Sword for His Lady

Read Sword for His Lady for Free Online

Book: Read Sword for His Lady for Free Online
Authors: Mary Wine
in the keep. This is my home.”
    He frowned but climbed another step to stand on even ground with her. Isabel lifted her chin trying to maintain eye contact.
    â€œI need to fully assess this structure, and I plan to begin doing it now. You may stand aside or I shall remove you from my path. The choice is yours. Yet lifting you might speed along our introduction, so perhaps it is best.”
    â€œI said nay.” She stamped her foot because she didn’t know what else to do. Her temper flared with a need to argue. She didn’t want him to think she was impressed by his size.
    She should have lowered herself and gracefully glided out of the doorway. It was the only response the code of chivalry afforded her, but she couldn’t force herself to do it. She didn’t feel in control of her emotions; they were scattering like autumn leaves. Her heart accelerated. He was pressing closer, watching her, gauging her reactions to him. She’d never felt so exposed. Never felt like any man took so much notice of her. He reached for her, his expression full of promise.
    â€œNo one enters this keep without bathing.” She spat the words out in a rush and had to pull in a deep breath because her lungs burned. Relief flowed through her, for she had found a valid argument to use.
    The baron’s expression didn’t change, but he made a sound that betrayed his irritation. His face was a hard mask that didn’t tell her what he was thinking. His hands were clenched around his wide leather belt, his knuckles turning white. She was trapped in the doorway. Retreating inside the keep was her only option.
    â€œTake yourself off to the bathhouse, my lord baron.” She was brazen.
    His eyes narrowed as her stern words hit him. He suddenly grunted, amusement returning to his eyes. “Very well, lady, since you wish to offer me your hospitality, I accept.”
    She stared at him, uncertain of the flicker burning in his dark eyes. This wasn’t a man who knew defeat, and the muscles in her neck tightened when his lips twitched into a smug grin once again.
    An expression that was full of victory.
    â€œI shall enjoy having you bathe me, Isabel. It is certainly a good place for us to begin to learn more about one another.” A gleam appeared in his eyes that sent a shiver down her body. “You will certainly learn more about my…ability to pleasure you once we are wed.”
    â€œI did not offer to bathe you myself,” she said in a horrified whisper.
    He stepped closer, capturing her wrist in a grip that surprised her with its gentleness. Instead, she felt their connection, so much that she couldn’t form a single sensible thought. Logic had always offered her salvation in the past. Before Ramon de Segrave. But now it crumbled away, leaving her at his mercy.
    And the mercy of her own traitorous flesh.
    â€œYou claim you are no maiden, so it is only customary for you to attend me since you are the lady of this keep.” His voice lowered. “Or perhaps you would prefer not to act as a lady. In such a case…I will be most pleased to dispense with ceremony.”
    He tugged her forward. She put up her hands and pressed against his chest. His mail tunic was hard but she shivered as though her palms rested on his flesh.
    His features changed, becoming more sensual. When his eyes met hers again, there was a spark in them that sent a twist of excitement through her belly.
    â€œI admit, sweet Isabel, I find the idea of dispensing with the church’s dictates on civilized behavior rather fitting when it comes to your argument against marriage. I will be most happy to prove my worth to you.”
    Her eyes widened and her mouth went dry. For a moment, she was torn. Something inside her leaped toward the promise of sampling forbidden things. Those whispers she’d heard in the dark shadows where lovers met, the ones she’d always been too conscious of her duty to venture

Similar Books

Kiss the Girls

James Patterson

After Glow

Jayne Castle

HOWLERS

Kent Harrington

Some Like It Hawk

Donna Andrews

Commodity

Shay Savage

Spook Country

William Gibson

The Divided Family

Wanda E. Brunstetter