her cheeks colored. It was Edmund’s shame, but she still felt the weight of it anyway.
“This way, mistress. We’ve a bath ready for ye.”
Keir didn’t release her hand immediately. His fingers tightened, drawing her attention to his face. Promise flickered in his eyes as hard and overwhelming as his body. She pulled on her hand, craving distance from yet more demands.
She dropped him a curtsy before keeping her eyes on the ground and following the housekeeper. If that was cowardly, so be it. She was too tired to be anything else. But it wasn’t a fatigue brought on by a longing for sleep. Even knowing that her wedding day would be the end of negotiation and family bartering, she was still slightly nauseated by the process.
It would be very easy to begin thinking like a piece of property instead of a person. But she refused to give up that single thing that was still hers. Even if it might be far simpler to drift along with the currents that were dragging her.
Chapter Eight
“I’ve spent a fair amount of time thinking about you looking just like that.”
A man’s voice shouldn’t be able to send such excitement through a body. At least it would be much better if Helena didn’t find Keir’s tone so delicious, so husky and steely strong. She was tempted to allow it to help hold her up.
He had bathed as well, the firelight that danced off the water making his hair shiny. He moved forward, his steps silent. Only the fire crackled and a faint howl of wind came through the closed shutters. It was a luxurious room, to be sure, but all she seemed to notice was the man intent on sharing it with her.
His gaze moved over her hair. It was dry and she’d brushed it into a fluffy mass of silk lying over one shoulder. She had never considered her hair anything unique. Blond and red hair gained attention. Hers had always been too dark. But Keir liked it. His face reflected his pleasure. He reached out and fingered a lock.
“I hope ye never put those things back in it. Ye’re a fair bonnie sight now that all that powder and paint is nae on yer skin to hide the beauty beneath. I am drawn to ye as ye are, no’ some ideal made up by men who spend too much time judging the people around them.”
It was by far the most tender compliment she had ever received. No rhyming couplet or comparisons to Greek goddesses. It was simple, and for the first time she believed it.
“I suppose it is a good thing you like who you have married.”
He frowned but didn’t answer quickly. Instead he walked toward the bed and leaned his sword up against the wall, leaving the brass handle within easy reach of the bed. He’d taken the side nearest the door, and she noticed it. Another ripple of emotion went through her. No one had ever placed themselves in front of her unless they were paid by her father to do so.
Keir did it because of who he was.
He’d shrugged into his shirt while still wet. Patches of the linen stuck to his torso, giving her a glimpse at the hard ridges of muscles beneath the garment. Heat licked over her skin and it had nothing to do with the fire burning near her feet.
He turned and caught her looking at him. Her fingers fumbled the brush handle and she set it aside before she embarrassed herself further by dropping it.
The man’s ego didn’t need that much stroking.
“I suppose I cannae blame ye for nae trusting me, even if I wish otherwise.”
“Trust?” Her voice was a whisper, but full of emotion. It would be so easy to believe in him, but that would only set her up for misery when he left her for a mistress. She didn’t doubt that it would happen. The man had won her playing at cards and her worth was in parchment and what she brought him. Once she was breeding, he’d be finished with her. It was normal and expected, but it hurt her to see Keir standing near the bed she would lose her chastity in. She had wanted to keep him in her heart as her gallant knight. Reality would shatter that dream tonight.
“Aye, trust me, lass.”
He reached for her but she struck his hand away before contact was made. His eyes flickered with his displeasure and her temper gave her the strength