Free A Knight's Reward by Catherine Kean Page A

long ago.
    Rebellion and desire warred inside her. He had no right to imprison her in such a manner. However, the lovesick, lonely part of her yearned to surrender to his demand. To draw strength from his strength and risk confiding in him. To know that for one, brief moment, she didn’t have to shoulder all of her burdens alone.
    “Go on, Gisela,” Dominic said, his voice as soft as the luxurious silk Varden Crenardieu had delivered to her days ago, now hidden in the storage area under her shop’s floor. “We are alone,” Dominic went on. “No one else will know what you tell me.”
    Warmth from his legs seeped through her gown’s thin wool. How easy ’twould be to lean forward, slide her arms around his neck, and melt against him.
    Once she confided in him, though, she could not take the words back. They would flood out, as blood had gushed from her breast and stained her bodice crimson. He would know, then, how very different she was from the woman he’d loved years ago.
    He might be driven to confront Ryle . . . and then Dominic would die.
    Gisela’s heart ached. She mentally stitched together her resolve and leveled him a cool look. “Your wounds are more important right now than what I would tell you.”
    He smiled. The sly twist of his mouth suggested she wouldn’t deter him that easily. “My wounds will still be there after you have confided in me.”
    She almost laughed at the stubborn tilt of his jaw. Setting her hands on her hips, she frowned at him. “Why do you insist on being a difficult patient? You are in my home, Dominic. I vow you owe me an explanation. Most of all, why you were in disguise.”
    He chuckled. “What a tough little daisy you have become.”
    Out of necessity , her mind answered, for Ewan . She flattened her lips to smother the words and reached over to snatch up a linen bandage. Dangling it in front of him, she said, “’Twould be easiest to bind your ribs if you stand.”
    He squinted up at her for a long moment. “As you command, Sweet Daisy. While you tend me, I will confide my secrets to you. Then, you will share yours with me.”
    ***
    Dominic pushed himself up from the bench, gritting his teeth against the sensation of daggers piercing his ribs. Gisela’s scent still lingered in the space she’d vacated the instant he’d eased his legs apart. She’d shot away like an arrow fired from a bow.
    Now, she stood a short distance from him. She twisted the bandage around her slender fingers, fashioning the length of cloth to her purpose before she neared him again. Gnawing the lush curve of her bottom lip, she examined his ribs before closing her eyes on a little sigh. A sound of reluctance.
    Disappointment dulled the awareness still sparking in his veins. Had she changed her mind about treating him because he’d entrapped her?
    Before he could ask, she quickly stepped forward, extended her arms on either side of his torso, and stretched the bandage out behind him. For the barest moment, her breasts brushed his chest before she drew back, binding the cloth around his rib cage.
    He inhaled sharply, stunned by the sensations elicited by that brief contact.
    She paused. “Did I hurt you?”
    Aye, you are causing me tremendous torment .
    “Nay, Daisy. I am deciding where, exactly, I should begin my tale.”
    Gisela stood so close, he could dip his chin and kiss the crown of her head. Her tresses shimmered like the purest gold, while her fragrance drifted to him, delicate, yet . . . captivating. Her essence, as sweet as wildflower nectar, tantalized him in a way no other woman’s had, before or after her. “It sounds very important,” she murmured, slipping more of the linen around his torso. When her warm fingertips brushed his spine, he shuddered.
    “Indeed, ’tis,” he said, clearing the huskiness from his voice. “I would not have been in disguise otherwise.”
    Her hand stilled. “Dominic, were you involved in some kind of misdeed?”
    Nay, but I may be, if you