Free Lord of War: Black Angel by Kathryn Le Veque Page A

wasn’t quite sure how to respond, but when he saw her taking a deep drink out of a fairly large tankard, he began to suspect what had happened.
    “How many of those have you had?” he asked.
    Ellowyn stopped sipping and looked at him with big eyes. “Of what?”
    He pointed at the mug. “That.”
    She stared at his pointed finger, then looked around until her gaze came to rest on the cup in her hand. “This?”
    “Aye.”
    It looked as if she was thinking very hard on the question. “I am not sure,” she said. “I may have had two or three.”
    He was coming to understand the situation. “I told them to bring you something hot to drink,” he said. “Wine, I would presume?”
    She stared into the cup as if trying to figure out what was in it. “Aye,” she said, then walked over to him and shoved it in his face. “See? There are bits of things in it.”
    He had to dodge his head quickly or risk getting hit in the nose when she tried to show him what was in the mug.  He was mostly watching her face as he spoke.
    “Things? You mean bits of spice?” he said.
    She was staring down in to the cup, her brow furrowed. She was also very close to him, in fact; their heads were nearly touching.  Brandt just watched her face, studying her long lashes and creamy skin, as she gazed into the cup.
    “Things,” she repeated as if unsure how else to describe it.  “Floating dark things. Mayhap they are bits of bugs.”
    “I doubt they are bugs.”
    That was good enough for her. She proceeded to toss her head back and drink the last bit of spiced wine, at least three big gulps worth.  She nearly toppled as she tried to set the cup down and would have fallen had Brandt not reached out a long arm to steady her.  She smiled at him when she realized he was trying to help her.  Brandt tried not to smile back but it was difficult when she was grinning so openly at him.
    “Perhaps you should go to bed,” he suggested.  “It has been a long day and we will depart at dawn.”
    Ellowyn continued to stare up at him.  Then, she reached out and grasped the hand that was steadying her, tearing her gaze away from his face to look down at his gloved hand. It was big, the glove well-used and very well made. She inspected it closely.
    “You have the biggest hand I have ever seen,” she said.  Then she sneezed on the glove, wiped away the spittle with an apologetic glance, and then proceeded to pull off the glove. She began to run her hand over his palm, inspecting the worn flesh. “Your hands are so rough. They have callouses. Is that from holding your sword?”
    In truth, Brandt was having a rather difficult time keeping his head.  There was something decidedly erotic about her running her finger all over his hand, something that made his heart race and his stomach quiver.  He was shocked at himself for his reaction to her, but not shocked enough to pull away. He rather liked the strange, alien feelings she was managing to provoke.
    “Aye,” he muttered.
    She looked up at him, smiling sweetly. “I heard tale that you were called the Black Angel,” she slurred. “Is there truth in this?”
    He lifted an eyebrow. “I suppose it depends on what side of my sword one is on.”
    “The enemy would call you this?”
    “As the right arm of Edward, the Black Prince, I suppose they had to come up with a name for me. Black Angel, Bringer of Death, has followed me around for some time.”
    She gazed up at him seriously. “But that is not true,” she said flatly. “You are kind and you are considerate. Who has said these terrible things about you? Tell me now and I will seek them out and berate them for their slander and misinformation.”
    A twinkle came to his eye. “You would champion me, then?”
    Ellowyn nodded, so forcefully that she nearly toppled over again.  He had to grab her again to keep her from falling.
    “You have been very kind to me in spite of what happened when we met,” she said, waving a careless hand