Page 20 of Silent Knight: Alexander

“Where are we going?” she asked, holding on to him so she wouldn’t fall in the dark.

“Up there.” He held up the lantern and nodded to a loft filled with fresh hay.

“Up there?” she asked, wondering if he could even climb the ladder with his bad leg. “Mayhap it would be better if we stayed down here.”

He reached out and turned her face to look directly into his eyes. “I can do it,” he said in a low voice. “Or don’t you believe I am even capable of climbing a simple ladder?”

Suddenly, she realized that she was the one pitying him instead of the other way around. She nodded. “I do believe that you can do anything you put your mind to, Alexander Masterson. Now, what on earth are we waiting for?”

Charlotte climbed the ladder, purposely going slow to give Alex time to ascend and not rush it. He made it up the ladder with little trouble and hung the lantern on a hook and pulled her back into his arms.

“Charlotte, once we do this, it can’t be undone. I still can’t ask you to marry me yet. But mayhap – mayhap, by tomorrow, I’ll have the answer I need to be able to plan the rest of my life.”

“Alex, I don’t care.” She reached up and kissed him and started to unbuckle his weapon belt. “Even if you decide you don’t want me for your wife, I will never regret our intimate time together, and neither will I ever forget it.”

“What did I do to deserve someone as special as you?”

“Just being you is reason enough. Now, I suggest we hurry before anyone comes and before we freeze out here.”

“I agree.”

Alex quickly removedhis clothing and helped Charlotte do the same. Her skin was like silk and as pale as porcelain. He pulled her into his arms and their bodies pressed up against each other. They kissed, and he gently caressed her shoulders, letting his hands slide down her chest, cupping her perfectly rounded breasts.

“That feels so good,” she said, throwing back her head as he kissed her neck and then suckled her taut nipples. His manhood hardened and grew in size. It had been a long time since he’d laid with a woman. And when he had coupled, it had always been with whores. He wasn’t even sure he could please Charlotte since he was the one always being pleased in the past.

“Wait,” he said, releasing her only for a minute to throw down his cloak. He helped her lie down, watching as the light from the lantern played off her skin, making her look like an angel.

“It’s cold,” she whispered. “Come warm me, Alex.”

He reached up and turned off the lantern, then grabbed her cloak and used it to cover them as they lay in the hay. There was a small, open window in the hayloft and streams of moonlight filtered in and bathed them in the magic that was only found in dreams.

He kissed her gently. Then, not being able to hold back much longer, he tried to ready her as much as possible before he slid atop her and spread her legs. His breathing labored, and his heart thumped loudly, resounding in his ears.

“Charlotte, are you sure about this?” he asked before he entered her.

“I’m surer about this than I’ve been with anything in my entire life.”

He entered her slowly, being careful not to hurt her, sliding in and out, helping her to find the rhythm. It felt so good that he wanted to scream out. Instead, he bit his tongue and remained silent. The heat intensified between them. And when he heard her moan in desire beneath him, it about drove him mad. He broke the connection only to lie next to her and pull her atop him.

“You want me on top?” she asked, since it wasn’t common for a man to let the woman be the aggressor in bed. He did it out of respect because a woman like Charlotte demanded respect without even knowing it.

“It’s my leg,” he lied when he didn’t think she would do it. “It was cramping up.”

“Oh. All right then. Although I’m not sure I know what to do.”

“Just do what comes natural, because nothing you do could ever be wrong.”

They made love, and he stifled his cry of passion as he spilled his seed within her. Then the words slipped from his lips that he didn’t think he’d ever say to any woman.

“I love you, Charlotte,” he said, running a hand over her head to push back a stray lock of hair. She collapsed next to him. They both tried to steady their breathing. He pushed the cloak off of them, reveling in the feel of the cool air against his body that felt as if it were on fire. “Who needs that cloak? I’m hotter than hell right now.”

“Me, too,” she laughed. “And in case you didn’t realize what you said, you just told me you loved me.”

“And I meant it, too,” he said, pulling her closer, running his fingertips lightly against her cheek. “I wanted to wait to find out some information before I even considered this, but I cannot wait a minute longer. Charlotte, will you marry me and be my wife?”

“What?” She sat up with a smile on her face, staring down at him. The moonlight bathed her perfect breasts in a milky white glow. Her nipples were still erect. He wasn’t sure if it was from him or the cold, but it didn’t matter. It only excited him all over again. “Alex, I have to be honest and tell you that there is a chance I am barren.”

“I don’t care,” he told her. “I want you just the way you are.”

In the moonlight, he saw a smile part her lips before she answered. “Yes, I will marry you,” she told him. “You have made me so happy. I can’t wait to be the wife of Alexander Masterson.”

Alex suddenly wondered what would happen if she found out she was marrying someone else instead. Aye, it was very possible that, come the morning, she might be marrying Lord Peter Mowbray instead.