Thanks for all the reviews… it makes me want to continue the story.

Nope, still don't own Lancelot or the others.

Now, here we go…

When Laney woke the next morning she realized she had slept soundly the entire night. Well, not the entire night. She hadn't left Lancelot's room until well after midnight. Surprised at how well rested she felt after only a few hours sleep, she stretched and made to climb out of her bed. Just as she swung her feet over the side the door to her room swung open. Lancelot was standing there. He must have dressed himself and considering what he was wearing she thought he'd been in a bit of a hurry. He had his britches on but they were not fastened and his shirt was open as well. He had not bothered with anything for his feet and she could tell the floor was cold by the way he kept switching from one foot to the other. He was also leaning on the door frame like he couldn't stand on his own. She rushed over to him, forgetting that she only had on the peasant blouse and some of her underwear from her bag. The look on his face would have been priceless any other time, but she remembered how 'modern' her underwear was being covered with lace and barely covering what was necessary.

She stopped in mid-step and turned around to grab the blanket from her bed. When she turned back toward the door, Lancelot was standing inside the room and had closed the door behind him. She could see how unsteady he was and rushed to his side. He quickly put his arm around her shoulders and let her lead him to her bed. When she leaned to help him sit he fell backwards pulling her on top of him. She quickly tried to get up thinking he had just lost his balance when she heard him laughing. She stopped trying to gain her footing and looked at him. "Got you." He said between laughs.

She started to protest until she noticed the color had come back into his face. His eyes were clear and there was no wincing from the pain. She playfully slapped him on the arm and pretended to struggle. He tightened his grip and whispered into her ear, "Now that I have you where I want you, it won't be so easy to get away from me." He pretended to be serious but she saw his lips quiver from the effort of not laughing. Feeling secure in the knowledge that she wouldn't hurt him, she suddenly moved and was sitting on top of him, one leg on each side of his body. He hadn't expected her to move so quickly and his eyes were wide with surprise as she pushed his arms above his head to hold them down.

"Who has who?" she asked him smiling, but with a dangerous glint in her eye. Lancelot did a couple of fake half moves to get away and feigning surrender said, "Okay, I give up." She had decided to turn the tables on him and see how he liked it. "Oh, no you don't. That was too easy for such a brave and fearless warrior." He didn't move as she leaned closer to him. She got almost close enough for their lips to touch when she stopped and gently teased his lips with her tongue. She gave his lips soft flickering licks until she saw him close his eyes. She knew he wanted to raise his head so their lips could touch stopping her teasing. But he was being stubborn. She raised her head to look at his hands then moved her hands up until she had his hands in hers. The move deliberately placed her breasts directly in his face. She kept her body raised so he couldn't touch her without raising his head. She rubbed his palms with her fingers and hoped it had the same effect on him that it had on men from her time.

When she heard him growl and felt his face in her breasts she knew she had won the battle. She moved back down taking her 'weapon' out of his reach. Sitting up, she released his hands and felt his urgency in the way he grabbed her around her waist. The blanket had slipped in her maneuverings leaving one side completely uncovered. She saw him look at her naked legs and his hand moved from her waist to her thigh. He gently rubbed his hand up to where her panties started and the back down to her knee. She moved off him and stood up. He stood up and pulled his shirt over his head, slinging it to the far corner of the room. She had begun to unlace her blouse when he slowly pushed her hands away and untied the laces himself. When he had them all undone he pushed the blouse off her shoulders to fall about her elbows. She heard his intake of breath when he looked at her and she had never felt so proud of the way she looked without her clothes on.

Lancelot let his hand hover in front of her breasts as he looked into her eyes. He saw his passion mirrored in the green depths and reached out to enclose the orb in his hand. Laney closed her eyes and felt him gently nibble on her neck. She moved her head to the side to give him easier access so he could continue to make her body tingle from head to toe. When he moved his lips to her jaw line she grabbed his upper arms to hold on for fear her knees would buckle at any time. When she raised her arms her blouse came up and got in his way. Pushing her arms down he quickly pulled the blouse off over her hands and dropped it on the floor. She was now standing in front of him with nothing but a pair of lace bikini panties. She looked and saw him hesitate to touch the flimsy material. She couldn't tell what he thought of this item because his eye lashes covered his eyes. When he didn't try to take them off she reached down and placed his hand inside the waist band. His fingertips brushed the curls inside her panties and he moaned.

