Wolf smiled at her confession. “You care for me.”
“Somewhat,” she corrected, his teasing smile driving the butterflies in her stomach wild.
“It’s a start,” he said and was glad for it.
“Aye, it is,” she agreed, and like him, she was pleased they had found some common ground.
Wolf quickly finished disrobing and when he looked to his wife, he was surprised she still wore her shirt as she did each night in bed.
He would remove it for her, but he sensed it was better she did so herself. “You’ll need to take that off.”
Her worry had her words rushing from her mouth. “I have scars.”
Wolf stretched his hand out to her. “It matters not to me. Come and let me see them.”
Raven hesitated. The old man was the only one who had ever seen her partially naked since he had tended her wounds. She had never stood naked in front of anyone and while Wolf was her husband and had the right to see her unclothed, she found herself hesitant to do so.
He saw the uncertainty in her eyes and he thought to go to her, but he knew it was better for them both if she came to him freely. He knew of only one way to accomplish that.
“You are no coward, wife.”
Raven’s chin shot up and she walked over to him and took tight hold of his hand as if needing his strength, his reassurance.
“No scars can mar your beauty, Raven,” he said and brought his mouth to hers in a gentle kiss. He was quick to add, “I speak the truth so don’t challenge me on it.”
She smiled since she had been about to do just that. “You know me too well.”
“And we are about to know each other more intimately,” he said, his hands going to her shirt to slide it up along her body. He kept his eyes on hers, her shirt reaching her waist. “Raise your hands, wife.” He thought she might protest, but she didn’t. He hurried her shirt over her head and tossed it aside, something he had ached to do shortly after they had begun sharing a bed, but had refused to admit to himself.
A sudden chill raced a shiver through Raven.
Wolf hurried her into his arms and rubbed her back to send warmth through her. He felt it when his hand rubbed her shoulder—a scar. She stiffened and he grew angry thinking of how she must have suffered.
“Scars are the sign of a brave warrior,” he said, hoping to ease her worry.
“I haven’t noticed any on you,” she said, raising her head to look at him.
He released her and stepped back, spreading his legs and pointing to a spot on his right inner thigh.
Raven did her best to ignore his protruding shaft, though it was impressive, and she couldn’t help but smile when she saw the scar on his leg, not far from his groin. “A dissatisfied lover?”
He chuckled, then teased playfully, “You can judge that for yourself soon enough.” He grew serious when he explained, “I got the wound saving Trevor from a deadly blow.”
Raven looked down, her hand going to her left side just above her waist to rub the scar there.
Wolf stepped closer to her, easing her hand away to touch the puckered flesh while taking in the slimness of her waist, the gentle curve of her hips, and the dark thatch of hair that hid her treasure.
Knowing his curiosity would have him asking, she said, “Death almost claimed me with this one, but I had no choice. I had to help Iver or he would have died.”
Wolf’s fingers brushed across the scar as if he could make it disappear. “Iver owes you his life.”
“He owes me nothing. We are family,” she insisted.
He spotted another scar just above one of her breasts and his hand went to it. He didn’t have to ask, he knew the danger of a wound there, but he asked anyway, “This one could have proved deadly.”
“It almost did,” she confessed.
“Who did you save this time?” he asked, understanding what Clive had meant when he said she had earned their respect and obviously their loyalty.
“Fyn,” she said, though offered no more and was glad he didn’t ask for more.
Wolf ran his hands down along her sides to rest at her waist and looked down at the small scar he felt on her right side. He turned her slightly to have a look and though it was small, he could see by the look in her eyes that it was the scar that pained her the most.
“Did you get this one saving the man you loved?”
Raven shook her head, lowering it as she whispered, “I couldn’t save him.”
He slipped his hand beneath her chin and raised her head. “Those scars cause the most pain, a pain that never leaves us. My most painful scar can’t be seen, but it remains never-ending.”