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“Those blathering idiots!” Ernesto stood on the dais in the great hall. He addressed the guardsman who brought him word that the men he assigned to capture Morena had failed. “A woman, alone in the woods, and ten of my best men could not catch her. Decrepit imbeciles!”
“My lord, they had her within their sight, but Dragone’s men came too close to make an attempt at capture.”
Ernesto inhaled an exasperated breath. “Go back to Genoa. Take another fifty men with you. Find a way to make the Contessa come to you. Do not return unless she is in your custody. Is that clear?” Spit flew from Ernesto’s mouth and struck the guardsman in the eye. To the man’s credit, he didn’t flinch.
“Yes, my lord. You have my oath that we shall not fail again.”
“See that you don’t.” Ernesto grabbed a nearby tankard and flung it against the wall.
***
AN AIR OF AMITY ENCOMPASSED Morena as she sat with Caterina in her private quarters. They embroidered the hem of an over-tunic. Rays of sunlight warmed the room. A fresh breeze carried the fragrance of the sea through the open window.
“It seems as if you grow comfortable living in Genoa, cara, but still, I can’t help but wonder...”
“What is it?” Morena paused, the tip of her needle rested against the cloth.
“You do wish to marry my son, do you not? I realize that the idea of marriage into our family came as a shock to you, and my son can be headstrong, even bull-headed at times, but I hope that you don’t feel too pressured.”
Morena sighed. Of course she felt pressured and coerced. “Only by destiny,” Morena said. When she noticed Caterina’s frown she added,
“Rest assured, I do want to marry Amoro.” She swallowed, faked a smile and said, “I do care for him.”
Caterina’s expression rallied. She reached over and patted Morena’s hand. “Marriages are often no more than political alliances. When there is a genuine fondness between a husband and wife, it makes for a much happier union. I wish it to be so for both of you.”
Morena smiled at Caterina’s wholehearted approval. Ever since she and Amoro argued, he became subdued around her. A strange politeness existed between them that served to appease some of the ire that kept them at odds. She seemed to have purged her pent-up anger in the fight.
“Do you know what I think?” Caterina whispered. “He is far more in love with you than he lets on. I know my son and never have I seen him so besotted.”
Besotted? After all their quarrels and disagreements? Yet amid the turmoil, never once had Amoro wavered in his desire for her. Never once had he shown anything other than sincerity in his motives. Morena did believe Amoro cared for her. The knowledge brought a feeling of joy.
After all, if he didn’t care for her, her vitriolic words would not affect him. Why did she mistrust his word and actions? She had behaved like a shrew and he, a barbarian. Yet she never felt abandoned by him, even when he stormed from the room. She hated to admit it, but he was a good man. She regretted it had taken far too long to come to this realization.
The two women worked together for a little while longer. The topic of their conversation sauntered into the solar and interrupted their work.
Morena’s talk trailed off into a nervous murmur. She beheld the striking stature of the volatile duke of Genoa. Attired in a coal black over-tunic and snug leggings, he looked overpoweringly masculine. He showed no signs of anger, but he did look wary of her.
Morena swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. She slid her needle into the garment and rested her hands on her lap to hide their tremble.
Amoro favoured them both with a generous smile, unaware of their talk of him, “Good morning. It does my heart good to see you together.”
He kissed his mother on the cheek and addressed Morena. “Could you spare me a moment?” This time, his voice didn’t ring with confidence.
Caterina gave Morena a conspiratorial grin. She waved them off. “Go on. You have much to speak about.”
Morena followed Amoro out of the room, down the main stairs, and out the doorway that led to the small garden behind the keep. Beneath an ancient tree whose branches spread wide and hung low with ripening olives, he stopped and faced her.
“I promise not to keep you long,” he assured. Amoro reached into the small purse that hung from his belt. Without ceremony, he clasped her hand in his and placed a heavy bracelet into her palm.
Morena studied the jewel. A wine red garnet sat between two serpent heads of the purest gold that featured studded emerald eyes and ruby tongues.
“Amoro, it is magnificent,” she murmured. “Divine.”
“I apologize for last night. Consider this my peace offering. It is Roman from the fourth century. I hear tell, one of a kind. Just like my betrothed.”
“How did you come by it?”
“It is no secret to many of the captains of merchant ships who arrive in Genoa that I’m an avid collector. A Byzantine ship arrived in port several days ago and one of the sailors in sore need of coin sold it to me. I thought it a fit jewel to signify our betrothal.”
