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.None.He was barely able to resist the pounding urge to disarm her and tear the seductive robe from her body. I think that an intelligent woman will decide on her own against going. An intelligent woman will have assessed the odds, and know that every man will be needed tomorrow. ABC Amber Text Converter Trial version, http://www.processtext.com/abctxt.html Aye.Every man. She sighed, disappointed in him.He didn t care.He could not let her do this. I thought that you at least would see the rightness of it, she said. If this was your home, and you wereme, would you sit in your bower if you could help? I am not some little hoyden who plays with weapons,Morvan.I am the best archer in this keep. His mind tried to accept it, but his heart and his very essence rejected her logic. This is not going to be ahunt, or a minor skirmish against some thieves.Men will die on that field, hacked to pieces in a kind ofdeath that makes the plague look merciful.You might die thus. Her gaze softened, but did not waver. I know.I am ready. Are you? Or do you believe that you truly are a saint, and that angels protect you? I have never believed that.I am all too aware that when God makes women saints, he rarely forms themlike me.Now, the morning will come too soon, and we both should rest.I thank you for your concern,but I will fight for my home with the skill and strength given me.Perhaps I was born to be what I ambecause of this day. She turned away to face the hearth.Dismissing him.A warrior s pride and fury flooded him.His legs took him across the chamber.He grabbed her hand andforced the weapon to clatter to the floor.He swung her around, gripping her shoulders. You do notunderstand.You will not ride tomorrow.You will not do this. Her eyes narrowed and sparked.That only made his blood hotter.She tried to twist out of his hold. You do not understand.You do not command me. She glared at him, all challenge and strength, goading his primitive soul.Words would not make her submit.Nor would hurting her.But there was another way.Pulling her closer, he imprisoned her in his arms.Shock flashed in her eyes.She turned her head away.The press of her body sent fire scorching through him.Her vain struggle fed the flames.He grasped hercurls and held her gaze to his.Slowly, her resistance dulled and her curves molded against his embrace.Her lower lip trembled. Ithought that you had given Ascanio promises. It is not dishonorable to break them for a good cause. He took that pulsing lip between his teeth.Thetremble spread, announcing her vulnerability.It only fueled his heat.He kissed her, pressing her close sothat he could feel all of her along his body, her breasts and hips and legs.He demanded more and she didnot stop him, but parted her lips.A chaos of impulses streaked through his fogging sense.Urges to protect and possess and command andconquer spurred his desire.He would bind her to him with passion and pleasure and she would neverdefy him and wield her weapons on the field.His hunger turned forceful and hard.He bit down to the hot pulse of her neck, and plunged his hand ABC Amber Text Converter Trial version, http://www.processtext.com/abctxt.htmlbeneath the parting robe.Softness.Warmth.Her gasping breaths proclaimed his victory.He slid thesagging shoulder of the robe down and tasted her skin.As he caressed her breast, a throaty cry escapedher.The aching pleasure surged in response, saturated with triumph.She grabbed his hair and pressed her mouth to his ear. I know what you are about.I know why you dothis. He looked in her eyes while he whisked his fingers over her nipple.Her gaze reflected the pleasure, andhis control of it. You expect to make me obedient to your will.Docile. Her words came out on broken breaths.Ragged.No longer so strong. I think only to give you pleasure, so that we both know some life before we face death. He held herbreast and dipped to kiss its hard tip.His tongue swirled.Her whole body moved in response.He usedhis skill to push her into abandon, and to silence her intruding voice of reason. You make my senses half crazed, but I am sane enough still to know the truth, she whispered.Her fightfor control of herself could be heard in her voice. This is not about giving, Morvan.It is not even aboutdesire for me.It is about taking.Not me, but La Roche de Roald itself. He pulled back and looked in her eyes.They glistened with passion, but also a fierce belief.He did notremove his hand from her body.He would not give that up until he had to. This is not about your estate, Anna. You seek only to make me pliant for my safety s sake? I think not, but even so you waste your passion.That might work with your court ladies, but not me.I am made of different stuff.My ignorance makes meweak to you in this, but in nothing else. Her warmth still enlivened his hand.He imagined knowing all the heat and pulses, the glory of making thiscomplete.But then his mind s eye saw her leaving him, rising from the bed and donning her tunic andlifting her bow to ride out to face the enemy.The urge to conquer and tame rushed in again, throbbing an order to finish it.The pounding of his hungerjoined in.But a deeper understanding admitted the truth.No matter what happened this night, she wouldfight on the morrow.He gazed in her eyes and sought some crack in her determination.Only resolve glimmered back.For aninstant, no more, he perceived more than he had seen before.A new knowledge of her spirit streamedinto him.The revelation did not shock him.It only confirmed that a mere knight in her service could neverkeep her safe, even if he claimed her this way.He lowered his head and kissed her breast again, and seared his memory with its softness and her flexingresponse. If I thought that your resolve could be changed, I would take you and not care why you thought I did it.Perhaps I would even beat you as Haarold suggested.You say that you will join us because your skill isneeded, but it occurs to me that this is not about that. He released her, and stepped away from thetantalizing closeness.His essence roared with anger at the retreat. I am surprised that I did not realize it sooner, Anna, for I know you well.You do not go just becauseyou are needed.I think that you also go because you enjoy it. ABC Amber Text Converter Trial version, http://www.processtext.com/abctxt.htmlHe turned away from her stunned expression.He went to prepare for the morning, and to pray that theangels did indeed watch over her.Chapter 10Two hours before dawn Anna entered the lowest level of the keep and began leading her small army outof La Roche de Roald.Guards carried torches to light the way through the foundation maze.Down some of the blind corridors she could see doors, their hinges rusted from damp and disuse.Shewondered if any enemies of her ancestors lay interred behind them.The possibility of facing thoseskeletons kept her from ever exploring the chambers.Since Drago s death, she had been the only one who could guide someone to the cliff stairs.But thismorning, as a precaution against the worst, she had passed the secret on to Catherine.It had been a short, sleepless night
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