Page 50 of Saxon Blade Norman Blood
But there was something else. She also appeared distressed.
Perhaps she had genuinely been frightened he would agree to Leowald’s request.
That, though, would never have happened. He would have compromised months of hard negotiating rather than agree to let her go to him. This woman attracted him like no other. He would never have sent her to anyone else, much less to Leowald, much less against her will.
He’d long stopped telling himself he made her sleep in his bed because he wanted to keep an eye on her. She slept with him because he liked it, and he didn’t hold her in his arms because it was the best way to ensure she did not disappear during the night anymore. Against all odds, he found her presence soothing. He didn’tneedto sleep next to her, but he wanted to, even if it never lead to more.
His hold on her tightened fractionally, but it wasn’t to restrain her, nor was it the tender embrace of a lover preparing his conquest for lovemaking. It was the proof of an intimacy he had never before felt compelled to share with anyone.
This woman awoke cravings within him, cravings he never suspected he had.
If he woke up during the night and found she had slipped out of his embrace, he sought her out. Only when he had her safely in his arms could he return to sleep.
One night, unable to resist, he’d watched her in the moonlight, taking in the flawless, milky skin, the delicate eyelashes resting against her cheeks, the arch on her top lip. After a while she’d stirred and given a grunt of dissatisfaction at feeling herself alone. Eyes closed so as not to betray the fact he was awake, William had felt her snuggle against him, resther head on his shoulder, and place a hand on his chest. A soft sigh had told him she thought order had been restored. She’d softened against him and fallen back to sleep. His arms had closed around her of their own accord.
He’d guessed then that they found each other thus in their sleep every night. It felt too natural for it to be a first occurrence.
But tonight, she was different, stiff and tense. It perturbed him. It was obvious something was weighing on her mind. It could be that she was still angry at him for offering her to Leowald, but if it had been the case, William was sure she would have told him so. She had lifted her gaze to him once or twice during dinner, only to glance away again as if she was ashamed of her lack of faith in him. So then what—
The servant.
His mind suddenly came into sharp focus as he remembered something he had not paid attention to at the time. After clearing the pottage, the man had brought them a platter of meat, and the girl had recoiled when he’d leaned in to offer her food. She had blanched even further and seemed to withdraw within herself.
Why? What had happened between her and that man? William breathed in the scent of her hair, feminine and floral. She wasn’t asleep, he knew, though she kept very still.
“Tell me. Did anything happen to you this afternoon?” Her body tensed further, answering his question. “Did anyone touch you?” he asked, moving her hair out of the way.
This could be one explanation for her attitude. He’d had ample opportunity to notice she stirred men’s lust—and the idea scared her as much as it infuriated him.
“No,” she said in a low voice, sounding close to tears. “Thanks to you they did not.”
Of course. She was referring to the incident with Leowald. Thatwaswhat was bothering her. William grunted, far from satisfied by his handling of the affair with the Saxon lord. Now that he’d had time to calm down, he could see how it would have appeared to her.
“I’m sorry, but I could not see a way of warning you before giving my answer,” he explained softly. “Leowald would have picked up on any word of caution I would have given you. He has a rudimentary understanding of our tongue. I had no choice but to act as if I truly did not mind him taking you to bed and trust you would guess I did not mean a word of it.”
The girl stayed silent. They both knew that, far from trusting him, she had accused him of treating her like a piece of meat. He had taken a gamble, true, but he’d had no choice. His instinct had told him Leowald was not truly interested in bedding her, but merely testing his sincerity. Nevertheless, the Saxon could well have decided to kill two birds with one stone. Ascertain how far his Norman enemy was prepared to go in his bid to appease the Saxons and indulge his senses with a beautiful woman at the same time.
Fortunately, the vile man had been satisfied by William’s apparent willingness to share his women with him.
“I know you lied to Leowald to spare me his advances. There is no Margot in the kitchens, I went there this afternoon and asked,” she said in an even lower voice. “I thank you for protecting me.”
“You do not need to thank me for sparing you from that pig.” William groaned. “It is the only thing a man of honor could do. And I hope you know I would never have let you go with him, had he elected to have you instead of the elusive Margot.”
“I do now. I trust you. But I don’t understand… Why are you so considerate toward me?” she croaked. “Other men seem only to be interested in one thing, yet you have never tried toforce me, despite sleeping with me every night. Why is that? Don’t you desire me?”
William closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Not desire her? He was dying with the need for her, never more so than now, when she was in his arms, warm and soft and sweet-smelling. He gritted his teeth. It would be too easy to show her just how much he did want her.
But he could not.
Her trust was his most cherished possession, he would do nothing to jeopardize it, not when he knew that, if he ever bedded her, she would be more to him than a meaningless conquest.
“I do desire you.” There was no point in lying, surely she could feel the proof of it against the small of her back—and felt it night after night. “Against my better judgment, I might add, but I do not think you desire me, not in that way. You came to my bed to kill me, not because you wanted to, and I cannot imagine you would want a man you hate to make love to you.”
Silence followed his declaration. Then she said in a breath, “I do not hate you. I never have.”
His heart flipped over in his chest. That assurance meant everything to him. Perhaps they could build something together after all… But before that, they needed to overcome one last obstacle.
“Then why?” he asked, still holding her tight. “If you don’t hate me, why do you want to kill me? You said you were not obeying anyone else’s orders, so you must have your own reasons for it. But we have never met before, I know it. So why would you want to kill me? Please tell me. I need to understand.”
