Free Forbidden Love by Maura Seger Page A

find it difficult to accuse me of violating you when you are so clearly heedless of your own behavior."
    Roanna flushed painfully. She pulled away from him as though burned, blinking rapidly to hide the sheen of tears that turned her amber eyes to glistening gems. But the effort was not in time to keep Colin from seeing how badly he had hurt her. Remorse filled him, even as he told himself he had no choice.
    With her slender throat clenched so tightly as to make speech almost impossible, Roanna just managed to murmur, "You have a strange sense of propriety, my lord, considering what passed between us when I was ill. But rest assured, I shall not risk offending you again."
    Briskly she turned from him. Her head was held high as she added, "I really should thank you for reminding me of my position here. Until you hear from my brother, I will remain in my quarters."
    Before Colin could make any response, she hurried away, her graceful stride taking her quickly from his sight
    A moment later a young boy passing the hut was startled to hear a low string of virulent oaths accompanied by the solid thump of a large fist being pounded against the wall in sheer frustration.
    Through the remainder of that day and the next, Roanna stayed in her bower. Her absence was noted by several women who brought her food and inquired with genuine concern about her well-being. Touched by such thoughtfulness, she nonetheless remained determined not to be misled again.
    Colin's cruelty had forcibly reminded her of the gulf between them. The contented sense of belonging she had felt for a too brief time was now exposed as no more than an illusion.
    Alone in her quarters, Roanna grieved for the loss of something that she sensed she would never find again in her life. She withdrew into herself just as she had during childhood when her brother's frequent travels made it impossible for him always to offer the comfort and reassurance she needed in their turbulent world. In the solitude of her soul, she found strength, but also profound loneliness.
    Matters were no better outside. Colin's regret had blossomed swiftly into outright misery. He berated himself as an unfeeling cur. Never before had he been at a loss in dealing with any woman. Holding them in genuine affection and regard as he did, he had become used to having those sentiments returned. The women he had known intimately had understood the game of love as well as he did, and played it with equal relish.
    After years of enjoyable if superficial experience, he suddenly found himself plunged into a situation he could not control. His feelings for Roanna touched a core of his being no one else had even glimpsed. The overwhelming desire she provoked was at once exhilarating and frightening.
    He was tempted to take the safest route and keep the greatest possible distance between them, but two days of that was enough to task his endurance to the utmost. Telling himself he was merely worried about her, he made his way gingerly to her bower.
    Roanna was preparing for bed. She wore a soft, almost sheer gown of pale blue that emphasized the glowing beauty of her skin. Seated on a bench near the bed, she ran a comb of carved oak through her hair, heedless of the silken purity of its lustrous strands.
    Much of her stubborn hurt had faded. But there remained a pensive sadness that all unknowingly made her appear even more poignantly lovely. When Colin knocked, she presumed it was a serving woman and only just remembered to cover herself with a cloak before opening the door. His sudden appearance, as though materializing directly from her thoughts, took her aback.
    "Oh, it's you ... I thought. . ."
    Taking note of her garb, Colin hesitated. "You are about to retire. I can speak with you tomorrow."
    "No! That is, I am not at all sleepy. If you would like to talk now, I would prefer it"
    After brooding about him for two days, she was not about to let him walk away. Still it took all her persuasion to convince him