He grinned. “In a hurry?”
She halted her fumbling, not from the twinge of pain that caught at her wound but from his grin. And with sharp gestures she let him know that she needed him to be inside her right this very moment.
His grin faded and he took control, his hands taking hold of her hips and lowering her down on her back. It was a quick joining for them both, each building rapidly toward a powerful climax. And as they drew near… a heavy pounding sounded at the door.
“Ignore it,” Cree commanded as he quickened his thrusts.
Dawn gripped his steel-hard arms tighter and did as he said trying desperately to focus on nothing but his hard, continuous thrusts.
Both poundings continued and a voice was added to the one at the door.
“Cree,” Sloan yelled in between his fist hitting the door. “Cree! It’s important.”
Dawn shook her head and shoved at Cree’s shoulder to go see what Sloan wanted.
He growled like an angry bear. “Don’t dare move. I’ll be right back.”
Cree stomped out of the room, swung open the door, grabbed Sloan by his shirt, and jerked him inside and slammed the door shut.
“This better be important or I’m going to kill you,” Cree warned.
“Not only is Gerwan’s caravan about to enter the village but the King’s cleric is here to wed you and Lucerne.”
Both men turned at the noise. Dawn stood in her nightdress, her hand at her mouth as she hurried to a nearby bucket to retch.
Cree flew to her side and called out to Sloan, “Get some snow.”
Sloan flew out the door and Cree felt helpless as he kept an arm around Dawn and watched her suffer through dry heaves. When she finished he scooped her up and carried her into the other room and laid her gently on the bed. He pulled the blanket over her tucking it around her and sat beside her.
Sloan rushed in with a bucket filled with snow and stopped suddenly to say, “Dawn carries your child doesn’t she?”
Cree held his hand out for the bucket. “If you breathe a word of it I will cut out—” he stopped himself from telling Sloan that he would cut out his tongue, not that he ever would, but it was a way of letting Sloan know he had gone too far. Not anymore though, not with the way such words hurt Dawn.
Sloan understood without Cree having to say anymore. “I give you my word that I will not breathe a word of it to anyone.”
That was all Cree needed to hear, for Sloan was a man of his word.
Sloan handed the bucker to Cree and then stepped back.
Cree took some snow and placed a small amount by Dawn’s mouth. “At least you won’t dry heave if the babe protests again.” He then turned to Sloan. “How long before everyone arrives?”
“The cleric is about an hour away and Gerwan about thirty minutes or more. Turbett and Flanna have everything in hand for their arrival.”
“Go,” Cree ordered. “I will be there shortly.”
Sloan nodded and left.
Cree placed more snow by Dawn’s lips. “Is this the first time the babe has made you ill in the morning?”
She shook her head, though held her hands apart to gesture a gap.
“It has been a while since you have felt this way?’
She nodded.
He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I am asking you to rest today, since ordering you to do anything doesn’t seem to work. And it would be cruel of me to punish you for not obeying when you already suffer… in far too many ways. Though I remind you to trust me and believe me when I tell you that all will be well.”
She had no trouble trusting him and feeling poorly she had no intentions of going anywhere… for now. So it was easy for her to nod and let him know that she would rest.
He stood and dressed, then leaned over her and kissed her. “Later I will make certain we finish what we never got a chance to.”
She smiled and crossed her heart and shrugged.
He tweaked her nose and smiled. “I promise, though it isn’t necessary. Nothing will stop me from making love to you.” He gave her another quick kiss and left.
Dawn didn’t care for the shiver that ran through her. She feared with Gerwan’s arrival that Cree’s visits would be fewer. But she trusted him, not that she wasn’t going to still see what she could find out for herself. She yawned, feeling a bit tired and decided to do as he had asked and rest. She snuggled beneath the warm blanket and before she knew it, she was sound asleep.
~~~
Cree had washed and dressed in fresh garments and then consulted with Sloan in his solar. Cree wasn’t at all pleased to find out that the tracks left by Dawn’s attacker had gone cold and the culprit had yet to be found.