She nodded, hearing the hazard in his tone. “Aye,” she admitted. “I tried to fight back and ended up goring myself on the tip of the knife.”
He sighed heavily. “But that is the only injury you received? You are well otherwise?”
“I am well.”
“And the baby is well?”
She rubbed her belly. “He is.”
He tossed the towel aside and went to the bed, yanking back the coverlet. He didn’t want to talk about her abduction from Trelystan anymore because he could feel himself growing increasingly upset over it. He didn’t want to spend the first night with her in weeks upset over something that was a waste of effort. Focusing on the comfortable mattress before him, he waved her over.
“Come to bed now,” he told her. “We will speak more of this tomorrow.”
She obediently rose from the stool, feeling that her hair was mostly dry and setting the comb down on the table as she moved to the bed. In silence, she braided her hair into a thick single braid and removed the yellow robe, clad only in the lamb’s wool sheath.
Emberley climbed onto the mattress and Gart climbed in after her. He pulled the coverlet up around them, enclosing her within his powerful arms. The moment Emberley felt his flesh against hers, the safety of his embrace, the tears began to come.
She snuggled up against him as close as she could go, settling in, feeling his body envelope her. Gart’s hand was against her face, cradling the side of her head, and he could feel the warm tears drip onto his flesh.
“What is wrong, kitten?” he kissed the side of her head. “Why do you weep?”
She shrugged. “I have no idea why,” she whispered. “Only that I have missed you terribly and that I am frightened. Frightened that Julian will find where I am, frightened that your liege will arrest you for saving me from Julian’s escort, frightened that….”
He cut her off with gentle gruffness, rolling her onto her back and looming over her. “The only thing you should be worrying about is bringing our son safely into the world,” he said softly. “You must trust me that everything else will work out. I am depending on that faith. It keeps me strong.”
She gazed up into his handsome face, a soft hand coming up to stroke his cheek and watched him kiss the palm of her hand.
“I do have faith,” she murmured. “I love you so much, Gart. I dream of the day when you and I can live free from Julian and his terror.”
“As do I.”
Both hands came up as she gently touched his face. “Tell me where we will live when all of this madness is over.”
He kissed her hands when they came close to his mouth. “It seems that things have changed somewhat,” he admitted. “It seems that Albemarle has another heir, a young son I was unaware of, so the inheritance I was going to solicit from him is no longer mine. But there is still inheritance on my mother’s side. I intend to go to France and seek that as soon as Julian divorces you.”
She looked surprised. “Julian divorces me?”
His green eyes twinkled. “It would seem that we have a powerful priest on our side that will help persuade him,” he kissed the tip of her nose. “He has heard Julian’s confession as well as the queen’s, as they attend him regularly. The priest has agreed to tell Julian and Isabella that the penance for their sinof adultery will require Julian to divorce his wife. If everything happens as it should, Julian will come to you very soon with a request for a divorce. As soon as it is granted, you and I will be married.”
Emberley was shocked. “Is that why he sent an escort for me? To speak to me of divorce?”
Gart shook his head, feeling the familiar heat of desire fill his veins as he kissed her cheek, her forehead. “Nay,” he murmured. “He sent an escort for you because the queen has apparently focused her attention on another man and Julian wants to make her jealous by showing attention to you.”
Emberley lay there, struggling to absorb all he was telling her. But then Gart’s lips drifted over hers and she responded hungrily, distracted from her thoughts, as his big hands snaked underneath her shift and lifted it over her head. Their hot, nude flesh came together and Emberley wrapped her arms around his neck, giving herself over to him completely as his big body overwhelmed her.
His mouth was on her neck, her breasts, carefully kneading her flesh and suckling her nipples. He was everywhere, his hands and mouth, tasting her flesh, feeling her heated response against him. As his mouth moved to the pink folds between her legs and he pushed her legs apart, he began to whisper to the child she carried, his mouth against her slightly rounded belly, telling the child how welcome he was. His fingers were inside her, stroking her as if trying to touch the life they had created together.
Emberley listened to his soft whispers, tears of tenderness filling her eyes, loving the man more than words could express. When he finally lifted himself up and thrust into her eager body, the words he whispered in her ear were purely of his love for her.
It had been weeks since he had last felt her against him, around him, and Gart savored every movement, every stroke,listening to Emberley’s soft gasps of pleasure. They were like music to his ears. It wasn’t long before he felt her powerful release around his throbbing organ, driving him mad as she wept with pleasure.
When he finally took his pleasure deep inside her body, he held her hips firmly, grinding his pelvis against hers and feeling her release around him again and again until she was absolutely exhausted. With one hand to her breast, gently fondling her, he kissed and nuzzled her until he grew hard again and then he resumed making love to her, feeling the wetness he put into her, feeling their bodies as they joined.
They were heavily into lovemaking when a knock on the door startled them both.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Jonas had beenhearing confessions since noon. Although he took his job seriously and always had, still, it was rather amusing when the nobility entered the church and made their way to the banks of confessionals against the north wall.
