Anne, too, was partaking of wine at that moment. Except hers spilled across the hard abdomen of her lover before she could lick it all up.

Dafydd groaned when she painted the tip of his penis and started to lick. Anne giggled as she drew him in her mouth.

When she’d drained him dry, he pulled her up and suckled a breast lazily. Anne arched her back.

“Did Dunsmore suspect anything?” he asked.

“Nay, he did not know ’twas your men mingled with mine.”

Dafydd reached for the wine. “And how fares my niece with the mighty Black Hawk?”

Anne pouted. She didn’t want to think of that flame-haired witch right now. “She loves him, though he does not return it.”

That was satisfying, at least. Anne toyed with the hair on Dafydd’s chest.

“’Tis fitting that fate deal her the same lot in life as her mother. Eurwen loved my brother to distraction, but he was too caught up in his precious Wales. If Eurwen had listened to me—” He took a deep swallow of blood-red wine.

“You were in love with her.”

Dafydd’s face was stony. He finished off the wine and set the cup aside. “Aye,” he said, staring straight ahead. “Llywelyn has always beaten me in everything. Love was not an exception.”

“Nay, Dafydd, you have beaten him in one thing.” Anne smiled. “You have sons! You have seven children. He has but one.”

“Aye, and one on the way. This one could be the boy he’s been waiting for.”

Anne traced a circle around his nipple. “Accidents do happen.”

“Yes,” he said carefully, “yes, they do, dearest Anne.”

Anne’s hand slipped to his groin. “We haven’t much time left. The king will seek me as soon as the castle is abed.”

Dafydd rolled her on her back. “We mustn’t allow the king to bed you before we are quite certain everything is in working order.”

Anne could not agree more.

---

Gwen luxuriated in a hot bath scented with rose oil, then slipped into a silk chemise and velvet robe. She had a quiet supper of roasted fowl and winter cabbage, followed by baked apples and honeyed wine.

It was several hours since Richard had gone and she was beginning to get annoyed. She’d saved her explorations for the house until tomorrow, thinking Richard would be back soon. Every minute that passed only increased her annoyance.

She stood and began to pace. The master chamber wasn’t as large as the one at Claiborne, but it was luxurious nonetheless. The bed was big and canopied, its wooden posters carved with intricate designs of birds and animals. The hangings were crimson velvet, embroidered with a spread-winged hawk. They were pulled back to reveal sheets and pillows of linen and silk, and coverlets of fox and rabbit.

The ceiling was painted with a forest mural and a fierce hawk, and Gwen marveled at the delicacy of the work. Two narrow windows looked out over the Thames. She’d stared out them until nightfall obscured the view. It was nothing less than amazing.

Even in winter, boat traffic slogged up and down the mighty river that was England’s trade link with the rest of Europe. As far as she could see, the waterfront was lined with buildings both large and small.

London was intimidating to someone born and raised in the pastoral splendor of Wales.

Sighing, she sank into a velvet-cushioned chair. Mayhap Richard had found an elegant lady he preferred over her. Certes, she could not compare with the painted and pampered ladies of the royal court.

She curled into the chair and laid her head on her arm. If he didn’t come soon, she was going to bed and to hell with him.

She had no idea what time it was when she was awakened by loud voices. She stood quickly, massaging the crick in her neck. The door swung open and two men came in, supporting Richard between them.

“Is he hurt?” Gwen asked, hurrying to his side. She recoiled when the strong smell of wine hit her head-on. Fear was immediately replaced by anger.

He raised his head slowly. “Gwen,” he slurred.

“Put him on the bed,” Gwen said crisply.

“Aye, milady,” the two men said in unison.

Richard refused to lie down, gripping the bedpost instead. The men gave up and left him standing.

“Where the hell have you been?” she demanded, knowing it was ridiculous to ask when he was not in any condition to give her a decent answer.

He blinked. “Wessminsser.”

Gwen rolled her eyes, then went to him and started to remove his garments. His free hand entwined in her hair and he pulled her up to kiss him. She pushed him away.

“Lemme make love t’you,” he said.

Gwen laughed ruefully. “I doubt you could, my lord.”

