Chapter Four #4
He was very, very close to her, gazing down into her sweet face. “Why not?”
She sighed, trying to glance around his big body to see if they were indeed being watched. “You saw what happened today,” she said. “My uncle’s knights might not be so forgiving if they find you with me again.”
“I am not afraid of them.”
“Aye, but I am afraid for you. They’re warring men; they would more than likely strike first and ask questions later. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you because of my foolishness.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment; he just looked at her. Then, very slowly, she felt his big fingers clasp her own. His hand was warm and strong. She gripped him in return and he lifted her hand to his lips, depositing a very soft kiss on her knuckles.
Avalyn had the same reaction she had had earlier when he had kissed both of her cheeks; lightning slammed through her and her entire body shuddered. Though she lost her breath and almost her balance, it was the most wonderful sensation she had ever experienced.
“I would take the risk,” he said quietly. “For the chance to be with you, for only a moment, I would risk the entire de Neville army.”
It was a lovely thing to say. Her heart began thumping madly against her ribs and she could not help the flush that came to her cheeks.
Though it was cold in the shadows of the White Tower, she was quite warm.
As much as she wanted to linger in that very tender moment, she knew that she could not.
Reality was an ugly thing and she’d had more of her share of it throughout her life. She hated her reality at the moment.
“I must confess something,” she said. “My aunt and uncle told me to stay away from you and I disobeyed them. Oh, my intentions were good when I returned the dress this morning and I should have let that be the end of it. But I didn’t.
I went with you to your mother’s shop and shared a wonderful morning with you.
It was the most wonderful morning I can remember. ”
“For me as well. I did not want it to end.”
“I’m sorry that it ended so abruptly, but I hope you understand it was not by my choice. I had to go, or the knights would have been quite unkind to you.”
He brought her hand to his lips again. “I know.”
She smiled, feeling the bolts run through her again, his lips on her flesh.
Some wonder of magic was working deep within her, something that Brogan could conjure up with a look or a touch.
It was thrilling and almost enough to make her forget about all else.
But she could not. If Brogan was to remain safe, she could not forget.
“My aunt and uncle punished me for disobeying them,” she murmured.
He froze, his deep blue eyes widening. “What did they do? Are you injured?”
She shook her head. “Nay, nothing like that. They would never touch me.” She sighed heavily, unsure how to tell him.
It was difficult because she did not want to lose this moment, and she knew when she told him, everything warm and wonderful that was developing would end.
“They must feel that my disobedience is some kind of rebellion, though it has nothing to do with treachery or deceit. It was simply… simply that I wanted to become better acquainted with the man who saved my life. In any case, they took swift action. Tonight, when I entered the feast, my uncle announced the betrothal of my cousin as I suspected. But he announced another betrothal as well.”
He wasn’t following her. “Whose?”
She fixed him in the eye, spitting it out before she lost her courage. “Mine.”
He didn’t react for a moment as the news sank in. Then, his expression went slack as confusion, outrage, disappointment all crossed his face in the same split second. “You?”
She nodded, lowering her gaze. She couldn’t stomach to look at him. “To Lord Charles Aubrey, a baron and great supporter of the Duke of Clarence.”
Brogan didn’t say anything for a moment. He continued to stand there, very close to her, with her hand at his lips. She could feel his hot, even breath on her flesh as the painful seconds ticked by.
“Do you know him?”
She shook her head. “Only by name and reputation.”
“Is this something you wish?”
She looked at him with a scowl. “Of course not. I have no desire to marry him. My aunt and uncle betrothed me to punish me for disobedience. I am sure it is their hope that a husband, a master, will keep me in my place.”
“They punished you because I serve the king?”
She nodded weakly. “Aye. Were you not loyal to Edward, perhaps things would be different, but I think they somehow feel our acquaintance somehow jeopardizes Clarence’s cause. They seek to ensure my loyalty, I suppose, though I’ve truly done nothing wrong.”
“Then I will go now and swear fealty to your uncle.”
She looked at him, sharply. “What?”
“I would serve the cause you stand for, so there will be no suspicion.”
She could see that he was doing it to save her from the marriage. But he simply didn’t understand. She put a soft hand on his cheek, watching his eyes close at the gentleness of her touch.
“That is very sweet,” she whispered. “But it would not matter. What is done is done.”
His eyes opened, the deep blue orbs fixing on her. “You would still marry him?”
“I do not believe I have a choice.”
He just looked at her. “Then I will go swear allegiance to this Aubrey. I will at least be able to serve you if I do.”
Her brow furrowed. “Brogan, why would you do this? You are speaking of pledges and loyalty as if we have known each other all our lives and there is something to be gained by it. I am simply a woman whose life you saved. I am not worth altering your entire existence for.”
He lowered her hand from his face. It was clear that he was struggling for words.
“You are more than that,” he rumbled. “You have brought something to me, something I do not want to lose. I know I have only known you for a few hours, but those have been the most glorious hours of my life. You have given me hope, my lady.”
“Hope for what?”
She could feel his big hands on her waist, the heat from his palms searing her skin through her surcoat.
The hands moved to her back and she was being pulled into a massive embrace.
Then the timid hold grew bolder and he pulled her against his enormous chest, wrapping his arms around her slender body.
It was like being swallowed up by a mountain of warm, musky, wonderful flesh.
She collapsed into it, relished it, the first true embrace she had ever had from a man that she was attracted to. It was enough to make her head swim.
“You give me hope that this glory you have brought to my life will last,” his big face was looming over hers, his warm breath on her face.
“My mother tried to explain it to me once. She felt this glory with my father. Each day, each step, brings you closer to it. She called it schritte der herrlichkeit.”
She was breathless with his massively overwhelming presence. “What does that mean?”
“It means the steps of glory.”
A smile crept onto her lips. She couldn’t help it.
He was holding her so closely that he was nearly folded over in half, his face very near to hers.
Avalyn reached up a timid hand, touching the weather-tanned cheek.
He smiled and the flesh folded into deep grooves, which she traced with a finger.
It ran from his cheekbone all the way to his chin.
When she finished inspecting the dimple, she focused on his eyes.
“Brogan, I do not know why I feel such attraction to you, but I do,” she whispered. “I’ve known you a scant few hours and already I feel as you do. I feel glory and I do not want to lose this.”
His response was to lower his head and very gently rub his nose against hers.
Avalyn sighed raggedly, closing her eyes at the fresh delight of the sensation.
She could feel his breath on her face, his lips just a few short inches from her own.
She found herself wishing he would claim her with those lips, those wonderful lips that had kissed her cheeks earlier and left an indelible mark.
Just as she wished it, he took a deep breath and slanted his mouth over hers, kissing her more tenderly and deeply than a man had a right to.
She responded naturally, as if she had been doing it all her life, her arms winding around his massive neck and her slender body pressed up against his.