Annis’s breath caught when the back of his hand brushed her nipple. Only then did she realize… she was naked. Her eyes shot open to see him ready to reach down for her shift.
“I will do it,” she said, stepping away from him.
Brogan grabbed her arm as gently as he could, seeing her unsteady on her feet and without a word spoken, snatched her up in his arms and carried her to the bed. He laid her on her side and ordered, “Get on your stomach.”
She hurried to do so, her cheeks growing red with embarrassment.
He hastily drew a blanket over her backside and up to her waist, leaving her back free to tend. There would be no sleep for him tonight, not with the lovely images of her naked body taunting him. She had an impressive backside, round and firm, and his fingers were itching to give it a squeeze.
He shook his head, needing the titillating images gone and grabbed the cloth off the ground that had fallen off her back. He dropped it on the bench and took a cloth from the stack on the table beside the bucket and dropped it into it. Once he rinsed it, he returned to the bed and took a look at her back. He was pleased that the welts appeared less angry than before. He hurried to gently place the cloth on her back, hoping it would relieve more of her pain.
Her sigh of relief told him it had.
He squatted down beside the bed, their faces close. “What will Una think when she returns and finds me naked?”
“That I was a gentleman and turned away while you got in bed and covered yourself.”
“With your reputation?” she asked with a laugh.
“Nay, with your impeccable reputation,” he corrected.
“My reputation is not impeccable. Since reaching the age to wed, I have always lacked a suitor. The clan believes I am far too stubborn and far too interested in things that are better left to men, to attract a man of any character or worth.”
“A rogue like me would better suit you and better understand you.” He tucked an irate curl behind her ear, but it would not stay there. It was as stubborn as her and as soft as her as well.
A yawn robbed her of words or was it the tender touch of his hand that calmed her?
“Sleep and I will see you in the morning, mo ghràdh” he said and kissed her cheek.
“We will walk the path slow,” she said, fighting to keep her eyes open.
“Sleep and rest,” he said and kissed her cheek again. She would do nothing but rest tomorrow, but that was a fight better left for the morrow. He tried once again to keep the irate strand from falling in her face, but it refused to obey. He let it be, something he felt he would be doing with Annis as well. Let her be who she was.
Brogan stoked the fire and took one more look at Annis, having no desire to leave her. Her cheeks were tinged with what was left of her deep blush when she had realized she was naked. He wanted to see her cheeks blush again, only this time for a far more pleasurable reason.
He stepped outside and Una turned, having waited as she said she would. “There is no reason for me to order you to tend her well. You will do so out of friendship.”
“Aye, my lord, I will. Annis is the first friend I ever had, and I do not want to lose her,” Una said.
“I feel the same way, Una,” he said and walked away. That the realization struck him just then surprised him. He never thought of a woman being his friend, but he shared things with Annis that he shared with Odran and Rannick, trust being one of them. And there was nothing as precious as a friend one could trust wholeheartedly.
Yet he kept a secret from her. He shook his head. This was not going to go well.
11
Annis stepped out of the dwelling and took a deep breath of the chilled air. It had been two days since the incident with Brogan’s mother and to her dismay she had spent one day mostly in bed and the other mostly in bed after attempting to return to her usual activity. Brogan had warned her to rest, but he hadn’t stopped her from doing as she pleased, though he had told her the witch would wait. She had not argued that since she had been wise enough to realize she had not healed enough to wander the path. Unfortunately, she had been too stubborn to realize that it was not wise to participate in the building going on.
Brogan had come to her rescue and with a firm arm around her waist, for much needed support, had walked her to Iver’s dwelling where he cautioned her to rest. That he had not commanded her to do so, softened her heart and made her see reason. That extra rest, she was certain, had helped and today she woke feeling like her old self.