Page 13 of A Lover for Lady Jane (The Welsh Rebels #5)

“Perhaps the two lovers had found out that the man was barren and would never give her the child she craved. Perhaps she only met him after she’d met me and thought she’d rather raise the babe with him, I know not.

Only… I confess that for one night I imagined myself as a father, and it was—” He stopped but she could all too easily guess what he had not said.

He’d already fallen in love with his unborn child, and he felt the loss of it in his bones.

“I’d always thought I would name a son I would have Llywelyn, after the last prince of Wales, who by coincidence was killed in December ’82, the same month I was born.

It seemed a good way to put an end to the taunts about me not being a loyal Welshman. ”

“Yes,” Jane agreed, though in truth, she doubted the fools who despised him for being half-English could be made to see reason. “What about your sister? Where is she now?”

He’d mentioned an elder sister the other day. Had the woman left the village before him, in an effort to flee the taunts she would have been exposed to as well, and rebuild her life in a new place?

“In her convent. She became a nun about ten years ago.” The way Griffin said that told Jane he disapproved of the choice.

Why? Had the woman been forced into the holy orders, even if she didn’t have the calling, as some sort of penance for her parents’ supposed sin?

As if he’d heard her musings, Griffin carried on.

“She decided it was best if she never married and never bore children who would be mocked for their English heritage.”

“Oh. That seems…” Jane wasn’t sure what to say. A shame? Harsh? Cowardly? She could not speak her mind, not when Griffin seemed upset enough already.

“Yes, exactly,” he said as if he knew better than she did what she meant.

“From as far back as I can remember, she’s been ashamed of our parentage.

We never really got on as children. As youths, it was even worse.

She is intensely religious, and rather judgmental.

I often think it is a good thing our parents died before they saw the sort of woman she had become.

I wouldn’t be surprised if she had told them that their union had been a sin. ”

Now Jane was sorry she had asked about his sister.

After the woman who had betrayed him, this was another painful topic.

Perhaps it was best to put an end to this conversation and try to get some rest. She was not really tired; the light of the timid winter sun dancing through the leaves and Griffin’s body next to her made her feel more alive than she had felt in months.

Nevertheless, she suggested they slept a little.

“That way we can perhaps set off later in the afternoon.”

“Yes,” he agreed, settling himself in a shallow depression that seemed made to offer travelers a well-deserved rest. The whole forest floor was carpeted in dry moss, making for a surprisingly comfortable bedding, much better than the hard stone floor and brittle leaves of the previous night.

Jane found herself a suitable spot a few feet away from the fire, underneath a majestic oak. It was not long however before she realized that, as soft and welcoming as the hole was, there was a major problem with it.

“Is anything the matter?” she heard Griffin ask when she turned over in search of what she needed.

“I’m cold,” she finally admitted. Yesterday between the rocks, they had been sheltered from the wind but today, despite the cloak wrapped tight around her, she was shivering. “I… Could I get closer to the fire—and you? I think there is room enough for me to lie next to you.”

Griffin swallowed. This was going to kill him, but how could he refuse?

His priority was to make Jane comfortable.

It was cold out here in the open, even if it could have been worse, considering it was the middle of winter.

There would indeed be enough room for both of them in the moss-covered hollow but only if she nestled against his flank.

“Yes. Come.”

A moment later, she was lying down next to him. Before he could do anything, she turned to her side and draped herself over him like the most wonderful blanket. And suddenly the cold didn’t matter anymore.

Nothing mattered but their proximity.

“I’m used to sleeping with my sister, you see,” she said by way of explanation.

Though he doubted she entwined her limbs with Sian in the way she had just done with him, Griffin didn’t comment.

It suited him perfectly to have her all over him, whatever the reason.

“Of course now that she’s married, we’ll never share a bed ever again. ”

She sounded as if she regretted it and he wasn’t sure what to say, or even if he was required to answer. He remained silent and closed his eyes, savoring the feel of her in his arms. This was heavenly.

“Have I thanked you for rescuing me?” Jane whispered after a while.

Eyes still closed, he smiled to himself. “Only about a dozen times.”

“Well, then I should do it another dozen more, because I also need to thank you for having stayed with me. I would be cold and scared without you.”

The image she was painting was so dire his hold around her tightened. “You need never be scared, or cold, not while you’re with me.”

“I know. You make me feel safe, brave, and…beautiful.”

He blinked. Surely he wasn’t the first, or even the only man to do that?

She was so stunning he could not imagine anyone not noticing it when they first laid eyes on her.

Men, in particular, would fall over themselves to be the first to pay her a compliment.

“Do not tell me no man has ever praised your beauty?”

“Yes, they have.” She sounded utterly unimpressed, as if the attention had not pleased her.

When she spoke again, her voice was hoarse.

“But with you it is different. You never give me compliments or comment on my supposed beauty, yet you make me feel like the most precious woman in Christendom, not just beautiful but precious as well. You make me think of forbidden things. You make me…”

Don’t ask , his reason warned. Make sure she means what you think she means , his body urged.

“I make you…?” his mouth said, making the final decision.

“For the first time in my life, you make me want to do this.”

Jane moved, and the next thing he knew, her lips, the lips he had dreamed about for days, were on his.

They were so full, so sweet, so perfect, that he groaned deep into his throat.

It was just like he had imagined. No, it was a thousand times better.

She had climbed over him, as warm and soft and trusting as a kitten.

Her weight pressing over his body was stealing his sanity.

