A Long Awaited Kiss

Now Rowena did jump up from where she sat. She fixed her eyes on Bronn's, but could see that the squire who had been on duty was on a horse just behind him. She should have known.

"It's alright, Jon," she said as calmly as she could. Jon hesitated for a moment before lowering his sword. He looked at Rowena and then at Bronn,

"You're the sellsword?" he asked Bronn, as realization dawned on him.

Bronn nodded in response. "Do you always greet people with your sword drawn?" he asked.

"You did come thundering up on us like wildlings," Jon replied flatly. "I think you would've done the same in my position."

Bronn acknowledged him with another nod, but this time he gave Jon a crooked smile.

"Well, I was promised," he began, looking directly at Rowena when he spoke the word "promised" , before looking back to Jon, "that the young lady would not be leaving the grounds for any reason."

Jon looked at Rowena for confirmation, and she nodded. "Well then that would be my fault, I'm afraid" said Jon, still attempting to lighten the conversation. "She did mention her concerns, but her Uncle Bayard and I convinced her to go. I do apologize."

Rowena breathed a sigh of relief as Bronn dismounted and Jon put his sword away. She gave the squire and angry look, and he turned his eyes away sheepishly.

"Lovely horse," Jon commented, as he approached the animal. "How in the world did you get a horse like this? I mean…no offense."

"Oh none taken," replied a smiling Bronn. "He was a gift actually," he continued, turning his smile on Rowena. "I could certainly never afford a horse like this."

She swallowed and felt her face turning red. Oh he was being boorish, she thought. But then felt a stab of guilt, remembering how he had looked at her when he'd mentioned her promise to stay out of the streets. It was true, she was the one who'd broken her promise. So far as she knew, he had never broken any of his where she was concerned.

She took a deep breath and then put on her most serene smile. "I told you, Jon," she explained, "Bronn has come to my rescue more than once. Uncle Bayard was kind enough to give him this horse in return." Now she fixed her smile on Bronn, feeling victorious. But of course he was only amused that she was now playing his game.

Frustrated, she went back to the fallen tree and sat down. She would let them sort it out themselves.

"Well, I guess we are all in your debt for coming to Rowena's aid," Jon said, sounding as if he was becoming annoyed.

Bronn only smiled and nodded. Then tipped his head back towards the squire. "My man can lead you back to where you're staying." He said to Jon, still smiling.

"Well, if you don't mind…" Jon began, but Bronn interrupted him. "I do mind. I'll see her home." The tension had escalated quickly, but Rowena only watched them. She suddenly realized how Bronn dealt with his anger. He was simply patient with it, and used it only when it suited him.

Several nerve-racking moments of silence passed. Rowena decided right then and there that she could be patient too. She folded her arms across her chest and waited.

It was Jon who finally spoke. "May I speak to her before I leave?" he asked Bronn, with an exasperated smile.

"Of course," Bronn replied. He turned away from them, and walked his horse over to where the other two horses were grazing.

"Rowena, I don't want to leave you here." Jon whispered, sounding anxious.

"It's alright, Jon," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You should go."

He nodded, but he looked so sad it wounded her. She hugged him tightly, which took him by surprise.

"I do love you, Jon," she said, "I've always loved you, you know that. But you know I can't give you an answer now. Not today, not tomorrow. I only just found out about your wife today. You can't expect me to…."

He put a finger up to her lips. "I understand." He whispered, "Take all the time you need."

He hugged her again, and turned to walk to his horse. As he followed the squire out of the meadow, he waved to Rowena, and shot Bronn an angry look.

Rowena took a deep breath as Bronn approached her. She was determined to remain calm.

"Did he touch you?" he asked when she looked up at him blankly.

"How is that any of your concern?" She replied evenly, surprising herself.

"You know that anything that concerns you concerns me." He was angry but trying not to show it. "And did you not make a promise to me?"

"I did." She admitted, "if you're going to be angry with anyone it should be me, not Jon."

"I'll keep that in mind" he said dryly, "now answer the question."

