How to Train Your Knight: A Medieval Romance Novel by Stella Marie Alden Page B

silence at the accursed door. The enchanting Lady Ann had come willingly to dine and laugh with him. And now there was going to be more. Even if she didn’t wish to join with him tonight, he couldn’t remember being happier.
    “I’d like to kiss you again.”
    She tried to sink into the doorframe and turn away. A large tear dropped down her cheek. “Why? I’ll cause you nothing, but disgust. ‘Tis not my fault, you know.”
    With both her soft hands in his, he brought them to his lips. “Believe me. Disgust is not how I feel when I hold you.”
    Her charcoal-lined eyes glistened and another drop fell down her cheek, leaving a black stripe. “But there’s more. I’m not right.”
    Gently twisting a wayward strand of black mane in his hand, he lifted her chin. Endless wet green meadows flickered in the candlelight. “Did your first husband damage you such that you can’t breed?”
    Sighing, she turned an even brighter shade of red. “No, not that. Worse, I suspect. I don’t arouse a man into his, his . . .”
    Taking a deep breath, she blurted, “My last husband told me his pintle would not stand for me. I was the cause of his inability to make an heir.” The floor became her primary focus.
    “Ann. Sweet, sweet Ann.” Eyes closed, he pulled her dainty hand away from his mouth, down the length of his torso, and helped her fingers to curl around his throbbing staff. “It can’t be so. If you made me stand any straighter, I’d go mad.”
    Her short nails dug into him and he moaned. “Open your chamber door and invite me in. All will be well, I promise you. I’m not your last husband, nor do I suffer from the same malady.”
    “What?”
    After a sharp inhale, he held his breath to gather another grain of self-control. Wrapping his good arm around her waist, he brushed her lips gently with his own. “A lady as beautiful as you could not be the cause of a man’s inability to become full.”
    “Then why would he say such wicked things to me and beat me so?”
    He nibbled on her chin and held her even closer. “I don’t want to speak of the old bastard. Instead, let me show you how it should be between a husband and a wife. Will you trust me?”
    In his mind’s eye, he shouted triumphantly, then blew a horn of victory when she opened the large oak door wide. The flickering light from the fire in the hearth cast orange dancing shadows along the stone walls and across her gentle face. He kissed her cheek before turning to the door and closing it with a thud.
    She gasped and edged away.
    “I promise, you can run at any point. I just want some privacy. Come, let’s stand by the fire. It’s a cool night.” He walked her over to the hearth with a hand to the small of her back. Gently, he removed the gold net binding until hair fell like a waterfall, cascading down her back. Ignoring his injured arm, he pushed both hands through her silky mane and groaned.
    “Are you in pain?”
    “Shush. There are many kinds of pain. This one is the sweetest.” He placed his lips on hers and tried to open them with his tongue. “Have you never been kissed, m’lady?”
    “Only by an impertinent weaver.” She grinned mischievously and opened her eyes.
    “Ne’er before that?” He brushed his lips across her face.
    “Why? Am I doing it wrong?” She tried to pucker her lips and he almost laughed out loud.
    “Your kisses are more than fine. I’ll show you. ‘Tis simple. I kiss you first until something stirs and tightens, and you do the same to me.”
    “How will I know?”
    “You will.” He pulled her into his body and slipped a hand to her derriere. He put his mouth over hers and laid siege with his tongue to her teeth until she opened for him. He plundered the prize, thrusting in and out. In his mind’s eye, his hardened rod was doing the same.
    Her tongue found his mouth and emulated him perfectly. She let out a little moan and her pelvis arched into his already painful staff. Her body, naturally more