She looked into his eyes and saw pure raw emotion. This sight only fueled her already heightened senses and she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. He turned his head until he could find her lips and kissed her with an intensity that startled her. Suddenly he picked her up in his arms and lowered her onto the bed. In only a moment he had dropped his britches and was climbing on the bed beside her. He took his time kissing and touching all the right places. By the time he was ready to truly make love to her she was aware of each and every hair on her body her senses were so attuned to the sensations she was feeling. She heard his surprise when he entered her and realized she had never had a man inside her before.

Lancelot felt the barrier give way to his thrust and heard her slight protest at the pain of being loved for the first time. He held still until she relaxed again and whispered soothing words into her ear as he began showing her how much he wanted to please her. He never even thought about whether or not she was a virgin. This knowledge made him glad that he had wanted to take his time and make sure she got as much pleasure as he did. His feelings for her became deeper with each thrust until finally they relaxed in mutual satisfaction. It took a few moments before he could get the energy to move off her and lay on his side with his hand on her stomach. He could feel the muscles there still churning from her release. This made him raise up on one elbow and look at her face. Her eyes were closed and her lips parted as she took slow relaxing breaths trying to regain composure. He leaned down and gently kissed her temple. She smiled and sighed a satisfied breath. Lancelot lay back and put his arm behind his head. Never before had he felt what he did at that moment.

A knock at the door brought them both back to earth. Laney called out, "just a minute!" As she scurried about trying to find something to put on. Lancelot was standing on one foot trying to get his leg into his pants when the door handle turned. Looking at one another they both dived for the covers to hide their lack of clothes from whoever was coming into the room. Just as she pulled the covers up to her chin Gawain peeked around the door and stopped in mid sentence. "Hey, are you…" Laney knew her face was a brilliant shade of red at having been caught and the grin on Gawain's face did not help. Thankfully he didn't say another word as he pulled his head back and closed the door. They heard him say through the wood, "I'll see you two later." As he moved down the hallway. Laney thought she heard him laugh just as he rounded the corner leading away from the sleeping quarters.

Lancelot looked at Laney and saw the horror on her face. He reached up and cupped her chin and turned her to face him. "Don't worry, Love, at least now I won't have to worry about the competition." He told her with a smile on his face. She looked at him for a moment before she understood what he was implying. Gasping she jumped up and grabbed her skirt off the chair. "We've got to catch him and make him promise not to tell anybody! What will they all think about me sleeping with you while you're ill?" Seeing the panic on her face, he climbed from under the covers and walked over to where she was standing trying to put her arms in her blouse. He grabbed her hand to still its movements. "Don't worry about them, I'll explain it to them later. Besides, now they won't be trying to woo you anymore. I've made my claim and they will abide by it."

Laney stopped trying to move his hand and stared at him with her mouth and eyes wide open. "What do you mean, 'laid your claim'? You sound like I'm a piece of land that you just stuck your flag in and yelled mine!" She saw him open his mouth to say something and before he could get the words out she pulled away from him and sat down heavily on the side of the bed. "Now they will think me a whore." Her voice was so dejected that he moved to her side and sat down. "No they won't. Not when I tell them that we're in love." She looked at him and he saw the tears in her eyes. "Oh sweet Delaney. Did you think this was a one-time thing for me?" His gaze was searching as he looked into her eyes.

"What else was I to think when you never once said the word while we made love?" she asked him sadly.

"Well, if you want to banter words, neither did you. That doesn't mean it isn't true. You do love me, don't you, Laney?" She looked into his eyes and saw the longing. She wanted to scream yes! Instead she quietly nodded her head and laid her head over on his shoulder. He put his arms around her in a loving embrace as he said, "Delaney, will you marry me?" She held her breath for a moment then firmly said, "Yes!" Lancelot lay back on the bed and pulled her on top of him. He held her in his arms as he gently played with her hair, pushing stray strands behind her ear as he repeated in a whisper, "I love you, my mysterious stranger." For the first time in her life, she felt lucky. Lucky enough to have been chosen to live the life she knew was right for her. Now if only she knew what she had to do to keep it.