Page 35 of Bound to a Warrior
“Chivalry and honesty, you will sweep me off my feet if I’m not careful,” she said with a smiling laugh.
“Another challenge, I am sure to win,” he declared confidently.
A heavy rustle of leaves sounded, as if someone approached and they both swerved around, Duncan’s hand quickly moving to the hilt of his sword.
Relief flooded Mercy when she caught sight of two squirrels tumbling playfully along the ground, then scurrying up a tree one in pursuit of the other.
“I will be grateful for a reprieve from this constant worry,” she said, though she knew it would be short-lived. Soldiers would continue to search for her until the king’s edict was carried out…until she was dead.
“You will have it once we reach my home. A good meal, a bath, fresh clothes—”
“Then why are we lingering?” she asked with a wide smile. “Let’s get moving.”
He took hold of her hand but made no move to leave.
She waited, knowing he had something important to say to her.
“Soon we will be in an area that provides little shelter.”
“Then it will be the same for the soldiers.”
“Aye, it will and more of a chance we’ll face battle,” he said.
“I’ll be ready.” She nodded, though fear crept slowly along her spine.
“Then we forge ahead,” he said and kept hold of her hand as they once again resumed their journey.
Night seemed to fall more quickly, but then they had walked longer than usual. And after a quick and light meal, since food dwindled, they settled to sleep. However, as exhausted as Duncan was, sleep eluded him. Thoughts stampeded through his mind like a herd of cattle, not sure where they were headed, knowing only they needed to keep going. Like a herd that would eventually be sorted, so would his musing, though not so easily. Some thoughts had easy solutions, others more difficult, and one of them was Mercy.
He didn’t know how in less than a week a single woman could so change his life. He had always been focused on his mission. All of them had—he, Trey, Bryce, and Reeve had lived and breathed it since they were young. Nothing would prevent them from seeing it through, nothing would stand in their way, particularly a woman…or so they had agreed.
So how had he allowed this wisp of a woman asleep in his arms to sneak so close to his heart? His mind warned him that once free of her he had to let her go, forget her and focus on what was important, but his heart responded differently. It twisted and wrenched in pain whenever he thought about being separated from her.
He actually feared he was falling in love with Mercy and he reminded himself that now was not the time. But no matter how many times he warned himself against such thoughts, they crept right back and insinuated themselves even deeper in his mind and heart.
Worst of all he feared what would happen if he made love to her. He feared he would never want to stop. He couldn’t even say for sure what it was that attracted him. She was a beauty, a lovely body, a good mind, strong and brave for sure, and yet those attributes weren’t what made her so damn appealing. He believed it might have been when she had jumped off the cliff with him, knowing she couldn’t swim. Not for one moment had she doubted that he could save her, not for one moment had she hesitated in believing in him. And he had never known such undiluted trust from any woman he had ever been with, and more so, that trust had remained strong and fixed in those wild blue eyes of hers. He saw it there every time he looked at her, even in the worst of circumstances, it had been there. She believed him, come pain or gain, she believed in him and the sense of pleasure it gave him was indescribable.
Did love spark to life that way?
Love.
It kept creeping into his thoughts until he had no choice but to consider it, until he fully accepted the possibility that he could be falling in love with Mercy.
He didn’t need another complication in his life, not now, but then he knew love didn’t wait for the perfect time or place. But he also knew love could complicate as it had for Trey. He remembered his friend’s suffering over the pain of losing the woman he loved. He and the others had suffered along with him. The worst part being that Trey hadn’t been able to protect her, she had been ripped away from him. Never again would he hold her hand, kiss her, touch her, love her.
The thought of never seeing Mercy again so overwhelmed Duncan that he tightened his arms around her, as if by holding her close she would forever remain by his side. But Trey had done the same with the woman he loved, and still he had lost her.
Duncan wondered then if love was worth it. If loving someone left you with such pain, such heartache, was there any point in loving at all? He found no answers to his questions.
So what wisdom then had he gained from his musings?
That he had yet given love a chance. Love would come in its own good time, in its own way, and nothing would stop it. If he battled it, he would surely taste defeat and possibly in more ways than one.
Besides, if love was introducing itself, then he should enjoy the introduction and he looked forward to getting to know it better. Time was the only sensible weapon when it came to love, so therefore, he and Mercy would need more time together.
He almost laughed, thinking that he should simply keep her chained to him, but that would solve nothing. They needed to be free to make sense of what was going on between them. If it was love, there would be no denying it, thus the outcome would see to itself.
Once again he saw that his decision to have Mercy make her home with his people had been a wise one. He yawned. Reaching good solutions always did that to him, made him sleep better.
