Page 29 of A Knight for Gwenllian

Tonight, they would rest after their long journey. But tomorrow night, she would see if Alexander agreed to be part of the adventure she had come here to claim.

Chapter Ten

“Gwenllian.”

What the fuck was she doing here, in his bed? Was he dreaming?

Alexander had been awoken by the feel of a woman’s soft weight pressing down on him. It had taken him a short but panic-filled moment to remember that he was in Scotland, that Lady Isabeau was all the way back in Audley and that he was safe. He blinked. The woman sitting on his lap was not his brother’s French mistress but the little Welsh firebrand he’d been obsessing about for days.

He blinked again.

Not only was Gwenllian in his bed, astride him, but she was holding a length of rope. One of his hands had already been tied to the bedpost. She was now fastening his other hand to the second bed post, and Alexander was far too fascinated by the moonlight illuminating her face and throat to do a thing to stop her. And after all, why should he?

All the way to Nead an Diabhail, he had fantasized about being in bed with her, and he’d almost convinced himself that she dreamed about the same thing.

It seemed he had been right.

“What are you doing?” he asked in a raspy voice, even if the answer to his question was rather clear. She was seducing him, like the temptress she was, tying him up to make it impossible for him to flee. As if he would want to do such a thing. He was right where he wanted to be.

“Ever since you talked about being tied up to the bed, I’ve been fantasizing about doing this,” she murmured, tightening the knot with decision before sliding lower down his body to sit above his knees, leaving his lap fully exposed. He always slept naked, and before coming to sit on him, she had removed the covers. As a result, he could feel the heat of her skin on his bare legs. The heat of her soft inner thighs.

Dear God. He instantly went hard as granite.

Gwenllian swallowed at the sight, and a little groan escaped her lips.

Like the other day at the tavern, she was wearing nothing but the lightest shift. Had one of his hands been free, he might well have reached to tear at it and expose her breasts. He already knew they would be the most perfect he had ever seen. Should he demand she lean over him and bring a nipple to his eager mouth? He would suckle her through the thin material until she could take no more and then removed it so she could feel his tongue on her bare skin.

No, he would not demand or even ask anything. He would let her complete the seduction she had so boldly started. She seemed determined to be the one in charge, and that suited him just fine.

“You have a penchant for dominance then, my lady?” he asked, doing his best to stay calm. Not once in his life had he lost his seed before he’d decided to let go, and he would not start now, no matter how aroused he was.

“Up until I met you, I had no idea I did.” Her voice was dreamy. “But I will admit that I do like to see you at my mercy like this.”

He growled. He liked it also. “I will admit there are worse places to be.”

“You have a pendant for submission then?”

“Until today, I was unaware of it. But apparently,” he said, glancing at his cock, which had never been so hard, “I do.”

“Good. But you’ll have to guide me, tied up as you are.” An idle finger started its sinuous path along his chest, skimming his collarbone, circling his left nipple, dipping into his navel, getting dangerously close to the part of him that was standing up so proudly. “I’ve never done this before.”

Something like alarm sliced through the haze of desire Alexander was drowning in. What did she mean by “never”? Or rather, which part of this had she never done before?

“Do you mean you’ve never tied a man to his bed to have your way with him?” Please let it be nothing more damning than that.

Gwenllian stilled and met his gaze. “No, I mean…everything. I’ve never been with a man. In any way. Except kissing.”

Everything within Alexander lurched. She was untouched. He’d assumed as much, of course, when they had met. She was a lady after all, and still young. But after a few days, he had started to wonder. She had told him she was looking for an adventure, and he’d had the distinct impression that this adventure would center around finding a man to bed.

He’d also remembered Christopher telling him about his first time with Siân, the shameless seduction the Welsh woman had played on him to make him take her maidenhead. It seemed that fearlessness ran in the Hunter family. The sisters were not afraid to take what—or who—they wanted, and he was to be the next victim. Except that he didn’t want to be. He would be stronger than this. He’d been happy enough to go along with this seduction when he’d thought she was no longer a maid, but now he knew different. And he would do the right thing, or he would not be able to live with himself.

Alexander started to pull at the ties. Even though he had wanted her, and still did, he could not do what she was asking. He could not let her use his body for her pleasure, at least not the part that would irredeemably ruin her. She could have his hand, his mouth, his tongue, anything—just not his cock. Another yank almost dislocated his shoulder.

Gwenllian stopped him with a hand on his chest and a smile. “Don’t. You’ll only hurt yourself. That is not the plan.”

“Better hurt myself than hurt you,” he said through gritted teeth. “I can’t do this.” That had not been the plan either.

A chuckle. “It seems to me that you can.” She closed her hand around his cock and gave a slow stroke. The cursed appendage was showing no sign of flagging, little wonder considering what she was doing. It was responding to her caresses, not listening to him, damn it. She sighed. “You’re so beautiful.”