road?”
Leon bit down on a frown. He was certain he detected trepidation in her voice. The sparkle in her gaze, however, made him decidedly suspicious. She stood there, cool, proud, running those dark eyes over his disheveled and travel-worn figure. She wanted a bold, brave answer. He gave her one; though not perhaps the one she had expected.
“Lady,” he said very softly, “I was beset by a breaker of hearts.”
She looked at him, as if not understanding, or not wanting to understand. “Are you a pawn, then?” Raising a brow the merest suggestion of a degree.
“My lady,” he said, and could not resist a bow, ironic mockery of her clear hesitation, “that depends upon your own intent.”
This one could break your bones or your heart, Brenna warned herself. Her pulse began to quicken. Blood rushed up in her ears. Suddenly she was trembling, shivering. She bit her lip. She had to fight off the urge to touch him, to casually brush her hand against his. She had never experienced anything that made her feel like this. Her heart was beating so she felt that she could hardly be sure of controlling her voice. Surely all her senses had flown?
“Sir! I—” Brenna struggled mightily to keep her expression bland, though she was sure a spark of delight lit up her eyes. “I will feel better if you let me make sure you’re cared for.”
“Whatever the lady requests. I cannot deny her. I am resolved to please her.”
That was a refuge. She snatched at it. Closer and closer then, at a careful pace. Her hand rose to his cheek. He caught it.
“No,” he said.
A little silence passed, barely endurable. His eyelids flickered a fraction. A shiver traced her spine, a sensation like a touch brushing her, moth-soft.
“This offense to your person, did it go unpunished?”
“I am alive, aren’t I?” His irises snapped light-sparks briefly, just a glint of cold, then control. He did not like that memory, nor the reminder.
I do not believe in coincidence.
She looked up at him from under her eyelids. All honor was in that bladed curve of nose, in those cheekbones carved fierce and high, in those brows set level over the deep eyes.
“Then that answers the question.”
Her smile won free, startling as the sun at midnight, and more miraculous. Deep down inside Leon a strange feeling, almost of elation, surged—but why? Surely not because this slip of a girl showed neither sympathy nor revulsion of his ruined face? This fact alone couldn’t possibly account for the new emotion ebbing and flowing within him. On the other hand—
His spare hand involuntarily went to the breast of his leather tunic, in an inner pouch of which he kept a stained knot of ribbon. It had become a treasured charm to him through the years, and he had grown almost to believe that it was a safeguard to him from the constant assaults of temptations to thoughts and deeds unworthy of a Christian knight.
He tested his courage by it. He tested it further. He released her wrist. Risked shame that a girl should trust him.
“I give you leave,” he said, a little breathless.
“How generous of you.”
Wordlessly, she reached out and touched his cheek softly. He felt something come alive within him, something that made him feel warm and cherished. He suddenly became aware of the delicious tension tightening his whole body. His heart jumped and started hammering. A fearful thrill ran from his chest to his groin. He had not known he could have so many needs all at once, amid such a nightmare.
Brenna touched him, because she wanted to, because she could not help herself; a brush of fingertips from his cheek to his chin, tracing the path of his scars. It was great daring. He quivered under her hand, but did not pull away. She looked up and caught his eye. A quick smile framed her lips.
“Am I transgressing?” she asked him.
In more ways than one!
“A little.” Meeting her gaze, Leon struggled mightily to keep his expression bland. You must face that which you fear most. Confront and conquer. Know yourself first and you will overcome a legion of adversaries. His arms-master’s words, spoken to him at Whittington. A boy of twelve summers, unaware of the fate that awaited him.
Ever so slowly, her fingers progressed along their tortuous route. He kept still, hardly daring to breathe. She was close, so dizzyingly close! A painful stiffening was pressing against the confining leather of his pants, but he dared not shift to ease his position for fear his actions would be noticed.
Leon closed his eyes and inhaled sharply, allowing himself this rare moment of self-indulgence. Then, with the ease of long practice, he forced the emotional temptation back into a corner of his mind. He’d learned a long time ago that the only way to exist was to keep his feelings under rigid control, his heart hard and unyielding as iron. It was a kind of armor. After everything that had happened years ago, there was nothing left to be afraid of.
They were very close. Brenna could feel the living warmth of him, and catch the scent he bore, faint yet distinct. Musk and saddle leather and wet wool. His face was so close that she could feel his breath, so warm and soft. She hoped he would kiss her—yes, she wanted him to kiss her—and her heart beat faster as she swayed toward him, her soft breasts touching his chest. How would it feel to kiss a man?
Their lips touched. He was very beautiful and very strong, and his kiss was sweet. Swift and startling. Warm and warming. He tasted of spices. She felt his long, lean body pressed against hers, and in her secret places, unfamiliar longings began to stir.
He drew back.
Brenna only stared at him, not moving. His eyes had darkened to emerald, and he was frowning, if only slightly; his gaze gone almost to coldness. He bowed again.
“I am honored, and I hope my presence will cause you no more hardship than is necessary.”
Her throat was locked. She swallowed to open a way for her voice. “It is we who are honored—no, pleased by your presence here, and all will see to your comfort. I will have a servant fetch some wine and a trencher from the kitchen—and some clean clothes.”
And fled.
Two steps outside the door she came to an abrupt stop. Elen, her old nurse and present maidservant, stood there, arms akimbo, blocking the corridor.
“Merciful Mary, what means this, Brenna?”
Brenna did a little jig though she wanted to throw up her arms and yell, to leap and hop and twirl and imitate the merry dance of the minstrels, and burst into the hall shouting the glad tidings to everyone.
“Elen, the inconceivable has occurred! My knight…he has come! He’s a darling, and I shall love him, I know.”
Elen’s face expressed disapproval of so much exuberance. “Telyn made no mention of a knight. He said it was one of the beggars who came to your aid.”
“Whoever heard of a beggar with a horse? A fine horse, at that—and Elen, Aubrey’s magnificent. He’s exactly as I’ve always imagined my knight to look. Fair, powerful, self-assured.
