He glanced at the dark green tunic and braies Will had loaned him and thought that while he looked more than fine in them, it would be a relief to be back in a plaid again. This in turn made him think of his men and wonder why they had not yet returned. He had expected them to arrive in time for the wedding. That was the only reason he had agreed to wait two weeks. Will was a good friend, but it would have been nice to have his own kin standing beside him on this day.
"Here she comes."
Kade glanced around at that announcement from Will, eyes widening as they landed on Averill descending the stairs. She wore a dark green gown that matched his clothes in color, her hair was unbound and flowing around her head in fiery waves, her cheeks were flushed, and she looked absolutely beautiful to him.
Kade stood up and moved toward her, but Lord Mortagne suddenly rose and waved him back to his seat as he hurried to her side. He hesitated, tempted to ignore the man, but it was her father after all, so he settled reluctantly back on the bench.
"Let us head out to the chapel steps," the priest said, getting to his feet on the other side of Will. "Lord Mortagne will bring the bride along."
Kade scowled but began to walk when Will nudged him. Averill was here. She must plan to marry him. That would have to be enough.
Most of the castle inhabitants were already out by the church waiting when the priest led Kade and Will across the bailey. The old man spent a moment fussing and arranging them on the steps, then they all turned to peer back toward the keep in expectation. Much to Kade's relief, Lord Mortagne and Averill were already halfway across the bailey, but as she drew closer, Kade was able to see that she was nibbling at her lip and wringing her hands.
"She looks worried," Will muttered.
"Aye," Kaye growled.
"She is also moving a bit swiftly," Will pointed out. "Father appears to be having trouble keeping up."
Kade grunted. He had just noted that for himself. Averill was moving at a quick clip that soon became a jog, then a run as she dropped her father's arm, and left him behind to hurry through the parting crowd to pause before him.
"K-kade?" she said uncertainly.
"Aye?" he asked growing wary.
"Averill!"
That shout from Lord Mortagne made her pause and glance around. Clucking impatiently, she hurried back to him, caught his arm, and chivvied him toward the stairs, saying, "I am sorry, Father, but I must speak to Kade. Please hurry."
"There will be plenty of time to speak after the ceremony," the priest said repressively, as a panting Lord Mortagne and Averill arrived at the stairs. "Please take your place beside Lord Stewart, and I will start the ceremony."
Averill ignored him and turned to Kade. "M-my lord?"
Kade frowned at her stammer. She had done it only once before--the morning after the night in his room--but it surprised him that she was stammering now. Taking her hands in an effort to calm her, he raised an eyebrow in question.
"My lady," the priest began in sharp tones.
"Oh, stuff and bother, Father Bennett. I must speak to Kade," Averill hissed impatiently, and caught Kade's arm to urge him down the steps. He supposed she'd hoped for privacy away from the priest, her father, and Will, but all she did was take them down to where the people of Mortagne stood. The servants, soldiers, and guests made room for her and Kade to join them, but then stood, listening eagerly for what she had to say.
"I-I...er..." She forced a smile for those around them, then cleared her throat and turned back to Kade. "D-do y-you--" She paused abruptly when Kade lifted a hand to cover her mouth.
"Yer stammering," he pointed out quietly when she raised her eyebrows in question.
"Aye. Lady Averill does that sometimes," one of the nearer men said, and Averill lowered her eyes, misery crossing her face.
"'Tis only when she's nervous or uncomfortable with someone," another pointed out.
"Aye, but she don't normally stammer around Lord Stewart," a woman announced, and Kade glanced over to see Mabs among the crowd surrounding them.
He turned his gaze back to Averill, and asked quietly, "Are ye so uncomfortable with me now ye ken I can see ye?"
"N-nay, t-tis not that," she murmured, then shook her head impatiently. "Tis j-just I--" Her words ended on a gasp of surprise when Kade lowered his head and kissed her. She stood still under his kiss for a moment, but sighed and sank against him as he deepened the kiss.
