He scowled. “I’ve ached to kiss you all week.”
He had missed kissing her, which meant he had missed her. Everything drifted away at that moment. There was simply the two of them and a need that burned deep in them both.
She pressed her fingers to his lips then to hers.
“I’m glad you want me to kiss you, for I want desperately to kiss you.”
And he did, his lips settling over hers with a rough hunger that Dawn understood since it gnawed at her as well. Neither could get enough of the other. They were starved for the taste of each other and so they feed off the kiss.
Cree ended it abruptly, placing his brow against hers and giving himself a chance to recover his breath before he spoke. “I have to go… but I will return later tonight.”
He was returning to her. The thought was like a slap in the face. This would be the way it was from now on, he returning to the woman who would be his wife while she was left alone. Her stomach turned at the thought or perhaps it was the babe. That reminder had her paling, for there would come a time she would have to tell Cree that she carried his child.
“You’re not feeling well,” he said anxiously.
She pressed her hand to her cheek and closed her eyes. It wasn’t a lie that she needed rest. She had found that the babe depleted her of strength now and again but a good rest always restored it.
“Yes, you should rest,” he agreed and kissed her lips lightly lingering, as if reluctant to stop.
The strange ache that constantly took hold of her whenever he took his leave grasped at her now, though more tightly than ever before. Did she worry that he would not return to her now that his future bride was here? And then she thought of the babe she carried and the revelation that it would bring and she worried over her future.
He ran a tender finger down her cheek. “You grow paler. You will rest that is an order.”
Before she could confirm with a nod, he scooped her up in his arms out of the chair and carried her into the other room to place her gently on the bed. He grabbed the blanket at the bottom of the bed, though before he pulled it up over her he took hold of one bare foot, raised it and glared at her. “You will wear stockings; the weather grows colder.”
She yawned and he quickly covered her tucking the blanket tightly around her. He gave her a quick kiss and then went to the hearth and added more logs. He stopped before leaving the room and turned a scowl on her.
“I cannot prove it but I know without a doubt that you left this cottage today without protection. And if I was not in a generous mood I would not only punish you but I would see Old Mary suffer for her part in it. Do such a foolish thing again and you’ll taste my wrath.”
Dawn did not take a breath until she heard the door close. He was much too aware of all things going on in the village and she feared that it wouldn’t be long before he realized that she carried his child. What then? The question haunted her and too often turned her fearful of the future.
She yawned again and turned on her side and drifted off to sleep as soon as she closed her eyes.
~~~
Cree would have preferred to crawl in bed with Dawn rather than take part in this farce of a celebration, but then she would get no rest if he did. And he had his duty to keep to his men and now the villagers.
He entered the keep reluctantly yet anxious for the day to be over so that he could return to Dawn and crawl in bed with her. He ached to make love to her but the way she had paled worried him and he would not tax her strength, though he would wrap himself around her and seek the sleep he had been lacking for the last week.
He had slept well enough, broken as it was, before Dawn had entered his life. He now slept a much more solid sleep curled around her. And he missed waking beside her in the morning and making love. It was a good way to start the day.
A scowl crossed his face as soon as he caught sight of Lucerne warming herself by the large hearth. She was of fair height and slender shape, the midnight blue gown she wore hugged her narrow waist. And she held herself with a regal bearing that only one born of nobility could. He had never seen a woman as strikingly beautiful as she was; delicate features that caught the breath and eyes so blue the summer sky would be jealous. And yet surprisingly, he was not attracted to her. His groin did not tighten in anticipation and his lack of reaction puzzled him.