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“I am begging you.”

“Nay.”

“Then if you will not, I will.”

With that, the knife clattered to the floor and she bolted for the window overlooking the river.

Had Magnus been any slower, he wouldn’t have been able to catch her as she tried to propel herself through the open window.

He managed to catch her around the waist, and partially by the hair, dragging her back in through the window as she fought him.

He pulled her back toward the chair he’d been sitting on, but he stumbled over one of her satchels on the floor, and that pitched him right onto the bed.

Delaina fought him like a banshee.

“Let me go!” she howled. “If you will not leave, I will. I will not let you do this to yourself, do you hear?”

Magnus had her tightly, though she was giving a good struggle. He had both enormous arms around her body, holding her like a vise, but his head was next to hers.

“Stop fighting,” he said evenly, his lips next to her ear.

“Delaina, cease your struggles. I am not leaving, and neither are you. If you do not wish to marry me because you find me unattractive or unpleasant, then you only need say so. You do not need to make it seem as if I have done something wrong.”

As he’d hoped, her struggling dramatically lessened. “Magnus, please let me go,” she begged. “You are mad somehow. You know that you cannot marry someone like me.”

“I can if no one knows who you are,” he said, his lips next to her ear and her soft body in his grasp. “We shall come up with a different name and a different background. That is all my family need know.”

Her fighting stopped altogether. “Oh… Magnus,” she said, the resistance draining out of her. “You are completely mad to think so.”

“Why?”

“What if I am recognized?” she said, starting to weep again. “There are men in England who know who I am.”

“There are very few who know who you are,” he said, thinking that her ear against his lips was quite erotic. “Just a select few. Daventry is dead. What about the others who knew you?”

She sniffled. “Falmouth is not dead, but I’ve heard he’s not left his home in many months,” she said. “But Daventry’s son… Jerome… he knows what I look like.”

Magnus grunted. “I will take care of him,” he muttered. “Who else knows?”

“Edward.”

“The king will never see you again,” Magnus said. “I will send you north to my father and resign my post. We shall live at Berwick.”

She didn’t say anything for a moment. “God’s Bones,” she muttered unhappily. “Now you truly are mad. How can you say that you shall resign a prestigious post for a woman you’ve only known a few short hours?”

“Does this mean you accept?”

Her answer was to push herself from his arms and stand up. Magnus was sorry, too, for holding her against him had been one of the more enjoyable things he’d ever done. He sat up, looking at her pale face, but all he could read in her expression was sorrow.

“I have never known anyone as selfless as you,” she said, her voice hoarse with emotion.

“Magnus, you have made me an offer that is something I’ve waited for my entire life.

But you’ve not thought it through. You’ve not thought on how it would affect you or your family.

I know you say that we could change my name, but we would live in fear for the rest of our lives that someone would betray our secret.

Your family would be shamed. You would be shamed.

You are the kindest man I have ever known, and I could not do that to you. ”

He sat on the edge of the bed, watching her. “You must trust me enough to know that I do not make foolish decisions,” he said. “I would not be where I am today if I did. Delaina… you do not deserve the life you have led. Let me give you the one that you do.”

The sorrow on her features flickered with hope. “That is the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

“Will you at least think about it?”

“Nay. I cannot think on it.”

He stood up. “Is it because you do not wish to be married to me?” he said. “I realize that I am not worthy of someone of your beauty, but I would make a good husband, I swear it.”

She sighed faintly, a ripple of longing crossing her features.

“Of course I would be honored to be your wife,” she said softly.

“You are the worthiest man I have ever met, and it would be like a dream to me if we were married. You are a dream, Magnus. A perfect dream. But I could not damage that perfection with what I am.”

He smiled faintly. “You are a goddess,” he said softly.

“I would be the most fortunate man in all of England to call you my wife. I realize I do not know that much about you other than what you have told me, but sometimes, instinct takes over where knowledge is lacking. I trust my instincts when it comes to you. What I do not know, I can learn. What I cannot learn, I can feel. Will you at least give me that opportunity?”

