Read Online Two Passionate Proposals by Serenity Woods - Free Book Online Page B

caught the bottom and helped him lift it
over his head.
    Free at last, Henry put his arms above his
head and stretched his torso with a sigh before leaning over the barrel to test
the water. Eleanor swallowed, seeing how the linen under-tunic clung to his
body. He was all muscle; the youth had turned into such a breathtaking man. He
smelled of fresh sweat and leather, a mature, manly smell that made her head
spin.
    She watched, suddenly frozen, as he grasped
the base of his tunic and peeled it up, lifting it over his head and dropping
it to the floor beside him with a sigh. His naked torso rippled with muscles
beneath skin tanned by the sun. Her gaze rested on the edge of a wound under
his arm, and as he turned, she realised the scar went right around his ribcage.
Instinctively, she reached out and touched it, frowning and saying, “That looks
painful.”
    “It was.” He studied her. “It is better
now. It has had three months to heal.”
    She looked up at him, realising the
relevance of the timeframe. “Towton?”
    He nodded. “Your husband did this.”
    “Geoffrey?” She looked at him in surprise. “I
did not realise he knew which end of the sword to hold.” The words were out
before she could stop them.
    Henry burst out laughing, and although she
glared at him, eventually she could not stop a rueful smile sneaking onto her
face. “I am sorry he wounded you,” she said quietly.
    “And I am sorry, for you anyway, that I
killed him.”
    Eleanor looked up into his calm and honest,
deep blue eyes, and she realised he’d meant what he said. “Do not be. It is no
great loss for me.” She looked around her and sighed. “Although I will miss
Woodford Castle.”
    “Do not worry about your future, Ella. I
will make sure you are provided for. I will not let you be destitute.”
    His words reminded her that her future lay
in his hands, and she was, ultimately, his enemy. “Thank you.” She withdrew to
the doorway. “I will leave you now so you can have your bath.”
    Before he could protest, she slipped out the
door, pulling it half shut behind her.
    Outside, she leaned against the wall,
cursing under her breath. Tears threatened to overwhelm her. What a cruel twist
of fate this was, as if Father Time taunted her with what could have been,
before he spirited her off to the next dull, tortuous phase of her life.
    From in the chamber, she heard a similar
expletive to the one she’d just uttered, which surprised her. Perhaps Henry was
as affected as she was by this chance meeting. Was he angry, or upset that this
ghost from his past had reappeared? After a moment’s hesitation, she turned and
looked through the crack in the door between the hinges.
    She caught her breath. His breeches lay in
a heap on the floor, and he stood there in all his glory, six-foot-three of
resplendent male. Her mouth went dry, and her cheeks burned. Geoffrey had
always undressed beneath the bedclothes. She’d seen him unclothed, of course;
it was difficult to remain completely covered all the time, but as she stared
at a naked Henry, she realised the reason Geoffrey may have wanted to remain
covered. Henry was a lot more…generous than her husband had been, she
thought, with some amusement and more than a little awe.
    She couldn’t believe she was prying like
this, but she couldn’t seem to drag her gaze away. He stretched, then sipped
his glass of wine before finally stepping into the tub. He lowered himself
carefully into the hot water and leaned back with a sigh.
    She should go now. There were things to do
in the kitchen, tables to be laid, food to prepare. She really should go.
    But her gaze lingered, caught by the beauty
of his muscular body like a butterfly in a net.
    *
    Henry sighed as the heat from the water
sank into his muscles, relieving the aches he’d developed under the heavy
armour. Why had he said that about providing for Eleanor? He’d meant to
reassure her, to make her feel secure and less worried about her future,