The Bride Tournament by Ruth Kaufman Read Free Book Online

but one way for me to be certain you tell the truth in this,” he whispered.
    If he moved another inch, their lips would meet. Eleanor held her breath. Her heartbeat quickened. He slid a finger down the side of her face, pushing away a strand of hair. A delicious shiver coursed through her. His warm hand lingered on her neck. She hoped he’d kiss her.
    But she couldn’t give in to this strange curiosity, this unwelcome need.
    “I have spoken true. Believe what you will.” She forced a steady, cool tone.
    Richard didn’t move. She couldn’t either, held in thrall by nervous anticipation. She feared her reprieve had ended, all too soon. Would he have his way with her to prove her purity?
    Why did part of her want him to? He was her husband, after all. No. He wasn’t.
    At last he stood and turned away. She let out a sigh of relief. If he’d looked at her that way one more minute…. She’d hoped to taste him again, to feel her flesh against his. Never before had she been attracted to any man but Arthur, nor thought it possible another man could interest her. Richard so easily awoke unfamiliar desire.
    Her few kisses with Arthur had been pleasant, scattered over the years between his fostering and warring. But she hadn’t yearned for more the way she did with Richard. What was happening to her?
    She had to return to Arthur a virgin or not return to him at all.
    It was a good thing she’d be free of Richard soon.

    Richard returned to his side of the bed, wishing he’d built up the fire so he could’ve read the truth in her eyes. Had she used tears to trick him into rescuing her? All knew she was clever.
    Eleanor had a seductive way about her he doubted she knew she possessed. That combined with her beauty had interested him from their first meeting. Now, having touched and tasted her, he wanted more. His lingering arousal was proof. Had she felt so right because she was his wife?
    How close had she and Arthur been? Visions of them passionately entwined paraded through his head. He relived the moment in the alcove when he found Eleanor in Arthur’s embrace, feeling again the annoying, sharp jolt of possessiveness. He imagined them together, smiling and happy. They laughed as they undressed each other, then Arthur put his hand….
    He would not think on this.
    Eleanor’s occasional sigh told him she was still awake. What thoughts beset her?
    Why did he care?
    Even in the most harrowing situations, truth had served him. Yet less than a day into his marriage, he was caught up in a grievous misrepresentation. For a brief moment he thought of going back on his word just to get the deed done. But then he’d lose any chance of earning Eleanor’s trust. She had to come to him voluntarily or she’d make the rest of his life—their life—miserable.
    He had to make her understand her duty and choose to fulfill it. If he was fortunate, she might come to want him for himself. At the very least, she’d have to realize that her best choice was to accept him as her husband.
    His best choice was to make her accept him. His physical attractiveness and ease with women were gifts he’d never used to attain goals the way he used his intelligence and strength. For the first time in his life, he was going to have to court a woman. His own wife. As skilled as he was as a warrior, he had little idea how to woo. He’d approach Eleanor as he did a battle, strategizing with care, analyzing all potential weaknesses.
    Then he’d besiege her walls as earnestly as he attacked a rebel’s castle.
    All he truly needed from Eleanor was acceptance and fulfillment of her duty, obedience, and above all honesty.
    Mayhap if he repeated that enough he would come to believe it.

Chapter 4

    Eleanor tossed and turned as Richard slept beside her. Would she get used to having a man in her bed? After all that had befallen her, when would she feel comfortable again?
    She touched the key she’d worn around her neck for almost fourteen years, but found