Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 59320 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59320 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Erik cleared his throat. “We’ll be on the move soon.”
I tensed, and he continued to push the brush down. “We? Where?”
“To Saint Martin. Have you ever been there?”
“I’ve never been outside of this place. I’m still in Criolium, aren’t I?”
“Yes. Your lord’s manor.”
I paused, peering at the bubbles just inches from my nose. “I thought it would be warmer here.”
“You’re in the dungeon. I imagine this is where he kept the disobedient peasants.”
“Do you fancy I’m disobedient?”
“Not yet.” He stopped scrubbing and gently pushed me back, urging me to straighten from my hunched position. “I shall do your front now.”
I swallowed hard, my stomach in knots. “Shall you?”
He grunted in response and ran the brush down from my collarbones to the start of my breasts. I flinched first and then froze for a few beats, unsure how to react to the change, until I reluctantly relaxed and leaned back, opening up to him.
He struggled as he worked, straining to remain detached from the sight of my slick breasts, my nipples hard and rose pink. He cleared his throat. “I don’t know how long we’ll stay in Saint Martin or where we’re going next. I just want to make sure you’ll survive the journey.”
“Why?”
He paused and took his hands away from me. “Why?”
My skin felt cold without his touch, and I looked away from the intensity in his eyes. “You’re taking care of me, keeping me alive, and I can’t figure out why.”
Erik bit his lip and then slowly resumed brushing, taking extra care around my protruding collarbones. “I have a loyalty to Rolf. He wants to keep you safe.”
I looked up at him curiously. “Who is Rolf? Your chieftain?”
“Our leader, yes.”
“You answer to him. Who does he answer to? Your king?”
I could have sworn a small smile danced across his lips, but when I looked again, he was as stone-faced as ever. “Rolf answers to no one but himself.”
I nodded and fell into a silence that wrapped its heavy arms around us. My captor was right next to me, brushing my naked, weak body, and I was almost enjoying his company. There were so many things wrong with this situation, I didn’t even know where to begin.
“I thought maybe you were keeping me alive because you thought I was beautiful,” I remarked, watching the brush move up and down, wondering when it would go lower. A small part of me wanted to feel the bristles on my breasts, perhaps his strong hands on my nipples. Just to see if I’d like it. Just to see if he’d like it.
“That is also true,” he told me.
I studied his handsome face, so close to mine—the sharp planes of his cheekbones, the masculine cut of his jaw. So elegant, so noble, so cold. And yet, there was something else there, something that wavered in his eyes. It was lust, buried deep but impossible to hide.
“You’re not taking advantage of me,” I pointed out, my voice little more than a whisper.
The corner of his mouth lifted, and I knew he wasn’t all stone. “No.” He paused. “Not yet.”
A spell seemed to pass over us, locking our eyes together, filling the air with the weight of words unsaid and actions undone. Then, Erik placed the brush and soap on the ground and straightened.
“We better get you out of there before it gets too cold,” he said, gesturing to the water as he leaned down to help me out. Now that I was warm and supple, I was able to step out of the tub on my own. Erik quickly wrapped me in a few blankets, his arms circling me. I briefly closed my eyes at the contact until I felt him move away. I wavered a bit on my feet and opened my eyes to steady myself to find he was heading toward the door.
“I brought you a fresh dress a few days ago,” he said without turning around, his voice unusually tight. “I suggest you put it on. There’s still a lot of bread and water. I suggest you have those too.”
“Is there anything else you suggest?” I called after him.
He stopped at the door and then turned his head slightly to give me an unreadable glance. “I suggest you prepare yourself.”
And with that, he left the room, locking the door behind him. The sound was so final in the stone-walled chamber, making me feel strangely abandoned. I gripped my blanket tighter.
Prepare for what?
Chapter 8
Erik
The first thing Erik did after leaving Cherine’s chamber was go straight to his own quarters and pleasure himself. Feeling her soft, wet body beneath his hands had been too much for him to take, and he had come far too close to taking her right there, against her will. He knew he essentially had to do so on behalf of Rolf in order to make Cherine suitable for him. If he didn’t, and Rolf was dissatisfied with her, there was a chance Rolf would kill her on the spot, perhaps even kill Erik. He was notoriously fickle like that. Still, Erik had tried to put his past behind him, and forcing himself on women wasn’t something he wanted to be a part of anymore…though, Cherine wasn’t making it easy.