Sir Thomas"s door stood partly open, waiting for her. She pushed it closed behind her and dropped the bar into place.He sat on the side of the bed. He"d already removed his tunic and boots and loosed the laces on his shirt.
"No bath tonight, I fear, my lord. I did not want to deny anyone the entertainment after dinner. There has been too little laughter within these walls.""Of course. I would not have denied them either. Come here, Juliana."She hesitated a moment, then walked toward him."I will deny you nothing, either," he said. "What would you have of me, my lady?"She sucked in a sharp breath. There were many things she should demand of him. Go away. Leave us in peace. Stop searching for answers. Give me back my heart. Instead,
she said, "Teach me how to please you, Sir Thomas."He drew her toward him until she stood between his splayed legs. "You please me just by being who you are," he answered.
"When you know me better, you may not think so. But that was not what I intended.""I know. Yet "tis true, nonetheless." He pulled her into his arms, pushed the robe off, lifted the shift over her head, sat her on one of his muscular thighs, and kissed her until her head felt light and the heat ran up and down her body in a bubbly wave. She leaned into his chest, moaning with pleasure as he nibbled her lip and then stroked with his tongue."This pleases me a great deal." He shifted and the hard shaft of his c.o.c.k rubbed against the side of her leg.
It pleased her as well. And when he put his big hands over her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and began
stroking them, it pleased her even more. She sighed as the tingles spread from her breast, and gasped when he squeezed the tips just hard enough to make them burn.
His hand slid down from her breast over her belly toward the cleft between her legs. At
the juncture, he paused and veered to the side, stroking along the top of her thigh. He rubbed down one and up the other, circling around again and again, moving a little more inward each time. His fingers left trails of tingling, sparking flesh as they pa.s.sed.
A need to be closer to him, to touch him in the same way he touched her, rushed through her. Responding to it, Juliana reached under his shirt to put her hands on his chest. Warmth seeped into her palms where they rested on the strong muscles. She rubbed gently and felt a quiver ripple through him. What a wonder it was to realize she had that much power over this strong, powerful man. A need to cling to him, to hold him and not let him go, surged through her and squeezed her heart.
Then he nudged her thighs apart, his hand slipped into her cleft, and she stopped thinking for some time. She felt. Incredible surges of pleasure drove through her as he brushed along her quim. A moan flowed from her as his fingers invaded, separated, explored, stroked the sensitive, delicate petals of flesh. He found an even more lusciously sensitive spot, and the jolt made her body stiffen.
"What...What are you doing to me?""Showing you how a lady feels pleasure."
"I...I think I mentioned before you do well in training people.""Ah, but I"ve just begun with you, Juliana. There is much more to learn."He shifted and moved her onto the bed, laying her along it. He stroked over her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and belly again, making her sigh with wonder and joy. Need roused and settled, heavy
and pulsing, low in her belly, squeezing her womb.
When he leaned over and pressed his lips against a nipple, tonguing it gently, she squealed with delight. Ribbons of pleasure threaded through her veins.
"Thomas," she said on a sigh. "How many more delights can you wring forth from my body? I never knew."He released her nipple long enough to say, "Your husband was exceedingly remiss in his duties, then. "Tis a husband"s right and privilege to teach his wife such pleasures."
"But you are not-"
He stopped the words with a kiss. "Nay, I am not. With G.o.d"s grace, though, I will be so.""Thomas, you-!" Again he didn"t let her finish. After thoroughly exploring her mouth, he kissed down along her throat and chest.
She plunged her fingers into his hair when he took her nipple into his mouth again. He circled and flicked at it with his tongue, nipped gently, then rubbed to soothe the small burn. Fire ignited deep inside her, making her squirm and arch, straining toward him,
desperate for some answer to the building need. She knew not what the answer might be, only that he would have it.
A hand moved down over her belly and nudged her legs apart again. He stroked her
quim with gentle fingers, finding the sensitive, secret places that made her jump and squeal when touched. Each breast got its share of his attention as well while he explored her cleft. One finger worked its way into the opening of her womb. Another searched and rubbed until he found the bud that formed the center of her pleasure.
