replied.
“Well, I’m not a slave. If you want to make a request, say
please and tell me why,” she said, stalling for time.
“Your impertinence is staggering.” But if Kered was angry,
his soft and seductive tone did not betray it.
“And you’re a cur, through and through,” Maggie returned.
“Come then, please, and tend my hair.”
Maggie stared in disbelief. He had said please! Her palms
prickled with sweat. Rising slowly, she walked around the fire. Sinking to her
knees behind him, she considered the tangled mass of his long hair. The fire
lit it with streaks of gold. Heat crept up her face. When she touched his hair,
he shivered.
It took what seemed like forever to remove the tangles. His
hair fell soft and silky, thick and heavy over his shoulders. When it was done,
she lingered, stroking the brush through the long brown waves.
“Enough.” His voice seemed hoarse, almost rough. Maggie
snatched back her hands.
“Perhaps you could tie it back?” she finally said into the
silence. Maggie looked at the objects he’d spilled out on the stone floor when
he’d taken out the brush. One of them was the game gun. She shoved it deep into
his pack, then picked up a strip of supple leather, like the thongs he’d used
to lace her boots. “What about this?”
Kered turned and looked over his shoulder. He grunted assent
and then went back to his contemplation of the flames. Maggie used the brush to
stroke his hair into a thick gathering at his nape, wound it with the leather
thong, and tied it. She moved back to her place on the opposite side of the
fire. The air practically crackled with something she didn’t recognize. He
exuded a power and warmth that caught at her. It had taken all her self-control
not to let her hands drift to his shoulders, his neck, and his arms. Brushing
his hair had been an intimate act that had set her blood rushing. Her lips felt
puffy, her breasts tender against the soft knit dress.
“We should sleep.” Kered stuffed the brush and his other
things into his pack.
“Okay.” Maggie looked about and sniffed the dry, stale air.
“How long do you think it will take to reach our destination?”
“Months,” he said.
“Months?” she repeated dumbly. “I can’t be gone months. My
family will be sick with worry.”
“Nevertheless, the quest could last for months.” He added
several logs to the fire. “Even longer if we miss our sleep and are weary.”
Maggie bit her lip. The thought of months away from home
churned her stomach.
“There is no going back, only forward.”
His words were ominous. She swallowed hard.
“We will rest here.” Kered indicated the cloak he’d spread
by the fire. He stretched out on his side and propped his head on one hand.
Maggie looked him over. In other circumstances, she would
never cross that small space and lie down beside him, but her head ached. She
rubbed her hands along her chilled arms to warm them. Even if she could find a
way to be sent back home, that home was now months away. Kered looked warm and
safe—comforting. She glanced over her shoulder. “Are there any animals in
here?”
“Perhaps a snake or two,” he said, the pitch of his voice
dropping.
“Snakes?” That did it. She approached warily and sat next to
him. He swept her down and pulled her against his body.
She lay stiff and frightened as if someone had suddenly
starched her. She’d never sleep, she thought, with his body so close, his
breath warming her cheek.
Kered smoothed his hand along Maggie’s bare arm, raising
goose bumps and causing Maggie to shake.
“I will not hurt you,” he murmured against her ear. His lips
pressed there briefly and his fingers stroked her skin, exploring the raised
bumps as if they fascinated him.
Beware what you wish for! Maggie squeezed her eyes
closed. She remembered many nights wasted wishing for a night with a man such
as this. Her blood rushed and her heart thumped uncomfortably in her chest.
Kered encircled her
“Well, I’m not a slave. If you want to make a request, say
please and tell me why,” she said, stalling for time.
“Your impertinence is staggering.” But if Kered was angry,
his soft and seductive tone did not betray it.
“And you’re a cur, through and through,” Maggie returned.
“Come then, please, and tend my hair.”
Maggie stared in disbelief. He had said please! Her palms
prickled with sweat. Rising slowly, she walked around the fire. Sinking to her
knees behind him, she considered the tangled mass of his long hair. The fire
lit it with streaks of gold. Heat crept up her face. When she touched his hair,
he shivered.
It took what seemed like forever to remove the tangles. His
hair fell soft and silky, thick and heavy over his shoulders. When it was done,
she lingered, stroking the brush through the long brown waves.
“Enough.” His voice seemed hoarse, almost rough. Maggie
snatched back her hands.
“Perhaps you could tie it back?” she finally said into the
silence. Maggie looked at the objects he’d spilled out on the stone floor when
he’d taken out the brush. One of them was the game gun. She shoved it deep into
his pack, then picked up a strip of supple leather, like the thongs he’d used
to lace her boots. “What about this?”
Kered turned and looked over his shoulder. He grunted assent
and then went back to his contemplation of the flames. Maggie used the brush to
stroke his hair into a thick gathering at his nape, wound it with the leather
thong, and tied it. She moved back to her place on the opposite side of the
fire. The air practically crackled with something she didn’t recognize. He
exuded a power and warmth that caught at her. It had taken all her self-control
not to let her hands drift to his shoulders, his neck, and his arms. Brushing
his hair had been an intimate act that had set her blood rushing. Her lips felt
puffy, her breasts tender against the soft knit dress.
“We should sleep.” Kered stuffed the brush and his other
things into his pack.
“Okay.” Maggie looked about and sniffed the dry, stale air.
“How long do you think it will take to reach our destination?”
“Months,” he said.
“Months?” she repeated dumbly. “I can’t be gone months. My
family will be sick with worry.”
“Nevertheless, the quest could last for months.” He added
several logs to the fire. “Even longer if we miss our sleep and are weary.”
Maggie bit her lip. The thought of months away from home
churned her stomach.
“There is no going back, only forward.”
His words were ominous. She swallowed hard.
“We will rest here.” Kered indicated the cloak he’d spread
by the fire. He stretched out on his side and propped his head on one hand.
Maggie looked him over. In other circumstances, she would
never cross that small space and lie down beside him, but her head ached. She
rubbed her hands along her chilled arms to warm them. Even if she could find a
way to be sent back home, that home was now months away. Kered looked warm and
safe—comforting. She glanced over her shoulder. “Are there any animals in
here?”
“Perhaps a snake or two,” he said, the pitch of his voice
dropping.
“Snakes?” That did it. She approached warily and sat next to
him. He swept her down and pulled her against his body.
She lay stiff and frightened as if someone had suddenly
starched her. She’d never sleep, she thought, with his body so close, his
breath warming her cheek.
Kered smoothed his hand along Maggie’s bare arm, raising
goose bumps and causing Maggie to shake.
“I will not hurt you,” he murmured against her ear. His lips
pressed there briefly and his fingers stroked her skin, exploring the raised
bumps as if they fascinated him.
Beware what you wish for! Maggie squeezed her eyes
closed. She remembered many nights wasted wishing for a night with a man such
as this. Her blood rushed and her heart thumped uncomfortably in her chest.
Kered encircled her
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