Page 34 of What A Rogue Wants
He glanced down at his bandaged hand.
She automatically reached for him and lifted it to her. “What happened? Did a horse bite you?”
“Yes. That’s right.” His gaze flickered beyond her for a second toward the stables. “A horse. The ass. He has a bite as sharp as a dagger.”
“Perhaps you should shoot him if he’s uncontrollable.” She dropped his hand in case someone chanced a look out of the window. Really, she should be going in, but she couldn’t make herself just yet.
He stood and moved back as if he’d read her thoughts and understood her concern. “I can’t shoot the beast. He’s invaluable to the king, even if he is surly. But enough about the horse. Tell me, has Thorton bothered you at all?”
She blinked in surprise at Grey’s steely tone. A tingle raced down her spine. He was truly worried for her. “He’s not had the chance to bother me. I’ve not been alone since the moment you left me.”
Grey tugged the edge of her fur-lined hat. “You’re alone now. Thorton could follow you out here and try to take advantage.”
“He wouldn’t.”
“Don’t be naïve. Men are cunning when it comes to getting what they want.”
She swallowed, uncertainty filling her chest. Was he speaking of himself or Lord Thorton? Seeing him now, so handsome, so smart and an obvious favorite of the king and queen it just didn’t seem possible that he would want to court her out of all the women here. He could have his pick, and she was certainly not special. Well, not in a way that made her an Incomparable. She was special in a way that made other’s snicker. Perhaps he really only wanted to conquer her. She’d heard the continued whispers of the other ladies-in-waiting regarding him. Her self-doubt crept back in, annoying companion that it was.
His brows had drawn together and his normally blue-gray eyes had turned dark as he stared at her. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. I want to keep you safe.”
He sounded so earnest that some of her uncertainly flittered out of her mind. “You didn’t frighten me, and I’m not being naïve. Lord Thorton has been called home on business. So you see I’m perfectly safe. I only went to that cottage over there to fetch the queen’s stole, but it’s not there. Are you here to see your sister or the queen?”
He stepped closer. “I’m here to see you.”
“Me?” A burst of happiness swelled inside her chest.
“Yes. You. I’ve been so bloody sore from my training that I’ve been unable to walk at the end of every day. That’s why you’ve not seen me. But when dawn came this morning, I knew I couldn’t go another day without a glimpse of your face. So I crawled out of bed—”
“You crawled?”
“Yes. My need to see you has made me undignified. I hardly know you, but you’ve bewitched me.”
The bewitching was more the other way around if you asked her, but evensheunderstood there were some things you just didn’t tell a man. “So how did you know where to find me?”
“I bribed that redheaded chambermaid.”
“How did you know how to find the chambermaid?” She followed his amused expression to her hands, only realizing they were on her hips. She immediately crossed her arms in front of her chest, but the amusement in his eyes reached his mouth, so she dropped her arms and tried to appear relaxed.
“You’re jealous!”
“I’m not.” But she was. Her stomach plunged. “I’ve no right to be. We’ve no agreement. And as you said, you barely know me.”
In a flash, his arm came around her waist, and he pulled her away from the gate and to the side of the door where there were no windows.
Her heartbeat turned erratic at his touch. “What is it?”
“Courting you will be the death of me.” His lips hovered so near hers that when he spoke, the warmth of his breath washed over her cold lips. Reflexively she licked them. He groaned and dashed a hand through his hair.
“Is that supposed to be a compliment?” she teased, but heavens, she loved that she seemed to affect him as he affected her.
“It’s definitely a compliment. Do you know I once scoffed during my lessons on Greek mythology when my tutor spoke of the cause of the Trojan War?”
“Did you?” Her words came out as a breathless whisper. She was sure he was telling her something important, but being so near him made clear thinking impossible. At this moment, she couldn’t even recall the Trojan War. All she could think of was Grey’s heat, his scent, and the way his hair curved so enticingly around his strong jaw.
“I did more than scoff. I told my tutor there was no possibility I would ever believe a man had started a bloody war over a woman. But I think I was wrong.”
Her heart thundered in her ears. She recalled the Trojan War now. Menalaus, the king of Sparta, had waged war on Troy because Paris of Troy had taken Menalaus’s wife from him. “What do you think now?”