"Here now," someone said, "the kiss don't come until after the ceremony."
Kade ignored the speaker and the people who hushed him, and kissed Averill until they were both breathless. He then raised his head and asked, "'Tis just what?"
"I was worried you no longer wished to marry me, but felt you had to because you had already agreed," she admitted in a breathless rush. And didn't stammer once, he noted.
"I want to marry ye," Kade said simply, then caught her hand and turned to pull her out of the crowd that had moved to surround them, but she tugged her hand free. Frowning, he turned back in question.
"B-but you have been avoiding me these last t-two weeks," she pointed out, and he frowned as he noted the stammer was back.
"I told you it would upset her," Will said dryly, and Kade glanced around with surprise to see that the man had joined the crowd around them. Glancing to his sister, Will added, "I did tell him, Avy."
Kade scowled, but concentrated on Averill, and said, "I had me reasons, but it wasna because I'd changed me mind on marryin' ye, lass."
She opened her mouth, no doubt, to ask what those reasons were, but he forestalled her by saying, "I'll explain later. When we're alone."
"Oh." Averill glanced around at the people surrounding them, then relaxed and nodded in acquiescence.
"Can we get married now?" Kade asked quietly.
Averill blushed, her eyes dropping away from his, but she also nodded.
Feeling the tension ease out of his shoulders, Kade took her hand and drew it over his arm, then led her through the crowd and up the stairs to stand before the priest.
Chapter Eight
"'Tis time."
Averill glanced over her shoulder to see Bess and the other women standing behind her.
Surely it could not be time for the bedding already? she thought with dismay, but the presence of the women seemed to suggest it was.
Feeling her stomach flutter nervously, Averill forced herself to stand and moved away from the table without even a word or glance to Kade. It was terribly rude, and she felt bad for it, especially after how solicitous and kind he'd been through the celebrations that had been going on all afternoon and the better part of the evening, but she simply didn't have it in her to meet his gaze at that point.
It was time for the bedding!
That fact kept screaming through her head as the women led her above stairs, then stripped her and ushered her into her bath. On an intellectual level, Averill knew she shouldn't be this nervous, especially after the way she'd let Kade kiss and caress her on "that" night. However, that had been wholly unexpected, completely spontaneous, and exciting. There was a vast difference between that experience and this one, where she was being prepared and perfumed like a sacrificial virgin.
Worse yet, while that had been a wholly private occasion that no one knew about, the entire castle knew what was going to happen tonight. They would all be sitting below stairs, continuing to drink themselves silly and no doubt making ribald jokes about what the two of them were getting up to. Besides, this time they were actually going to consummate their relationship. He was going to ride his horse into her stable, sink his sword in her sheath, breach her maiden's veil....
These thoughts rolled through Averill's mind over and over again like a cat chasing a mouse around a table as she was bathed, dried off, and fussed over. They so distracted her that it was with some surprise that she found herself lying in bed as Bess pulled the linens and furs up to cover her.
"There now," her maid said in soothing tones as she straightened.
"The men should be along soon. Sally went to fetch them."
Averill had just begun to panic at those words when the door crashed open and a riotous group of singing men began to squeeze through the door carrying Kade overhead. They set him down and continued to sing and joke as they surrounded and began to strip him. Averill bit her lip and thanked the good Lord she wasn't a man, for they were taking little care with her husband. The sound of tearing cloth, and Kade's grunts and curses filling the air was most disconcerting.
This then explained why the groom was never put in a bath, Averill decided as she watched various bits of clothing flying through the air above the crowd of men. The poor groom would no doubt be drowned by the mass of well-meaning, but very drunk companions.
When the crowd of men began to part, Averill realized the stripping part must be done and closed her eyes, steeling herself for the lifting of the linens and "revealing-her-to-all" part Bess had warned her about. It seemed barely a moment later that she felt the linen and furs lift and a cool breeze brush against her flushed and heated skin, then Kade fell into the bed beside her as if tossed there and the linen and furs dropped back over her.
