Maia's eyeswidened at Ewan's command, her hands instinctively clutching the heavy wool tighter around her shoulders.
"The cloak.Take it off. Ye cannae sleep in it, it's too heavy and ye'll overheat." Ewan had already settled into the chair by the window, his long legs stretched out before him, arms crossed over his broad chest. He looked entirely too comfortable for someone who'd just spent hours in the saddle.
"But I'm only wearin'me shift!" The words came out higher-pitched than Maia intended.
"I'm aware.It's the same one I've been holdin'' against me body for the entire bloody ride here." Ewan closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the chair, his expression unreadable. "But, if it makes ye feel better, I willnae look. Just take it off and getunder the blankets. Food will be here soon, and after we eat, ye need to sleep. We've got another long ride ahead of us this afternoon."
Maia stared at him,trying to determine if he was serious. His eyes remained closed, his breathing even and steady. The picture of masculine indifference. Waiting.
She looked down at herself,at the cloak that covered her from neck to ankles, and felt heat creep up her cheeks.
She'd been so distractedduring the ride, so overwhelmed by being outside, by the sights and sounds and smells of the world beyond her tower, that she'd almost forgotten her state of undress.
Almost.
But now,standing in this small room with a bed and a man and nowhere to hide, the reality of her situation crashed over her like a cold wave.
She was wearingnothing but her shift. The same thin cotton shift she'd gone to bed in last night, before her entire world had turned upside down. It was modest enough, with long sleeves and a high neckline, the fabric thick enough that it wasn't transparent when dry. But it was still underclothing. The kind of garment no man should see unless he is her husband.
And Ewan Byrnewas definitely not her husband.
He was her captor.Her kidnapper. The man who'd stolen her away in the night and killed her only friend.
"Ye said ye wouldnae look,"Maia said quietly, testing him.
"And I willnae."
"How doI ken ye'll keep yer word?"
One dark eye cracked open,fixing her with a look that was somehow both amused and exasperated. "Because I've given it, lass. And I daenae break me word." The eye closed again. "Now stop stallin' and get in the bed before I change me mind about sleepin' in this bloody uncomfortable chair."
Maia bit her lip,weighing her options. She could refuse, could demand he leave the room while she undressed, except she had nothing to change into. Could insist on keeping the cloak, except that he was right; it was too heavy for sleeping, and the room was already warm from the afternoon sun streaming through the window.
Or she could trust him.
Trustthe man who kidnapped ye. The man who set fire to yer uncle's castle. The man who killed Mollie.
But he'd also promised notto force himself on her. Had offered her the bed while he took the chair.
Had answeredher endless questions with patience, well, mostly patience, during their long ride. Had wrapped his cloak around her to preserve her modesty when they'd arrived at the inn.
And somethingin the way he'd said "I daenae break me word" made her believe him. There had been conviction in those words, a certainty that felt like solid ground beneath her feet.
Slowly,carefully, Maia unwrapped the cloak from around her shoulders. The heavy wool slid away, pooling at her feet like a dark shadow, and suddenly she felt impossibly exposed.
The shift was madefrom thick cotton, sturdy enough that it wasn't truly transparent, but it was white. Startlingly white against her skin.
And if ithad rained during their ride...
Maia's faceflamed as she realized exactly how much Ewan might have been able to see through damp fabric.
Her curves,the ones her uncle never tired of criticizing, the ones he said made her unfit for marriage, and too plump to be desirable, would have been clearly visible. Every swell and dip of her body would be outlined for anyone who cared to look.
He carried ye for hours.He felt every inch of ye pressed against him. He already kens what ye look like.
The thought madeher stomach flip in a way she didn't want to examine too closely.
A small,mortified sound escaped her throat before she could stop it.
