Page 19 of Saxon Blade Norman Blood
“I never said you were.” He seemed surprised at her vehemence. Maybe he had not meant to insult her.
“Good, because I’m not. And I won’t s-service you,” she stammered, feeling distressingly close to tears.
William still held her wrist. He took the other one in his hand and drew her close to whisper in her ear.
“I won’t ask you to. Listen to me. For the last time, nothing is going to happen, since we have already established that you are not a whore, and I do not bed unwilling females. Do you understand? I need you to trust me on that, whatever else is at stake between us.”
Rowena stayed very still, waiting for him to let go of her wrists. She did not try to fight him off, confident he would release her when he was ready. If he wasn’t prepared to let her go there was little point in struggling. He was just too strong for her.
When she nodded, he released her. Although he had not hurt her, she made a point of rubbing her wrists. The smile he threw her told her that her efforts were wasted. He knew very well she wasn’t in any pain. If he had truly wanted to hurt her, it would have been too easy.
He took a step away.
“I will leave you to get settled for the night. I still have a few matters to attend to.”
“A guard will be posted at the door to prevent my escape, I assume?”
“No. Neither will the door be locked. But you will never leave the castle unnoticed, this much I can promise you. Everyone has been told you are to remain here for the time being, and no one wishes to incur my wrath.”
“No. I imagine they don’t.” For all his civil manners, Rowena could well believe William de la Falaise was not a man to cross.
“Well then, make sure you do not. If I have to leave the castle tonight to fetch you in the driving rain, I will not be best pleased.” His tone was still pleasant but there was a hardness behind his eyes she couldn’t ignore. “You might find me less averse to having you chained to the wall after such defiance.”
“What if I were to succeed in escaping? You talk as if I have no chance.”
William’s lips twisted in appreciation. Helikedher defiance, she realized.
“If you did manage to leave the castle—and I’ll admit it is a possibility, given how resourceful you seem to be—then I will find you.” He leaned in to whisper in her ear as he had done before, and this time, she could not ignore the goosebumps covering her skin. His proximity did not worry her; it aroused her. “It doesn’t matter how long it takes me, make no mistake about it, I will find you, wherever you are. Then you will be sorry.”
7
When William opened the door later on, Rowena was safely tucked under the covers. No provocative pose tonight, no brazen invitation. If he’d expected her to welcome him in bed with open arms, he would be disappointed; she had made sure only the top of her head was peeping out from under the furs.
The message was clear. She did not want to look at him, she didn’t want to be here, and he was not to touch her. How would he deal with it? Women usually slept in men’s beds to be seduced. How was he to handle the unpleasant novelty of having to remain chaste while lying next to someone who appealed to his senses?
Despite his promise not to touch her, he was still a man. His reason might tell him to respect her wishes, but his body was less easily controlled, as she felt when he slipped under the covers. Something hot and hard brushed against her buttocks when he turned to the side.
Rowena forced herself not to recoil and pretended to be asleep, even if she guessed he would not be fooled. After a while, he placed a light hand on her hip. Just like the night before, she would not be able to leave the bed without him noticing. She didn’t move a muscle when he touched her, and heard a light chuckle, as if he found her stubbornness amusing.
“Goodnight then,” he said in a deep rumble.
She let out the least convincing snore she had ever heard and was rewarded with another chuckle.
Once Rowena believed William had fallen asleep, she was able to relax marginally. Still, she felt a long way away fromsleep. Never had she been in such a quandary. She was meant to kill this man, but how was she to achieve that? She wasn’t supposed to be drawn to him, but how could she not be?
In the end, exhaustion won. The night before she had barely slept, and the traumatizing events of the last two days had taken their toll. It wasn’t long before she succumbed to a deep slumber.
A while later, she woke up shivering. Since her dip in the river, she had not been able to shake the cold off and the furs had slipped from her body. With the moon hidden behind the clouds the room was pitch dark and she had to grope to find the cover. Before she could locate it, a hand closed on her wrist.
“What are you looking for?” William growled, ever alert.
Had he even slept? He sounded fully awake.
“Not my dagger,” she snapped back in annoyance. “I’m cold, if you must know. You have taken all the covers to yourself.”
He gave a grunt in response. “Come here.”
In one move he threw the cover over them both and wrapped his arms around her. Her back molded itself against his body, his legs curled up behind hers. The contact was intimate, but as soon as she felt his heat around her, she knew that she would not balk.
