Page 9 of Cold Hearted
“Two rooms,” I amended to the houndsman.
Zander clicked his tongue. “You are my prisoner, little bird. That means I have to keep an eye on you. One room.”
I scoffed. Turning from the hound, I glared Zander down. “I will have you know that I am a proper lady who hasnevershared a room with a man in my life. I will have two rooms or you will—” I hissed as the cuffs bit into my wrists. I wanted these things off so I could kill this man. He was infuriating.
Zander’s gaze sharpened. “Calm down. I wasn’t going to bed you.”
“I wouldn’t bed you either!” I spat.
The houndsman was grinning, watching us argue like an old married couple, and I could feel my cheeks heating at the mere mention of bedding a man. How had this conversation taken such a turn? It was improper. My mother would be horrified.
“I have two rooms with an adjoining door. Does that work?” the houndsman asked.
“Fine!” we both snarled at the beast.
We were led across the street and then through the inn’s small entryway.I wouldn’t call it an inn, it was more like a large house with a desk in the front. A sleepy-looking houndswoman waved to us as we passed and then we were shown our adjoining rooms.
I nearly wept in relief when I saw the comfortable-looking single bed and night table with oil lamp lit. It was way below the standards of a princess and yet better than I had hoped when I realized I was stuck here until I completed my mission.
We stepped inside and then we were alone.
Zander crossed the space to the open door that adjoined our rooms and pointed to it. “This stays open. The hounds are known for their mistreatment of women. I need to be able to get to you quickly if there’s a problem.”
I frowned. He thought I would get hurt? How… chivalrous. “I can take care of myself, I assure you. So long as you remove these.” I held the cuffs up to him and walked closer so that he could unlatch them.
His eyes narrowed. “I assure you, they will fall off as soon as you stop wishing me ill.”
“And I can assureyouthat will never happen,” I growled.
His jaw ticced again, as if he were suppressing a smile, and I hated that he seemed to like how angry he made me.
“Okay, so how does this work? After I relieve myself I call you in to wipe for me?” I asked.
His cheeks went beet red, and he swallowed hard.
“And surely I will need help washing my hair and my back when I bathe,” I added, hoping to embarrass him further.
That caused his eyes to go half-lidded. “If you insist on me helping you bathe, I won’t deny a pretty lady’s request.”
Now it was me blushing. I screamed in frustration, and it turned into a growl as the cuffs bit into my wrists. “I swear on every coin in my purse, if you do not remove these now, I will light you on fire in your sleep!”
That caused him to grin fully. It was undeniable that he enjoyed ruffling my feathers.
Stepping forward, he grasped my wrists and yanked me closer to him. I stumbled over my feet, tripping as I stopped just short of smashing into his chest.
He looked into my eyes with a serious gaze. “You have made it known that you have intel that puts my lord’s life in danger. I don’t care how pretty you are, I do not take that lightly. I will reconnect these after you bathe,” he warned.
I was so flustered by the fact that he’d just called me pretty that I barely processed his words. There was a click as my hands separated. The cuffs still circled my wrists, but they weren’t attached to each other anymore. I caught Zander pocketing a small key. That’s what he must have just used to detach the horrid torture devices, so I took note of where he stored it. Perhaps the key would also release the cuffs.
I rolled my shoulders, getting blood flowing again after being in the same position for so many hours. I wanted to argue about him reconnecting them after I cleaned up, but I also wanted to be grateful for the reprieve.
“Just because I overheard some bandits talking about offing the Northern lord, I have to be treated like a criminal?” I asked with one hand on my hip.
His gaze narrowed. “Bandits? Where were they? What were they dressed like? What did they say exactly?”
I shrugged. “All things I will relay to Lord Roan in person and retrieve a nice reward for my efforts, I’m sure.”
He looked at me distrustfully, his gaze going to my coin purse hanging off my belt. “Your coin purse is fuller than my own. You don’t need the money.”
