A Dishonorable Knight(26)
No, Elena almost said. But remembering the look on the man's face that had grabbed for her sent a burst of adrenaline coursing through her veins. "Let's go," she said.
They scrambled up the steep face of the mountain. Elena clenched her skirts above her knees with one hand as she sought for rocks to pull herself along with the other. The blood began to ring in her ears and she felt herself growing dizzy when Gareth finally stopped. He thrust Isrid into a shallow cave concealed behind several boulders and reached for Elena. In the pale moonlight that leaked through the rocks, they clung to one another, thankful to be alive, thankful to find some small comfort after their harrowing escape. After several long moments, Elena's breathing slowed, but her heart kept racing. As the fear of danger faded, she became more aware of Gareth's strong arms around her, his hard chest warm under her cheek. A shiver that was not from cold and which she had never before felt ran through her body and she slowly raised her head.
Gareth rested his cheek on Elena's wind-strewn hair. He clutched her tightly to him as harrowing thoughts of her near fate flashed through his mind. When he felt her stir, he instinctively bent his head lower and when she raised her face toward his, his lips tentatively claimed hers. Elena offered no protest, merely a soft sigh which Gareth quickly swallowed as his mouth pressed more firmly against hers.
Elena's lips parted, as if of their own accord, seeking more of Gareth's kiss. When his tongue softly traced the sensitive skin just inside her lip, Elena leaned closer to him, a low moan escaping her throat. Gareth's sensual exploration of Elena's mouth grew bolder at that sound and his arms tightened around her, pulling her closer still until their bodies were touching from head to toe.
When the kiss finally ended, Elena experienced an entirely new sensation: shyness. Gareth, too, seemed not to know how to act, and clumsily turned away and began unbuckling Isrid's saddle.
"We'd best get some rest," he said after several moments of strained silence.
"Yes," Elena said shakily. Clearing her throat, she said, "Do you have any idea where we are."
Gareth grinned ruefully. In the dim light, Elena could only see the flash of his white teeth and unwillingly hungered for another kiss. "To tell the truth, I haven't the faintest idea where we might be. I'll have to take a look tomorrow morning."
As Gareth shook out his blanket, he said, "I'm sorry, we'll have to share. Cynan and Bryant have your blanket."
Elena tried to keep her voice steady as she said, "That's alright." She did not know how she was going to sleep so close to Gareth. She silently said a prayer of thanks that it was too dark for him to see her shaking hands as she took an edge of the blanket and lowered herself onto the ground near him. As he drew close against her, trying to fit under the narrow strip of wool, all thoughts of comfort, of beautiful dresses, of his rudeness over the past weeks, of her anger at a lady of her station caught in such circumstances, all of those thoughts faded away as her lips tingled with remembrances of his kiss and recollections of his valiant fight to save her. Before she could follow those thoughts, Elena was asleep.
She awoke slowly the next morning, aware even before she opened her eyes of Gareth's arms around her, cushioning her from the hard ground and keeping her warm. When she did open her eyes, she found herself snuggled against him, her head nestled beneath his chin, her lips pressed against his skin. The musky smell of worn leather and warm skin clung to his neck and was oddly appealing. Gently lifting her head, she saw that he was still asleep, the lines of his face softened by slumber. Before she had a chance to study him, though, his eyes slowly opened and Elena stared, fascinated. She had never thought grey could be such a warm, interesting color.
"Good morning," he said, startling her out of her reverie. She quickly drew back and sat up.
"I don't suppose there's anything to eat but dried meat, again, is there?" she said, trying to sound annoyed.
Gareth smiled and rolled over to his saddlebag. "As a matter of fact, I was saving these just for such an occasion," he said as he pulled out a small package and handed it to Elena.
"What is it?"
"Open it and see."
Elena untied the string and gasped in delight. "Dried figs! " She quickly took a bite of one and closed her eyes in ecstasy. When she finished the fig and licked her fingers, she started laughing. Gareth looked at her askance as she fell back on the blanket laughing still harder. When Elena finally caught her breath, she wiped her eyes and said, "I don't even like figs!" Gareth shared her mirth for a moment until the urge to kiss her was too great. Leaning over, he silenced her laughter with a languid kiss.