Page 41 of Hunted By the Headless Horseman
Thankful she does not protest, I take us from the bath and carry her to the bed.
I hold her here, tracing the wound with the same gentleness as when I groom Revenant.
After drying Belle carefully, I bandage the small wound on her side, then apply the salve to her bruises before wrapping her ribs in a tight, larger bandage. She bites her lip, hissing through the pain. I drape my bare knuckles along her cheek, feeling her tears. As a highwayman, healing my wounds was a necessity. Sometimes, I would stitch them up myself. Catherine would mend the ones I could not reach.
My hands move quickly, efficiently, and when I finish, I help her into a thick robe, guiding her back to the bed. When she shivers, I touch my fingertips to her brow, ensuring she does not have a fever.Are you cold, my Belle?
“A little.”
As she eases into the blankets, I slip into some breeches and a white tunic I leave untucked and open, rolling the sleeves to my forearms. Then, I tend to the hearth at the east wall, placing a few logs upon the iron and setting fire to them.
I’ll be back in a few minutes.I move toward the door.
She nods, looking down, her fingers tracing the patterns on the bedspread. Whatever her thoughts, they must be weighing heavily upon her. I will soften the process as much as possible.
Collecting some milk from the refrigeration unit, something I managed to have shipped to an alternate location, which Revy helped carry to the manor, I set about cooking the milk on the cast-iron stove top. It takes little time to set the firewood in place and heat the milk in the pot. Next, I add the grated chocolate andcocoa, melting it into the milk. I add a hint of cinnamon and a splash of cream to thicken it.
I imagine the taste of hot chocolate, struggling to remember, but it’s been too long since I tasted anything.
I return to Belle with the steaming mug of hot chocolate, the rich aroma filling the room.
This has proven to be quite healing as I’ve learned,I tease, offering her the cocoa.
She takes it gratefully, cupping the sides and sipping slowly. “Oh, Jack…” Her voice cracks with emotion.
I lower myself onto the bed next to her.What is it? What can I do?
“You’ve already done so much. I-I, oh, God, Jack…” She whimpers, sets the mug on the end table, then throws her arms around me, breaking down in fits of tears.
Hauling her into my lap, I ease into the bed with her, giving her the full relief to cry in my arms. She has been through quite an ordeal. By the Devil, she was attacked and wounded on my behalf when she came to my aid during the battle. One met their death at my hands. The others would have sustained mortal wounds. If any recover and come for her again, I won’t hesitate to put them six feet in the goddamn ground. And piss on their unmarked graves.
Soon, I will return to deal with the body. If the others know what’s good for them, they will go back to where they came from and stay there.
“Jack, I’m so sorry.” She tips her brow onto my upper chest, and I savor the warmth of her body against mine, unable to imagine what it would feel like were we both naked. “You came for me. You protected me. You fought for me. Then you brought me here and made me hot chocolate. You are good and kind, and you don’t deserve to be caught in the middle of all this.”
Easing my hand to the back of her head, I gently stroke her curls, reminding her,You do not deserve to be swept into my madness either, Belle. A task that has seemed impossible for over two centuries. Until I met you.
“He could have killed you. He would have killed you.”
I curve my fingers into her hair. Thunderation, this girl! She is bruised. She bled—while I sustained no wounds. Filling my chest with breath, I grip the back of her head firmly, giving her my support, prepared to strengthen her more.
Belladonna Claire Holloway, I am here. I am here…with you. And I am never letting you go. I care not that it has only been one week. I have waited two hundred years for you.Be assured, my Belle, there is no place in this world where I could exist if you did not. No force or power will take you from me. Your heartbeat echoes in my very chest. You belong to me, Belladonna. Now and always, you aremine.
Her tears are unstoppable. I give her leave to cry for a few moments. I sense it is beyond lament. Longing, within those tears, sheds itself all over her face. A deep gratitude in every kiss she pressed to my neck.
After another tremor or two, she sighs. “There are some cults that control people through fear, grooming, and conformity. Others do the same, but they also use isolation with high walls, bars on windows, and…the more extreme definitions of corporal punishment.” I stiffen, knowing I’d grit my teeth with my jaw steeling as she finishes, “Guess which one I was born into?”
I say nothing, permitting her to lean into me more. “Um…” She trails off, and I can feel the heat rising in her cheeks from where she’s pressed to my collarbone. “Jack, can I…do this?” She inches her hands beneath the untucked hem of my shirt. Without another word, I lean back and remove it. More surprised when she parts the robe to give me her naked warmth—as if our flesh has become her touchstone.
“My grandmother was the first to escape. She left only after her husband died, and her children were all grown. Mimi was very respected because she had seven children. And fertility is next to godliness. From a young age, she also developed a skill for herbs and natural medicine, so she trained and worked as the main midwife. She saved many lives, including my mother’s when she…had complications delivering me.”
Belle slides her arms around me and slowly eases her legs between mine. I smile internally at her desire to get asclose as possible. Her body trembles now and then. During her pauses, her breaths leave in heavy sighs or quickened gasps.
“Mimi was the first to hold me. We seemed to have this connection from my birth. She also named me. Later in my life, she shared how she chose Belladonna because she manifested that I would become a poison to the cult that controlled girls from birth. She wanted me to be symbolically dangerous to that community. Especially when the plant grows like a weed with thick roots, it can regrow in the spring.”
Another few kisses to my neck. With her soft breasts rubbing along my chest and her sex spreading its heat clear through my drawers, it can’t be helped; I’m fucking hung. Thankfully, Belle says nothing about my state, seeming to understand. I keep one hand anchored against the back of her neck while tracing my other fingers along the curvature of her spine.
Belle sucks in a deep breath and nestles her head along my collarbone. “Mimi worked as a nurse for a time, and she took out a lease on the shop that she named after me. She would visit me…and bring me a book every time. She taught me to read.” I hear the undeniable smile in her voice and the comforting warmth in her tone. “When I was little, it was fairytales. As I grew older, it was either a fantasy about some girl who would become a warrior or a banned book likeFahrenheit 451. I loved the ones during the Holocaust where people stole and hid books. I hid my books in the woods, and I would return them to Mimi. She couldn’t risk me getting caught with more than a couple at a time. Girls didn’t go to school, you see.” She shrugs, her tone changing to a wistful melancholy. “School was for the boys. Girls were taught to keep house, cook, and be submissive. I guess some of that stuck.”
