Distance. He had to make sure to keep an emotional distance from her. It shouldn’t be difficult. He had felt nothing in so long… except. He could not deny the obvious. He had felt something stir deep inside him when she had freely touched his shaft and his intense climax had shocked him. Something had changed in him at that moment and had given him something he had thought long dead… hope.
Several oaths slipped out. He was a fool to feel even a speck of hope. Nothing would change and he would find no peace until he died, and the curse died with him.
“Do not be foolhardy,” he warned himself, and yet that spark of hope continued to poke at his heart.
CHAPTER 11
Rannick took Bliss’s hand after she stumbled briefly on their walk to the stream. He kept hold of it even when she remained steady on her feet, and she showed no objection. Her grip had actually grown tighter as if she did not want to let go.
How the act of simply holding her hand could bring such satisfaction, he didn’t know since he had never experienced such a simple pleasure of a woman welcoming his hand when he reached for hers and gripping it firmly as if she was overjoyed to hold it. Annoyance poked at him and warned him to let go, release her hand, stop enjoying her so much.
He could not do it. He kept his hand firm around hers.
They walked in silence and that was fine with Rannick. Having her by his side was enough for him, though he was concerned. The last two days Bliss had been more quiet than usual, not engaging him in conversation as she usually did. He wondered if she regretted committing to spending the winter with him and did not know how to tell him that she had changed her mind. He would not force her to stay. He had three women too many who had been forced by marriage agreements and had wanted no part of him.
But the thought of her leaving actually pained him and that was not good. Maybe it would be better for them both if he let her go. The stab to his chest at the thought warned him that would not be easy to do.
He almost shook his head, not understanding why he felt this way. What did it matter? She was a woman like any other woman, except she was the one woman who chose to be with him of her own free will.
Once they arrived at the stream, Bliss released his hand and walked away from him. He had given her no choice but to come with him since he had refused to leave her alone at the cottage while he fished for supper. He could see now by the way she paced anxiously that something troubled her greatly.
“Have your say, Bliss, and be done with it,” he said sharply, knowing what was to come. She would leave him, and he tried to keep his heart frozen against the hurt, but he feared it had already begun to melt.
“I cannot do this,” she said, walking toward him.
His chest tightened so hard he thought it would squeeze the life from him.
“I cannot lie to you any longer,” she said, stopping a short distance from him.
A scowl pinched his face tight. “Lie to me?”
“Aye,” she said, not able to carry the burden of her deceit any longer. “Please forgive me. I truly did not mean to hurt you.”
“What lie?” he demanded, turning his head slightly, suddenly picking up another sound not far from them.
Fearful she would lose her courage, she hurried to say, “We are wed. I am your wife.”
Rannick’s hand snatched his dagger out of its sheath as he lunged toward Bliss.
She gasped, frozen in fear, waiting for the dagger to plunge into her. Instead, he shoved her behind him as he flung his dagger, catching one of the two men in the chest, who rushed out of the woods. The other man ignored his fallen comrade and ran straight at Rannick, an axe gripped tight in his hand.
“Stay here,” Rannick ordered Bliss and charged at the man.
Bliss watched startled as Rannick pulled the second dagger he kept tucked at his waist and flung it in a perfect arc, catching the man deep in his side before he had a chance to do anything. The man dropped to the ground, blood pooling beneath him.
“Who sent you?” Rannick demanded, staring down at the man once he reached him.
The man glared at him while he struggled with the pain. “I am not the first and not the last.”
Rannick dropped down beside him and pulled the dagger from his side, causing the man to scream out in pain while Rannick calmly advised, “That’s the first wound and it won’t be the last. Now who sent you to kill me?”