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“And I apologized for it.”

  Susanna started giggling, trying to be discreet about the fact that they were starting to flirt with each other. It may have been rough to watch, given their unfamiliarity with it, but it was the best they could do.

  “I know,” she said after a moment. “I forgave you then and I forgive you now. I will not bring it up again.”

  “Susanna!”

  Samuel was calling to her, reaching across both Alexander and Achilles to do it. She turned to look at him as he waved his hand at Achilles, motioning the man to move back so he could get a clear view of his sister.

  “What’s this I hear you’ve been injured?” he demanded.

  Susanna glanced at Alexander, who had clearly told the man why they’d come. He was looking at her without any hint whatsoever of what he’d said, so she proceeded cautiously.

  “Aye,” she said slowly, wanting her brother to give her an indication with just how much he knew. “I took a sword to the gut, down by my hip. That is why I am here, Samuel. I have come home to recuperate but, already, I am much better. I hope I am welcome, still.”

  “You are always welcome,” Samuel said seriously. “This is your home as much as it is mine. What happened?”

  So he doesn’t know how I received the wound, she thought quickly. “Trouble with de Winter,” she said simply. “I would prefer to tell you privately, if you do not mind. I do not wish to shout what has happened for all to hear.”

  Samuel remained serious. “Trouble with de Winter?”

  “You could say that.”

  “I was telling your brother that we found you upon the road, traveling north,” Alexander said in a perfectly believable lie. “You were weak, so we thought to escort you to your destination before continuing on to ours. It was by chance, really, that we found you.”

  Susanna had a better idea of what Alexander had conveyed to her brother about her relationship to him and Achilles. “They have been excellent traveling companions,” she said. “They could have simply left me off here, but I invited them in. I knew you would want to thank them but I had no idea that you would know Alexander’s brother.”

  The lie, for Samuel’s benefit, was being established so they all had the same story about it. Samuel didn’t seem to think anything was amiss, that they weren’t perpetuating a lie right in front of him. He gestured to Alexander’s tunic.

  “You serve William Marshal, then?” he said.

  Alexander flashed that bright, toothy grin he was so famous for, the one that made him look amiable when, in fact, it hid the heart of a killer. “There is a humorous story behind this,” he said. “We actually stole these.”

  Samuel’s eyebrows lifted. “Stole them?”

  Alexander nodded. “From two Pembroke knights after a fight,” he said. “In fact, if you see two very angry men hunting for two knights who stole everything from them, do not tell them that you have seen us. You would be surprised how many people are willing to waive the price of a meal or the cost of a bed to sleep in for a man bearing the colors of Pembroke. It has been quite lucrative.”

  Samuel stared at him a moment before breaking down into laughter. “Is this true?”

  “It is true,” Susanna confirmed, just to make Alexander’s lie believable. “They have been doing it all the way north. They are quite clever, if not the slightest bit naughty.”

  Samuel continued to snort. “You told me that these were two of the finest knights you had ever known,” he pointed out. “I think you lied, just a little.”

  Susanna grinned. “It was harmless,” she said. “I did not want you to think I was traveling with scoundrels. And in speaking of scoundrels, what is going on around here, Samuel? Is there something I can be part of now that I am home?”

  Both Alexander and Achilles were shocked that she’d brought up the foreign army and the activity they’d seen surrounding it, but the way she made it sound came across as if she approved of it. Better still, she wanted to be part of it.

  But Samuel waved her off, turning to pour himself more drink from a beautiful pewter pitcher.

  “It is of no concern,” he said. “These men are not mine, at least not most of them. You needn’t concern yourself.”

  It sounded rather final and Susanna didn’t push, at least not now. But she knew she would at a later time. Next to her, Achilles reached for the pitcher when Samuel was finished with it.

  “Good,” he said. “I am not apt to fight another man’s war any time soon unless, of course, there is money involved. Pay me enough and I will fight my own mother.”

