Free A Hero's Bargain by Rayne Forrest

before he saw her fear—and her
longing. His groin tightened again and his erection completed. Thank the gods.
    “Just
give me another shot of that wine and then go about your business so I can take
another nap. Can you do that?”
    She
stared at the embers in the hearth for several long moments and then she
reached for the wine bottle and handed it to him.
    “You may
have as much as you like. I won’t trouble you over it. Sleep is the best thing
for you right now. Tyree has agreed that I can go outside to gather plants. If
the errol is days away, I can go now without fear and without escort.”
    His angel
outside the protection of the walls alone? His skin prickled.
    “Take
someone with you, Saba. Take me with you.”
    “You? You
cannot walk yet! Don’t be foolish, Ryder.”
    “That
goes for you, too. Don’t be foolish and go alone,” he shot back at her. He
rose, cautiously straightening his back. She rushed to his side.
    “What are
you doing?” Her hands fluttered around him. He kept a firm hold on his blanket,
keeping it wrapped around him and bunched up in the front to hide a few things.
    “I’m
going over there to get in that bed. It’s yours, isn’t it?”
    Her mouth
dropped open then snapped shut. He grinned at her.
    “You’ll
want me to be there later, angel. Admit it.”
    She
squared her shoulders and glared up at him. “We made a deal. I will honor it.”
    “Honor.”
He shook his head sadly. “Angel, you shouldn’t make deals with people who have
no honor, and I’m one of them.” He took a tentative step. Then another.
    He moved
along rather easily, and he prayed it stayed that way. If it did, he’d be back
to normal in a day or two. He plopped down on the edge of the bed.
    “I’d
really like to acquire a pair of trousers, angel. I can’t run around the
village without them, can I?”
    She put
her hands on her hips. “You are…you are…”
    “What?
Annoying? I know.” He grinned at her then crooked his finger at her. “Come
here.”
    She
backed away, shaking her head. “No. I have things I must do while it’s
daylight. You should rest. Take the bed. I’ll sleep on the pallet.”
    “Remember
our little deal, angel.” He let the blanket slip just a hair. Her eyes flicked
down to his groin. She licked her lips. His cock twitched. He could have howled
with glee at the response.
    She’d
take the pallet his ass. Who was she trying to fool? Her curiosity about the
stranger in her care consumed her.
    Ryder
tossed the blanket over the foot of her bed and let her get a good look at him
as he worked his way beneath the covers. The bed was longer and softer than the
pallet, and he stretched out. It was heavenly to suddenly be comfortable—and
free of pain. Ryder tucked the covers around his hips before he looked at her.
She watched him, stared at him, actually. He met her gaze.
    “I’ll
rest, angel. I anticipate a long nigh.”

Chapter 9
     
    Saba
watched as Ryder settled in her bed. By the goodness of Wae but he was well
formed. Her belly drew strangely tight and full as her legs grew heavy and her
knees trembled. He reclined on the bed, grinning, which made her breasts ache
oddly and her nipples grow hard.
    Suddenly
off balance, she grabbed the table to keep from keeling over. This was truly
desire, then. It had to be. It was far beyond what she’d felt as a young girl
and sneaked a few cautious kisses with the boys of the village. She lifted her
chin. Let him laugh at her.
    They
needed his weapons and she meant to make sure he would give them up. That it
would not be something she suffered through shouldn’t matter. And yet if she
were truthful with herself, she was glad for the fluttering nerves in her stomach
and the ache in her belly. Letting him take her would not be a hardship.
    She
plucked her gathering basket from its hook and retrieved her hat from the
window ledge. She stole a glance at him. His eyelids snapped closed. Best she ignore
him and just go about her tasks.