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Authors: Katherine Allred
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was hovering anxiously in front of the last door as though urging me through.
Taking a deep breath, I silently lunged the remaining few feet and tried the handle. Hallelujah! It opened.
Keeping one eye on the end of the hall, I slid through and held the door just wide enough for Peri to follow me inside. Gently, I eased it closed, ignoring Peri’s satisfied squeak while I looked for a lock.
There! A metal latch was positioned on a pivot in the center of the door. When swung down, it would fit perfectly into a corresponding notch on the frame.
I lowered it softly and then turned to face the room. And came to a shocked halt, my gaze locked on the naked man who was frozen in the act of stepping from a tub of bathwater.
Standing before me in all his unabridged glory, mouthwatering rivulets streaming down his bare, lusciously bronzed skin, was the one man I was supposed to avoid at all costs.
Reynard du’Marr, commander of the king’s guard.
CHAPTER 4
I pressed my back against the door, thinking faster than I’d ever thought before, while he reached for a drying cloth and wrapped it low around his hips. His piercing eyes never left me.
Peri, damn her feathered hide, had somehow led me right to him, and it was now up to me to salvage the situation.
“Please, sir,” I whispered, making sure my voice was low and quivering with terror. Which wasn’t much of a stretch in my current condition. “Can you help me? I’m new to your city and men are chasing me.”
A heavy fist hit the outside of the door, making me jump for real. Without a word, Reynard stepped forward, moved me aside, and lifted the latch to pull the door open. Its heavy panels shielded me from the man who waited on the other side and gave me a great view of Reynard’s heavily muscled bicep. I was so impressed I almost forgot to be scared.
“Commander, I’m sorry to disturb you. A Bashalde girl came this way and we’re searching the rooms for her. Have you seen her?”
“Commander?” Lillith’s voice screeched in my ear. “You promised!”
“Blame Peri,” I subvocalized. “She led me here. Now shut up so I can listen.”
“What has this girl done?” Reynard’s voice was rich and deep, with a tone that implied he was used to being obeyed without question.
“She downed Furgan, and when we discovered her leaning over his body, she fled through a damaged door into the castle.”
“Furgan is dead?”
A subtle menace filled the question, and I held my breath, fear working hot sticky fingers up my spine. The man had been alive when I’d checked. If he’d since died, I didn’t know what they’d do to me. Only one thing was clear. My mission would be over before it even started. I would have failed. That prospect sent such stark terror through me that I had to fight to keep from wilting into a puddle of quivering GEP at the commander’s feet.
“No, sir. He was regaining his wits by the time the healer arrived.”
A wave of relief washed over me. Not only wouldn’t I be executed for murder, I still had a chance to complete my job.
“I see.” There was a brief hesitation. “The girl is with me. Call off the search and remain outside my door while I question her. And send someone to convey my apologies to the king. Tell him I’ve been delayed.”
“Yes, sir.”
Reynard closed the door and turned to face me, his gaze running over my body before coming to rest on my face. “Your name, girl.”
I didn’t even think about lying. Besides, I had no clue what a typical name for a Bashalde girl would be. “Echo.”
He moved to the bed where clothing was laid out and dropped the drying cloth after making sure he was facing away from me. “Did you attack Furgan?”
It took an effort to think with my attention locked on his fine backside and my stomach doing gyrations worthy of a contortionist, but I managed. Briefly, I considered telling him the man was already unconscious when I’d come across him. But if Furgan were waking up,
Taking a deep breath, I silently lunged the remaining few feet and tried the handle. Hallelujah! It opened.
Keeping one eye on the end of the hall, I slid through and held the door just wide enough for Peri to follow me inside. Gently, I eased it closed, ignoring Peri’s satisfied squeak while I looked for a lock.
There! A metal latch was positioned on a pivot in the center of the door. When swung down, it would fit perfectly into a corresponding notch on the frame.
I lowered it softly and then turned to face the room. And came to a shocked halt, my gaze locked on the naked man who was frozen in the act of stepping from a tub of bathwater.
Standing before me in all his unabridged glory, mouthwatering rivulets streaming down his bare, lusciously bronzed skin, was the one man I was supposed to avoid at all costs.
Reynard du’Marr, commander of the king’s guard.
CHAPTER 4
I pressed my back against the door, thinking faster than I’d ever thought before, while he reached for a drying cloth and wrapped it low around his hips. His piercing eyes never left me.
Peri, damn her feathered hide, had somehow led me right to him, and it was now up to me to salvage the situation.
“Please, sir,” I whispered, making sure my voice was low and quivering with terror. Which wasn’t much of a stretch in my current condition. “Can you help me? I’m new to your city and men are chasing me.”
A heavy fist hit the outside of the door, making me jump for real. Without a word, Reynard stepped forward, moved me aside, and lifted the latch to pull the door open. Its heavy panels shielded me from the man who waited on the other side and gave me a great view of Reynard’s heavily muscled bicep. I was so impressed I almost forgot to be scared.
“Commander, I’m sorry to disturb you. A Bashalde girl came this way and we’re searching the rooms for her. Have you seen her?”
“Commander?” Lillith’s voice screeched in my ear. “You promised!”
“Blame Peri,” I subvocalized. “She led me here. Now shut up so I can listen.”
“What has this girl done?” Reynard’s voice was rich and deep, with a tone that implied he was used to being obeyed without question.
“She downed Furgan, and when we discovered her leaning over his body, she fled through a damaged door into the castle.”
“Furgan is dead?”
A subtle menace filled the question, and I held my breath, fear working hot sticky fingers up my spine. The man had been alive when I’d checked. If he’d since died, I didn’t know what they’d do to me. Only one thing was clear. My mission would be over before it even started. I would have failed. That prospect sent such stark terror through me that I had to fight to keep from wilting into a puddle of quivering GEP at the commander’s feet.
“No, sir. He was regaining his wits by the time the healer arrived.”
A wave of relief washed over me. Not only wouldn’t I be executed for murder, I still had a chance to complete my job.
“I see.” There was a brief hesitation. “The girl is with me. Call off the search and remain outside my door while I question her. And send someone to convey my apologies to the king. Tell him I’ve been delayed.”
“Yes, sir.”
Reynard closed the door and turned to face me, his gaze running over my body before coming to rest on my face. “Your name, girl.”
I didn’t even think about lying. Besides, I had no clue what a typical name for a Bashalde girl would be. “Echo.”
He moved to the bed where clothing was laid out and dropped the drying cloth after making sure he was facing away from me. “Did you attack Furgan?”
It took an effort to think with my attention locked on his fine backside and my stomach doing gyrations worthy of a contortionist, but I managed. Briefly, I considered telling him the man was already unconscious when I’d come across him. But if Furgan were waking up,
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