Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 50898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 204(@250wpm)___ 170(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 204(@250wpm)___ 170(@300wpm)
The table gleamed with roasted meats, fresh bread, and steaming bowls of stew, but Fawn barely glanced at it.
She pressed her lips softly to his cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered, warmth in her voice. “For having our supper brought here.”
He lowered her to her feet but did not let go of her hand.
“I was too tired to deal with other people tonight.” She raised her eyes to meet his, soft but certain. “I much prefer to be alone with you.”
Something sparked in his dark gaze, pleasure, fierce and unexpected, but he said nothing, only held her hand a moment longer before releasing it.
Fawn smiled suddenly and slipped from his grasp, hurrying to the table. “I’m starving,” she said, reaching eagerly for a piece of bread.
Rhodes’s gaze followed her, hunger of another kind flaring in his eyes. He strode to her side, his hand brushing lightly over her shoulder before he sat opposite her.
“Eat,” he said, his voice low and rough with promise. “Eat and gather your strength because I intend to linger when I make love to you tonight.”
Her hand faltered midway to snatching the bread. She snatched up a chunk of cheese instead, stuffing it quickly past her lips so he would not see her mouth drop open.
Make love.
The words struck her harder than any command. He had never spoken them before, never spoken of love at all. Heat rushed to her cheeks as her heart tumbled against her ribs. Did he mean it, or had the words merely slipped past his guard? Could Rhodes, fierce, unyielding laird, truly love her?
She dared not ask. Not yet.
Fawn finished chewing the cheese in her mouth before he could read her expression, then hastily turned the talk. “Did you hear anything of wolfhounds nearby?”
Rhodes tore a piece of bread off the loaf. “One of the men I sent out returned this afternoon. Nothing. No trace of wolfhounds in the nearby villages.”
They exchanged possible ideas about the wolfhounds as the fire snapped and hissed, and the wind rattled the shutters. Then for a time, they ate in companionable silence, the warmth of the food easing the day’s edge.
When her plate emptied, Rhodes leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on her. “When the weather clears, you’ll send word to your parents about our wedding. I will meet them.”
The bite of bread in her hand stilled. Her heart thudded. Meet them? Panic pricked at the edges of her calm.
She lowered her gaze to her plate, hesitating.
His voice hardened. “Do you not wish me to meet them, wife?”
Her head snapped up at the sharp question. “It isn’t that. I already told you that my mum can be… difficult.”
A wry twist touched his mouth. “So, I will manage her as I do you.”
Fawn forced a smile, though unease gnawed at her. “My parents travel often. It isn’t always easy to reach them.”
The lie slid off her tongue smoother than she expected, but guilt burned hot in her chest. The truth, that she could call on them any time, that her mother was the witch who had granted his cursed wish, stayed locked in her heart where it must remain.
Rhodes studied her for a long moment, as though she was weighing her words. “Nonetheless, see it done.”
She nodded faintly, then stifled a yawn, her hand rising to cover her mouth.
A small smile curved his lips, softening the sharpness in his face. He rose, circled the table, and scooped her up into his arms.
She gasped, though her arms curled around his neck without thought.
“You’re weary,” he said, his tone gentling as he carried her toward the bed. “And I’ll have you before you grow too tired to take me between your legs.”
Another yawn robbed her grin. “You are so romantic.”
“I know no fancy prose. I speak plainly, so you know I desire you.”
She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. “I won’t deny I desire you as well.”
That she desired him fired his passion for her even more.
When he reached the bed, he lowered her to the blankets, his mouth finding hers in a kiss that deepened with each breath, stirring heat between them until her thoughts blurred. Her hands tangled in his hair, clinging, as the ties of her shift loosened beneath his touch.
A knock sounded at the door, sharp and unwelcome.
Rhodes broke the kiss with a curse, his forehead pressing to hers for a heartbeat before he straightened.
“Enter,” he growled. “And be quick about it.”
Boyce strode in, snow clinging to his cloak, his expression grim.
“The second man’s returned,” he said.
Rhodes’s eyes narrowed. “And?”
“A witch has been spotted in the woods.”
Rhodes snorted. “I already heard that from an old man on the road home.”
Boyce shook his head. “Aye, our warriors told me of him. But this is different. The witch that was seen… she had a wolfhound with her.”