He bowed. “Well. The princess surrendered today on the condition all women would be taken as wives, not slaves.” He could not keep the foolish grin off his face.
Erik raised his eyebrows, looking amused. “I never expected you to return with a wife,” he said.
“May I present Lady Daisy. I found her bravely defending the castle with her bow and arrow.”
Erik chuckled, his gaze traveling to her bound hands. “I take it she comes unwilling?”
“Aye, but she’ll get used to me in time,” he said and the men at the table laughed.
“If you can’t control her, why don’t you just give her a taste of the strap?”one of the knights called out.
“Oh, she’ll feel my belt when she displeases me,” he said mildly.
Daisy delighted him with a shiver beneath his grasp and he patted her little arse to remind her of his mastery. Oh, how he hoped she would test him again. He would love to have her bent over his knee again. Perhaps the next time he’d insist she be naked for her punishment.
He sat down on the bench near the prince, pulling Daisy to perch on his lap.
She struggled, trying to slide off his knees and onto the bench beside him.
He tugged her back against him. “Where do you think you’re going, little one?”
“Please, Sir Barrett,” she murmured in an undertone, as if trying to avoid a scene.
“I’m sorry, love. Your hands are tied. You will need me to feed you and that makes my lap the best place for you to sit.”
* * *
A flush of heat burned from Daisy’s sex all the way up to her face. Sir Barrett’s body connected with too many parts of her own for comfort. His torso melded to her back, his muscular thighs supported her bottom, and both arms surrounded her.
“Please, my lord. This is unseemly.”
His hand connected with the part of her bottom available to him in a light, but symbolic spank. Her bottom crawled at the memory of his earlier paddling.
“My lady, you are mine now, given to my care. Do not argue with me.” He pulled a piece of bread from the loaf on the table and held it to her lips.
She meant to refuse. After all, she should not eat like a trained dog from his fingers, especially with everyone looking on, as if she was their entertainment for the evening. But her mouth heeded her stomach’s desire rather than her head’s, opening and accepting the fresh bread.
Barrett brushed a crumb from the corner of her mouth and she ducked her head in embarrassment. She had never felt so self-conscious about eating in her life.
“What?” he asked, his thumb returning to stroke her lower lip.
Her breath shortened. She tried not to look at him, but her eyes disobeyed, sliding to the right and meeting his liquid brown gaze. She did not breathe at all.
“You’re lovely,” he murmured.
It seemed they were the only two in the room. With all her effort, she managed to look away, pulling her face from his grasp and staring down at the table.
“Sweet Daisy,” he murmured, his voice seductive. “Try this.”
God help her, she had to look.
He had piled a piece of cheese upon the bread and dipped it in his wine. It was the same food she ate every supper, and yet she had never seen anything so tempting in her life.
She made the mistake of looking his way again, her gaze landing on his mouth. Such sensuous lips. Would he kiss her with them? Her own lip still tingled from his touch. Her mouth watered, though she wasn’t sure if it was for the morsel of food he held or something else. She leaned forward, opening for the bite.
“Good girl,” he praised, popping the food into her mouth.
It tasted delicious, the mixture of the three flavors exploding in her mouth. She chewed, watching him watching her. Strange tingles shot through her body.
