Page 28 of The Warrior's Innocent Captive

‘Come,’ he said sharply.

He strode across the tiled floor and quickly climbed the stairs to the loft.

He pretended to rummage around in the chest at the foot of the bed while she slowly climbed back under the covers. When he was sure she was lying down he closed the lid with a snap.

‘You need to rest now,’ he said. ‘Tomorrow is a long day.’

‘What about you?’ she asked softly.

‘Once you’re asleep I will head downstairs and rest as well.’ He had to get away from her before the temptation became too great.

‘Please don’t go,’ she whispered.

He really should head back downstairs. He could imagine Linota’s slender figure, lying there, cocooned among the covers and her cloak, and remember how it fitted so neatly against his. Knowing what her lips felt like under his made the situation even worse. But he could tell by the strain in her voice that she really was afraid of being left alone in the dark and he would be the worst kind of bastard if he left her to face her fear alone.

‘I won’t be far away,’ he said gently, in a last desperate attempt to put some distance between them.

‘I have nightmares. Bad ones. My father...he’s—it’s—’ she stuttered. ‘My mind replays the moment of his death, if...if I’m lucky. If I’m not, it’s him and Katherine with the noose around their necks. I won’t... Just please don’t leave me.’

Erik closed his eyes. He’d never sleep so close to her but unable to join her in the bed. The night would be one, long torture. But he owed her this comfort. It was his fault she was here and that she’d suffered an ordeal at the hands of those men. Besides, he’d survived sleeping next to her last night. He could do it again.

‘Very well, I will stay.’

‘Thank you,’ she whispered.

He pulled a blanket out of the chest and spread it across the narrow strip of floor available to him.

‘Goodnight, Linota,’ he said firmly. He did not want to talk to her any more. The more they conversed the more he liked her and he was already in danger from liking her too much for his own sanity.

‘Goodnight,’ she said quietly.

He closed his eyes tightly.Let this all be over soon so that my life can go back to normal.

But even as he prayed he couldn’t ignore the heavy weight settling in his stomach as he imagined a time when it wouldn’t be just him and Linota, alone together without anyone to come between them.

Chapter Seven

Linota woke slowly. The edges of a dream tried to tug her back under with its promise of soft lips and strong arms. She snuggled deep into the soft blankets, her eyes scrunched tightly, but persistent birdsong stole into her mind and kept her hovering on the brink of wakefulness.

She was comfortable and warm, warmer than she’d been in a long time. She didn’t want to wake and face the day. She shifted, the movement bringing her closer to full awareness.

Nearby, the unmistakable sound of a deep, masculine sigh filled the air. She blinked awake and listened intently. Now that she was properly awake she could make out Erik’s steady breathing. He must have stayed with her all night; the thought warmed her heart even as she warned herself against reading too much into it. He’d said he would keep her company, but she’d imagined he would leave again when she was asleep.

She rolled on to her side. Dawn must be breaking, but it was still hard to see much in the darkness of the cottage. Below her, on the floor, Erik was still asleep, his arm flung high above his head. She wished for a little more light so she could see his face. She’d like to know what he looked like when he was soft and unguarded with sleep.

She raised her fingers to her lips. She could still feel the imprint of his mouth against hers and the way his soft stubble had grazed the sensitive skin of her neck as he’d kissed the length of her jaw. It had been beautiful and not nearly enough.

She’d seen men and women together, sometimes kissing, sometimes more.

Linota and Katherine’s chamber window at Ogmore’s fortress had overlooked a large section of the castle grounds. With nothing much to do each day they would gaze out of it, watching people come and go, interacting with one another, not realising they were being observed from up high. The two of them had seen a lot of life in that small section of the world.

They’d been able to see couples who’d thought they were being discreet by hiding in alcoves, their bodies pressed tightly together. The act had both intrigued and repulsed them. It looked so messy and ungainly, almost as if the couples wanted to eat each other. More often than not the scenes had reduced Katherine and her to helpless giggles. They’d not been able to understand why anyone would want to engage in such a pastime.

It had been different altogether to experience it for herself.

His lips had been firm and dry. They’d drifted over her mouth with the gentlest of touches. It hadn’t been enough. Her whole body had screamed out for more, even though she didn’t know exactly what it wanted.

He’d kissed her again, more firmly this time, but it didn’t repel her the way she’d thought it might. Instead it was as if her whole body had wakened. As if it was purely made for kissing Erik Ward in the confines of his cottage.

---