If she thought too much about that question, she might be more nervous than she already was. Shewasnervous, she realized. Which was ridiculous. This wasThom, she reminded herself. She’d known him for most of her life. He was like a brother to her.
The rejection of that thought was instant and visceral. He wasn’t like a brother to her at all. Not anymore, at least—if he ever had been.
He removed his arm from the woman’s waist. “Thank you, lass. But I think I can manage from here.”
The serving maid looked like she wanted to argue, but glanced in Elizabeth’s direction and seemed to think better of it.
Elizabeth stepped to the side to let the woman pass. A moment later, she and Thom were alone. Or virtually alone, as there were still a few people in the kitchens. But this corner was fairly secluded. No one would bother them. Why did that knowledge suddenly make the air between them fire even hotter?
She turned away to give him some privacy while he dressed, although she knew it was as much to stop herself from looking at him again.
When he’d donned a linen shirt and breeches, she crossed the room to stand before him. The heat and smell of soap from the tub infused her senses. At least that’s what she told herself. But she knew it probably had more to do with his heat and the fresh scent of soap that emanated from his skin. He smelled good.Reallygood.
She still couldn’t get used to how big he was. Standing this close to him, his chest a broad steely shield before her, it made her want to reach out and...
She cleared her throat, trying to shake off her errant thoughts. She had to focus on why she was here. “Jamie is back.”
She could almost feel him stiffen as every muscle in his body seemed to flex. Good gracious, why did she suddenly feel the urge to trace the chiseled contours with her fingertips and see if they were as steely as they looked?
“I know; I saw him ride in.”
“Then you must have seen that Archie wasn’t with him? It didn’t work, Thom. Jamie couldn’t climb the cliff. There was a sheer section near the top and he couldn’t do it. But you could. He said it would be easy for you. That you’ve climbed far more difficult before. I know it’s asking a lot, I know it could be dangerous, but he said there weren’t any soldiers guarding that section, and the other warriors will follow...” He wasn’t saying anything. Indeed, she couldn’t help noticing how eerily quiet he was while she rambled on.Something is wrong. But she didn’t listen to that little voice and pressed on. “I know you refused. I know you have no reason to help, but please, I’m begging you to reconsider.”
She had to convince him. After what he’d told her about feeling like a servant and being at their “command,” she couldn’t let him think he didn’t have a choice. He’d worked so hard to make a new life, and if Jamie forced him to do this, it would be a blow to his pride that he might never forgive.
She hadn’t realized her hand had fallen on his arm as she’d spoken until she noticed him staring at it. She tried to pull it back self-consciously, but he wouldn’t let her. He circled her wrist and drew her closer.
Their bodies were almost touching. Good Lord, it felt like she’d walked into the forge. Heat bellowed over her, weakening her knees. She felt strange. Light-headed—as if she might faint.
What was happening to her? This wasThommy.
“How badly do you want it, Elizabeth?” His voice was low and husky, and so ripe with meaning, she wondered if they were still talking about Archie. “What are you willing to bargain?”
Bargain? Suddenly, she understood. Money! Why hadn’t she thought of that before? If it seemed unusually mercenary for Thom, she reminded herself that things were different now. For a man to be a knight, it took coin. “Name your price, and you shall have it. I do not have much silver of my own, but I’m sure Jamie will pay you whatever—”
“I don’t want your brother’s blasted money!”
“But I told you, I have little of my own that is not in my tocher—” She stopped, looking at him in shock.
Was that what he was proposing?Marriage?
He laughed harshly. “Don’t look so horrified,thatwill not be required of you. As I said, I have other plans.”
She frowned, not just at the reminder of his betrothal, but at how quick he was to assume he knew what she was thinking. She’d been surprised—not horrified. “Then I don’t understand.”
“Don’t you?” His voice was husky again as his gaze slid down her body. Slowly. Intently. Leaving an imprint in its wake. “Can you think of nothing else with which to bargain?”
She gasped. The heat in his gaze left no doubt as to his meaning.
Jamie was right. Thom was not the noble boy with the fierce sense of right and wrong whom she remembered. He’d been prone to brooding moods at times, but this was a dark, angry side that she’d never seen before. “You would force me to give you my virtue?”
His eyes found hers. The hot flash of blue sent a blast of heat all the way to her toes. But it was the sultry smile that made her limbs start to melt. “Force?” He pulled her body snugly against his. “I won’t need to force anything.”
The fierce sensations that shuddered through her made her wonder if he might be right.
As a man who’d been around fire his whole life, Thom knew better than to play with it. But he wasn’t just playing with it, he was fueling it, stoking it, daring it to burn him. But he couldn’t stop. He finally had Lady Elizabeth Douglas where he wanted her. Seeing him—reallyseeing him—and the burgeoning awareness shuddering through her was irresistible.
He’d only sought to bargain with a kiss, but when she’d assumed more... well, he was not exactly in the right state of mind to set her right.
