"Aye," Averill agreed, climbing into the bed. "Thank you, Bess."
"You're welcome, my lady," Bess said, heading for the door. "Good sleep."
"And to you," Averill murmured, then glanced toward the door as it opened before Bess could reach it.
Kade appeared, spotted Bess, stepped aside for her to leave, and entered. He pushed the door closed behind him with a yawn as he headed for the bed.
Averill watched silently as he tugged his tunic off over his head, her eyes gliding over his strong, wide chest. Kade smiled a completely male smile when he caught her looking and paused to stretch in a way that showed off his muscles. Averill bit back the amused smile that tried to claim her lips then, but thought it adorable that he would show off for her. When he turned his attention to untying the string at the waist of his braies, she watched curiously, eyebrows rising when he appeared to have trouble. At first, she thought he was teasing, but then he cursed and began to tug at it with irritation and she realized he had somehow knotted it in his hurry to dress earlier. Pushing the linens and furs aside, she rose up on the bed and shifted to her knees to move to the side of the bed.
"You will break the tie like that, husband. Let me see if I can free it," she said quietly.
Kade hesitated, but then released his hold on the material and moved forward for her to have a go. He truly had snarled it up somehow, Averill noted as she began to unravel the tight knot. It took some doing, and she spent several minutes working at it before the knot came loose. Breathing out her relief then, she raised her head to offer him a smile of triumph that froze when she saw the expression on his face. It was hungry and hot, and she blinked in surprise and glanced back to where she had been working, only then noting that his manhood had grown while she labored and was pressing against the front of his braies.
Recalling the pleasure he'd given her that afternoon, and that they'd been interrupted before he'd found any himself, she thought briefly and slipped off the bed and tried to move around him, but he caught her arm.
"Where are ye goin'?" Kade asked, a frown replacing the desire of a moment ago.
"Just to get my bag," she assured him, managing to tug her arm free.
"Yer medicinal bag?" he asked with surprise. "What for?"
"'Tis a surprise. Get in bed, I shall be right back."
When he sighed and shook his head, but did move toward the bed, she headed for the chest that held her bag. It lay inside on the top. She took it out and quickly searched its contents, squinting in the poor light available. Bess had left only one candle lit in the room, and that was on a table beside the bed, so only the barest hint of light was managing to reach the corner where she knelt by the chest. Finding the ointment she wanted, she opened it quickly and began to slather it on her right hand.
"What are ye doin'?" Kade called from the bed, sounding rather suspicious. "Come to bed."
"I will. Just one moment," she said with exasperation as she closed the ointment with her ungreased hand and dropped the bag on top of the chest. Keeping her hand behind her, she then returned to the bed.
Kade eyed Averill suspiciously as she crossed back to him. There was a look in her eyes that suggested she did indeed have a surprise, one he wasn't sure he would enjoy. He watched narrowly as she climbed onto the bed, then noted that she was keeping one hand behind her back.
"What ha'e ye got there?" Kade asked, then instinctively grabbed for the linens and furs he'd pulled up to cover himself with when she suddenly dragged them down. He wasn't quick enough, and found himself lying there, bare from the knees up, his erection waving forward and back as if greeting her. Kade was on the verge of demanding to know what she was about when Averill suddenly brought her hand back around and clasped his waving penis.
Kade snapped his mouth shut and sucked air in through his gritted teeth as he stared at her wide-eyed.
"Old Ellie told me how to please a man as you pleased me this afternoon," she explained, beginning to move her hand.
"Old Ellie?" he asked, horrified to hear that his voice had come out several octaves higher than his usual baritone.
"A maid at Mortagne. She's very old and very wise, and she said to grease my hand up and pump you like I am milking a cow," Averill explained cheerfully and as he sagged back onto the bed, eyes closing with dismay she proceeded to do just that, closing her finger and thumb just under the head of his penis, then closing each succeeding finger around it, one after another, as if urging milk out of a cow's teat.
Unfortunately, she had it the wrong way around. Were his manhood an udder, she would be forcing the milk back up inside him rather than out. However, he wasn't a cow, what she was holding wasn't an udder, and what she was doing wasn't likely to bring anything squirting out of him. In fact, Kade could feel his erection dwindling away as she continued to work at him...then he couldn't feel anything at all.
Frowning, he opened his eyes and lifted his head to peer down. His manhood was there, hanging sadly over the top of her hand like an empty drinking skin, but he couldn't feel it. His eyes were just widening with the horror that she had somehow unmanned him, when Averill stopped what she was doing, released him, and frowned down at her hand.
