"Then I will give ye another reason."
Before she could protest, he kissed her. She placed her hands against his chest to push him away the moment she guessed his intent, but she never even tried to hold him back. The minute his mouth touched hers, she slid her hands up his broad chest and wrapped her arms around his neck. At the first nudge of his tongue, she opened her mouth to him, shivering with pleasure as he stroked the inside of her mouth. She truly did like kissing this man, she thought dazedly. When he ended the kiss, she noticed that he had wrapped his arms around her, lifted her off her feet, and gently pinned her against the tree.
"Was that cold, Jolene?” Sigimor kissed the pulse point on her slender neck and almost smiled at the rapid beat he could feel beneath his lips.
"Nay,” she gasped, then sternly told herself that she must put a stop to this. “You have proven your point. You may cease now."
"May I now."
He kissed the hollow just behind her ear and felt her tremble in his arms. She was so beautifully responsive. His whole body ached to continue this seduction, but he fought for control of his desire. Taking her virginity up against a tree with his men only a few yards away would not be wise. It would give him great pleasure, but he suspected the aftermath could be bitter. Jolene could easily see it as no more than him exerting his power over her to get what he wanted. Sigimor straightened up and slowly lowered her until her feet were back on the ground. He kept his arms around her even as she slumped back against the tree. There was a flush upon her cheeks, she was almost panting, and her eyes had darkened to a tumultuous gray. Those vivid signs of her passion made it even harder for him to rein in his own.
"There, now, lass. There is a fine reason to marry that isnae cold at all, aye?"
"Quite.” She moved to pull free of his hold, but he did not release her. Jolene decided it would be too undignified to struggle, so she would relent, and heard an inner voice scornfully accuse her of lying to herself. “Howbeit, I believe I have already mentioned that lust can be a fleeting thing and thus ‘tis a poor thing to marry for."
"Ye may be an innocent—"
"May be?” she muttered, feeling a hint of outrage.
Sigimor ignored her and continued, “but I am not."
"I have noticed that, although men demand boundless chastity in the women they choose to marry, they feel it quite acceptable to rut themselves blind until the wedding. And, sometimes after it as well. There is a word for that. I believe it is hypocrisy. Men—"
"Aye, aye, but we can have this argument later. Mayhap some night when we are warming our toes before the fire in my bedchamber."
The thought of being in Sigimor's bedchamber made Jolene feel quite warm. She shocked herself when she realized she was trying to envision him naked as they sat before this fire. She was certain Sigimor had bewitched her. It was the only explanation for how, in only a few days, she could change from a woman who rarely thought about men, to one who was trying to picture this particular man naked. Sipping wine. Perhaps holding her on his manly lap and kissing her ear. Jolene gave herself a sharp mental slap in hope of putting some scrap of wit back into her befuddled brain. This was a poor time to indulge in such scandalous thoughts.
Then again, she mused, perhaps it was exactly the right time. This man stirred feelings within her that were as intriguing as they were disturbing. She had endured a kiss or two before this, but they had only made her want to hit the man giving her the kiss. Sigimor's kisses made her want to push him down onto the heather and jump on him, even if she was not quite sure what to do with him once she got him flat on his back. If she married him, she could discover the answer to that puzzle. She could freely explore this lust he brought to life in her and it would even have the blessing of the church.
It was a mad idea, but she could not easily dismiss it. That annoying little voice in her head kept saying why not? She could not deny that she was fiercely attracted to the man and she had never been attracted to any other. He was a good man, even though he was quite rough around the edges. He was also handsome, young, and strong. Jolene doubted the king or whatever man was named her guardian would present her with such a fine specimen. She certainly did not want to find herself trapped in a marriage with Harold.
"Ye are nay heeding me, lass,” Sigimor said, amused at how completely she had become lost in her thoughts.
"Oh.” She blushed. “I beg your pardon. I believe you were about to entertain me with tales of your lecherous youth.” When he scowled at her, she smiled. “Do go on."
