The Red Wolf's Prize Read online

  By now, Sir Hugue would have made it back to Mercia, assuming Cassie’s blade had not stopped him. If Morcar knew she was again in the hands of the Red Wolf, mayhap he would not pursue her. He had said he would soon leave for York. Was Steinar already there? She remembered the city, southeast of Talisand, only a short distance from Stamford Bridge where Eawyn’s husband Ulrich had fallen.

  Picking up the rose scented soap, Serena scrubbed her body and hair. Once the soap was rinsed from her hair, she wrung the water from it, reached for the drying cloth and rose from her bath, wiping the water from her wet skin.

  The door opened with no warning knock.

  Serena gasped and pulled the cloth over her breasts and belly, keenly aware her legs were bare for anyone to see.

  The Red Wolf stepped into the chamber, his piercing gray gaze sliding over her body and coming to rest where her breasts strained against the thin cloth. She could feel the heat of her blush as she looked to see the drying cloth clinging to her wet skin.

  Without saying a word, he turned to the side and took off his belt. Then, with a grunt, he pulled his mail over his head and struggled out of his tunic. She would have offered to help had she not been so scantily clad. Had she not been so shy of his disrobing before her.

  When his tunic slid to the floor, she nervously asked, “What do you intend, my lord?”

  “I should think that was obvious, my lady. I am claiming my bride.”

  “Now?” She gripped the drying cloth more tightly to her still damp body. The long strands of her hair, wet from the bath, clung to her skin. No man had ever seen her in such a state.

  “Yes, now.” His eyes considered her carefully, and he shook his head. “God knows I’ve left it overlong.”

  While still staring at her, he shed his spurs and boots and doffed his linen shirt, leaving his chest bare and his lower body clad in only hosen and braies. He was a beautiful man with his bronze skin and muscled chest. Her eyes were drawn to the white cloth circling his upper arm.

  “Your wound,” she said, as she focused on the white bandage around his upper arm. The wound from the arrow he took for Jamie. How could she not love such a man?

  “Aye.” He glanced down at the bandage. “My token from the siege at Exeter.”

  “Does it pain you?”

  His gray eyes narrowed intently. “If you are asking if it will impair my performance in our bed, nay.”

  Serena could not take her eyes off his body as he peeled off his hosen and unwound his braies, leaving his long lean form exposed and his manhood rising from a thatch of dark chestnut hair at his groin.

  She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry and her teeth biting into her lower lip. She had never seen a man fully naked. Or one who was…aroused.

  Gingerly stepping out of the water, she thought to delay his purpose. Maggie had told her his first taking would bring her pain. Serena would postpone it if she could.

  “Our marriage has yet to be blessed, my lord.”

  “Maugris tells me the priest will return on the morrow,” he said sternly. “There will be a blessing then. But I shall claim my bride now. I’ll not risk you disappearing in the dark again while still a virgin another man can claim. Come here, Serena.”

  Seeing the desire in his eyes, Serena knew the time had come. She would not shy from a fate she had come to accept. One she had chosen.

  The pride of a thegn’s daughter rose within her as she lifted her chin and slowly stepped toward him, her gaze ever steady. She shivered as if his hands were already touching her.

  Closing the distance between them, he pulled the cloth from her, tossing it to the floor. The cool air against her bare skin caused her nipples to pucker. She covered her breasts, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “I would see all of you, Serena.” He pulled her hands away from her chest. She met his gaze, determined not to cower before him. His eyes raked her body from her breasts to the flaxen hair at the apex of her thighs. “You are more alluring than any woman should be, bride or no.”

  Serena was suddenly shy in the face of his devouring gaze. She had known this moment would come, but it was all so new.

  Pulling her against his powerful chest, their bodies met. The heat from his naked skin was a welcome warmth causing her breasts to tingle. She looked into his eyes, a darker gray than before, and saw his intent. Nothing would stop him now.