"How odd, my hand seems to have gone numb," she said with bewilderment.
Kade felt hope stir within his heart and cleared his throat before asking in even tones, "What is it ye used to grease yer hand?"
She turned to him with surprise. "Just an ointment from my medicinals."
"Is it one to numb pain?" he asked carefully, then frowned with worry when Averill shook her head.
"Nay. This one is just to--" She paused suddenly and raised her hand to her face to give it a sniff.
Kade narrowed his eyes and waited.
"Oh d-dear," Averill breathed, eyes widening.
"Oh dear what?" he asked, biting his tongue to keep from shouting the question. Dear God, one did not sniff the ointment she had just greased her husband's pole with, then say "Oh dear" like that.
"I f-fear I m-may have g-got the ointments m-mixed up," she admitted, looking forlorn. "'Tis one to numb pain. 'Twill not harm you, but--"
Sighing with exasperation, Kade brought her explanation to a halt by catching her arm and dragging her down to lie half on top of him.
"'Tis all right," Kade muttered.
"B-but I w-wanted to p-please you," Averill cried, trying to rise back up.
"'Tis all right," Kade repeated, unsure whether to weep with relief that she hadn't permanently unmanned him or howl with frustration that the third attempt to tumble his wife since their wedding night had gone awry. At least, he'd intended to tumble her when he'd entered. Sighing, he rubbed her back soothingly, and said, "Ye do please me, wife...Verra much."
"Truly?" she asked on a sniffle.
"Aye," he growled, and glanced down, catching her dashing a tear away from her cheek. Kade sighed at her upset. The woman was trying, 'twas just a shame she had been given poor advice...well, and that she'd got her ointments mixed up in the dark corner, Kade thought with a grimace as he glanced down at his poor, numb manhood. The sad thing was lying flopped on his leg as if in a swoon, and he wondered unhappily how long that would last.
"Thank you, husband," Averill murmured. "You please me, too."
"Good," he muttered, then cleared his throat and asked, "Wife? How long do the effects o' this ointment last?"
Averill was silent for a moment, a small frown gracing her lips as she thought, then said, "I believe it lasts for a couple of hours."
"Oh." Kade sighed again, miserably this time. He'd been looking forward to bedding his wife again after their long journey, but it looked as if he was going to have to wait another night.
"I am sorry, husband," she said miserably. "I just wanted to please you as you did me."
"And ye do," he assured her once again, hugging her closer. And it was true, Kade realized as he continued to rub her back soothingly until she drifted off to sleep. Despite everything, he was very pleased w
ith his wife. She was clever, sweet, passionate, and, in his eyes, quite lovely. She was also willing to try things she didn't have a clue how to do. That spoke well for the future. He could see them being very happy together once everything was settled...if he could just stop her from getting advice on the marriage bed from the maids, he thought dryly.
Chapter Twelve
"My lady!" That whispered hiss gave Averill a start. She whirled guiltily away from the door she'd just eased closed to find Bess storming up the hall, a scowl on her face.
"Your husband ordered you not to get anywhere near his father and brothers without him. What are you thinking, going in there by yourself?"
Averill grabbed the woman's arm to hurry her away from the door. Bess had continued to whisper, and she didn't fear the low sound's waking anyone in the rooms at that end of the hall, but she also didn't want Kade to catch her there.
"I merely slipped in to each man's room to leave a pitcher of ale for him," she explained, keeping her voice low. "They will be dehydrated after being sick all night and will want a drink when they wake."
"Ale dosed with that weed of yours," Bess guessed grimly. When Averill grimaced, but didn't deny it, she sighed, and said, "What if Brodie had woken up and attacked you again?"
"I did not get near enough he could have grabbed me," Averill reassured her quickly. "And he didn't wake up and try anything, so all is well. Now"--she straightened and urged Bess toward the stairs--"let us go below. Kade wishes to head out today in search of mead and food for the castle and will be displeased do I tarry."
Bess peered at her narrowly as they started down the stairs into the great hall. "How did you manage to get three pitchers of ale up here without anyone noticing?"
"My husband is outside with Will, preparing our horses, and Laddie and the maids are in such a flutter cleaning the kitchens in preparation for the food and drink we hope to bring back, they hardly noticed my coming and going." Kade had reassigned the boy to helping the maids because she was not going to be there today for him to guard, but Averill suspected he would be back at her side when they returned.