Page 35 of Ella’s Desire

“Dragons and mermaids and female knights?” She smiled to herself. “I wish it were so.”

“I mean the heroic things the princes and troubadours and knights do.” He lifted his arm for her to hold as they strode through the garden. “Like pulling her to his horse, or kissing on horseback, or taking off his shirt at any given moment to reveal his naked torso beneath.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “Is that where you got the ideas from? Kipper sought to thwart your romantic inclinations.”

He grinned. “I think taking off my shirt went over rather well by comparison.”

The image flashed in her mind and desire immediately pulsed through her veins. The beauty of his muscular frame shifting and flexing as he moved, the way the droplets of water trailed down his naked flesh. She nearly moaned remembering. “I wouldn’t complain if it were to happen again.” She winked at him in the flirtatious way he often did with her.

She glanced at him and imagined what he might look like if he did remove his shirt again suddenly. It was a sunny day and the clean, open light would leave every bit of him exposed for her slow perusal.

“I’m sure I can accommodate a lady’s request.” He grinned at her.

Aye, he was getting more and more handsome by the day. Truly. His teeth were white and straight, and his fuller bottom lip drew her attention again and again with the yearning to suck it into her mouth and run her tongue over it.

“What do you want in a woman?” she asked. “After all, you know what I enjoy in a man. ’Tis only fair.”

He nodded. “Aye, it is.” And then he was quiet for a long moment. “I never imagined being married, in truth. My father and I spent the majority of our time at court. We hunted and attended feasts and…did what men do.”

“Then I shall fill in the list for you,” she offered. “You would want a woman who is intelligent, a lover of the written word, a woman who is in possession of exquisite skill with a battle axe and a mace. One who is slightly stubborn and impertinent, who harbors a penchant for saving animals and has a one-armed squirrel named Moppet. Am I close?”

“I can’t say I’m too keen on the squirrel.” Bronson peered in the bag hanging from Ella’s shoulder and grimaced. “But you forgot beautiful. And passionate.”

She couldn’t help but smile at such compliments. “I didn’t want to fall too hard toward the side of hubris,” she offered, earning her a good-natured laugh from him.

It made her smile to hear him laugh. His eyes twinkled and it softened the sharpness of his face, giving her an idea of what he might have looked like as a boy.

Their steps slowed as they strolled through the garden. The day was a fine one, sunny with birds whistling songs in the trees, and the sounds of fat bees humming over flowers that sprang up in an array of vibrant colors. It was the kind of day perfect for laying in the shaded grass beneath a tree where one might be lulled to sleep with the delicate whisper of a breeze playing over them.

Bronson spun her unexpectedly and caught her in his arms.

She chuckled at the sudden gesture and shook her head as he twirled her about again. “What are you doing?”

“We are dancing to unheard music.” He grinned and leapt into the air with a hop before taking her hand and walking them both in a circle. “Like in your stories.”

She paused to remove the bag from her shoulder. The little squirrel dashed from its depths and darted up the nearest tree.

She returned to Bronson and followed his movements, dancing to music that wasn’t there, and she could not help but giggle at the ridiculousness of it all. Despite her hesitation with Bronson, she was enjoying him immensely. His enthusiasm, his enjoyment of life, and the closeness of his powerful body and all the feelings he drew out of her.

Desire flowed through her as they danced, heating her with the memory of everything they had done before. And she wanted to do it again.

“Let us climb into the trees.” She stopped spinning to face him. Her kirtle continued to move and wrapped itself around her legs before unfurling in the other direction.

“And then the hero led his lady into a tree.” He tilted his head. “I don’t remember that being in one of your stories.”

“Then you haven’t read them all.” She walked backward to the orchard. Her body moved differently around Bronson when they were alone, her hips looser, more sensual, as though she was ripe with an anticipation she felt all through her.

“I can’t say I’ve climbed many trees.” He followed her to her favorite, the one with many sturdy branches that allowed her to climb nearly to the top.

“It’s easy, you simply find branches to haul yourself up on.” She reached up and pulled herself higher in demonstration. “Where do you go for privacy when you’re at court if you have no trees?”

“We don’t have privacy at court.” He looked up at her from where he stood on the ground.

Court did not sound enjoyable, though she did not say as much aloud since he held it in such high regard. The whole mess of it sounded boring and crowded and full of terrible people. Ella climbed up another branch as Bronson continued to watch.

She was high enough now that he could easily see up her skirt and the idea sent an excited thrill through her. This was what she had wanted with this: to entice him, to seduce him, to finally feel what it was like to be intimate.

“Do you need help?” she goaded with a smile.