  He kissed her, a kiss of possession. Deeper than any he’d given her before. Her breasts pressed into his muscled chest and she breathed in his scent of horses, leather and sweat—the scent she recognized from his first kiss. Sliding her hands up his arms, across the bandaged arm, she was sharply reminded this man was a warrior who had known many battles, and mayhap many women.

  His tongue claimed her mouth as his hands roamed freely over her buttocks. He gripped them and pulled her into his hardening flesh.

  Grasping his shoulders, she steadied herself. Then she was lost in his kiss, in his touch, in the feel of him surrounding her. A part of her wanted to flee, but another, stronger part, wanted to stay.

  This must happen. It would be the end of her old life and the beginning of a new one. And somewhere deep inside, Serena knew she had wanted this man for a long while.

  His aroused flesh grew more rigid against her belly, his size frightening her at the thought of what she knew was to come. She would soon know this man more intimately than any other. She would be the Red Wolf’s wife in truth.

  The kiss ended and his lips swept across her neck and to the top of her shoulder, sending ripples of pleasure through her. She knew the man who held her so tightly was one of the dreaded Normans, but all she could think of was the passion his touch was stirring within her. It was a passion she had wanted and only from him. She tilted her head back to allow him better access to her throat and reveled in the enticing feel of his lips nibbling at the skin at the base of her neck.

  There was no enemy here, only a man whose every silent question her body answered with “yea.”

  Bringing his hands to her face, he cupped her cheeks. Her lashes fluttered open. The Red Wolf’s eyes were like liquid silver. His breathing came hard, as did hers, her heart racing like a wild doe before a predator.

  “It is time, Serena.” He took her hand and led her to the bed. Pulling back the cover, he gestured her forward. She lay down, lifting her damp hair onto the pillow, and looked back at him in nervous anticipation.

  “I have waited long to have you. But never before have I taken a virgin. Though I do not intend to hurt you, I may.”

  She did not speak but found comfort in what she saw in his eyes. The anger was gone. He would try to ease her pain if he could.

  He joined her on the bed and pulled her against him, his arm stretched possessively across her chest where his hand kneaded her breast, until she moaned with pleasure. She turned into his embrace. A tingling ache arose at the apex of her thighs as he slipped his knee between her legs.

  He kissed her again, and rising on one elbow, bent his head to her breast. Her flesh was on fire as he took her nipple into his mouth. Her fingers delved into his thick chestnut hair and she held his head to her breast. The warmth of his tongue and the gentle scraping of his teeth caused her to writhe. The feeling was almost more than she could bear.

  “Oh…my lord.”

  Returning his mouth to hers, he kissed her deeply. Lifting his head, he said, “I am your husband and soon your lover. Call me by my given name.”

  “Renaud,” she breathed, as his mouth sought her other breast. He drew his thigh up between her legs to press against the place that was aching with want.

  As he kissed her, his hand moved to her intimate flesh where he parted the folds and touched her. All her senses came alive as he moved his finger, slowly circling the most sensitive place. She grasped his shoulders, seeking more.

  He circled the spot again and again, nearly driving her to madness as she writhed against what had become the center of her world. The invasion of his finge
rs that followed brought a building pleasure.

  Before she could think what was coming, he rose over her, settled his body between her thighs, pressed his hard flesh to the entrance of her womb and thrust deep.

  Serena cried out in response to the sudden pain, only to be silenced by his mouth covering hers, as he stilled. She tried to calm her clenching muscles, all the while feeling the fullness, the stretching and the pain from his hard shaft invading her virgin’s body.

  Then he plunged more deeply, until she was nearly rent in two. The pain gradually eased as he began to move within her, forcing her flesh to accommodate his domination of her body.

  With his forehead pressed into the pillow next to her head, he slipped his hands under her hips, lifted her and drove deeply. Her muscles clamped around his hard shaft, and her nails bit into his back. She held onto him as he moved within her, feeling her own passion rise with his.

