Choose the Sky: A Medieval Romance (Swordcross Knights Book 2) (26 page)

“I see you’re finally awake,” he said, laughing quietly. He didn’t stop touching her.

“How long have you been...”

“Hours,” he said.

“Liar. I would have known.”

He bent his mouth to her ear. “You make such interesting sounds in your sleep, Mina. As if you were in the midst of a wonderful dream.”

She blushed. “I do not!” Oh, what had he done to her?

He merely laughed again. Then he kissed her ear, drawing another gasp.

“Luc!”

“Hmm. You make interesting sounds when you’re awake as well.” He continued his kisses along her jawline and ended at her mouth, capturing her lower lip in his teeth. Domina gave herself up to the kiss, reveling in Luc’s attention, his touch all over her skin, waking her passion.

“You’re still hurt,” she whispered, remembering the bandage.

“I barely feel it,” he said, with a low laugh. “Not when I have you to feel instead.”

“And what parts of me do you intend to feel?” she asked archly.

“I like your feet,” he said, moving to grasp one. “Your toes are adorable.” He kissed each one to make his point, and Mina giggled at the sensation.

He was so different this morning, so playful and open.

She barely heard the door creak open, but she heard the maid’s startled squeak. “Oh, I’m sorry, my lord. My lady. I’ll come back.”

Luc broke off the kiss to say, “Bring some food when you do!” to the maid’s retreating figure. He grinned at Domina, who was embarrassed, not by the maid knowing they shared a bed...of course everybody knew that...but at seeing them play like this together.

Luc could tell what she was thinking. “I fear it will be rumored that we are in love.”

She bit her lip. “Everyone knows why we really married.”

Suddenly, his expression closed, as if he recalled something dark. He pulled away from her. Without a word, he sat up and swung his feet to the floor.

“Wait!” she said, stopping him. “Don’t leave me.”

He turned back. “What?”

“Don’t leave me in anger. I don’t want to fight anymore.”

“Were we fighting?”

“Aren’t we always? Until last night, that is.”

He gave her an odd half-smile. “One thing we can agree on, but only when it’s dark, and there’s no one else to see how weak we are.”

“Why weak? Why should it be weakness to need someone?” Domina sighed. “We’re married. We should be allies.”

“Does that mean you think I should change sides?” he asked, a strange intensity in his voice.

“I don’t know what you mean,” she said, uncomfortable. “All I know is that every time we begin to understand each other, something pulls us apart.”

Luc moved so he could hold her. “You noticed that,” he said.

“How could I not?” she said, miserably. “All I want, all I ever wanted, is to live happily in my home, but nothing has gone as planned…”

Without warning, a tear rolled down her cheek. Luc saw it and brushed it away. Then his mouth was on hers and she was kissing him back hungrily. The physical awakening he brought about distracted her from her mental anguish, and she gave herself up to the bliss of not needing to think. She didn’t have to when she could feel.

His hands were all over her body, and then in her body, and she was willing to do anything for him. She was crying into his chest as he wrapped their bodies together. She moaned in relief when he entered her, and she loved his weight on her. There was only heat and shared breath, and then they were lying in each other’s arms, entangled in the bed linens, their bodies spent.

Luc’s breath slowed, and he shifted so she could relax against him. Something within her had unhooked again, and she felt as if she might drift away if she didn’t have him to hold onto.

Some time later, he nudged her. “Domina,” he said softly, “Are you hungry?”

She stretched and yawned, feeling remarkably calm. “Mmmm. Yes. I suppose we should call for food.”

“She’s already come and gone,” he said.

Domina sat up and blinked. “When?”

“Over a quarter of an hour ago,” he said with a laugh. “You were adrift, weren’t you?”

She blushed. “I fell asleep, that’s all.”

“Not all,” he said, his voice warm. “God, I love hearing you when you come for me.”

Desire ran down her bones, but one couldn’t spend all day in bed. “Now that you mention it, I am hungry,” she whispered, suddenly shy again.

