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“I’m ready,” she said on a grasping whisper.

“Not yet, wife. Tonightt, I enjoy every inch of you.”

“I won’t last.”

“Then I’ll bring you to climax again,” he whispered, his nibbles turning to bites of love along her neck.

His hand left her, and she moaned disappointed, but not for long. His hands deftly stripped her of everything she wore, then he rid himself of his garments. She soon was back in the same position, braced back against him. Only this time, his handexplored her breasts, squeezing and pinching gently while he returned to feast along her neck and shoulder, his swollen shaft poking at her from behind.

His hand once again returned to tease her between her legs and his other hand gripped beneath her chin and forced her head back to look at him. “Climax for me.”

Gooseflesh prickled her body, his voice tender but a command, nonetheless.

“Now, Shade, now,” he commanded, his touch working magic and his hard manhood pressing urgently against her.

She couldn’t resist. Her body and her passion surrendered, and she cried out as a wave of pleasure completely devoured her. She fell limp against him when suddenly she was scooped up into his arms and laid on the bed and he was inside her, his powerful thrusts bringing her to life once again.

She locked her hands on his muscled arms and held on as tight as she could, letting the mounting pleasure sweep her away until it exploded in blinding pleasure, and she called out his name at the same moment he let loose with a loud groan as he emptied his seed into her.

They soon were wrapped around each other, Quint drifting off to sleep and she rested her hand on her stomach to see if his seed had taken root. She felt nothing just as she did the few times she had tried before now. She was barren or past childbearing age. She should accept it and not worry over something she could not change.

You are all I need.

He loved her and that was all that mattered.

“So,is it true? Asher is on a mission for Lord Torrance and will not show up here until he completes it?” Nug asked after he settled at the table in the solar with Quint and Dru the next morning. “Or is it a ruse and he is on a far different mission for Lord Torrance? And one that should concern us.”

“Asher is angry that Lord Torrance has assigned another to a task he believed was meant for him alone. Lord Torrance wants his half-sister found so he can secure a marriage that would benefit the clan, though more so him. There is speculation that he’s searching for a wealthy, elderly lord who he can do away with right after the marriage so he can rule the clan and marry his sister off yet again to the next wealthy, elderly lord. He intends to use her to claim more and more land. Asher had no luck in locating the woman, so Lord Torrance assigned the task to a mercenary called Knox.”

“I know him, not well, but we fought in a battle together. He is a large man with much strength to him and he is skilled with most weapons. He’s a quiet man, not saying much.”

“And a man whose fine features have women often pining over him from what I heard the women say about him,” Dru said. “And he prefers them tall and hefty since he is such a large man.”

“Now there’s a man who would ignore you whether you stink or not,” Nug said with a chuckle.

“One less man you have to battle to win me, Nug.” Dru laughed when he lacked a quick response. “Go on, I’ll wait. You’re bound to think of a snappy reply by the end of the day.”

“Don’t bother, Nug. Dru is far too quick with her mouth,” Quint cautioned.

Dru continued. “Lord Torrance had promised Asher a sizeable plot of land for finding his half-sister. From what’s being speculated, Asher’s failure to find her fast enough, had Lord Torrance assigning the task to Knox, but Asher refuses to give up. He wants that land.”

“Or it could be a lie to keep secret what Asher is really doing for Lord Torrance,” Nug said. “Torrance always lied and manipulated when he was young. Ryland and I learned that time and again. He’s no different today than he was back then.”

“There may very well be something to that,” Dru said, filling her tankard with more cider. “Lord Torrance could be keeping a secret, but I believe Asher is as well.”

“What makes you say that?” Nug asked.

“Whispers overheard, rumors circulating that since after the battle Asher is not pleased with the orders Lord Torrance has given him. They are at odds. I also overheard Asher’s man yelling at Brother Peter. It had something to do with Lord Torrance, but I couldn’t hear it clearly. Brother Peter spoke softly; I assume trying to calm the man down since I couldn’t hear what he was saying. Then the man’s anger exploded, and he punched Brother Peter knocking him to the ground. That was when Brother Peter started begging for mercy. But the man showed him none.”

“What did you do, Dru?” Quint asked.

“I launched myself at him.”

“That wasn’t a very wise thing to do,” Quint admonished.

“Maybe, but I’m quick on my feet. I figured the distraction would create enough time for the cleric to escape, then I could take off.”

“After suffering some hits that left you bruised and bloody,” Quint reminded.