He blinked, then lay his head against the post. Gwen got his mantle and tunic off, then started to remove his chausses. He twirled one of her curls around his finger.

“I love you…” he said, soft and slurred.

Gwen straightened, her heart skipping a beat. She searched his face, hoping for some spark of lucidity. There was none.

He was drunk. He had no idea what he was saying. He tormented her with the one thing she desired above all else when tomorrow he would have forgotten he’d ever said it.

Gwen slapped him.

His eyes widened. Perversely, he grinned. “Never do what I think.”

“You are insufferable,” she whispered.

“Aye.”

She finished undressing him, then unwrapped his hand from the bedpost and led him to the side of the bed. He fell on it and she pulled the covers over him.

She pushed her hair over her shoulders, then raised her hand in front of her face. It was shaking, just like the rest of her.

---

It was the incessant pounding that woke him. His head felt like a battering ram.

Richard turned over and tried to go back to sleep. It didn’t work. Finally, he sat up and looked around. It took several minutes to realize where he was and several more to focus on the still form of a woman at the window.

“Gwen?”

She started, then turned to look at him. He couldn’t tell from this distance, but she looked like she’d been crying. “I did not expect you to awaken for quite some time,” she said, sniffling.

Richard raked his hands through his hair. “I wish I hadn’t. Jesú, what the hell happened?”

She laughed, but it didn’t sound happy. “Oh I knew you would not remember.” She wrapped her arms around her body. “’Tis a good thing I am accustomed to disappointments.”

But unfortunately he did remember the one thing he wanted to forget. He had no idea how he’d gotten back last night, but he could never forget the crusade. His heart constricted.

The morning light was dull with sleet and snow, but where it touched Gwen, it shone like sunshine. Her glorious hair was like a river of flame and molten gold, the lushness of her form outlined by the velvet robe she wore. Richard could picture every delicious curve in perfect detail.

Oh God, how could he leave her? How, when he’d only just discovered he loved her?

Despite the ache in his head, he went to her. She refused to face him and he slipped his arms around her, pulling her against him.

Nuzzling her hair aside, his lips sought the sweet curve of her neck. “I’m sorry we did not get to talk last night. I know it was important to you.”

“Aye,” she said softly.

Richard knew they should probably talk now, but he couldn’t stop his hands from sliding up to mold her breasts. He felt her quiver and he was encouraged. Lord God how he needed her!

One hand slipped inside her robe and down to cup her feminine mound. His tongue made light circles around her ear. Her breathing quickened.

His shaft filled and he pulled her harder against him until she was aware of his arousal. “God, I want you. Make love with me, Gwen.”

His finger slipped into her cleft. She moaned her pleasure as he began to stroke her.

“That’s right,” he whispered. “Surrender to me.”

She turned in his arms and he bent to kiss her. How had he ever thought that all he felt for this woman was desire?

She was soft and warm and he crushed her to him until she protested it was too much. He eased his grip just enough to let her breathe.

He didn’t want to let go. Not ever.

He needed her so much he thought he might die of it. She was Llywelyn’s daughter. She was the woman he loved.

He undid the fastenings of her robe and let it slide to the floor. Next came her chemise. He swallowed hard. He’d seen her body dozens of times, but this was the first time he saw it with the full knowledge he loved her.

“Extraordinary,” he murmured, tracing the soft curve of a breast until it peaked in his fingers.

“Richard—”

Her eyes were red-rimmed, her expression serious. Richard felt a stab of pain that he had caused her grief. For one horrific moment, he wondered if last night he’d lost control of his tongue and told her of the crusade. “What, cariad?”

“Do you remem—?” She sighed and shook her head. “’Tis nothing.”

Richard kissed her. He wanted to make her happy, wanted to see her beautiful smile, hear her beautiful laughter. He wanted all those things before he told her of the crusade. He had to tell her, of course.

Eventually.

Her hands curled into his shoulders when he sucked a nipple into his mouth and tugged gently. For once his own lust wasn’t uncontrollable, and that surprised him. Her pleasure seemed more important somehow.

“Do you want me, Gwen?” he whispered huskily.

“Aye,” she breathed.

