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Finally, after taking several deep breaths, Reeve calmed enough to speak. He pointed at her. “When I take you to that bed”–he pointed to it and then back at her—“it will be tomake loveto you. I do not lust after you like an animal hungry to mate. There is more here between us, Tara, and I will not demean whatever this strange all-encompassing feeling that nags and torments and batters me every waking and sleeping moment and yet I do not want to do without, simply to share a toss with you.”
He paused and shook his finger at her when she went to speak. “Say nothing, absolutely nothing. We will make love in that bed. Our children will be conceived of love in that bed. We will grow old and still make love in that bed. And I will always hold you with love whether in or out of that bed.”
He turned, swiped his cloak off the ground, and said, “I will wait outside for you. We go to the keep together.”
Tara stood silent, watching the door close behind him. Tears filled her eyes and spilled over.
Keep him safe. I love him. God help me, I love him. Please keep him safe from me.
Chapter 20
Reeve felt like raging, he was so angry. And he knew it showed on his face since the villagers passing by Tara’s cottage gave him a wide berth.
Damn but she could be stubborn.
“You look like you want to kill someone,” Bryce said, approaching him.
“I do,” Reeve snapped.
Bryce snickered. “That’s what happens when you fall in love.”
“How would you know?”
“I learn from watching,” Bryce said.
Reeve shook his head. Hadn’t he just told Tara the same?
Bryce rested a firm hand on Reeve’s shoulder. “Put yourself in her place before you judge too harshly.”
Reeve went to argue.
Bryce squeezed his shoulder. “Think as she does, then see how you feel. See you in the keep for the noon meal, though if you take too long, I’ll have eaten most of the food.”
“I’m going to beat you,” Reeve threatened teasingly as he always did, though he never meant it. It was the way between them.
Bryce laughed and waved him off just as the cottage door opened.
Tara stepped out and sent him a skeptical glance.
Think as she does.
From the way she stared at him, he knew that he still looked angry, and he didn’t want her thinking he was angry with her. It was the situation, not her, and so he grinned and took her hand.
An apprehensive smile lit her face, and she wrapped her fingers slowly around his, and his heart soared. Damn, but this love thing could be unnerving.
They walked in silence, the snow falling softly over them and the air crisp. He did as Bryce suggested and thought how Tara must feel. And suddenly he felt an unbearable weight descend on him.
Was that how she felt, as if she carried a hefty weight? She did feel responsible and a responsibility brought a weight of sorts. He hadn’t given enough thought to how this curse had affected her. He had simply brushed it off as unreasonable, but he hadn’t suffered from the remnants of it. Tara had.
She had grown excited when he suggested they find a witch to remove the curse, or when she thought that Bliss might be able to help her. He had to approach this differently. He had to stop thinking of how he felt, and his wants and desires, and concentrate on how Tara perceived things. It was the only way to truly help her.
They reached the keep without having exchanged a word. Reeve stopped at the foot of the steps and turned to Tara.
“I will do whatever it takes to rid you of the curse.”
Her violet eyes grew wide, and he thought he detected a tear.
“Truly?”
