The Raven's Revenge by Gina Black

them open. 
    He searched their depths for that other Katherine, but saw naught reflected back. Her cheeks felt like fine porcelain under his hands. As his mouth hovered over hers, she let out a whimper.
    Should he stop? But that would not vanquish the dream Katherine. No, he must prove to his errant body she did not exist. Then she would cease to haunt his waking hours, and allow him a peaceful rest this night. It was just a kiss after all. No great matter.
    He gently rubbed his thumbs across her cheekbones until she relaxed, just a bit. Again, his mouth began the descent toward hers. This time she did not whimper. Nor did he stop.
    Her lips were cold. Nicholas plied them gently, yet they did not yield sweetness.
    The frustration of the ride today and the night before welled up in him like a rising tide. Nicholas redoubled his efforts. His hands slid behind her head to hold it against the onslaught of his mouth, but instead of the silken masses of hair he’d imagined, he felt only the fine fabric of her cap. He yanked the strings of her bonnet free where it fastened beneath her chin and cast it away, smothering her surprised gasp with his mouth. One by one, he plucked the pins from her hair and tossed them into the copse.
    Her hair fell over his hands like a mantle. The scent of lavender wafted about him. And then he felt a tiny, almost imperceptible, spark of response.
    With renewed vigor, he tugged her bottom lip, then the top one with his teeth. Running a hand through her luxuriant mass of hair, he suckled each lip in turn. He coaxed her mouth open and ran his tongue over the silken interior.
    Katherine melted into his arms. She touched his face, running a finger along his cheek to his eyebrow and into his hair. Shivers coursed through him. Her velvety tongue probed his mouth in a tentative response that sent his blood pounding. Nicholas groaned.
    Wrenching his lips from hers, he gazed deep into her eyes…
    The eyes of that other Katherine.

CHAPTER SIX

    JUST PAST NIGHTFALL, the four travelers dragged into the stable yard of the Crown and Crowe in Salisbury. A hostler came forward to claim their mounts.
    Katherine slid wearily off the horse into Nicholas’s waiting arms. He held her for a long moment in the soft moonlight, his expression unreadable, then put her from him. Neither broke the awkward silence that had stayed between them since the kiss.
    More than anything, Katherine wanted to be alone, without Nicholas’s compelling presence, without his arms around her, his scent enveloping her. A bath to ease the stiffness in her muscles would be nice, she thought, hobbling toward the welcoming shafts of light that beamed through the windows.
    As she stepped into the common room, the warmth from a large fireplace rushed up to greet her. The crowd seemed congenial, not too boisterous. The luscious aroma of cooking food beckoned her hungry stomach.
    “Welcome, welcome,” the innkeeper cried as he hastened to them.
    “A private room for the night,” said Nicholas without ado. “My wife tires,” he squeezed Katherine’s forearm. Though smiling, his eyes forbade contradiction. “We require a meal sent up, and I would pay well for the speedy delivery of a hot bath.”
    “Of course,” the innkeeper responded. “Cassie!” A round, merry-looking woman bustled up.
    Wife? Katherine did not wish to spend this night with him. As much as she wanted a bath, she would not bathe in his presence, or suffer his bathing in hers. It was not right. As soon as the woman left, she’d tell him so.
    Cassie led them up a flight of stairs, down a short hallway to a small, but comfortable room. She tilted her candle flame to the wick of a lamp. The growing light cheered the room, as did the fire the woman kindled in the hearth. Montford jumped out of Katherine’s arms and bounced off to search the corners and under the quilted bed.
    “The bath will be up soon. Ye look tired,” she looked kindly at Katherine. “I’ll send a