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To his surprise, she placed gentle kisses there. Her hands swept down his back, and she cupped his ass.

“More bruises. You have not enough flesh to pillow you.”

He received another kiss there, and the fanning of her breath across his thighs put any thought of discomfort from his mind.

“So go on with your story,” she said.

But she was draped across the back of his legs as she spoke. He felt her hair curling about him. He couldn’t remember what they’d even been talking about.

“The uncomfortable cart?” she prodded, and then lightly slapped his ass.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Pressing his forehead into his arms, he said, “Of course. The cart was inspected at the gatehouse. A farmer brought me through at his own peril.”

She stopped touching him. “Another man who risked himself for me.”

He looked over his shoulder to see her sad face. “Elizabeth, don’t. Think you they all wish to be ruled by Bannaster? They much prefer the master they know.”

“They don’t know you,” she countered.

He heard the edge in her voice. He would have rolled over to face her, but seeing his erection up close might make her think he only had sex on his mind. “Elizabeth, you have been the woman in control of their lives these many months. They trust you and want to help you.”

She gave him a smile, but it was solemn.

“Come here,” he said, pulling her back up next to him. They lay side by side, and he was careful not to press his hips near her. “I’m here. The farmer is safe. The soldiers inspected the cart, and I could hear them prodding through the straw, as if I hid beneath it.”

“But you did,” she breathed, staring into his eyes in wonder.

He shrugged and adjusted the cushion beneath their heads so they could continue to face each other. “They didn’t find me. The cart was driven to the stables, then left to await unloading. I waited for night. I heard a lot of conversations, even some about myself.”

She smiled and leaned in to kiss his chin. “And what did my grooms say?”

“One of them claimed that he knew all along who I was,” he said, using his finger to slide a lock of hair behind her ear.

“Oh, he did?”

He loved the way her nose crinkled when she smiled. Freckles lightly scattered there. “The other groom didn’t believe him either. To be fair, one groom thought I was a coward for retreating.”

“As if you were supposed to defeat Bannaster and his entire army.”

She was affronted on his behalf, and he found himself pulling her closer. When their hips met, she eyed him dubiously.

“You are aroused by my defense of you?” she asked.

He leaned in and kissed behind her ear, inhaling the sweet, womanly scent of her. “I’m aroused by anything you do.” He rolled his hips against her. “All you have to do is walk by me in the great hall carrying a tray, or kneel at mass or⁠—”

Shocked, she covered his mouth with her hand. “The priest would say such a thing is a sin!”

“I am betrothed to you, and the priest says that is almost the same as a marriage. A husband is supposed to desire his wife, so that babies will be born. How can you say that is a sin?”

She started to laugh, and he kissed her until she was breathless and looking at him with longing. That was what he wanted to see for the rest of his life. He wanted her to desire him—to love him, to not wonder about his greed when she looked on him. Somehow he would make it happen.

Between kisses, he said, “When all was silent…I lifted the false bottom…replaced everything…and came right to you for my reward.”

He rolled on top of her, settling himself between her thighs. But before he could make love to her, she put both hands on his chest and pushed.

“Nay, John, we cannot use the time so selfishly again.”

He lifted up on his hands to look down at her. Though her face was flushed, and he felt the heat at the core of her, he would not press such an advantage. He rolled off her and collapsed onto his back with a groan.