  For the first time, since their introduction, Samuel took some notice of him. “Something tells me you may have already done that.”

  “It is possible.”

  “Are you sworn to anyone?”

  Achilles shook his head, another lie in a conversation laced with them. “Hugh de Puiset was the last man we were sworn to,” he said. “I’ve no stomach for him, so we have been traveling ever since, fighting other men’s wars until we are sick of such things. My brother is in the north serving the House of de Velt and we are heading there. He says he has a place for us so we can at least stop being transient. At our ages, it is time to find a place to rest our bones.”

  Alexander was nodding as if in perfect agreement with everything he was saying. “The long nights, the long days, the travel without end,” he said. “It is exhausting. We have been living such a life ever since leaving The Levant. We only recently made our way home to England.”

  Samuel was listening intently. “De Velt at Pelinom Castle?”

  “The same.”

  “But why not remain with me? I would be happy to accept your fealty. You are Estienne’s brother, after all. Imagine his surprise when he discovers his brother is serving me.”

  Alexander put up a hand to beg pardon. “That is most generous, but we must decline at this time,” he said. “De Velt is expecting us and we have been planning this for some time. But if it is not suitable to our tastes, then I may very well return to you and hope the offer is still open.”

  Samuel nodded. “For a brother of Estienne, my offer will always stand,” he said, omitting Achilles from that statement. “Come, let us drink and speak of your life since leaving The Levant. Entertain me with stories of your travels.”

  Before Alexander could embark on what would undoubtedly be tall tales of half-truths, Susanna stood up.

  “Then I will leave you to your feast and your stories, Brother,” she said. “I am very weary from the long journey and this wound has been taxing. May I claim my former chamber?”

  Samuel gestured towards the keep. “It is yours,” he said. “I will speak with you on the morrow.”

  As she nodded and turned away, Achilles also stood up. “With your permission, I will retire also,” he said. “We did not get much sleep last night and I find that I am weary as well. Where may I find a bed, my lord?”

  Samuel put his feet up on the table, wine in hand. “Susanna will show you,” he said. “There are apartments on the lower level of the keep. You know the one, Susanna – they used to be the majordomo’s quarters when we were children.”

  Susanna nodded. “I know what you mean,” she said, eyeing Achilles. “Come with me.”

  Achilles did. Leaving Alexander to keep Samuel occupied, he followed Susanna from the great hall at a distance, watching the reaction from the men in the hall as she walked past them. She was tall and beautiful, but dressed like a man. She was a paradox and heads turned when she walked by.

  Achilles found himself fighting off a wicked surge of jealousy.

  When they were clear of the hall and into the small, dark courtyard, he caught up with her as they headed to the two-storied apartments directly across the yard. Achilles came up beside her, close enough to brush against her, catching her attention. When she turned to look at him, he smiled.

  “Do you think he believed us?” he asked quietly. “About stealing these tunics from some hapless Pembroke knights, I mean
.”

  He had a rather naughty gleam to his eye and Susanna returned her focus to the apartments ahead. “I suppose he has no reason not to believe you,” she said. “Poor Sherry, left to continue the lies alone.”

  “He is a grown lad. He can handle himself.”

  “Do you really have a brother with de Velt?”

  “I have three older brothers and the second eldest, Benedict, does indeed serve de Velt. My mother is a de Velt, in fact.”

  She turned to look at him again just as they came to the heavily-fortified door that led into the apartments. “Where are the other two?”

  Achilles reached out to lift the door latch, shoving the solid panel open. “Tobias serves the Earl of Wolverhampton and Brickley serves the Earl of East Anglia. Surely you must have met him before, considering how close de Winter and East Anglia are.”

  She came to a sudden halt just inside the door. “Brickley?” she repeated with surprise. “Brick de Dere? God’s Bones, I do not know why I never made the connection. Of course I know him. A big man with brown hair?”

  “And eyes that are my color.”

  “I never noticed, but now that I look at you, there is some resemblance. But he is a good deal older than you are.”

