A Lily on the Heath (Medieval Herb Garden 4)

“I told no one of our travel plans,” he said. “Henry would have thought us to go to Warwick. I will send word to Ludingdon and Mal Verne. Mayhap one of them can learn something. And put a word in the ear of the king. For, as you said, he would not wish suspicion to fall upon him—and surely he can rein in his wife. Though, the fact that we were more than a day’s journey from Clarendon would help prove the king innocent should anyone look his way. ”

“Aye. He is blinded by obsession and lust,” Judith said, “but even so, I do not believe he would be so rash as to order such an attack. ”

Mal shook his head. “I cannot agree completely. All know of his hot temper and thoughtless rages. ”

“And ’twould be more likely that one of his rages was heard and the directive was taken seriously, even if he did not mean for it to happen. But even knowing that, I suspect if some of his men had decided to take matters into their hands, they would have met us on the road to Warwick. ”

“You may be correct. And I do not think we will ever know for certain,” Malcolm said. Now as he looked down at her, he realized his rage had ebbed, his fear had eased…and he was alone in a shadowy corner with the most beautiful woman he’d ever known. And she was his. Still his.

And not only was she beautiful, but she was foolish and brave and spoke her thoughts and had good arguments. And she disobeyed him and thought she could protect him…and she wept in his bed.

Had she cried thus after coupling with the king?

“What is it?” Judith said suddenly.

Malcolm blinked, pulling himself back from thoughts and images he did not wish to entertain. “What?”

“Suddenly your face turned dark and angry again,” she said. Her slender hand was on his chest, covering the center of his hauberk where he wore the crest of Warwick.

“Aye. I am angry. You disobeyed me—”

“I was not going to ride off and leave you to be slaughtered,” she retorted. “And…’tis the truth: I didn’t trust anyone else to protect me as you can,” she added, causing his anger to wane. She was looking up at him with intense blue eyes, her lush body very close to his all of a sudden.

He drew his ire up around him again. She must understand her error—and, more importantly, he could not give in to the temptation she presented. Not here, in the midst of an abbey. In a public corridor. “In a moment like that, you must listen to me. You know naught about such things as war and battle, and ’tis unseemly for you to even think of shielding me!” He was becoming furious once more. “How would that look to my men—and to yours?”

Judith looked up at him, her hand still resting on his chest, her gaze unblinking. Then she looked away, her lips folding in on each other in irritation. “Aye, my lord,” she sighed in capitulation. “You speak the truth. I know little of battle, and I should have listened to you in those harrowing moments. I likely endangered you as well as myself. ”

With that unexpected acquiescence, the last bit of Mal’s anger evaporated, leaving him with naught to shield himself from her seductive proximity. “And well you did,” he said, reaching to touch one of her loosened braids. “But ’tis done for now. ” He slid his fingers along its thick length, then over the curve of her collarbone. “We are both safe. ”

His hands didn’t seem to want to stop, for the next thing he knew, both of them had curved around her shoulders. Malcolm drew her close, and to his mild surprise, she came willingly into his arms. His body shot to hopeful attention, heat and desire trammeling through him as he covered her mouth with his, pulling her up against the length of his body. Her lips were sweet and pliable, and he devoured them with a deep, sleek kiss. She made a soft sound, raising her arms to wrap them around his neck, pulling herself up against him. Her breasts lifted and pressed into him, and his hands settled at her hips then slid down over the curve of her arse.

Dimly aware of the soft rattle of mail and its metal barrier between them, Mal shifted, crushing her gently against the wall. His hands were filled with long, heavy hair and lush curves. She tasted like wine and mint, she smelled of moss and lavender, and the heat of her fingers at his neck, sliding beneath the linen of his undertunic, sent little prickles of awareness through him.

He covered her breasts, molding them in his hands and finding taut nipples beneath the fabric of her gown as he tasted her neck, nuzzling and gently eating at the sensitive hollow beneath her ear. Judith shivered in his arms, and her soft sighs and rough breathing ignited him further. His cock filled his hose, pressing uncomfortably against the mail chausses and he fumbled his hauberk out of the way, then yanked at the chausses opening to free himself. Heavy and hard, his cock slipped free, bumping against the backside of his hauberk.

Before he knew it, he had his hands beneath the hem of Judith’s gown, sliding it up along her thighs, his cock pressing against her belly, when he heard footsteps.

“My lord? Lady Judith?”

Christ’s nails. Malcolm froze as he recognized Holbert’s voice. He shoved her away, dropping the hem of her gown as the hauberk fell over his jutting erection. Judith gaped up at him, her eyes wide, her lips full and glistening as she yanked her cloak back around the front of her as her skirt swirled back into position.

“We are here,” Mal called just as Holbert came into view. With the mother abbess.

And two other nuns.

Praise God Holbert gave us warning of their approach. Malcolm’s face flushed hot and he dared not look at Judith as he shifted to the side and maneuvered a large hand over his waning erection, which still bulged insistently behind the hauberk. God’s stones, what was I thinking?

“Ah, there you are. We thought you may have gotten lost,” said the abbess. “For you were behind us, and then you had disappeared. It can be a bit confusing in this labyrinth of hallways. ”

She was a kind-faced woman with shrewd eyes, but even she didn’t seem to notice the discomfort her appearance caused. Her attention was trained on Judith, who, thankfully, looked no more disheveled than she had upon arrival at the abbey, though was slightly out of breath. “I bethought one of the sisters could draw you a bath, Lady Warwick. And then you may wish to have aught to eat before returning to the women’s chamber. We have night prayer in an hour. ”

“Thank you, mother,” replied Judith, also taking care not to look at Mal—who was absolutely not looking at Holbert either. “I would greatly appreciate that. ”

“Come with me, then, child,” she said. “Sister Pauletta has a jar of wonderful sea salt scented with rose oil and ’tis a most lovely addition to a bath. ”

Mal didn’t have time to wonder about an abbey where the nuns bathed in rose-scented water, for he was too busy putting himself back to rights. And as Judith went off with the well-meaning sisters, he realized he was going to have a very long, uncomfortable night.

It didn’t help that Holbert was doing a very poor job of hiding a smirk.