The Wolfe (38 page)

She looked away from him, turning
back to the lake but not seeing it. She was completely flabbergasted.

“I shall be all alone,” she
murmured.

“You will not,” he said firmly. “You
will have me.”

She looked at him, knowing he meant
well. But he did not understand.

“She is more than my cousin and my
lady-in-waiting,” Jordan insisted softly. “She is Scot. She is the only other
Scot for miles. We  have been together since we were bairns, English, and I
dunna want to give her up, not now. And she and….” she trailed off, unsure if
she should verbalize her thoughts further.

He came to her. “I am listening.
Continue.”

She shook her head. “Nothing,” she
said, then put her hand on his arm.” Only when ye send her home…have Kieran
take her.”

He understood all too well and
realized that he would be dealing with another matter of the heart when he informed
Kieran of the orders. God, why did everything have to be so damn complicated?

She was watching him, her mind
wandering from Jemma to her encounter with William last night. He seemed to be
returning to the William she loved, not the captain who irritated the hell out
of her.

“Do ye have any regrets?” she asked
softly.

He looked confused. “About what?”

“Last night,” she whispered.

The change that came over his face
was miraculous and her heart was filled with a wild sense of happiness. She
knew instantly that all of her worries were for naught.

“Nay,” he whispered. “And you?”

She shook her head. “Never. For as
long as I live.”

He smiled gently. “I could hardly
sleep last night. I have grown accustomed to holding you and it was not the
same at all. I fear I shall face many nights like that.”

“I slept, but I must confess I was
disappointed not to awaken to yer face,” she said. “Is that why ye were so
harsh on yer knights? Because ye had no sleep?”

“Hardly,” his stiff demeanor
returned. “I was harsh with them because they were sorely neglecting their duties
to follow you around like dogs going after a bitch in heat.”

She scowled at him. “What an awful
thing to say.”

“‘Tis the truth of it,” he insisted,
then his eyes trailed to her surcoat. “You look delicious in that dress. In
fact, it is an almost indecent dress the way it clings to you.”

She’d never given that aspect any
thought. Bewildered, she looked down at herself. “‘Tis my favorite dress.”

“And mine,” he said with a cock of
his brow. “In fact, it emphasizes your magnificent figure to the point of
distraction.”

Her head came up and her eyes
narrowed at him. “Is that what ye think? That I dressed a-purpose this way to
distract yer knights?”

He gave her an impatient look. “I
think no such thing. However, even if you did not mean to, you had my knights
acting like stud stallions. I was harsh with them because they knew better.
They acted as if they had never seen a beautiful woman before.”

She looked at him a moment, studying
his features as he spoke. Then her eyes narrowed and she gave him a crooked
smile.

“Ye were jealous,” she accused.

His face hardened. Ridiculous,
Jordan.”

“So ye were not jealous?” she
demanded, insulted. “Look me in the eye, English, and tell me that ye were not
consumed with jealousy when ye saw yer knights trailing after me. Tell me.”

He looked her right in the eye. He
tried to force himself to deny it, but he realized that he could not. She was
right; of course. He had been jealous. He hadn’t understood that until this very
moment. He’d probably noticed it at the beginning but convinced himself that it
was not a contributing factor to his anger.

When he didn’t answer right away a
slow smile crept onto her lips. He saw it and it inflamed him. With a muttered
curse, he pulled her against him and descended on her lips in a bruising kiss.
She giggled as his mouth came down on her again and again, sucking the breath
right out of her.

“Does that answer your question?” he
asked huskily.

She smiled a victorious, seductive
smile. “Ye
were
jealous,” she repeated because she could scarcely
believe it.

He rolled his eyes and buried his
face in her neck. “Oh, very well, I was indeed,” he snapped without force. “Next
time I shall dispense with the punishment and simply kill the bastards.”

She laughed jubilantly, closing her
eyes at his passionate touch. His hot tongue was licking, probing, tasting
until she was gasping with arousal. His mouth was making her mad, his hands
driving her wild as they caressed her breasts firmly. A slow warmth was
spreading through her limbs and she knew she had to have him now or die.

“
Now
, English,” she said
raggedly, licking his ear. “Can we… can we do what we did last night?”

He groaned low. Latching onto her
hot mouth, he gathered her into his arms and disappeared into the cover of the
trees.

She did not know how long he had
been kissing her or how far he had walked until he set her down and pushed her
against a tree. His breeches went down around his knees and her skirts went up
around her waist. Lifting her up, he braced her back against the trunk and
drove hard into her. Jordan cried out and he immediately stopped.

“My God, Jordan, I have hurt you,”
he breathed. “I should have been mindful that…,”

She put her fingers over his mouth. “Nay,
love, ye dinna hurt me,” she murmured. “‘Twas my passion answering yers.”

He studied her face hesitantly as if
he did not believe her until she smiled and began to kiss him as she had never
kissed him before.

He pounded into her, scraping her
back against the tree bark but she did not feel it. Even if she was a bit sore,
she was consumed with the scalding friction he was creating, the erotic
sensations he was causing to happen within her. She clung to him, the sweetness
of him filling her, his power overwhelming.

She was so aroused that her passion
peaked quickly and when he felt her throbbing begin, he could not help but
answer with his own. His hands were squeezing her buttocks, pulling her against
him, driving in as far as he could go as he released his seed deep into her
womb with a grunt of satisfaction.