He joined her on the bed, his hard dark length pressing against her soft white body. He explored her with his hands and his mouth, finding new secrets, while she gasped and moaned and clutched at him.

He didn’t enter her. Instead, he brought her to climax, over and over, with his mouth and his fingers. His shaft throbbed, full and heavy, the pulse reaching all the way to his ears. When she tried to touch him, he refused to let her.

Richard knew when she reached the point she was so sated she couldn’t take anymore. Her eyes were heavy with sensuality and sleep and her body was limp. He kissed his way up her belly, her breasts, her neck, finally seeking her mouth.

She kissed him back, sighing. Her hand trailed along his arm and into his hair. “What about you?”

“Sleep, Gwen. I will be here when you wake.”

“Promise?” she asked, covering a yawn.

“Aye.”

She smiled and his throat ached. He wouldn’t always be there when she woke, and the thought was killing him.

She turned on her side and was asleep instantly. Richard curved his body around hers, more than content to hold her.

---

Gwen was shocked to discover the entire day had passed while she slept. Richard was still beside her, exactly as he had promised. He didn’t wake when she slipped from his arms and stole to the window.

Lights dotted the waterfront, reflecting off the river like candles beneath the surface. Gwen turned, stretching. There was a tray of food on the table, a washbasin with cool water, and a crackling fire that was only recently built up.

Gwen washed, then picked at the boiled beef and peas. There was also cheese and bread, wine, and something sweet for dessert.

Her gaze stole to Richard. She blushed when she thought of all the things he’d done to her. And he’d done it without a thought for himself. How could she have fallen asleep on him like that?

She picked up the tray and carried it to the bed. First, she would take care of his real hunger and then she would relieve his sexual appetite. A shiver of anticipation slid down her spine.

He stirred when she sat in the middle of the mattress and called softly to him.

“What is that?” he asked sleepily.

“Alys brought dinner.”

“That woman is priceless,” he said, pushing to a sitting position.

“Aye, but she has help. She and Owain conspire together.”

“How do you know this, my sweet?”

“Have you not noticed the way they moon over each other?”

Richard frowned. “Nay. Jesú, ’tis why the old devil insisted on coming to London!”

Gwen laughed then. “Mayhap they are in love.”

Richard’s expression was pained for a second. Gwen chided herself for even bringing up the subject of love. He clearly didn’t like the notion.

She offered him a piece of beef from her fingers. He took it with his lips, his eyes intense as he caught her gaze and held it. He began to feed her. They ate in silence, their only contact the whisper of fingers across the sensitive flesh of their mouths.

Gwen felt the heat flood her body as they stared at each other. It was so erotic, touching him so briefly, wanting him more with each caress. She remembered in heartstopping detail all the things his beautiful mouth had done to her that morning. Her heart quickened along with her breathing. Her fingers lingered on his lips, and he sucked one into his mouth.

Instant, blinding heat rocked through her, centering on the bud of her femininity. Gwen gasped as the tingling exploded outward.

Richard’s eyes widened. He set the tray aside and pounced on her. “It happened, didn’t it?”

“Yes,” she said. “I wanted you so much…”

“Jesú,” he breathed, stretching on top of her and centering his hard shaft against her cleft. He began to slide back and forth, heightening the sensations, prolonging them.

“Do not make me wait any longer, Richard,” she whispered. “I need you. Now.”

She slipped her robe open and he spread it away from her body. He continued to slide over her, hot skin against hot skin.

She wrapped her legs high around his back. He slipped downward, then pushed into her so slowly she wanted to scream. He retreated, slowly, deliberately. Gwen moaned.

Again he slid into her with exruciating patience. He repeated the rhythm half a dozen times until Gwen was nearly mindless.

She stared at his mouth. God how she wanted to taste his mouth! “Kiss me, Richard. Make love to me. I want you. I need you… I love you!”

His tongue plunged between her lips at the same time his body drove into hers. Gwen was swept up in instant rapture.

Their lovemaking was intense, explosive, cataclysmic. Gwen arched into him, opened, took him as deep as she could, then deeper still.

