Mary Gillgannon by The Leopard

Author:The Leopard [Leopard, The]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Romance, Knights
Published: 2013-09-23T04:00:00+00:00

Twenty-one

By the time they reached the manor, the eastern sky glowed with the pale colors of dawn. Astra held the torn piece of her shift around her face and kept her head bowed while Richard exchanged a few words with the man at the gate. The sleepy-eyed guard let them pass without even glancing at Astra.

They moved unnoticed through the courtyard and found the kitchen entrance. To Astra’s surprise, Richard followed her in.

“You must not come with me,” she whispered. “What if you are seen?”

“Damn the risk. I want to see you safely to bed.”

Astra shook her head, but allowed him to follow her stealthily through the hall. At the corridor leading to the wing where the women slept, she paused and again motioned for him to leave her. Reluctantly, Richard nodded. He gave her a tender kiss and his dark eyes swept over her with an intensity that made Astra tremble. Fearing he would pull her into his arms again, she turned and ran.

* * *

Richard stretched out stiffly on his bedroll. The damp morning air, the night spent rolling around on the grass, the ache of unrequited lust—they all contributed to the discomfort of his body. But his heart—ah, that was another matter. He felt absurdly, deliriously happy. Astra loved him!

The thought made him smile and then laugh out loud. He grinned into darkness. He had not known until this night how much he loved Astra, how intensely he needed her. The feel of her body in his arms filled him with strength and joy. With Astra beside him, it seemed possible he could do anything.

A sense of awe filled him as he recalled Astra’s hips and thighs trembling as he pleasured her. Never had he known such delight in satisfying a woman. What would it be like when their bodies were joined, and he awakened the rest of Astra’s virginal passions? He closed his eyes and contemplated consummating their love. Surely the ground would shudder and the stars whirl madly in the heavens in the exquisite moment when he entered her.

But when would that be? He had used his success in Wales to convince the King to let him return to London. But once there, he would have little opportunity to be alone with Astra. She deserved to experience lovemaking in a place of beauty and comfort. How was he to arrange that? He was used to satisfying himself with women who did not care where he took them, or how. Astra was different. For Astra, he wanted a well-lit room where he could savor every inch of her spectacular beauty, a clean, sweet-scented bed with, aye, a silk coverlet. He wanted her to remember the magic of their first time forever. She would never forget him, her wild and passionate Black Leopard.

A twinge of conscience stabbed him. Once bedded, Astra would expect him to wed her. He was not yet ready for that. He feared marrying a poor woman, feared what the consequences would be if something happened to him before he had a chance to assure his fortune.

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