“Wot do ye want?” he barked out, adjusting the furs so she wouldn’t see the evidence of his arousal. When the bleeding skies had that happened last?
She didn’t flinch at his words. “I’ve come tae have a look at yer leg, Kaiden.”
Ignoring the way she said his name, he glared at her. “The healer will be in shortly. There is no need for ye tae see it as well.”
“Well, ye see, that’s going tae be a problem,” she countered. “I’ve taken over the healer’s work.”
“Nay,” he growled, clutching the fur tighter in his hand. “Ye’re not...ye cannae.” He didn’t want her to see his leg. Right now, she saw him as a man, but once she saw his leg, she would look at him with pity like the rest did. He didn’t want her to do so.
His “wife” arched a brow. “I am a healer, Kaiden, and I have been brought by yer da tae help. I cannae help unless ye show me yer injury.”
She was right, of course, but he wasn’t about to show his weakness.
“Nay.”
Anger sparked in her lovely eyes. “One would think that ye would want tae get out of this bed. Perhaps the rumors are true.”
“Rumors?” he asked, unable to help it.
She gave a heavy sigh. “Aye. Everyone thinks ye arenae as strong as ye have always appeared tae be...that ye are a weakling.”
A weakling? He was far from it. Didn’t they know how much pain he had endured? Didn’t they know how much he wished he could walk down those stairs and address the clan he had grown up in?
But as the words bounced around in his mind, Kaiden realized what she was doing to him, and a slow smile crossed his face. “Nay, lass. I never pegged ye for a liar.”
Instead of agreeing, she just lifted her shoulder. “Aye, but ye cannae blame me for trying. It works on the lesser Scot.”
Kaiden bit back a laugh. He had not been this entertained in quite some time. “Why did ye agree tae come?” he asked lightly, curious to know why the lass was still unattached.
A shadow crossed over her face, and he saw the light dim in her eyes. “I had no choice. It was decided by mah da.”
“Much like mine,” he grumbled. So, she had been coerced much like he had.
“Aye,” she replied. “I’m not looking for a marriage, Kaiden, but I do wish tae help ye heal. Yer clan needs ye.”
That they did. He cleared his throat, waging within himself on whether or not to relent to her healing powers. She could do no worse than the others had. “Ye wilnae cut off mah leg.”
Snorting, she grabbed a cloth from the table, dipping it into the basin. “That healer should have never said such tae ye. Tae cut off a limb means certain death, and I would never put mah patients through something so, so horrid.”
Some of the tension eased from his shoulders. She wasn’t going to render him helpless in that manner. “’Tis good tae hear, lass.”
“Ferra,” she stated, turning to him. “Mah name is Ferra.”
“Ferra then,” he repeated, flinching as she reached out with the cloth. “Wot are ye doing?”
“Wiping yer forehead,” she muttered, the cool cloth brushing over his sweating skin. “’Tis stifling in here. ’Tis no wonder ye havenae died from the heat alone.”
The coolness of the cloth eased him a bit, and Kaiden let down his guard momentarily. Usually, the healer would come in, examine his leg, and stoke the fire higher. Not once had she tended to him in this manner.
But up close, he could see the gold flecks in Ferra’s eyes, the smattering of freckles that crossed the bridge of her nose. Her pink lips were parted, and he saw a neat row of teeth in her mouth, biting back a groan as they sank into her lower lip.
Bloody hell, there his cock went again. Perhaps he should call up one of the wenches later to service him. In his state, he hadn’t wanted any woman near him, and it had been a month since he had a warm, willing body under his.
“There,” Ferra finally said after she had bathed his entire face. “That has tae feel better.”
“Aye,” he said gruffly, glad when she moved away to open the window. A blast of cool air moved through the chamber, and Kaiden breathed it in, the hint of spring in the air. Oh, how much he had missed being outside, the sun on his face! Being trapped in this chamber had been torturous in more ways than one.
“May I?”
