“Are you hungry?” he asked quietly.
She shook her head. “Are you thirsty, then? Would you like some wine?” he pressed.
She sighed heavily and shook her head again. The crackling hearth filled the silent air between them. Lacking any further response, Davyss sat down on the bed, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her down with him. She stiffened, but only for a moment. Snuggled up against his warm and powerful body, Devereux could feel some of her fear and confusion flee as the flesh of his body created a heated envelope around her. It was a new sensation, one of extreme warmth and security. She’d never known such comfort existed.
Davyss shifted so that she was clutched up against his chest, his arms tightly around her and his big hands on her back. He caressed her shoulders, her hair, acquainting himself with the feel of her in his arms. They had never lain together, at least not in the still of the night with nothing to distract or trouble them. In fact, Davyss had never lain in bed with a woman that he wasn’t having sex with. Leisure snuggling was unheard of. This was an entirely new experience for the both of them, the significance of which was not lost. For Devereux, it was like being in another world.
For his part, Davyss had never felt so complete or content; it was difficult to describe for a man who had known more than a few women in his lifetime. But they had all been fleeting interests; no one that had truly marked his heart. Not even the baron’s daughter who had borne him twin daughters. The more time he spent with this woman he had married, the more she touched him on levels he had never known to exist.
His mouth was near her head and kissed her hair a few times, stroking her back with gentle caresses. He felt sorry for her, this woman who hated violence and found herself in the middle ofa vicious sword fight. He knew she was shaken. He was shaken, too.
“I would like to say one thing before this night is through and we put all of this behind us,” he murmured. “In spite of the view you have of the knighthood, I hope you understand that I do not go around looking for fights. Every time I raise my sword, I am risking death and I certainly do not want to die. I am also risking the deaths of my men and I have no desire to see any of my men wounded or killed. What I did tonight, I did with the sole motivation of protecting you. Those men would not have thought twice before taking advantage of you and it is my job, as your husband, to protect you from that. Do you understand?”
She sighed faintly, calming, and he felt her nod her head, just once. “Aye,” she responded. “I understand what you are saying but I tell you again that they made no such move against me.”
“Would you rather I had waited until one of them grabbed you in places only meant for your husband?”
She pulled back, gazing up at him with a lifted eyebrow. “Nay,” she replied. “But they had done nothing when you came charging in with your sword lifted. And that man who ran at you… you cut off his….”
She couldn’t continue but did not have to; he knew what she was about to say. He had cut off the man’s head with the mightyLespada. He pinched her chin gently between his thumb and forefinger, forcing her to look at him.
“Would you rather it had been my head that got cut off?” he asked.
She tried to shake her head but had difficulty moving it because he held her chin. “Nay,” she said, more softly.
“Had I not killed him first, he most certainly would have tried to kill me.”
“I would not wish that at all.”
He smiled faintly, holding her chin still as he kissed her cheek. “I am glad to hear that,” he replied, sobering. “I am, however, sorry if we frightened you. It is an unfortunate byproduct of battle.”
She gazed up at him, this man she had married yet who was a virtual stranger. His appearance that morning had brought what seemed like a man very willing to try to make amends. He understood her fears and her point of view; he’d tried very hard to. Yet she’d made little concession to him from the very beginning. Her guard had been up since the moment his knights came to claim her for their wedding. It simply wasn’t fair that he was making all of the effort and she was making virtually none. Her guard began to dissolve.
“You do not need to apologize,” she said quietly. “You acted on instinct and I cannot fault you. If anyone should apologize, it should be me. You have been trying very hard since this morning to make amends and I fear I have not made it easy for you.”
He smile broadened. “Nonsense,” he said. “You have been agreeable and charming.”
She gave him a look suggesting he was lying simply to be kind. “I have not, but it is sweet of you to say so. And I am sorry that I ran from the inn; I will admit that I was very frightened and I simply wanted to get away. I do not know what I was thinking, really; all I could think of was getting away from the battle. I am unused to such things.”
“That is understandable,” he said. “But I will admit something also; I was terrified for you when we discovered you were missing. I had no idea what had happened to you.”
She gave him a wry smile. “Again, my apologies,” she said. “Perhaps… perhaps tomorrow will bring a better day for us both.”
He nodded, gazing into her spectacular gray eyes. “I must leave for London on the morrow,” he said, watching her expression change. “And I should like for you to come with me.”
She nodded in resignation. “I know,” she said. “And it ’tis not as if I do not wish to go. ’Tis simply that I worry for The House of Hope.”
“It seems as if you have many who help you.”
“Help me, yes. But I ultimately make the decisions and oversee everything.”
“What of your father?”
She shook her head. “He is too wrapped up in his duties as Mayor and Sheriff of the Shire. He always thought The House of Hope was foolish, anyway. He used to scold my mother on it constantly as a waste of effort and money.”
“I see.” He could see the thought of leaving her charity truly distressed her. “Is there no one else to run the place in your stead?”
She nodded. “Aye,” she said honestly. “Stephan Longham and his brothers are capable.”
