A Moment in Time

have been doing of late. It is a most humbling experience, and actually quite good for him I believe.' Wynne chuckled. 'He quite has his own way with the ladies as a rule.'

'Well, he'll not with me, my lady,' Megan said pertly with a grin. 'I'm not one of those kiss-me-quick lasses he's used to pursuing.' She curtsied prettily. 'If you're certain it's all right to leave you, my lady, then I'll bid you good night.'

'Run along,' Wynne told her, smiling as Megan almost flew out the door. There was a definite romance brewing between Einion and Megan. She snuggled down into the big round tub, murmuring with pleasure as the hot water soothed her tired shoulder and neck muscles, which were sore from bending over her work all day. Fragrant wildflower steam arose from the water, perfuming the room. The fire crackled comfortably while outside the winter winds howled and sighed about the castle. Wynne closed her eyes and relaxed. Suddenly from behind her closed eyelids she sensed she was not alone.

'Do you wish to join me, my lord?' she asked, not even bothering to open her eyes.

'It would not distress you?' he queried her.

Now Wynne did open her green eyes, and she looked direcdy at him. He was naked and he was beautiful. She had never seen a grown man naked, and yet she was neither surprised nor distressed by the sight. His body matched his fiercely handsome face. It was all bone and muscle. His legs were hairy, but the rest of his body was smooth, except for the thickly tangled thatch of dark curls springing from his groin where his manhood lay framed.

Wynne swung her look back up to his face. 'Our ancestors saw nothing wrong in intimacy, Madoc. You are my betrothed husband. I am your betrothed wife.' She smiled encouragingly at him. 'Come, the water is delightful. Bring the brush and I will scrub your back.'

'Once again you surprise me, dearling,' he told her, and she laughed.

'Our marriage will be celebrated on the first day of May, my lord. I have been at Raven's Rock over three months. Yet although I find my desire for you grows daily, and I have indeed grown to love you, it is not enough. I must remember that which was between us before we marry. You admit that we were once lovers. Perhaps if we are lovers again, my memory of those times past will be returned to me and we may complete what is uncompleted between us before formally rejoining our lives once more.'

'Wynne,' he began, 'do you know what it is you are saying?'

'Deny me not in this, Madoc,' she replied seriously. 'I am not afraid to become a woman. Does it displease you that I would be one?' He had entered the tub, and she now moved to face him, winding her arms about his neck provocatively. 'Tell me you are not angry with me, Madoc.' Her small, firm breasts pressed against his chest.

Lost. He was totally and completely lost in the depths of her forest-green eyes. Her mouth shimmered before him, coral-pink, berry-sweet, and ripe for kissing. They called him sorcerer, and yet it was Wynne, Wynne in her innocence and ancient instinct, who was a sorceress, beguiling aned enchanting him until he could no longer resist. Madoc knew he had the power to renew the deep, secret memories of their past which she had repressed within her heart and mind; but right now all he wanted to do was to make love to her. She lured him on. He could feel her hand against the back of his neck, drawing him down to her deliciously tempting mouth.

'I won't be able to stop,' he whispered desperately against her mouth in a final attempt at sanity.

'I would not start this if I expected you to stop, Madoc, my love,' she murmured back, nibbling at his lower lip. 'I am no coy maid to tease a man onward only to cry off at the crucial moment. I am yours!'

With a groan he surrendered. His mouth took hers in a hard, almost brutal kiss. The power of victory sang in his ears. She was his!

Wynne returned his passion kiss for kiss. The time for maidenly modestly was long past. Her own blood ran hot with her desire to be possessed completely by this man. To learn how to possess him in return. In this aspect of their relationship everything was perfect. She parted her lips as he had taught her and tasted his tongue mingling with hers. Her lithe body pressed against him as their mouths mashed together frantically and wetly.

