Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 101336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
“I am a man of honor, Sky, on that you can count. I cannot promise you that I will ever grow to love you, for I am not sure I can love or even know how to love a wife. What I can promise you is that I will honor our marriage vows, be faithful to you, do my duties as a husband and treat you well. I can offer no more than that, but it is more than most arranged marriages offer.”
That he was truthful with her touched her heart and had her admitting, “I sometimes fear you.”
“You are not alone in that. Many fear me, but you have nothing to fear from me. I will never harm you. Will I never be angry with you? I imagine not. We will probably anger each other at times but you will come to know I command and grow accustomed to obeying my word. And again, I will never harm you.”
He had told her that often enough and with how he had protected her so far, she was beginning to trust his word, though she voiced another concern. “I barely know you.”
“We will grow to know each other. In the meantime, we will be friends.”
He commanded more than offered friendship, but that mattered little. He was offering her something no one ever had… to be her friend.
She responded quickly. “I would like that.”
“Then it is settled,” he said, and as if needing to seal the agreement, he kissed her lips gently, then turned away from her and went to the chest at the bottom of the bed.
Sky touched her lips faintly as she watched him rummage through the chest. His kiss had surprised her and what surprised her even more was that it had been pleasant. She saw that he pulled out a plaid and quickly wrapped it around himself. When done, he pulled another garment out of the chest and walked over to her.
“A shirt for you to wear until your garments dry.”
She took it from him and went to thank him, but different words fell from her lips. “That was my first kiss, and it was nice.” She felt the heat rise in her cheeks. She was a fool for saying that?
He had not expected to hear that from her, and he definitely did not expect to be pleased to hear it and annoyed at the same time. Though his response offered a sound reason for it. “Aye, your first kiss from me and the last kiss you will ever know will be from me since your lips will touch no others but mine.”
His edict confirmed it. They were wed and would remain wed until their dying day. Slayer was her fate whether she wanted him to be or not. So, how did she accept such a fate?
She slipped the shirt over her head, hurrying her arms through the long sleeves and when the shirt fell past her knees, she wiggled out of the blanket and let it fall to the ground. She snatched it up and folded it to place on the bed, then moved the small bench in front of the fire pit and sat. She combed her hair with her fingers, easing the wet strands loose so they would dry, giving her heart time to stop pounding and her mind from reeling. She could not believe all that had happened in the last few days, and she did not want to continue to think about it. She focused on her hair to ease her mind. At least the rainwater had chased away some of the dirt that had accumulated there while she was locked in the cell. She would give her hair a good scrubbing in the stream tomorrow along with her garments, eager to wear clean garments again. And she hoped the squirrel would visit with her and bring more friends with him.
Friends. Slayer offered friendship. She made friends easily with the animals and came to know them well. She could do the same with Slayer… be his friend and come to know him well. Maybe, just maybe, she would not fear him anymore.
That fear burst into a burning flame when he joined her in bed later.
“You may as well get used to me beside you since we will share a bed each night from this night on,” he said and discarded his plaid and got in bed with her.
The bed was a decent size for two people of normal size, but Slayer was not normal size. He was larger than most men, so the fit was snug. Sky tried to keep tucked close to the wall, but his weight, from use, had caused the stuffed mattress to sink some in the middle, and she found herself slipping toward him when she moved.
After a few times of brushing up against him, Slayer grabbed hold of her and rested her against his side. “I gave you my word. I will not touch you yet. You can rest against me without worry or fear. That way you can remain still and allow both of us to get some sleep.”