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)
For over a year no man had dared defy him, no blade had touched him, no battle had been lost. His name alone had been enough to silence dissent. Yet now… wolves were falsely accused, whispers circled among his people, doubt stirring where none had been before.
His gut twisted. If the witch had severed her spell, what was he now? Still Lord Rhodes of Clan MacBrair, aye… but now vulnerable.
He looked down at Fawn, her fiery hair spilled across him, her hand resting lightly over his heart. Fear cut through him, stabbing at his heart. Not fear for himself. Fear of losing what he had not known he craved until now… until Fawn.
He might have no choice but to find and confront the witch, discover what hand she played in this, if any. And if she hadn’t, then what man was strong enough to break past her spell? Or was he facing darker forces? It was a thought he hadn’t considered, and it did not set well with him, for that meant he might need the witch’s help.
Wind continued to rattle the shutters, the storm raging on. Rhodes closed his eyes but did not sleep. His arm only tightened around his wife, the weight of love and danger twined too closely to untangle.
CHAPTER 15
Morning crept pale through the shuttered window, the storm spent but leaving a deep hush over the forest. The fire had burned low, its glow casting amber shadows across the small cottage.
Fawn stirred beneath the furs, her cheek brushing against Rhodes’s chest, her breath warm against his skin. He tightened his arm around her, savoring the feel of her in his embrace, the temptation of another slow, lingering joining before the day began.
She shifted, her lips curving in a sleepy smile as she pressed closer, her hand sliding along his chest. His breath caught, heat sparking low and insistent. He rolled toward her, capturing her mouth in a kiss meant to deepen, to lead them back into the fire of the night before.
The knock came hard against the door.
Fawn startled, drawing back. Rhodes let out a sharp curse, pushing himself up on one elbow.
“My lord!” Boyce’s voice carried over the wood. “I brought horses to get you back to the keep. There are matters that need your attention.”
Rhodes swore again under his breath, his jaw tightening. He swung his legs off the bed, raking a hand through his disheveled hair.
“I will join you shortly,” he called out to Boyce.
Fawn sat up, annoyed, having thought they would have more time alone together, time to learn more about each other, time to bond.
“Already?” she asked, not hiding the disappointment in her voice.
He glanced back at her, his dark eyes still hot with the remnants of desire, feeling the same as she did, but… “Duty demands it.”
She bit her lip, glancing toward the fox curled in the corner, the doves shifting restlessly in the rafters, Sage solemn in his perch, and Rook croaking low in his nest.
“Aye, you’re right, duty does demand our time. And my duty demands I not leave them.”
His response was firm. “We will return soon. Your creatures and your belongings will be brought to the keep. But we leave now.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Your word on that?”
“You have my word.” The vow came easily enough, though inside he knew it was as much strategy as concession. It had to be done. If she was to truly be his wife, she must belong to the keep. To him. And she would never stop slipping back to this place unless he tore her roots from it himself.
Fawn reluctantly yielded. “Very well. But we return for them today,” she said, worried that his duties might infringe on hers, leaving his word questionable.
Rhodes reached for her hand, tugging her gently from the bed. “Aye. Today.”
“Aye, today,” she confirmed with a strong nod, “for they cannot do without me.”
“Either can I,” he said, his tone serious, then caught her lips with his, stoking the passion that continued to simmer between them.
Rhodes grudgingly ended the kiss, mumbling beneath his breath as he left her standing by the bed to tug on his garments. His linen shirt clung cold against his skin before the wool and leather brought warmth.
“I must tend to the animals before I can leave,” Fawn said, slipping on her tunic over her wool shift.
“Be hasty about it,” he ordered, drawing his cloak over his shoulders and stepped outside.
Fawn wondered over her husband. He seemed two men to her, one who showed a glimpse of a man with a caring heart and another who appeared more of a cold-hearted leader. Could that be what her mum had warned her about?
She would have endless time to find out since she was now his wife. She shook her head and turned her attention to the animals.