feet and stood facing him. “And for earlier today…when you carried me down the slope. I would never have made it alone.”
“’Twas naught. We had to get started while the sun was high.” He handed her the shawl she’d made for him and walked to the opposite side of the fire. “Take this. You’ll need it more than I.”
Chapter 10
I t did not take long for Anvrai to retrieve the game birds from his snares. He discovered a few nests while on his early walk through the woods and collected the eggs within. They would make a quick meal before resuming their southward trek, allowing them to save the cooked fowl for eating at midday.
As they sat together breaking their fast, Anvrai was anxious to be on their way, to have other matters to occupy his mind besides the moments of the night before when he’d held Isabel’s delicate feet in his hands. He’d erred in sliding his hands up the calves of her legs, in rubbing her skin and muscles. Though she’dgiven him free access to her legs and the smooth silk of her skin, she couldn’t have any idea of the effect her sensual reaction had had on him.
He’d wanted to kneel before her, slip her legs over his shoulders, and show her true pleasure. He would kiss her gently at first, tasting every inch of her body as she trembled with arousal. And when she looked at him, ’twould not be with revulsion. Her golden eyes would flash with desire.
“What do you suppose happened to Kathryn…my sister?”
With Isabel’s words, Anvrai’s mind snapped back to the present. And reality. The intimacies he’d imagined were for others, certainly not for a man whose scars and disfigurements proved how inadequate a protector he would be. He could make no promises to any woman. ’Twas better to stay one step removed.
“She was…probably taken,” Roger said.
Isabel’s head snapped up. “Did you see her?” Dark shadows circled her eyes, and Anvrai knew she had not slept well. She seldom spoke of the night they’d been taken captive, and not at all about her family. But there were times in the days since their escape when she’d sat staring out at nothing, with her shoulders slumped and sadness in her eyes. Anvrai did not doubtthat the fate of her family preyed on her mind. He knew the feeling well.
Roger shrugged. “They were taking as many women as they could carry.”
“I dreamed of her last night,” Isabel said. “That the Scottish chieftain took us both—”
“You never said how you escaped him, Isabel,” said Roger.
“’Tis not important.” She gathered her limbs close to her body, hugging her legs as she pulled them tight against her chest.
“How did you know what to do? You are no warrior, my lady.”
Anvrai had wondered the same thing. He could not imagine how one small, gently bred woman had managed to kill the Scot. Still, he appreciated the courage she’d displayed in doing so, then keeping her wits when the fire broke out.
“I know naught of battle, or of killing,” she said quietly. “I could do little more than imagine what would happen, as though I were telling a tale of my plight.”
Roger frowned. “You mean, you thought of our captivity as one of your stories?”
“Aye. If I’d been telling such a tale, my hero would have come for me. But you were injured.”
“Isabel, I would have come for you.” Rogertook her hands in his and spoke earnestly. “But I was tied down. Beaten. Incapacitated.”
Anvrai could have spit. On the best of days, Roger wouldn’t have been able to help Isabel. But she thought of that raw lad as her hero. He started to gather their bowls and pack them into the satchel.
Isabel gazed into her hero’s dark eyes. “I knew I would have to act in my own stead, so I…I did.”
“I don’t understand.” A frown marred Roger’s boyish face. “What did you do? Why did they let us leave?”
Anvrai stood and tossed water on the fire. “She killed the chieftain and set the village on fire,” he said
“’Twas naught. We had to get started while the sun was high.” He handed her the shawl she’d made for him and walked to the opposite side of the fire. “Take this. You’ll need it more than I.”
Chapter 10
I t did not take long for Anvrai to retrieve the game birds from his snares. He discovered a few nests while on his early walk through the woods and collected the eggs within. They would make a quick meal before resuming their southward trek, allowing them to save the cooked fowl for eating at midday.
As they sat together breaking their fast, Anvrai was anxious to be on their way, to have other matters to occupy his mind besides the moments of the night before when he’d held Isabel’s delicate feet in his hands. He’d erred in sliding his hands up the calves of her legs, in rubbing her skin and muscles. Though she’dgiven him free access to her legs and the smooth silk of her skin, she couldn’t have any idea of the effect her sensual reaction had had on him.
He’d wanted to kneel before her, slip her legs over his shoulders, and show her true pleasure. He would kiss her gently at first, tasting every inch of her body as she trembled with arousal. And when she looked at him, ’twould not be with revulsion. Her golden eyes would flash with desire.
“What do you suppose happened to Kathryn…my sister?”
With Isabel’s words, Anvrai’s mind snapped back to the present. And reality. The intimacies he’d imagined were for others, certainly not for a man whose scars and disfigurements proved how inadequate a protector he would be. He could make no promises to any woman. ’Twas better to stay one step removed.
“She was…probably taken,” Roger said.
Isabel’s head snapped up. “Did you see her?” Dark shadows circled her eyes, and Anvrai knew she had not slept well. She seldom spoke of the night they’d been taken captive, and not at all about her family. But there were times in the days since their escape when she’d sat staring out at nothing, with her shoulders slumped and sadness in her eyes. Anvrai did not doubtthat the fate of her family preyed on her mind. He knew the feeling well.
Roger shrugged. “They were taking as many women as they could carry.”
“I dreamed of her last night,” Isabel said. “That the Scottish chieftain took us both—”
“You never said how you escaped him, Isabel,” said Roger.
“’Tis not important.” She gathered her limbs close to her body, hugging her legs as she pulled them tight against her chest.
“How did you know what to do? You are no warrior, my lady.”
Anvrai had wondered the same thing. He could not imagine how one small, gently bred woman had managed to kill the Scot. Still, he appreciated the courage she’d displayed in doing so, then keeping her wits when the fire broke out.
“I know naught of battle, or of killing,” she said quietly. “I could do little more than imagine what would happen, as though I were telling a tale of my plight.”
Roger frowned. “You mean, you thought of our captivity as one of your stories?”
“Aye. If I’d been telling such a tale, my hero would have come for me. But you were injured.”
“Isabel, I would have come for you.” Rogertook her hands in his and spoke earnestly. “But I was tied down. Beaten. Incapacitated.”
Anvrai could have spit. On the best of days, Roger wouldn’t have been able to help Isabel. But she thought of that raw lad as her hero. He started to gather their bowls and pack them into the satchel.
Isabel gazed into her hero’s dark eyes. “I knew I would have to act in my own stead, so I…I did.”
“I don’t understand.” A frown marred Roger’s boyish face. “What did you do? Why did they let us leave?”
Anvrai stood and tossed water on the fire. “She killed the chieftain and set the village on fire,” he said
Similar Books