“Good. Stay there.”

  Luc got out of bed, but only to retrieve some of the dishes brought in by the maid…who must be telling the whole castle what she saw that morning.

Domina shifted to sit up against the carved headboard. She realized Luc intended to feed them both in bed, a gesture that felt both incredibly sweet and very proprietary.

The smell of warm, honeyed apricots silenced any objection. The dried fruit was cooked in a spiced honey wine which was slowly rendered down into a thick sauce, and the resulting dish was sticky and sweet and delicious. The apricots were whole and could be eaten with the fingers. Luc fed her one, then ate one himself. Between them, they emptied the dish within a minute. He put the dish on the floor. “That took the edge off,” he said, pleased, licking the stickiness from his fingers.

Inspired, Mina leaned forward to kiss Luc, getting a final taste of luscious honey.

His arms tightened around her. “Domina, I’ll keep you in this bed all day. Don’t think otherwise.”

“I would like that,” she murmured, kissing him again.

He smiled, but pushed her back against the pillows. “Tempting, but I’d be afraid of hurting you.”

“Hurting me? How?”

“You don’t feel sore?” he asked.

She hadn’t, until he reached down and touched her between her legs. The pleasure mingled with traces of pain. Their bout of morning lovemaking was rougher than she realized. “Oh. You’re right.”

He took his hand away, then kissed her very gently. “So we must wait. I’m never going to hurt you, my Mina. I promise.”

“How long will we need to wait?” she asked anxiously.

He laughed. “Not long. Until tonight. And I’ll go slower. You surprised me this morning.”

“I surprised myself this morning,” she admitted. “I hadn’t intended to…ah, well I just hadn’t intended anything. I wasn’t using my head.”

Luc traced the length of her body with his fingers. “Neither was I,” he said. “I saw you crying, and I only wanted to stop it.” He looked at her. “Why were you crying?”

Domina thought back to their exchange. “Frustration, I suppose. It’s not important.”

“Of course it’s important. You’re my wife. If you’re unhappy, I need to know why.”

“I’m not unhappy. I’m just…”

“What?”

“Things have changed, so quickly,” she said. “I’ve barely had time to think. You said I’m your wife. But sometimes I think I hardly know you and I don’t want to disappoint you…and I don’t want to disappoint my people, or my father…”

“Who could be disappointed in you, love?”

“You didn’t want this marriage, did you? I saw you in the throne room that day. You hid it well, but you didn’t like the idea any more than I did.”

“I was surprised,” he said. “But I have no regrets. Not now.”

He looked like he was about to say something more.

“What is it?” Mina asked.

Luc sighed. “I…I need to tell you something. Something I should have told you before.”

The expression on Mina’s face
, the way she looked alarmed, then set her jaw, ready for the worst, made Luc wish he’d never said anything. Because whatever Mina thought would be the worst was nowhere near the truth.

He couldn’t tell her the whole truth, not yet. But he had to say something.

“So,” he started to explain, “I wasn’t sent solely to assess the strength of the castle and the garrison.”

“Well, no,” Mina said tartly. “A marriage contract would hardly be required for that task.”

Luc grinned, though he inwardly cursed Mina’s sharp mind. He’d have to step very carefully to avoid giving her any hint that he was actually sent to investigate the de Warewics. If she learned that, whatever regard she had for him would be gone.

“Part of my task was to check on the castle, for it’s true that even one or two strongholds falling to the empress would hurt the king’s cause.”

“I don’t understand why the king thought Trumwell would be weak, though, for he couldn’t have known about my father’s incapacity.”

“Trumwell isn’t the only castle he’s concerned about,” Luc said. That part was true enough. The king naturally wanted to make sure about all the castles held in his name. “But this area of the country is particularly vulnerable. For not only is the empress quite likely to try to pick up territory in the west, the Welsh are a constant threat. Together…” he trailed off.

“Plus Haldan,” she added. “A third front to this assault.”

“Yes, and a reminder that it only takes one man to undermine the work of many others.”

