Torr laughed. “After what we shared tonight, nothing—absolutely nothing—will keep me from sharing it with you again and again.”
He turned and nuzzled her neck, causing gooseflesh to run down her arms. And his hand slipped over her breast to cup it and give it a tender squeeze. A sigh ran from her lips and she titled her head back to expose more of her neck for him to nibble on.
“God, I love the taste of you,” he murmured and feasted on her delicate skin.
Jolts of pleasure shot through her as his thumb teased her nipple, turning it hard.
“I love you, Wintra, and whether we had been married or not, I still would have fallen in love with you from the moment I saw you. You stole my heart, Princess, and now it belongs to you and always will.”
She did not mind him calling her Princess anymore, since she realized that he had made her a princess—his princess—from the very first time he had called her it.
Ripples of pleasure began washing over her body and a question shot from her mind straight to her mouth. “We are permitted to make love more than once a night?”
Torr looked at her and grinned. “The only permission we need is from each other. I want to make love again, do you?”
She smiled. “Only,” —she slipped her hand down and took hold of him— “if I can touch you this time.”
“Touch me as much as you want,” he said. “I guarantee that I will respond each time.”
The night wore on and Wintra wore out, falling asleep in Torr’s arms. He pulled the blanket over them and before he fell into a much needed slumber, he thanked the heavens for blessing him with such a loving wife.
Torr watched his wife sleep contentedly in his arms. He had woken only a few moments ago and smiled at the way Wintra was wrapped around him. Arms, legs, her head on his shoulder, and her hand holding on to his one arm, made it appear that she intended to keep a good hold on him. And he did not mind at all, since he intended to do the same to her.
He glanced at her lips so soft and full and so ripe for a kiss. He reminded himself that she needed some rest after last night and no doubt she had to be sore from as many times as they made love. He had to let her be this morning. He had to.
Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled at him. “Good Lord, I wake wanting you.”
“You must be sore,” he said, forcing himself not to touch her.
“Not that I can feel.” She ran her hand down his chest to between his legs and smiled. “And look, he’s already hard and waiting for me.”
He grabbed her by the waist and turned her on her back, then settled over her. “You are a wicked woman.”
She kissed him quick. “I enjoy being wicked with my husband, but then he is an exceptional lover.” She scrunched her brow. “Not that I have anyone to compare him to, nor would I want to, I only know he is—perfect for me.”
“And your husband feels the same about you,” Torr said and was about to kiss her when a pounding knock sounded at the door.
Torr cursed beneath his breath before calling out, “Who goes there?”
“Elwin. I have a message from Cree.”
Torr reluctantly slipped on his plaid and only his plaid to let Elwin know that he was busy and went to open the door.
Elwin remained outside as he said, “Cree commands yours and Wintra’s presence at the keep immediately. I am to escort you.”
“Give us a moment,” Torr said and closed the door. He returned to the room to find Wintra getting dressed. “You heard?”
She nodded.
“It must be important if he sent an escort for us,” he said slipping into his garments.
“I would rather stay here with you,” she said disappointed they had been interrupted, though worried over the summons.
He cupped her face in his hands. “Believe me when I tell you that there is no place I would rather be than here making love to you.” He gave her a quick kiss and finished dressing.
Wintra combed her hair and bathed her face with warm water in a bucket left by the hearth. It was a routine she had established every morning at the abbey and one she found she could not do without. It had always made her feel fresh and ready for the day, and it seemed, with her brother’s urgent summons, she needed to be ready for what today brought.
Torr grabbed his cloak and hers and after draping hers over her shoulders, he opened the door and as soon as they joined Elwin, he took hold of her hand. Whatever they were about to face, he wanted to make certain Wintra understood that they would face it together.
The Great Hall was nearly empty, the morning meal having been served a couple of hours ago and most of the warriors now off to see to their daily tasks. Cree sat at the table by the hearth with Dawn and Sloan.
Torr slipped Wintra’s cloak off her and deposited hers along with his on the end of the bench. Then he slid in beside her at the table, took hold of her hand lying in her lap, laced his fingers with hers and rested their hands on his thigh.
“I received a message from Douglas Hawthorne, the Earl of Kellmara. He requests to meet with me on an urgent matter. His message says it is in regards to my sister Wintra.”
A chill so strong raced through Wintra that she shivered. Even as cloistered as she had been in the abbey, she had heard of the powerful Earl of Kellmara. His land extended far and wide, and it was said that the King was even afraid of him. The question that weighed heavily on her mind was already spilling from her lips. “What in heaven’s name would he want with me?”
