Chapter Four #2
Joselyn flushed brilliantly and he laughed softly. “You’re still unused to sweet words, are you?” he flirted gently.
She shook her head vigorously and he continued to laugh, taking her by the hand and gently pulling her away from the table. Together, they made their way towards the great hall entry door.
“Well, you had better become used to it,” he told her frankly. “I intend to speak a great many sweet words to you in the days and years to come. Would you like to hear more?”
She was beside herself with embarrassment, but it was of a good sort. She had never in her life known any manner of flirting or interaction with a man, so her experience with such things was nil. Her cheeks were hot and she put her free hand on her face, looking away from him.
“I do not think I can,” she said, muffled by her hand. “If my face grows any warmer I will go up in flame.”
He laughed loudly. “I have not seen a woman go up in flame yet, no matter how flattering the words,” he gazed up into the summer night sky, brilliant with stars. “Let me think. I suppose I could tell you that you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, but I believe you already know that.”
She shook her head, hand still against her face. “Nay, I do not.”
He bent over, peering down at her and trying to look at her lowered face as they continued out into the darkened courtyard. The night outside was cool and clear in sharp contrast to the sultry day, bringing some relief from the cloying hall.
“You do not?” he repeated, straightening. “A pity. Then I shall tell you, quite honestly, that your beauty outshines that of any woman I have ever known.”
She peered up at him now that he was not trying to look her in the eye. “How many women have you known?”
He looked down his nose at her. “Only two or three.”
Now it was her turn to laugh at him. “I would not believe that in the least.”
“You would not?”
“Nay,” she said firmly. “Sir Stephen, I am not sure if you realize this, but you are an exceptionally handsome man. I cannot imagine that every woman you have ever come across has not realized that, which leads me to believe that you have known more than two or three women in your life. You probably have armies of them that follow you around, begging for a lock of your hair or a glimpse of your smile. Am I wrong?”
He suddenly grabbed her and pulled her tight against him, looking around frantically as if he was deeply fearful.
“Dear God,” he breathed. “Now that you know my secret, will you protect me from these ravenous females?”
She laughed. “Not a chance. You must fend them off for yourself.” He looked down at her as if she had just grievously insulted him. She would have believed it, too, had she not seen the smile playing on his lips.
“You are my wife,” he reminded her pointedly. “It is your duty to protect me.”
She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Oh, very well, you coward,” she pulled away from him, hands on her hips as she looked around the bailey. “Where are they? Well?”
He just stood there and grinned at her. “I seem to have escaped them for now, but have no doubt, they will be back,” he reached out a hand to her. “Until then, shall we retire and hope for the best?”
She laughed softly, placing her small hand in his and allowing him to lead her into the keep.
Inside, it was dark and cold as they made their way up the spiral stairs to the second floor.
There were two rooms on this floor; a smaller servant’s chamber and then a larger master’s chamber.
Joselyn opened the door to the larger chamber and Stephen was surprised as he stepped inside.
At some point while he had been away, she’d had the smaller bed removed and replaced by a larger bed with a rope frame.
A mattress sat atop it and he pushed on it, feeling that it was firm with fresh straw.
Several coverlets draped over the bed, clean from what he could see, and the room itself had been cleaned and swept free of all dirt and cobwebs.
A warm fire burned in the hearth and he turned to look at her curiously.
“Is this the same room you slept in last night?” he asked a question with an obvious answer, simply because it had been so nicely transformed.
Joselyn nodded, smiling at his approval.
“I had the smaller bed removed and replaced with a larger one that had been stored in another room,” she told him.
“The same women who helped me with the cooking also helped me repair and re-stuff this mattress, and the coverlets were from a chest we found on the fourth floor of the keep. There is a room up there stuffed with all manner of items, things that the last occupant must have left behind. I had some of it brought to this room.”
Stephen looked around to the table she had brought down with two fat tapers burning on top of it. There was a small chest under the lancet window and a pile of thick, pale linen atop the chest. He went over and fingered the material.
“What is this?” he asked.
She motioned to the canopy frame around the bed. “Curtains for the bed,” she replied. “They are old and need to be mended, but I believe they are serviceable.”
He nodded, letting go of the material and inspecting the corner near the edge of the bed. There was a little pallet on the floor, surrounded by rushes. He pointed at it. “What is that?”
She wandered over to see what he was pointing at. “That is for the fawn,” she said. “He was sleeping there this afternoon.”
“Where is it now?”
“In the kitchen with the servants. It is very warm in the kitchen and he seemed to like it better in there.”
“So am I to understand that you now have a pet?”
“If you do not mind.”
He gave her a smirk as if it didn’t matter whether or not he minded. She was going to keep it anyway and he would let her.
“I do not,” he replied, facing his wife with his hands on his hips. “You have done an exceptional job with both the meal and this room. I am impressed with your accomplishments and your foresight to duty.”
She smiled happily. “Thank you, my lord.”
“What did I tell you about addressing me in private?”
“I meant, thank you, husband.”
He winked at her. “Good,” he said with a heavy sigh as he made his way back to the door. “I have duties to attend to before I retire for the night, but I will be back. You will stay here and not leave this room. Is that understood?”
She nodded. “I will not leave.”
He moved to the door and she scooted past him, opening it for him. He smiled down at her, the cornflower blue eyes glittering with warmth.
“Good eve, husband,” she said softly.
His gaze was steady. “I shall return,” he replied. Then a hand came up, gently grasping her face. “Perhaps you will still be awake when I do.”
She knew it was a request no matter how he phrased it.
Her belly quivered with excitement, the heat of his touch sending waves of delight rippling through her body.
It suddenly didn’t matter anymore that this man was an enemy, a stranger she had been forced to marry.
He was proving himself to be an exceptional man regardless of his loyalties.
She was coming to like him just the slightest. She smiled, her lips quivering because her body was quivering from the thrill of having him so near.
“I will be awake all night,” she told him, “watching for the hordes of women who follow you around like a wolf pack. I told you I would fend them off, did I not?”
He laughed softly and his other hand came up, cupping her lovely face between his two enormous palms. His smile faded as he gazed intently into her pale blue eyes.
“You did indeed,” he murmured, somehow moving closer to her as he spoke. “I will hold you to that.”
Not only was he moving closer to her, but she was moving closer to him as well.
Joselyn didn’t realize that she was fairly collapsing against the man, his enormous height and bulk filling every corner of her mind.
She could see his full lips looming over her and feel the heat from his hands as if he meant to scorch every inch of her.
She couldn’t even think of a witty answer as he loomed closer still, his hot breath on her face.
Before she realized it, his lips were on her soft mouth, gently kissing her with the very first real kiss she had ever experienced.
She had never been kissed on the mouth, not even by her father or mother, and she froze for a moment, evaluating the feel of his powerful lips upon hers.
But her lack of reaction lasted only a fraction of a second.
Without thinking, her natural instincts took hold and she returned his kiss, tasting his lips and suckling him gently as he carefully probed her soft mouth.
It was apparently all of the encouragement that Stephen needed, because before Joselyn realized it, he had wrapped his enormous arms around her slender body and had backed her up against the wall.
She heard the door slam, unaware that Stephen had kicked it shut the moment his arms went around her.
Her arms found their way around his neck and he lifted her up off the ground, bracing her against the wall as his tongue licked at her lips, demanding entry.
Her mouth opened slightly and it was all the inducement he needed to invade her mouth, tasting her sweetness and gorging himself.
Through it all, Joselyn held him tightly around the neck and mimicked his actions, passionate instincts she had never known taking hold.
The more demanding he was with her, the more demanding she was in return.