Medieval 02 - Forbidden

look on Amber’s face. The pallor of her skin was such that not even golden lamplight could disguise it.
    “You must not even think of fighting Erik,” she said.
    “Do you believe me such a poor warrior, then?”
    “Nay!”
    Eyes narrowed, Duncan waited.
    “I love both of you,” Amber said. “If you fought one another—nay! It must never happen!”
    Duncan closed the distance between himself and his bride with a swiftness that was startling. He stood so near that he could smell the unique fragrance of resin and roses that was hers alone.
    “What did you say?” he asked in a deep voice.
    “If you fought—”
    “No,” Duncan interrupted. “Before that.”
    “I love both of you.”
    “Closer, but not quite.”
    For an instant Amber was confused. Then she understood.
    “I love Erik,” she said, hiding her smile.
    Duncan grunted.
    “And,” she whispered, “I love you, dark warrior. I love you so much I am full to overflowing with it.”
    The smile Duncan gave Amber made her kneesweaken. He lifted her up in his arms, hugging her close. The relief that swept through her was her own and his combined.
    But the surprise her words had caused was Duncan’s alone.
    Amber pulled back far enough to see his eyes. “Why are you surprised?”
    “I didn’t think an innocent maid could love a man who was so clumsy with her body,” Duncan said.
    “You aren’t clumsy.”
    “I was a rut—”
    Whatever he had meant to say was lost in the sudden pressure of Amber’s mouth over his.
    The fierce, unschooled kiss sent a torrent of fire through Duncan. For a hungry instant he permitted the sweet taste of Amber to fill his senses. Then he gently, implacably, separated his mouth from hers.
    “Duncan?” Amber asked. “Don’t you want me?”
    He let out a harsh breath.
    “You’re touching me,” Duncan said ironically. “You tell me. Do I want you?”
    Amber closed her eyes as she felt the desire in him drench her senses.
    “Aye,” she whispered. “It is a river of fire pouring through me.”
    Duncan’s eyes closed as a shudder of response shot through his whole body.
    “Yes,” he said roughly. “A river of fire.”
    His eyes opened, but even before Amber saw their darkness, she felt his icy restraint freezing the hot flames of desire.
    “And you,” Duncan said, “are a delicate amber fairy who hasn’t even healed from the first time I held you down and ripped through your maidenhead.”
    “It wasn’t like that!” Amber protested. “You didn’t force me to—”
    “I know what I did and didn’t do,” Duncan interrupted ruthlessly. “God’s blood, my palms can still feel the heat and softness of your thighs as I spread them and thrust into you as though you were an enemy to be killed.”
    “Stop! I wanted you just as much as you wanted me. Why can’t you believe that?”
    Duncan’s laugh was as rough as his eyes were bleak.
    “Why? Because I’ve never wanted a woman like that. I didn’t even know such passion was in me! How could an innocent feel anything close to it?”
    “Duncan,” Amber said, kissing his chin. “When I touch you, I feel what you feel .”
    Her teeth closed delicately on his neck.
    “Dear God, yes,” she whispered. “I feel your breath break even as I hear it. I feel your heartbeat speed. I feel your blood rushing and quickening your flesh, making you ready to lie within me.”
    With a groan, Duncan pushed away the fine cowl that framed Amber’s face. He fitted his hands against Amber’s cheeks, savoring the smooth, soft heat of her skin.
    The leap of his hunger was like wine to Amber. While she shivered beneath the claiming of his hands, her soft words incited him, pouring fire over him even as the heat of his desire poured over her.
    “I can feel your hunger gathering like a storm,” she whispered. “I can’t feel the sword emerging from its sheath, but I can sense you feeling your own maleness sweep through you.”
    “Amber,” Duncan said hoarsely.
    “And I can feel my own body crying out to know the sweet stabbing of the sword within the sheath.”
    “No more, witch,” Duncan said heavily. “You have me full to bursting already.”
    “I know.”
    A look into the golden fire of Amber’s eyes toldDuncan that she did indeed know what her words had done to him.
    And she liked it.
    “Can I undo you with only my words?” Amber asked.
    The combination of curiosity and sensuality in her eyes almost pushed Duncan over the edge.
    “Enough,” he