Page 92 of The Champion

No one could ever compare to her. Nor could they give him a more blissful moment.

Rowena rested herself on her elbows so that she could stare down at Stryder. She kissed her way along the edge of his whiskered jaw and just inhaled the warm, masculine scent of him.

“Did I hurt you?” she asked, worried about his wound and the bruises that were forming along his body.

“Nay, lady. It would take much more than your mere weight to harm me.”

Rowena lay herself down upon his chest. Her cheek to his heart that pounded and soothed her while he toyed with her hair. He lifted his other hand to trace the line of her nose.

“You are so soft.”

She placed a kiss over his heart, then moved so that she could look up at him. “You are not.”

He smiled down at her, his eyes hot and searing. “Tell me why I can’t resist you, Rowena. You write of love and desire. Why do I desire you when all my reason tells me I shouldn’t?”

“If I knew the answer to that, then I would understand why I’m here with you when I shouldn’t be.” Biting her lip, she pulled back from him. “What are we doing, Stryder?”

“I think we’re falling in love.”

Silence hung between the two of them as those words echoed in the quiet stillness.

Rowena knew the truth of it. She felt it with every part of her, and it made her want to run away in terror.

His jaw flexed as his fingers brushed against her cheek. “And I can’t afford to love you, my lady. I can’t.”

“I know. And I don’t want to love a man I can never keep. One who will never be content to lay aside his sword in the name of peace and live peacefully by my side.”

He sighed at her words. “Nay. I can never lay aside my sword. Not so long as children like Damien are out there being hurt. And it’s not just the rogue Saracens who harm them. We free just as many of their children who are held by our people, as we do our children being held by them. I can see no end to this war and, until I do, I have no choice except to do everything I can to help those who are suffering.”

“You can’t save the world, Stryder.”

“If I save one person, then I have saved their world. Homes are not built of one single slab, but rather they are made of hundreds of stones. If one stone is crushed, then the entire house is compromised, if not ruined. I might not save them all, but I have to save as many as I can.”

And that was what she loved most about him. “I want you to win this war you fight.”

Stryder kissed her lips, then withdrew from inside her. He moved to the side so that she lay beside him on the narrow cot. He cuddled her tenderly as he covered them with the blanket.

“I wish you could win yours, Rowena. I wish asking for peace was as simple as you singing one of your songs.”

Rowena glanced down to where his wound was red and swollen. She ached for him. Just as she ached for herself. “So, what are we to do?”

“We shall have to avoid each other as much as possible.”

Tears welled in her eyes as she noted the deadness of his own. The last thing she wanted was to not see him. “What of the tournament? If you win, you will have to marry me. How can you win the song competition if we don’t see each other?”

“I can have Kit teach me something so that I will win your contest. You will have your freedom, my lady. I swear it.”

And what if I want you? She swallowed against the sudden lump in her throat. If she had a choice, ‘twould be the one thing she would want.

The only husband she would ever consent to.

But that was a whimsical dream and well she knew it. Stryder of Blackmoor was beyond the reach of any lady. So long as his quest beckoned him, he would never settle down.

“Very well, then.” Rowena forced herself to get up and adjust her dress. If they could no longer see each other, there was no need in her torturing either one of them further.

It was best to leave now while she could almost bear the thought.

Although, to be honest, the pain in her chest wasn’t really bearable. It hurt and it cut. She didn’t want to leave him, but just as he had said, she understood why it was necessary.