“Thank you, James, I appreciate that,” she said and meant it. He had been good to her and her sisters from the moment he had arrived here, except for the forced marriage. Though, to him he had had little choice. His duty, first and foremost, was to the clan.
Seeing how swollen her cheek and eye had grown and how dark the bruising, James said, “Go rest. Thunder rumbles in the distance and rain will be here soon.”
“I have one thing I must do, then I will do as you say.”
James’ mouth fell agape for a moment. “You’re actually going to obey me?” Then he gave a quick chuckle.
“Very funny, James,” Sorrell said. “I do obey on occ—”
“Rarely,” he finished for her. “Not since I’ve known you have I seen you obey anyone, and I’m grateful that you are obeying me when it comes to this marriage. You do your clan proud.”
Sorrell nodded and took her leave without responding. She couldn’t imagine spending the rest of her life with a man who allowed his temper to rule him. But how did she escape it when so much depended on her going through with it?
She hurried along through the keep and stepped outside just as a roll of thunder rumbled. She kept a hasty pace. She had to do this. She would not feel right until she did.
She found John stepping off the ladder, repairs finished to the roof they had fallen through.
When she neared him, the first splatter of rain hit her.
John leaned his large body over hers to shield her from the rain, slipped his arm around her, and hurried her into the cottage.
“What are you doing here? You should be in the keep resting,” he scolded, taking a gentle hold of her chin to turn her head so he could take a better look at her injury. “That is going to get worse.”
“It will heal,” she said, curious that he touched her without thought, as if it was his right.
“Like the last two black eyes you got?” he asked, releasing her face.
“I was young. One was an accident and one I got fighting someone bigger than myself.”
“And you didn’t learn then not to fight someone larger than you?”
She laughed and winced, the side of her face painful. “Learn what? I may have suffered a black eye, but I won the fight.”
He should have known it. Sorrell was not one to give up or give in. “You should go rest. I’ll clean up in here, hopefully before the person who lives here returns for the day.”
“It’s not occupied. That’s what I came to tell you and to thank you again for protecting me the way you did,” she said, only realizing how close they stood, her tunic brushing his shirt.
“I failed to protect you, otherwise I would have saved you from Seth’s punch.”
“It would have been much worse if you hadn’t yanked me away and for that I’m grateful. So, to me you didn’t fail. You kept me from suffering a far worse injury.”
A damn strong desire to kiss her caught him off guard and he silently cursed his rising manhood for joining in. He forced himself to step away from her. His glance fell on the splintered bed and crushed mattress and he was glad for it. Or else it would tempt him to do something he shouldn’t even be thinking of doing.
He shook his head, the image too clear of them naked and his manhood buried deep inside her, and he was relieved for the sudden thought that interrupted his musing. “Why did you have me repair the roof to this place if no one lives here?”
Sorrell spoke rapidly. “I thought if you should stay a few extra days you could use it for yourself. It’s better than sleeping in the stable and it will provide you with a modicum of solitude. It’s up to you, do as you will.”
With that she turned and fled the cottage.
John went to the open door and watched her run off in the rain. She was offering him more than a cottage of solitude. She was offering him a home. She was telling him, in her own way, that he could stay permanently if he wanted to.
That wasn’t possible.
Necessity dictated that he would take his leave sooner or later and duty to her clan would have Sorrell abide by the marriage agreement to that wretched man. The thought chewed at his gut, annoyed that he couldn’t save her from it.
He turned away and was closing the door when something had him turning back around. He peered outside and caught sight of a figure darting along the cottages, as if he didn’t want to be seen, as he followed Sorrell’s path.
John rushed out, ready to confront the person, when he spotted John heading toward him and, in a flash, disappeared between two cottages. Though, John gave chase, he stopped when it brought him to the edge of the woods. It was pointless to follow him, the rain growing heavier.