Robin comes to Marian after her failed wedding to Guy. Overwhelmed by euphoria, Robin and Marian let their passions reign unbridled. Possibly, a missing scene from 1x13 which is written from Robin and Marian's POVs.

This story is a gift for Penelope Clemence whom I love, admire, and respect. Penelope started this story a few years ago, but, unfortunately, she had no time to finish it. It is a product of her and my work and fantasies.

This story is also a gift for other people whom I love and respect – Coleen561, Lady Marianne, Sir Robin of Locksley, Lady Marian of Locksley, Rosalind25, and XCrazyforOncex, as well as angel-in-a-big-blue-box from tumblr.

Disclaimer: I don't own BBC's Robin Hood or any of the show's characters. I have no rights to the canonical plots and storylines.

The Reign of Love

Knighton Hall

A candle was burning at a table in the corner of Marian's bedroom. In the wavering, dancing light, Marian gazed into Robin's eyes. She was so glad that Robin had come to her after darkness blanketed the earth. He gathered her into his arms, holding her close and enjoying the peaceful moment which neither of them hoped to ever have together again. Jubilation was in the air as they contemplated the events of the day that had brought them together closer than they had been after Robin's return.

Robin looked at her with worshipful eyes, and Marian's beautiful face was shining with gladness. She smiled at him brightly, giving him the same smile he had seen on her face today when they had kissed after their fabulous ride from Locksley to Nottingham. He kissed Marian with hunger, and she kissed him back with a matching ardor while her hand fumbled with the buckle of his belt. Her totally unexpected and bold response to his kiss bewildered Robin, and he ended the kiss abruptly.

With a puzzled look on his face, Robin looked steadily into the eyes of his beloved that were shining with happiness and desire. Robin craved Marian with a feverish intensity that stunned him because he had never wanted any other woman as much as he did want her. He would have stripped her of her night robe now and would have claimed her as his right now, but he remembered that she was a virgin and they were not married. And yet, if she wished to be with him, he would be tempted to make her his despite the voice in the back of his head telling him that they needed to stop.

Questions were buzzing in his mind. What was Marian doing and what did she really want? Was she tantalizing him with her eagerness for intimacies only to reject him later on? Or was she so overwhelmed with the passion for him that she was willing to give herself to him tonight?

"Marian," Robin whispered against her lips. "Marian…"

Gazing into his eyes, Marian murmured, "Robin, I… I…" Her voice halted as a wealth of powerful emotions coursed through her, love and passion for her hero being the strongest feelings.

Marian was giddy with happiness that she hadn't married Gisborne today. She didn't lose Robin! God had heard her desperate pleas: her wedding to Guy had been stopped by Much, whom she needed to thank tomorrow, and her father had been saved by Robin and the gang. She had even hit Guy with the ring in the face, and, by doing this, had paid him back for coercing her into a betrothal. She and Robin had finally found the way back to each other and had already kissed today. Now she wanted more – she wanted to have Robin for herself. The world seemed right, good, and bright to Marian.

Marian wanted to be with Robin. Smiling at him, she kissed him on the lips while her arms snaked around his neck. As Robin thrust his tongue into her mouth and deepened the kiss, Marian was immediately assaulted by emotions and sensations she had never experienced before. As they kissed, she was oblivious to everything but the man who was with her – her beloved Robin whom she had almost lost. Her entire being was centered on the man whose hands were traveling so expertly and stimulatingly over the curves of her body, making her regret that she was still wearing a night robe.

There was only enjoyment and gladness to be gained from their encounter as they were in a state of euphoria that they were together and she was free of Guy, hopefully forever. Robin kissed Marian with an increasing desperation, arousing Marian's virgin passion in the extreme. He bent his head, his teeth sensuously grazed the skin on her neck, and Marian moaned, her body arching against his. His kisses became more demanding, and her hands were now playing with the buckle of his belt.

Robin broke the kiss and drew back slightly, his smoldering eyes drinking in her features hungrily. He admired the loveliness of Marian's flushed face and her rosy lips swollen from their kisses. Marian was still locked in his arms like a willing prisoner of passion who wasn't going to escape. She pressed herself against his chest, melting against his lithe form, smiling at him warmly and putting all the love she felt for him into her heated gaze. Her fingers clenched in his sandy hair, urging his mouth back to hers, and her eagerness for their closeness called upon all of his restraint.

