Forcing himself to ignore the blazing heat was the hardest thing he had ever had to do. It would be so easy to….
“Are you feeling well enough that you might rejoin your party?” he asked, his voice tight.
Arissa was gazing at him openly. Before Mossy had interrupted them earlier, she had been positive that Richmond had been preparing to kiss her, and she had furthermore vowed to feel his lips upon hers, just once, even if it meant distancing him forever. She had always been able to manipulate him in order to fulfill her desires ever since she had been a small child; the greatest knight in Henry’s army had always bent to her will.
Aye, she was shameless when it came to Richmond. She suddenly did not care anymore. There was nothing more important at this moment than feeling his mouth upon her lips as it was always meant to be.
“Nay,” she said slowly. “I do not wish to rejoin them.”
His brow furrowed slightly until a small finger came up and delicately touched his chin. Richmond froze; the small white finger moved across his chin and up to his mouth, tracing an erotic line across his lower lip that sent bolts of lightning leaping through his big body. He simply couldn’t believe what he was seeing, feeling.
Richmond began to quiver beneath her touch. The more she explored, the more intense the quiver. His body was tight, straining against itself to respond to her touch.Curiosity!His mind screamed.A maiden’s simple curiosity!God’s Teeth, do not respond to her!… oh, God….
Her silky hand moved to his stubbled cheek, caressing it. Shifting on his lap, she managed to lodge herself more tightly against him as her other hand came up, cradling his entire greatface within her two small palms. Gazing into his astonished blue eyes, she smiled.
“Do you know that I have always thought you to be the most handsome man I have ever seen?” she whispered.
His throat was so tight he could barely speak. “Nay, I…. I did not know.”
Her thumbs moved along his lower lips as he spoke, watching his mouth. “You do not smile enough,” she murmured. “Father swears he’s only seen you smile ten times in all of the years he’s known you. You smile at me ten times in an hour. Why is that?”
He was losing a battle greater than any he had ever fought. His palms were sweating, aching with more desire than he had ever experienced to return her curious touches, to explore her beloved face as she was exploring his.
“Because…. because I want to smile at you, I suppose.”
She was studying his lips intently. As his sentence concluded, she suddenly plunged a finger into his mouth and stroked his teeth. His control snapped.
His hands came up, clutching her beautiful face, touching her as he had never touched anyone in his life. His gaze was both ecstatic and remorseful at the same time.
“Riss, we should not…. we cannot….”
All of her restraint was gone. He was responding to her; his tender touch to her face confirmed the most outlandish of dreams and a whimper escaped her lips, a display of the pure joy she was beginning to feel. A gateway to eighteen years of childish infatuation and maturing love was opening wide before her.
“Oh, Richmond,” she suddenly sobbed, tears coursing down her cheeks. “I want to, my love, I want to. Don’t you know how long I have loved you?”
He stared at her, his eyes as wide as the heavens. He tried to speak and nearly choked in the process. “How…. God’s Teeth, Riss, how can you say that? I am old enough to be your father!”
She shook her head, tears pelting his wrists. “But you are not my father,” she sighed raggedly, her hands gripping the mailed gloves on her face. “Richmond, I do not want to join the cloister because I love you. I realize that a man of your importance could not possibly return my feelings, but I will tell you all the same. I am sorry if my confession makes you uncomfortable, but I cannot stop myself. You must know.”
His mouth hung agape; he couldn’t help it. All he could do was stare at her, touch her, the knowledge that she loved him filling him beyond his wildest dreams. He still had difficulty grasping what he was hearing.
“How…. oh, God, Riss….”
He couldn’t think of anything other than his desperate need to kiss her. His shaking hands clasped her face with savage tenderness, pulling her luscious mouth to his desperate lips.
As he knew, her lips were sweeter than he could possibly imagine. A tremulous kiss that was meant to introduce her into the world of desire suddenly turned overwhelmingly passionate, blinding by force and nature until Arissa was practically crushed in his arms. She cried softly against his mouth, sounds and tears he absorbed.
He simply was not getting enough of her. He needed more from her. His tongue licked her lips indecently, parting her lips for his erotic invasion. Sobbing with joy, Arissa opened her mouth wide to him as if she had been doing it all her life. He growled as his tongue came into her, tasting the essence of her sweetness. She was in his arms, finally where she belonged.
Richmond lost all concept of time. He had no idea how long he had been kissing her, only that he was no longer content to merely taste her honeyed lips. With Arissa still seated on his lap, he rolled onto his side and took her down to the floor. His armor was jabbing them both, but neither seemed to realize it. Nothing in the world mattered any more.
His lips began to explore new territory, moving along her cheek to her chin. His hungry mouth devoured her delicate jawline, blazing a scorching trail to her ear and down the side of her neck. Arissa sobbed through it all as if her heart were breaking, so deliriously happy that she knew of no other way to express her joy. Richmond stopped only once in his quest, grinning as he lapped her tears. She had simply cried harder.
He was mindless in his pursuit, only aware of his desire to taste every possible inch of her flesh. Her deliciously large breasts beckoned his touch, his mouth, and gently he answered. The yearn to touch her was an overwhelming, seducing hunger.
Arissa sobs had faded somewhat, her hands intertwined in his rich brown hair as his lips nibbled at the ripe swell of her bosom. When a great mailed glove tenderly traced the underswell of her breast before enclosing it within its grasp, she gasped with the shock and pleasure of it.
His passion-creased face came up, his eyes conveying far more emotion and depth than she ever thought possible. With the deepest of feeling, he kissed her chin, her eyes, her nose as his hand gently massaged her right breast. She closed her eyes against his touch, clutching his head against her.
