“Nancy?” Hunter’s voice filtered through the solid oak, and she stopped dead in her tracks.
“I don’t want to talk to you,” she called hastily, looking around for something to throw over the shirt she still hadn’t changed out of.
The door handle twisted, and she lunged for a silky robe, pulling it on and holding the front of it closed… as if he hadn’t already seen most of what lay beneath. As if he hadn’ttouchedandexploredmost of what lay beneath—a fact that made her skinflush afresh as she remembered every exquisite, life-altering moment. How attuned he’d been to her body, how exceptionally gifted he was with that tongue of his, how even his kisses had made her feel like she was melting into a puddle of pure pleasure.
Flustered, she wrenched the door open the rest of the way and glared at him. “I said I don’t want to talk to you.”
“Aye, I heard ye.” He walked into her room and paused at the edge of her bed, filled with enough audacity to sit down on it. “What’s wrong with ye, eh? Why did ye rush off like that?”
He’d put on a shirt. A fortunate and disappointing sight.
Nancy peeked out into the hallway to make sure the coast was clear before closing the door behind her. She didn’t want anyone eavesdropping on this conversation, not if it wasn’t too late to get herself un-engaged.
“We can’t just marry because of one little orgasm, Hunter,” she said in a sharp whisper.
He raised an eyebrow, a knowing look on his face.
“Fine, a really, really,reallygood one. Explosive. The best I’ve ever had. But that’s no reason to get married!” There was sarcasm in her voice, but none in her mind.
It reallyhadbeen the best climax of her life, and probably the only one that counted as an orgasm, if Hunter’s expertise was the bar by which she had to judge the meager handful of other experiences she’d had.
He shrugged. “People marry for worse reasons.”
“That’s true, but not the point I was aiming for. We’re not ending any wars here, Hunter, or striking alliances or… whatever other reasons there are here for getting married in a hurry,” she blustered on, wishing he wouldn’t look at her like that—like he wanted to devour her. “I’mleaving, in case you’d forgotten?”
Even though you’re trying to make it difficult for me.
She thought of Adeline and Jane, two women who’d stayed here in the past, giving up everything in the future to be with their husbands. In truth, Nancy had thought they were mad, but if their husbands were as talented in the bedroom as Hunter, then maybe she could understand them a little better.
That being said, she wasn’t going to be bewitched into calling the past her home, just because of a man who kissed so very well and made her feel things she hadn’t felt before. She wasn’t going to make their mistake, even if they claimed to be blissfully happy. No one could be happy without coffee, if nothing else.
“I ken,” Hunter said blithely, pushing off the bed and making his way over to the casement window. “That’s why I daenae understand why ye ran off like ye were about to be dragged straight to a church.”
“What?” She frowned at his muscular back, but he didn’t turn.
“Ye’re leavin’, as ye said, so we daenae have to marry.”
“But you said?—”
“We daenae have to set a date until ye confirm to me when ye’re leavin’,” he spoke over her. “We can just pretend to be betrothed until ye go, and the gossipers in me clan will cease talkin’ about it.”
Nancy took a moment to slow her breathing while her mind raced.
How many people had seen their compromising wake-up call? Had it spread through the castle already?
She tried to remember what position she’d been in when she woke up, and prayed she’d still been tucked into his side. Otherwise, thanks to the flimsy fabric of his shirt, people would’ve seen a lot more of her than she was happy with.
“I don’t care what anyone has to say about me,” she declared, though it was a lie.
It was a universal truth that abandoned children, even grown-ups,alwayssought the validation of others. But in this case, his people could whisper about her all they liked. She wouldn’t be around long enough for it to bother her, not unless some historian found an entry about a peculiar woman who showedup for a couple of weeks, was found outside in the Hawk’s arms, got engaged to him, then vanished again.
Oh God, please don’t let anyone write about me.
For a moment, she wondered if this was how some of the people she’d written articles about felt.
“I’venevercared what anyone has to say about me,” she added. “If they ask, I’ll tell them I was drowning, and you saved me, and you were just holding me to warm me up so I didn’t die of hypothermia.”
“And if they ask why I didnae just carry ye inside?” he asked, finally turning to look at her. “Nancy,Idaenae want them whisperin’ about ye, and I daenae want them gossipin’ about how I killed me second bride too when ye go back to where ye came from. There’s nay harm to either of us in showin’ that we like each other, that we get along. That when ye leave, it’s a friendly partin’.”