They kissed for a brief moment, and when Robin parted from her. "Marian, do you understand that I won't be able to stop if we continue this way?" he asked her in a husky voice.

A vigorous nod of Marian's dark head was her answer, and with that, she thought, Robin had to understand that she was serious. "Don't stop," she added for the clarity between them.

Although she was still a maid, Marian knew what it meant to want a man. She desired Robin desperately and craved to discover a world of sensual delights and to explore this world with the man she loved, had pushed away yesterday, and had almost lost today. They had been through so much and could die anytime, and she wanted to be Robin's tonight in case something happened and a cruel fate robbed them of the chance to be together under the cover of a much-cherished darkness, the only time when Robin could come to Knighton Hall and have a clandestine tryst with her.

Robin stilled instantly, his eyes big with astonishment. He inquired shyly, "Are you sure, my love?" He could not resist the irresistible attraction of hers, and if she wanted him, he would make her his.

Marian smiled brightly at Robin, her heart thundering in her chest with delight. He called her his love, like he had done before his departure to the Holy Land. They didn't confess their feelings for one another yet, but they had been very close when she had been dying in a cave. And Marian didn't need any love confession from Robin: she was sure that he loved her without any words because his eyes were often full of love and tenderness when he looked at her, and now there was lust in them as well.

"Yes," she breathed. "I want to be yours, Robin."

A tender smile curved his mouth, and Robin spoke in a voice hoarse with lust. "I want you, Marian. I want you more than anything else in the world." Gently, he kissed the corner of her lips. He heaved a sigh of frustration. "But I fear you will regret being with me later because it is not right and should not happen so. We are not married, and I cannot wed you until the king's return."

"I will never regret it, Robin," declared Marian with firm confidence, her fingers tangled in his hair. "We are not married, but it matters not to me. We don't know when the king will come back to England, and whether he will return. I could have married a man I don't love and will never love, but God saved me from an awful loveless marriage. It could have been my wedding night with Gisborne, but I'm a free woman. And I'm making a choice to be with you tonight."

Robin was awestruck with the deep and intense devotion he could see in Marian's eyes sparkling like stars on the night sky. He easily deciphered what she didn't say aloud – she loved him with all her heart. He had been so afraid that she might have fallen in love with Guy, that she might have been stirred by Guy as Gisborne had told him once. He was such a fool to admit a thought that Marian may love an unprincipled and cruel man like Guy, and a feeling of guilt for doubting her filled Robin's heart. Now the love of his life was willing to join them forever with the physical and spiritual bonds!

Robin's handsome face a picture of delight and, incredibly, amusement, for he didn't expect that Marian would be ready to give him her maidenhead before marriage. "Everything is a choice, and if you choose to be with me, then I choose to be with you and to love you tonight."

Robin leaned into her and allowed all the longing that clamored in his veins to take possession of him as his lips covered hers and he kissed her with the desperation of a lover who would never see his beloved again. Being eager to taste him again, Marian parted her lips and let his tongue mingle with hers as he explored the sweet inside of her mouth. His hands were wrapped around her waist, and hers around his neck as they kissed wantonly, feeling desire, almost painful in its intensity, to grow deep within them, becoming more passionate and insistent with every moment.

Yearning for a more intimate contact with Robin, Marian unclasped her hands from his neck and brought them down to his belt; her fingers touched the belt buckle. He grinned at her cheekily and deepened the kiss while her hips brushed against his hardness, exciting them both. She undid the buckle and pulled at the laces of his trousers, but he stopped her. Robin broke the kiss for a moment, looking at her with eyes revealing his amazement at her boldness. Laughing at him, Marian cupped his face and began to kiss his cheeks and lips, reveling in the taste of him.

"I cannot imagine that I could be with Gisborne tonight," lamented Marian. She was raining kisses on his face, raking her fingers through his hair. "I'm not sure I could–" She trailed off.

"I told you that you cannot marry a man you don't love," Robin returned in a throaty voice. A tide of pain coursed through him as he envisaged Gisborne making love to Marian. He then banished thoughts of the man who had almost stolen his love from his mind. "Marian, we must not think of him. We cannot allow him to intrude and destroy this moment. He will never stand between us again."