  His deep moan resonated through her as he suddenly tensed, then collapsed upon her.

  Serena lay there, feeling his weight and listening to his breathing slow while his shaft seemed to shrink where they were joined. Her own breathing calmed and she wondered if this was the lovemaking the servants gossiped about.

  He rolled to one side, drawing her with him and kissed her temple. Pressing her head to his shoulder, he spoke in a low voice. “We will do well together, Serena. I have always known it would be so. Had you been honest with me, this would have happened sooner, and I might not have been so quick to reach my release.”

  “I did not trust you.” She spoke truthfully. “You were a Norman conqueror.”

  “I am still that, but now I am also your husband. Do you trust me now?”

  She would not deny him the truth. “Yea, I do.”

  “To hear that speaks well of our future. I would it would always be so.”

  They lay together for a while, the Red Wolf idly running his hand over the curve of her waist and down her hip, his fingers gently caressing her still sensitive skin. Her leg was draped over one of his, her breasts pressed into his side.

  It felt right to lie next to him. They fit well together.

  While there had been no words of love, she had not expected any from the knight who wed her out of duty to his king. And for her part, she had thought to become his wife for the sake of her people. They would never have met, much less married, save for the Bastard duke’s conquering of her country. But if she confessed the truth, she wanted no other as husband. For though the Red Wolf had taken her to wife out of duty, she had come to care for him. Mayhap even love him. Was it possible?

  She was nearly asleep when he spoke. “This time I will make love to you more slowly. This time you will join me in my release.”

  “This time?” she whispered. Still feeling a bit sore, she was in no hurry to repeat their joining.

  “You did not, per chance, think I would take you only once this day? Nay, I have much to make up for, wife. And I would not deny you the pleasure I would have given you had it not been so long since I had a woman.”

  He pulled her on top of him, so that she faced him with her hands on either side of his head. What was he about? She placed her hands on his shoulders as he spread her knees apart and pulled them up, forcing her to sit up and straddle him. The position left her sensitive flesh atop his shaft that was hardening once again. To her surprise, her own flesh became wet and she had the urge to move against him.

  “You will like this position. Serena, since you ride so well.”

  She stared into his eyes seeing amusement.

  He brought his hands to her full breasts and began gently kneading the sensitive flesh, sending ripples of delight through her.

  “You have beautiful breasts, my lady. Even a servant’s tunic could not hide all your treasures.”

  She smiled, letting her head fall back at the waves of ecstasy that flowed over her when he shifted his hands to her hips and slid her back and forth over his manhood until it was slick from her own wetness.

  “It feels…good,” she uttered.

  “Move your hips to rock back and forth.” She did, and soon wanted more.

  He groaned and his eyes closed as he rubbed his warrior’s rough palms over her nipples causing them to harden into tight buds.

  She continued to rock back and forth, sensing a rising need to be joined with him. He must have shared her need for he opened his eyes, and with his hands on her waist, moved her forward.

  “What—” She was about to ask what he wanted her to do when he lifted her onto his shaft and pushed down until he was fully sheathed inside her. “Oh…,” she sighed, closing her eyes at the pleasure she felt from the fullness of him inside her.

  He pulled her head down to kiss her, then allowed her to sit up. She could see what he wanted and leaned forward, her palms on his chest as she used her legs to move up and down on his hardened flesh until her pleasure increased with the rising tension in her body.

  His shaft, buried deep, caused her to throb with need. The tension where they were joined grew more urgent, and she rose to meet it, moving against his upward thrusts. Their coupling became a wild exchange of passion as Serena strained toward the release he had spoken of. He uttered sounds that told her he was nearing his own fulfillment.

  Suddenly, he rolled her beneath him and plunged deep.

  Her muscles constricted. She soared into a world of blinding sensation. Then she was floating, floating, as ripples of pleasure coursed through her, her muscles throbbing around his hardened flesh.

  “Ahhh…” she rasped. Opening her eyes, she looked up at his face, their gazes meeting. Could he see the passion in her eyes? Could he see the love in her heart?

