The Reluctant Knight (13 page)

No one talked;
instead, they all processed the aftermath of their adventure on
Russian soil. All of them had risked their lives at one point or
another, and they would all be feeling the effects of the
adrenaline breaking down and leaving their system.

Once Sherlock had
woken their pilot and bribed him to take them home right then with
a wad of cash from the car, and Daniels had fetched a blanket from
the boot for Amelia to make herself more decent, they all trooped
onto the small jet plane.

It was not a
particularly posh plane and it had more seats than they needed, but
it was a means home, and Amelia evidently didn't object. She was
the first to settle herself into a seat, the blanket wrapped
tightly around her. As she slowly undid her boots and kicked them
off, Mycroft studied her.

There was a large
bruise down one side of her face. It had missed her eye but it had
made her cheek a very deep purple. On her hands and arms were deep
scratches, and given how fresh they looked he knew they would be
from the hedge she'd pushed her way through. Considering how much
she'd winced when moving, he also suspected her back was damaged,
but she never once voiced her pain or complained.

As soon as she
looked comfortable and curled up in the chair, he sat beside her.
It would be the easiest way to keep an eye on her while she slept,
which he didn't doubt she would do soon.

Daniels sat down
near the back of the plane, out of the way, also making himself
comfortable to sleep.

Once the plane was
in the air, Sherlock sat opposite him. By then both Amelia and
Daniels were asleep.

“How do you think
she escaped?” Sherlock asked.

“She probably took
advantage of a weakness of theirs. Very few of them appeared to be
bright.”

“Obviously.”

“I'm sure she'll
explain once she's awake.” Mycroft glanced at her, feeling calm for
the first time since he'd first discovered she'd been taken. “But
I'm glad we went when we did. Much longer and they'd probably have
killed her.”

“How does it feel
to be her knight in shining armour? A new feeling for you, I
imagine, even if you were a little reluctant.” Sherlock's mouth
twitched up in merriment at the suggestion. He rolled his eyes in
response. “The early signs look like it will start a war.”

“We knew it would
do that.”

“Yes, I suppose we
did. Now if everyone else is sleeping, I don't see why I should be
awake. I've had a very busy few days. I assume you'll watch over us
as you usually do in these situations?”

Mycroft
nodded.

“One of us should
stay awake,” Mycroft said and glanced at Amelia again.

“Quite.” His
brother stood to relocate to a more comfortable place to sleep.

“Oh, and,
Sherlock?”

“Yes, brother of
mine?”

“Thank you.”

Sherlock nodded
but carried on moving. Neither of them needed to say what it was
for. They would just be grateful Amelia had made it
unnecessary.

The sound of the
fire crackling greeted Mycroft as he walked into his study.
Immediately, his eyes settled on Amelia, curled up in one of the
armchairs near it.

He paused and
looked her over, unable to not do so. She'd just showered and now
sat in the only clothes he had spare, an old short white shirt
which left nothing to the imagination as it flowed over the swell
of her breasts. To cover her bare legs, his housekeeper had found
her a blanket, but Mycroft could figure out that she wore nothing
else. She had nothing else in London, not after what she'd been
through.

She had a slightly
startled look to her face and her eyes were wider than normal, but
the emotion behind them didn't unsettle him. On several occasions
before now she'd shown herself to be in control and disciplined
with how she showed what she felt. The bruise still marred her face
but he knew it would fade, and in the flickering firelight it
didn't look as extreme.

Within his shirt,
all the rest of the damage was covered, and if he hadn't known what
she'd been through in the last three and a half days, he'd have
thought her wide-eyed look down to her vulnerable state in front of
him and nothing else.

On the way back
from Ukraine, after she'd slept for a few hours, she'd told him
everything that had happened. As soon as she'd finished, he'd
answered her questions on what they'd been doing. By the time she
was tired again he'd told her the details she really needed to know
and left out the rest.

Despite being
exhausted himself, and having had less than six hours' sleep in the
entire three days, as he looked at her, sleep was not what he
thought of doing next.

Without thinking,
he sat down opposite her and allowed himself to consider indulging
his physical response to her beauty. For a woman, she'd shown
herself to be quite remarkable, and there were few who'd ever
impressed him. It also hadn't gone unnoticed by him that she'd
given nothing away about him, even under the duress of torture.

Even with all
these reasons to give in to his desires, Mycroft made no advance on
her, instead letting his gaze wander to the fire.

Since he'd got
back he'd found himself busy with little management details. He'd
had a message from the palace. It congratulated him on achieving
his goal without doing anything particularly problematic, but they
also suggested he report on the entire incident. Even he knew their
suggestion was a command. If he wanted to remain on good standing
with the royal family he'd have to obey it within the next few
days.

Until then, he
intended to take some time to let his body rest. There would be
some fallout from his actions to deal with. He needed a new car,
but it could at least wait until the morning.

While Mycroft
thought, the pair sat in a comfortable silence, until Amelia
yawned.

“Are you ready to
sleep?” he asked.

“I don't know,”
she replied and kept her attention away from him.

He stole another
glance at the way her figure looked underneath his shirt and felt
his groin stir. When she turned her head back to face him he
deliberately didn't look away very quickly.

“I'm not sure I'd
sleep very well alone,” she added and tilted her head to the side.
“You didn't have to go to all the effort you did to rescue me. I
think, if it's something you want, that I'd enjoy showing you my
gratitude.”

Very slowly and
deliberately, Amelia got up, giving him a good look at her long,
bare legs. He took his time in admiring the view before getting up
and taking her hand in his. Neither of them spoke as he walked her
up the stairs and into his bedroom.

