AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sighing, she straightened to accept the small bag Bess was holding out, "Was he knocked unconscious at once, or did he swoon after?"
"I doona swoon. That's a woman's trick."
Averill glanced down with a start at that growl from Kade, relief pouring through her as she saw his eyes were open. Eyes softening, she asked, "How do you feel?"
"Me head is achin' like a son o' a bi--" He paused abruptly, then sighed and muttered, "Well, 'tis achin'."
Averill bit her lip to keep from grinning at his editing his own words. She was so relieved that he was awake and complaining, she could have sung. Instead, she nodded solemnly and turned to take the water as Lily appeared beside her, a bowl of it in hand.
"Here is a clean linen, my lady," Bess appeared again, having thought of what Averill hadn't.
"Thank you," Averill murmured, and quickly dampened the cloth in the water before turning back to Kade, only to find he'd sat up in the bed and was sitting sideways on it, his feet on the floor. She almost reprimanded him, but then decided it would make things easier for her this way, so simply stepped between his knees and set to work.
"What happened?" he asked Will in a growl, as she began to clean the wound. "One minute we were walkin' along, and the next I'm here."
"A stone fell from the curtain wall as we were turning to head back inside," he explained. "It caught you on the side of the head."
"And the shoulder," Averill muttered, noting the scraping and bruising there.
"A stone fell?" Kade asked with disbelief, then scowled and shook his head. "The wall did no' look to be in such poor repair. I shall ha'e to inspect it, and--"
"Sit still," Averill interrupted firmly. "I am trying to clean the wound, and you are shaking your head and wiggling about on the bed like a child."
Kade turned a scowl her way. "I am no wigglin'."
When Averill merely snorted at that and bent back to her work, Aidan cleared his throat, and said, "The wall isna in poor repair. I inspect it twice weekly. 'Tis in fine shape."
Averill scowled again as Kade immediately turned his head slightly to look at the man, then back the other way when Will quietly pointed out, "Not so fine if bits of it are falling away."
Aidan frowned, but nodded with a sigh. "I shall go see to that section right now. Mayhap I missed something."
"My brother will go with you," Averill announced firmly, when Kade turned his head yet again.
"Me?" Will asked with amusement.
"You may as well," she said sweetly. "For I want everyone out of the room while I finish this and 'twill give you something to do besides hang about in the hall."
When Will raised an eyebrow and glanced to Kade, he hesitated, but surprised her by nodding. Averill did not know if it was because he did not trust Aidan or because he had realized that the distraction was making her task more difficult, but she was grateful either way.
The room quickly cleared out, everyone leaving, including Bess, and Averill sighed and bent back to her task. Without his constantly shifting about, she was able to clean both the wound on his head and that on his shoulder much more quickly. Once done, she slathered some cream on each. Averill then paused to debate whether to try to bandage either injury. Both were in awkward spots. Trying to bandage the one on his head meant wrapping it around his face or risking its falling off, and the other was so high on his shoulder that a bandage could not be tied around his arm.
"Are ye done?" Kade asked after a moment.
Averill sighed and shook her head. "I would put bandages on but worry they would just annoy you."
"Aye, they would," he agreed.
"Well then, I suppose I am done," she said wryly, and added. "Lie down, and I shall mix up a potion to ease the aching and help you sleep." She started to step away, only to find herself caught between his legs when they suddenly closed around hers. She became aware that their position put him at eye level with her breasts when he suddenly slid his arms around her bottom and leaned forward to nuzzle her through the cloth of her gown.
"Husband, you need to rest after your injury," she protested, the tingling his attention was causing in the nipple he was teasing making her voice a little too breathless to be effective.
"I'm fine," Kade growled against her, his teeth scraping her erect nipple through the cloth. "Me head doesna even hurt anymore."
Averill was pretty sure that was a lie, but couldn't seem to find her voice to say so as his hands slid under her skirt and trailed up the outer sides of her legs. When he reached her hips, he slid his hands around to cup her behind, then urged her closer as he continued to nuzzle her.
