What if he asked her to punch him again? No, he wouldn’t, and she wouldn’t do it anyway.
“My lady.” Harris welcomed her with a concerned expression. “Thank you for coming. His Lordship is in such a state. He’s in the small sitting room. He doesn’t want Lord Rowan to see him.”
“I’ll do my best to help him.” She handed him her coat.
“Bless you, dear girl.” He widened his eyes in horror. “Apologies, my lady.”
“No need to apologise.” She touched his arm before running to the sitting room.
Tristan was pacing, his breath uneven and his pupils dilated. He’d dispensed with the jacket, and his waistcoat was unbuttoned. His rolled-up shirtsleeves showed his muscled arms.
“I’m here.”
“Effie.” He crushed her in a bear hug, wrapping his arms of steel around her. “I don’t know what to do. I’m scared.”
“Take deep breaths. I’ll stay with you through it.”
“Tie me.” He shivered. “Unless you do it, I don’t think I can stop myself from going.”
She trembled with the force of his request. “Do you really want me to tie you down in your bed?”
“Yes.” Pain laced his voice, and she nearly sobbed at his suffering.
She rang the bell and waited for Harris. “I need a long, thick rope.”
Harris gazed from Tristan to her. “My lady?”
“Trust me. Please.”
“Of course.” Harris left, puzzled.
“You’re very brave.” She stroked Tristan’s arm.
“I feel the opposite.” His blond curls fell over his face, giving him a boyish look that made his pain more heartbreaking.
“Breathe.”
He did as told, his chest rising and falling quickly.
Harris returned with the rope. “Would that be all right, my lady?”
“Perfect. Thank you, Harris.”
The butler left again, but the worry lines on his forehead belied his mood.
She took Tristan’s hand and went upstairs to his bedroom. He shivered as if he were freezing.
“The fact you sent for me is already a huge achievement,” she said, but he didn’t seem to hear her. “You should be proud.”
He stretched out on the bed. “Please.”
“As long as you’re sure.”
“Unless you tie me down, I’ll flee the house.”
She hoped she knew what she was doing. A thousand doubts assaulted her. She was applying methods used for farm animals to a human.
The idea was as unreasonable as it sounded. She swallowed a few times as she wrapped the rope around his wrist and tied it to the bedpost as if she were hitching her mare. She tied his ankles as well, checking the rope didn’t bite into his flesh too hard.
Only one hand of Tristan was free, lest he feel too constricted.
Growing up close to farm animals had taught her the importance of well-done knots. She would have never imagined she would use that knowledge on the man she loved.
He tugged at the rope. “It’s tight.”
“Too much?” She moved to loosen the knots, but he shook his head.
“No. That’s what I need.”
She really hoped he was right. “I’ll stay here with you.” She sat on the bed and took his free hand, getting ready for a long night.
