The Warrior Knight and the Widow

by Ella Matthews

  Yesterday she’d been so angry with Braedan—but also with herself, for being so easily persuaded. As they’d traipsed through that endless forest she’d plotted to slip away from him when he next slept.

  How naive that sounded now. Their flight through the woods had been so utterly full of terror that she couldn’t imagine being on her own again. If it hadn’t been for Braedan she would have died. There was no doubt in her mind about that. She hadn’t even been able to get herself out of the mud, let alone run away from those dogs or warm herself after their dip in the water.

  She shifted, and his arm tightened around her before relaxing again. She sighed. Propriety demanded that she roll away from him and dress before he woke, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. He was nothing like Lord Swein. He’d considered her safety and comfort before his own, and the feel of him against her didn’t repel her like it should. In fact it was quite the opposite. She longed to stay like this, cocooned in the safety of his arms.

  She burrowed further under the covers and snuggled closer to the warmth of his body.

  She knew the moment he awoke. His breathing changed and the muscles in his arm tightened again. She waited for him to move away from her but he didn’t. She became aware of a hard length pressing into her back, but still he didn’t move. She didn’t either.

  He’d promised not to hurt her and she believed him. He was not like Lord Swein, who had thought only of his pleasure and given no regard to the pain he had deliberately inflicted on her.

  She wanted to know what Braedan was thinking.

  Slowly...achingly slowly...she turned in his arms, careful not to dislodge the arm that was around her.

  His eyes were open and he was watching her as she rested her head on the makeshift pillow next to his. His breath whispered across her skin and the little hairs on the back of her neck stood to attention in response.

  She reached up and brushed a strand of hair away from his face, her fingers skimming his beard as she did so. His sharp intake of breath surprised her and she snatched her hand away, scared that she had hurt him in some way.

  When he lay unmoving and uncomplaining she brought her hand back to his face. She gently rubbed away some of the dirt that had gathered beneath his eye.

  The corner of his mouth tilted upwards in a slight smile and the fine lines around his eyes crinkled.

  His own hand slowly moved up her spine to touch the edges of her newly shortened hair. Her scalp tingled and she closed her eyes. No one had ever touched her so gently or so reverently.

  His fingers brushed her jawline and came to rest lightly on her lips. Barely moving, she placed the softest of kisses on the very tips. His hand moved back to her hair and he lightly pulled her towards him.

  At first his kiss was soft and gentle, barely a press of lips.

  It wasn’t enough.

  She moved closer towards him and felt his grunt of surprise against her mouth. Then he tilted his head and deepened the kiss.

  Her skin was sensitised, and she felt the brush of the rough fabric against her breasts as he crushed her to him, his tongue sliding into her mouth.

  She gasped at the invasion. No one had ever done such a thing to her before. But instead of protesting she allowed him to continue, welcoming his touch.

  Within the space of a heartbeat her whole body ignited, her nerve endings coming alive all at once. She swept her fingers into his hair and pulled him closer still. He responded by rolling her onto her back and leaning above her. Then he broke away and ran his lips along the curve of her jaw and down into the hollow of her neck.

  The sound of their heavy breathing filled the air. The delicious weight of him pressed her down as he returned his attention to her lips...

  Then he was gone.

  Her eyes snapped open as the cold rushed over her body in the absence of his warmth.

  ‘I’m sorry, my lady. I don’t know what came over me,’ he growled.

  Without looking at her, he swept up his clothes and strode out of their makeshift camp.

  Humiliation washed over her. He’d apologised, but it had been she who had started it. It was she who had touched his face and pulled him close.

  Only yesterday she’d been frightened of him trying to take advantage of her, but she was no better than all those lords who thought they could have any woman they wanted and who treated their female servants as if they were playthings. True, she hadn’t hurt him. But, really, was she any better than her late husband, who had taken whatever he wanted from women whether they were willing or not? She should never have touched him.

  She slowly pulled herself to her feet. Her legs were weak and the skin on her unbooted foot throbbed as she made her way over to her clothes. The garments were dry, but stiff with mud as she pulled them on.

  When she was fully covered she fetched a water skin and splashed a little liquid onto the sole of her foot, to wash the worst of the dirt off. She sat down to examine it. It was scratched, and bleeding in several places, but nothing was too deep or serious-looking.

  She’d need something to cover it if she was going to walk today. She certainly wasn’t going to let Braedan carry her again.

  She heard the stomp of Braedan’s footfalls returning to the hut and kept her eyes on her wounds. She knew she’d have to make eye contact with him at some point, but it was too soon after their encounter to do so now.

  ‘Here,’ he said, thrusting an odd-shaped piece of bark into her eyeline. ‘I thought you could use this as a boot until we reach the next town.’

  His fingers brushed hers as she took it and a bolt of awareness jolted down her arm. He flexed his fingers, as if he’d felt something strange too.

  ‘Thank you,’ she murmured.

  He stood in front of her as she slipped the bark over her foot. It was surprisingly soft, and she wiggled her toes experimentally. The bark immediately slipped off.

