"What?" she asked in annoyance as she scratched at the itchy patches, still moving from foot to foot.
"Will ye get in the water, for pity's sake! Monk or nae, I am a man!"
Suddenly realizing he was staring at her breasts, Charlotte quickly climbed into the tub and lowered herself into the water, her crimson cheeks burning.
Owen adjusted his robe over his legs and went to sit on the bed with his back turned to her, muttering something under his breath about women and how they would be the death of him.
Charlotte was mortified. She reached for the soap and began to slip the bar over her skin, soothing the red patches where the nettles had stung. Her cheeks were hotter than the water as she thought of what Owen had seen. She'd danced around him, wearing nothing at all. And she noticed how aroused he was. She'd never been around a man that way before now; she felt so embarrassed and ashamed.
In the space of a few short hours, she had found herself naked and alone with a monk. The thought mortified her as she washed her arms. She didn't know how she would ever look him in the eyes again without thinking of what he had seen. Her entire body had been exposed to him, including the scar on her leg. Charlotte shifted in the water, looking at the rope of scars that crisscrossed over her flesh. She'd never allowed anyone, other than the healers, to see it before.Until now…
Owen suddenly laughed from the bed and placed his head in his hands, causing Charlotte to sink even further into the water until her head was completely submerged, wishing that the earth would open up wide and swallow the bath along with her.
—
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CHAPTER SEVEN
Owen turned and lay on his side, unable to sleep after the day's events. The simple blanket he had placed on the floor wasn't exactly comfortable as he shifted around, trying his best to settle down. The room was dark and quiet, allowing space for unwanted thoughts to creep in.
William Dodd still eluded his grasp. And what was worse, he was betrothed to yet another young woman who would more than likely suffer the same fate as the lass from the fire. The lass, he thought begrudgingly.Where are ye?She knew far too much; he needed to find her. If she was still alive, her seeming disappearance presented the scenario that she may very well be dead. Or that she, like Charlotte, was on the run.
Charlotte.Owen's mind wandered back to the present and the lass who lay asleep in his bed.
He'd seen Charlotte naked. More than that, he'd become aroused by the perfect shape of her ample breasts and the slender curvesof her waist and thighs. He briefly wondered about the map of scars that ran up her leg.What had happened there?He shifted uncomfortably again when his thoughts made his body respond to the pleasure of her beauty.
"Are you awake?" her sweet voice called from the bed.
"Aye."
"I wish you would let me sleep on the floor so that you could have your bed. I don't feel right sleeping up here while you are down there," Charlotte continued their disagreement from before.
Owen smiled to himself in the dark. "There's a simple solution tae that," he teased.
"Never mind. You deserve to sleep on the floor," Charlotte quickly fired back.
Owen laughed out loud, eliciting a tiny giggle from Charlotte. He loved the way her melodious voice carried through the room. The way they bantered back and forth made him feel like he'd found a friend.An attractive friend at that.Despite the hatred and hurt that she tried so hard to hide, there was something warm and refreshing about her. Something had happened in the past that closed her off to those around her. It was as clear to him as the scar on her leg.
"I can't sleep," she spoke again.
"They say talking usually prevents that from happening," he said grumpily, turning toward the bed.
