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“He was trying to steal from me!”
The guard was still gripping his arm tightly. I sighed and grabbed a few sheets of linen from a drawer. I gestured to the huntsman, then the guard. “That should get wrapped,” I voiced casually.
The huntsman raised a brow. “Guardsman, would you like… your crazy lover to wrap your arm, or would you prefer to do it yourself?”
I glowered at the huntsman but caught the twitch of his lips. The bastard was toying with us to diffuse the situation. Smart.
My eyes snagged on the huntsman's throat. In all this, I had forgotten about his injuries. His neck was wrapped with a heavy bandage that disappeared beneath his tunic and covered his collarbone and the top of his chest.
The huntsman took the strip of linen from me and tossed it at the guard, who caught it and wrapped his arm quickly. The hunter then assisted the guardsman to stand.
“Guardsman, stealing from a lady is an accusation that will strip you of your position. What do you say to this?”
“I didn’t do nothing,” the man spat.
I crossed my arms over my chest in annoyance. This whole situation was getting old. I was tired and just wanted to go back to bed and be on my way at first light.
“Hm. Well, as I see it, there are two choices here. The first one,” the huntsman gestured to me. “The lady runs to your superior and explains what happened. I validate her story as a witness.”
The guardsman sputtered, but the hunter’s icy glare stopped him. There was something authoritative about the immense man that made others take notice, despite his injuries.
“The second choice is, I take your crazy lover as my own. You leave this room and do not return. Steal nothing from the lady—oranylady—ever again, or I will gut you instead of going to your superior, just for the fun of it.”
The guardsman balked. His eyes swept the huntsman, snagging on his beautiful blade and fine clothing. For the first time, the guardsman realized who he was dealing with.
“You… You are the Queen’s Huntsman!”
“Happy to make your acquaintance. Now run along. The lady and I have some business to address. I’m sure I’ll leave her in a moresatisfactorystate than you could,” he finished with a glinting, malicious grin.
The guard hightailed it from the room without a backward glance, and a part of me preened that the huntsman had come to my defense.
Then his words sank in. “I am not going to—”
“Save it. I wouldn’t want your… crazy, anyway.”
I sputtered. “Well, I never—”
“Autumn. Get some sleep. Please. We’ll leave at first light.”
“You can’t… Wait, what?”
He lifted a brow but moved past me to the bed. If he dared to sleep on it, I would begin what I had started in the woods with my dagger. Instead, he surprised me by checking beneath the bed at my weapons, snagging one pillow from my bed, and searching the dresser's drawers. He came across two blankets and laid one on the threadbare rug beside the bed.
His eyes swept over me in that bone-deep way he seemed to have. It sent a shiver over me and made me realize I wore nothing but a long tunic. I put my arms over my chest to hide the puckered evidence of the quiver that had gone through me.
“I’ll keep the monsters at bay this night.” His lips curled in a half-smile. “Not that you need it. You seem to handle yourself adequately.”
Slowly, he pulled off his cloak, and my mouth went dry. His tunic cut against broad shoulders, toned muscles, and a lean waist. If he unclothed right here—
But he simply pulled off his boots and laid down on the blanket, fully clothed. Then, he pulled the other blanket to his chin and peered at me with those keen eyes.
“You’re staying…inhere?”
“Is it obvious?”
“But—”
“Sleep, Autumn. I’ll not harm you. You have my word.”
