Chapter Twenty

A lyce pulled on Hawk's hand and shook her head when he started to lead her down the corridor to his chamber. For a fleeting moment, he thought she had changed her mind and a cold wave of disappointment washed over him. She half-turned back to the spiraling stairs and tipped her head in the direction of the rooms above.

He obliged, leading her up the stairs to his own chamber. Whatever her reasons, if the lady did not want to bring him to her bed, he would bring her to his. The room was dark when they entered, but he found the thick candle resting on the small table by his bed and brought it to the torch in the corridor to light the wick before replacing it on the table. He closed the door behind them, dropped the wooden slat into the brackets to secure the door, then turned his attention back to Alyce.

She stood facing him, her fingers flexing with nervous energy, looking anywhere but at the bed or at him while she took deep breaths. He stepped closer and placed a finger under her chin to lift her face until her eyes were on him.

"Why are you skittish?" he asked gently.

A nervous ripple of laughter escaped her lips, and her shoulders visibly relaxed. "Is it that apparent?"

He nodded. He wanted to pull her close to him again, reignite the fire in her he felt on the stairs, but his intuition told him to move slowly lest he overwhelm her.

She released a shaky breath. "I have not been alone with a man like this since…Geoffrey." She winced as she said the name of her dead husband, but she did not pull away from Hawk.

"Ah," Hawk said. Of course. The widows Hawk knew at court relished the freedom allowed by their status to discretely take lovers who satisfied their desires and whims. But Lady Alyce was not like the women with whom he typically kept company.

Her words from the first time he'd kissed her on the parapet came back to him and he repeated them. "Because your heart is too tender."

She caught his hand as he let it drop from where he touched her chin, folding it in both of hers. "Forget I said that."

He stepped close enough for their bodies to skim against each other and leaned his forehead to hers. "I can do that, but can you?"

"Yes, Hawk." Her eyes were locked with his as she spoke, and he couldn't look away. "I do not want to think about tomorrow, or the day after, or any of the days after. Right now, I only want you to touch me."

A shiver of anticipation rippled down his spine, and before he could think too much about what that meant, he let his hand glide down her sides to the curve of her hips to pull her close. "Ah, my sweet, I plan to touch you in every way possible."

*

Alyce felt her body becoming less rigid and more pliant with each kiss Hawk placed on her neck, her ears, her face. He lifted the circlet from her hair, the pins and linen scarf coming with it, and tossed it out of the way. Moving behind her, he pulled her hair free of the leather thong tied at the bottom of her braid and ran his fingers through the long strands until they hung loose down her back.

She closed her eyes as he pulled her into him, her back pressed against the solid comfort of his chest as his arms closed around her protectively. He buried his face in her hair, then pushed it aside to run his tongue along the edge of her earlobe.

Lord, she wanted this, wanted to forget about everything else but being a woman in a man's arms. Her head fell back against his shoulder as he kissed and licked and tasted his way down the length of her exposed neck.

He turned her to face him, then slid his hands over her ribs to her arms, which he lifted to his shoulders. She responded by draping them around his neck and pressing the length of her body closer to him, wanting more of his warmth.

Of him.

He groaned, turning his face into her hair. "God, I want you," he murmured.

She felt his hands pulling on the ties of her tunic where it was laced at her sides, then pulled the garment over her head, leaving her in just her thin chemise. Running her hands down his chest to the hem of his tunic, she tugged it upward. He pulled it off in one swift move, along with his shirt, revealing his bared torso. She stood mesmerized for a long moment, running her fingers down the slope of his shoulders to the bulging muscles of his chest, reveling in the softness of his skin when everything underneath it was rock solid.

He inhaled sharply as her fingers skimmed over him, and she looked up at him with a satisfied smile, then returned to her exploration. The dark hair covering his upper chest like a shield was fascinating to her and she fanned her hands over it, surprised by the wonderfully crisp texture. She trailed her fingers down the path of hair to where it tapered over his stomach, enjoying the way gooseflesh rose under her fingers, quivering at her touch.

His hands caught hers before she could loosen his breeches. "Tonight is about you," he said in a low voice that sent shivers over her skin as he walked her backward until her legs bumped against the bed.

He pushed her down to sit on the edge of the bed and then kneeled on the floor in front of her. Alyce tilted her head and quirked an eyebrow at him, which he answered with a devilish grin that set her heart to racing.

He sat back on his heels, pulled her foot into his lap to remove her shoe, then did the same with the other. With both of her feet resting on his bent legs, he slid his fingers over her ankles to circle her calves, then higher until his hands were hooked behind her knees.

She swallowed hard as her skin reacted to his touch, the quivering sensations sending pulses of warmth and pleasure to her core. He pushed her chemise up over her knees, then cupped his hands on the back of her thighs to gently ease them apart, coming to his knees as he pressed his body between her legs and wrapped his arms around her waist.

She slid her hands around to his back to pull him into her, wanting him close to her, his body solid against hers, to keep her from thinking about anything else. She inhaled the musky scent of his skin and grazed her lips over the sharp edge of his collarbone, her tongue tasting the tang of sweat and linen and something that was uniquely Hawk.

The cool air of the room touched the skin at her shoulders, and she realized he had undone the ties at the back of her chemise and was gently pushing it down her arms. He stopped, looking at her intently as though seeking her permission before he undressed her further.

That he would care enough to gain her approval sent a jolt of adrenaline rushing through her. She nodded eagerly, reaching for his breeches, desperate for every part of their bodies to be unhindered and pressed together.

