She lowered her gaze to her plate, hesitating.
His voice hardened. “Do you not wish me to meet them, wife?”
Her head snapped up at the sharp question. “It isn’t that. I already told you that my mum can be… difficult.”
A wry twist touched his mouth. “So, I will manage her as I do you.”
Fawn forced a smile, though unease gnawed at her. “My parents travel often. It isn’t always easy to reach them.”
The lie slid off her tongue smoother than she expected, but guilt burned hot in her chest. The truth, that she could call on them any time, that her mother was the witch who had granted his cursed wish, stayed locked in her heart where it must remain.
Rhodes studied her for a long moment, as though she was weighing her words. “Nonetheless, see it done.”
She nodded faintly, then stifled a yawn, her hand rising to cover her mouth.
A small smile curved his lips, softening the sharpness in his face. He rose, circled the table, and scooped her up into his arms.
She gasped, though her arms curled around his neck without thought.
“You’re weary,” he said, his tone gentling as he carried her toward the bed. “And I’ll have you before you grow too tired to take me between your legs.”
Another yawn robbed her grin. “You are so romantic.”
“I know no fancy prose. I speak plainly, so you know I desire you.”
She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. “I won’t deny I desire you as well.”
That she desired him fired his passion for her even more.
When he reached the bed, he lowered her to the blankets, his mouth finding hers in a kiss that deepened with each breath, stirring heat between them until her thoughts blurred. Her hands tangled in his hair, clinging, as the ties of her shift loosened beneath his touch.
A knock sounded at the door, sharp and unwelcome.
Rhodes broke the kiss with a curse, his forehead pressing to hers for a heartbeat before he straightened.
“Enter,” he growled. “And be quick about it.”
Boyce strode in, snow clinging to his cloak, his expression grim.
“The second man’s returned,” he said.
Rhodes’s eyes narrowed. “And?”
“A witch has been spotted in the woods.”
Rhodes snorted. “I already heard that from an old man on the road home.”
Boyce shook his head. “Aye, our warriors told me of him. But this is different. The witch that was seen… she had a wolfhound with her.”
CHAPTER 19
Silence followed for several minutes after Boyce’s grave news. Rhodes stood before her, his frame blocking the glow of the hearth, his expression carved from stone.
“You’ll stay here,” he said firmly. “Do not leave this chamber.”
Fawn rose quickly from the bed, fire sparking in her green eyes. “I want to know what’s happening. You can’t keep me shut away like some?—”
He caught her hand, stilling her protest, his grip like an iron shackle though not cruel.