And then she started to undulate, grinding her hips against his groin.

Stars shot up his spine.

Go drapia ! He wanted to kiss her all day.

He wanted to stop kissing her immediately and run as far away as he could.

He couldn’t move; he could only devour her like the forbidden, delicious treat she was.

But he had to stop. He could not surrender to temptation with a woman like her. It was not right.

“Jane,” he managed to say between fiery kisses. “This is madness. Ask me to stop.”

“Never.”

Jane was adamant. She would never ask Griffin to stop something that felt so delicious, something she wanted so badly. Finally, after days of longing for it, she was kissing the man she desired above all others. Nothing would make her put an end to the moment. How could she convince him?

Tentatively, she licked his bottom lip—and was instantly rewarded for her audacity.

With a grunt Griffin bucked from under her to reverse their positions.

She was now lying on her back, trapped between the soft moss lining the forest floor and the hard, masculine body lying atop hers.

Perfect. How had he guessed she’d wanted him taking over, needed him to help her overcome the last of her hesitations?

The woman in her, so new to these delights, needed him to be all man, and not let her inexperience ruin the moment.

He rose to the challenge magnificently, by giving her a deeper, even more scandalous kiss and then lowering her bodice to bare her breasts to his gaze.

His gestures were slow and reverent, as if he could not believe he was being allowed to undress her.

Just before her nipples were revealed, he stopped, giving her the opportunity to protest if she wanted.

She did not. He gave the final tug.

“Jesus Christ, Jane,” he whispered when she was exposed, his voice trembling with emotion. His eyes had caught on fire; his body was taut with need. “I… Can I?”

Instead of answering, she placed a hand at the back of his nape and lowered his head until his lips had closed around her nipple.

“Suck me,” she ordered, wondering where she had found the courage to be so shocking.

Perhaps he had only meant to touch her. But suddenly she needed his mouth on her, his tongue. “Hard.”

He complied all too readily, licking her, teasing her, drawing her taut nipples into his mouth one after the other, behaving as if he could not get enough of her, as if he were the one benefiting from the caress.

It was glorious, each pull tightening the knot of fire in her belly a little bit more. Need was gnawing at her core.

“You need to ask me to stop.” Griffin sounded agonized, but thankfully he didn’t roll away from her, didn’t cover her breasts again. “Now. For I am powerless to resist.” Another series of licks on her beady nipples made that clear.

“Don’t resist,” she ordered. Why would he? Couldn’t he see she wanted him?

Her lower body started grinding against him of its own volition, in search of…

something. Friction? Heat? She didn’t know, for this was new to her.

The few times men had kissed her, she had not felt the need to press herself against them or search for anything.

Then again, she had not been lying under them at the time, with her breasts exposed and her nipples wet from their kisses.

Nor had they been anywhere near as irresistible as Griffin.

“Jane, this is wrong. We need to stop.” He sounded agonized. “As wonderful as it is, it is wrong.”

What was he talking about? Nothing had ever felt so right.

“Please, you can’t leave me now. I need you, I need to make the aching stop,” she said in a near sob.

There was a dull weight tugging at her core, a heat throbbing between her legs.

It was unbearable, like an itch she would never be able to scratch on her own, her body’s way of telling her she needed a man.

This man. “I ache, and I don’t understand how to make it stop. ”

“Hush. I understand.” His voice had been reduced to a purr. “And I’ll make it stop,” he added in Welsh.

A hand stroked along her hip in a loving gesture, then started to gather the hem of her gown.

Callused fingers glided over her naked thigh, starting at the knee, creeping higher before settling over the place that demanded to be touched.

The relief brought by his warm and assured hand was overwhelming.

He understood exactly where she ached, and he clearly knew how to give her the relief she needed.

“Yes, right here,” she breathed, lifting her hips higher to increase the pressure over her folds.

“I know. Allow me.”

Another kiss prevented her from talking, even supposing she had wanted to.

As he started to stroke her, Griffin groaned low into his throat, sending ripples of pleasure skittering over her lips.

While his tongue explored her mouth, lower down, his finger probed and stroked, went round in circles and then pushed in, before retreating and teasing her some more.

It was not long before every move blended into the next and she lost track of what he was doing.

All she knew was that she’d been hot before, she was now scalding, she’d been swollen with need, she was now bursting. She was?—

“Griffin!”

“Yes, cariad , I’m here, let yourself go.”

She did—and her soul spasmed out of her body. Her whimpers of ecstasy sounded like nothing she had ever heard and added to her delight.

When she opened her eyes, her cheeks were wet with tears she wasn’t aware she had shed. Griffin was looking at her with fierce, possessive intent.

“I… I…” What was she trying to say? She had no idea.

“I know,” he said, nevertheless. “It can be overwhelming.”

Yes. That was exactly what it was. Overwhelming. While she lay there, reduced to a pool of satisfaction, he restored order to her bodice, covering her breasts once more then wrapping her cloak tight around her. Had she been cold earlier? She couldn’t remember.

A strong arm drew her to his side, which felt like her rightful place. “Come, let’s rest a while. We will ride some more in the afternoon.”

Jane blinked. How could he think of the afternoon, after what they had done?

She would have protested, argued that they should talk but someone had thrown sand into her eyes, and stuffed her mouth with a soft cloth, or so it seemed.

She understood she was going to fall asleep and did her best to fight the sensation.

A heartbeat later, she had fallen into delicious oblivion.