“I do not know, but we will find out soon enough. He will arrive here in a few days. I will leave you to visit with Dawn while I speak with Torr and Sloan in my solar.”
Wintra was ready to protest about being left out of a discussion that concerned her when Torr took hold of her face and kissed her.
She scowled at him afterwards, knowing what he was doing.
Torr laughed. “I was wondering when your brother’s scowl would show up on your face.”
She punched him in the arm, which made him laugh even harder, and she stopped herself from rubbing her small fist, having hit hard muscle and hurting herself more than him.
Torr took her hand that remained fisted and kissed it, which irritated her all the more, since he knew she had suffered more than he, though he was trying to make amends.
“You have yet to eat, so enjoy the morning meal, and I will let you know what goes on as soon as we finish discussing the matter.”
Cree watched the exchange between the couple and was about to say something when Dawn squeezed his leg beneath the table. He turned a scowl on her that quickly faded when he looked into the tenderness in her lovely dark eyes. And then she patted his leg, though much too close to his groin, which naturally aroused him.
He leaned down and whispered in her ear. “I expect you to finish what you have just started and sooner rather than later.”
Dawn smiled and nodded most eagerly.
The two women watched their men walk off with Sloan and as soon as they were out of the room Dawn gestured to Wintra, as if she was shoveling food into her mouth, and then walked her fingers in the air.
“I should eat and then we should go for a walk?” Wintra asked.
Dawn nodded, walked her fingers in the air again, tapped her lips, and then tugged at her ear.
“We take a walk to see if we can learn anything,” Wintra said enthusiastically.
Dawn bobbed her head.
“Are you feeling well enough?”
Dawn’s face lit with a brilliant smile, and she nodded.
“I am so happy for you and my brother. He must have been thrilled when he learned he would be a father. He always wanted a large brood. He had told me that one day we would live in a keep and we would fill it with his children and my children and that there would always be laughter and happiness.” Wintra felt her stomach clench. She would not be staying here with her brother. She would be going to live at Torr’s home and while she looked forward to a life with Torr, she would miss her brother, especially since she had only been reunited with him.
Wintra chased the troubling thought away. Today she would spend time with her new sister. Wintra rushed her hand out to Dawn’s when she caught a pained look in her eyes. “What’s wrong? Are you ill?”
Dawn shook her head. She pressed her fingers to her lips, and then rested her hand over that slight bump in her stomach.
Wintra understood her worry right away. “Just because you cannot speak doesn’t mean your child will have no voice. Besides, it will not matter to my brother. He will love his child, voice or not, just as he loves you.”
Dawn appreciated her comforting words, though unfortunately found no solace in them. How did she explain that she did not wish her affliction on anyone let alone her own child? Her heart would break if her child was born and she heard no cry—not a sound—for her voice would always be trapped inside her, and it was a horrible fate to pass on to an innocent child.
Wintra squeezed her hand. “All will be well. Do not worry.” She thought it best to change the conversation and said, “What of your wedding? There is much to do and I agreed to help, so let’s start now.”
Wintra was glad to see Dawn smile as they talked more of the wedding while finishing their meal. With some decisions made for the special day and the meal done, they donned their cloaks and were out the door.
Yesterday’s gray skies and promise of more snow surprisingly never materialized. Instead, the sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Snow was beginning to melt, though no one believed winter was about to leave just yet. Spring was a good two months away, but it was nice to see the sun, if only for a day.
“Where should we start?” Wintra asked.
Dawn gestured for her to follow, and they were soon walking up a path to a cottage. Dawn didn’t bother to knock, she simply opened the door. Wintra understood why when they entered. It housed the women who worked on the wool. They seemed a happy group, smiling and greeting them as if they were friends, but then Dawn was.
Sadness washed over Wintra. This was what she had missed all those years in the abbey—family and friends—and she didn’t want to ever be without it again.
“Have you come to show Wintra the talented women who spin the wool?” Lila asked.
Dawn gestured something and Lila’s hand flew to her chest as if shocked. “You want us to spin special wool to be used for your wedding dress?”
Dawn nodded, smiling, and the women all eagerly agreed and expressed their honor in doing so.
After a brief discussion of what Dawn wanted and insisting she would leave it to them to decide, Lila walked outside with the two women and down the path a few feet.
