"Dani?" He turned to look for her in bed, then, scowling, glanced around the chamber. When he spotted her, he squinted into the dimness. "Dani? What are you doing over there? Hiding?"
Embarrassed to have been caught, she stepped out. How dumb to try to hide in the corner, anyway.
"What's wrong? Why are you dressed?" Gavin sat in bed, uncovered to the waist, his muscled chest bare. He looked like a perfect human. No feathers sticking out of his ears. No wings, talons, or beak. Just those muscular arms he'd used to hold her and those sensual lips he'd used to trail kisses over her body. But his eyes—intense sky blue—did resemble the hawk's eyes.
A chill of unease slid through her. "What are you?"
He frowned, searching her face for a long moment. "A man. What are you?"
Her pulse thumped in her ears. "I overheard what you said to Ewan about… about the hawk. And your other form. What did you mean?"
"'Slud!" Gavin shoved himself out of bed, grabbed the long-tailed shirt, and pulled it on, covering his glorious nude form. "Come and sit." He motioned toward the chair by the fireplace.
She shook her head. "Not until you tell me the truth."
"Damnation." He released a long breath. "I'd hoped you wouldn't have to know about that. I'd hoped the curse would be over before you learned of it."
"Learned of what?"
"That I change form during the day."
"How? Why? I don't get it."
"'Tis the main part of the curse. At dawn, my physical form alters from a man to a hawk. And the opposite at dusk. 'Tis why you think I'm gone all day. Sometimes I am flying over the clan lands, but other times, as you saw, I perch on the roof or in other places around the castle."
Though she swallowed hard, she still couldn't swallow this unbelievable info. "But that's absurd. How can such a thing be possible?"
"Wilona MacRae cursed me to change form, just as she can change herself into an owl, a wolf, or any beast she chooses."
Shock ricocheting through Dani, her mouth dropped open. "That wolf was her?"
"Aye, of course. One witch changed a man into a horse for a night, rode him to her destination, some twenty miles distant, then changed him back into a man in the morn. His hands were raw and bloody as proof. Another witch transformed dice into swine and sent them to kill her neighbor's children. But she was thwarted."
"What? Get real."
"'Tis as real as can be, lass."
"Sounds like folktales." Thoughts spun in her head, but rationality had vanished. "You're all delusional and trying to make me think I'm the one who's nuts."
He sighed. "I've spoken the truth, but I ken you'll need proof before you believe it. You saw me as a hawk this day as I kept the wolf from catching you."
"I saw a bird of prey, but I have no proof it was you. Could be your pet."
Gavin snorted. "In the morn, you shall see for yourself as I switch forms."
She shivered as a prickle raced through her. "I don't know if I want to watch. I might lose my grasp on reality like the rest of you."
"Indeed. Then, you'll fit in perfectly." Gavin grinned and glanced at the food. "Right now, I'm a man, and I'm hungry. Are you? Come, let's eat." He brought the tray to the low table by the fire, then sat, still wearing his long shirt. She enjoyed seeing his bare muscular calves and, in the untied V neck of his shirt, the center of his brawny chest. He was a man, for sure, a hot and sexy one.
After washing his hands in the basin and drying them, he poured wine into two silver goblets. He lifted the cover off the food, then portioned out the bread and cheese onto two small silver trays. He spread soft butter over the bread.
Her stomach grumbled again.
"Aha. Your stomach demands you eat." He grinned.
She saw through his attempt to make everything appear normal instead of freakish and strange.
Despite what she'd learned, he was still the same man as last night, the same man she'd exchanged vows with. She had trusted him. Could she still? She sat down opposite him by the low-burning fire, the knee-high table between them. He handed her a goblet, and she sipped the sweet, spiced wine, the best beverage here.
