She looked over his shoulder at the wall and then nodded. “I trust ye will nae take advantage of the situation.”
He pressed his hand down—hard—on his groin. “Ye doona have to fash about that. I am so tired I will be asleep before my head touches the pillow.”
That seemed to reassure her, although Niall doubted he’d get any sleep at all. He watched as she sat down on the edge of the bed to swing her lovely, bare legs under the covers and then scoot toward the wall until she was backed up against it.
Snuffing out the candle, Niall lay down on the edge of the mattress, trying his best to ignore where their bodies made contact in the narrow bed. He put his arms under his head and stared into the darkness. It was going to be a long night.
The floor might have been a better choice, after all.
Chapter Seventeen
Annie pulled the covers closer, wondering why it suddenly felt so cold. Sleepily, she opened one eye. Dawn was breaking and Niall was pouring water into the basin on the dresser.
That explained the sudden coolness. His body heat had kept her warm and snug as they shared the bed. She half-closed her eyes, still not quite fully awake, rather liking the scent Niall had left on the pillow…and the fact that, except for his small clothes, Niall stood naked as he washed.
He certainly was well-made. She’d known his shoulders were broad, but seeing them bare and the broad expanse of muscles flexing across his back as he moved his arms was sheer beauty. His back tapered to a narrow waist and tight buttocks beneath the linen cloth he wore. She already knew how well-muscled his thighs were…
Niall glanced over his shoulder toward her. “Are ye awake?”
Dear Lord. Annie pinched her eyes shut. Had he sensed her gawking at him? Or worse,seenher looking? She wanted to pull the covers over her head, but she forced her eyes open.
“Aye. ’Tis barely morn though.”
“I would like to get an early start.”
As the grogginess left her brain, she realized that was probably a good idea. She had no desire to encounter Elsa—or any other maids who thought she was a handsome lad. If her disguise was uncovered, she would be truly ruined since she had spent the night with a man. Equally bad, should someone still be following them, they could be more easily identified.
Annie swung her legs over the edge of the bed and shivered. The fire had died down and the room was chilly. Niall didn’t seem affected as he took a towel and began drying himself. She tried not to stare at his expansive chest with its dark dusting of hair that trailed a fine line down his flat, hard belly to disappearinto the loin cloth that hung low on his hips. She forced herself to avert her eyes and then remembered his bandage.
“How is your leg?” she asked as she got out of bed and pulled on the breeches she’d left folded over a chair.
Niall pulled his tunic over his head. “’Tis fine.”
“Have ye looked at it?”
“Nae.”
Annie shook her head. “Then how can ye say ’tis fine? Perhaps we should check it.”
“Nae,” he said again, putting more emphasis on the word as he wrapped his plaid around his waist. “’Tisfine.”
From his tone, it didn’t sound as if his leg wasfine, but Annie wasn’t sure if Niall was hiding pain or if he just didn’t want her touching his thigh again. And perhaps he had the right of it. She’d seen the reaction of his manhood last night when she’d wrapped the bandage. She knew that when a man hardened, it became painful. At least, that was what Broderick had told her, along with the fact that if a woman teased a man, she was responsible for that aroused state. Niall had not touched her last night, but she didn’t want to cause him any more discomfort.
“We will have the doctor at Crianlarich look at it, then. ’Tis nae far, is it?”
“A little less than an hour,” Niall replied. “’Tis another reason I want to leave early. Taking time to stitch the wound will already delay us.”
“It needs to be done.” Annie eyed him suspiciously. “Ye are nae thinking of skipping the visit, are ye?”
Niall grimaced as he pulled on his boots. “Nae. I will admit that it hurts like the devil has placed a hot anvil on it.”
Annie bit her lip. For Niall toadmitthat the wound hurt was amazing in itself, but that it felt that bad was disconcerting. Even though he’d claimed last night the injury was not festering, shewas pretty sure it was. The sooner the leg was properly cleaned and stitched, the better.
“It will take me only a minute or two more to be ready.”
Niall nodded as he went to the door. “I’ll get the horses saddled and see if I can get some bread and cheese to break our fast.”
Annie hurried with her ablutions after Niall left, then stuffed what remained of the shirt they’d been using for bandages into the saddlebag. Hopefully, they wouldn’t be needing it anymore once the doctor got the wound closed and a proper wrapping put on. She pinned her hair up and pulled her cap down low, making sure no red showed, and then went downstairs.
