The fact she could so easily imagine his touch elsewhere should anger her, frighten her...but she could summon neither emotion. They were destroyed by his words.
She needed to escape.
Swiftly entering the Great Hall, Teague strode to the two chairs set by the smaller fireplace. He needed solace and some wine, two flagons full, and not necessarily in that order.
He had not known Anwen was taking a bath or he would never have gone in the room, but once he’d entered, he’d been unable to leave.
He hadn’t meant to make accusations, but her anger and the way she’d trembled as she stood overrode his better judgement. He didn’t know whether to help her or to wrap her in his arms and kiss her. And he had wanted to kiss her, of that there was no doubt.
Teague shifted his position on the chair and rearranged his legs. Though she argued and spat words at him, the impulse to taste those luscious lips was overbearingly strong. Her lips, like forbidden fruit, had captivated him in the forest; now he was on fire to taste them.
‘What has put you in such a mood?’ Rhain asked, interrupting his thoughts.
He glanced at his brother. ‘I’m surprised to see you alone.’
Grinning, Rhain gestured wide with his arms. ‘Well, I cannot help that this dark and gloomy stone has been bereft of my presence for so long. Can you blame the girls for wanting to bask in my sunnier disposition?’
‘I doubt Mary and Anne are there for your disposition,’ Teague said.
Rhain crossed his arms and shook his head. ‘Mary and Anne following me into the lists today isn’t what has raised your ire. Indeed, you can hardly complain when my betterment of Peter, your captain, was extraordinary...as usual.’ His eyes turned speculative. ‘Has there been another message?’
Teague shook his head. ‘I asked the woman to come down to speak.’
‘You mean to question Anwen again?’ Rhain’s voice held a hint of amusement. ‘Did you bring a change of clothes?’
‘She is better.’ Teague caught the eye of a passing servant and requested wine and food.
‘You have spoken to her then?’ Rhain sat in the other chair, stretched out his legs and crossed his ankles.
‘Yes.’ Teague wished he talked to her through the door. He’d entered that room to confront her, but all thought had gone once he saw her. Her eyes had been closed, her head arched against the back of the tub, the mounds of her breasts glistening from the hot water. The water was deep, but the crests of her knees, thighs, legs, were shown sleekly. She was, as in the forest, revealed and yet concealed.
No, the feeling of lust was stronger this time. Because this time, this time, she was in his bedchamber. She had been so tangible to him in that instant, he had almost felt her, tasted her, sunk deep within her. Then she had opened her eyes and challenged him. Her trembling took whatever control he had over his lust and mingled it with his need to protect. He could not leave the room fast enough, but it hadn’t helped the ache in his loins.
‘That may explain your tenseness,’ Rhain said. ‘I find it curious she makes you prickly.’
‘I do not get prickly.’ Teague shifted in his seat. ‘I do not know who she is and am wary.’
‘The Devil of Gwalchdu is wary of a slip of a girl. Well, this place is certainly not dull. I will sit with you and await her arrival.’
* * *
Keeping close to the wall, Anwen carefully made her way down the stairs. At least her pace and the view from the stairs allowed her to take in the emptiness of the castle.
Gwalchdu’s Great Hall’s opulence, though it was expected, overwhelmed her. To be sure, she knew Edward and the Welsh Prince, Llewellyn, had visited Gwalchdu, but this Hall even outdid royalty’s comfort.
Several large hunting tapestries covered the walls. Where there were no tapestries, thick opulent red-and-green-coloured linens hung and shimmered against the light. Standing candelabras and large sconces provided flickering light. Two fireplaces, of different sizes and opposite each other, brought warmth and ornamentation to the hall. In the middle, three long trestles were flanked by equally long benches. These trestles were intersected by another, which should have been placed on a dais to separate the lord from his soldiers, but it wasn’t. It was level, indicating equality between the lord and his men. The sole indication of privilege at the high table was the ornate cushioned chairs and the huge fireplace behind the table. Both were used to provide the lord the greater heat and comfort.
At the other end of the hall was a smaller fireplace, and two large padded chairs occupied by men whose hair reflected dark and light in the firelight. Anwen strode forward.
Teague heard her first and stood, and Rhain rose after him. The setting sun filtering through the windows was weak, but the lights from the fires shone through her damp unbound tresses that curled like a halo of gold. As she walked, the white of her gown flowed angel-like around her small frame.
‘My God.’
‘What say you?’ Teague’s eyes did not leave Anwen.
‘I thought you mad for bringing her here.’ Rhain spoke low, his eyes riveted on the vision walking towards them. ‘But now that I see her like this, as you must have seen her at first, I believe you the sanest man alive.’
With shuttered eyes, Anwen paused before them. She was still unwell. Her hands trembled and the pallor of her skin shone with exertion just from the small walk.
She had wide blue eyes, with eyelashes so pale they should have been unnoticeable, but instead, the golden colour made her eyes shine. Shine? He quickly rejected the frivolous thought.
‘You came,’ he said, his voice gruff.
‘As you commanded,’ she answered.
Teague looked much changed from when she had seen him earlier. Freshly washed, his hair was wet, and he was finely clothed in a dark blue tunic. The aesthetic affect was almost as unnerving as him standing bare-chested before her. Damp, his hair waved thickly and the tunic fitted his shoulders and skimmed over his chest and abdomen. He was covered, but it did little to hide what was beneath.
‘Do you always follow commands?’ he asked.
‘If they are not unfair.’ Anwen would not curb her tongue.
Rhain coughed. ‘It is good you have fared well.’
Anwen assessed the two men in front of her. From their colourings to their personalities, the contrast between them was stark. Both men were tall and their muscles were outlined even in their clothing, but there the similarities ended. Teague was dark from his hair to his eyes to his countenance. He looked every bit the devil, hewn from far below the earth’s surface. Rhain, his golden handsomeness elegantly garbed in rich red fabrics, was powerfully built, but he was leaner and more graceful looking. He looked hewn from the sun’s light, as if God himself had created a man-angel.
Anwen gave Rhain her most