Juliana sobbed and moaned as he worked on it, rubbing faster and harder, bringing her to a tension that made every muscle in her body hard. The incredible pleasure built until she didn"t see how her body could contain it. A knot tangling inside her grew tighter and harder. It had to burst. Yet still the need grew greater and greater as he worked her, sucking at her nipple and fingering her quim.
Finally, when she was sure she"d die if something didn"t happen, the knot unraveled in a giant explosion that drew a shrill scream from her. Shudders ripped through her that jolted from head to foot. Pleasure beyond anything she"d ever guessed possible filled her.
Sir Thomas held her while the spasms continued. They gradually calmed to occasional jolts of smaller release, leaving her feeling as though she floated on a cloud, somewhere closer to heaven than she could imagine being. Yet for all that, it felt incomplete. She
needed him closer, inside her. It couldn"t be, though, and she appreciated his restraint.He seemed content just to hold her as the jerking eased and her breathing returned to its normal rhythm. As marvelous as the pleasure had been, an even more profound contentment spread over her as she lay in Thomas"s arms, with him stroking her hair. Nothing would ever feel better than this.The serpent of guilt soon intruded into the Eden of her pleasure, however. She had no future with him. She was deceiving him, and whatever kindness he might now feel toward her would soon turn to anger and scorn. It took every bit of will she had to keep the tears from falling. Her mouth might have shaken a little, too, but he could surely take it for the aftermath of pa.s.sion.
She sighed deeply. "Thomas, you are indeed a master instructor. No one has ever taught me anything of such moment as that."He brushed her hair back and kissed her. "I"ve never had so apt a pupil." The stars lit in his eyes when he laughed. "In truth, I"ve had very little practice, so I suppose I"m fortunate to have a pupil of such talent as to disguise my shortcomings."
"There are none to disguise. You have played my body as though it were a harp and you a master harpist."""Twas indeed an interesting and delightful tune I wrung from you."Juliana rolled over to face him. "Can you sing such a song yourself?"
"Merely caterwaul.""May I, then, attempt to draw those unmelodious squeals from yourself?" She pushed at his shirt, driving it up his chest.
"I never squeal, my lady.""Sigh or moan or groan or pant or sing as you will, my lord." Another tug on the fabric and the shirt slipped over his head. Juliana sighed in admiration of his chest, with its strong muscle, smooth skin, and light coating of pale hair. She ran her hand over it and watched the pleasure brighten his face.
His nipples peeked out from amidst the forest of hair, beckoning her to explore and play
with them. Her fingers kneaded a soft groan from him."Sweet music from you, my lord," she said, leaning over to kiss him. He stared up at her with sparkles glowing in his bright, blue eyes. Love and yearning filled her heart past her ability to contain it, and tears threatened again. To keep him from seeing it, she moved to kiss down his throat to his chest, much as he had done to her. He jerked and gasped when she touched his nipple with her tongue.
It felt so wonderful to give him pleasure, as good as it had felt to have it done to her. No
doubt it would be better yet could they be joined as one in it, but that right they did not have as yet. Perhaps never would. Once he learned what she had done, he would not
want to see her or talk to her again. Juliana desperately wished she could put the past and future out of her mind. Only that moment existed, and in that moment, she could bring him joy.
She ran a hand over his stomach and down his legs, but his leggings impeded her investigation. It took several tries to get them peeled down. Her eyes must have widened. She couldn"t help but stare at him.
He noticed and laughed at her expression. "My lady, you"ve been married, so you"ve surely seen a man"s c.o.c.k before."She had to touch it, run her fingers down it to a.s.sure herself it was real. He smothered a groan when she did so. "None so big as this, Sir Thomas. Groswick was not... His c.o.c.k did not rise and grow as yours has..."Tis not this size always, is it? "Twould be uncomfortable."
"Nay, it does not remain always this large. Your presence inspires it to grow and stand to your service."The tears sprung out before she had a chance to control them. Before he could see, she turned her attention back to his c.o.c.k. At least her voice remained reasonably steady when she said, ""Tis a goodly length to stand to attention."
