Time Travel Romances Boxed Set (119 page)

Although, Viviane was certainly not the
first maiden to find that siren’s call alluring. And truly, if ever
there had been a woman capable of seizing a notion and running
farther with it than any might have believed possible, ’twas his
Viviane.

Niall smiled despite himself. Her tales and
her conviction in their truth were appealing, he had to admit. He
liked how her eyes flashed when she explained matters to him and
how her entire face shone with the certainty of what she knew. He
enjoyed how passionately she argued her case, not a shred of doubt
within her thoughts.

Even if she was completely wrong. Aye, there
was something about Viviane and her manner that a man could watch
and savor for all his days and nights.

Marriage was a matter of responsibility, of
obligation, of partnership. ’Twas two laboring as one toward their
mutual objectives, two ensuring the welfare of each other and their
spawn, two building a haven from the caprice of the world.

That
was marriage. And Niall knew,
with dawning conviction, that if he could but show Viviane the good
sense of this, then she would agree.

Both to his view of matrimony and his
proposal.

It sounded more simple than Niall guessed
’twould be, but he was well prepared to try.

The shower began to run in that moment and
Niall lifted his head to stare at the closed washroom door. ’Twas
easy enough to visualize what Viviane did. Niall took a step
closer, his blood quickening with the prospect of lending his
aid.

’
Twas then that Niall
realized something truly marvelous. For if this was not Avalon - as
he now knew ’twas not - then ’twas not a realm governed by magic.
’Twas a realm of men, governed by the mechanisms of man, just as
Cantlecroft was. In fact, ’twas within the
same
world that
Cantlecroft occupied, just somewhat later and further
west.

This affirmed all that Niall believed, that
only what a man could hold in his hands or see with his eyes was
truly real.

There was no magic, even here.

But if there was no magic, then there could
be no spells. Viviane could not have enchanted Niall. She could not
have cast a spell over him to feed his desire or to serve her own,
she could not have compelled him to feel anything.

Niall considered this carefully but ’twas
unassailable.

No magic meant no spells.

And if his desire for Viviane was not
unnaturally contrived, then there was naught wrong with it. He
frowned and stared down at himself just to be sure, but naught was
shriveling.

And certainly naught had fallen off.

Indeed, ’twas quite the opposite. He had
never been so large or so hard in all his days.

And at the sight of his own enthusiastic
arousal, Niall began to laugh. Because his Viviane, the woman he
must take to wife, was no witch. The proof was right before his
eyes.

Which meant that he could save his lady from
a most dire fate.
He
would prove her innocence to the
archbishop, he could swear to the fact that she was no witch at
all. They could return to Cantlecroft, they could wed, and all
would be right in Niall of Malloy’s world.

’
Twas a dazzling
prospect.

But first, he had to persuade Viviane to
accept him. Niall also understood enough of Viviane to recognize
that she would not be swayed from whatever course she had already
chosen. His lady was cursedly stubborn.

Fortunately, Niall was more so. He would
persuade her now, with whatever means necessary, he would overwhelm
her with the power of his argument.

Niall grinned as he crossed the floor,
feeling very persuasive indeed.

*

Viviane knew she was in trouble the minute
she stepped out of the shower. The doorknob was jiggling and she
had a pretty good idea who was trying to open the door. She froze
and stared, her heart hammering as Niall softly swore on the other
side.

She had a feeling that the little lock was
going to let her down.

There was a moment’s silence, then a futile
click as the knob resisted a hard wrenching. It whined slightly,
metal scraped on metal, and the door opened with a jerk.

Viviane took a cautious step back, which was
about all the room allowed, and braced herself for the inevitable
argument.

She certainly didn’t expect the glint of
sensuous determination in Niall’s eyes, never mind his banner of
enthusiasm flying at full mast somewhat further south. Viviane’s
mouth went dry as he stepped into the small space with purpose.

And they said women changed mood fast.

