Sandy swung her sword and one of Gavin’s men blocked it. She couldn’t be sure but it seemed like she was the one who was putting forth all the effort. He wasn’t even sweating. She realized Gavin had instructed the guard to go easy on her but even so, she suspected he was trying to make her believe she was better at sword fighting than she was.
Lowering her sword, she wiped her forehead and struggled to catch her breath.
“Is my lady alright?” he asked.
She waited for a few moments to answer him because that’s how long it took for her to take a good, deep breath. “I’m not good at this, am I?”
“Oh, you shouldn’t think that way,” he kindly admonished. “The king gave you a sword because he knew you could handle it.”
“I don’t know.” She sheathed the sword then wiped her hands and face with a towel a servant handed her. “I think the king is letting me do this sword thing because he doesn’t want to hurt my feelings.”
“That’s preposterous.”
“Is it? I’m his wife and I’m the author of this book. Maybe he wants me to believe I’m the great warrior I made myself out to be when I was writing. But I’m not a warrior in real life. I’m a waitress at a diner. My biggest feat is balancing a group of plates in my arms without dropping them. That’s not exactly the kind of thing that helps on a battlefield.”
“Are you planning on going to war?”
“Well,” she considered his question and shook her head, “no. I don’t see any reason for it. I guess this whole thing is a waste of time. Maybe I’d be better off doing something else. Though,” she studied him and the others in the courtyard, “why do all of you look as if you’re preparing for battle?”
“Don’t think of it as preparing for battle,” he replied. “Think of it as polishing our skills.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
But it still didn’t make much sense. There was no threat and without her writing the story, there was no chance of getting any conflict in this land. She rubbed the back of her neck and looked up at the walls. How many days had she been up there and in all that time, there weren’t nearly as many men guarding the place as there were now? Her three knights climbed the steps to one of the walls and talked with two guards. One of the guards gestured to the west. What was all that about? Her kingdom was to the south, so they couldn’t be talking about Crystaline.
“Are you done already?”
She turned in time to see Gavin entering the courtyard. “What are they doing?” she asked, pointing to her knights.
“Oh, the guards are showing them around, getting them acquainted with Havenshire. Are you ready to wash up before dinner?”
“Don’t they already know this land since they came here?”
“They came through the enchanted forest.”
“I thought it was hard to get through there. Or didn’t you keep the enchantments I created in the story?”
“I kept them.” Slipping his arm around her waist, he led her into the castle. “But your men have been granted permission to come here since you’re now the queen here.”
“How did the forest know who they were?”
“The magician saw to it that the knights would be recognized and given safe passage.” He kissed her cheek. “It’d be in bad form for me to hurt your men.”
“Okay.” She glanced at the belt around her waist and removed the sword from the sheath. “You should have this.”
He took the sword and studied her. “Why? Don’t you want it?”
“No. I might be a warrior on paper, but I’m not one in real life. There’s no sense in pretending to be something I’m not.”
“But you can be, if you give it time and plenty of practice.”
“Yeah, I guess.” She shrugged and slowed her steps as they went up the stairs. “My heart’s not in it. I thought it would be exciting and adventurous if I was a mighty warrior, but the truth is, I’d rather be on the sidelines and cheer the warriors on.”
“In that case, I’ll be a warrior for both of us.”
Catching his grin, she chuckled. “Well, you certainly have a big enough ego for it.”
They reached the top of the stairs and headed for their bedchamber. The silence that passed between them was a comfortable one. She liked knowing that they could share a stroll without feeling the need to always say something.
Later, while they were bathing, she asked him, “What would you like me to wear at dinner tonight?”
His eyebrows rose. “Are you kidding me?”
“Nope. Dead serious.” She soaped her hair and face, relieved to get the sweat off of her. Sometimes she missed taking a shower. The bath did the job, but there was something soothing about closing her eyes and letting the water massage her skin. Rinsing her hair, she asked, “Well?”
