He felt his body respond to the memories of her lying close to him, and frowned at the emptiness her distance and silence made him feel. He had, along with other things, found that he rather liked her voice, it was syrupy, yet clear, and he was sure he had never heard anyone with that particular accent before. To try to fill the void within himself, he spoke, in an attempt to draw her out again.
"I should leave in the morning. I have pressing matters to attend to." It was time, although he sought more of a reaction to his announcement than a desire to leave. He knew his men would be looking for him, but as far as he was concerned at the moment, he did not care if they ever found him. Not as long as he was with this woman.
Aura was surprised by the man's sudden decision. He watched her mull over his announcement then, to his disappointment, shrugged the matter off.
Perhaps it was for the best, she decided. She was beginning to get used to the company, and that could only bring her future pain. It was also obvious that his intentions were less than honorable. He had showed her that he was not to be trusted. He had attacked her once, and in her opinion he might again. The next time she might not get away from him so lightly. Yet there was something about him that drew her in a manner she found frightening. She avoided looking at him, as with little imagination she could see herself nestled against his great muscled form. His mere presence set her body tingling and his gaze on her made her feel breathless and weak. It was not something she wanted him to see or know, for she felt he would be quick to exploit her feelings.
In a medical sense she knew he was not quite ready to leave, yet, if he insisted, she would let him go. He would need to be warned about the dangers. He could rip open his sutures and cause himself even greater problems than he already had. There was also the possibility that the three men who had attacked him were still waiting somewhere for him, though that was highly unlikely. If they had thought that he had lived they would have finished him off as he lay on the ground before them. With this in mind Aura decided to just warn him of the medical dangers. He would be familiar with the dangers of the outside world he was about to face. This was his time, his home, after all.
"Your worst wounds are not healed sufficiently to travel and could become septic if not cared for as they should be. The stitches are definitely not ready to come out. If we try to remove them now the wounds could reopen and you would be in no better shape than when I found you. On your own you would not stand a chance against the same fevers you have already lived through."
He took note of her objections to his leaving and gave her a bright, hopeful smile, as he asked. "You want me to stay?" Perhaps he had misread her and she desired him as he did her. If that was the case he was ready if she was.
Afraid he might misinterpret an affirmative answer, she replied. "It might not be necessary. I can show you how to remove the stitches tomorrow then you would be free to go as you please."
He nodded in reply, feeling a deep-seated disappointment he found impossible to justify. She wanted him gone. The thought of her rejection made him feel lonely. Why did her acceptance mean so much to him? Especially when he knew that if she were any other woman than whom she was she would be laying under him right now, enjoying his attentions to the fullest. He squirmed at the discomfort this thought caused him and tossed her a dark look. Why was she so different? Why did he find it impossible to take her out of pure lust? Had his self enforced celibacy done this to him? He had to admit he had been without a woman for a long time. Then again he had never believed that rape was acceptable. Seduction was another matter, but first he needed to know if the woman was even in the least interested. She was sending no messages to him to make him believe his desires were returned. That made him feel guilty about the way he was thinking about her.
He turned from her in self-disgust and threw himself onto his bed, wincing as he hit the hard ground. He would think about these feelings another day.
Early the next morning he woke to the sound of something moving in the cave and he reached for his sword. He had learned in the past to never sleep without a weapon close at hand in case he needed one. The grating sound the steel made against the stone of the cave floor woke Aura and she jumped in reaction. Sitting up she looked to see what was the matter. She was just in time to see Roger rear over the man. She watched how the man swung his sword at the snake in a reflex action, cutting the head from the body.
A split second later Roger coiled and thrashed about in his death throws. The man moved to escape the path of the flailing body of the snake while Aura threw all regards to safety to the wind and ran towards her dying pet. As she brushed past the man she felt an arm wind itself about her waist and she was slammed backwards against his solid body.
"Do you want to die?" He growled out at her, to shock her back into using her sense.
She just turned on him and hit at his chest with clenched fists. He stood stationary and let her pommel him. She was not as strong as he had thought. In fact, she was not very strong at all. She quit, her body shaking with the effort she seemed to be making to control her grief, and he felt sorry for her. He raised his free hand to stroke the hair on the back of her head until she calmed and seemed to regain her composure.
When she was crying quietly in his arms he looked down into her face, to view the pain and devastation that was stamped across her features. She felt him watching her and she raised her head to look up at him. He was, she noted, very tall, as she reached no higher than the top of his collarbone. His eyes met hers and she felt as if she was suddenly caught in a web.
He had almost choked on the depth of despair he saw in her eyes and was amazed. Why? Could she have actually loved that huge snake? He found that impossible to imagine. What kind of life had she led that would make her cling to something like that? Didn’t she have anyone in her life to love her?