She closed her eyes for a brief moment, lowering her gaze. “You speak like a poet,” she whispered. “You do not know how badly I want to agree.”

“You do not have to, not at the moment,” Magnus said. “But sleep on it. Think on it. I will be back in the morning, and we can speak again.”

She simply nodded without looking up at him. She was looking at her feet. Magnus leaned over and kissed her on the top of her lowered head.

“I will go now,” he said softly. “Bolt the door behind me.”

With that, he was gone, shutting the panel quietly behind him.

Overwrought and overcome, Delaina made it over to the door and threw the bolt.

Then she sank to her buttocks and wept for the dream that would never come to fruition, for the fine young knight that would never be hers.

It was all happening so fast, so blindingly fast, but she completely understood when Magnus said he was running on instinct.

So was she. But she couldn’t even dare to hope that he felt something for her.

A knock on the door startled her.

Thinking it was the serving wench, perhaps motivated by Magnus’ command as he departed The Pox, she pushed herself up from the floor and wearily threw the bolt again, pulling the panel open before asking who it was.

She was moving lethargically, like a woman with the weight of the world upon her shoulders.

But once the panel opened, she found herself looking at Magnus again.

He hesitated before speaking.

“I cannot leave you like this,” he said. “I got to the stairwell and realized I cannot leave you like this. I have upset you terribly, and that was not my intention. I swear to you that it was not. May I please stay until you are calm?”

She stood back from the doorway as he came in without her permission.

He simply stepped inside and shut the door.

He had to look away from her to lock it, but when his focus returned to her, his expression was full of uncertainty.

He looked so sad, as if he’d done something terribly wrong, but Delaina knew he hadn’t.

He’d tried to do the most wonderful thing in the world, and she’d berated him for it.

She was a monster.

Before she realized what she was doing, Delaina rushed to Magnus and leapt on him, anchoring her arms around his neck as she claimed his lips.

He was startled by her onslaught for about a half-second before wrapping his big arms around her and holding her fast as they feasted upon one another.

It was that instinct Magnus had spoken of, and they had it for one another.

Though it was the first time they’d tasted each other, it was as if they’d been doing it all their lives.

Impulse consumed them.

Suddenly, they were over on the bed and Magnus was stripping off his tunics, his weapons.

He had to pull away from her to remove his mail coat, but Delaina boldly stepped in and yanked it off him as if she’d done it a thousand times before.

Off it came, and it ended up on the floor.

He fell on top of her, kissing her, touching her, listening to her gasp with pleasure.

But she had some pleasure of her own to give.

She moved to his breeches, untying them, sliding them down his hips before her soft hands moved to sensitive places.

Magnus hissed as she grasped his rock-hard erection, stroking it, cupping his testicles and squeezing gently.

She rolled him over onto his back and straddled him, pulling his boots and breeches off before settling between his legs and taking his erection into her mouth.

Her tongue did wicked things to him as her fingers invaded the crack of his buttocks, touching a place that very nearly sent him over the edge.

God, what the woman could do to him.

But he didn’t want her to pleasure him, not to the point of release.

He wanted to pleasure her, to acquaint himself with her magnificent body, and he pulled the lamb’s wool garment right over her head, leaving her nude in the fading light of sunset.

He took a moment to simply look her over, her perfect breasts and slender waist. She was magnificent.

A courtesan, he reminded himself. She has shared this body with others .

But he was going to be the last.

He was the only one worthy of her.

Delaina ended up on her back when he flipped her over, assuming the dominant position.

She gasped when he suckled her, gently at first, and then with more force.

Bolts of excitement ran throughout her body, and she had to make a conscious effort not to cry out in joy.

But her heavy breathing told Magnus how much she liked what he was doing to her, the hands in his hair encouraging him.

She held him to her breasts as he nursed hungrily, his tongue lapping at her soft flesh.