Not eager to meet the gazes of the men who had seen her naked, Averill kept her eyes closed until the laughing voices and pattering of feet faded, and the click of the door sounded. She then breathed out a little sigh and cautiously opened her eyes. The room was empty, as she'd expected, and Kade was staring at her from right next to her in bed.
Averill managed a rather sickly smile and whispered a polite, "Good eve, my lord."
For some reason, that seemed to amuse Kade, and a low rumble of laughter slid from his lips as he dropped to lay flat on his back.
Averill lay still, watching him uncertainly, then he suddenly glanced back to her, and asked, "Are ye hungry?"
She blinked at the question. "Hungry, my lord?"
"Aye. I noticed ye hardly touched yer food at the feast so had yer maid bring up a tray ere the bedding," he explained, then added, "I wouldna mind a bite meself."
Averill hesitated. She hadn't eaten much at the feast. Her nerves had been stretched too taut for that as she contemplated the night ahead, but they were no better now, and she wasn't feeling hungry. However, delaying what was the inevitable sounded a good idea to her, so she nodded.
Kade rewarded her with a smile and heaved the linens and furs aside and rose from the bed.
Averill's eyes widened incredulously as she got her first look at his piffle. Surrounded by the men as he'd been and quick as it had gone, she hadn't been able to see much during the undressing earlier. Now that she could see, however, it was immediately obvious to her that his lack of attention these last two weeks was not due to anxiety over size. The man was well endowed. She didn't think he was unnaturally large, but he certainly had nothing to complain about or fret over.
"Are ye comin'?"
Averill flushed as he glanced her way and caught her staring, then sat up only to pause. She was naked, and while he might not be self-conscious about strutting around so in front of her, she was made of much weaker stuff. After a hesitation to glance around, she tugged the linen out from under the furs, wrapped it around herself in the old Roman fashion, and scooted off the bed.
Someone had started a small fire in the fireplace, something she rarely bothered with at this time of year, but it was cozy and nice. As Averill watched curiously, Kade grabbed the furs from the bed and carried them over to spread them out on the floor in front of the fire. He then collected a selection of fruit, cheese, meat, and bread that had been left on the table.
"Sit," Kade ordered as he settled on one end of the furs. Averill sat opposite him, taking a moment to be sure her toga covered her decently before glancing up to the tray of food he set between them.
They ate in silence at first, Averill merely nibbling at the food, and then--unable to bear the quiet any longer--she reminded him, "You s-said you would explain why you have b-been avoiding me these last w-weeks."
Averill lowered her eyes self-consciously. She hadn't stuttered the whole week while she'd tended him, but suddenly found herself nervous around him now that she knew he could see her. She supposed the present tension of the situation didn't help any either. Aware that Kade was silent, she raised her eyes cautiously and glanced his way as he bit a strawberry in half. He then gestured for her to move closer with the hand holding the strawberry.
After a brief hesitation, Averill gathered her linen close and shifted along the furs until she sat next to him.
"Look at me." The words were almost a growl, and Averill bit her lip and raised her eyes to meet his. The moment she did, he ran the strawberry over her lower lip. She thought he meant to feed her and automatically opened her mouth, but he merely ran it back and forth one more time, then said, "I avoided ye because I kenned did I get close to ye again, I'd want to do this."
Leaning forward, he caught her lower lip between both of his and drew it in, sucking away the juice left behind by the fruit.
Averill sighed and closed her eyes, but then popped them back open when she felt him tug the linen away, revealing one breast. He then let her lip slip from his mouth, and whispered, "And then I'd want to do this."
"This" was running the cool fruit over one nipple and lowering his head to draw it into his mouth and suckle and lick away the juice left behind there as well.
Averill swallowed, her fingers tightening in the folds of the bit of linen she still clutched over one breast, and breathed, "Oh."
