‘Nor am I, lass,’ he said. Jasper took her hand and placed it on his heart. ‘Can you not feel how mine thumps in your presence, beating only for you?’
‘I don’t understand the way you talk at all,’ she said, yet she did not pull away. ‘I suspect much of what you say to me is flattery or nonsense.’
He laughed. ‘Then we should stop talking and do something else, lass. You are trembling. Come here.’
Jasper opened his arms, and Rowenna sank into them and let him hug her. Though it was folly, he could not help it. He bent his head and kissed her. She tasted sweet from the apple. Her lips were warm and a little sticky. And then she opened her mouth a little and kissed him back hesitantly. His lust roared to life.
That was all it took – just a little surrender from her soft mouth. If he took his time to arouse her, then maybe it would go better than last time. He could be slow, gentle. But Rowennadid not seem to want gentle, for she began to return his kiss with equal passion, and she sank her hands into his hair and pressed against him. It must be fear from the morning’s ordeal.
Jasper grasped her firmly, his hands roaming over the curves and hollows of her body. He broke away when he found a lump in her skirt. ‘What is that?’ he said. She did not answer, just staring at him, so he reached into her pocket and took out a hunk of bread. ‘Are you stealing food, lass?’
Rowenna bit her lip. ‘I know it is wrong. But at Fallstairs, there was never enough to eat, so I took it in case I was hungry.’
‘With me, you need never be hungry or unprotected again.’
‘Do you swear it?’ she cried, eyes wide and fearful.
‘Aye, I swear it.’
To Jasper’s surprise, she put her hands on his cheeks and kissed him again. A thud of desire hit his cock so hard, it hurt. He laid a trail of kisses down Rowenna’s neck. Her skin smelled sweet from her bath, and her hair, too, silky soft in his hands. Jasper pulled down her bodice and kissed the hollow between her breasts, breathing in her scent. He could not get enough of it, and it loosed the beast in him. He lowered Rowenna onto some sacks, fell onto her and lifted her skirts, finding her with his fingers. She flinched a little and clutched him tighter. As he stroked her gently, she rose up to meet him, gasping his name and sending little moans into the silence of the cellar.
‘Do you like that, lass?’ he panted.
‘Please, Jasper. Oh, do not stop. I do like it so very much.’
His pride surged. Rowenna was spread out under him, eager. But he must go slowly, lest she take fright and reject him again. Jasper looked deep into her eyes as he plucked at the lacing onher stays. Did he read trust there, desire? He almost lost control when her breasts were exposed as they were so ripe and pale and luscious. He attended to them with his tongue for a while, teasing her nipples to stiff peaks. When he looked up, her face was pink, her head flung back, mouth open, panting his name. As if he needed further encouragement, Rowenna pulled his mouth down to hers, and Jasper tore open his braies and readied himself to enter her.
‘Will it hurt again?’ she gasped, her fingers clutching onto his back.
Her innocence gave him pause. She was his, but he had stolen her. They were handfasted, but she had not chosen him. This was not some cold arrangement entered into for wealth and status. This lass had saved his life, and here he was, taking her roughly and quickly in the darkness like you would a whore.
Jasper heaved himself onto his elbows. ‘I cannot.’
‘What? But you must,’ she cried.
‘Why must I?’
She bit her lip, confusion all over her face. ‘Because I want you to, and I don’t want to die a virgin.’
Did a man need more reason than that? ‘Then not here,’ he said. ‘Not like this. Not thrown down on a bale of oats like a…’
‘I don’t care. Please. I want you, Jasper. If you do not do it now, my courage will fail me. Don’t make me beg.’
‘Alright. But if you want me to stop, I will.’
A soft hand slid about his neck and drew his mouth to hers. Rowenna kissed him with real tenderness, and she kissed well. And Jasper was lost. He spread her wide with his knee and pushed inside her, and she cried out. Then he could not think– only feel, as he rocked gently inside her and drew her legs up about his waist. He tried to go slowly as she clutched at his back and cried his name. She was slick and tight, and, ever so slowly, Rowenna began to meet his thrusts.
‘Ah, please. Do it. Make me forget. Please,’ she cried, burying her face in his nape. She stiffened, her nails digging into his flesh, exciting him without knowing it. Jasper crushed her into the sacks as his release came upon him in a flood of pleasure. It held joy, seasoned with hope, and a strange, soft affection. It almost brought tears to his eyes, so Jasper kept his face buried in Rowenna’s hair so she would not see his weakness.
When he had mastered himself, Jasper stared down into her face. Rowenna’s eyes glowed, and her chest heaved. No tears this time, but even now, he was not sure of himself.
‘Did I hurt you?’
‘A little. Not too much, and it passed quickly.’
‘Did you quicken lass? It seemed like you did?’
‘I don’t rightly know? There was a feeling. I could not stop it and lost my senses a little.’
