Page 30 of A Rogue and a Noble Lass

“Ye dinnae give me orders,” Beitris said as she pushed him.

“I am yer commander,” he grunted.

Beitris then softened when she realized that she hurt him. The venom disappeared from her words and she approached him again, but this time as she would approach a wounded bird, cautiously. She touched his shoulder. He did not flinch as her hand rested upon him.

“I will nae take orders from ye,” she said softly. “Come, sit. As a Knox, I order ye.”

Logan gritted his teeth, too busy bearing the pain to lash out with a rejoinder. He walked slowly to a bench and lowered himself down.

“I would ask why the healers let ye gae if ye were nae ready, but I can imagine ye ignored their advice and marched out,” she said.

Logan averted his gaze, annoyed at how accurate she was. “There was nae reason for me tae stay there. I was only wasting time.”

“Healing is nae a waste of time. If ye move too swiftly ye can make things worse,” she said.

She pulled away his tunic. The dressing had come away, torn apart by his movements. She sighed and made sure that it was tightly pressed against his skin. Her touch was gentle, and it reminded him of the way Abigail had treated his wounds whenever he stumbled and grazed his knee or bit his lip as a kid. Those were childish injuries, the pain of which had seemed intense in the moment but had now faded along with so many other memories.

He didn’t deserve this kindness, but he was glad to receive it.

Beitris’ dark curls brushed against the side of his face. Her breath washed over his neck. Her scent prickled the air and he felt himself trembling. Her fingers glided along his skin. All of these things most decidedly did not remind him of Abigail. There was a heat to Beitris’ touch and presence, as though she were a source of warmth that whispered a hint of summer. Tingles ran beneath the surface of his skin, and he felt an itch that he could not scratch. He tried to push them away, but with her being so close it was impossible, and he felt weaker than he had in years.

“I’m tired of being treated as fragile by everyone around me. None of ye men believe I can hold my own,” she muttered.

“It’s nae that ye are fragile. It’s that ye are important.”

Beitris snorted in response.

“Ye bear the Knox name. I am naething. I am expendable. If I die there are a dozen warriors waiting tae take my place, but if ye perish… how would yer parents replace a daughter? It cannae be done,” he said, his voice catching on emotion. He cleared his throat, hoping that she was too preoccupied to notice.

“Given the way people speak of ye I dinnae think that’s true. People admire ye, Logan, and Da would nae hae made ye part of the personal guard if he dinnae think he could trust ye.”

“Aye, but I am who I am because of my sword. Without it, I am naething. I hae nae kin, nae land, nae wealth. If it weren’t for my deeds in battle I would be forgotten like a passing storm.”

Beitris placed her hands on his shoulders and looked at him directly. He was taken aback by the emotion in her eyes. They were so close to each other that he could see the flecks of color in her irises. It was as though they had caught sunlight and jewels and other precious things.

“I hae never believed that about anyone, and I dinnae believe it about ye. Every person hae their own story, and each person makes their mark during their lives. I ken Warnock took everything away from ye, but this war will be over and when it is, the just among us will be standing tall. We are the ones who get tae build a world after this and ye can be a part of that.”

Logan barked a disbelieving laugh. “What place dae a warrior hae in a world of peace?”

“Ye can be more than a warrior. Ye can be whatever ye want tae be. We each hae the freedom tae make our own choices, and I will nae hear ye diminish yerself like this. I ken we argue, but I am nae fool. I ken I would hae died without ye, but there is something I need tae ken, Logan. Is Da right tae trust ye?”

She searched his eyes. He fixed his gaze upon her. He might not have been holding a bow and arrow as he had been in his dream, but he did have the power to condemn her to a grim life filled with despair. He could betray all the faith she placed in him.

“Aye,” he replied.

The lie tasted bitter on his tongue, but he would not feed her suspicions. His eyes were unblinking and for a moment the two of them were connected in a profound way. He feared that she might peer so deeply into his soul that she would see the truth, and suddenly he would be the one in danger.

But that didn’t happen.

Instead, she did something that he hadn’t expected and could not prepare for. She placed her hands against his cheeks and kissed him. Her lips were soft against, yet the kiss deepened. There wasn’t even space for breath between their skin, and Logan’s mind exploded with different sensations.

Her kiss was grounding, illuminating, and terrifying.

It stirred feelings he had always guarded against and felt like someone had thrust a flaming sword into the middle of his chest. He came alive in a way that he had never done before, and even though only their lips were connected, it felt as though she was touching every inch of him.

But while the kiss was sweet for him, to her he knew it was poison.

He wasn’t the person she thought he was.