Page 36 of A Second Chance for Carys
Because the skin you’ve pierced was James’her mind screamed at her,and you feel more for him than you have felt for anyone since Dewi.
“Thank you, Carys,” James said with his mouth against her arm. She suspected he was fighting the urge to place his lips on her breast, which was exactly at the right height to allow him to do that, and she closed her eyes. How she longed to feel his mouth on this part of her! Giving herself pleasure was one thing, and she could stroke the little sensitive bud hidden in her folds as efficiently as anyone. But nothing she could do replaced the feel of a man suckling at her, of his tongue lapping at her nipple, drawing it deep into his hot mouth, making it hard and then soothing the burn with long, delicious pulls.
Go drapia, this had to stop! Oh well, at least she hadn’t spoken out loud this time. She hoped.
Shaking, she took a step back and almost tripped on the hem of her skirt.
“Don’t thank me. Just make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
It was a ridiculous thing to say. No one could guarantee they would never be hurt, and he had not asked to be attacked. Nevertheless, James didn’t point it out. Instead he said, “I can at least promise I will not let Margaret hurt you ever again.”
Never had he sounded more determined. And this determination was on her behalf. Carys swallowed back a sob.
“It is my turn to thank you. That strike was intended for m-me,” she stammered, as the truth slammed in. Had he not stepped in front of her so decisively, the knife would have cuther, perhaps on the side of the neck, perhaps in the eye. She might not have survived the attack.
“Yes, that strike was meant for you, and it was supposed to do much more than slash your cheek,” James snapped, shooting back to his feet. “How can you even suppose I could have let such a thing happen? Margaret only wanted to punish you for helping me but you did nothing wrong and shouldn’t have to pay for giving me my life back. How could I have lived with myself if anything had happened to you?”
“Nothing happened,” she replied, taken aback by his vehemence. “It’s all right.”
And then it hit her. Ifshecould have been killed, then so could he. This could have been much worse than a cut to the cheek. This time she did stumble.
James let out a muffled curse. Thank God it was all over. Even with Carys’ soft touch, the stitching of his wound had been excruciating. He should make Margaret pay not for the pain she had inflicted on him, but for the ordeal it had been for Carys to see to the cut. Even now, though it was over, her hands were shaking so much she almost dropped the cup of ale he had poured her.
“You could have died,” he heard her say to herself. Thank God for her habit of talking to herself. He’d thought she was still recovering from having had to stitch him up, when in fact she was fretting over what could have happened to him. He hated it, hated the idea of her being unsettled in any way, especially through his fault.
“Nonsense,” he said roundly. “Get that silly idea out of your head.” The bluntness seemed to have the desired effect. Thank God she was no impressionable little miss but a woman of sense. Instead of wasting time being offended she nodded, as if his words had restored her to her senses.
“No, you’re right. You didn’t die. I should stop being so silly,” she muttered, before applying herself to the task of emptying the cup he’d given her. He took a long sip from his own drink while he waited for her to resume the conversation. It wasn’t long before she did. “So, what will happen to Margaret now? Will you tell Matthew and Branwen what she did? And why she came?”
“No.” It wouldn’t serve any purpose. The fewer people knew about what had happened in that cottage, the better. “I will take her back to her son Henry and wash my hands of her. He is theonly family she has left. He will have to take care of her. I will not lift a finger to help her.”
“No. No one can expect it of you after what she did.”
She meant what she had done tohim, raping him then forcing him to face his worst nightmare. But, as bad as that was, he resented Margaret more for having wanted to kill Carys than for playing the awful deception on him.
The rest of his drink was emptied in one gulp and he walked over to the window when the truth hit him. She could have died today. Dear God, forget him,shecould have died. How would he have survived it?
“Get that silly nonsense out of your head.” Carys’ voice, unusually stern, came from behind him. Was she trying to imitate his earlier tone? It sounded like it. “I didn’t die.”
No, she had not, thank heaven.
He turned to face her, panic receding. It was over, and fretting about what might have happened would accomplish nothing.
Carys smiled and brushed a light hand along his wound.
“Dewi had a scar in the exact same place, you know.” For a moment she appeared lost in remembrance and there was a glazed look in her eyes he had never seen before. She always was so focused on what she was doing, so busy enjoying herself to the full that it disconcerted him.
“And here I was, thinking I was the only man ever to come to your aid,” James said, hoping to distract her from thoughts of her late husband. Not that he was jealous, exactly, but he would rather have her thinking of him while she was touching him, a normal reaction, he was sure everyone would agree.
“You are the only man to have ever stepped between me and an attacker,” she assured him with a smile. “Dewi got his scar cantering through the forest. Too busy worrying about how I was coping with the speed, he didn’t pay attention to where he wasgoing and a branch hit him. Much less chivalrous than stopping someone from stabbing me, admittedly. But I kept telling him it gave him a dangerous air.”
There was such tenderness in her eyes that his throat constricted. How good it was to be loved thus, to have someone to make you feel special every day. He missed it almost as much as he missed Joanne herself. It was the best feeling in the world.
“I’m sure he would have defended you as I did, given the opportunity.” Suddenly he wasn’t jealous, he just wanted Carys to remember how cherished being married to Dewi had made her feel. And the man sounded like a good man, worried more about how his wife was faring than his own safety. He would have known she was a nervous rider and thought to look after her. “Unfortunately for him, Wales seems to lack deranged women ready to stab people who have done nothing to deserve it.”
“Yes. I’m sure he would have defended me.” She gave him a grateful smile for saying so. “And we could certainly find such women in Wales. Our two countries are not so different, you know.”
“No, I already suspected as much.”
