Chapter Eight
Jacqueline slammed her chamber door closed behind her, then angrily threw herself onto her bed. She balled her hands into fists and pounded the mattress. It helped some, venting her anger, but not much. She would have had more satisfaction if it had been Terric she pummeled. The wretch deserved it.
She rolled onto her back as her anger was slowly replaced by hurt. Terric’s announcement of his departure on the following day was completely unexpected. Jacqueline had known he would not be spending all the days leading up to the grand tournament at Carisbrooke, but she had not thought he would leave after only a few days. The training had just started. Plus, she had thought he was beginning to feel something for her.
That was what hurt the most. She thought the kisses they had shared meant as much to him as they did to her. She was a fool to think so.
The chamber door opened, and Beth walked in. She shut it, then walked across the room to the bed. Jacqueline refused to acknowledge her presence. She stared pointedly at the ceiling, but that didn’t stop her friend from intruding. Beth calmly sat on the edge of the mattress and smoothed the skirts of her gown around her.
“You can act as if I am not here if you want, but I am not leaving, Jacqueline. You are upset about Terric going. I can see that, but I have only one question for you. Are you just going to stand by and let the man you are coming to love walk away without a fight?”
Jacqueline quickly sat up and looked at Beth. “What choice do I have? It is not as if I expected Terric to pledge his undying love for me.”
Beth shook her head. “Jacqueline, the man is running scared. I am sure his feelings are a lot stronger for you than what he shows. He has probably never felt this way about another woman. So like the man he is, he is running away.”
Jacqueline rolled her eyes at Beth’s assumptions and snorted. “I think not. You are making Terric out to be a better man than he is.”
“Is that so? All right, prove me wrong.”
Jacqueline inched across the bed to sit beside Beth. “What do you mean? Prove what?”
A small smile played upon Beth’s lips. “How else? Confront Terric. Tonight, before he leaves.”
Jacqueline shook her head. “Are you mad? Mother would have my head for pulling such a stunt.”
“So you are willing to let him walk out of your life, possibly forever? Because I can guarantee you, if he leaves without you making him face his feelings, he will not come near you again.”
Standing, Jacqueline paced back and forth. She mulled over Beth’s words. Admittedly, there were some very good points in what she had said, but how to arrange such a meeting would be the tricky part. Terric’s chamber was right beside her mother’s.
Having reached a decision, Jacqueline ceased her pacing. “Fine, I will do as you say, but I need your help. Terric has to come to my chamber. His is too close to Mother’s for my liking.”
Beth gained her feet and shook out her skirts. “Leave that to me. Once your mother has retired for the night, I will devise a way to have Terric come to your chamber. That is the easy part. Yours, Jacqueline, will be the harder.”
“What do you have in mind?”
Beth gave Jacqueline a sly smile and stepped to the chamber door. “Do not fret, he will come. Just be prepared…for his arrival.”
After passing on that cryptic remark, she swept out the door, softly shutting it behind her.
* * * *
Terric was in a deep sleep when someone roughly shook him awake. Thinking it was Edwin who disturbed his rest, he brushed the offending appendage away and rolled onto his side. He was shaken once again. He rolled onto his back, ready to give Edwin a stern rebuke. Much to his surprise it was Lady Beth.
He propped himself up on one elbow and reached for the covers to make sure he was sufficiently covered since he slept every night naked. “Lady Beth, what do you here? Is something amiss?”
“Oh, Sir Terric, I am so sorry to disturb you, but I need you to assist me. Something is wrong with Jacqueline.”
Terric sat up straighter. “Cannot her mother help her?”
Beth shook her head. “I am afraid not. Please, will you come with me?”
Terric glanced to where Edwin lay asleep on his pallet, and nodded. “Of course, just give me a moment to get dressed.”
“I appreciate this, Sir Terric. I will await you in the hallway.”
Once Beth softly closed the door behind her, he quickly donned hose and a tunic. Not bothering to awaken Edwin to tell him where he would be, he quietly left the chamber. Beth motioned him to follow her as she headed toward Jacqueline’s chamber, which was at the far end of the hallway.