Niall backed her into the wall before she
could make a sound. He touched her jaw with fingers so gentle that
she nearly melted on the spot, then brushed his lips across her
own.

Viviane forgot any protest she might have
made.

“
I apologize,” he murmured
against her flesh, his breath making her shiver, his words making
her objections fade. “For earlier, I spoke with undue haste and
angered you for no good cause.”

Viviane might have gasped in delighted
surprise, but Niall’s lips sealed over hers so resolutely that
there was no room for even that. Her eyes closed of their own
accord as Niall backed her into the wall, his lips tempting her to
surrender all to him once again. He kissed with a thoroughness that
belied anything else in the world. Viviane was certain she had his
complete, undivided attention, and she couldn’t imagine wanting
anything else.

Niall sandwiched her between his gloriously
hard body and the equally hard and somewhat more cold wall. The
towel Viviane had wrapped around herself fell beneath his
persuasive fingers, she arched as his hands closed possessively
over her breasts. Her head fell back as his fingertips caressed her
nipples and his tongue slid between her teeth.

She couldn’t quite remember why she had
declined him anything.

Niall’s muscled thigh slid between her own,
one hand slipped over her flesh to seek out the heat between her
thighs. Viviane caught her breath when his thumb slid over that
sensitive spot and Niall grazed a line of kisses along her throat.
He captured her earlobe in his teeth, his tongue flicked against
the tender flesh there, the warmth of his breath driving her to
distraction.

“
Forgive me, my Viviane,”
he urged quietly, but Viviane could only moan in
agreement.

His fingers caressed her more deeply, his
every touch stoking the flames that rose beneath her flesh. The
hair on his chest tickled her aroused breasts, the warm strength of
him made her feel cosseted and cornered.

Seduced by her lover true. Viviane sighed
with satisfaction and surrendered to the moment.

This was more like it.

Viviane opened her eyes and found Niall’s
gaze fixed up her with a dizzying intensity, the green hue of his
eyes so piercing that it seemed he could see her every thought. A
smile curved his firm lips, as though he could think of nothing but
pleasing her beyond her wildest dreams. Viviane parted her lips,
then forgot whatever she might have said when Niall leaned down to
kiss her once again.

She was drifting in a haze of pleasure and
had no desire to come back to shore. Niall coaxed and teased, his
touch so sure that Viviane couldn’t have stopped herself from
responding. She shivered and moaned, he caressed and kissed, and
just when she thought she could bear no more, he cupped her
buttocks in his hands.

He lifted her in one smooth movement and
impaled her upon himself, his legs braced against the floor.
Viviane could not touch the ground, she was trapped between her
golden knight and the wall, she was full of his strength.

Their gazes locked and held, he squeezed her
buttocks in his great hands, and he began to move within her, his
every motion languid and powerful. He rubbed against her
deliberately, making Viviane writhe, his small smile telling her
that was precisely his intent.

And she had no complaints.

“
You’re teasing me,” she
charged softly, and his grin widened.

“
Nay, to tease is to tempt
without granting satisfaction.” Niall bent and grazed her neck with
a searing kiss. “Trust me, Viviane, I intend to grant satisfaction
as you have never known it before.”

Viviane shivered as he stroked deliberately
within her once again. He shifted to let one hand move between them
and coaxed her yet higher with ease. He lifted her against him and
suckled her breast, his fingers dancing, his hips thrusting in a
persuasive rhythm.

Viviane gripped his shoulders and hung on as
the crescendo rose within her again. Niall growled against her
flesh, he moved with renewed vigor, his grip tightened upon her.
She could feel his own heartbeat thundering beneath her fingertips
and savored the knowledge that he too was strongly affected.

She framed his face in her hands and kissed
him with abandon, loving the way he buried himself within her. She
swallowed the roar that came with his release and held him ever
closer as he trembled with the force of his orgasm. When he lifted
his head and stared down at her, his eyes dark with passion, and
whispered her name, Viviane shook to her core and cried out
herself.