He jerked and groaned when she cupped her hand around it at the root and ran her fingers up it to the tip, marveling at the satiny smooth skin there. A bead of moisture stood at the end. She touched it and spread it over the hard shaft.
Below his c.o.c.k, the hairy b.a.l.l.s invited her to cup them in her hand and squeeze gently. It drew an even louder groan from him."This pleases you?" she asked."It does." The words sounded stretched with the effort it took to get them out."Tell me what else to do to please you."
"You"re doing quite well now.""Oh." She stroked up and down his muscular thighs, noting the contrasts between the hair-roughened flesh there and that over his b.a.l.l.s and c.o.c.k.
She loved to watch the jerks and heaves of his body when she touched him, and the way his face drew up in a strange frown of intense pleasure. She felt enlarged herself, as though by giving this to him, it returned to her as a gift.
His breath grew shorter and quicker and a throb raced through his c.o.c.k.
"Juliana." He had difficulty bringing the words out. "If you do not...stop now, I will not be able to...control myself.""Why must you control yourself in this, Thomas? You gave me the gift of release. May I not return it to you?"
He watched her for a moment before he nodded and leaned back, closing his eyes as she
pumped her hand up and down his c.o.c.k. She leaned over and licked one of his nipples,
drew it into her mouth and sucked on it. His moan was almost a sob. The throbbing in his c.o.c.k grew faster, and she tried to move her hand in pace with its rhythm. She could barely keep up though. Within moments, he seemed to freeze in place, his muscles stiff with tension. Then he let out a cry of ecstasy, and his seed spurted from the end of his c.o.c.k, smearing on his belly and her hand. He pulled her against him so she lay half on top of him while his breathing slowed to a more normal pace. He stroked her hair and murmured how beautiful she was. His heart thudded beneath the ear she had pressed against his chest. Juliana wished she might never have to move from this spot, that time would stop and let her remain in that moment of peace and love forever. Each word he whispered to her burned into her heart. He spoke of a future she knew was impossible, a sweetness that would soon turn sour, a love that would shortly become hate.
Chapter Eight.
Sir Thomas rode out of the castle with both Ralf and Bertram accompanying him the next morning. He planned to spend the day talking to anyone he could find with cottages in view of the road. Someone had surely seen Lord Groswick leave the previous year. With some luck, he might have a start on tracing the lord"s route.
Even before he was outside the walls, Thomas had the strange, p.r.i.c.kly sense that unseen eyes watched him. Once on the road beyond the barbican, he stopped for a moment to look around, particularly behind him. He listened, but the only sounds were the normal ones of human activity in the bailey, birds singing, and the breeze ruffling the leaves and limbs of trees nearby. In the distance to the left, he recognized the rhythmic clopping of a hoe being wielded.
"Is there a problem, my lord?" Ralf asked."Nay. I thought I heard something odd, but I think now "twas my imagination."Ralf gave him a dubious look but didn"t comment.He"d picked a good day for this trip. The sun beamed down on them from a clear, blue sky, making it unusually warm for so late in the year. It might be the last of such days they"d see for a while. The breeze held a hint of winter to come. Ralf"s smiling face and shining eyes reflected some of his own joy at being abroad in such glorious weather.
Of course, some of Thomas"s joy might be a holdover from the previous night. Had there been any doubt it in his mind, it was now expelled. Juliana would be his lady. As a widow, she could make her own choice, and though she was reluctant to acknowledge it as yet, she would soon come to accept that Groswick was dead and she was free of him. It would speed the process if he could find certain proof of the lord"s demise.
A few hundred yards down the road, they pa.s.sed the first cottage and stopped. No one appeared to be around at first, but as they dismounted, a young woman emerged from the cottage, holding a baby on her hip. Her eyes widened at the sight of a knight in chain mail approaching. She eyed the sword at his hip warily. For a moment he feared she might panic, run back inside, and bar the door.
Sir Thomas sought to rea.s.sure her. "If you please, Madame, we mean you no harm. We merely have a question or two. No harm will come to you or your child, no matter what your answer be. I have no quarrel with you or yours."
