large man to have a large...appendage, so Annora should not be so surprised by the truth of it there before her. As Thomas turned and discovered she had trespassed on his privacy, his flesh rose out of the dark curls between his legs, and its length was enough to reach his waist. She’d seen some of him the other night when she’d spied on him, but this view of his attributes was interesting and thrilling and scary and exciting all at once.
Her mouth dried, her hands itched to touch him to test the hardness of his body, all of it, and hers ached for everything he’d promised to do, even while knowing she did not understand all of it. He wore nothing but that smile—the dangerously attractive one that dared her to wickedness—and he made no move to cover himself because of her appearance there in his tent.
“What brings you here in the dark of night, again, my lady?” he asked as he took a step towards her.
This brought him out of the shadows and into the light given off by the lanterns spread around the tent. She inhaled swiftly as her view of him was enhanced by the flickering flames. Her gaze could not resist the sight of his manhood there before her on display. With him naked already, her purpose here this night might be easier after all. Annora blinked several times and met his gaze.
“I but thought you might need someone to put that liniment you spoke of on your new bruises.” She tugged her cloak off her shoulders to expose her own—now much darker and etched in colors—to him. Pushing her braided hair over her shoulder so it would not block his view, she shrugged. “We match now.”
When he stepped fully into the light, she saw how wrong she was about that. She’d seen men fight before and thought she knew how punishing the blows could be, but facing him now, her stomach clenched at the sight of the bruises blooming on him. The worst was on his shoulders and ribs. A large one on his leg.
“Oh, Thomas,” she whispered as she stepped closer to him and reached out to touch his skin. “Do they hurt as much as I think they must?”
His breathing stopped at the first touch of her fingers. She slid them down gently, outlining the edge of the bruise on his ribs. Although he did not move beneath her exploration, his flesh reacted between them. Annora wanted to touch him there, but these injuries needed attention.
“Where is that liniment you spoke of? Would it help these?” she asked, already looking around the tent for a trunk or place he’d have stored it.
“Liniment?” he asked.
His voice was rough and shaky. She glanced at his face and noticed he panted now, as though just done running a great distance. So, he was not unaffected, no matter his extensive experience in such matters? A surge of confidence and boldness filled her then. Aye, she was innocent and a maiden, but she was curious and very much in need of Thomas’s help. First, though, she would aid him.
“The liniment for my injuries,” she said, pointing at her neck. “The one you said your sainted mother would be horrified you offered to me?”
He smiled then and nodded. “In my trunk,” he said.
“Why do you not fetch it, and I can apply it for you? Surely, you cannot reach these areas on your back and shoulders.”
She skimmed her fingers up and over those broad shoulders and down, leaning around him to reach. His body lurched then, and she nearly grabbed hold of what she could to keep her balance until he took her by her shoulders and moved her a few steps farther away from him.
This was how flirting felt? This was how women had power? Seduction could work both ways, even if her aunt and others had made it seem like a dark and perilous thing men did to women. Nay, ’twas not just for men. Her body shivered with the heat that spread as she thought of the possibilities that could happen between them if she took the first step.
Annora noticed he pulled a garment out of the trunk when he searched for the liniment. Before he turned back to her, he’d tugged a pair of loose breeches up over his legs and tied them at his hips. She smiled as she saw the fabric pushed up by his hardened flesh.
And that was her plan, was