  “Serena…,” he said, his breathing ragged, “my Serena.” Bracing himself above her, he tensed and shut his eyes tightly. A flood of warm liquid flowed into her passage as he fell upon her. But he did not stay there. Rolling to one side, he drew her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. He pressed a light kiss to her forehead, a tender gesture for this hardened knight.

  Never could she have imagined the wonder of what they had shared. And with her acceptance of their union, Serena experienced a peace. From the first time he’d kissed her, she had desired him. It was that desire that had frightened her into fleeing, knowing he was a Norman. Now she was his wife and would be for as long as they lived.

  Stroking her back, he spoke words of comfort in French, smoothing the damp strands of hair from her face.

  She turned and pressed a kiss to his lips, which he returned.

  “Serena,” he said, “you are mine. After this day, you will sleep only in my chamber.”

  “It shall be as you wish.”

  She had fought her own desire to run from him. But with the certain knowledge she was his came the guilt of submitting so fully to her conqueror, not merely her body, but her heart. For in their joining, she had truly bonded with this man in a way she had not expected. She had submitted for her people never fully realizing the pleasure she would find in his arms. Never realizing the truth their coupling would reveal hidden in her heart. Against her will, a fledgling love had been born for the knight called the Red Wolf.

  She was now his mate. Maugris had spoken the truth: she would birth his sons. Even this day, his seed might have taken root. Strangely, the picture of small versions of the Red Wolf following after their father brought a smile to her face.

  Chapter 18

  “I’m so glad ye agreed to the blue silk,” Cassie weakly uttered from Serena’s bed where she watched Serena dress for her wedding the next afternoon. “It brings out the blue in yer eyes.”

  Eawyn nodded her agreement and carried the gown to Serena.

  “I will wear it as a token of our friendship, Cassie,” said Serena.

  “And mine for ye is woven into every fold,” came the soft reply from the bed.

  So that Cassie could be a part of the day, Serena had chosen to dress for her wedding in her old chamber. Si
r Maurin, who frequently checked on the object of his affection, had to be shooed away to allow the women to prepare. In Cassie’s place, Eawyn and Aethel were to help Serena don the gown she and Cassie had sewn in anticipation of this day.

  Serena’s gaze drifted to Aethel who had remained mostly silent. Now sorry for all the damage she had caused, the woman had not left Cassie’s side since they carried her back to Talisand. Serena believed Aethel was trying to atone for her misguided act. Her demeanor had changed, that much was certain. Sir Alain might have had something to do with it for Serena had observed the knight speaking in hushed tones to Aethel more than once last evening.

  “How are you feeling?” she asked the handmaiden.

  “Better.” Fortunately, the knife that had sliced through Cassie’s skin entered at an angle and had not gone so deep as to jeopardize her life. Still, she would need care for some time to recover. Aethel’s knowledge of herbs would be helpful.

  Serena gave Cassie a warm, encouraging smile. “Each day will be better.”

  She turned to admire the finished gown Eawyn held out to her. The undertunic was of soft linen dyed a pale blue. The fine outer garment Eawyn slipped over Serena’s head was a shimmering sapphire silk. Around her waist was a belt of silver links.

  A knock at the chamber door sounded and Jamie peeked his head in. “Are ye ready, Serena? I have yer father’s sword.” The boy, now proudly wearing a midnight blue tunic bearing a snarling red wolf, hefted a sword nearly three feet long. According to their custom, there would be an exchange of the weapons following the priest’s blessing. Renaud would give her his longer, ancestral sword, one he told her he held in reserve, and she would give him a weapon to symbolize his protection of her and their children.

  She had chosen her father’s sword, retrieved by his men after he’d fallen at Hastings. Shorter than a Norman sword and lighter and more flexible, it was the final symbol of her acceptance that she was the willing bride of Sir Renaud de Pierrepont, now Earl of Talisand.