Keeper of the Stone (Norman Brides #1)

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A lovely Saxon maid. A fierce Norman knight. Can the innocent surrender of a beautiful Saxon maid quell the fires raging in the heart of a brutal, enemy knight?

Prologue:

The queen’s prediction proved accurate. The heavy door barely closed behind Matilda when Rhiann heard it creak open again. She stood in front of the hearth trying to draw ragged breaths into her suddenly tight throat. She refused to turn around; hoping a few more moments would help her gather her courage to face the terror of the night ahead.

Nathan stepped into his room and closed the door behind him, sliding the wood latch into place to bar any interruptions. He saw his wife stiffen at his entrance. He drew in a deep breath in an attempt to calm his raging needs. His bride’s slender form was outlined by the light from the fire. The see-through gown did little to hide her naked body from his avid gaze. He needed to gather his discipline before she turned to face him, lest he terrify her with his lustful intent. He drew a steadying breath, willing his thudding heart to slow down. He was never going to be able to summon the patience he was certain would be needed to gain his bride’s trust if he couldn’t clear his head and slow his body’s incessant urging to take the maid and have done with it.

“Rhiann.”

Her name echoed in the hushed silence of the room. Reluctantly Rhiann turned to face the man who was now her husband. Her arms were wrapped around her stomach in a protective gesture and in what she knew was a foolish attempt to cover herself as much as possible. The way Nathan’s glance raked over her she recognized she would be defenseless against his greater strength. Just as she was unable to stop the Norman siege on Heaven’s Crest, she would be unable to prevent her husband’s assault on her virgin’s body. She shivered involuntarily at the thought of what was to come.

Not wanting to give the terror his bride was unable to hide from him a chance to take hold, Nathan held her glance and demanded, “Come to me, wife.” He winced at the sound of his harsh command in the silence of the room. He was already struggling to contain his raging desire. He suspected his self-control would be tested tonight in a way he was never tested before.

When his innocent wife took an instinctive step back towards the heat of the fire he could almost believe from the blind panic he read in her eyes she found going up in flames a more preferable option to a night spent in his bed. Hoping not to push her any further, he added softly, “Do you remember your vows to the priest?”

She nodded reluctantly. “Do you intend to keep them?” He watched the flash of annoyance at his gentle reminder flare across his gentle bride’s face a moment before she swallowed nervously and took a hesitant step forward. Nathan stayed where he was by the door. It was important to both of them she come to him willingly.

He considered himself a patient man. His little wife seemed intent on putting that conclusion to the test with each tiny, tentative step she took towards him. It seemed as though it took her an hour just to cross the width of the room separating them. With each cautious step his body’s needs rode him harder, reminding him of his long abstinence. The campaign into Saxony was an intense one, with little opportunity for dalliance. He’d gone long months without the comfort of a woman’s soft flesh beneath him, surrounding him. The thought he would soon have this beautiful woman’s tender flesh and untried body beneath him was like the burn of a lash spurring him on, testing his hard-won self- control to its very limits. Sweat broke out on his forehead and beaded on his skin. But it wasn’t the heat from the fire eliciting such a response from his body; it was the heat of the fire burning in his loins.

When after a seemingly endless trek across the room, his bride was finally close enough he could see the outline of her erect nipples through the transparent gown and robe, she abruptly stopped her forward progress. Her eyes were filled with both tears and terror at the unbridled lust he was unable to conceal in his own. Nathan raised his gaze back from his perusal of her perfect silhouette almost bare to his lustful gaze beneath the transparent gown, and returned his glance to her face.