I’m bathing in the lake.” He kissed her behind the ear, causing her to shudder. “Or making love to a beautiful woman.”
His hand moved between her thighs next and his fingers brought her to life even more. “Oooh, Hunter. What are you doing to me?” she asked with a tremble to her voice.
“Oh, sweetheart, you really do want this as badly as me. You are wet and ready and I am willing to give you pleasure like you’ve never felt in your life.”
That was all he had to say. She was so excited that she crawled atop him, straddling her legs around his waist. His arms encompassed her and before she knew what was happening, he had slipped her shift up and over her head, discarding it on the tent floor. Now, she was just as naked as he.
“I want to make sweet love to you, my beautiful Ladybird,” he told her, making Regina’s heart about melt.
“Ladybird?” she asked with a giggle.
“What else would I call a lady falconer as talented as you?”
“I like it,” she said. “And if you are asking my permission to bed me, I give myself to you wholeheartedly and with no regrets.”
He pulled her down to a prone position and her body covered his. She felt the engorgement of his manhood and couldn’t help herself from reaching down to touch him. He was so hard yet his soft skin reminded her of silk over steel. As she ran her fingers up and down his length, he moaned softly.
“You don’t know what you’re doing to me,” he whispered in her ear, using his hands to squeeze her back end, pulling her up close to his hardened form. “What do you want me to do?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Just do what you usually would in a situation such as this.”
Before she knew it, he had rolled her onto her back. He straddled her, holding himself up with his arms so as not to crush her. “You are so beautiful,” he said, gently pushing her legs apart with his knee. “I want you for my sweetheart, my sweet, sweet Ladybird.”
“I want you as well, my wonderful, handsome Hunter.”
He entered her then, surprising her by his length and size as he slid into her womanly warmth. She started to tense, not sure if it would hurt.
“Just relax and let me do all the work,” he told her, making her feel safe and secure. “Close your eyes and let yourself go.”
They made love gently at first, savoring each touch between them. When she started feeling more comfortable, his thrusts became deeper and faster. Then he took her legs and wrapped them around his hips and she found herself feeling very naughty. But she liked being naughty. Especially with this wonderful man.
“How do you feel?” he asked through a ragged whisper, making her realize he was getting close to release and waiting for her. That thought alone thrilled her. She also found herself excitedby the fact that they were naked and making love in the outdoors.With men sleeping in tents right next to them. Her excitement grew out of control. She wanted this more than anything in her life right now. Her hips moved on their own and she found the rhythm of the dance of love. She had become one with Hunter. Regina griped on to his shoulders, and when she felt herself climbing so high she wanted to scream out, but knew she couldn’t. Instead, she raked her nails down his chest, cooing and trying not to scream in ecstasy from what was happening to her right now to make her feel so good.
“Shhh, we need to be quiet,” he said, covering her mouth with his as they both found their release together. Regina felt like her falcon flying high and free through the sky, looking down at the ground and all below.
The rain continued to pelt down on the tent, but neither Regina or Hunter paid any attention to it. Hera squawked from next to them and flapped her wings, making them both giggle softly as they held each other in their arms and tried to regain an even gait of breath.
“That was wonderful,” she whispered. “Better than I ever thought it would be.”
“So, you’ve fantasized about making love with me before?” he asked softly.
“Well, actually yes. Ever since that first kiss in your cabin. But that’s not what I meant.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Making love,” she told him. “It was much more exciting than I ever imagined after hearing about it from my sister and my sister-by-marriage.”
He was rubbing circles on her back but his hand suddenly stilled. “Are you saying…this was your first time?”
“Yes.”
“First time…ever?”
“Uh huh.”
“Damn,” she heard him mumble under his breath but she was too fulfilled and happy to even ask why he swore. She cuddled up to him and laid her head on his chest, closing her eyes. Exhausted and spent from a day of hunting and a night of lovemaking, Regina slumbered in Hunter’s arms, feeling safe and happy and secure. This was the best night of her entire life!