Fire flashed in her eyes. “It is complicated.”
“I expected nothing less from you.” The truth. From the start he’d found her a tempting challenge. Except, as he’d grown to know Alesia, the way she made him care, to want to protect her, surpassed anyemotion he’d ever expected or, after Elizabet, ever believed he could experience.
With longing, Alesia glanced toward the steaming tub. “Must we speak of my past now? I have told you that I find those of the nobility self-serving. Is that not enough?”
Colyne hesitated. “Will you reveal what you are keeping from me before we part?”
The immediate pain in her eyes had him moving closer. “What is it?” he asked, his voice firmer than he’d intended.
“Colyne, I—”
At the denial in her eyes, he caught her shoulders. “Trust me, Alesia. For God’s sake, I would never harm you.”
Her eyes silently pleaded with him. “It is not that simple.”
Colyne cupped her face. “I care for you deeply. Whatever secrets torment you, they shall nae change how I feel.”
A silent battle raged in her eyes, and then she gave a slight nod. “I will tell you,” she finally conceded. “But first, can we not have this one night?”
Need darkened her gaze and his throat grew dry. A sword’s wrath. However much he wanted her, she couldna begin to fathom the reality of living as a fallen woman. He shook his head. “You are a virgin and I will nae—”
She laid her finger on his mouth. “I am, but you said you cared for me. I feel the same for you. I want you as a woman does a man.”
Bloody, merciful God!His entire body burned as he struggled to maintain control. Intimacy with her would offer more than pleasure but invite responsibility.
Neither could he forget that if her unchaste state were learned of by the gentry, she would be shunned. He remembered the harsh treatment served to a baron’s daughter when others learned of her indiscretion. In the end, she’d withdrawn from society and remained in seclusion. A fate he’d never wish upon Alesia.
“What I wish and what is right,” Colyne rasped, “are two different things.”
Moss-green eyes narrowed. “To the devil with propriety.”
Sweat beaded on his brow as he fought to keep from plundering the sweetness of her lips, to take her as his body demanded. “Once I finish delivering the missive—”
“No one can guarantee my safety or yours. For tomorrow, the nextday, much less for several weeks from now.” She paused, her gaze intent. “Give me this one night.”
“Alesia,” he rasped, his breathing ragged, his body aching with wanting her, “do nae ask me to do this.”
She leaned close and pressed her mouth intimately against his. “It is too late, I already have.”
Chapter 10
As Alesia’s taste filled him, Colyne’s heart slammed against his chest and his body hardened to a fierce ache. A sword’s wrath! He caught her by the shoulders and, with regret, held her away. “I want you, but if the gentry should learn of this indiscretion—”
Moss-green eyes flashed with heated determination. She stepped back and began to loosen her cloak. “You yourself said each day is filled with danger. Who knows if we shall ever have this time alone again? Time that we can be with each other.”
His body trembled beneath his restraint. “You do nae know what you are saying,” he forced out, giving her a chance to walk away.
Her fingers trembled on the hood of her cloak. “You do not want me?” she whispered, a catch in her voice.
Do nae want her?That such an interpretation would ever occur to Alesia left Colyne dumbstruck. He exhaled a rough breath. “I want you more than is right.”
She tugged the cloak free and it tumbled to the floor. With her gaze locked on his, her fingers moved to the ties of her gown.
“Do nae.” Colyne’s body trembled as he stared at her, wanting her, needing her more than he’d ever believed. He damned decorum, damned propriety, and damned his weakness when it came to her. On a groan, he gave into his longings and stepped forward. “Let me.”
His blood heated as he freed her gown, inch by glorious inch. She inspired feelings in him he’d believed lost, and he found it incomprehensible how anyone could have hurt her. Alesia’s past may have offered her the belief that she wasna wanted, but he would show her differently. He would teach her to understand the beauty and depth he saw in her.
With the flick of his wrist, the last tie fell away. On an unsteadybreath, he edged the dress from her shoulders. The gown puddled atop her cloak.
