Gisele smiled when he began to kiss her throat as he unlaced her shirt. His slightest caress always made her feel so wanton. The soft flatteries he whispered against her skin as he honored her breasts with heated kisses were pleasing, but completely unnecessary. She suspected he could stir her with silence as long as he kept touching her. It struck her as a little odd that hands which had been trained to a sword, hands that could so easily kill a man, could be so gentle and enticing.
He removed the last of her clothing and crouched over her for a moment, studying her in the soft light of the fire. Gisele found his warm, appreciative gaze exciting and, smiling invitingly, she stretched languorously beneath him. She laughed softly when he hastily returned to her arms. His hungry kiss stifled her amusement but stirred her passion. No longer shocked by the way he made love to her, she readily gave him free access to her body as he kissed and stroked her from head to toe and back again. She even eagerly accepted his intimate kiss, gently arching her body in greedy welcome, threading her fingers in his hair as he took her to passion’s heights with just a kiss.
She barely had time to catch her breath when he began to restir her passion. Cold air swept over her heated skin when he sat up to strip off his clothes, and she shivered. Just as he tossed aside the last piece of his clothing she sat up and began to give him the same pleasure he had given her. Now that she knew what he liked, she felt no shyness or hesitation. She savored the way he groaned out his appreciation as she loved him with her mouth.
A soft laugh escaped her when Nigel abruptly stopped her play. It changed to a sigh of delight when he slowly joined her body with his, while still seated on their bedding easing her down until she straddled him. With only the slightest prompting from him, she began to move, struggling to control her soaring passion so that they could linger in that exquisite moment of intense desire that came just before release. Then he leaned her back over his arm and slowly drew the hardened tip of her breast deep into his mouth. A heartbeat later Gisele lost all control. She was vaguely aware that Nigel also became somewhat frenzied as they drove themselves blindly toward release.
“If we get any better at this, lass,” Nigel said as they finally collapsed onto their bedding, “I am nay sure we will survive.”
“We do become quite wild,” she agreed, sleepily tugging the blanket over their rapidly chilling bodies.
Nigel smiled against her skin as he kissed her shoulder. He sprawled on his stomach, draped his arm around her slim waist, and tugged her close against his side. He felt totally spent and he loved it, yet he knew he would only need a little encouragement to want her again.
“Aye, wild is a good word for it.” He glanced around their campsite. “I sometimes think that the king’s whole army could creep up on us and we wouldnae hear them.”
“Are you about to tell me that we must begin to behave ourselves for the sake of our own safety?” She grinned as she glanced at him, not surprised to see him grimace at the thought. She might not know how deeply she had touched his heart, if at all, but she had no doubt at all that he thoroughly enjoyed the passion they shared.
“That might be wise,” he murmured. “Aye, especially since your screams of delight can probably be heard in Italy.”
She blithely ignored his laughter-filled glance and replied calmly, “Non, for they are undoubtedly lost in the uproar you make.” Giggling, she slapped his hand away when he started to tickle her in gentle retribution.
“Rest, lass,” he said quietly when they calmed down, and he kissed her on the cheek. “As my strength increases, I feel a need to try to recoup some of the time and distance we lost whilst I was fevered.”
“Which means that you intend to ride from dawn to dusk again.”
“Aye, I fear so.”
“As you wish. To where?”
“Pardon?”
“Where are we riding to?”
“I told you—to a port, so that we might sail to Scotland.”
Gisele muttered a curse under her breath. “I know that. But to which port? France has more than one, I believe.”
“Actually, I am nay verra sure of which one. I head now to Cherbourg. ’Tis the port I sailed into seven years ago. There are many towns and villages near there where we might find someone to take us to Scotland, if there is no one to do so at Cherbourg.”
“Or if my enemies are there in too great a number.” She frowned, trying desperately to recall exactly where Cherbourg was and where it sat in comparison to the nearest DeVeau holdings. It was impossible, however, especially since she did not really know where she was at the moment.
“Do ye think there will be a great many of them? Do they hold any lands near Cherbourg?”
“I do not know. I was just thinking that I am not even sure where I am now, let alone where Cherbourg is. What suddenly troubled me was that the name sounded like one I heard often whilst in my husband’s keep.Non, I think I am wrong. Now I think it may have been Caen.”
Nigel cursed. “We have but recently slipped past Caen. ’Tis a miracle that we didnae just ride into our enemies’ hands. And, aye, this certainly means that Cherbourg will be awash in the bastards and the leeches who feed upon them.”
“What a pleasing thought that is,” she muttered, then sighed. “I am sorry. I have become so lost since we left Guy that I truly do not know where I am from day to day, or where we ride to. In truth, I was never very clever about such things. And, until now, I never felt there was much to gain from knowing where a DeVeau might be roosting.”
“Nay, lass, dinnae apologize for what isnae your fault. I complained so sharply because I saw yet another complication and we have enough to deal with.” He gave her a brief, tender kiss. “Go to sleep, dearling. We shall ride on to Cherbourg in the morning. We are close, but ’twill take a day or two more of steady riding.”
“Only a day or two?”
“If we meet with no trouble, aye,” he said quietly, then yawned.
She nodded and idly smoothed her hand over his arm. Nigel’s body slowly grew heavy, his breathing measured and soft. Gisele knew she ought to be joining him in a much needed sleep, getting the rest she required for what lay ahead, but she felt no urge to do so. Instead, she stared up at the stars feeling increasingly uneasy, almost afraid.
At first she thought she grew afraid because she now knew that they were riding close to DeVeau lands. In a day or two they would be at the port where there would surely be DeVeau men searching for her and Nigel. Yet, as she continued to think about the dangers they would soon be facing, she realized that was not the cause of her growing fear. It worried her, but it was not what was slowly tying knots in her belly or causing her to break out in a cold sweat.
