Page 24 of While Angels Slept (de Lohr Dynasty #1)

Dagan inevitably thought of the past few days.

Lord Tevin had indeed spent a good deal of time with Lady Cantia and her young son.

In fact, his attention had gone beyond mere concern, some thought.

There was talk. Though Dagan wanted nothing more than to refute Charles’ assertions as the ravings on an old man, he could not entirely.

Some thought there was truth to what he said.

Without another word, Dagan stood up and quit the vault. Surprisingly, Charles let him go without vehement protests. He continued to stand in the weak light, listening to the footfalls until they faded completely and wondered if he would, indeed, ever find freedom from this place.

*

Faint shouts could be heard in the bailey beyond the lancet window.

Tevin was enjoying the best sleep he’d had in a long time with Cantia wrapped in his arms. There was warmth and peace there, a wondrous world of satisfaction he’d never before experienced.

It was enough to make him forget everything else.

But the shouts eventually woke him and he sat up, his massive shoulders silhouetted against the soft moonlight.

Cantia, jostled by the movement and by the fact that he had moved his big warm body, stirred.

“What is it?” she asked sleepily.

He didn’t say anything for a moment, putting his hand on her head to comfort her.

“I am not sure.” He bolted up from the floor and collected his breeches.

Cantia sat up, clutching the coverlet to her nude chest. She watched Tevin pull on his breeches in the darkness.

Silently, he pulled on his boots and marched to the door.

As she sat there in confused silence, Tevin suddenly turned around, marched back to her, bent over and kissed her gently on the lips.

He kissed her again because she tasted so good.

Retracing his steps, he quit the room and shut the door softly behind him.

Legs hugged up against her chest, Cantia had a smile on her face.

His kiss had brought back memories of a most passionate encounter.

Then her eyes moved to the bed she was unable to sleep on and inevitable thoughts of Brac came back to her.

She put a timid hand on the mattress, feeling the linen beneath her fingers.

Her tender thoughts of Tevin began to turn to thoughts of Brac.

Lying back down on the warm bedclothes, she gazed into the darkness, torn between thoughts of two very different men.

Was she betraying Brac? The man had been in his grave a month and already she was fornicating with someone else.

She wondered what Brac would say to her, or if she had died, if he would have found comfort so soon after her passing.

Though she would not have wanted him to mourn the rest of his life over her, surely there was an appropriate length of mourning for one so well loved.

Perhaps what she was doing was wrong. Perhaps she was being too selfish and not giving Brac the appropriate respect.

Tevin was new, exciting, kind and intelligent.

But he was also her liege and had been very kind to her in her time of need.

No matter that she told him the feelings she held for him were different from those she held for Brac.

The fact remained that the situation was one of convenience.

He was here, he was kind to her, and in her weak state, she had responded.

She was beginning to think she was a very weak and foolish woman.

More thoughts filled her head, those of longing and grief and what the future might hold.

A lone tear trickled down her temple, tears for Brac, for herself, for Tevin.

She should have never allowed herself the warmth of Tevin’s comfort.

But she had needed it. She realized that she did not regret her actions for one moment, and perhaps that was her greatest guilt.

She had wanted Tevin to touch her, to explore her, and she in turn had wanted to explore him.

She did not think of Brac at all when Tevin was around. All she could think of was him.

Cantia didn’t know how long she lay there, staring at the ceiling and thinking of Tevin.

She didn’t even know what time it was, though the room was a soft shade of gray so she imagined it was somewhere close to dawn.

Suddenly, the door to the chamber opened and closed and she sat up quickly in time to see Tevin rounding the side of the bed.

His gaze fell on her, the nearly-black eyes intense.

He was naked from the waist up and for the first time, she got a very good look at just how enormous the man’s chest and shoulders were.

A soft matting of dark hair covered his chest, hair that had been fuzzy and wonderful against her skin.

Gazing up at him, all of the passion and excitement from the night before washed over her and she shuddered.

“Did you discover what the herald was about?” she asked.

He nodded. “I did.”

