Valteri stared in awe as the rest of the world spiraled in a dizzying blur around them. Only her beautiful face and the joy of her smile was in focus.
And it enchanted him more than he wanted to admit.
Mesmerized by her, he struggled to breathe. Instinctively, he pulled her toward him.
She stumbled in her dance steps and lurched forward with a gasp.
Valteri grabbed her before she fell, but his effort to save her unbalanced him as well. Entwined, they tumbled to the ground.
Her laughter, joined by the children’s, rang in his ears. Ariel lay upon his chest. Her hair that had come free of its braid spilled across his face like a bounty of satin.
He inhaled the warm, sweet scent. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself for a moment to pretend they could have a lifetime of moments like this. That he could look forward to years of such enjoyment and laughter.
She squirmed on top of him until she sat by his side, looking down. Her eyes sparkled like the finest sapphires to ever grace the earth. His body hardened even more.
At this rate, his lust might very well kill him.
But he’d shamed her once with his hated carnal desires. He refused to do so again.
She reeled her hair in and smiled the very smile that melted his wretched heart. “My thanks, Valteri. The ground appears far too solid, and I’m most grateful not to learn for myself what bruises it yields.”
And before he could move, she leaned forward and kissed his lips. Though it was chaste and brief, it set a thousand flames flickering in his belly. His desire trampling his reason, Valteri pushed himself up and captured her in his arms then pulled her back for another, more satisfying kiss.
She gasped, then surrendered herself to him as the children made sounds of their displeasure.
“He’s kissing her! Bleh!”
“Why grown-ups have to do that?”
“It’s so gross!”
Ignoring them, Valteri drank of her warm, sweet lips that tasted finer than all the wines of Normandy. Nothing would give him greater pleasure than to spend eternity in her arms.
Finally, he felt a light tugging on his surcoat. “Milord, milady, the friar comes,” the little girl said, before erupting into giggles.
Ariel pulled away, her cheeks a delectable shade of pink. She gave him a shy smile as she stared at him, her eyes filled with warmth and love.
He’d never thought to receive such a look.
“Lord Valteri?”
That unfamiliar voice pulled him away from his desire to embarrass them both.
Blinking in an effort to divert his thoughts, Valteri pushed himself to his feet. He held a hand out for Ariel and assisted her before he turned to face the friar.
The moment he saw the shriveled little man with his tonsure and brown robes, he had to force his lip not to curl. But nothing could stop the flood of hatred that flowed through him.
He’d spent too many years with so-called brothers of God, who used their title to further their own corrupt ends. Even though he tried, he just couldn’t muster any kindness toward any of them.
If not for his people and their beliefs, he’d banish all such creatures from his lands.
With that thought, he forced himself to be civil and not run the friar through. “Brother Edred, I presume.”
No doubt this was the same cowardly friar who, upon the arrival of Valteri’s army, had run from his hut.
Instead of helping the people who depended on him, he’d made sure to protect his own ass.
They always did.
