Page 37 of The Protector’s Promise

“It was recently bequeathed to him, aye. I thought for certain you knew that, at first, but then . . .” She shrugged. “I took a chance.”

She had put everything on the line for him, and he knew it. He had done the same for her in the end.

“Marion,” he began. “I’d not betray you. Now or ever. I don’t pretend to understand the power of the stone, but I’m grateful to it for bringing us together.”

Her smile touched his very soul. “I’ve never announced my betrothal to a roomful of witnesses before.”

Court stood.

“If you meant what you said in the hall”—he reached out his hand—“I would be honored to have you as my lady wife.”

She laid the stone down on the seat below her and took his hand, allowing him to help her to her feet. “I wasn’t sure if—”

He couldn’t wait any longer. Court leaned forward and captured her mouth with his own. She responded immediately, and before long, the kiss turned from one of a shared declaration to something much, much more.

This beautiful, incredibly astute woman who’d walked into his life only a week before was going to be his wife. And he couldn’t wait any longer to make her his in truth. When he slipped his hand under the hem of her kirtle on both sides and pulled upward, she did not protest. Neither did she say a word when he did the same to her undertunic.

Standing before him in nothing more than a shift, Marion peered at him, waiting.

He discarded his surcoat and tunic more quickly than he’d ever disrobed in his life. When her eyes lowered to his bare chest, Court’s cock responded immediately. When she reached out a tentative hand, Court captured it and placed it on his chest. Willing himself to take it slow, he watched her explore. She traced the lines of muscle in his stomach, and then the little minx actually trailed her fingers even lower.

“It is not always this way,” she said, referring to his straining cock. Only a layer of hose separated her delicate touch from the evidence of his need.

He sucked in a breath. “Nay, it is not.”

His eyes rose to hers, and what he saw there nearly brought Court to his knees. He’d wanted to go slowly, but it was just not possible. Lifting her up in his arms, Court carried her to the bed.

“You are sure about this, my lady?”

Laying her down, he then stripped the only remaining barrier between them save her shift. As he awaited her answer, Court stood beside the bed completely naked. Her gaze was not shy. His body responded to the mere suggestion in her eyes that she was indeed sure about what they were about to do.

“Very sure,” she said, as if reading his thoughts.

He knelt beside her, lifting her shift up as she wiggled to allow the soft fabric to glide off her body. She slid it over her head, and he sucked in a breath at the sight of her round, firm breasts.

Then his gaze moved down to her hip, and he spied the small, dagger-like mark shaped exactly like his own. When she noticed where he looked, Marion stared at his own mark. After a moment, he was roused from his momentary fascination by one much more grounded in this world. He cupped her beautiful breasts as he studied her face, then lowered his head and took a small taste. Allowing one hand to wander between her legs, he used his tongue to taunt and tease her nipple until his hand finally found its mark. Already wet and ready for him, Marion gasped when he entered her with his fingers. Her reaction changed his plans. He’d bring her pleasure more than once this eve.

He lifted his head to watch her, and when she arched her back toward him and closed her eyes, Court whispered words of encouragement.

“I will please you well this night,” he said as she began to find her first release. “And every night after it.”

When the throbbing subsided, he reluctantly withdrew, moving atop her and replacing his fingers with the tip of his manhood. He throbbed, wanting nothing more than to be inside this woman, to claim her as his own. A rush of heat coursed through him as she gripped his arms, her passion answering his.

When her breathing returned to normal, he said, “If I do this, you will be my wife.”

In response, she thrust her hips toward him, forcing him to guide himself deeper, to break through her maidenhood. Marion let out a gasp of pain and began to pull back.

“Nay,” he said, moving his hands to both sides to support himself as he lowered atop her. Capturing her lips, slowly, passionately, he used his tongue to make her forget the temporary pain. When she began to move again under him, Court knew she was ready.

He started slowly and then circled his hips until she was moving with him.

“Oh God, Court I cannot . . .”

“You can,” he said, willing her to feel as much pleasure as he did. He couldn’t hold on much longer. The luscious body he’d imagined under him writhed and moved with him as if she’d done it many times before.

But she had not. Marion had never been with a man before, and he would be her first and last. The thought filled him with contentment, her moans the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard.

“Thank you,” he said, watching her.