  Achilles nodded. “He is older than me by thirteen years,” he said. “Benedict and Tobias are in the middle, and then I am the youngest.”

  She regarded him in the darkness for a moment before continuing on inside. “You are more handsome than Brick is.”

  “I know.”

  She laughed softly, rolling her eyes at his arrogant response as they came to a door, the first door in the corridor that was quite dark. Lifting the latch, Susanna pushed the panel open, revealing a good-sized chamber with at least three beds in it and windows that overlooked the courtyard. The only light in the chamber was coming from those windows, in fact, as the courtyard was lit by dozens of heavily-smoking torches. Susanna fumbled her way over to a table near the hearth, spying a taper and flint. Expertly striking the flint against stone, she lit the taper and a faint, golden glow filled the room.

  Meanwhile, Achilles headed over to the windows to draw down the heavy oil cloth, blocking out a good deal of the light and blocking the view from the outside. Susanna moved from the taper to the hearth, now loading up peat and kindling to start a fire.

  “Where will you be sleeping?” Achilles asked as he secured the oiled cloth.

  Susanna was stacking the kindling from the depleted kindling bucket. “On the floor above,” she said. “There are four chambers up there. When I was a child, I had the one in the western corner. I will sleep tonight on the same bed I slept in during my childhood.”

  “And that brings you comfort?”

  She shrugged as she piled the last of the kindling. “As much as anything else can, I suppose,” she said. Then, her movements slowed. “To be perfectly honest, I do not like to think about it because it reminds me of my mother too much.”

  “And that is still painful for you?”

  “Still.”

  He came away from the windows, heading towards the hearth. “I am sorry, Sparks,” he said softly. “I am fortunate in that I still have both parents. At least, I did the last time I had contact with them.”

  “When was that?”

  “About five years ago.”

  She turned to look at him. “Things can change, Achilles. You should see your parents again, soon. Where do they live?”

  “Blackwell Castle, south of Carlisle.”

  “Then it is not too far from here. Mayhap you should see them before you return to London.”

  Achilles shook his head, taking the flint and stone from her and striking it over the kindling, watching the sparks take root. “I cannot spare the time,” he said. “It is more important that I fulfill my obligations to William Marshal right now. But mayhap when I return, we shall go and see them together.”

  The conversation took a decidedly personal turn, but instead of flushing violently and turning away, Susanna actually met his eye.

  “I would like that,” she said softly.

  He smiled faintly. “I have decided something.”

  “What is that?”

  “I am not going to court you.”

  Shock rippled across her features. “Why not?”

  He lifted his big shoulders. “I do not want to take the time,” he said. “I will forego a courtship altogether and simply marry you.”

  She smiled in relief. “Are you certain?”

  “Stop asking me that. I told you that I was.”

  She laughed quietly. “Then if that is what you wish, I am agreeable. When will you ask my brother? Before you go?”

  He shook his head. “I do not think so, mostly because it would be a stranger asking,” he said. “Any good brother would deny such a request and I do not wish to be denied. Therefore, during your time here and before I return, you will tell your brother about me and convince him that I am your one and only chance for a husband, and that he would be foolish to refuse my offer.”

  He was half-serious, half-not. Her eyes narrowed. “You are my one and only chance, are you?”

  He pursed his lips distastefully. “Look at you,” he scolded without force. “You dress like a man. You fight like a man. And you’re old. How old are you, anyway?”

  Her cheeks were back to flushing, tinged red because she was embarrassed. “I have seen twenty years and nine.”

  He snorted. “If your brother thinks you are going to get a better offer than me, he is mad.” He noticed that she was hanging her head, realizing he had hurt her feelings with his harsh jesting. Quickly, he relented. “I am sorry, Sparks. I did not mean to sound cruel. I simply meant… I want you and I shall have you. You shall be my wife above all else.”

  She nodded, but she kept her head down. “But I am rather old.”

  “If I cared about that, I would not be here.”