By the time they
reached the bed their fingers had undone the shirt she wore and it
had fallen to the floor. He gently kissed the bruise on her face,
and then a scratch on her neck, working his way down, placing
kisses on every little part of her that looked like it might hurt,
and a few places on the way that just looked good to kiss.

Once he was done,
her eyes were hazy and her pulse was rapid, yet she still stood,
waiting for him to take what he wanted from her. It only made him
want her more.

Being careful not
to hurt her, he eased her down onto the bed and positioned himself
on top. When she moved her hand to see if he needed assistance he
pushed it away, back towards the pillow. She submitted to his
gesture and lifted the other to sit beside her head, making it very
clear she was giving him full control of the situation. It wasn't
something he had to have to enjoy a woman, but he knew they'd both
find more pleasure from the act if she let him do the work. He'd
always found women as easy to read in bed as out.

Seeing the hunger
in her eyes, he unzipped himself and wasted no more time before
pushing deep into her. She arched her back a little, taking the
pressure off it and allowing him to go deeper at the same time. As
he thrust in for a second time he placed a hand underneath her to
help give her the support to sustain the position. He wanted this
to last.

Before long her
eyes were closed in bliss as he gently brought them closer and
closer to their peak with each deep push into her. Even after doing
his best to take his time, they soon moaned in time to each other,
and he let her take his weight for a moment, his body spent inside
her.

Finally, she
lifted her arm and ran one finger down his side, caressing his skin
in a manner more comforting than a turn on, her eyes fixed on his
face. He understood the unspoken question and deftly eased to one
side of her, rolling her onto her side as he did.

When his body was
curled up against hers and his arm was draped protectively over her
torso she let out a small sigh and closed her eyes.

“This isn't a
permanent arrangement,” he whispered as he slid his hand up a
little further to cup her breasts.

“I know,” she
replied. “But you can have me whenever you want me. I don't
mind.”

“Most women don't
wish for that sort of arrangement.”

“I'm not like most
women.”

Mycroft chuckled.
No, Amelia was nothing like most women; she was so much better.

***

Amelia woke with a
gasp, her mind still filled with the memory of the Russian she'd
stabbed. She shuddered and felt Myron's fingers shift as it made
him stir.

Hoping not to wake
him further, she tried to calm her breathing but her body betrayed
her emotions and a few seconds later he kissed the back of her
neck.

“Nightmare?” he
whispered, shifting so her whole body was cradled up against
him.

“Yes. I... I'm
sorry, I didn't mean to wake you.”

“I wasn't
asleep.”

He nuzzled his
head into the back of her head, smelling her skin. Within seconds
she felt more relaxed, but it still plagued her mind.

“I stabbed
someone,” she said a few seconds later. A sigh escaped Myron's lips
and it made her wonder if she shouldn't have said anything. “He was
trying to stab me, and I managed to disarm him. I didn't even
think. I just used the knife once it was in my hands.”

“Good,” Myron
replied and ran his fingers lightly down her side. “If you hadn't
you'd probably be dead now, Amelia. Don't feel guilt for doing what
you needed to do in order to stay alive. He made the choice to
enter into that fight. It was his choice to face the possibility of
death at your hands.”

“I know what's
logical. But I guess it will take time for my memory of it to
fade.”

“Let me help,” he
said and hooked his arm around her to turn her towards him. It only
took a few seconds for her body to respond to his caresses, and
then she abandoned herself to him. At least for a little while she
could feel perfectly safe.

~

Thank you for reading The Reluctant Knight. The sequel, The
Ambitious Orphan, will be available on July
17
^th
2016 to buy, and will be up for pre-order shortly.
While you wait you might also like to try my
fantasy works beginning with a free short,
Wandering to Belong
.

If you would like to subscribe to the new release email to be
notified of the next publication by Jess Mountifield (or Amelia
Price) you can do so
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name, separated by genre, please continue. If you have enjoyed the
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[email protected]
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purchase.

Already
published

Historical
Adventure:

With Proud
Humility (#1 in the Hearts of the Seas series)

Chains of
Freedom (#4 in the Hearts of the Seas series)

Fantasy (Tales
of Ethanar):

Wandering to
Belong (Tale 1)

Innocent
Hearts (Tale 2 & 3)

For Such a
Time as This (Tale 4)

A Fire's
Sacrifice (Tale 5)

The Hope of
Winter (A short story in the anthology 'Flights of Fantasy' - Tale
6.05)

Sci-Fi:

Sherdan's
Prophecy (#1 in the Sherdan series)

Sherdan's
Legacy (#2 in the Sherdan series)

Sherdan's
Country (#3 in the Sherdan series)

Sherdan's Road
(A short story in the anthology 'The End of the Road')

The Slave
Who'd Never Been Kissed (A novella in the anthology 'The Kiss')

Find Purchase links here

Coming
soon

Historical
Adventure:

Victorious
Ruin (#2 in the Hearts of the Seas series)

Fantasy (Tales
of Ethanar):

The Fire of
Winter (#1 in the Winter series, Tale 6.1)

The Tales of
Ethanar anthology - containing:

The Tales of
Ethanar 1-6.05

A Brief
History of Ethanar

Maps of
Ethanar

A Note on
Dragons

A Note on the
Humanoid Races of Ethanar

Fantasy
(other):

Angel of the
Sands

Already
Published

The Hundred
Year Wait (#1 in the Mycroft Holmes Adventures)

The Boy Next
Door (A short story in the anthology 'The Bitten')

The Unexpected
Coincidence (#2 in the Mycroft Holmes Adventures)

The Invisible
Amateur (#3 in the Mycroft Holmes Adventures)

The Female
Charm (#4 in the Mycroft Holmes Adventures)

The Reluctant
Knight (#5 in the Mycroft Holmes Adventures)