The woman still hesitated but she didn"t run away."I"m Sir Thomas of Carlwick, Madame. The king has sent me to inquire into the fate of Lord Groswick. I"m sure you"re aware that he"s been gone for nigh onto a year. His current location is unknown and we fear something dire might have befallen him."Her expression didn"t change much, though she relaxed a little bit and set down the child, who toddled off to explore a pile of twigs on the ground nearby. "I knew Lord Groswick had gone, my lord, and that he hadn"t returned."
"Did you see him leave? Surely his party went right by here as it left.""Perhaps they did, my lord, but I didn"t see them. Nor did anyone here. "Twould have been remarked on had any of us seen him pa.s.s."
No doubt that was true. It would be a very big event in their lives to see the lord and his
entourage pa.s.s by."We"ve talked about it a number of times," she continued. "We were surprised to learn he"d gone and we"d not seen a thing. With the noise they make, "tis hard to miss."
"Know you if any of your neighbors, or anyone around here, did see them go?"The woman shook her head. "None saw him that I"ve heard, my lord. I"m sorry.""Thank you for your time anyway." At his nod, Bertram handed her a coin.The woman looked startled, then grateful. "Thank you, my lord. Good fortune in your search."
But good fortune seemed determine to elude them. The next stop produced the same result: the residents remembered neither seeing nor hearing the pa.s.sage of Lord
Groswick"s company. They, too, admitted there had been much speculation on that fact when it was learned he was gone.Twice while on the road, he felt that same p.r.i.c.kly sense of being watched. Each time he stopped to scan the area around, but he found nothing to account for it.
Just after midday, they came to the village closest to the keep and stopped there for refreshment and information. Of the two, refreshment was far easier to find. A small tavern sold pa.s.sable ale and decent bread rolls. Sir Thomas"s appearance drew a great deal of interest. A pair of giggling maids vied for the honor of serving him. The ale flowed freely as they brought pitcher after pitcher until Ralf and Bertram broke out in laughter each time one approached.
He had to take the arm of one maid to prevent the deposit of another pitcher none of them needed. "No more ale," he said. "But if you have a moment, I"ve a question for you."
The girl"s eyebrows rose and then she blinked several times at him before her face broke into a wide grin. "Of course, Sir Knight," she answered."Do you remember when Lord Groswick set out from the keep to go to the Continent? "Twas almost a year ago now."
Her smile faded into a disappointed frown, but she did consider his question. "I was told he"d left, but I don"t remember seeing it."
"Would he likely have come through here?"She blinked flirtatiously. ""Tis the most direct way to the main road toward London, so "tis likely enough."
"But you didn"t see him. Did anyone you know?"Again her forehead wrinkled as she considered the question. "Nay, my lord, now that you ask. I don"t believe anyone I know has ever said they saw him. But I"d ask Master Roger." She glanced toward the man running the tap on the keg in the corner. "If anyone knows "twould be him."But it appeared no one did know. Master Roger didn"t, though he was willing to expound at considerable length concerning possible routes Lord Groswick might have taken, the lord"s churlish temperament, the variability of the weather, the difficulty of procuring grain at reasonable prices, and his body"s fluxes. Before he left the man, Thomas asked, "Did Lord Groswick have any enemies that you know of?"
Master Roger stared at him for a moment before he shrugged. "No actual enemies that I know of. But few friends. He was not a man who endeared himself to others. Some lords can be strict and fair, but still be personable enough in themselves to earn respect and loyalty beyond the demands of duty. Lord Groswick was not such a man."
It took Sir Thomas a while longer to extricate himself, though he had gleaned enough useful information from the conversation. It added sufficient weight to prior observations and growing doubts to tip suspicion over toward conclusion.
Absolutely no one had seen Lord Groswick leave the keep, a very strange thing, indeed. A baron with a company of knights and men-at-arms made a noisy and colorful party that couldn"t help but attract attention. How might Lord Groswick have left with no one at all noting his pa.s.sage?And then, other than his wife, no one seemed particularly concerned that Lord Groswick had apparently vanished. Barons were not often popular among their own people, but in this case, all he"d heard suggested no one honored or respected the man at all. Many had mentioned Groswick"s bad temper, stinginess, and a general churlishness. In fact, he"d heard not one good thing about the man since his arrival, or even before.