Free Laura Strickland - The Guardians of Sherwood Trilogy by Champion of Sherwood Page B

breasts to fill her face.
    “It is well.” He dared not allow her slender hands to touch him there. He could not endure it.
    He wondered what it would be like to kiss her, to touch with his mouth those lips like berries, to taste the inside of her mouth and touch her tongue with his. He itched for it, by God. Nay, that was too mild a word—he ached for it the way a man in the throes of suffocation starved for air.
    She had gone breathless, and studied her hands intently with lowered eyes. Sheer impulse made him ask, “What is between you and Scarface’s son?” He jerked his head toward where Falcon stood even now watching them.
    Linnet sighed. Her dark eyes met his at last, and held. “It is commonly believed we are to wed.”
    It hit Gareth like a blow to the gut. Everything within him rejected the idea, and he was forced to swallow words he dared not speak. He wondered if Falcon had bedded her yet, cupped those breasts in his hands as Gareth longed to do.
    “He has spoken for you?”
    “Not yet. But he will. ’Tis a thing of need.”
    “How so?”
    “That is complicated. You would not understand.”
    “Explain it to me.”
    “Why?” Again her eyes touched with his, tangible as a caress. “It matters not to you, does it?”
    It should not. Gareth found that it did, very much. “Please.”
    “Here, take and eat this, so they do not wonder why I linger so long.”
    Obedient, Gareth accepted the food she handed him. This time he let his fingers linger on hers.
    “The three of us—Falcon, Lark and I—have a duty we must assume. It has to do with the guardianship of Sherwood and the ability of our people to stand against oppression and continue our fight for justice, for all Englishmen.” She shrugged slightly. “The three of us must stand together; two of us will ultimately wed. ’Tis the way it has been, time out of mind.”
    Gareth stared. What madness was this? Talk of guardianships and duties—was not the Sheriff the King’s guardian of Sherwood? But he saw by the serious light in Linnet’s eyes she spoke in earnest, and he dared not scoff. She, at least, believed what she said. “Well, but can your sister not wed with him?” he asked with some desperation. “I should think she would wish it. I have seen the way she looks at him.”
    Linnet’s brows lifted. “Indeed? Aye, and she could wed with him. I believe he prefers me.”
    As what sane man would not? Gareth reflected upon it. The small fury did have something about her—no doubt that diminutive body housed a veritable arsenal of passion. But Linnet was grace walking.
    “Should the elder of you not wed with him?” It was how such things worked in his world. He added swiftly, “You are not the elder, are you?”
    “I am, but not by much. We are twins.”
    Again, he stared.
    She allowed herself a thin smile. “I know we do not look it, but ’tis true enough. Lark takes after Mother, I more after Pa.”
    Gareth tried to reconcile this slender creature with that mountain of a man—only their eyes were alike. He said nothing.
    “Have you family other than your uncle waiting for you in Nottingham?”
    He shook his head. “I have a brother who oversees my father’s lands, north of York, and a sister long wed and gone from home.” He thought once more of his mother, that beautiful child bride who had survived barely ten years of his life.
    Linnet asked, a bit too casually, “Have you, perhaps, a betrothed who awaits you?”
    Their eyes met. Gareth’s heart began to beat high and hard, which fairly well matched his condition below. Had things been different, he would have traded his life for one night in this woman’s bed. But things were not different. He shook his head again and changed the direction of their words.
    “How deep are we in the forest?”
    “This place lies, nearly, at its heart.”
    “But Nottingham lies south?” He turned his eyes that way.
    “Aye.” She laid her fingertips on his arm. “I pray you will not do