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His muscular arms wrapped around her body. “Of course not. The greater priority was yours and Patrick’s health.”
“But did ye…I mean, were ye ever tempted… oh, damn,” she sputtered. She hadn’t meant to mention what had been on her mind during her entire infirmary. She felt that asking William if he had sought relief elsewhere would have been to imply a lack of trust. And she trusted him with her life.
He lifted his head to look at her. “If you are asking me if I was ever tempted to take my pleasure with another, then the answer is no,” he said. “I love you, Jordan. I have not so much as looked at another woman since I met you. To make love to you is the ultimate display of my affection and I would not ever consider the same action with anyone else, no matter what the circumstances.”
“Ye mean to tell me that since ye met me on the moors and I tended ye that ye havena had another woman? Not even a whore?” She found that hard to believe.
He shook his head. “Nay, I haven’t.”
She believed him, of course, and she smiled. “Really? I am touched.”
He smiled faintly and lay his head back down between her full breasts. Jordan resumed stroking his hair.
“But ye have had women before,” she stated. “How many?”
He rolled his eye at the turn the conversation had taken. She always picked the most inopportune times to discuss subjects and he certainly didn’t feel like reviewing past conquests now. But, should he refuse to answer, she would wonder why and become upset. So he humored her.
“Aye, I have had women before,” he replied. “Though not many. Not like Paris.”
“Was there anyone who was ever special to ye?” she asked timidly.
He shook his head. “No, Jordan, I can go to my grave with a clear conscience on that. Only you.”
Satisfied, she smiled. “Then how many would ye say ye’ve had?”
His head came up again and he frowned at her. “Do we have to talk about this?”
Her head came up to look at him. “And why not? Is there something ye dunna want me to know?”
“Of course not,” he insisted. “But why do you want to know how many woman I have had? ’Tis an ancient subject.”
Her lip stuck out in a pout and she lowered her gaze. He made a wry face, knowing he would tell her the secret of life if she asked it. He would say or tell her anything just to keep her happy.
“Offhand, I’d say I have had ten or twelve women in my life, but I have never truly kept count,” he said. “There was no one special, although there was one lady I bedded on several occasions over the course of a few years. But that’s it.”
“And who was this lady?” Jordan felt wildly jealous and insecure.
He rolled off her and onto his back on the pillows, bringing up his huge arms and covering his face with his hands.
“Her name was Lady Jordan Scott, and she was pledged to my liege. But I was mad for her and could not keep my hands from her,” he said, as he took his hands away and looked at her. “The last I heard she married some conceited halfwit and lived happily ever after.”
Jordan’s stance immediately softened and she gave him a smirked grin. “Stop teasing me.”
He reached out and pulled her to him, his smoky gaze devouring her face. “I am not. I am simply answering your question. There has always only been you, my lady, and there will always only be you.”
She smiled and kissed him tenderly, looking at him lovingly for a few moments. Then, her smile faded and she almost looked outraged.
“What do ye mean ‘not like Paris?’” she demanded.
He groaned and rolled his eye again. It was going to be a long day.
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
Paris and Caladora’s wedding was a huge, lavish affair. Caladora wore Jordan’s wedding dress, although it was too short, but she looked ravishing in it nonetheless. She was the very model of a blushing bride and Paris, the nervous groom.
Jordan stood next to her husband during the short ceremony, thinking how wonderful it would have been if they had been able to have a big wedding such as this. But her wedding had been better than Jemma’s, who had been married lying in a bed. Yet she had no regrets, nor was she jealous in any way. Caladora and Paris deserved as fine a wedding as this.
The feast that followed was a long one. Adam had graciously provided for his captain, and the food and wine flowed freely. The knights sat on the dais with their captain and Baron Kilham. William wore his new suit of ceremonial armor for the first time, bearing his new crest. Kieran, Michael, Marc, Roan and Deinwald also wore their new armor, as did Sir Henry and Sir Philip. The rest of the knights, new and old, wore the de Longley crest.