Mina was nodding slowly, accepting his explanation. Then her eyes narrowed. “But why the marriage contract?”

Now Luc had to lie. There was no way around it. “Well,” he began, “the king did first say it as a joke.”

“Yes, I remember.” Mina’s cheeks went a pretty shade of pink, distracting him.

He leaned forward to kiss one cheek, enjoying the warmth. “No need to be embarrassed, sweetheart. Nothing about it made you look bad.”

“Other than being my age and yet unmarried.”

“Well, you made an impression, even after you left the audience chamber. I spoke with the king later that day,”—Lord, he was making it sound like a casual conversation, not a clandestine meeting—“and the king mentioned you again. He suggested the possibility of a marriage, and had the contract drawn up just in case. Remember, everyone assumed I’d be speaking with Godfrey once I arrived here.”

“That’s true.” Mina’s expression softened a bit. “I suppose it would have been a normal enough negotiation, if my father was able to speak for me. Though in that case, he’d have gone to court, and you’d never have seen me.”

“I’m glad to have seen you,” Luc said, meaning it. “Once I saw the state of things here, how you had no…” he trailed off.

“Master?” Mina asked archly.

“I was going to say support. Ally.”

“You thought that the marriage would better protect Trumwell,” she concluded. “I see.”

“Not just Trumwell. You too, Mina. Believe me, you’re a force on your own. But still vulnerable. I wanted to protect you.”

“You didn’t phrase your proposal in quite that way,” she noted frostily, though he detected a bit of laughter underneath.

He seized on that, kissing her again. “I beg your forgiveness.”

“Why?” she asked, even as she turned her mouth to his.

One long kiss later he murmured, “That’s why, Mina. I was angry when I first confronted you, but I don’t want anger between us.”
I want love
. The thought jolted Luc. He hadn’t expected it, and he wasn’t sure where it came from. He liked Mina, he respected her independence and her intelligence. He definitely enjoyed her on a completely carnal level. But love was something altogether different, something he actually knew nothing about.

Mina pulled away, her expression thoughtful. “You know, if Haldan was in the pay of someone else, he may well have gone to them after fleeing here yesterday.”

Well. That comment put paid to any idea that Mina had love on
her
mind. Even in the middle of a kiss, she was still thinking of her castle, not of her marriage. Which was good, Luc told himself. It kept her focused and kept him free of potential entanglements…though part of him wanted to remain entangled with Domina forever.

“Haldan wasn’t acting on his own,” Luc agreed. “He’s an agent of someone else, someone working against the king. I found some evidence to show it.”

“You did?” she asked. “You never told me that!”

“The attack on the castle distracted me, along with a few other events.”

Mina frowned. “But why would an attack against Trumwell be part of such a plan?”

Luc looked away, frustrated. “I can’t say. That is, I don’t know exactly. I do think Haldan truly wanted to take control of Trumwell, and not just lash out in anger against an employer who threw him out.”

“He said something on the night…that he attacked me,” Mina said slowly. “I didn’t really consider his exact words at the time, but he did say that he wanted to be the castle’s master. It was not mere rape in his mind. I was to be a means to an end.”

Luc bit his tongue.

“He said he was sick of waiting,” Mina went on. “Do you think…do you think he was promised Trumwell? Whoever hired him kept his loyalty by offering a castle as payment.”

“A castle
and
its lady,” Luc said, flatly. “You may be sure you were part of the bargain.”

Mina’s eyes unfocused slightly. “No,” she whispered.

“I think so,” he argued, reaching out to hold her. “Believe me, most men would do quite a lot if they thought their prize would be a beautiful woman under their thumb.”

“You sound quite confident.”

“I’m a man. I know how men think.” Hadn’t he come here with exactly the same thought? Mina was a means to an end—his political advancement. That would make him no better than Haldan…
except I saw that I was wrong
, he reminded himself. “That doesn’t excuse what Haldan did, which I intend to make very clear to him.”