“Thank you.”
“Am I forgiven?
Morena nodded.
“Show me with a kiss,” he pleaded. A slight smile curved his lips.
Morena pecked his cheek.
Amoro captured her lips in a prolonged, exhaustive kiss.
Her resistance to him eroded. Morena pushed away, unnerved by his fieriness and her inability to fight the blaze he ignited with her. She stared into his verdant eyes. Why did layers of powerful emotion exist between them? She could not be with him. Even worse, she could not be without him.
He lowered his gaze to her lips and sighed. “I long for the day when you kiss me because it is your desire to do so.”
The tone of wistfulness in his voice melted Morena’s heart. She stood on her toes, eased her hand over his well-muscled chest, and laced them around his neck. A quiver tore through his solid body as she pressed her lips over his. She savoured the taste of him while he returned her sultry kiss. She kissed him as she had never kissed him before.
Morena wove her fingers into the silken strands of his hair. A tumultuous intensity engulfed her. His solid male reaction pressed against her. Her body contoured itself to his and provoked an intense reaction.
Amoro enclosed her in his arms with astonishing fierceness. He parted her lips with his mouth and swirled his tongue around hers.
Wild with need, she responded with equal passion.
He inhaled an urgent breath and clasped her tighter to his chest, his flesh rigid with volatile urgency.
At length he ended the kiss and gazed down at her with a baffled expression. “I should never have come into your room last night. You have my sincerest apologies.” He paused, fire dancing in his eyes. “It is not safe for you to kiss me like that again until after we are wed.”
Aware that ardour could make a man lose control, Morena fathomed that Amoro must have neared that point. Awareness that she possessed such power brought immense satisfaction.
“I see you understand,” he commented, vexation evident in his voice.
He paused and searched her face.
Morena turned away. Her mood withered. “I’m sorry that I gave you cause to worry by leaving unescorted.”
Despite the edge of frustration in his voice, he responded with gentleness. “Don’t be upset, Morena. It has always been my motto to be courageous and never submit to an enemy. How could I fault you for doing the same? You may have thought me your enemy at first, but by now you should realize the depth of my feelings.” He raised his hand to her cheek but he came to an abrupt stop. His tone turned decisive.
“Make me a happy man, Morena. Choose our wedding day.”
Morena inhaled and looked into his eyes. “The sooner the better, but I have one favour to ask.”
“You need only speak it.”
“I still mourn for my father. I don’t wish to disappoint your mother, but I would prefer a small, private ceremony.”
“It will be as you wish.”
“Then let us marry on the day after the morrow.”
Amoro beamed a wide grin. “Before I return you to my mother, tell me if you like the bracelet.”
“Of course I love it,” she said. “It is so beautiful. I’m afraid to remove it lest it becomes lost.”
“A bracelet can be replaced. You, however, cannot.” Amoro caressed her cheek, grinned, turned and left.
Morena gazed down at the gift. He is far more in love with you than he lets on. Caterina’s words flooded back to set her mind at ease. She smiled.
Reassured, she returned to Caterina who expressed her joy at the extravagant gift and the nuptials that approached earlier than expected.
***
THE WARM BLUSH OF THE afternoon sky faded. Dusk took its place. A day passed and on the morrow he would wed Morena. Amoro decided he could not wait any longer to give her his finest gift.
He stalked into the castle with intent. Amoro swept past the boisterous bustle in the great hall and sidestepped servants who hastened about with brooms and buckets. He took the stairs that lead to the upper levels three steps at a time. Amoro brushed aside a troop of a dozen servants who stopped to let him by. The passageways on the second and third floors resounded with the enthusiastic jabber of attendants who darted about preparing the evening feast.
He stood outside the thick oak door of Morena’s bedchamber and waited. When a serving woman opened, he brushed past. A reverie of beauty greeted him. It left him speechless.
“Amoro!” Morena’s eyes grew wide with surprise. “I expected the cutter to come and make some adjustments to my tunic for the feast tonight. What are you doing here?”
She wore a sleek kirtle of sapphire blue silk, the colour of the sea on a brilliant summer day. Woven into her plaited hair were silk ribbons, identical to the magnificent fabric, and glass beads and pearls. Her thick chestnut tresses sat atop her head like a glorious crown.
Awestruck by the vision, Amoro stared. Morena took hold of his hand and drew him farther into the bedchamber. He nudged the door closed behind him.
