Free The Untamable Rogue by Cathy McAllister Page A

began.
    “No, I’m OK again. Go now!” she interrupted me.
    She sat down on a fallen tree trunk and waved me away. I looked at her doubtfully, torn between wanting to follow her wish and the bad feeling I had about leaving her alone.
    “Now, go. I’m fine now.”
    Sighing, I set off.
    *
    The closer I got to my goal, the more clearly I could see that someone was sitting in the grass, leaning against a tree trunk. With a sickening feeling I went a little closer. The person had not noticed me yet – the head was lowered and the brim of the brown cap was covering the person’s face. It was a man who seemed to be making a nap in the shade of the tree.
    I stopped, indecisive. What should I do now? Grandmother Aneta was expecting me to bring her the roots, but I felt a little trepidation rise within me. Who could know what sort of a man this was? He may do something to me. I looked at him, dubious. Somehow he looked familiar to me. Perhaps it was one of the Sinti from the camp. A slight hunch crept into my mind that made my heart race frantically. – Could it be Ivo? The stature fitted, and the cap hid his face and hair. I was too far away to be sure that it was not him. With weak knees I quietly went closer and paused behind a hazel-bush that came up to my chest. Now that I was only a few yards away I was fairly certain that the sleeping man was Ivo. What should I do now? I really did not want to come into contact with him now. Why did he have to take a nap right here? I felt thoroughly sick with anxiety. I began to shake and I had to kneel down so that I did not lose my balance.
    “Why are you creeping around again like a thief?” he suddenly asked. “Do you want more after all?”
    I started with shock and uttered a small cry. I had been so sure that he was asleep and had not noticed me.
    The man raised his head and pushed the cap out of his face. Yes, it was indeed Ivo looking at me in his particular, unabashed way from his black, unfathomable eyes.
    A blush of embarrassment shot into my face and I was tempted to duck down behind the hazel-bush and hide – which, of course, made no sense now. I so very much wished for a hole in which to disappear right now, so embarrassing was that recent meeting. My mouth felt unpleasantly dry and I desperately looked for the right words.
    “I … for Grandmother Aneta I’m to … roots, err I’m to fetch comfrey,” I stammered with embarrassment.
    Unconcerned Ivo looked to his side where the plants that Grandmother Aneta had described were growing plentifully.
    “So come here and fetch them – your roots,” he said derisively. “Or are you afraid that I could finish what we recently started?” There was a dangerous sparkle in his dark eyes.
    I nervously pushed a strand of my blond hair out of my face. I was behaving really foolishly. I was standing there as timid as a deer just because his presence made my heart race so much that I was afraid that he might hear it.
    ‘Pull yourself together, Graham! You’re making yourself look ridiculous. Fetch the damned roots and then leave!’
I chided myself.
    Decisively I stepped from behind the hazel-bush, walked with trembling knees to the place where the comfrey was growing and began to dig for the roots, my face completely red. I was fully aware of Ivo’s penetrating look and a tingle rose up through my body. Hopefully he could not see the state I was in. Were my nipples showing through my clothing? I felt that I was getting redder if that was even possible. I could not understand this bizarre attraction that he awakened in me. Not only was he far below my standing, he was also boorish and frightening. His entire aura signalled danger and yet I felt like a child who, in fascination, was reaching out to touch fire despite knowing that it was forbidden. Had he not shown me clearly enough that it was advisable to keep out of his way? He had taught me a lesson and yet I did not seem to have learnt anything from it. He was actually