She waited expectantly for him to continue, but he lowered himself to sit on the edge of the bed and looked at her. His gaze lingered and she smiled.

“Why do you stare at me?”

He lifted a dark eyebrow, a smile on the corner of his mouth. “Because you are so beautiful,” he reached out, taking a strand of her hair between his big fingers. “Honestly, Cantia, it seems that all I can do is stare at you.”

Her smile turned modest. “What is happening in the bailey?”

His eyes took on a hard cast. “Trouble, I’m afraid.”

“What trouble? ”

He sighed, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. “It would seem that my cousin has arrived early,” he said. “Geoff and his entourage are filling the bailey as we speak.”

Her eyes widened. “So soon?”

“I’m afraid so. Unfortunately, he’s made very good time upon the road and arrived sooner than expected.”

“But… what do we do? Do I still go to Darland?”

Tevin was silent a moment, his gaze lingering on her lovely face. “Not right now,” he said quietly. “You and Hunt will stay put. I will have Val brought up to your room. She can stay with you until I can figure out what’s to be done.”

“You intend to hide us?”

“For the time being.”

“I do not mean to cause problems, but I am not sure how long we can successfully hide Hunt,” she said. “He is a very active little boy. He will want to run and play.”

“Then we must explain to him that, for now, he cannot,” Tevin replied. “I’ll think of something to tell him. Perhaps if we make it into a game, he will willingly go along.”

“What kind of game?”

He shook his head. “I do not know. But we shall have to think of something.”

She nodded, her mind racing to encompass all of the possibilities that might coerce her son in to playing a restrictive game. But her thoughts also inevitably turned to Val, and in doing so, she spoke before she could stop herself.

“If Val stays with me, then you and I.…” she trailed off, unable to finish.

He looked at her. She looked so entirely beautiful in the early morning light.

He was secretly glad that Geoff had come early, secretly glad that he would not have to send her away.

He could not bear the thought of sending her away, not after last night.

With his big hands, he reached out to take her face in his hands .

“Then perhaps I had better steal a kiss when I can,” he said softly, kissing her gently on the lips. When he pulled back, their eyes met and they grinned at each other. “And more.”

She smiled broadly as his mouth came down on her again, gently at first, then more insistently.

He left the bed and ended up lying beside her on the floor, holding her in his arms and kissing her as if to never let her go.

She was still nude, warm and cozy in the bedclothes, and in little time he pulled off his breeches and boots and joined her in that cozy warmth.

His mouth moved across her shoulder, her chest, familiarizing himself with the taste of her.

She most definitely had a taste, something between honey and silk.

It was delicious, like food to a starving man, and he suckled deeply of her flesh.

The second time around, he was more familiar with her and it only served to intoxicate him.

Her nipples were succulent and tender, the flesh of her belly delicious.

He could hear Cantia’s moans of pleasure and it spurred him onward until he reached the soft mound of curls between her legs.

Even then, he did not stop. He continued to taste her, to savor every movement, every flavor.

She had him by the hair as he held her tender core to his mouth, her legs over his enormous shoulders and his tongue doing wicked things.

When he felt her stiffen in his hands, her body convulsing, he abruptly lifted himself and drove into her, feeling her tender walls throb around his manhood, drawing him deeper and begging for his release.

But he could not answer so swiftly. He thrust deeply into her, so deeply that in little time her body was convulsing again and this time, he joined her.

Tevin lay with Cantia in his arms, still embedded in her sweet body, hearing the sounds wafting up from the bailey and trying not to listen.

He did not want anything to interrupt this moment because he knew, more than likely, their next chance at being together would be far in the future.

With his cousin around, there was no telling what was to happen during the course of his visit.

Geoff was, at best, unpredictable. He found himself wishing he could run away and take Cantia with him, someplace where no king nor queen nor cousin could find them.

Someplace peaceful. He sighed heavily. He wondered if such a place really did exist. It was the first time in his life he’d ever entertained such a thought.

“What’s wrong?” Cantia’s muffled voice came to him.