His face was buried in her neck and
her arms were tight about his head. They stayed in that position for a small
eternity as birds sang overhead and wind softly whistled in the trees, heart
rates slowing and the feeling of bliss covering them like a blanket.

Jordan was completely content. She
wished they could remain as they were forever, with no earl, no Northwood, no
England and no Scotland. She didn’t want to share him with anyone or anything.
She had found her life and her love and knew she would not be content to settle
for anything less. She wondered in the years ahead how strong her sense of duty
would be to prevent her from casting everything aside and running away with
him.

Her legs were cramping and she
shifted a little. William pulled his face from her neck, his gaze devouring
her. She smiled and ran her hands along his stubbled jaw.

“God, you drive me insane with
desire,” he said huskily. “I should not have taken you so roughly.”

She flashed her white teeth. “I
dinna mind, English.” 

It didn’t matter that she was
completely new to the world of intercourse; all she knew was that she liked it.
She liked the way he made her feel.

He kissed her once, twice, and let
her gently slide to the ground. He fastened his breeches quickly and helped her
with her dress, picking pieces of bark off her back.

“We must go back lest someone comes
looking for us,” William said regretfully.

He took her arm and they began to
walk back toward the road. As soon as they broke through the trees they were
met by several peasants preparing to go into the woods and do some hunting. William
said a silent prayer at their sense of timing, passing Jordan a glance that
reflected her very thoughts.

There was more traffic on the road
in and out of Northwood than there had been earlier and Jordan curiously
observed the people, the comings and the goings. Whereas Langton fairly
remained closed most of the time, Northwood kept her gates open and did a good
deal of business. She was intrigued.

“With Jemma gone, I will not have a
lady-in-waiting,” she broached their previous subject, hoping that if she
pleaded enough he would approach the earl on her behalf. She truly wanted her
cousin at her side, now more than ever.

“The earl is sending to London for a
lady from the queen,” he told her. “Since you are to become an English
countess, he feels that a court lady will be able to help you with the
intricacies of such a life. Jemma would be no help to you there.”

Jordan looked surprised. “I dunna
want a court lady.” she said insistently. “Those pasty-faced wenches with then
stiff dresses and their kissing diseases. I want them nowhere near me.”

He almost choked with laughter but
one look at her face told him she was serious. “Kissing diseases? Where did you
hear such information?”

She frowned. “Pah, English, everyone
knows that the queen’s ladies are nothing but high-bred whores. Is that the
type of woman you would have for my companion?”

“High-bred whores?” he repeated to
himself, amused, then spoke louder. “In spite of your opinion, I am sure the
queen will select a proper mentor. If I feel she is not, then I will send her
back.”

“What of the earl?” she questioned.

William shrugged. “He will listen to
me.”

The opening she was looking for. “Then
ask him not to send Jemma home. I need her, English.”

He looked at her and knew she had
trapped him. He sighed low in frustration. “Mayhap tonight. I will see how his mood
rides,” he said. “But it is not just him; it is Analiese.”

“I saw how she looks at ye, English,”
Jordan said with a bit of jealousy. “If ye were to throw a pretty look in her
direction she would most likely relent. Oh, please, wunna ye try for me?”

He made a wry face at her. “Jordan,
you have no idea what you are asking,” he said flatly. “Analiese has been…well,
she’s been sorely trying my patience for years. To put it bluntly, she wishes
my favors. If I were to show her the least bit of kindness, there would be no
end to it.”

“As much as that thought distresses
me, I will beg ye again,” she said. “Please, English? For me?”

He glanced down into her wide green
eyes. He would move the sun and the stars for her without as much as a blink of
an eye. The battle for him was lost the moment she asked him to begin with and
the rest of the conversation was a futile attempt to not seem so devoted to her
will.

“Very well,” he said, looking up to
the ramparts as they passed through the gate. “I will see what I can do.”

She beamed. “Thank ye, English. What
would I do without ye?”

“Fortunately, madam, you will never
have to find out,” he replied quietly. There were ears about.

The outer bailey was jammed with peasants
going about their tasks. Jordan watched as a man with a cart loaded with bundles
of fabric passed before her and she clapped her hands in delight.

“Oh, I must look at that.” she
exclaimed, running to the man to stop him as William followed close behind.

He divided his attention between
watching her happily inspect the goods and keeping his eyes roving about the
bailey, watching for anything threatening. ‘Twas a habit he had long had. He
looked up and caught Paris looking down on him from the top of the inner wall.
They did nothing more than nod at each other, but he knew Paris was also
vigilantly searching the crowd for any hostility on Jordan’s behalf.

Jordan
. He looked at her as
she inspected a pile of topaz-colored silk as if it were a prize stallion.
Every movement was fluid, every expression filled with a thousand words. The
more he watched her, the more he realized that Normandy was indeed a fine place
to live. As much as he loved Northwood, he loved her more. He’d always loved
her, from the moment he had first seen her. There was never any doubt in his
mind.

He was amazed that this small,
delicate woman had the power to make him forget everything that was important
to him until he realized that the only thing of true importance was her. He had
been a soldier all of his life. He had an auspicious reputation that he had
obtained through the sheer act of doing, not because he had set out to earn a
name for himself. Although he was proud of his reputation and everything he had
achieved in his lifetime, it was empty and meaningless without Jordan to share
it with.

He sighed, bracing his legs apart
and crossing his arms over his chest. He was the epitome of strength and power,
of perfect knightly skill. He had not one flaw in the world except her. He had
feared that his love for her would make him weak when, in fact, he felt
omnipotent.