  She peered up at him. “Are you certain?”

  “Shall I prove it?”

  Reaching down, he pulled her to her feet as the fire in the hearth began to grow. Orange flame threw undulating light on the walls as Achilles pulled Susanna against him, slanting his mouth over hers. It was their second kiss in as many days and, this time, there was no timidity on Susanna’s part.

  In fact, those sparks she’d spoken of to Achilles, once, had ignited a flame.

  Fastened to his wonderful lips, Susanna moaned softly at the feel of him, hot and insistent. His arms were around her, holding her tightly, and it was the most wonderful sensation. He held her like that for a time, tasting her sweetly, before his hands move to her face, holding it as his lips devoured hers. By the time she was melting into him, giving herself over to him completely, his hands had moved from her face.

  They were moving down her body.

  They were fumbling at the belt around her waist, easily removing it. The belt hit the ground and Susanna was so consumed with the pleasure of his heated mouth that she was hardly aware when he pulled the tunic over her head.

  Before she realized it, the clothing was beginning to come off.

  Shall I prove it?

  Evidently, he fully intended to.

  Susanna should have put a stop to it at the very least, but she found she couldn’t. She was as eager to explore him as he was to explore her, this man who had infuriated her at the beginning of their acquaintance but now turned her into a heated, malleable creature at the slightest touch. She remembered his hands on her neck as they’d fought, once. But those same hands, so strong and brutal, were now tender and loving.

  Gentle.

  She wanted more.

  Somehow, the mail came off in between heated kisses and Susanna heard it hit the floor, too. He then went to remove his own clothing, yanking his tunic with such eagerness that he tore a seam. More pieces of clothing began coming off – undertunic, boots, and finally the ties on breeches. All of it was hitting the floor at an alarming rate and Susanna couldn’t even muster the will t
o utter a word of protest. Suddenly, she was up in his muscular arms and he laid her upon the nearest bed. It was then that Susanna realized the extent of their naked state; flat on her back, he covered her up with his warm, muscular body.

  His intentions were clear.

  In fact, Achilles was going to take her. He’d already decided that. He was going to marry the woman and before he rode off to London, he was going to mark Susanna as his own. Claim her. He was fairly certain she had figured out his objectives at this point and thought he might ease her natural apprehension with a few well-chosen words, but he was so consumed in the feel of her naked flesh against his that the only sound coming forth from his throat was a growl.

  Since she wasn’t resisting, his hands roved and caressed, probed and stroked, as Susanna writhed beneath him. She was innately responsive to his touch, arching into him, squirming beneath him, and Achilles could stand no more. His mouth found her beautiful breasts and he began to suckle gently. He could feel Susanna’s fingers on his scalp, holding his head against her breasts. She was so blinded by what he was doing to her that when he wedged himself between her thighs, it was as she abruptly came to her senses.

  “Achilles,” she whispered. “Mayhap we should not… we are not married, after all.”

  Achilles licked her torso, ending at a taut nipple. “It does not matter,” he whispered. “You shall be my wife and I will adore you, and only you, until I die. Give me a memory to live on during my time away from you, Sparks. Already, I can hardly bear being away from you.”

  She shuddered violently as his fingers pinched her nipples and her eyes closed once more, giving herself over to erotic anticipation. “Nor I, you,” she murmured. “You may continue.”

  It sounded like a command and he fought off a grin. “Thank you, my lady.”

  Lifting himself up, his lips descended upon her mouth once more, suckling the breath from her very bones. Susanna, swept up in the newness of sensations, moaned low in her throat. The more he kissed and stroked, the hotter she became.

  Gripping Susanna behind her long thighs, Achilles pulled her knees up, winding her supple legs about his hips. Moving away from her delicious mouth, he gazed down at his engorged manhood as it pressed gently against her tender core, watching as their bodies prepared to join. It excited him beyond reason. Stroking her tender folds and feeling how wet she was, he guided his manroot to its target.