  He cleared his throat and knelt beside her. ‘Tell me if this hurts,’ he said, and he took a bit of twine and gently wrapped it around her foot, securing the bark to her.

  He didn’t look at her as he worked and she felt a fresh wave of humiliation as heat crept up her neck and washed across her face. She’d offended him by her actions and made things awkward between them.

  He finished and then cleared his throat again. ‘About this morning...’ he said, still keeping his eyes on her odd shoe. ‘I’m sorry about my actions. It won’t happen again.’

  She nodded, and although he wasn’t looking at her he seemed to take her silence as enough of a response.

  ‘Are you ready to go?’ he asked abruptly.

  ‘Yes,’ she croaked.

  ‘Good.’

  He swept up the blankets and stuffed them into his bag while she stood with her hands clasped in front of her. Now they were left with only one piece of luggage between them there was nothing for Ellena to carry, and she had nothing to add to it.

  She felt oddly redundant with nothing to do.

  Her stomach growled. ‘Do we have any food left?’ she asked.

  ‘A couple of oatcakes,’ he said. ‘Can you manage without having one now? I don’t know how far we are away from a town.’

  ‘I can manage,’ she said.

  Her stomach growled again at the lie, but she refused to show any weakness.

  ‘Do you have any idea where we are?’ she asked as they stepped outside the hut.

  She squinted in the morning sun as her eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness. The air was warmer than yesterday, and she could hear birds singing high up in the trees ahead. It seemed so tranquil, compared to yesterday’s nightmare.

  She turned when he didn’t answer and their eyes met for the first time since that kiss. As soon as their eyes locked her heart sped up, until it was beating painfully fast. She quickly dropped her gaze and waited for him to speak, keeping her e
yes on a busy network of ants scurrying about to the right of his foot.

  ‘I...um... I’m not sure exactly,’ he admitted, for the first time ever sounding unsure.

  She nodded. She hadn’t really expected him to know, but she still felt a thud of disappointment.

  ‘We want to be heading east—which is that way,’ he said, pointing away from the hut and in the opposite direction from where they’d come yesterday.

  ‘How do you know?’ she asked.

  ‘Ogmore is east of Swein, and as the sun rises in the east that’s the way we should head,’ he said, nodding towards the orb of light she could just make out through the leaves above them.

  That made sense, as they’d been running in the opposite direction for most of the last two days.

  ‘Right...’ she said. ‘Well, you lead the way and I’ll follow.’

  She didn’t want his hulking presence behind her for the rest of the day. It was hard enough to concentrate when he was standing in front of her.

  He nodded and strode past her while she kept her eyes fixed on the busy ants. When he was far enough away that conversation wouldn’t be required she followed him.

  They walked until the sun passed overhead and began to carry on its journey behind them. Ellena’s bark boot had remained in place, but the cuts were making themselves known with every footstep and the growling in her stomach was becoming painful.

  Up ahead of her Braedan finally stopped, and she limped to catch up with him.

  ‘We’ve reached the edge of the forest,’ he told her as she stopped next to him. ‘And I think there’s a settlement down there.’

  He pointed downhill, to where Ellena could just see a wisp of smoke curling over the horizon.

  ‘It could be Copsi and his men camping,’ she said.

  He nodded, keeping his eyes on the distant smoke. ‘Which is why we’ll stay here until nightfall and then I’ll go and check it out. If it’s a settlement I’ll get us a room at an inn and come back and get you.’

  ‘And if it’s Copsi?’

  ‘I will come back and get you and we will retreat back into the forest.’

  Her stomach let out a loud rumble in protest at this idea.

  He smiled slightly and dived into his pack, retrieving two oatcakes. He handed them both to her.

  She bit into one of the biscuits and greedily finished it in three mouthfuls.

  ‘What about you?’ she asked, when she realised he hadn’t got any for himself.

  ‘Don’t worry about me. I’ll get something when we get to a town.’

  ‘You should eat now,’ she protested.

  He shook his head. ‘I’m fine.’

  She looked at the oatcake in her hand. She wanted to eat it so badly she had to clench her hand to stop herself shoving it into her mouth, but something wasn’t right...

  ‘Is this all we have?’ she asked.

  He kept his gaze away from hers as he stared intensely towards the horizon.

  ‘It is the last oatcake,’ he said eventually. ‘But I am used to being on campaign and not eating for protracted periods. I don’t need anything now.’

  Yet another act of kindness from The Beast. He wasn’t at all like his reputation, which painted him as a cold-hearted bastard. Her heart twisted in remorse at the way she’d treated him. He was a better man than most, and even though he’d manipulated her into leaving her home he’d only been doing her father’s bidding. She couldn’t hold that against him. His whole existence relied on serving the Earl of Ogmore.

  ‘Please,’ she said gently. ‘Take it.’

  For a long moment he ignored her outstretched hand. She was about to stamp her foot and insist when he turned and slowly took the dry biscuit from her hand.

  ‘Thank you,’ he said, and then he turned his back on her once more.

  As daylight faded and the silence between them stretched on, Ellena’s resolve quickened. She would not be left cowering in the shelter of the trees while he risked his life yet again.