Again, he caught her hands, a deep laugh rumbling through her chest. "I said tonight was for you and I meant it." He freed her arms from her chemise then placed her hands back on his shoulders as he wrapped an arm around her waist and splayed the fingers of his other hand over her stomach. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, scorching her skin as his lips traced a path down her neck.

His thumb brushed the undersides of her breasts, and they swelled in anticipation, wanting more of his touch. He nipped at a sensitive spot at the base of her throat, driving her mad, teasing her when she wanted more. She felt restless, her hands moving anxiously against his shoulders and neck, unable to receive without giving something back in return.

Her breath caught as his hand finally closed over her breast, the callouses on his warm fingers and palm causing friction against her nipple that was unexpectedly intense. Before she could fully analyze the way her body was reacting to his touch, his mouth closed over her other breast, his tongue brushing against her in a wonderfully erotic pattern.

"Oh," was all she could manage to say, arching into him for more. Heat swirled through her body like liquid gold, pooling at her core until she ached with her want of him. Her hands stroked up his neck into his hair and she tugged at his head until he relented and brought his mouth to hers.

A soft moan escaped her lips as she sighed into the kiss, and he rewarded her with a lustful growl of his own. She tried to scoot back on the bed, pulling him with her, but he stopped her with another growl and a shake of his head.

"You—" he whispered into her ear—"need to learn—" he kissed her just behind her jaw, lingering there until she squirmed—"to let others—" he skimmed his lips down her throat while he pushed her back into the bedding—"give you pleasure—" he nuzzled her between the mounds of her breasts, then circled his tongue around one taught nipple—"while you do nothing—" he kissed a path down her stomach then dipped his tongue into her navel—"but enjoy it."

Relinquishing control made her feel vulnerable and…guilty? She was a pleaser and a giver in all areas of her life. She didn't know how to let others do for her.

"We can enjoy each other together," she said breathlessly, watching as he sat back on his heels again to shimmy the chemise over her hips and down her legs until it could be tossed to the side, leaving her completely bared to him.

"No," he said in gentle rebuke.

"No?" Alyce asked pushing up on her elbows. She tried to calm her erratic breathing, but her nerves would not settle. She was splayed out before him with every part of her exposed to his gaze.

He grabbed her leg by the ankle and lifted it to his shoulder, turning to trail kisses along the side of her knee. "Not in the way you are suggesting." He grabbed her other ankle and lifted that leg to his shoulder, placing hot kisses on the sensitive skin just above her knee on the inside of her thigh.

"You are going to enjoy receiving pleasure," he murmured, his kisses trailing up the inside of her leg.

Alyce felt the heat rush to her face, and she tried to squirm as he moved closer to the apex of her thighs. His hands slid along the outside of her legs until he reached her hips, which he grasped to hold her still.

"And I—" he nuzzled the soft curls between her legs with his nose—"will enjoy giving you that pleasure."

"You will?" Alyce squeaked, swallowing hard.

"Oh, yes."

He kept his wicked gleam focused on her face, watching her as he licked, long and slow, along her wet folds. Her eyes fluttered and her core pulsed at the glorious sensation. He kept his gaze locked with hers as he repeated the motion, but it was too intense for her, too intimate to have her eyes locked with his while he made her feel so wickedly wonderful.

"That's it, love," he praised as she dropped her head back onto the bed and buried her hands in her hair. His tongue found the sensitive bud nestled below the curls and he proceeded to torment her there, tongue spiraling, teeth nipping, mouth sucking, until she was gasping. She arched against him, her hands grabbing the bedding at her sides, and begged him not to stop.

"Not a chance," Hawk said, releasing her hips with one hand to bring his thumb to the sensitive spot where his tongue had just been, continuing to rub slow circles while he pressed his tongue deep inside her. His hand applied pressure to her mons as his tongue caressed deeper and she felt her core start to quiver with the exquisite pressure building inside her.

It was the most amazing feeling Alyce had ever experienced in her life and she didn't want it to ever stop. She buried her hands in Hawk's hair, holding him to her as he pushed her over the edge, and she exploded into a thousand shards of shimmering light.

Even then, Hawk didn't stop pleasuring her. He licked and caressed until the last ripple of rapture was complete.

When it was over and she could breathe again, Alyce lay panting and dazed, but once she was able to catch her breath, she started to laugh. Hawk let her legs slide down from his shoulders, then sat up on his knees so that he could lean over her on the bed with his elbows resting on either side of her body. He kissed her stomach where it still vibrated and quivered from her erratic breathing. "I hope that is a good laugh or my pride will never recover."

She smiled down at him. "I understand now what Gertie and Edna mean when they talk about their toes curling."

Hawk's lips moved into an arrogant smirk of satisfaction as he playfully nipped her side, eliciting a small squeal from her. "My pride is restored." He laid his cheek against her stomach and Alyce brushed a hand through his hair as he closed his eyes, resting against her.

She was relieved he wasn't looking at her because she needed a moment to clear her head. This had been, unexpectedly, the most wonderous night of her life—not just because of the way her body responded to Hawk, but because of the intensity of her response. Every time he looked into her eyes while he was touching her body, bringing her pleasure, she felt like she was losing another part of herself to him.

She had wanted this, wanted to forget everything else happening around her. She had thought herself capable of taking her pleasure and then putting it behind her as nothing more than an enjoyable diversion and a pleasant memory. The pounding of her heart and the intense emotion clogging her throat were proof that she was capable of no such thing. She'd lied to Hawk and to herself when she said her heart wasn't too tender.

Just as she was wracking her brain for an excuse to get out from under Hawk and leave while she still had some hold on her breaking heart, a loud pounding rattled the door to the chamber.