"Undo yer laces," he growled, releasing the hold he had on one cheek of her behind to slip it around front to urge her legs farther apart.
"Wh-what?" Averill asked uncertainly, biting her lip and rising up on tiptoe as his fingers trailed lazily up an inner thigh.
"Undo yer gown. Bare yer breasts for me," he said.
Averill swallowed nervously but did as he asked, reaching behind to tug the laces loose. She paused then, however, shy of taking the next step.
"Do it." It was a quiet order, punctuated by his hand's reaching the apex of her thighs and running lightly over the tender flesh there before drifting down again.
Swallowing, Averill slowly slid the gown off her shoulders. It seemed she hadn't loosened all the laces, and while the top of her gown dropped away, the waist held, so that the skirt of the gown remained caught above her hips.
When she paused then, Kade growled, "Yer chemise."
Sighing, she slid that off her arms as well, struggling a bit to manage it, but then it dropped away, too. Averill couldn't stop herself from catching at the garment and holding it to her breasts.
Rather than order her to let it go, Kade allowed his fingers to slide back up her leg until he found the soft, wet core of her again.
Gasping, Averill grabbed for his shoulders to keep her balance as her legs suddenly went weak. It allowed the cloth of her chemise to drop away as the top of her gown had, leaving her breasts bare. Kade immediately took advantage and leaned forward to take one naked nipple into his mouth.
"Husband," she moaned, as excitement exploded within her.
Kade let her breast slip from his mouth and raised his head to growl, "Kiss me."
Averill lowered her head at once to do as requested, kissing him fervently as he continued to caress her. She welcomed his tongue into her mouth, moaning as it rasped across hers, then broke the kiss and threw her head back on a gasp as he slid one finger inside her.
Bereft of her mouth, Kade immediately turned his attention to her breasts again, lathing and suckling them as he continued to excite her. Tension was growing inside her with every passing moment, and her legs began to tremble so much she feared they would give out, but then he sped up the rhythm, his caresses becoming firmer, almost demanding a response.
Averill gave it. The excitement bubbling within her suddenly boiled over, and she cried out, clutching at his head and shoulders as her body hummed with release. Kade stilled briefly, merely holding her close, then he withdrew his hands from beneath her skirts, tugged it off her hips, turned, and lowered her to the bed.
As she settled back on the bed, Averill watched through half-closed eyes as he stood and reached for the laces of his braies. He tugged them undone, let the pants drop away, and crawled onto the bed to settle between her legs; and then a knock sounded at the door.
They both froze and turned their heads toward it, then turned back to each other.
Kade hesitated, but then barked, "What?"
"We're returned with a report on the state o' the wall," Aidan announced.
Kade's gaze shifted to the door and back to Averill, and he shouted, "I'll come below in a while. I'll hear it then."
"You will want to hear it now," Will said in the serious voice that Averill recognized meant trouble.
Kade apparently recognized it, too. Cursing, he pressed a quick kiss to her forehead, then c
limbed off her and got up to dress, shouting toward the door, "Wait for me below. I'll be right there."
An "aye" came back, then the sound of heavy footfalls told them that the pair were moving away. Once assured that they weren't going to try to enter, Averill immediately leapt off the bed and snatched up her discarded clothes to dress. The chemise was still inside the gown, and she merely had to pull both over her head and tug them into place, but the lacings were a bit of a struggle. Still, she managed them and was all ready when Kade finished donning his own clothes and headed to the door.
He had pulled it open, stepped out and glanced back, mouth opening to say something when he realized she was following. Frowning, he asked, "Where diya think yer goin'?"
"I am thirsty," she said, and it wasn't a lie. Averill was very thirsty, but she also wanted to hear what the men had to say about the wall.
Kade narrowed his eyes. "Stay here. I'll send a maid up with--"
