Page 22 of Ena’s Surrender

He got to his feet and pulled his trews on. “I’ll come back to you. It may not be tomorrow or the day after, but I will return for your reply.”

Ena’s heartbeat quickened at the thought of seeing him again. She got up from her small pallet and retrieved his gambeson for him while he tugged on his shirt.

She helped him into it, then rose on her tiptoes to kiss him. “I’ll have yer answer for ye.”

He drew her toward him. “I look forward to the reply.”

His mouth settled on hers, chaste and sweet. Her body sang out in delight at the meeting of their lips. Even as she rejoiced at what they had shared, the carnal craving returned, rising up inside of her.

She wanted more. Him. All of it.

His wife?

Her heart missed the next beat.

“Until we see one another again.” He bowed low over her hand and graced it with a delicate kiss.

With that, he straightened and departed through the door leading to Maribel’s pen with Moggy trailing at his feet. It wasn’t until he was gone that Ena could truly breathe again. As though he captivated her so completely that her lungs forgot to fill with air.

Marriage.

It was too soon. And mayhap that was what made it so alluring. Or mayhap it was the ripples of pleasure still whispering through her body that made her long to repeat the actions again and again and again.

Regardless, even though she’d said she needed time, she knew well what her answer would be.

She’d spent far too long hurting, embroiled in the past and not looking toward the future. Now was her chance at happiness and she would not let it slip through her fingers.

A body lay on the other side of the door. A man Renault had killed. An Englishmen. One of his own.

Renault hesitated in Maribel’s pen. She stared up at him with a benign expression as she chewed a mouthful of hay. The cat who had followed him outside pounced on a stalk of hay and rolled over it with wild abandon.

He glanced over his shoulder to the other door, the one leading back to Ena.

How he wished he could go back and stay with her, lost in the dream of a fantasy. He wanted to be in her arms again, breathing in her sweet, feminine scent of sunshine and flowers.

He’d never had a family, at least not one he could remember. And while he’d been with many women, never had he found one he wanted as his wife. But Ena…she was brave and beautiful and clever. She captured his thoughts and made his heartbeat quicken. She was a woman who would ensure their children remained safe, cared for and loved.

She’d felt her maidenhead had low value, but he considered it with high esteem. Curs took a woman’s virtue and left her. He was no cur, especially when it came to a woman like Ena. Especially when she filled a part of his soul he’d never known before. He wanted her in his life. From the moment he realized a woman had fought him as well as a man, from that glint in her eyes and the passion emanating from her, he’d known she was the one to complete his life.

He’d learned how to get what he wanted a long time ago, when he discovered manipulation was better than begging. If he wanted to, he could return to Ena and slowly break down the walls of her reluctance. She would agree to marry him before the night was out.

But he wanted her to come to the decision on her own. If she would.

Something nipped at the back of his mind. Doubt?

He clenched his hand into a fist. He had to face the man he’d slain. His own bloody brethren. But he’d done it to save Ena.

I did it to save Ena.

He flicked up the latch on Maribel’s pen and pushed through the solid door to where the fallen Englishman remained in front of Ena’s hut. Renault carefully latched the door shut once more, putting off going to the man for as long as was possible.

A horse whinnied nearby. The dead man’s, no doubt. Renault reclaimed the beast so he could return the man’s body to his family.

Renault hesitated in front of the body lying motionless, face almost pressed to Ena’s door. He took several deep breaths to focus his thoughts.

I did it to save Ena.

Renault had been involved in the war between England and Scotland long enough to know what happened beyond broken down doors. Theft. Rape. Murder.