Marian swallowed with difficulty, tearing her thoughts from the path she could have followed if Much hadn't appeared in the church. "Forgive me that I mentioned him. I just wanted to say that I don't know how I would have been able to–" She broke off, the heat rising up to her cheeks.

His lips brushed hers teasingly. His arms closed around her tighter, pulling her closer to him. "But you can do this with me, my love," he whispered, smiling at her. "You want to do this with me."

"Yes," admitted the bold maiden.

Robin smiled cockily. "Marian, you are only mine." He then kissed her on the lips, savoring their warmth and sweetness. "I can easily figure out why you do want me. I didn't give you silks and satins because I'm an outlaw and give all I have to the poor. But my charm swept you off your feet and you fell for me once more. My charms are still working on you despite your statements to the contrary."

She swatted his cheek and stated, "Robin Hood, your need to be loved is insatiable. If you continue behaving this way, I will throw you out of my room before anything happens."

He kissed her briefly, running his hands down her spine, up her arms, then down again, shaping her hips lightly with his fingers. "I want to love you, my love."

Marian smiled slightly and spoke in a voice laced with desire. "I've told you that I want this too."

Robin chuckled, his eyes sparkling with imps of mischief. "The reign of King Richard is over for tonight, but only for tonight." He stilled for a moment, smiling at her amazed expression. "There is the reign of passion and love in your realm tonight," he said in a playful voice.

A smile of great brilliance graced her features, for she loved his wit a lot. "Be careful, Robin. I'm tempted to slap you for your impudence," she teased. "You should start, or I will make you leave."

"Then let me love you," retorted Robin in a sultry voice.

Seeking to assuage the ache that dominated their bodies and minds, they undressed with the only sound in the chamber being the drumbeats of their hearts. As Robin carried Marian to the bed, her lustful expression and the hunger in her eyes pierced him with a shaft of joy, heightening his own desire for her. When he gently lay her on the bed and just stared at her for a moment before telling her how beautiful she was. A blushing Marian made an attempt to hide her naked body from him, but her shame dissolved into the love she felt for him and a lot of pleasure when Robin captured her lips with his.

Robin began to caress her breasts and moved his mouth to tease her nipples, causing her to moan with pleasure and arch her back. His hands were everywhere, touching, fondling, caressing, and sliding over her flesh with movements that made her gasp, groan, and call his name. Marian blushed to the roots of her hair when his fingers gingerly probed between her thighs, and her breath was coming in short gasps. Robin kissed her gently and reassured her that everything would be alright; then he positioned himself above her. Just in a moment, a shock of tingling excitement and speechless joy passed through her as Marian felt him sliding into her.

Marian cried out more in surprise than in pain as Robin fully penetrated her, rewarding her with a deep, ardent kiss. He was moving inside her exquisitely slowly, until she raised her hips to meet his thrusts and urged him deeper, moaning into his mouth. His thrusts became deeper and more insistent as they were kissing and moving. The world and everything else in it faded away, and nothing else mattered, and they were soaring in the air, their bodies clamoring for fulfillment. Then the sweet ecstasy rocked them as his body exploded inside her while her muscles contracted around him.

As they lay in each other's arms, Robin felt that it was high time to bare his heart for her: she had given herself to him, and he needed her to know how much it meant to him. Tearing his mouth from hers, he glanced into her dazed eyes. "I love you with all my heart, Marian. I've never stopped loving you. I don't want you to ever doubt my feelings for you," the confession escaped his lips.

Still in the grip of a vehement passion, Marian felt her heart beating so fast that it could burst out of her chest. She had waited for him to say these marvelous words for many months after his return from the Crusades, and now she heard them at last. Robin Hood was hers! She brushed her thumb across the stubble on his cheek and caressed it with her thumb. "I've loved you since childhood, Robin. I've never stopped loving you, not even when you were in the Holy Land," she said sincerely.

Robin gave her the most radiant smile she had ever seen on his face. "I will never stop loving you, Marian," he vowed. Then his mouth was on hers again, hungry to join his body with hers once more. They became one again, and a living light shone within them more brightly than ever before.