Beneath a Midnight Moon - By Amanda Ashley Page 0,66
the river below.
Through heavy-lidded eyes, she gazed at the stars, at the full yellow moon hanging low in the sky. In a few hours it would be dawn, time to return to the keep. Hardane had duties to perform this day.
A rebellion had sprung up in Chadray several days ago, and Lord Kray and his sons had gone to quell it, leaving Hardane in charge of the keep. Most of the able-bodied men of Castle Argone had accompanied Lord Kray.
In the days since his father’s departure, Hardane had been busy from dusk till dawn with castle affairs, but yesterday afternoon he had spirited her out of the keep, insisting he needed a few hours away from the petty complaints of the people.
There had been no need to ask her twice. She had been more than eager to spend time alone with her husband in their favorite retreat.
Kylene turned her head to the side, her gaze moving lovingly over her husband’s profile. It was a decidedly masculine face, all hard lines and planes, his jaw shaded with black bristles.
She ran her hand lightly over his jaw, loving the feel of his coarse black beard beneath her fingertips, and then her hand slid down his chest, lower, lower, toying with the curly black hair that ran straight as an arrow to that part of him that made him a man.
A growl rumbled in Hardane’s throat, and she found her hand trapped in his, found herself staring into the depths of his gray eyes.
“You’re asking for trouble, lady,” he warned.
Kylene widened her eyes in mock innocence. “Trouble, my lord?”
“Aye, lady,” he replied, and before she quite knew how it happened, she was tucked beneath him, her hands imprisoned in his as he bent to claim her lips in a kiss that seared her from head to heel.
“1 could grow to like such trouble,” Kylene murmured.
“Could you, wench?”
“Wench?” She glowered at him. “Wench, is it?”
Hardane grinned impudently. “A wife must be all things to her husband,” he said arrogantly. “Friend, lover . . .” He pressed a kiss to her brow. “Mother, sister. Wench . . .” His lips brushed her cheek. “Lady . . .” His tongue slid across her lower lip. “Mistress.”
Kylene blinked up at him, her expression serious. “Were you ever tempted to take a mistress, my lord wolf?”
Hardane grunted softly as he recalled the day Jared had taken him to the pleasure house of Karos.
“No,” he answered honestly, remembering the disgust he’d felt at being in such a place. “Never.”
He kissed her again. “You’re all the woman I need,” he murmured gruffly. “The only woman I’ll ever need, or want. I . . .”
Abruptly, he released her hands and sat up, his head cocked to one side.
“What is it?” Kylene asked.
“Listen!”
Kylene frowned. “I don’t hear anything.”
“Someone’s coming.” Hardane stood up, his hand reaching for his sword. “Stay here.”
On silent feet, he made his way toward the path that led to the waterfall, a muffled curse rising in his throat as he saw what looked to be a hundred well-armed men riding toward the castle.
He muttered a vile oath as he recognized the man riding at the head of the column. As he watched, a rider approached and the Interrogator signaled for the column to halt.
In the stillness of the morning, Hardane had no trouble overhearing what was said.
“We can take the castle with little trouble,” the rider said. “Lord Kray and most of the men have gone to Chadray to settle a dispute.”
The Interrogator smiled, obviously pleased with this unexpected bit of good news.
“I don’t want the castle, only the woman,” he said. “Everyone else is expendable, but the woman must be taken alive. Is that understood?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“And Hardane,” the Interrogator added. “I want him, too, if possible.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“We’ll rest the horses for a quarter of an hour, then press on.”
Hardane stared at the column, his mind racing. He could make a run for the keep and hope he could muster a defense with the men who had remained at the castle, but he knew that such a course of action would inevitably lead to a battle, a battle they couldn’t win against such odds. Even if he managed to get a messenger to his father, even if he managed to hold the Interrogator off until Lord Kray returned from Chadray, there would be lives lost. He couldn’t put Kylene or his mother at risk when there was a chance he could prevent it.