Chapter 11 #2
"Aye, finally. Yer wants are the very thing I long for as well.
" Owen heard her stomach grumble and looked down to find her blushing.
What a contrasting person. The day before, she had been so quick to reply to his banter.
But here she was, blushing so much today.
He supposed he had found her in so many embarrassing situations of late, but then again, so had he the previous day.
His mind flashed to her naked body and bouncing cleavage as she jumped to get rid of the spider on her back.
Owen shook his head. No, he would not think about that.
He needed to erase all memories of her tempting body, but that was more difficult than it appeared.
"Maybe we should also consider putting some food in yer stomach as well," Owen grinned.
"We do nae want ye scaring the rats that may be in the room.
" Her eyes widened at his words and, once again, he had to stop himself from laughing.
Oh, but she was so easy to tease and it was so tempting to do so. Her reactions always made it worth it.
"Will you just stop with the jokes already?" she snapped, looking around as though something would jump on her now that he had mentioned it. Owen raised his hands in surrender, grinning at her.
"All right, so we will get two rooms close tae each other so that we—"
"What?" she cut him off suddenly. "What do you mean, two rooms? We have to share a room. I cannot sleep separately from you; we mentioned this earlier," she said to him frantically.
"Charlotte, calm down. We cannae share a room.
I ken we spoke about it, but… Even though we are pretending nae tae be, I am still a monk, and I cannae be alone with a woman in one room.
At the monastery, I did nae really have much of a choice because there was nae place else for ye tae be.
Now that we have a choice, there is nae reason for us tae share a room," he tried to reason with her calmly.
He might not be a monk in his deeds. But at heart, he was one to the best of his ability.
"I do not feel safe and I am afraid that the men will come back and you will be too far away for me to get to you.
If we lose each other, then what am I to do?
" Charlotte asked him, staring at him with pleading eyes.
"We did not expect the last attack and while we already know to be on guard, we still are not prepared for another.
You are wounded and I will not be able to defend myself against all of them alone. "
Owen sighed. He could not very well argue with her. She made valid points. Yet a part of him, the part that he had devoted to the monastery, wished he could disagree and push for separate rooms.
"All right, fine. We can share a room. Although I still think it will be a bad idea." He rolled his eyes as she smiled up at him, her eyes filled with relief. He was happy to be able to give her what she wanted. It once again made him feel a kind of way he was not used to feeling.
Owen looked around when they arrived at the inn.
He could not be too careful, especially not after what they had just been through.
Content that they were not being followed, he took her hand and walked into the inn toward the bar where the man he suspected to be the innkeeper was sitting.
Owen looked around at the people, and, happily, no one was paying them any mind.
Almost all the tables were occupied and the room was quite noisy as people laughed and joked.
Ale overflowed. He turned back to the innkeeper and found the man already staring impatiently at him.
"Aye? Do ye need anything?" he asked gruffly. Owen took in the large man in front of him. He was a muscular lowlander with dark brown hair and a matching goatee. His brows raised as Owen continued to watch him without saying a word.
"Och. Aye, we require a room for the night." The innkeeper regarded Owen quietly before turning to stare at Charlotte. Owen drew her closer to him.
"We are together," Owen said. All thoughts of his monk's duties went out the window.
He needed to watch over Charlotte. The innkeeper shrugged, clearly not interested in what their relationship was.
"We also require water for two baths, if ye please.
" He took out coins and slid them to the innkeeper, who picked them up quickly and put them in his pocket.
"Aye. My daughter will take ye tae yer room and yer water will be made available tae ye soon." He pointed at his daughter, who was returning with an empty tray. Owen nodded and waited for a ginger lass to get the keys and guide them to their room.
"Please follow me," she said and walked past them, taking them to a room upstairs. She led them to the last chamber down the hall, where she opened the door and handed the key to Owen.
"I will have yer water brought up for ye soon enough.
" And with that, she walked away, leaving them alone.
The room was simple, with a single bed, two pillows, a chair and table, and a washbasin in the corner, much like Owen's room in the monastery.
He would not have cared if it had more or less.
All he wanted was to provide a place for Charlotte to rest and for him to take care of his wound.
It did not take long for Owen to hear a knock on the door. He opened the door carefully when he saw that it was the maid and thanked her before taking the buckets of water and soap from her.
"Ye can take a bath first and I will wait outside while ye do.
When ye are done, just knock and I will come in.
" Owen went outside, closing the door behind him.
He went down to ensure no questionable people were lurking about the inn.
After taking a quick look and finding that there was no one new, he returned upstairs and sat in front of the locked door.
Owen did not know how long he was there before he heard a knock on the door.
He quickly got up and walked back in to see Charlotte freshly bathed, looking as beautiful as she had the first time he saw her.
He cleared his throat and looked at the washbasin, embarrassed that she had caught him staring at her.
"Right." He emptied the wash basin into an empty bucket and turned to face her. He could not very well ask her to go out and sit in front of the door like he had. And he doubted she would be fine with going to the bar alone. He moved the chair to the opposite end of the washbasin and tapped it.
"Why do nae ye sit here? I will try to be as quick as I can." He waited until she nodded and then he climbed into the bath to wash himself off. He hissed as the water touched his wound.
"Are you all right?" Charlotte asked with her back still turned to him.
"Aye, I am fine. I just need tae wash this off, is all.
" Owen poured water on his wound again, biting his lips when it stung once again.
He quickly cleaned it, washing it with soap to ensure it would not get infected before proceeding to wash the rest of himself.
He rinsed off and stepped out of the bath to towel dry.
Owen walked to the little mirror just above the washbasin and studied his face.
His eyes had sunk a bit, probably from the lack of sleep and pain.
He wrapped a clean cloth around his wound and put on his clothes.
"Ye can turn around now."
Charlotte looked at him. "I am sure that ye are hungry and so am I. Why dinnae we go down to the bar and get some food tae eat?"
"Yes, please." Owen smiled when she eagerly stood and walked to the door. They made their way down and walked over to one of the empty seats close to the wall, him sitting in a position that afforded him a clear view of the room. He raised his hands to signify the innkeeper's daughter over.
"We will have some pottage and bread, thank ye." She was about to leave when Charlotte spoke up.
"Please, two cups of ale and water as well. Thank you." Owen looked at her in shock, surprised that she had ordered the ale. His shock wore off into a grin.
"I see the ale has grown on ye, aye?" he grinned wider when she scoffed.
"Of course not. I just want to try this and see if it tastes like the one at the monastery or better.
" Owen looked around when she mentioned the monastery to see if anyone was paying attention to their conversation.
He tensed when he noticed the men looking in their direction but relaxed when he found out they were just staring at her as she laughed.
And who could blame them? Charlotte was a stunning woman.
As she smiled, she looked even more beautiful.
Still, Owen could not stop his jealousy as the men grinned because of her.
Owen gazed at her. She had stopped laughing and yet, the men still stared.
Owen was beginning to relax until he noticed one of them walking in their direction, his eyes fixed completely on Charlotte.
Fueled by jealousy, Owen stared the man down and placed his hands on Charlotte's, intertwining them.
"Walk away," Owen said, glaring at the man. "She's with me." Seeing how angry he looked, the main raised his hands in surrender and backed off.
And then, as a surprise even for him, swallowed by wild rage, Owen pressed his lips to hers in a soft kiss. Charlotte's eyes were wide in shock. She looked around but did not say anything, her face reddening even more than it had when he saw her naked.
Just at that moment, the innkeeper's daughter arrived with their food.