“The fools belong to you now and are yours to protect,” Sloan reminded. “And there is one more thing you must consider, though it has probably already crossed your mind.”
Cree nodded. “Why did Goddard return to attack a voiceless woman?”
~~~
Silence greeted Cree when he returned to the solar, though what did he expect, for Dawn to suddenly find her voice. He approached the chair where she sat quietly and sensing no movement he realized that she had probably fallen asleep.
He stared down at her. Her head lolled to the side and her arms were wrapped tightly around her middle as if shielding herself, though from who… him?
She was wise to fear him, most, if not all, did. He had let nothing stand in the way of his mission, making a home for him and his men and their families. And most of all gaining respect of those that had used him to further their ends. He would hold a title now and have a proper wife who would bring with her a worthy lineage.
He had refused to allow himself to care for any woman, not wanting one to get in the way and ruin his plans. He had seen too many powerful men fail for want of a woman and he had no intentions of having that happen to him. A woman was a means to an end to him. There were those women who satisfied his lusty needs and he wanted no more from them, and then there was the one who he would make his wife and who would bear his heirs. He would treat her with the respect she deserved, but he had given no thought to loving the woman he would wed.
And this woman? His eyes had remained on Dawn. She was no beauty, though there was something about her that caught his eye and would not let go. Every time he looked upon her his breath would catch and he’d find himself getting aroused. No woman had ever affected him that way and he wondered why this one did.
His anger spewed through him like raging fire at the thought that another man had dared to touch her, dared to take her innocence, dared to rob him of what was his. She was his property, she belonged to him and her innocence was his and his alone to take, if he so chose to take it.
The thought of making her his fired his loins and the consequences of such action did little to cool him.
He shook his head. Never had he debated a matter with himself. He always knew what had to be done, what must be done, whether difficult or not and he saw that it was done. And he knew what must be done if she was to be protected.
He leaned down and gently scooped her up in his arms. She stirred and opened her eyes.
“Sleep,” he ordered sternly and she obeyed resting her head on his shoulder as he carried her out of the room.
Chapter Nineteen
Dawn woke with a start, blinking her eyes rapidly to bring herself fully awake for surely she was dreaming. The scent was strong in her nostrils; earth, pine and something else she could not quite grasp. She breathed deeply of the familiar scent trying to recognize it but for some reason it eluded her. She inhaled as if she could not get enough of it, as if it soothed her, and she wanted to linger in its comfort.
Cree.
The scent was all Cree, but how could that be?
Her eyes spread wide and she realized that it was no dream and that she was in a rather large room in a bed that could easily sleep three people. She hastened out of it relieved to see that she was fully clothed, though her boots had been removed.
She spun around growing dizzy at the size of the room. It was larger than her cottage. A fire burned brightly in the stone fireplace. A narrow table sat against one wall and on top sat a small chest, rolled parchments and several candles, though none were lit. Larger chests sat about the room as did two chairs and two tables, the smaller one tucked close to the side of the bed, unlit candles on top as well.
It did not take Dawn long to realize that she was in Cree’s bed chamber and she hurried to put her boots on, grab her cloak draped over the one chair and head for the door slipping quietly out of the room after peering out in the narrow passageway to see that no one was about.
She pulled her cloak up over her head and carefully made her way down the stone stairs listening to make certain no one was headed her way. When she reached the Great Hall she was relieved to see that only a couple of servants lingered about and so she hurried through and once outside she released the breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. She also noticed from the activity in the village that it was late afternoon, close to dusk. She had slept much longer than she had thought, though her nap had given her strength and so she ran to her cottage seeking its solitude and its safety or was there any place that would be safe for her now?