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The door opens. “If ye’ want to neck, do so on yer’ own time,” Marie scolds and rips Rafferty from me.
I clear my throat and follow. My legs shake the entire way through the door and down the hall. It’s empty, though there is loud, live music carrying up from downstairs. Someone laughs, the boisterous sound all but shaking the wood as Marie unlocks a door and pulls it open. Rafferty and I follow, moving up another set of stairs at break-neck speed.
Once we reach the top, she pulls out a set of keys and unlocks the door, pushing it open to reveal a quaint room that looks more like a single bedroom apartment.
Rafferty moves into the room first, and I follow. “Marie, we cannot take your home.”
She waves a hand in the air as if to physically bat away his words. “Hush now. I won’t hear of it. Besides, they’ve already checked my room, and as ye’ heard, there’s no telling if they’re going to all want rooms. Mine is off limits, as is.”
“But where will you sleep?”
Marie winks at me. “Doona worry about me, lass. I’ve somewhere to go.” She turns back to Rafferty. “Ye’ stay here. I’ll bring ye’ fresh clothes and food. As soon as they get to sleep, I’ll bring ye’ up some water for a bath. For now, there should be fresh water in the basin and some cloth on the shelf near the bed.”
“Thank you,” I tell her, and she turns to me, gripping my arms.
Marie’s eyes mist. “I know who ye’ are, dear; what ye’ mean to our world. Thank ye’ for being here.” After one final squeeze, she releases me and gestures to a cabinet painted green on the far wall. “Ye’ might be a fit for one of my sleep gowns, though I imagine it will be short.”
Then, with one final look, she leaves the apartment and closes the door softly behind her. Rafferty crosses quickly and flips the lock.
It’s only then that I realize where I am—and who I am now alone with. Sure, we’ve been alone before, but after that little preview in the closet? Now we’re in a room with a bed? Yeah, this may not be the world’s best idea for a dying woman and a man toying with the edge of a sharp blade.
But, shit, what a fall that would be.
He turns toward me. “You wash up first,” he says, voice deeper than normal. Before I can respond, he turns away, so I head for the washbasin. Hanging above it is a small gold-rimmed mirror. The woman’s reflection staring back at me should have looked familiar, but she might as well have been a stranger.
Dark circles line my eyes; eyes that are haunted by horrific things witnessed. Bruises cover the left side of my dirt-crusted face.
Reaching up, I touch the darkest purple blotch sitting on top of my cheekbone. So much has happened, and yet, here I am, running from death, yet again.
Different world, different source, same outcome.
Briefly, I see myself in that coffin again, and a shiver runs through my body.
“Are you all right?”
My gaze lifts, catching Rafferty watching me, his gaze reflected in the top right side of the mirror. “Just tired,” I reply. “It’s been a while since I had a nice night’s sleep.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault,” I remind him.
Reaching up, he runs a hand through his hair. “You can take the bed. I’ll pull some blankets from the bureau and sleep on the floor. Marie will wake us when she brings f—”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I interrupt. “We can share the bed. It’s large enough for us both.” He looks to the bed, then back at me, then back to the bed. I’m not sure why, but it pisses me off. Which is ridiculous, of course. I know what’s at stake. “Fine. You want to sleep on the floor? Go for it.” I march over toward the bed where he’s laid out an off-white chemise. Then, just because I’m angry, I reach up and tear the shredded dress from my body.
Rafferty mutters a curse in some language I don’t understand and turns around. “For shit’s sake, woman, warn a man.”
“Why?” I demand. “Because I’m so offensive to look at?” I yank the new fabric over my body. “Your brother seemed to think so.” My words make no sense, given his confessions about his attraction to me, but I’m so overwhelmed by everything we’re facing I cannot understand why us being together would be such a bad thing.
Why does he have to set his honor aside just because he wants to be with me? I don’t belong to anyone. I’m a consenting adult, so what the hell is the big deal?
Rafferty grips my arms and yanks me around to face him. “Taranus is a damned fool. You do not get to compare me to him.”
My bottom lip quivers. The idea that this strong man before me is so offended by my nakedness makes me want to crawl into a hole. Which is ridiculous, of course, because I shouldn’t fucking care.
“You are absolutely stunning in every way. But you are not for me.” He swallows hard. “And no matter how badly I want you, that fact does not change.”
“So you say. I’m starting to believe it’s just your way of keeping me happy while you deliver me to yet another man I…don’t…want.”
