The feeling of acceptance washed over her as he started to move. He was hers as much as she was his. It made sense suddenly. They belonged together. She circled her hips against him, bringing him deeper inside her with each stroke.
"Yes, Ashley. Hmmmfff..."
He took her in silence for a while, only the sounds of their breathing in the air. The soft slap of his body hitting hers with each thrust joined it as they picked up steam, moving in perfect unison.
She felt herself rising on the wind as she came closer to the edge. Closer... and closer... and-
"Oh God yes!"
She cried out breathlessly as her body arched off the bed. Above her he was thrusting faster and faster as he started to peak. She stared up at him, watching as his eyes changed. Turning green and then yellow... the eyes of a hawk.
He threw his head back as his essence erupted from him. Her body grasped at him greedily, instinctively taking him deeper, seeking his seed. He pumped into her again and again as he filled her to completion.
Finally he collapsed on top of her. She clasped him to her, running her hands through his silky blond hair. He rolled to the side taking her with him.
He stared at her as his eyes slowly changed back to blue. The pupils shrank down and became round again. The wild look in his eyes was slowly tamed and replaced by tenderness.
They lay there like that until their breathing slowed. He grinned at her and pulled her against him, his hard shaft pressing into her stomach. Her eyes widened.
"Again?"
"Yes woman. Again."
Turn the page for your surprise Bonus Book from Pincushion Press!
The Knight's Lady
Joanna Davis
Chapters
Preface
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Two Days Later
Preface
Isabel hid behind the tapestry, pressing her fist against her mouth to stifle the sound of her tears. Great gusty sobs had been threatening to erupt since she'd run off.
Since the midday meal, which had seemed revoltingly like a feast, not a funeral.
Since Uncle Robert had started debating which of his odious sons she should marry.
Since her future had changed in the blink of an eye.
Isabel had cried out and been locked upstairs in the solar. Now they were looking for her. Instead of staying put she'd hidden, fighting back tears and the urge to sneeze from the dusty old tapestry she crouched behind. It had been her favorite once.
No more.
In fact, the very sun seemed to have lost it's sparkle.
Her beloved father had been dead less than a day and his younger brother was already selling her off like a prized cow. At fourteen, Isabel already knew that it wasn't too far off from the truth. As a woman, even high born as she was, she was chattel.
Her father had bestowed a considerable dowry on her, including a fat parcel of land bordering the keep. With three sons, her uncle was now deciding which one of his sons would get her, and therefore the land.
That wasn't the worst of it though. The worst was the way they looked at her. As if she were a tasty morsel they were about to eat.
Isabel shivered, rage and disgust pushing away her grief for the moment.
How could they force her to wed so quickly after the death of her father?
But they could and apparently, they would. Posthaste.
She was starting to notice the effect she had on men. ‘Twas only in the past year or so. But they stared at her in an odd way now. A way that made her nervous.
And now one of them thought to take her to wife. To share a bed. The thought filled her with dread. Neither of them were appealing in any way. In fact, Isabel wasn't sure which of them was worse.
Simon, with his squint and clammy palms. He was close to the thirty and already balding. He bore a stark resemblance to his father, who was not known for his good looks or disposition.
Or Hugh, the slightly younger brother. He had piercing blue eyes. But they were not attractive eyes. They were cold and odd looking, too light, almost white. With his pointed face and slight frame, he looked like a lizard.
He was the conniving one. He was the one she was certain would win. And then she'd be at his mercy.
Unless she could get away.
Isabel's father had doted on her. That included teaching her many things that other might not think proper for a girl. She's learned to sew and manage a household, yes, but also how to read and write, shoot an arrow, ride like the wind and climb.
Oh yes, she could climb.
Tonight. When all were sleeping. She would plan her escape.
She would be no man's bride!
One
Geoffrey rode ahead of the others, hoping for a moments peace. The bawdy knights who followed his command were trying his nerves. They were on the fifth day of a journey to collect something for the King.
No, not something. Someone.
The King had sent them to collect a Nun. Any Nun would do apparently. The thought of plodding back across the wet spring roads with a complaining woman in tow made him grit his teeth. He dreaded the task, regardless of the rich prize promised by the King. He had managed to avoid matrimony this long for a reason. Women were naught but trouble. And now, he had to deal with a woman who was predisposed to hate men.
A Nun. One of the rare women on earth who could resist him. It would have been laughable had it not been so appalling.
Of course, they were laughing at him back at court.
Geoffrey scowled at the thought.
Normally he would use his charm and good looks to get his way with a woman. It always worked, no matter the desired outcome. A favor, sexual or otherwise, was normally his for the asking. With his broad shoulders, wavy blond hair and dark blue eyes, his pretty face and long, thick cock were just an added bonuses. Never mind that being one of the King's inner circle made him wealthy and powerful in his own right.
He may have started as a second son, but he'd risen through the ranks through hard work and sheer skill as a solider. He'd also learned much of the courtly ways, once Philip had noticed him and brought him into the inner circle.
Geoffrey had been promised a small parcel of land by the sea. A crumbling keep sat upon it. Some day, when the King released him from his duty, he would restore the keep and lands to their former glory. There were rolling hills, craggy cliffs and a cove that was said to have good fishing. He longed for the day he could take a plump, hopefully quiet and fecund, wife and begin his life as a wealthy land owner.
But until then, he was the King's man and must abide by his whims. Even if it meant swallowing his pride, something the King rarely asked him to do. Geoffrey respected and even liked his liege and suspected the feelings were mutual.
Or at least, he had!
Now he'd been given this fool's task. Why, any man could escort a woman of the cloth across the land! It did not need to be a knight, let alone him. Add to this that he'd been commanded to bring his friends and fellow knights Richard and John, as well as a contingent of soldiers, merely to protect one woman. It boggled the mind.
He sighed. As much as he enjoyed a pretty woman in his bed, he did not enjoy conversing with them generally. He was already trying to sort out a way that he could ride ahead and saddle one of the others with her for the duration. And they hadn't even met yet.
He could hardly wait.
It was an hour later the Nunnery came into sight. It overlooked the harbor, with a small port. The Nuns controlled the comings and goings of the rich point of trade, one of the reasons the King was displeased with them to begin with. Geoffrey saw little to acquit the Sisters of the Southern Gate. Their banner hung everywhere, with no sign of fealty to their sovereign.
No wonder the King was in a fury with them. The rich religious houses had started to think of themselves as above the King. But if they had any notion of the King's mind, they would be quick to change their tune.
King Philip was brutal and swift when he thought he'd been wronged. He was fond of setting examples that brought any dissenters quickly into line. He also held opulent parties and was overly generous with those whom he believed deserved it.
Thankfully Geoffrey had never been on the king's bad side. He shivered. That was not a wise place to be!
He rode up to the impressive structure and dismounted. The other soldiers under his command did the same. As usual John wandered off looking for a place to piss. Richard made sure to draw attention to it, having a laugh at the other knight's expense.
Everyone knew by now of John's weak bladder.
Geoffrey lifted his fist and pounded against the gate, ready to have this over with.
<><><><><>
Isabel leaned over the parchment, blowing gently so the ink would not run. She'd been working on this manuscript for some time now. She was one of several scribes they had in the Sisterhood, most of whom also did some simple illumination. Twas unusual for nuns to create works such as this, but everything about the Sisterhood of the Southern Gate was unusual.
Firstly, it was separate from a monastery. So the Mother Superior ruled supreme. There were rarely the sounds of male voices, other than the laborers in the fields and stables.