Angie Arms - Flame Series 03 by The Darkest Flame Page B

nothing she continued, “I wanted everything Lenox was not.   My husband would be young, tall and dark.  I heard Lenox was a coward, and his loyalties scattered, so I wanted a husband who would be brave and I could depend upon.  I heard he would be taken over by rages, so I wanted a man who would be gentle and never raise a hand against me.  He was stupid because he believed my excuses for not marrying him, and the man I would choose would be intelligent.  When he lost his keep to a man such as you, I was grateful he was dead, for he was none of these things, and would not be able to protect our home on top of it all.”
    She made eye contact with him , but the blackness told her nothing.  Then his gaze fell to her face again and he leaned forward, the back of his knuckle gently grazed her bruised cheek.  “I need you, so you must disabuse yourself of such dreams,” he said in his cold voice, as his hand dropped away and he straightened again.
    “But you are those things,” she declared , and his eyes were back on hers, making her swallow uncomfortably.
    “You see me as all these things?” he asked , and his expression changed for a brief moment.
    “These things and more.  I am glad you are my husband.”
    “But I did not protect you,” he said, and as he looked down upon her she saw it in the lines on his face, the strain in his shoulders, that he carried that regret. 
    She rose swiftly to her knees and wrapped her arms around him.  “You can protect me for the rest of our days.”  His hands were around her wrists and pulling her away, pushing her back so she was at arm’s length. 
    “You cannot see me as those things.  I do what I do, and I am not those things.”  His voice was cold and menacing, his eyes empty, but she could not deny what she saw in him.
    “What are you that you are not those things?”
    He stood and moved a short distance from her, then turned to face her once again.  “I am the Fenton Bastard.  I command an army that shows no mercy, no quarter to the King’s enemies, and that makes us the King’s best.  It makes me indispensable to the Lionheart.”
    Ryann shook her head slightly.  “That is what you do.  That is what you must do.  But that is not who you are.”
    He began to turn away, but he stopped at her next words.  “You must be strong, you must not falter.”  She closed the space between them.  “But I am not one of your soldiers.  I see a boy who was unwanted, helpless, who grew into a man who refused to feel that way.  I see a man who bravely leads this army, despite he grows tired of war.  You are the man who spares me pain, despite you can rightfully take what those other men did.  You are the man who will lay claim to the child who may grow inside me, so that the child will never be unwanted.  You are a strong, brave man, and it is not because you are the King’s man, but your own, and do what you must so you, and those you command, do not find yourselves helpless.”
    He studied her , but his eyes refused to find hers.  After a moment he looked to the ground.  “I wanted an obedient wife.  That is all I wanted.”
    Ryann felt the need to apologize , but Garrick looked up at her at that moment.  “I was born with nothing, to a mother who hated me, so I have never had anything or anyone to lose.  I have forgotten feeling anything, until I felt fear for you.  I don’t know what that means, but I like the way you look at me.”
    Ryann scrunched her brow. 
    “You look at me like a woman looks at a man.  Not the way one would look at the devil.  I will try to be all those things to you, as long as you never look at me like I’m a monster.”
    Garrick watched her smile and the way it lit up the blue in her eyes , and made the dimples appear in her cheeks.  “Then I shall be a good wife to you.”
    Garrick nodded, his nostrils flaring , but he remained silent as he looked down at her.  Hesitantly, she reached for his hand and took