  When darkness finally fell he stood and brushed dirt from his tunic. ‘I will be back as quickly as I can,’ he told her.

  ‘I’m coming with you,’ she said, and stood and joined him at the edge of the forest.

  ‘No, you are not.’

  ‘I don’t see how you can stop me.’

  ‘I can tie you to that tree,’ he ground out.

  ‘What with? I know there is no rope in that bag.’

  He growled.

  ‘You can growl all you like but you don’t scare me,’ she said defiantly, crossing her arms and glaring up at him.

  ‘And if I appeal to your common sense?’ he asked, the set of his shoulders rigid and unrelenting.

  ‘It isn’t common sense to leave me here alone. What if that is a settlement down there and Copsi’s men find me alone in the woods? I won’t be able to fight them.’

  That wasn’t the only reason she didn’t want to be left alone. She doubted Copsi’s men would find her here. It was so dark that she could easily blend into the trees. Although if he had his dogs with him... She shuddered. It didn’t bear thinking about what would happen to her then.

  The other reason sending her from the safety of the trees was the knowledge that she couldn’t stand the thought of something happening to him and her not knowing. She needed to know that he was safe.

  ‘I will take you with me,’ he bit out, ‘if, and only if, you promise that you will obey my orders. If I tell you to run you must go, without stopping to argue with me.’

  She nodded.

  ‘I want to hear you promise,’ he insisted.

  ‘I promise that I will obey any commands you give me.’

  His shoulders relaxed a little and he turned to leave.

  ‘This promise only extends until we are safe,’ she clarified. ‘After that I will use my own common sense.’

  ‘I’d be surprised if you have any,’ she heard him mutter as he strode away from her.

  ‘I heard that,’ she said to his back.

  ‘Good.’

  ‘Well...’ She stopped and folded her arms across her chest but he kept going. After he’d gone about ten steps she hurried after him. She was not about to be left out in the open.

  As they neared the spot where the smoke appeared to be coming from it became obvious that it was a small settlement they had spotted. As they slowly passed a row of densely packed houses Ellena could smell the scent of cooking meat. It took everything she had not to follow the smell into one of the homely dwellings.

  The sound of laughter and deep voices engaged in conversation greeted them as they came across a small inn in the centre of the settlement. Braedan stopped outside and watched the doorway.

  ‘What are we waiting for?’ whispered Ellena. ‘I’m so hungry I might start eating you if we don’t move soon.’

  ‘I doubt I’d taste very nice,’ said Braedan, his lips twitching slightly.

  An unbidden image of licking the bare skin of his neck flickered across her mind and she quickly stepped away from him. Where had that come from?

  ‘I’m wondering how we can find out who’s in there,’ Braedan continued. ‘We don’t want to deliver ourselves to Copsi and his men. Come.’

  ‘Where are we going?’ Ellena protested as they moved away from the door of the inn. She’d been so close to getting food, and now she felt as if it was being torn away from her. Her stomach rumbled painfully.

  ‘We’re going to talk to the stable lads. They always know what’s going on.’

  They headed to the back of the inn and found the stables. Braedan told her to wait in the shadows, and for once she didn’t argue. She stepped back and watched, her heart pounding, as if she expected Copsi to emerge at any minute.

  ‘It’s all right,’ said Braedan appearing at her elbow. ‘It’s only locals insi
de.’

  She sagged against the wall. She’d been so prepared to start running again that her energy had suddenly failed her completely.

  Braedan grabbed her elbow and she allowed him to propel her to the back door. ‘Why aren’t we going in the front?’ she asked as they neared the inn.

  ‘I don’t want the men inside to get a look at you,’ he said, glancing down at her briefly.

  He ushered her into a narrow hallway and bade her wait once again. She was already getting tired of following his orders so blindly, but she had promised so she bit her tongue and leaned against the wall of the inn.

  A young maid was following Braedan when he returned. The girl gasped when she caught sight of Ellena and she felt heat spread across her cheeks. She wasn’t wearing her veil, and for the first time since she’d given it to Aldith she felt naked—despite the fact that she was fully dressed...albeit very shabbily.

  Floorboards creaked below them as they made their way to the first floor. A tiny landing led to four doors and the maid opened the first one on the left.

  ‘Thank you,’ said Braedan, slipping the girl a silver coin. ‘Bring that water I ordered quickly, please.’

  The girl nodded, and after another horrified glance at Ellena she scurried off.

  ‘What was that about?’ asked Ellena, when Braedan had closed the door.

  Braedan dropped the pack to the floor and pulled off his chain mail. Ellena watched the play of muscle as his arms stretched and bent and then, realising what she was doing, she turned away.

  ‘I told the landlord that we were attacked by highwaymen, but I’m not sure I was believed.’

  Ellena gasped. ‘How can they possibly know who we really are? Have Copsi and his men already come here looking for me? We should go.’

  She made to move to the door, but Braedan blocked her way.

  ‘That’s not why they don’t believe me,’ he said.

  ‘Then what is it?’