As he held her close, another thought came unbidden to him, one that threatened to take over both his mind and body. He felt his muscles bunch in reaction and felt himself harden against the soft curves of her body. She was, his instincts told him, a woman, and she not only felt good, but so very, very right in his arms. He almost groaned as his shaft swelled and stiffened painfully, and before he could control the demands of his body, his soldier's mind went with it. After all, this was life was all about, was it not?
Aura's eyes widened as his arms tightened around her and he lifted her off of her feet until her face met his. She squirmed, kicked, and pushed at him to get away. His lips lowered to claim hers, demanding her response, and she gave a muffled exclamation of objection. She clamped her lips together tight to refuse him entry, and his lips ground against hers, bruising her lips with his kiss. He was paying no heed to her weak attempts at freedom as he laid her with care onto the moss that had served as his bed. His body covered hers as he moved his lips from hers to nuzzle her neck in an attempt to coerce her into a more cooperative mood. He moved his hands from the small of her back to cup her breasts and fondle them as he stroked her mindlessly.
Aura felt the unfamiliar effects on her body from his touch. She felt her breasts swell against his hands, her heart pounding in her ears, and a small part of her sought to reach out to him. Something told her that if she gave him even the slightest indication that his attentions might be welcome, that his movements would gentle, and his touch would become seductive. It was this that she feared the most. She doubted whether she could resist the lure of his essence if his touch became softer. She felt his hands on her breasts as they kneaded them through the material of her nightgown, and a response shot through her that set her trembling.
Thorn felt her begin to wake to his touch and he groaned as he trailed fiery kisses down her neck to her breasts, which he nuzzled and nipped at until his mouth settled with unerring accuracy over a nipple, puckered and sensitive to his touch. She gasped an objection she really did not mean, yet knew she must. A pulsing sensation gripped her, as he bit the tip lightly setting off a throbbing between her legs, and she
screamed in panic.
"No! Please no. You cannot do this! Wolf. Oh, please, no." What scared her even more was the small inner voice that belied her words and screamed YES!
Wolf, hearing the screams from out in the field where he had been chasing down yet another hare, stopped then ran to protect his mistress. Again.
The sound of the woman's voice penetrated the red haze that had taken over his mind and he moved to silence her objections. The last thing he wanted was for her to be rescued at this moment, not when he was this close to breaking through her defenses, not when he was this close to making her his. He repossessed her lips as he tried to hold her thrashing body still. His senses were so completely under the control of the lust pounding through his veins that he was not even aware of her lip splitting under his as he attempted, unsuccessfully, to force them open.
So oblivious to anything about them was he that he was totally taken by surprise when the wolf attacked, digging his teeth deep into his sore arm.
All thoughts of the woman left his mind as he fought to keep the wild animal from his throat and his mind focused on the danger before him. He knew instinctively that he could not depend on the woman for help, not when he had just been stopped short of taking her as he had. In fact he was surprised that she was not helping the wolf.
Aura watched the two adversaries as they wrestled about on the floor of the cave, and collected her scattered wits about herself. When she felt she was in control once more she called Wolf to her side. The wolf left the man and came to stand beside her. He was still growling to warn the man off and his teeth were barred to show he meant business.
"You are obviously recovered enough to travel." Aura snarled. She was angered by the man's audacity and her own reactions to his manhandling. "I suggest that when you get back to wherever you are going that you get someone to cut the little stitches that I have put into your arm and pull them out. Now, I would appreciate it if you would gather whatever is yours and get out. You have overstayed your welcome and abused my hospitality."
He glared at the wolf and the woman as he rubbed at the bites on his arms, then nodded. "You are right. I owe you an apology. I will leave, but not until you agree to come with me. You cannot live in this cave forever, I will not let you."
"I can live wherever I choose. Nor do I need you or your permission to do so. You do not own me, I can do as I please."
"You are a woman in a man's world. You will soon learn that there are many things that you will never be able to do. That wolf will not be able to protect you from everyone. In fact you could have been mourning a wolf as well as a snake if I would have had my sword nearby. Then you would have been more than just a little at my mercy." He spoke through his pain and frustration. If it were not for the wolf at her side he would have attacked her again. It was not a thought that he was proud of.
"Haven’t you done enough?" Aura shot back. "I am overwhelmed by the extent of the gratitude you have shown me for having saved your life. Next time I find you beaten and left for dead in some forest I will just leave you laying wherever you have fallen."
She stormed out of the cave and refused to return until he had gathered whatever was his, mounted his horse and galloped off. Once gone she returned to the cave, where she sat beside Roger. Placing her hand against the snake’s cold, still form, she cried. She would bury him then move on. She did not trust the man not to return. If he did, she wanted to make sure she was not going to be here.