Beth opened the door, then stood aside so Terric could enter the chamber before her. Thinking she had followed him in, he turned to ask her what exactly was wrong with Jacqueline, only to find her shutting him inside. Before he could move to grasp the handle and try to open it, he heard her lock it from the other side.
“Sorry, Terric. I could not let you leave without speaking to you privately.”
He spun around at the sound of Jacqueline’s voice and found her standing in the middle of the chamber. “You did not have to go to such lengths, Jacqueline. All you had to do was ask.”
She stepped closer. “Would you have come to me?” When he did not answer right away, she shook her head. “I thought not.”
“Be that as it may, I am here now. What do you wish to say?”
*
Seeing the way Terric avoided looking at her even when she came closer, Jacqueline sensed he would not make this easy on her. “I want to know why you have decided you must leave on the morrow.”
Jacqueline positioned herself so a few inches only separated them, and Terric fixed his gaze on the wall at the farthest end of the chamber.
“It is time for me to go. Tournaments are how I make my living. You know that. I must follow the circuit.”
Jacqueline looked him up and down. He had his hands clasped behind his back, trying to act as if her closeness had no effect on him, but she knew she stirred him. He could not hide how stiffly he stood.
“Is that so? If I were to offer to pay you to stay and complete my training, would you still leave?”
Terric opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, but in the end he said, “Nay, I would not.”
He squirmed, and Jacqueline had to admit Beth had been correct. He was a man running scared, after all. Wanting him to squirm even more, she took another step nearer. Now she was toe-to-toe with him.
“If I were to pay you for your services, there should be no need for you to leave in such a great hurry. Unless there is another reason. One you have not mentioned.”
He groaned and brought his gaze down to focus on her face. “Jacqueline, please do not do this. It is better for the both of us if I leave on the morrow.”
“How so?”
“Because of this.” Terric cupped her face in both his hands and lowered his lips to hers. He claimed them in an all-consuming kiss. Jacqueline wrapped her arms around his waist and held him closer. He lifted his mouth. “If we continue, I cannot promise you I will be able to end this before it is too late.”
She ran her hands up and down his back and smiled. “What if I do not want you to stop?”
Her answer elicited another groan from him. “I have no right to touch you this way. You deserve better than a landless knight.”
“The choice is mine to make.”
“I cannot promise you more than one night. This does not change my decision to leave, either.”
“Then make this night memorable for me. I choose no other.”
Terric picked Jacqueline up in his arms and carried her to the bed. “God help me, but I am not strong enough to refuse you. I promise you will not regret this.”
He laid her on the mattress and slowly followed her down. He claimed her lips again and seemed to give his passion free rein. Increasing the pressure of his lips, he urged her to open her own. His tongue gently entwining with hers brought a moan to the surface from deep down inside her. Jacqueline could not hold it back. As he ran his hands all over her, the sensations he caused took her over.
Gently cupping Jacqueline’s breast, Terric took her pebbled nipple between his thumb and forefinger, rolling it between his fingers. Jacqueline moaned. He left her mouth and caressed the skin under her ear with his mouth. He nipped that sensitive area, then licked it. He moved lower on her body and took her breast into his mouth. Through the material of her tunic, he suckled her hard until she squirmed.
As if he found their clothes too much of a barrier, Terric divested them of the offending garments. The contact of bare skin against bare skin caused them to groan. Jacqueline gasped as they touched more intimately. Her senses became overwhelmed. Not wanting to lie still any longer, she tentatively ran her hands down his strong back. Much to her satisfaction, his muscles quivered beneath her touch. Growing bolder, she caressed his chest. Her fingers ran through his chest hair. She relished the feel of the thick padding of muscle to be found there. At his flat nipple, she pinched it between her fingers as he had done to hers. His harsh intake of breath was all she needed to hear to know he felt the same pleasure she had.
Terric took back control and caught Jacqueline’s lips in a demanding kiss. He sucked her tongue into his mouth and battered her senses until she rocked her hips into his, demanding more. With a trail of kisses, he kissed and licked his way down her body until he reached her core. He settled between her thighs and forced her legs farther apart.
