Free The Warrior's Touch by Michelle Willingham Page B

easier to turn rocks into rain. They believe what they want to believe.’
    ‘Show them the truth.’
    ‘Connor, I cannot hold them down and force them to accept my care.’
    He raised an eyebrow. ‘You’re quite good at holding a man down and forcing him, I’d say.’ The reference to their pottage war returned a smile to her face.
    Connor sat down upon one of the pallets, the dry corn husks rustling beneath him. Aileen cleared away their wooden bowls, straightening the hut. It was as if he made her nervous. The more he dwelled upon it, the more he believed he’d done something to offend her.
    Long moments passed, and Aileen swept the floor, behaving as though he weren’t there. Unused to being ignored, Connor stood. ‘Is there aught I can do to help?’
    ‘You can rest.’
    ‘I am not a weakling, Aileen.’
    The closer he drew to her, the more anxious she behaved. Women were not usually afraid of him. He came up behind her. The strong fragrance of rosemary clung to her hands while she stripped the needles free of the plant. Lightly, he touched his bandaged hands to her shoulders. ‘Are you afraid of me?’
    She expelled a half-laugh. ‘Do not be foolish. You could not harm me if you wanted to.’
    ‘Then why are you shaking?’
    ‘I am not.’ Aileen set aside the rosemary. Connor used his broken hand to turn her toward him. Her river-green eyes stood out in a fragile countenance. He wondered what it would be like to unravel the rest of her thick braid and let the wild curls spill down her back. Better yet, to thread his hands through the softness and to kiss her lips.
    A strange tension gripped him when he realised he could not even move his fingers, much less use them to touch a woman. And this woman clearly did not want him.
    He admitted it was a first for him. Most women laughed, enjoying his teasing. But Aileen kept him at a distance, offering nothing more than a healer’s relationship with her patient.
    ‘We were friends once,’ he offered.
    Her mouth tilted in a false smile. ‘Not truly, Connor. I helped your dog, but that was all. You had eyes only for Lianna.’
    Sadness coated her voice, along with the tinge of wistfulness. He hadn’t seen Lianna in nearly seven years. Truth to tell, he had not thought of her since he’d arrived.
    His patience waned at Aileen’s refusal to accept his friendship. Connor moved away and used an elbow to push the door open. ‘I shall see you at the noon meal.’
    ‘Where are you going?’
    ‘Out to walk in the fields.’ The door clattered shut behind him, and as he trudged along the familiar path, his frustration expanded with each step. He needed to get away from the enclosed spaces, to stretch his endurance.
    He had not reached the boundary of her land when he heard her call out to him, ‘Connor, wait.’
    Aileen strode toward him. She wiped her hands on her skirts. ‘I spoke in haste. Do not tire yourself too quickly.’
    ‘And how will sitting in a hut help me grow stronger?’ The idea of remaining indoors upon a pallet was maddening. He moved towards her until she was forced to look up into his face.
    Her eyes held uncertainty, her mouth frowning. A moment later, she softened with a new idea. ‘I must tend my garden today. You can sit out of doors if you wish.’
    ‘Might I?’ She was behaving as though he were helpless, a man who would collapse if he so much as took a few tottering steps. Yet he had gone into battle many times, leading raids against other tribes and defending their lands from the Norman invaders. ‘No, thank you.’
    ‘I want a horse,’ she said suddenly.
    ‘What?’ Her sudden change in subject confused him. He thought of the gelding his brothers had left behind.
    ‘Not yours,’ she said hastily. ‘You’ll need that one to return. But I’d like a horse of my own.’
    He stared, uncomprehending.
    ‘You asked what I wanted in return for keeping you. I’d like a horse.’
    If she had asked for a warrior’s ransom, he’d