Page 43 of Peregrine's Call
“You have gorgeous hair,” he murmured, his lips close to her right ear. “I’d like to feel it across my chest.”
“You may dream,” she snapped, recovering herself.
He gathered her hair up in one hand and pulled her a little closer to him. “Hmmm, that’ll be a fine dream tonight. Or do you want to bless me with the reality?” He laid his free hand on her neck. “I can feel your pulse, darling. No woman’s heart beats like that unless she’s excited about something. So I have to wonder if you’re excited to be here in my room.”
“I’m more excited by the prospect of leaving it,” she said, slapping his hand away. “And I think the time to do so is now.”
“If you insist,” he said with a sigh. “But first…”
He spun her around to face him again and kissed her.
Pierce’s mouth was hot on hers, his kiss aggressive and demanding. Robin started to lean away, but she was held fast by Pierce’s hands on her shoulders, keeping her rooted to the floor.
“Get—”off me, she meant to say. But the moment she opened her lips, his tongue invaded her mouth. Robin gasped in surprise and indignation. But that didn’t stop the kiss, which was reaching an uncomfortable intensity.
When she actually felt a flash of pain at her lower lip, she raised her hands to his chest to push him away, shoving him with such force he had to move back a few steps.
“What are youdoing?” she demanded. “If you try that again, you’ll never leave this castle in one piece.” Robin drew the dagger from its hidden sheath, no longer willing to indulge the lord.
Pierce’s eyes widened slightly, and he kept well away from her. Still, he wore a pleased, self-satisfied smile. “No need for alarm. I was just adding the finishing touches. Now you look like a woman who is ready to leave my room.”
Robin gaped at him, feeling the tang of iron on her tongue. “Am I bleeding?”
“Only a little. I just wanted to make sure your appearance was appropriately ravished. No, no, keep the sleeves of the shift down, dear. It’s perfect as is.”
Robin stopped pulling at the top of her shift’s sleeves, having discovered that Pierce had managed to expose both her shoulders during the kiss.
“I’m going now,” she announced. “And you disgust me.”
“Your knight should be back tomorrow, if Estmar hasn’t done something stupid,” he said, almost as an afterthought. “Talk to him when you have a moment, will you?”
“Go to hell,” she spat.
“That is assured.” Pierce bowed to her, mockingly.
Robin wrenched open the door and darted out into the hall. What a churl. The horrible man actuallybither.
She couldn’t return to her own bedchamber like this. The other women would see her and think the worst, and Robin’s pride wouldn’t allow that.
Tav is gone, she thought. He had a small chamber to himself. She’d hide there until she could restore her appearance to normal. Ugh. She never should have left Cleobury.
Chapter 18
Octavian kept up a brutalpace on the return to Willesden, much faster than their morning travel. Estmar followed him, sometimes falling behind to the point that Octavian could barely see him if he turned back. But Tav’s focus was ahead. He couldn’t say precisely why he felt so uneasy, other than because Robin was on her own, a bird in a nest of snakes. Knowing she was far more skilled at fighting than anyone would expect didn’t help him feel better. She was still one person against a garrison’s worth of soldiers.
When he arrived at the gates, it took a few shouts to get the attention of the guard, who was undoubtedly trying to stay warm in the gatehouse.
The man slid back the small grate on the door to let him see who was asking admittance. He blinked at Octavian in confusion. “You’re back?”
“Obviously. Open the gate.”
“I’m not supposed to do so without approval.”
“Estmar is going to ride up in a moment. Get the approval from him,afteryou open the gate. He won’t like being kept waiting.”
The guard looked at Octavian, mumbled something, and then closed the grate. The large door creaked as it was slowly opened. As soon as the opening was wide enough to admit a horse, he rode through.
The courtyard was deserted, and only a few torches burned. Tav dismounted and walked his horse to the stable. A sleepy-looking boy poked his head out of the loft, saying he’d be down in a moment.