She wrapped her hand around the back of his head, anchored his mouth to hers. Her tongue mated with his, their mouths sliding together like hot, wet velvet.

It went on and on and on. Finally, he grasped her buttocks and lifted her, driving into her with the ferocity of his climax. She tore her mouth from his and cried her own release as the liquid tremors started deep within.

After a few moments he rolled off her and lay with an arm across his forehead, breathing heavily, his body glistening.

Gwen felt the air waft over her, cooling her hot skin. She raised herself on her elbows and gazed at her mound of curls. Even they were damp! After all this time, it was still amazing to think of being joined with a man, this man, so intimately.

His hand threaded in her hair, cupping the back of her head. He pulled her down to kiss him then pressed her onto her back, coming up on his elbow beside her.

His fingers traced her face, her neck, her breasts. “You were made for me, Gwen. I’ve never known a feeling so perfect, so right, as when I’m with you.”

Gwen smoothed a stray curl off his forehead. Her heart beat erratically. She thought she knew what he was trying to say. She dared not hope it was true, yet she couldn’t stop herself from saying, “Tell me, Richard.”

“I love you.” He kissed her when her mouth dropped open. At first, she lay limp, unbelieving. Mayhap she was still asleep and merely dreaming. But the reality of his big, hard body, his unmistakable male scent, his beloved lips on hers, told her she wasn’t asleep. Her arms slipped around him, stroked his hair, his neck, his back. The kiss was sweet, long, tender.

“I’ve never said that to anyone,” he whispered against her lips. “Never wanted to, until you.”

She felt tears pooling in her eyes. It was ridiculous to cry when she was so happy. “I did not think you meant it,” she said. “You were drunk and—”

“I told you last night?”

She nodded.

“Ah, Christ’s bones, you should not have had to hear it like that. ’Twas not the way I wanted to tell you.”

Gwen laughed suddenly. “I love you, Richard. As long as you love me, I care not how you told me.”

“Aye, I’ve fought it for so long, but I cannot deny it any longer. I love you.”

“Was it because of my father you denied it?”

“Nay, ’twas because of mine.” His hand trailed to her breast. She shuddered when he began to toy with her sensitive nipple. “He loved my mother so much that he was never the same after she died. I vowed to never care that much for a woman lest I be destroyed as he was.”

“What happened with the king?” she asked softly, knowing instinctively that whatever it was had caused him to admit his feelings.

“Nothing that need concern you, my love. ’Tis men’s business,” he said, dipping his head to swirl his tongue around her aroused nipple.

“You seek to distract me,” she said. His teeth closed gently over the hardened tip. “Mmm, my lord, you are insatiable.”

“Aye, I cannot get enough of you.”

“Please tell me what happened last night.”

He moved to the other breast. “’Tis unimportant, sweet. Now cease your questions before I take you over my knee.”

Gwen knew she could not sway him without the danger of rousing his temper. She decided to give in to his lovemaking instead. “Yes, Richard, please take me over your knee,” she said huskily.

“Christ but you excite me,” he swore. “I can think of something much more fun than spanking you though.”

She squeaked when he flipped her on her stomach and tore off her robe, giggling when he bit her bottom cheeks. Her giggles soon changed to moans as his mouth paid homage to the ripe curves, licking, kissing, biting.

When he finally turned her over and would have slid into her, Gwen pushed him back and straddled him. He groaned as she slid her mouth down his chest, his abdomen.

Before he could stop her, she claimed her prize. “Tell me you love me,” she commanded, then slid her tongue down his hard length.

“God yes, I love you, you brazen little temptress.”

Gwen rewarded him by taking him in her mouth. He bucked and swelled against her tongue until she knew she had to feel him inside her or die. She replaced her mouth with her feminine heat.

He cupped her breasts, then lifted until he could suckle them.

“Richard,” she gasped. “God, I love the things you do to me.”

“I’ve only just begun to do things to you, cariad. You will have to spend the entire day in bed again just to recover.”

Gwen’s laugh was husky. “As long as you stay with me, I shall not mind.”

He grasped her buttocks and turned her over without losing the intimate contact between them. Then he proceeded to show her just exactly what he intended to do all night.