I took a deep breath, expecting to brace against anger, and instead found myself unwinding slightly. Which was concerning on its own.
"Not yet," Torion Feargus said from behind us.
"No," I agreed, keeping my own voice gentle as I turned. The alpha was close, my shoulders hitting the solid strength of his forearm. He had a shirt on now, loose and dirty at the cuffs, covering the broad expanse of bronze muscle he'd been showing when he'd claimed me in front of Malcolm and several others. The muscle I'd done my best to ignore as I'd bargained out a life with him.
"No, we won't touch this room yet," I said, soothing the words.
The tension that revealed the brutal strength of the alpha in this man—a man who transformed so quickly from lackadaisical to intent, mercurially serious and then youthfully impulsive—eased slightly. He backed out of the doorway, and I followed the urging of his hand gratefully.
"I know it will have to be done at some point," he said, frowning.
"Perhaps we could…open the windows for a few hours each day?" I suggested.
For a moment, he grimaced, and I opened my mouth to dismiss my own words. "That would help, yes," he said, looking to Maggie over my shoulder. "Not when it's raining."
"'Course not," she said carelessly, hurrying over to a window.
He turned away, the hand on my left shoulder sliding down and taking hold of my own hand. His was warm and large, heavy as an anchor. "You've been busy," he said bracingly.
I hesitated, wetting my lips, ducking my head as we turned in a slow circle down the flight of stairs.
"It's good," he said, not waiting for my answer. "I've been out, checking on the flock and cattle. Too much has been left untouched since my mother's passing. How are you with numbers?"
My head reeled at the way his speech seemed to turn from one subject to the next.
"I've kept household books in good order," I said, not mentioning Malcolm's name.
"I expected as much," he said, flashing me a wry smile over his shoulder. I caught myself before my slippered foot missed a step. "Careful, every sixth is shorter. It's meant to be defensive, but I think it causes more injuries to those of us in the keep than any who might try and invade it."
You are a little too handsome for your own good, I thought. Or at least formyown good.
But attraction made the prospect of the rut easier to face. In fact... I ducked my head to hide my blush. I could look forward to the rut. Malcolm was right that I'd enjoyed myself in bed with him. Heartbreak had soured the memories, but sometimes, I craved faceless company to help me revisit those momentssafely. I'd lain awake plenty of nights on my own, daydreaming of some unknown lover, imagining what it might be like to lie with someone new, just for the fun of it, for the closeness of the moment. For the sensations without the emotions.
"There should be money to spend where you need it," Torion continued. "But I've no doubt we'll have some reckoning to take stock of."
"I've put Maggie in charge of the maids for now," I said.
"The old woman? She ought to manage. She knows the keep well enough, certainly."
I glanced over my shoulder, but there was no sign of Maggie following us. I hoped she hadn't helped herself to working on the old alpha's suite too much. It would need to be done, but I knew how it felt to want to hold onto a parent after their passing.
"She might not be up to the physical work for much longer. We should...think of what we can do for her," I said, wondering if I would've stepped beyond my place here so soon.
Torion stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned to me, not smiling, but somehow expressing warmth all the same. I shied from his open stare.
"Good. There are cottages on the keep estate. Many need repair. I'll speak to the steward and the groundskeeper so we're ready." His fingers squeezed around mine. "I'm lucky you came to me for help, Brigid."
My voice caught in my throat, no answer ready, and Torion released me.
"You keep the staff busy in here. I'll keep seeing to the estate. We'll eat dinner together. The books are in my father's office," he said in a rush, heading for the stairs down to the main hall.
I wiped the heat of his touch on my makeshift apron and turned in the direction of the office, my chin held high and eyes refusing to look back.
Chapter Six
TORION
Istepped into the keep late, a little too aware of the smell of sheep shit on my boots...and other even less desirable places. I braced myself for—perhaps even relished the prospect of—a disapproving sniff from my new omega, but aside from the glowing and crackling fire in the hearth of the main hall, there was no sign of life in the keep. She hadn't waited for me for dinner.