Allowing her nipple to slip from his mouth, he raised his head, and asked, "Would ye have liked that?"
When she bit her lip and nodded silently, Kade nodded solemnly back and added, "And then I'd have wanted to do other things, things a man shoudna do to a woman who's no his wife, and so I decided 'twas best did I stay away until after we were wedded."
"W-what other things?" Averill asked daringly. The question brought a smile to his lips, and he dropped the strawberry on the platter, reached for her head, and leaned forward to press his mouth to hers.
Averill sighed, allowing her mouth to slip open for him, then sighed again with pleasure as his tongue invaded. He tasted of strawberry and Kade, a delicious combination, and she found herself releasing her hold on the linens to clasp at his shoulders instead. Cool air immediately drifted across her breasts. It was followed by Kade's warm hands, and Averill groaned as he began to knead and fondle them both. When he urged her back onto the furs with his weight, she didn't resist but merely clutched at his shoulders so that she eased to the floor. The moment he had her flat, Kade shifted, easing one leg between both of hers as his kisses became more demanding. His tongue thrust into her, and his leg pressed upward against the core of her so that she moaned and shifted her legs restlessly on either side of his.
When he broke the kiss, Averill groaned in disappointment, but then sighed and turned her head as his mouth trailed to her ear. He nibbled there briefly, stirring a surprising riot of sensation in her, then began to lick and nibble his way down her throat. Averill gasped in surprise when he reached her collarbone and began to nibble there, the riot turning immediately into an excited mob. Kade didn't stay long there, however, before dipping lower to replace one hand with his mouth.
This time, as he drew the erect and sensitive nipple into his mouth, Averill cried out and clutched at his head as he suckled and nipped lightly. She felt his hand slide down over her stomach, but bombarded as she was by the other things he was doing, hardly paid attention until it slid lower, pushing the linen before it until his fingers could dip between her legs.
Averill cried out again, her hips bucking as he brushed against the sensitive core of her, but unlike the last time he'd done this, she didn't even consider closing her legs, but instead spread them for him. She was aware of his mouth moving away from her nipple, but the fingers of his free hand quickly replaced it to pluck and tweak gently, and to be frank, she didn't care anyway. All of her attention was on the excitement he was stir
ring between her legs, so it wasn't until his head slipped from her grasp that she realized he was shifting down her body. At first, Averill merely reached for the linen, now lying crumpled beneath and on either side of her, but then he removed the fingers that were giving her such pleasure. Disappointment cleared her mind enough that she became aware that his head was dipping between her legs.
Startled and shocked, Averill gathered her breath to protest, but all that came out was a long "Ahhhh" as he began to lave her with his tongue.
Back arching and hips grinding down into the caress, she stared briefly at the ceiling overhead, then squeezed her eyes closed and let her body do what it would. It was now dancing to its own rhythm, urging him on as he drove her wild. Her eyes flew open again, however, when she felt something gently prod her opening. Averill lifted her head to peer down, but his head was still all that was between her legs...as well as his hands she recalled as something began to push into her and she realized it must be a finger.
Despite his having done this before, the sensation was so alien that for the first moment, it made her still and hold her breath, but then he withdrew it and redoubled his attention to the nub of her excitement, and when he eased his finger back in, she began to move again.
Averill's breath was now coming in little gasps as she rode his tongue and finger, and she couldn't seem to grasp a clear thought. Her body and mind were pure sensation now, surfing the crest of the passion he was milking from her. And then he began to suckle as he worked, and the tension that had been building in Averill snapped, drawing a scream of pleasure as her body convulsed and writhed.
Lost in the waves assaulting her, Averill was hardly aware of Kade crawling back up her body. When his mouth covered hers for a kiss, she responded urgently, her arms reaching to clasp him and hold him close. It was then he thrust into her, drawing another scream, but this one of shock and a little pain as he breached her maiden's veil.