“
Wed me,” Niall murmured
unevenly against her shoulder in the trembling aftermath. Viviane
was sorely tempted to do precisely that. “Come, Viviane, be my
bride, my partner, my lover.”

She pushed a hand through the golden
thickness of his hair and smiled up at him. She sighed and ran a
fingertip along his jaw line, not quite willing to end this magical
moment. “I like this way of asking much better.”

Niall smiled crookedly and squeezed her
buttocks. “I could ask you again,” he suggested, a wicked gleam in
his eye.

Viviane looped her arms around his neck,
very pleased to find that they’d just had a misunderstanding.
Barb’s books were right. She crossed her ankles behind his back,
not in the least bit ready to surrender his warmth. “You can be
very persuasive, sir.”

Niall half-chuckled, his quick glance
revealing his interest in her answer. “And are you persuaded?”

“
Not quite,” Viviane
conceded. She tapped a playful fingertip on his nose. He had a
perfect nose, she decided, aquiline and noble. A good straight nose
that would suit their children.

For there would be children if they
continued at this rate.

Niall’s eyes narrowed assessing. “Not
quite?” he echoed with a precision that should have warned her.

Viviane smiled. “Well, it’s a great
beginning, but you’ve hardly dropped to one knee and sworn undying
love. Shouldn’t you depart on a quest to win my favor, or bring
wondrous gifts from afar, or wear my sleeve in a tournament to show
your devotion to me? I mean, you haven’t said a word about
love
!”

Niall stilled dangerously. “I could love you
again, if you need further persuasion,” he rumbled, but Viviane
shook her head.

“
No, no, no. That kind of
loving isn’t the same kind of loving as what I mean and you know
it.”

He steadily held her gaze, his eyes
darkening slightly.

But Viviane was too delighted to pay much
attention to such warning signs. She twined her arms around his
neck a little more tightly. “People who love each other would do
anything for each other, regardless of the risk to themselves. They
put their loved one first, they think about their loved one, they
think about pleasing their loved one…”

“
Have I not pleased you and
put your pleasure first?” Niall demanded.

“
Of course! But it’s not
just with bodies.” She smiled up at him and tapped a fingertip on
his chest. “Love comes from the heart.”

Niall, though, extricated himself from
Viviane’s embrace and put her solidly on her feet, his scowl back
in place once more. He propped his hands on his hips, the move
filling the bathroom with tanned disgruntled knight.

“
I had always thought my
heart was within my body,” he charged, his eyes
narrowed.

“
Niall! Think about
it!”

“
Aye, I do think about it
and I listen to all you say, as well, even being the nonsense that
it is. Indeed, it seems to me that each time I ask your favor, you
do change the terms of your agreement!”

“
What?”

“
You said I did not ask
nicely enough,” he said savagely. “I ask more
nicely
and
still ’tis not enough. Now you would have deeds and tournaments, I
must ride to war in your name, sacrifice all for the pleasure of
your smile, grant all I have to surrender for your happiness
alone.” Niall flung out one hand in evident annoyance. “We do not
have
time
for such whimsy!”

Viviane had a sudden sense that they were
talking about different things again.

And that that wasn’t a good thing at
all.

*

Viviane folded her arms across her chest,
feeling suddenly cold. “What has time got to do with anything? Even
if I was pregnant right this minute, the baby wouldn’t come for
nine whole months!”

But even faced with such ‘good sense’, Niall
shoved a hand through his hair and growled in exasperation. For
some reason, his gaze fell to Viviane’s moonstone pendant, the
sight obviously doing little to improve his mood.

His annoyed gaze flicked back to meet hers
once more. “Will you wed me this day or not?”

So much for his persuasive manner! “Well, if
you’re going to put it that way, no!”

“
Even knowing ’tis the most
honorable choice?”

“
I don’t care about honor,
I told you that!”