Page 38 of The Warrior's Innocent Captive

She would have allowed him to pull the cloak from her body and to explore all her soft skin with his lips and tongue. And... That thought did nothing to ease his torture.

When he’d caught a first glimpse of her at Ogmore’s castle he’d been transfixed by her ethereal beauty. She’d stopped in her tracks to stare at the bright, winter’s morning sky and he’d almost started to move towards her until he’d stopped. Such a delicate creature would not want some untamed warrior leering over her.

But that hadn’t stopped him staring at her until she’d disappeared from sight, his blood pounding in his ears. He’d never seen a woman whom he’d wanted with such visceral need before.

Someone had yelled his name; it was his turn in the training yard. It was the first time in years that he’d lost a practice sword fight. The men he’d been sparring with had been remorseless in their taunts, but he hadn’t cared. All he could think about was her.

He’d known such a beautiful woman could not have remained unwed, but he’d hoped, prayed even, that she would be a widow. He’d known then that if that had been the case he would stop at nothing to be her next husband.

When he’d found out that she was Linota Leofric, youngest unwed sister of the man named The Beast because of his fighting prowess, he’d still held out hope. Sir Braedan was a hardened warrior, but Erik knew he was probably his equal on the battlefront and that the knight would respect Erik on that front.

He’d desperately searched the castle, trying to catch sight of her again, but for weeks she’d remained hidden from him. He’d known all about their family’s history, but he didn’t care. If anything, it made it better for him if she was disgraced. Sir Braedan might even have welcomed an offer to take one of his unwed sisters off his hands. Erik wasn’t a wealthy man, but his connection to Borwyn made him an influential one.

He’d begun to make plans. Small ones. He would talk to her, show her he wasn’t the hard man he was made out to be or the womaniser some thought him. He imagined there would be no greater achievement than making her laugh. He tried not to think of a future in which he could gaze at her night and day. Having hopes and dreams had not worked out well for him in the past.

One day he’d thought he’d caught sight of her golden hair fluttering from a window, high above the castle grounds in the heart of the keep. Someone had confirmed that the Leofric sisters were mostly confined to their chamber, only allowed out occasionally. After that he’d imagined her up there, watching him. He’d tried harder and won more games than any of the knights who also competed in the training yard. No one mocked him for losing concentration again.

He’d gained the attention of many a woman, but not the one he had wanted.

He was still holding out hope when everything changed.

Whenever he thought about being called into Ogmore’s private room to discuss negotiations a wide pit opened in his stomach.

He’d walked in with his half-brother. Jarin’s natural optimism had been subdued and Erik had been trying to rally him. Ogmore had calledthemfor negotiations after all. There must still have been something the wily old Earl was going to offer Jarin.

But Borwyn had been sunk in gloom. He’d come to Ogmore’s fortress thinking that he was going to be offered Ogmore’s daughter’s hand in marriage.Thatunion would have been perfect, the two great houses uniting and forming a formidable alliance across large swathes of land. But Ogmore had allowed his daughter to wed in a love match to a man much lower in status than Borwyn. To a man who wasn’t even noble. Sir Braedan was only a knight but, and this turned out to be crucial, he was also Katherine and Linota’s older brother. It was this kinship that had ruined Erik’s tentative hopes for his own future because a relative of Ogmore did not marry an unclaimed bastard.

Erik hadn’t known all this as he and Jarin had strode towards Ogmore’s rooms. He remembered slapping Jarin on the back and saying, ‘It will be all right. You will see. Ogmore won’t want to lose an alliance with you. As far as he and the rest of the kingdom know, your power and reach matches his.’

‘He won’t want it if he ever realises what a precarious position I am in.’

‘What you’re facing now is a momentary problem, it will pass. You’re being tested by our rivals. It’s natural when an heir takes over. They want to get the measure of your strength. We’ll find a solution. We always do.’

Jarin had smiled, but the gesture hadn’t reached his eyes. ‘I should never have inherited. We both know I’m not cut out for this. I want to help people, not rule them. My father knew it. It’s one of the many reasons why he hated me.’

Erik’s heart had constricted. It was not like Jarin to sound so defeated. Erik had vowed to himself that he would do whatever he could to help his brother. It would be a punch in the face to their shared father if Jarin succeeded in making the Earldom even more successful than it had been during the late Earl’s lifetime.

Erik hadn’t realised that making that oath would cause him so much pain.

Ogmore hadn’t wasted any time.

‘I’m sure you want to know what I can offer you, Borwyn,’ he’d said, sitting on a huge, gilded chair while Jarin and Erik were forced to perch in front of him on a narrow bench.

Erik had hated Ogmore at that moment. Jarin was Ogmore’s equal and here he was being treated like a child.

‘I would still like to form an alliance with you,’ Ogmore had continued.

Erik had fought to keep the snarl from his face. Ogmore had no more daughters for Jarin to marry, unless he had some of his own bastards hidden from life in the castle and that wouldn’t do for the Earl of Borwyn.

‘My new son-in-law has two sisters, the Mistresses Leofric.’

Erik’s heart had stilled, his mind roaring an emphaticno.

Ogmore had carried on, oblivious to the turmoil he had caused. ‘They are of marriageable age. I’m suggesting your betrothal to one of them under the same terms as if you were marrying my daughter.’

Erik’s heart had started to pound violently then. He clutched the bench tightly, his knuckles turning white. He’d wanted to roar, to stand up and tear every hanging from the room, but he’d stayed silent.

Jarin was like a statue next to him. If Erik hadn’t known him well, he wouldn’t have realised just how tense his brother was. For the first time, in a long time, he didn’t care. There had to be another way to make an alliance with Ogmore, there had to be!

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