A Knight of Passion

chapter Ten

Riana stepped away from Sir Bryant as the priest closed the chapel door, then turned and approached where the three stood.

Riana stepped towards him. “Father Vaughn, I have no intention of marrying this man.”

He halted in front of them and gave Sir Bryant a questioning look.

Sir Bryant grasped her shoulders and turned her to face him. “There is only one reason the duchess would send men-at-arms for you.”

“Aye,” Riana replied. “She knows you have kidnapped me.”

“Nay. She knows I have come for you. You will not escape this time, Riana, nor will your sister.”

“How dare you?” She tried to twist free, but he tightened his fingers on her shoulders.

“The moment you rode through the gates of the prison, your life was forfeit.”

She gave a morbid laugh. “My life was forfeit the moment I entered Arundel.”

“Think,” he said. “I can protect you, dower your sister, even break down every brick of the prison to rescue Glen for you.”

She stared. “You are indeed mad if you expect me to believe this fantasy.”

“Is it so impossible to believe a man could want you?”

A rush of memory assaulted her—Stuart’s smile when he had asked for her hand in marriage, the gentle way his fingers caressed her sex that day in the field, his lingering kiss the day he had left. She choked back a sob.

“Riana.”

Sir Bryant’s face snapped into focus.

She pulled free of his hold. “You cannot prevail against the duchess.”

“Indeed?” The steel in his voice sent a chill down her back.

“How can you possibly wrest my sister from the duke?” Riana demanded.

“Once we are married, I will bring her under my protection.”

“My stepfather will never take her from the duke. Even if he did, the duke will already have f*cked her until she bleeds.” Her stomach roiled. “I will kill him first.” She realised her words and swung her gaze to the priest. “Save your admonitions, Father. I know my thoughts condemn me to hell. But I will not recant.”

A gentle smile moved across his face. “It takes courage to risk the fires of hell for someone you love. God does not abandon a courageous woman.”

“God cares nothing for courage.”

“Open your eyes,” Father Vaughn said. “Who else but God could orchestrate such a miracle?”

“Why do you think the duchess wanted me dead?”

Riana startled at the sound of Sir Dunbar's voice, and the question. She shrugged. “Either you offended her, or have something she wants.”

"She wants me dead so one of her favourites can seize control of my army. That alone would be worth murdering me. If he takes my land, the assassin may command his own price.”

Riana didn’t flinch from his gaze. They believed she had been going to truly murder him. And why not? They couldn’t know the truth.

“Yet she found an assassin who cost her not a single piece of silver,” she said.

To her surprise, his eyes softened. “I suspect the cost would have been greater than she expected.”

Riana blinked, unable to think of a response.

“My army and Sir Bryant’s are allied,” he went on. “To declare war on one is to declare war on the other. That is no small threat.”

Riana frowned. “You would battle the duke for me? Why?”

Sir Dunbar laughed. “Because it would please me to bring his wife to her knees.” He turned his grin on Sir Bryant. “I would pay half my gold to see that.”

Sir Bryant nodded, then said to Riana, “I will not let the duke harm Siusan.” He surprised her with a grin she felt clear to her toes, and added, “It would not be the first battle waged over a woman.”

Riana couldn’t prevent a hoarse laugh, but the amusement was gone as quickly as it had come. “We may already be too late.”

“The duchess is no fool,” he said. “She will not make a move until she is sure of the outcome. But we cannot delay.”

He was right. Time had run out. The duchess knew that Riana wasn’t the malleable servant she’d thought her to be just a few hours ago. Her life was forfeit—and Siusan would now take her place. Riana’s pulse skipped a beat. Was there a chance they might escape this fate?

Warmth flushed through her at memory of Sir Bryant’s hands on her as he eased his cock into her channel, his moist mouth on her nipples, his sure finger inside her slick heat. She knew what sort of lover he was. What sort of husband would he be?

She locked gazes with him. “If you fail to rescue my sister, I will kill the duke and you will be wed to a murderess.”

“If I fail, I will kill the duke.” He pulled her to his side and faced the priest. “Be quick about it, Father. There is no time to waste.”

For the second time in her life, Riana stood in front of a chapel and pledged her body and goods to a man. Her stomach did a somersault when she agreed to be loyal to him and him alone. The possibility of giving her body to only one man for the rest of her life was a dream she hadn’t dared allow herself to contemplate.

Sir Bryant would eventually grow tired of her, as all husbands did of their wives, but he was an attentive lover…a passionate lover, and she would not vex him when he finally found her lacking. How much better to be respected as a wife for the remainder of her days, rather than to be passed from man to man until her cunt dried up to the point she could no longer accept a cock?

When the priest pronounced them husband and wife, Sir Bryant rose from where they knelt and gently pulled her up beside him. He grasped her chin and tilted her face upwards. A soft smile played on his lips as he lowered his mouth to hers. She remained still as stone, certain the fierce pounding of her heart echoed in his ears as loudly as it did hers. Moist lips brushed hers as if afraid she might break or, she realised, as if uncertain she would accept him. Riana slid a hand around his neck and pressed closer.

He thrust his tongue inside her mouth with a fierceness that took her breath. He tasted, sucked, then flicked his tongue against hers just as he had her sheath only a few hours before. Her core tightened, and heat spread through her like wildfire. Her knees weakened and she couldn't halt the whimper deep in her throat. He broke the kiss, then crushed her to him. Riana startled at the loud thump of his heart. He remained unmoving, and she dared not break the spell for want of understanding his strange mood.

At last, he grasped her shoulders and held her at arm’s length. “One thing yet remains to finalise the marriage.”

She frowned, then grasped his meaning. “But last night —” She cast an embarrassed glance at the priest.

“Last night was before we took vows,” Sir Bryant said.

“How can we possibly consummate the marriage now?” Riana looked at Father Vaughn. “Surely this is not necessary?”

“No marriage is considered truly valid until consummated. If there is reason to believe the marriage will be challenged…”

“Could we not just say it was done?” She gave a nervous laugh. “Who is to know?”

“Perhaps no one,” the priest replied. “But it can be known that you did consummate the marriage.”

“What do you mean?”

“Come with me.” He turned towards the door.

Sir Bryant followed, pulling Riana beside him, then called over his shoulder to Sir Dunbar, “You too, my lord. If anyone arrives, it is better they do not find you until this business is finished.”

“This business?” Riana repeated.

Father Vaughn led them back inside the church and around the altar. They hurried through a door in the right hand corner, and down a narrow corridor to a door on the left. He opened the door and stepped aside. Riana gasped at sight of a small bed located against the right side of the room.

She jerked her gaze to Sir Bryant. “This is sacrilege.”

“We have the sanction of a priest,” he replied.

Riana swung to face the priest. “Surely this is not permitted?”

He shrugged. “Why not? You are married.”

“But that is your bed,” she insisted.

Her husband bent and whispered in her ear, “We need not use the bed.”

She jerked her gaze up to his.

Confusion played across his face. “I did not mean—” He cast a helpless glance at Sir Dunbar.

“Do not look at me, lad. She is your wife.”

“Go.” Father Vaughn gave them a gentle push across the threshold and closed the door behind them.

Riana stood frozen as her husband faced her.