retreating, and when the stairway door closed, he was able to breathe again.
Cristiane did not stop until she opened what she thought was the door to her room. Mortified to have stepped into some other bedchamber, she turned and fled, quickly finding the door to her own.
She knew hercolor was still high, and she pressed her hands to her cheeks to cool them. She resolved in future to avoid these early morning interludes with Adam Sutton, since they only served to embarrass her.
Yet she could not regret the few moments she’d spent enjoying his warmth as he stood nearly naked beside her.
His body was so different, so intriguing. Where she was soft and smooth, he was hard and muscular, and covered with hair. She’d ached to touch him, to run her fingers up the hard planes of his chest through that mat of hair, and see if he was as solid as he looked.
Heat flooded her cheeks anew and Cristiane stepped over to the basin of fresh water. She washed her face, cooling herself at the same time, then took a long draught of water before dressing.
She had to get away from here.
A clean kirtle that had once been a deep green color lay on the trunk at the foot of her bed. The fabric had faded and was worn thin in places, but was in much better condition than the gown she’d been wearing these last weeks. Hastily, she pulled it on over her head and then fastened the laces, finding it as snug a fit as the underkirtle.
Refusing to be disappointed by this gift, she vowed nonetheless to begin sewing as soon as Adam found some cloth for her to use.
She sat down and pulled on her shoes, taking half a moment to appreciate Adam’s kindness in buying them for her. She quickly laced them, then left her chamber in search of a way out. She did not want to chance another embarrassing encounter with Adam.
There were so many passages and doors here in the keep that it was unnecessary to go through the great hall in order to leave. She knew she had only to find the correct passageway, and it would lead her to an outside door. Following an instinctual sense of direction, she made her way to the main floor, without meeting anyone.
The sun wasbarely over the horizon when she finally let herself out of the keep through a door near the chapel, with the intention of making her way down to the water.
There’d been no path to her favorite places at St. Oln, either. Yet she’d followed her father down to the sea all those years before, finding footholds across the rocks when she’d been just a child. There was no reason she could not do the same here on Bitterlee.
“M’lady…”
Startled by the low voice and the sound of footsteps on the gravel behind her, Cristiane whirled to see Sir Elwin there. He looked well rested and content.
“Lord Bitterlee sent me to show ye the sights.”
She swallowed. “I thank you, Sir Elwin,” she said, “but ’twill not be necessary. I can roam—”
“Ah, but the lord gave express orders that I’m to escort ye ’round the gardens and such.”
“But—”
He took her arm and ushered her back onto the path.
“No buts,” he said.
They headed for the garden and all its tame glory.
Adam was grateful that after the night’s rain, the waterfall would be heavier than usual, and cold. ’Twas what he needed to purge himself of the heat he could not seem to control whenever Cristiane Mac Dhiubh was near.
The dogs ran ahead of him as he limped up the narrow trail that continued along the escarpment north of the castle, and soon turned onto a narrow footpath through a thick wood. After following the path a short way, he heard it—the thundering of the water as it hit the stony floor a hundred feet below, filling a pool that overflowed into a river that rushed all the way down to the sea.
Taking a momentto rub the soreness from his thigh, Adam stopped, perched in a notch between two trees and gazed down at the sight of the falls. ’Twas so beautiful, he was sure Eden must have looked like this.
The
Cristiane did not stop until she opened what she thought was the door to her room. Mortified to have stepped into some other bedchamber, she turned and fled, quickly finding the door to her own.
She knew hercolor was still high, and she pressed her hands to her cheeks to cool them. She resolved in future to avoid these early morning interludes with Adam Sutton, since they only served to embarrass her.
Yet she could not regret the few moments she’d spent enjoying his warmth as he stood nearly naked beside her.
His body was so different, so intriguing. Where she was soft and smooth, he was hard and muscular, and covered with hair. She’d ached to touch him, to run her fingers up the hard planes of his chest through that mat of hair, and see if he was as solid as he looked.
Heat flooded her cheeks anew and Cristiane stepped over to the basin of fresh water. She washed her face, cooling herself at the same time, then took a long draught of water before dressing.
She had to get away from here.
A clean kirtle that had once been a deep green color lay on the trunk at the foot of her bed. The fabric had faded and was worn thin in places, but was in much better condition than the gown she’d been wearing these last weeks. Hastily, she pulled it on over her head and then fastened the laces, finding it as snug a fit as the underkirtle.
Refusing to be disappointed by this gift, she vowed nonetheless to begin sewing as soon as Adam found some cloth for her to use.
She sat down and pulled on her shoes, taking half a moment to appreciate Adam’s kindness in buying them for her. She quickly laced them, then left her chamber in search of a way out. She did not want to chance another embarrassing encounter with Adam.
There were so many passages and doors here in the keep that it was unnecessary to go through the great hall in order to leave. She knew she had only to find the correct passageway, and it would lead her to an outside door. Following an instinctual sense of direction, she made her way to the main floor, without meeting anyone.
The sun wasbarely over the horizon when she finally let herself out of the keep through a door near the chapel, with the intention of making her way down to the water.
There’d been no path to her favorite places at St. Oln, either. Yet she’d followed her father down to the sea all those years before, finding footholds across the rocks when she’d been just a child. There was no reason she could not do the same here on Bitterlee.
“M’lady…”
Startled by the low voice and the sound of footsteps on the gravel behind her, Cristiane whirled to see Sir Elwin there. He looked well rested and content.
“Lord Bitterlee sent me to show ye the sights.”
She swallowed. “I thank you, Sir Elwin,” she said, “but ’twill not be necessary. I can roam—”
“Ah, but the lord gave express orders that I’m to escort ye ’round the gardens and such.”
“But—”
He took her arm and ushered her back onto the path.
“No buts,” he said.
They headed for the garden and all its tame glory.
Adam was grateful that after the night’s rain, the waterfall would be heavier than usual, and cold. ’Twas what he needed to purge himself of the heat he could not seem to control whenever Cristiane Mac Dhiubh was near.
The dogs ran ahead of him as he limped up the narrow trail that continued along the escarpment north of the castle, and soon turned onto a narrow footpath through a thick wood. After following the path a short way, he heard it—the thundering of the water as it hit the stony floor a hundred feet below, filling a pool that overflowed into a river that rushed all the way down to the sea.
Taking a momentto rub the soreness from his thigh, Adam stopped, perched in a notch between two trees and gazed down at the sight of the falls. ’Twas so beautiful, he was sure Eden must have looked like this.
The
Similar Books