Jesu! He had to regain control of the situation before he took her right here in their tub. She was a virgin. She deserved better than that her first time. He pulled his head away from her and drew several breaths to clear his senses before setting her firmly back from him. The hurt in her eyes astounded him.

'What is wrong?' Wynne begged.

He smiled to reassure her and then said, 'There will be times, my love, when I may make love to you here in our bath; but not this time. Tonight it must be perfect for you. At least as perfect as I can make it. It is every woman's right when she gives up her virginity, and I will not take that from you. Now scrub my back, Wynne, and we will adjourn to my bedchamber, where I will endeavor to give you the sweet pleasure all women should have.'

With trembling hands Wynne scrubbed him, rinsing him off with a soft cloth; and then to her surprise he did the same for her. 'You speak of pleasing me, Madoc,' she said low, 'but I would learn how to please you.'

'I will teach you, my dearling, but tonight, Wynne, I alone will be the master of our pleasure, for to give you joy, my love, is to receive it myself. You cannot quite understand that at this moment, but within a short time you will.' He kissed her softly, stroking her jaw lightly with the back of his hand. Then stepping from their deep oak tub, he lifted her out, setting her upon the warm stones of the floor. Madoc reached for a piece of rough toweling and began to slowly rub her dry.

'You will catch cold,' Wynne said softly, taking another piece of toweling and imitating his actions.

'I'll be hot soon enough,' he teased gently, sliding to his knees before her, rubbing, rubbing, rubbing.

Trembling just faintly, Wynne bent slightly over to dry his broad shoulders, gasping with surprise as, reaching up, Madoc caught one of her breasts in his hand and, fastening his lips about the nipple, began to suckle her. 'Ohhh!' Her little cry was almost a squeak. 'Ohhh!' It came again as the prince transferred his attentions from the first small breast to the second. The sensations generated by the actions of his mouth were delicious, she thought, but why did she also have a tingling sensation in the secret place between her thighs?

Madoc stood up, putting his arms about her as he did, and drew her close against him. Wynne looked up unafraid into his face, her hand reaching up to stroke his cheek; a single finger moving softly over his fleshy underlip. Gently he bit that finger, his deep blue eyes holding her green eyes captive now, daring her onward. She lay her cheek against his shoulder, rubbing it softly with her head; and Madoc, in answer to her unspoken words, bent down to lift her up into his arms. He carried her from their bathing room to his own bedchamber, setting her down upon her feet for a moment while he poured them two goblets of rich, red wine which he placed upon a low table near the fire.

Wynne looked quickly about the room, for she had never been in it before. It was large and spacious, with a great fireplace which burned brightly, warming the room most comfortably. A great bed was set upon a raised dais. It was covered in a deep blue silk coverlet with a wide hem embroidered with gold thread and small jewels. Behind the bed, hanging from the ceiling to the floor, was a large, colorful tapestry depicting purple mountains and green forests filled with animals, both real and fabled, as well as birds that fluttered and flew about the scene. Windows looked out onto the mountains; she could tell by their direction, although those mountains were now obscured by both the night and the storm. There were beautifully carved chairs, and tables and chests of warm golden oak set about the room, which for all its elegance was simple.

Madoc took Wynne by the hand now and led her to a large white sheepskin rug which lay on the floor before the fireplace. Gently he drew her down so that they knelt facing one another. Taking her face into his hands, he kissed her mouth, gently at first, than a bit more fiercely as his ardor rose. Her arms had been quiet at her side. Now she lifted them and, palms smoothing slowly up his chest, she slid them tightly about his neck, drawing him down with her as she lay back upon the soft sheepskin. His lips never left her all the while, and he thought that she was wonderfully brave in her innocence.

He was careful not to put himself atop her lest he frighten her. Instead he slid himself sinuously down alongside of her. Kneeling back on his haunches, he took one of her slender feet into his hands. He kissed the top of her foot, nibbling playfully at her dainty toes, cradling the foot in his warm palms, massaging it gently before paying equal