Coming out of the sensual fog Terric had wrapped around her, Jacqueline looked down, feeling self-conscious. “Terric, I do not think you should…” Her words trailed off in a moan as he showed her exactly what he planned to do.
He swept Jacqueline’s sex with his tongue as she fell back in total surrender. He swirled it around the nubbin of hard flesh, the very center of her pleasure, then sucked it into his mouth. She buried her fingers into his hair, holding him in place as she arched. He gave her one last sweep, then pressed his tongue into her opening. He gave her no quarter and continued to stab into her, mimicking the act yet to come. Something built deep inside her, something she had no name for. She whimpered as he backed off and the sensations subsided.
Terric slid up Jacqueline’s body, then slowly pushed himself into her. He groaned as he sank deeper. The feel of him entering her made her gasp in pleasure. Once he pushed past the barrier of her maidenhead, she could not stifle a small cry of pain. He stilled, allowing her time to adjust to his intrusion. The pain, though sharp, did not last long. The feel of him filling her so completely made her want something more. Something she had no idea how to obtain. Instinctively, she shifted her hips, sending waves of pleasure throughout her whole body.
Terric moved inside her. With each thrust of his hips, the pleasure build ever higher. It was like nothing she had felt before. Keeping a steady rhythm as he pumped in and out of her, he drove Jacqueline ever higher. She wrapped her legs around his waist and held him tightly. He pushed her over the edge when he reached down between their joined bodies, found the center of her pleasure, and stroked hard enough for her to drown in pleasure. Her inner walls squeezed his shaft, which made him thrust into her one final time. He threw back his head and groaned as he stiffened above her and a warm wetness filled her body.
Once he collapsed atop her, Jacqueline wrapped her arms around him, welcoming the feel of his greater weight. Their breathing slowly returned to normal. Terric rolled onto his back and pulled her up against his side. She placed her head on his chest and closed her eyes. The pleasure she had found in his arms had been like none she had ever felt.
* * * *
Just before dawn broke over the horizon, Terric carefully slipped from the bed. Jacqueline still slept. He gathered his clothes and then put them on.
Jacqueline rolled over and opened her eyes. She lifted her head and looked at him. “Did you plan to leave without saying goodbye?”
He went and sat on the edge of the bed next to her. “I told you this would not stop me from leaving.”
“So that was it then?”
Terric reached out and gently brushed her sleep-tousled hair away from her face. “Hardly. What we shared this night, Jacqueline, has changed everything. I will not give you up so easily.”
With a confused expression, Jacqueline sat up as she held the sheet against her chest. “Then why go?”
“Because if I do not, you will not be leaving this bed for quite some time.”
She must have known what he meant, because she blushed. “Oh.”
“Aye, oh. I do not think your mother would understand, either.”
“Nay, I think you are right.”
“You know I must leave, but it will not be forever. I will be by your side when you face your father at the grand tournament. After that, if you will still have me, I will speak to your mother.”
Jacqueline only stared at Terric. She probably was not expecting him to say he would speak to her mother. After what they had shared, he did not want any man touching her but him.
She remained silent, and a wave of uneasiness washed over Terric. Would she reject him now? “Say something. I cannot offer you much, Jacqueline, but I will make you happy. You have my vow.”
She quickly threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. “You have surprised me is all. I accept your offer, Terric. I know what you are, and I do not care whether you have lands or not. I accept you for yourself, nothing more.”
Moved by her words, he pulled Jacqueline closer and kissed her thoroughly. Heedless of her nakedness, she pressed against him, returning his kiss. Although wanting nothing more than to press her back down onto the mattress and make love to her one last time, Terric resisted. He released her and quickly stood, putting much needed distance between them. It was impossible for him to think straight with her so near.
“I must return to my chamber before your mother awakens. I do not want you to suffer for my weakness.”
Jacqueline pressed her hand to her lips, kissed her open palm, and then blew it in Terric’s direction. “Then until the morn, my knight.”
Terric returned her token in kind before he quietly stepped through the chamber door, which Beth must have unlocked sometime during the night.