CHAPTER IX
The winter following the confrontation between Aura and the man she had saved had been the hardest time she had ever lived through. She was afraid to go back to the cave, where she had food and shelter, for she could not trust him to stay away. Then again, she feared she might encounter him as she traveled, as she had no idea where he lived. It was a meeting she feared above all else, for memories of him still continued to haunt her. She was not so sure she cared for some of the feelings he had invoked in her.
In dreams she could hear his voice calling for her, though she knew he did not know her name. There were times she could have sworn that he had been with her, for when she woke his scent seemed to fill her nose, and a lingering sensation of having been held by him haunted her. The memories sometimes made her feel hollow, her breathing shallow, and her skin heated. Sleeping made her feel insecure and so lonely she could have cried.
As Aura traveled she learned how to earn her keep by practicing what she considered a crude form of medicine. The people she met accepted her as a true physician, however, it was something she never professed to be. Whenever she met a real doctor she spent as much time as possible exchanging knowledge and experiences. It was a practice that often benefited both sides, though she was unaware of that. In some ways she felt she had reason to feel grateful that she had gone back far enough in time to be of service.
Beyond an easy acceptance, Aura's medicine also earned her the potential to become quite wealthy, for she tended to stash the coins given to her. This was not necessarily through a natural frugality so much, as the pure lack of understanding of the monetary value of the currency of the time period. Another benefit of her travels and versatility was that she was developing a clearer insight into what was happening in the country.
The people, Aura found, were expecting a war. Word of an impending army planning to invade the country appeared to be common knowledge. The people were frightened which she thought understandable under the circumstances, and she was wary. War in general never made any sense to her, and even less so in this time and age. It was illogical to think that the people could be confident of winning the war while not having any faith in their King to lead his men into battle. It they could not believe in their monarch, she wondered, who did they turn to?
When she found the time to reflect on her own life, and how it had changed, she had to admit that losing Roger had not been the traumatic experience she had thought it might have been. She missed him but traveling had become easier, and although people noticed her because of Wolf, they never stared at her in horror, as some had done when they had caught her with her snake. Also, towards the end, she had had to admit the snake had become almost unbelievably heavy.
With the first signs of spring came word of a new invasion and, so the people said, their local Lord and his troops had rallied to their Duke's side. Together, along with some of the other Warlords, they were leading their armies to battle the enemy, who had already begun their raiding and pillaging as they crossed the land. She heard and listened to the fearful horrors of the atrocities being committed. She was thankful to be so far removed from the action. In fact she found it hard to be very involved in much of anything. It was still a revelation to her to wake up every morning stuck in the time she was in. She often wondered if one day she would wake to find herself back in her little hole in the ground during her own time period and all of this would have been just a dream.
She returned to her cave, believing that it would be safe to do so as the man was sure to have forgotten about her over the winter season. He was probably at war by now as he had been a warrior. Her main reason for returning was less simple, she was homesick. It was something she hated to admit and the cave was the closest thing she had to a home.
When she arrived at the site of the cave she went to the mound that marked the grave of her snake. She then made her way into the cave to see how much it would take to make it habitable again. She hoped that it had not dilapidated too badly, as she felt weary and unable to extend the energy she felt it would take to bring it back into shape.
She looked about the cavern with a great sigh. The animals and rodents looked as if they had found the cave a good place to make a winter home, and although it was empty at this time the moss and grains she had gathered the season before held traces of former occupants. She cleared the cave to the bare walls, even going as far as to sweep the dirt floor, before moving anything fresh into her home. She was not about to take the chance that there was more than just traces of the ro
dents left. She hated rats and mice with a passion. She had always believed them to be dirty animals.
Wolf had done his part, killing a couple of rats before he had spotted a hare, which he had chased down to bring to her. She, in turn, patted him, scratching him behind the ears and gave him words of praise. She did not have the heart to tell him how sick of rabbit she was when he looked so pleased with himself. When she thought about it she decided she would have done almost anything for a very large serving of fish and chips. Her craving gave her an idea.
There was nowhere in England that she remembered that seemed far from the sea. So why should she deny herself such a little treat? It was well past time she took a trip to the coast to do a little fishing. It would be a welcome change. The invasion was given little or no thought, after all, it was a long way away and she was headed in the opposite direction. Or at least that was what she believed.
Together Aura and Wolf managed to spend almost two months by the sea and did no actual fishing. She had started off her trip at a lazy pace, reaching her destination two weeks after she had started. She stopped, from time to time, to care for someone ill, or to lend a helping hand to someone in need. As soon as people began to hear that a traveling doctor was in the vicinity they swarmed to her side. By the time she reached the shore she had accumulated more gold and silver than what she had started with. She found the innkeeper was more than happy to have her set up a small practice outside of his inn. His only disappointment was that she refused to take up residency in one of his rooms.
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