Gart nodded, wiping the sweat from his brow. “Very,” he concurred. “But you must know that it would upset me greatly if you were injured. You do not want to upset me, do you?”
Romney shook his head and Gart winked at him. “Good lad,” he looked at Orin. “You, too, it would hurt me very much if you were injured. Although you are brave like your brother, you will not do that again. Is that clear?”
Orin, his eyes wide, nodded seriously. With that business settled, Gart finally turned his attention to Emberley.
She was gazing back at him with warmth and appreciation. Gart didn’t even know what to say to her. It was the most wonderful expression he had ever seen. For lack of a better response, he simply cupped her face and kissed her gently onthe cheek to assure her all was well. The smell of her filled his nostrils, the delicate scent of flowers and skin, but he would not let himself dwell on it. It hurt his heart knowing she could never be his.
Emberley didn’t let him go so quickly. As he kissed her and pulled away, she grasped his face with both hands and planted a warm kiss right on his mouth. Their eyes met for a moment and sparks flew, lightning bolts that filled them both with indescribable sensations of excitement and attraction. Seized with the moment, Gart forgot himself and moved in for another kiss, but Emberley backed away as if suddenly realizing what she had done.
“Are… are you all right, Gart?” she asked, refusing to look at him. “You were not injured, were you?”
Heart thumping painfully against his ribs, Gart stood there and stared at her. “Nay,” he said after a moment, licking his lips to see if he could still taste her. “I am not injured.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am sure.”
Lacy suddenly began to whine, holding her arms up to her mother, and Emberley picked the little girl up. She still wouldn’t look at Gart.
“If you have no objections, then, I will look for fabric for the boys,” she said, turning for the merchant’s hut. “I will only be a moment.”
Gart impulsively grabbed her arm before she could get away. “Em…,” he began.
She turned to him, lifting her eyes, and he swore he could see emotions rolling through the dark blue depths. The lightning bolts were still there, rolling like distant thunder. He could feel them as he gazed into her sweet face.
“Aye?” she asked, somewhat reluctantly.
His gaze lingered on her a moment longer, realizing that four pairs of young eyes were gazing up at him. He didn’t want to say anything unsuitable or make a fool of himself. But he swore, at that moment, that this wasn’t the end of the lightning, not by a long shot. He wanted to feel it again.
“You…,” he started, cleared his throat, and continued. “Are you sure you were not injured when he grabbed you?”
She smiled. “Nay,” she said. “I am so sorry, Gart. We did not mean to cause trouble.”
His eyebrows rose. “Cause trouble? Why would you say that?”
“Because the boys ran into that man,” she explained haltingly, trying to voice her thoughts. “He was rightfully angry. The boys should have been more careful and I did not mean that we should cause trouble.”
Gart looked down at the boys, all gazing up at him with something between open curiosity and abject admiration. He put an enormous hand on Romney’s head.
“You did not cause trouble,” he said softly, looking back at Emberley. “It was an accident and our fat friend reacted poorly. I would not worry overly.”
“But you threatened him,” she said softly.
He was unapologetic. “He deserved it.”
Emberley started to reply but the man with the dancing goat suddenly walked by with the animal up on its hind legs and Brendt went mad. Emberley grabbed him before he could run but Gart put his big hand over hers.
“I will take him to see the goat,” he nodded his head in the direction of the merchant’s stall. “Go and inspect your fabric.”
She resisted slightly. “Are you sure it is safe? There are no more soldiers intent to do us all harm?”
He looked around, at his men stationed along the street, and shook his head. “Not unless they are idiots,” he assured her.“I seriously doubt there will be additional trouble. Rest your mind.”
Emberley couldn’t help but smile at him, struggling to resist the lightning that threatened again. It was starting to come too easily. As the minutes passed, the storm brewing between them was gaining strength. She knew it was as wrong as it could possibly be but she couldn’t seem to resist.
She went to inspect material, alone, with warm thoughts of Gart Forbes on her mind.
CHAPTER SEVEN