“The kirtle is a gift from your mother. She gave it to me to wear at our pre-nuptial feast. Do you like it?” Morena whirled about and looked up with mischievous speculation. “I love the tunic, too.” She gestured to the garment that lay on the end of the bed. “I hope the cutter arrives soon to sew on the fringe.”
“I doubt the fringe can improve it. You are alluring with or without it.” It conformed to her graceful body with unsurpassed flawlessness. It cleaved to the swell of her breasts and the curve of her slight waist, then flared over her hips. How he longed to run his hands over her form. The skirt, of considerable length, swept gentle folds to the floor that accentuated her figure. The toe of a beaded and bejewelled shoe emerged from beneath the hem.
“You are beguiling,” he whispered, his words thick with hunger.
She looked up at him with dreamy eyes and leaned against the taut firmness of his shoulder. “You and your mother have been most generous.”
“I’m worried, cara mia. I think I prefer you dressed in ashes and burlap. No man can look away from your stunning beauty.”
She humoured him with a gentle caress to his cheek and enfolded her arms around his waist. She gazed up at him. Her wide eyes shimmered in the candlelight. “Amoro, jealousy taints your words.”
She was right. When noblemen and lords vied for her attention, he did grow jealous. The idea nettled him as much as it seemed to amuse her. How fortunate for Morena to wed him instead of that rat’s bane, Ernesto. The mere thought of Morena married to that wretch vexed him.
He gazed down into Morena’s velvety eyes. Amoro’s dissension withered. Her mere presence stirred a feral ache deep within him. Her words told him she offered her heart to him. Could he trust her? He pushed his thoughts aside. He wanted her desire for him to be as strong as his for her.
He pulled her close and kissed her. He covered her mouth with his and savoured the richness of mint on her breath.
She yielded to him.
Ardour shot through him. It scalded like fire. He wrested himself apart, his flesh hot with need and roused by carnal passion. Its influence caused him to shudder. “Dio, Morena, see what effect you have upon me. Don’t toy with me.”
“We will be married tomorrow,” she murmured as she pressed the palm of his hands to her lips.
Amoro grew still, a hungry sigh churning deep inside him. “It pleases me to think you want me so.”
Morena’s breath blew sultry and moist when it touched his flesh. Her eyes remained fixed on his, innocent and hesitant. Her velvety kiss felt brash and it caused him to stiffen.
“I want you, too.”
“Morena,” he fought to keep his desire at bay. “Don’t indulge in horseplay.”
To his harrowed surprise, she refused to heed his admonition and rasped, “I don’t want to wait any longer.”
“I have only ever wanted to love you.” He spoke with such obvious reverence and affection that he astounded himself.
“Show me your love.”
Amoro claimed her mouth with an ardent kiss, too tempted to disregard her demands. It flowed with all the intensity and heartache he experienced since he first set eyes upon her. Never had he sustained a need as strong or yearned for love more.
Amoro kissed a slow path down the curve of her neck. Morena trembled. With measured ease, he unlaced her kirtle. After he opened the delicate garment, he slid his hands over her shoulders and down the silky delights of her graceful back. Amoro eased the luxurious garment over her shoulders until it pooled at her feet.
She stood before him in a state of nature, a priceless jewel revealed for the first time. He took hold of a breast and brought it to his mouth.
She moaned when he fastened his lips around the swarthy nipple to persuade the delightful gem to crown.
She moved closer into his embrace and ceded to the invasion. She took hold of his tunic and pulled the fabric at his back with wanton effort. Amoro shared her exasperation with the offending garment. He shed it and tossed it aside. Her moan blended with his when their naked bodies touched.
He yearned to relish every nuance. His urgent need became a formidable compulsion. The feel of Morena’s fingers at his belly, the tentative thrust of her hips against his stiffened manhood urged him to cast off his braies. In a state of nature, his unbridled lust and appetite for her prevailed.
Amoro gathered her into his arms and set her on the bed. He positioned himself atop her. He whispered a husky, maddened apology.
“Morena, I need to be inside you.”
“It is what I want, too.”
Amoro succumbed. He smiled before trailing nipping kisses down her throat and chest, savouring the vibrations of her increasing moans.
His teeth closed around one hard rosy nipple, tugging it, drawing yet another gasp from her. Her back arched like a strung bow at his intense touch. His tongue flicked over one hard little bud in time with the pressure of his fingertip on the moist, swollen bud between her legs.
