Page 27 of A Rogue's Rules for Seduction
Cautiously, she sat and grabbed the spoon. She dipped it into the cream-covered berries and brought a mouthful to her lips.
Dom watched her the whole time, his gaze shadowed and intent. His eyes went even darker when she took a bite.
“Luscious,” she proclaimed. Which they were, juicy and abundant with sweetness. “We can share.”
They were quiet for a while, wordlessly eating the berries in a silence that was almost companionable—save for the current of awareness that sparked and crackled between them.
“The cream is a good addition,” she murmured.
“And it tastes even better knowing I’ve got a dry room to go back to.”
Heat rushed into her cheeks but she didn’t look away when their gazes held.
“You would’ve gotten pneumonia simply from being stubborn,” she said defiantly.
He snorted. “Sounds like me.” Then, gruffly, “Thank you. For caring. When you didn’t need to. Or should.”
She tried to shrug, but her heart pounded. “I wish I could just... stop. And yet...”
It was too difficult to say more. So, she took another bite of berries. Maybe their sweetness could chase away this horrible uncertainty and unbalance that overtook her whenever she was around him.
“Are the berries my thanks for having your room changed?”
“And an apology for saying what I said on the trek,” he said, subdued. “That I was so surprised you cared about things like foraging. It was rude and... thoughtless. So—berries.”
Her heart contracted sharply. His words of contrition touched her—but that’s all they were. Not a romantic gesture, and she needed to remember that. “Apology accepted.”
“Could you forage for us if we got lost on this island?” he asked.
Thiswas a topic she could speak about easily. “I’m not as familiar with the landscape of Scotland,especially not the Hebrides, so it would be a little more challenging, but if I had to, I’d make sure we wouldn’t starve.”
“A hell of a talent,” he murmured admiringly.
Another blush touched her cheeks. “I learned through mistakes. The first time I found myself out in the wilderness without anything to eat, I nearly poisoned myself. Thank God a farmer found me and knew what to do after eating the wrong mushroom. After that, I turned into a regular scholar of foraging. It was better the next time. I could’ve lasted much longer if they hadn’t—”
Her lips clamped together. But it was too late. He looked at her with sharp perception.
“When was this?” he demanded. “Who’sthey?”
She forced a laugh even as her throat burned. “A long time ago. Andtheyare no one important.”
How could she have been so careless as to nearly tell him about some of the darkest times of her life? Or what they meant? To him, she wasprincess. Not some unhappy, abandoned girl. That would never fit his image of her, or what she wanted to believe of herself.
She wasstrong, damn it. Every time she wasn’t, she suffered. And yet...
He didn’t look at her with disgust. Or pity. Only concern, and a filament of anger for those who’d hurt her.
“How did you carry all these berries back?” she asked.
It was a naked attempt to change the subject, and his look was pointed, but thankfully, he said, “In my pockets.”
A laugh burst from her. “It’s a wonder I didn’t hear your valet’s cry of despair.”
“I gave him a dram of whisky and he calmed down.”
Her spoon scraped against the bottom of the bowl, and the sound shot disappointment through her. “We’ve demolished the spoils of your foraging. I suppose that means it’s time to join the others.”
“I like it here well enough,” he said, his voice gravelly.