"I think ye may be confusing me with that rogue Liam,” Sigimor grumbled. “Howbeit, I have had enough experience to ken that what stirs to life between us is as rare as it is fierce. Neither am I fool enough to think it will always be so fierce. Ach, ‘twould probably kill us in a few short years if it was. If ye think that I will then be sniffing about some other woman's skirts, ye had best think again. I will be saying vows afore a mon of God, e'en God Himself, and ye will be my wife. I dinnae take such things lightly. Nay, nor do I have a great need to be having any lass who smiles at me. Ne'er have really."
"You are saying you would be faithful?” She hid her surprise when he looked insulted by the question.
"Aye, ‘tis what I just said, isnae it? If ye dinnae kick me out of your bed, I see no reason to go looking for another to crawl into. I ken that many men betray their wives and wives betray their husbands, but it has ne'er made much sense to me unless the marriage has gone as cold as a loch in February. My uncle was ne'er faithful, nay to any of his wives, and has bred himself an army of bastards, but he was ne'er happy. Few of these adulteries are matters of some great, blinding passion or undying love. Vanity, pride, e'en some game played, but most men babble on about a mon's needs. And I say, if the wife allows ye into her bed and it isnae a cold one, then your needs are taken care of, arenae they. Skipping about from bed to bed only causes trouble at home, which should be a refuge from trouble, and breeds bastards who often have a verra hard row to hoe."
Jolene blinked. This had to be the most unromantic vow of fidelty any woman had ever been given. There was also a hint of scorn in his voice when he spoke of great, blinding passion and undying love. Did the man possess none of the softer feelings?
Then she thought of all she had learned of the man from the others. He had become the laird at barely twenty years of age, but the loss of his father and becoming a father of sorts to all of his younger siblings had been only a small part of the burden set upon his shoulders. A fever had cut down many of the adults in the clan leaving him the laird over a large number of widows and orphans as well, many of them little more than babes. Sigimor had taken in many of the orphans and had never hesitated to help the widows in any way he could. She thought of how he was with Reynard and knew he had done far more for the children than give them food and shelter, had given them more than duty and a sense of responsibility. There was a heart in this rough man, and probably a very big one indeed, but he would undoubtedly grow as prickly as a hedgehog if she suggested such a thing. Jolene also wondered how good her chances were of finding a place for herself in that heart.
It would be a big chance to take, she mused, to try to turn a marriage made for such practical reasons into a true bonding. There were immediate benefits, however. Itwouldthwart Harold's plans, and mean that she did not have to worry about being used by the king or some appointed guardian for their own gain. There would also be this lusting to thoroughly explore. And, if it all proved to be some horrible mistake, once Harold was defeated, she could return to England and seek an annulment. She was not sure if Sigimor had considered that possibility, and, for reasons she did not wish to explore too closely, she did not intend to mention it to him.
Sigimor gently took her chin in his hand and rubbed his thumb over her tempting mouth. “I am of good blood, my purse and lands rich enough so that ye will ne'er suffer want, I will do my best to see that no one and nothing ere causes ye harm, and I take my vows verra seriously.” He gently kissed her. “So, will ye wed with me, Lady Jolene?” He kissed her again, a kiss that strongly hinted at his need for her. “Do ye nay wish to see where this will lead us?"
"Aye,” she replied in a husky voice she barely recognized as her own.
"Aye to this, or aye, yewillmarry me?” he asked as he teased her lips with light, chaste kisses.
"Aye. Iwillmarry you."
He pulled her into his arms and gave her a kiss that seemed to melt her very bones. She was still reeling from it when he set her away from him, grabbed her by the hand, and started back to their camp. Jolene wondered how the man could go from hot to cold with such ease. There had been passion behind that kiss. She was certain of it. It irritated her that he could regain control so easily while she remained dazed and heated.
"We will be hunting down a priest on the morrow,” Sigimor announced the moment they rejoined the other men.