He glanced at her, as if not believing she wanted to know but finally said, “Okay. I love it when you wear red and black. So I’d like to see you in a dress that is one or the other or a mix of both.”
“That can be arranged.”
He set his washcloth down and studied her. “What’s this about?”
“Nothing,” she replied with a shrug and poured the cup over her hair, rinsing it again. “I just thought I’d do something you like, that’s all.”
He hesitated to respond but smiled. “Really?”
“Yeah. Once in a while I try to do something nice.”
Chuckling, he rose from the tub and wrapped the towel around his waist.
“You’re done already?”
“Yep. I didn’t even need a bath since I missed most of the sword practice out there.”
“Oh, right. Well, I’m not going to miss that.”
He knelt behind her and massaged her shoulders. “Are you still going to watch me?”
She giggled as he kissed the side of her neck. “I don’t know. Do you want me to?”
“Sure. It’d be nice for you to see me strain my strong, rippling muscles as I wield my sword.”
She snorted. “I’m surprised your ego can fit in this room.”
“Oh come on. You know you can’t help but think you married a hunk when you look at me.”
“You see, Gavin, that’s where you’re wrong. I don’t stare at you and think of having sex with you.”
“Who said anything about sex? We’re just talking about how much you admire my awesome body.”
Laughing, she dumped some water on his head. “I think you need to cool off, mister.”
He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her shoulder. “On the contrary, my love, I need to heat things up.”
“How did I end up with someone like you?”
“Someone like me?”
“Yes. You’re an egomaniac.”
“Well, if you’re going to be a maniac, then that’s the only kind to be,” he whispered and brought his hands to her breasts where he tugged on her nipples.
A jolt of pleasure shot straight to her core. She playfully shoved his hands away so she could get out of the tub. “You’re worse than a horny teenager.”
“Oh come on, Sandy,” he said as she dried her hair with her towel. He placed his hands on her hips and turned her to face him. “I haven’t made love to you since last night.”
Amused by the way he pouted, she set the towel aside and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Has it been that long?” She twirled his damp hair with her fingers.
He drew her closer, his hands traveling down her back and cupping her behind. “Yes. It’s been forever.”
Noting his erection, she wiggled against him, enjoying it when he groaned. “It has been a very long time.” Unable to stop herself, she patted his chest and gave him a chaste kiss. “We’ll have so much fun tonight.”
She turned her back to him and headed for her armoire so he wouldn’t see her smile.
“Tonight?”
Biting her tongue so she wouldn’t laugh at his bewildered tone, she opened the armoire. She waited until she could talk without laughing before she pointed to the dark red flowing gown with black hearts embedded around its hem. “I was thinking of wearing this one. What do you think?” She didn’t dare look at him because she knew if she did, then she’d burst out laughing.
A moment passed before he walked over to her. “You can’t be serious. You’re going to make me wait until tonight?”
“What? Aren’t you hungry?”
“Well, yeah, but not for food.”
“That’s funny. I distinctly recall hearing your stomach growl when you were taking a bath.” As much as she tried to complete the last part of her sentence without laughing, she couldn’t do it. She turned to him and hugged him. “You’re so sweet, Gavin. You really would have waited until tonight if I didn’t want to do it now, wouldn’t you?” She cupped his stunned face in her hands and kissed him. “However, as it turns out, you’re in luck.” She lowered her hands and slipped them under his towel, loosening it so that it fell to the floor. “I happen to be in the mood.”
Relieved, he pressed her close to him and grinned. “Okay, you had me going. I had no idea you could bluff like that.”
“I have a trick or two up my sleeve.”
“Indeed you do.” He ran his hands up her arms and kissed her. “You know, being able to fight with a sword is important but so is outwitting your opponent.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re very welcome.”
