Page 22 of Bold Angel
“How… how did you know where to find me?”
Ral drew rein on the horse. Apparently they had reached the hut, for he turned her into his arms. Throwing a long, booted leg up over the neck of his horse, he slid to the ground.
“Did you really think to elude me?” He grunted. “There is nowhere you could have gone that I would not have found you.” He crossed to the door, kicked it open without knocking, and set her on her feet in thesmall near-empty room. “God help you should you move an inch from this spot.”
Caryn swallowed hard. The Norman merely turned and strode back out the door, his black hair damp and clinging to the back of his thick neck, his eyes more fierce than the storm. Caryn studied her surroundings. There was naught but an empty barrel, a three-legged milking stool, and a rusted empty pail. She kicked it aside then winced as the pain shot into her icy foot.
A few minutes later, Lord Raolfe returned from caring for the horses. He carried her traveling bag, his saddlebags slung over one wide shoulder, and a load of wood which he tossed down on the earthen floor before the fire pit. Kneeling, he laid out bits of kindling then used a flint and steel to start the wood burning. In minutes he had conjured a rousing blaze and her shivers began to ease.
“There’s a blanket in my saddlebag. Get out of those wet clothes then use it to cover yourself.”
She blanched a little at the thought, but the chill she felt would not go away until she shed the wet fabric.
“I need nothing from you. I’ve a blanket of my own.” She reached for her bag, but the huge knight pulled it open and dragged out her blanket along with the sack of cold mutton and cheese.
“’Tis good you raided my kitchen. At least you will not go hungry.”
There was something in the way he saidat leastthat put her on guard. Turning away from him, she stripped off her tunic with slightly unsteady hands, then pulled her wet linen chainse off over her head. Her camise was drier than she had imagined, the thin white fabric clinging a little too snugly but providing some measure of modesty. Wrapping the blanket around her shoulders, she looked up to see the Norman’s cold gray eyes moving from her breasts to her face.
“’Twas a stupid thing you did. Do you not understand that you put yourself indanger?” He had stripped off his tunic and faced her naked to the waist in tight-fitting chausses and soft knee-high boots.
“Or I could have been safely away.”
He tensed at her words, muscle rippling across his flat stomach as he wrapped the blanket around his hips. She had never seen a man so broad of shoulder, so narrow of waist. Black curly hair roughened the enormous width of his chest and arrowed down his body until it disappeared inside the blanket. ’Twas a sight she had never thought to see yet it held her as if he had cast some sort of spell.
“I commanded you to remain in the keep.” The sound of his voice drew her eyes to his face. His thick black brows were drawn together, his lips formed a line as hard as his jaw.
“’Tis not your place to command me.”
“Is it not? I am your overlord. I am also your betrothed. These things alone speak my rights. Soon I will be your husband. Will you continue to disobey me then?”
“I will not wed you. You cannot make me.” She raised her chin, defiance clear in her face. The dark Norman’s hand clenched into a fist but he forced himself to calm.
“You do not fear me, do you?”
“Of course I do. You are a Norman after all. Why should I not?”
“’Twould seem a logical assumption. You are half my size, and a female into the bargain… yet we both know ’tis not the truth. Had you been afraid, you would not have left the castle. Since you did, then I am forced to believe that you do not fear the consequences.”
Caryn swallowed. Her fingers dug into the blanket. “Consequences, my lord?”
“Did you think there would be none?”
“The consequence of my failure is that you have found me. I deem that punishment enough.”
A muscle jerked in his cheek. “The consequence of your disobedience is the subject we discuss. You have no fear of me, so you do not heed my words. After tonight you will know exactly what it means to face my wrath.”
He jerked the empty barrel toward him, upended it and set it down, then seated his tall frame atop it. “Come here, Caryn.”
Caryn’s heart speeded up, the blood beginning to pound at her temples. She only shook her head.
“You will learn to obey me. You may start that learning now. I bid you to come here.”
Caryn backed away. “I am close enough to hear whatever it is you have to say.”
“’Tis not what I intend to say, but what I intend to do.” Caryn screamed as the huge knight came off his perch, his reflexes faster than lightning, grabbing the blanket and dragging her toward him. She spun away, leaving him holding the big square of woolen, anger distorting his face.
“This will only go the harder should you continue your defiance.”
