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Drowsy and relaxed as she lay against his chest, Je
"Je
Her eyes opened at the odd, husky note in his voice, and she found herself gazing into smoldering gray eyes, his finely chiseled lips poised just above her own. It hit her then what she'd let happen, and what was going to happen if she didn't stop it. She shook her head, trying to dig her elbow into his ribs and push away, but his arm held her fast. "No!" she burst out.
His hypnotic gray eyes held hers imprisoned as his lips formed a single, irrefutable command: "Yes."
A moan of angry protest lodged in her throat, stifled by a hard, possessive kiss that seemed to go on forever and only became more insistent the longer she resisted. His parted lips moved on hers, demanding that they part, and the moment they did, his tongue slipped between them and the kiss gentled. He kissed her long and lingeringly, forcing her to remember how it had been between them at Hardin, and Je
Lifting his head, Royce stared down into her slumberous blue eyes, and Je
Je
The road to Claymore wound in a wide arc around the woods, a route that took them far out of their way but eliminated the need to force their way through the dense forest. Had he been alone, Royce would have taken the shorter route, for now that they were so close, he was anxious for a glimpse of it. Suddenly he wanted Je
Je
He chuckled at her outrageous slur on his code of ethics. "A pity I didn't think of that," he teased.
Although Je
"Which," she pointedly replied, "would not be necessary had I not been taken from the abbey in the first place and brought to you-"
"Cease!" he said, irritated at her continued hostility. "You were not ill treated, all things considered."
"Not ill treated!" she burst out in disbelief. "Do you deem it a kindness, then, to force yourself upon a helpless maiden, destroy her honor along with her chances to wed a man of her choice?"
Royce opened his mouth to answer her, then closed it again, frustrated because he could no longer defend, nor completely condemn, his actions. From Je
A moment later, they cantered round the last bend and all such unpleasant thoughts vanished from Royce's mind. His hand tightened reflexively on the reins, inadvertently jerking Zeus to an u
Recovering her balance, Je
Puzzled, she turned to see what he was gazing at, and her eyes widened with pleasure at the incredible beauty spread out before her. Directly in front of them, decked out in golden autumn splendor, lay a wide valley dotted with thatched cottages and neatly tended fields. Ahead, nestled into gently rolling hills, was a picturesque village. And higher yet, completely covering a wide plateau, stood a gigantic castle, with flags flying from its soaring turrets and stained-glass windows glinting like tiny jewels in the sun.
As the horse continued forward at a brisk walk, Je
As Je
"Well," Royce said behind her, "what do you think?"
Her eyes were alight with pleasure as she turned to look at him. " 'Tis a wondrous place," she said softly. "I've naught seen the equal to it."
"How does it compare to your dream kingdom?" he teased, gri
His smile was almost irresistible, and Je
Now they were obviously about to stop at the castle of someone of great importance, and although she told herself she didn't care a snap of her fingers what an English nobleman or his villeins and serfs thought of her, she hated the thought of disgracing herself, ergo her kinsmen, before them. She tried to console herself with the fact that she'd at least had an opportunity to wash her hair this morning in the icy creek that ran near the place where they'd camped for the night, but she was morbidly certain her hair, which was her only real asset, was a mass of tangles strewn with twigs and leaves.
Turning, she glanced a little apprehensively at Royce and asked, "Who is lord here? Who owns such a place as this?"