She was straddling him.Her weight pressed against him in all the right places.And she was wearing nothing but a thin garment that had shifted dangerously low on one shoulder.
Boyd felt himself growing harder by the second.
"Aye," he growled, his voice coming out rougher than he intended."Yer husband, in case ye've forgotten."
"Oh!"Bella's eyes widened in horror as she seemed to realize their position."I'm sorry.I thought, I thought ye were an intruder."
She started to move, to climb off him, and Boyd knew that if she shifted even slightly she would feel exactly how much his body wanted her.
In one swift movement Boyd caught her wrists and rolled them both.Now he was on top, pinning her to the bed beneath him, his hands bracketing her head, his body covering hers.
The blade clattered to the floor, forgotten.
They were face to face now, mere inches apart.Boyd could feel every curve of her delicious body beneath his.Could see the rapid pulse at her throat.Could smell lavender and soap and something uniquely her that made him want to bury his face in her neck.
"Where the hell did ye learn to do that?"he demanded.
Bella stared up at him, her chest heaving, making her breasts press against his chest with each breath.Her eyes were wide, her lips parted.
This close, Boyd could see flecks of amber in her brown eyes.Could see the way her pupils had dilated.Could feel the heat radiating from her skin.
"I thought ye were a mercenary," she whispered."Trying to rob me."
"'Tis my room as well," Boyd growled, trying to ignore the way her body felt beneath his.Soft and warm and perfectly fitted to him.
"I ken that, but I did not think ye'd actually share it with me."
"Why not?I'm yer husband."
"Aye, but ye took so long to return—" She broke off, her cheeks flushing that beautiful pink that made Boyd want to trace the color with his lips.
Boyd knew he was in danger.Yet here he was, pressed against her on the bed, his body hard and aching, every instinct screaming at him to lift up her shift, loosen his trews and consummate the marriage until neither of them could think straight.
He could feel her heart racing beneath him.
Boyd forced himself to roll away, putting distance between them before he did something unforgivable.He sat on the edge of the bed, his back to her, trying to get his breathing, and his body, under control.
"Then why were ye skulking about?"Bella demanded behind him, her voice shaking slightly."I sensed a shadow hovering over me and assumed the worst."
Boyd rubbed his jaw where she'd landed a surprisingly solid hit with her elbow during their struggle."I wasn't skulking.I was going to carry ye to the bed, ye stubborn wench."
"Oh."
Boyd turned to look at her and immediately regretted it.
Bella sat in the middle of the bed where he'd left her, her shift askew, one shoulder completely bare now, her hair a wild tangle around her face.Her cheeks were flushed, her lips swollen from being pressed together, her eyes bright.
She looked thoroughly rumpled.Thoroughly kissed, even though he hadn't laid a finger on her in that way.
She looked like every fantasy he'd ever had in the last ten years.
Boyd's body tightened again, and he had to look away.
He heard her rustle, heard the soft sound of fabric as she wrapped her shawl around herself.
"Damn it, woman," Boyd said."Ye never used to be so violent."
"And ye never used to be so surly," Bella shot back, some of her spirit returning."Like abodachwho lost his prize bull."She got off the bed, picked up her knife and stowed it away.