She rolled and pressed her entire body hard against him, seeking what she most desired. He moved his lips over past her stomach and to her mound, then over her womanhood, drinking her wetness in his deep kiss, massaging her buttocks firmly in his hands to intensify her experience. Amoro licked her delicate button and felt her pulsating. His fingers barely fit the entrance of her womb. Experienced with women, he knew where and how to touch without causing pain. Her back arched farther. It pleased him to see she had ceased trying to muffle her moans.
Her soft thighs fought him, yet he knew she grew desperate to relieve herself of the mounting pressure. The need to bring her to release drove him on.
The soft sounds expelling from his quarry made him hot, and he hungrily lapped her tender flesh. He broke away from her to free his erection from the constraint of his leggings, his hands trembling with fervour. “I cannot stop myself,” he whispered hoarsely.
She looked intently into his eyes. “Then don’t.”
Her inviting response, the demure manner in which she unfurled her legs for him, alleviated any hesitant thoughts in his mind. He positioned his hips. With a gentle, careful thrust, he entered her.
Morena emitted a slight gasp. He lay still, caressing her hair, whispering soothing words. All the while, his desire left him rigid, almost breathless, his body awash in perspiration.
Morena’s gasp of rapture echoed in his ear as bit by bit he implanted himself inside her sheath. Her warmth caressed with every plunge and exodus, luring him to the brink of his self-control.
She arched up to his every thrust, pressing him to thrust deeper by the passion of her kisses and incessant wresting of her hands on his back.
She was as intelligent as he and the strength of her spirit rivalled his.
He respected and loved her more than any other woman he had ever known. He knew of no other woman who could compete with her virtue and perfection. The feel of her around him overpowered his senses, shutting everything out of his mind except for the ecstasy he felt. Her tight walls pulled at his shaft, bringing him to the brink of release – but each time he drew close, he stopped his movement until the nearness of release left him, then he would begin thrusting again; all to prolong the delicious sensations as long as he could.
Overcome with desire, he lost himself, eager to release the accumulating tension in his loins. He rocked arduous and fast, elated by the look of ecstasy on her face as she let out a drawn out moan and stiffened under him, trapped in the bliss of her first ecstasy.
Amoro then succumbed, accompanying her release, groaning out her name as he quavered, his seed spilling vigorous and scalding into the refuge of her womanhood.
***
MORENA LAY STILL, LIMBS entwined with Amoro’s. An untainted stillness surrounded him. Somewhere deep inside of her, a flutter of perfect joy came alive. Amoro held her close, his body like hers, at rest. Their joining carried more meaning than she anticipated. True love bloomed with a strong sense of belonging to him. No longer could she think of herself as a separate entity. They were forever one. She presented him her greatest gift, her maidenhood. A bond held her fast to him, one to last her entire life.
With her head nestled in the crook of his arm, she listened to the sound of his pulse as it returned to normal.
“I love you, Morena, and cannot live without you.”
“Those are the words I have longed to hear, Amoro. I love you too. You are the man I want to spend my life with, not Ernesto, never Ernesto.”
“That is quite a revelation, amore mio. You have made me happier than I could have ever imagined.”
No further words were necessary between them. Once again, Amoro hardened, rolling over her so that he was atop, their hips thrusting to meet each other. Wrapping her legs around him, Morena buried him deep inside of her. He pushed harder against her, kissing her breasts while driving her to the brink, then stopping, then starting to thrust again and again. Each time Morena neared her release, he halted and looked into her eyes to search for the love she knew shone there.
Amoro could no longer hold back, and with impetus, he filled her again. Morena screamed his name as she reverberated with unbridled liberty.
Exhausted, they laid back and rested in silence, revelling in each other’s embrace.
***
WHEN AMORO KNEW MORENA slept, he slipped his arm from beneath her head and rose from the bed careful not to disturb her. It would not be wise for one of the servants, or worse yet, his mother to discover her in his bed.
“I love you,” Amoro whispered as he bent down to kiss her forehead.
He gathered his clothes from the floor and donned his tunic. He treaded to the door, pulled open the latch, and glanced back. Morena slept peacefully. Tomorrow they would marry. They underwent a great deal of effort to arrive at this day. It seemed like fate always intervened to keep them apart, but fate finally met its match. Morena belonged to him.
Nothing in the world could keep them apart. He left the chamber, his heart brimming with joy.