She kissed him, parting her lips in a silent invitation for him to interlace his tongue with hers, and he obeyed. She loved the strong masculine feel of his body as it pressed against hers. He had his egotistical moments, but one thing she couldn’t deny was how gorgeous he was with or without his clothes. And while she’d never admit it, she had thought of him in sensual ways while watching him in the courtyard. There was something primitive and sexual about a man who believed in doing everything he could to protect what was his. She had no doubt that he would do everything in his power to keep her safe, no matter what happened, and given how considerate he was to those he ruled over, he’d always be considerate of her.
With a mischievous smile, she took his hand and led him to the bed. “Get on it.”
His eyebrow rose in interest. “Is that a command?”
“Yes. Why? Are you going to refuse to do it?”
“Considering there’s a bed and we’re naked, I’ll do whatever you say.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.” She playfully swatted his behind. “Now get on the bed before I change my mind.”
“Oh, I don’t want you to do that.” He settled onto his back and waved her toward him.
Though she shook her head, she got in beside him. Leave it to Gavin to figure out a way to get her to do his bidding no matter what the situation was. Even so, she didn’t let the fact that she had just followed his command stop her from kissing him. The least she could do was lead some of their lovemaking.
She ran her hand down his chest, stopping briefly to tease his nipples. He let out a low growl, pulled her into his arms and kissed her neck, teasing the skin under her ear with his tongue. Shivering in delight, she lowered her hand and wrapped it around his erection. She lowered her hand to the base of his shaft then up to his tip, running her thumb along the slit where a bead of moisture was. She rubbed the moisture of his tip then renewed her grasp on his shaft so she could continue stroking him.
He groaned and rolled her to her back. His hand slid between them then his fingers slipped into her. She shifted so he could go deeper and was rewarded when he found the sensitive area in her core. She whispered her encouragement, her hips rocking on their own accord. He kept fondling her and her hand stilled on his shaft as she became aware of how close she was to her orgasm. Murmuring his name, she gripped his arm, giving herself completely to the sexual tension building in her core. His fingers kept stroking her core, working faster and ensuring that she would climax. When she did, she cried out and stilled, her body clenching tightly around his fingers.
He waited until her body relaxed before he slipped his fingers out of her and shifted so that his erection was nestled inside her. Grabbing her hips, he slowly built the momentum of his thrusting, in no hurry to finish what he started.
At one point, he rolled onto his back, taking her with him so that she was straddling him. This position allowed her to angle her sensitive nub against him, and she worked with him, her hips moving in time with his. He cupped her breasts, lightly pinching her nipples in a way that intensified her pleasure until she climaxed once more. He joined her soon after, his body shuddering beneath her, his seed filling her. They relaxed soon after and she settled next to him on the bed, wrapped securely in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder.
“I think I outdid myself this time,” he murmured then kissed the top of her head.
She lifted her head so she could see his expression, not too surprised by the cocky smile on his lips.
“You had your pleasure twice this time, and I only had mine once,” he explained.
“I have a mind to say something to deflate that ego of yours,” she replied. “As much as you’d like me to believe you’re nothing like the man I created, you’re the kind of lover I imagined you to be. Arrogant, skilled, domineering.”
His grin widened and he cupped one of her breasts in his hand. “Skilled, huh?”
“I included ‘arrogant’ and ‘domineering’ in that description, and all you can focus on is ‘skilled’?”
“Well, since I’m a skilled lover, don’t I have the right to be the rest?” He kissed her neck, just below her ear, turning her exasperated sigh into one of pleasure.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do with you,” she said, already knowing she was going to lose the battle as her body responded to him.
“I’m not stupid, Sandy. I kept parts of my personality you set up for me. Being an excellent lover was for your benefit.” Before she could respond, he gave her a lingering kiss that made her melt in his arms. “Don’t worry. I saved myself for you. I didn’t want to waste my talents as the world’s greatest lover on someone else.”
She was ready to protest that even he wasn’t the world’s greatest lover, but his hand slipped between her legs and she gave into the pleasure of being intimate with him once more.