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"Oh." She sighed, then settled against him, her hand moving absently across his chest. "Well, I suppose I can finish pleasuring you in the morn when you are rested."
"Aye," he growled, horrified at the very thought of suffering her repeated licks.
Much to his relief, she fell silent then, her fingers stilling. Kade was just relaxing, a smile curving his lips, when she suddenly raised her head, and said, "Husband?"
Kade erased the smile at once. "Aye?"
"How am I supposed to tweak your nipples when they are all the way up here and I am all the way down there?" She dropped her hand down onto the furs over his groin, and Kade no longer had to fight the urge to laugh. The woman had just thumped him in the balls. He closed his eyes briefly, intending to wait until the pain passed, but then her words sank through the pain and he blinked them open again. "Tweak me nipples? Why the devil wid ye want to tweak me nipples?"
"Well, Sally said men like it when you play with their piffles and tweak their nipples," she explained.
Kade was just about to ask who this Sally was when she added thoughtfully, "Mind you, she did not say they had to be done at the same time. Mayhap she meant just that men liked it, too." She considered that briefly, then yawned, and said, "I shall have to ask her about that."
Kade closed his eyes briefly, not sure he could stand any more of the woman's advice, but then his eyes popped open again as Averill said, "Husband?"
"Aye?" he asked warily.
"Is Stewart nice?"
He grimaced at the question. His family home had once been one of the finest castles around, but that was before his father had taken to the drink and left the care and well-being of the castle and its inhabitants to Kade's mother.
Not that she had not done a fine job, Kade thought with a frown. She had run it as well or better than any man, as had his sister after her, but when his father and brothers got into the whiskey, they could get violent. Things got broken, servants avoided the castle to avoid bearing the brunt of a whiskey-fueled temper, and the keep and people had suffered for it. The last time he'd been there, the castle had begun to show some small signs of neglect. But at the feast tonight, Kade had heard from Lord Mortagne's neighbor, one of the guests at the celebration, that Lord d'Aumesbury had finally claimed and wed his sister, Merry. That meant that his father and brothers had been left to tend to Stewart, and he very much feared what he would find when he arrived.
Had Kade known this beforehand, he probably would have delayed the wedding and ridden home to tend to matters before marrying Averill and bringing her back. However, he hadn't known, and the deed was done and well and truly consummated. He had no intention of leaving her behind for even a day while he took care of things at Stewart.
"Is it?" Averill prodded, absently tugging at the hairs on his chest.
"It was," he admitted quietly. "And will be again if it isna now."
Averill lifted her head to peer at him curiously, but before she could ask what he meant by that, he said, "Ye'll see soon enough. We leave for Stewart the day after tomorrow."
"What?" she squawked, levering herself up to gape at him.
"Me men have no returned from their chore," he said quietly. "I would find out why."
"Oh." She frowned, her gaze suddenly moving around the room.
No doubt thinking of all that she would need to pack and take with her, he thought, and--suspecting she would ask for at least three days to manage it all--he said, "I'd leave tomorrow, but would no' have ye suffer days in the saddle when yer tender. I'm givin' ye time to heal. Ye'll have to pack what ye need most. The rest can follow later."
"Oh." She blushed, but whispered, "'Tis very thoughtful of you, husband. Thank you."
"Aye," Kade grunted. "Now sleep. Ye'll need yer strength for the packin' and journey ahead."
Averill smiled faintly, and laid her head back down on his chest. She then gave a little sigh and wiggled about against him, making herself comfortable before allowing her eyes to close.
Kade stared down at her until her breathing turned slow and steady, suggesting she was asleep. Only then did he risk a small smile curving his lips as he recalled her "pleasuring" him. His little wife might not have known what she was doing, but she'd tried, and that was enough to please him for the moment. He would teach her how to do it properly later...and figure out some way to get her to leave off with the compliments without hurting her feelings.
The largest and handsomest piffle in England?
Kade chuckled softly, then closed his eyes to sleep.
Chapter Nine
"Oh, this water is cold."
Averill smiled faintly at Bess's complaint but didn't comment. Instead, she concentrated on cleaning away the dust and grime from their travels that day. It was the first night of their journey to her new home, and she'd found it a long, exhausting one. Aside from the fact that she had spent most of her life at Mortagne and wasn't used to traveling, Averill also hadn't slept well or long last night. She had worked late into the evening, sorting and packing what to take with her and what to have sent later, and had only given it up when Kade had entered and ordered Bess out of the room.
When Bess had protested that she had to prepare Averill for bed, he'd growled that he'd take care of that and had ushered the older woman to the door. And then he had assisted her, stripping away her clothes with the ease of a longtime lady's maid. It had made her wonder where he'd got all the practice in undressing women. It wasn't until he'd finished the chore, and she was climbing into bed, that she'd realized he'd been affected by that simple act. He'd stripped his own clothes off then, revealing a manhood that had grown swollen and an angry red.
Averill had bit her lip as she watched him approach the bed. Recalling and appreciating his intention to let her heal before their journey, she'd shyly offered to pleasure him again. Kade's eyes had widened with what she imagined must have been surprise at the offer, but he'd quickly shaken his head, repeating that he would let her heal before they left for Stewart.
Averill wasn't sure how her pleasuring him could cause her discomfort, but then supposed he feared he'd want to make love to her afterward and wouldn't risk it. Deciding he was really the most considerate and kind husband a girl could have, Averill had let the matter rest. She'd cuddled up next to him to sleep, more than glad that she'd punched Cyril and put him off marrying her. She really had got lucky, Averill had thought, and continued to think so.
Kade was truly a caring husband. His words were sometimes lacking and his tone often gruff, but he had proven very solicitous of her well-being on the journey today: taking her up on his mount to ride in his lap when she began to flag in the saddle, ensuring she had enough to eat and drink when they'd interrupted their journey to have the nooning meal, ushering her away to tend to personal matters first thing each time they paused in their travels, then ushering her and Bess here to bathe when they'd stopped to make camp for the night. Averill didn't think she could have asked for a better husband.
A burst of male laughter made her glance curiously to the right. Will and Kade were bathing just around the bend. Unable to see them thanks to the curve in the river, but within shouting distance, Averill found it comforting to know they were there.
"I've had enough of this cold, my lady. I am getting out," Bess announced, heading for shore.
"I suppose I am ready to get out as well," Averill said reluctantly. She then quickly ducked under the water to rinse the soap from her hair and body. By the time she resurfaced, Bess was out of the water and using one of the linens she'd brought down to the water to dry herself off. Squeezing her hair to remove the worst of the water, Averill headed back onto shore, murmuring a thank-you when Bess handed her a fresh linen to dry herself. By the time she'd done so, Bess was clothed and collecting her chemise to help her dress.
They had finished and were just gathering the damp linens to take back to camp with them when Kade appeared at the edge of the clearing. His head poked out first and he peered around, but once he saw that they were both out and decent, he pushed the rest of the way into the clearing and approached, with Will on his heels.
With Kade's own men not yet returned from delivering their message, Will had insisted that he and a small army of Mortagne men accompany them to Stewart. At least, that was the excuse he and Kade had given Averill, but she knew it was more than that. The two had been foolish enough to discuss the state of Stewart and Kade's intention to ask his father to step down while seated at the trestle tables. It was not so much foolish to discuss it there, as it was to expect they would not be overheard and the information passed around. Bess had got hold of the gossip and brought it to her. She was not riding to her new home as ignorant as they'd hoped.
