Tempted By The Knight (Medieval MFM Menage Romance) Read Online Free Page B

their swords clashing like cymbals in the air above them as they literally growled their anger.
    She once again opened her mouth to order them to stop; yet instead of issuing another frantic command, she instead let loose with a deep, throaty yawn that stopped both men dead in their tracks.
    Turning as one to face their lady with wide, disbelieving eyes, the two men in her life froze in their places as they said at once, “Aye?”
    Letting loose with a second yawn, this one deeper and more pronounced, Catherine ran some absent fingers through her smooth russet ringlets; fixing her two stunned lovers with a bored, sleepy eyed stare.
    “What do ye two manly, oh so fiercesome gents plan to do next?” she asked, arching her eyebrows in a show of keen disinterest. “Pull out your manhoods and compare their length? Perhaps ye could do battle with them! That may indeed be more interesting to watch than this dry show of desperate masculinity.”
    Gerald rolled his eyes.
    “Ye and yet filthy mind, milady,” he chided her, sharing a knowing look with a watching Gaston, which indicated that they at least agreed on something. “So tell us then, milady. If ye do not wish us to do battle with swords, then just how would ye like us to vie for your affections?”
    “Name your tournament, milady,” Gaston chimed in, adding as his dark feathered eyebrows rose in a show of keen curiosity, “Would ye like to see us race our horses in your honor? Joust? Run a foot race? I well take it that ye would prefer we settle this in a nonviolent manner.”
    Gerald nodded.
    “Aye,” he agreed, adding as he lowered his sword and shuffled his feet beneath him, “And, frankly, I well share your sentiment. I always have liked Gaston, and have no wish to harm him.” He paused here, adding through gritted teeth, “And I harbor an even greater wish to not be harmed by him.”
    Gaston nodded.
    “I agree, milord. I’ve always liked ye, as well,” he revealed, adding with a broad gesture in the direction of their lady, “but I love her. I always have. And while I have no wish to overstep my station and intrude on your engagement, I feel that I must at this point confess my feelings to both of ye—before she becomes your bride.”
    Gerald nodded.
    “I’ve well suspected this fact for a long time, Gaston. I indeed could tell it, every time ye looked at her,” he told Gaston, adding as he shifted his gaze in the direction of a silent Catherine. “What I do not know, however, is how milady feels about you—or even me, for that matter. So in lieu of staging boyish tournaments in a desperate bid to curry her favor, I suggest that we ask her opinion on this matter.” He paused here, finishing with yet another annoying grin, “Because if I know anything about my intended, she does indeed love to offer her opinion.”
    Catherine thought a moment, and then nodded.
    “All right then,” she assented, sliding with a smooth flourish from the back of her horse as she came to stand tall and proud before them. “If ye truly wish to know the truth, then I shall tell it. I love ye both. I have loved Gaston since the time we were children, and oft lamented that I could not be his bride. I have loved Gerald since the first eve we met, five summers ago at the queen’s birthday feast.” She paused here, throwing her hands up in the air as she insisted, “I tell ye, a woman should not be forced to choose between two such perfect, divine men. I have enjoyed such splendid experiences with both of ye, and cannot rank one of ye above the other. Ye both shine in your intellect, your grace, your strength, your gentility and nobility. I daresay any maiden would be proud to claim either of ye as a husband.”
    Gerald nodded.
    “So how, then, do ye plan to choose between us?” he pressed his intended.
    His mouth fell agape moments later, as a newly beaming Catherine raised her hands to unlace and loosen her sky blue kirtle.
    “Aye,” she breathed. “I do believe