A/N: Well, I finished Lady Knight and it was pretty good. The only problem was the lack of romance. So, I decided to add a little bit myself. Read, enjoy, and then review - PLEASE!

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters, or the setting, or anything. Those all belong to Tamora Pierce, goddess of writing stuff down.

This story takes place after Kel leaves her group of convict soldiers on the way to Fort Mastiff. She is stopping for a night at the remains of Fort Giantkiller in the barracks.

WHAT COULD (AND SHOULD) HAVE HAPPENED

By, WingStar

Kel woke with a start and looked around. There was the noise again. Someone was outside her shelter. But why hadn't any of the animals warned her? Had something happened to them? She grabbed her glaive and started for the door of the old building and was promptly grabbed from behind, her head pulled back. Completely shocked that anyone could have been inside her shelter without her knowledge and mentally cursing herself in every language she knew for being careless, she lost precious seconds to act. As she tensed, about to attack, her captor brought his mouth to her ear and whispered.

"Easy, love. You had better put that big stick down, because, being as I'm completely unarmed and don't mean to hurt you, you'd look awfully silly still holding it."

Shock overcame her as her glaive fell from her hands to the floor. Sardonic humor broke through the shock when she saw the irony of the situation. So, I can hold onto this thing after being beaten almost to death by a centaur, she thought, but one handsome guy comes in and I'm lost.

The humor left her as a warmth began to tingle in her private areas and she felt her nipples harden beneath her shirt. So this was the feeling that her mother had described to her. At least she knew it was normal this time.

All thoughts vanished as she felt herself being pulled to the floor. She saw Dom's face for a split second before his lips locked over hers in a passionate kiss. Kel had been kissed by Cleon, and she had even done the kissing, but it paled in comparison to this. This kiss was heart-stopping. This kiss made the blood pump harder and faster in her loins. This kiss made her ache for some sort of release. She was completely overwhelmed with emotion even as her tongue thrust in his mouth, mingling with his.

He shifted until he was lying on top of her as they continued kissing. Kel jumped slightly as she felt his erection press against her most private area. He reached down and began to fumble with the tie on her breeches. Suddenly, he seemed to come to his senses, and he dropped his hands from her and rolled off.

She surprised both of them when she groaned in disappointment. Dom stared at her and began to laugh softly. "We can't go too far too soon. You would have come to your senses as well in a few seconds, sweetling," he told her with one of his gorgeous smiles.

She groaned again and thought to herself that that might not have been the truth. She knew she would thank him later for stopping, but in the meantime, she was still throbbing with want.

"That was a bit unexpected," she said, staring up at him.

He laughed again and leaned down and kissed her, softly this time. "I thought you would like it more that way. That, and this way, you couldn't sit there and rationalize yourself out of it. Which you would have done, by the way, had I just asked you."

She could find no fault with the logic, being as it was quite sound. She'd be a fool to argue it. As it was, her only regret was not going further, and that regret would probably leave her soon. Also, she reflected, they may well have a chance to continue the business later on. Which brought her to the next topic abruptly.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Ouch, is that all you can do, ask me what I'm doing here? Well, my lord sent my squad and me to go with you wherever you're going. Do you think you can stand spending so much time with me?" he asked, still smiling.

"Well, I'm afraid I really must concentrate on my goal. I will get those refugees back," she said to him fiercely.

He shook his head and smiled wryly. "My, you do know how to ruin the mood quite effectively, don't you? I shall have to get used to this," he said.

She blushed deeply. "I'm sorry, it's just, I can't let any of this distract me. The last thing I need is for marriage or children to-"

He cut her off. "Marriage? Children?! Gods, Kel, I just want to be your lover right now, not your husband!"

"Oh."

"Didn't you ever think that things aren't always as complicated as you make them to be?"

"Well, I just. . . need to concentrate on my duty," she finished lamely, blushing again.

Dom smiled and put his arms around her and whispered in her ear again. "Don't worry, you can have both. I'll be here to help you. I wish I had been before. I think I've loved you for the longest time. I just never admitted it to myself."

She was about to put up further arguments, but they died on her lips after hearing that little speech. He sounded completely sincere and didn't seem that he would take no for an answer. She could also see on his face that he liked her - loved her? - very much. She couldn't argue with it; she just couldn't.

She sat up and shook her head. It was too much to deal with right then. She would take it one step at a time and see where she ended up. And if it just so happens that I end up in Dom's tent tonight, she thought wickedly, so be it. To Dom, however, she merely said, "Let's go see about the others. We need to leave."