“I will keep my word,” she said.
He did not need to know that the word she kept was to his father. The weight of her guilt for keeping the truth from him grew heavier with her every lie and she wondered how long she would be able to carry it.
“You will not go wandering off on your own nor will you leave the cottage when I am gone. I will fashion a board to go across the door so no one can enter when you are here alone and at night.” He did not bother to let her know that it was also to give him time to grab a weapon if someone should try to enter while they slept.
“You expect more men to come, don’t you?”
“Aye,” he said and turned to face her when he reached the door. “That curse brings its evil down on me, but I will not see it touch you.”
She chanced to ask, “What if you begin to care for me?”
Rannick’s response came easy. “My heart turned cold many years ago. It will never thaw.”
She did not know what made her ask, the words rushing from her before she could stop them. “What if I begin to care for you?”
“As cold as my heart is… so is my touch,” Rannick warned. “You will never warm to it and you will be only too glad to leave at spring’s first bloom, if not before then.”
The door closed behind him and Bliss went and sat on the bed, a shudder leaving her chilled and a tremble in her legs. His kiss had not been cold nor his touch. It had been gentle enough, but had it been empty? She had not noticed, but then she had been too weak to notice much of anything.
Warm or cold. It mattered not as long as she got with child. If all went well, she would be rounded nicely with child by spring. Unless, of course, the curse got her first or if Rannick was true to his word and would see any wife forced on him dead before the curse could claim her.
She shut her eyes against the dreadful thought. Had she been insane taking on this task? She had had no choice if she wanted to protect her two sisters. She might not survive, but at least they would.
Her mind was so heavy with thought that she stretched out on the bed and surrendered to sleep.
The crackle of the fire woke her, and she snuggled against the pleasant warmth wrapped around her. She did not want to leave it. It was much too comforting as was the potent scent that stirred her senses. There was something familiar about it.
Her eyes popped open against a naked, hard-muscled chest. Rannick was in bed with her, and she was cocooned in his powerful arms.
Where you need to be, she reminded herself. But not yet. She was not ready for this yet. He said himself that he would not touch her until she was fully healed. Her worry eased and she settled once again comfortably in his arms.
It was good he joined her in bed. It would allow her to get used to him there before they became intimate. She lay quietly, listening to his steady breathing and the steady beat of his heart. There was something soothing about both, a soft rhythm that calmed and a warmth that protected. She had never felt anything like it before and she cherished the peaceful moment.
She tried to drift back to sleep, but it had been too long since she had seen to her need, and she feared the morning was too long for her to wait. She did not want to wake him, but he had warned her about not going anywhere alone, though it was late and surely no one lurked about. She could hurry a short distance into the woods and be back in no time, that was if she could leave his arms without waking him. If she woke him, it would simply mean Fate did not intend her to go alone.
It was easier than she expected to slip out of bed without disturbing Rannick, though looking down as he slept, she could see a deep sleep had taken hold of him. He must have been exhausted after the strenuous day he had had. That thought had her glad she had not disturbed his sleep. She would hurry and get done, then make herself a calming brew and return to sleep beside him.
A board sat braced against the door and she wondered if he had not completed the task so he would not disturb her sleep—a caring thought. Something he would not do—care for her.
She never expected that he would care for her. She had meant to survive him and the curse as best she could. Why then did the thought that he would never have any feelings for her upset her?