“You are up to something, Dawn, I can tell,” Lila said quietly.
Dawn looked to Wintra and nodded.
Though Wintra knew Torr would share what he had learned with her, she also knew that village gossip could prove even more helpful. There was a trust among the peasants and it was shared only amongst themselves and never with nobles. She had learned that from the peasants who had stopped at the abbey.
“Have you heard anything about the man who grabbed me yesterday and anything pertaining to Owen or the Earl of Kellmara?” Wintra asked.
Lila kept her voice low. “Gossip has it that the prisoner has asked to stay here in Dowell. He says that Owen cares naught for his people. He lets them starve. He says that the chieftain of the clan died shortly after Owen married his daughter and that the daughter ran away because Owen treated her so brutally. He says she was a good and kind woman always thinking of others before herself. Unfortunately, her body was found in the woods, a distance from her home, and she was returned to Owen. The clan was upset that he did not give her a proper burial. He simply had a grave dug and put her in it without as much as a word being spoken.”
Wintra shuddered, wondering if she could be the same woman Torr had come across in the woods. Her heart once again went out to the poor soul.
“You should speak with Flanna,” Lila suggested. “She takes food to the prisoner, though he is housed at Elsa’s cottage recovering from his wounds.” Lila smiled and looked to Wintra. “Gossiping tongues have proclaimed that you are much like your brother, strong and brave.”
Wintra thought on Lila’s words as she followed alongside Dawn to find Flanna. She had been told so often now how brave she was that she was finally beginning to believe it herself. She recalled how Cree had told her how heroic she had been when that man had attacked her when she was young. She had fought to get away from him even though her struggles had gotten her nowhere, though Cree had insisted they had. She had delayed him dragging her into the woods and had given Cree time to reach her. It had not mattered to her then. All she had thought about was staying in her brother’s strong arms and never leaving them. She had been so relieved when afterwards he had taken her everywhere with him.
That was one of the reasons it had been so difficult for her when Cree had left her at the abbey. She had missed him terribly, and she had felt that he did not want her around anymore, and she had worried that he did not love her anymore. She was just beginning to realize how much he loved her and how hard it must have been for him to leave her there.
Dawn was pleased that she did not need to search for Flanna. She was in the Great Hall when they returned there. It was empty except for the servants she was instructing to be more diligent when scrubbing the tables after meals were finished. She certainly kept the keep clean, more so than anyone would have expected, and Cree had let her know often how pleased he was with her work.
“Is there anything I can get for you, my lady?” Flanna asked with a bob of her head.
Dawn did not want Flanna calling her
my lady
. They were friends, but Flanna had insisted that it was the respectful thing to do. Flanna had, however, agreed to call her Dawn when they were alone.
Dawn looked to Wintra. “We are here to discuss plans for the wedding celebration.”
Flanna beamed brightly, tears rushing to pool in her eyes. “We will make it the finest celebration there has ever been.”
Dawn insisted Flanna sit at the table with them to discuss details and make plans. It was during their discussion that Dawn gestured to Flanna that they needed to discuss something else as well.
Wintra did not understand all of Dawn’s gestures, but Flanna seemed to have no problem with them. She answered without hesitation.
“George, the prisoner’s name is George. He’s afraid and worried for his family. He has a wife, pregnant with their second child, and a young daughter. He fears for their safety if he does not return. It seems that Owen’s men use the wives who are left without husbands.” Flanna lowered her voice. “He said that Owen instructed him to do whatever was necessary to bring Wintra to him.”
“What of the Earl of Kellmara?” Wintra asked.
“The only thing I have heard is that Kellmara warriors are expected at Owen’s campsite any day now.”
Flanna hurried to stand as soon as she caught sight of Cree entering the Great Hall with Torr and Sloan following behind him.
Cree laid his hands flat on the end of the table between where Dawn and Wintra sat. “What are you two up to?”
Dawn smiled broadly and gestured.
Cree’s face lit with a smile. “You are planning the wedding celebration?”
Dawn nodded joyously.
Cree summoned Flanna to him with a shout, and she hurried over to the table. “Whatever Dawn wants see that it is done.”
“Yes, my lord, and may I say this is going to be the best wedding celebration ever.”
“I am sure you will see that it is,” he said with a curt nod.
Torr reached down and took his wife’s hand, tugging her gently off the bench to wrap his arm around her. “I have missed you,” he whispered in her ear as he settled her close against him.