Knight of Her Heart (Conquering the Heart) by Alyssa James

blotted Rowan’s soul had been known by only one other—Lisette’s father. The former Lord Blake had urged Rowan to put it from his mind and move forward with his life. “I was under your father’s command when I first gained my spurs. I had great admiration and respect for him. I am very sorry to learn of his death.”
    Sadness and loss were written in her face and her lips trembled. His eyes were drawn to the lush lips that had responded to his kiss at the front of the chapel despite being obviously untutored in the art of kissing. She’d stirred a thickening of his shaft at his loins. The sight of her mouth inflamed his lust and sent desire thrumming through him all over again.
    “He was a wonderful father,” she mumbled.
    “He was a wonderful leader,” Rowan replied, reaching for a leg of fowl and biting into it to divert his thoughts away from his bride’s emotional state. The muscles across his shoulders stiffened as Lisette sniffled. He’d never been particularly good at handling weeping women. His mother...
    He clamped his mind shut on that memory and grew restless.
    He needed this day to be over.
    What he’d most wanted when he’d departed from France was to discover the truth about Aveline’s death, get this marriage over with and be on his way to Romsey Castle and closer to Baddesley—closer to his ultimate goal. Now...He needed—wanted—to bed Lady Lisette, find his captors and bring them to justice, then ride to Romsey and plot his revenge on his half-brother.
    “I trust the king will make Lord Collins pay for his crimes to his brides?” Lisette asked.
    “Aye. You can be sure of it,” Rowan told her. “Sweet Aveline’s spirit, and those of his other brides, can now rest easy. Collins will pay with his life for his crimes. The evidence I was able to collect is solid and indisputable.”
    Laughter erupted from the group of knights he’d travelled with from Normandy. They had joined the feast in the great hall of Collins’ Keep. Tomorrow a small party of them would escort Collins to the king.
    The room was filled with guests who had been invited to celebrate the wedding of Lord Collins to Lady Lisette. Instead they celebrated a different union, but were just as merry to be receiving such fine hospitality and rich fare.
    Lady Lisette of Bridlemere was now Lady Lisette, Countess of Romsey.             
    Thanks to Henry’s decree, Rowan was charged with honouring and protecting her until they were parted by death. God help him, when he’d ridden in to prevent the wedding and she’d turned around on the stairs, it had been like he’d been struck by lightning. Something inside him had cracked wide open. Sizzling awareness of her had filled the gap.
    The Earl of Romsey raised his pewter goblet and drank some of the spicy, mulled wine. Amid the gaiety of the festivities, his mood was sombre. He regarded his wife. She had a womanly body promising pleasure. Her figure curved in all the right places, with full, high breasts and a slender waist. Lady Lisette also possessed an angel’s image with vivid blue eyes, and those sweet, lush red lips made for kissing. She was just what he needed to bury the emasculating memories from the last few days and make him feel whole once again.
    Again his thoughts returned to the kiss he’d sampled on the stairs outside the chapel. That had whet his appetite for more. He’d sensed her initial shyness at the prospect of his kiss, then her surprised, responsive reaction. Despite her initial cool reserve and apprehension, their kiss had kindled a fiery passion that had been reflected in the smouldering need in her eyes. All he needed to do now was fan those flames.
    ’Twould be no chore bedding this beautiful maiden. His body stirred every time he considered the task that lay ahead. The male beast within him had been awakened with an urgency he could not remember having ever experienced. Mayhap ’twas the urgency to reaffirm his manhood and ensure