Rowena hesitated. "He kissed me, and…"

"And WHAT?" She looked up at him, and realized he was getting angrier by the moment. She was starting to see how this game worked, but not at all sure if she should play it, at least not with this man.

"His wife is dead, he wants to take me back home with him," she continued, talking to herself as much as anyone else. "But when he kissed me, I didn't feel anything."

"Maybe it is time you were kissed by a man." Bronn said calmly. Was he testing her now?

"Then kiss me." she said lifting her chin defiantly. Yes, she would play his game.

"You're angry, you don't know what you're saying." He replied, realizing she was baiting him now. "And we should be getting back."

He reached out to take her by the arm, and she put both hands on his chest and pushed him as hard as she could. Rowena knew that she was truly testing his temper now, but she couldn't stop herself. "Stop telling me what I'm thinking and what I'm feeling. You don't always know what is in my head!"

He looked away, and said nothing for a moment, but she could see the muscles in his jaw and neck tensing. And then he lunged at her so quickly she screamed. Grabbing her around the waist with one arm, he half carried, half dragged her on his hip from the clearing and into the trees. She kicked and struggled against him, but could only try to pry his fingers from her waist, to no avail.

He reached a patch of pine needles on the forest floor and released his hold on her so abruptly that she stumbled forward, and fell onto her knees. He grabbed her arm again as he dropped to his knees behind her. She tried to steady herself on her hands and get her feet back under her. But she was too slow, or he was too quick, and in an instant, he had turned her over, grabbing her by both arms, and easily pinning her to the ground. With the full weight of his body on hers, he held her wrists tightly above her head, and took a moment to look at her. He wanted to know that she was frightened, and she was. She saw fiery anger in his eyes, but that wasn't all.

And then he kissed her, roughly, and it was nothing like the kiss with Jon. It was what she had imagined kissing Bronn would be like, and more. When he realized that she offered no resistance at all, his kiss became more sensual and deep. She was unprepared for the sensations that raced thru her entire body as his lips crushed hers and his tongue explored her mouth.

He released his grip on her wrists, sliding his hands across her palms to interlock his fingers with hers. She clasped his fingers so tightly that her nails dug into the backs of his hands.

After a few moments, he pulled away, letting his lips linger on hers briefly, and then rolled onto his side next to her. He kept one hand clasped tightly in his, but released her other hand so that he could gently caress her cheek and run his fingers thru her hair. She reached up tentatively, running her fingers across his face, his whiskers, his lips.

"You'd be the death of me, wouldn't you?" He said wearily.

"No!" She replied petulantly.

"You made me lose my temper, forget my surroundings." He scolded. "We were completely vulnerable. And you did it on purpose. You can't do that to get what you want, do you understand?"

"Yes," she replied sullenly. She tried to look remorseful, though she wasn't sure she felt it.

"You should've kissed me when I asked you to." She said defiantly.

"As I recall, it was more of a demand than a request?"

"Why did you stop?" she asked.

"Why?" he looked at her in disbelief. Then he grabbed her hand and placed it directly on the hardness in his trousers. She tried to pull her hand away, but he held it there firmly. He watched her expression go from shock to fear, and then he released her from his grasp and sat up. "That's why. You pull something like that again, can't promise you that I will stop."

He stood up and reached his hand down to help Rowena to her feet. He turned her around to inspect her clothing, brushing leaves and pine needles from her dress as she pulled them from her hair.

"But you did…stop." She said, determined not to let him cut her off without an explanation this time.

"I've told you it's more complicated than you know," he said with a sigh.

"So you prefer the company of whores?" she asked him bluntly.

He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead and she tensed, waiting for him to explode at her again. But when he spoke, she realized she had pushed too far. "I prefer my own company to most other people." He said wearily.

Suddenly, Rowena felt as worn out as he sounded. "As do I," she said in a tired voice, and turned to walk back to her horse. She was exhausted by it all and she only wanted to be at home alone in her room. As she rode past him, he was standing next to his horse but did not turn around. Once she was out of sight, she urged her horse forward, hoping to put as much distance as she could between them, before he changed his mind.