Carolyne Cathey Read Online Free PDF Page B

from others."
    His eyes
widened.  "Is that so?  'Twas not my aid you thanked me for at the village
green?"  He turned on his stool, lifted a steamy bucket, then poured water
into the tub.
    Her face burned
again.  Did he think her ungrateful? 
    As Eleanor
watched him add more water she sifted through the strange emotions, emotions
new to her since she had left the convent.  Fear, she recognized, but Eleanor
couldn't name the ache that had stabbed her chest when Beth had smiled on her
master, or the hot ache that still churned within her body.  And she didn't
know what the nameless ache needed to become satisfied.
    Water gurgled
from another bucket as Lord Kyle filled the tub.
    A different
desire throbbed in Eleanor as she admired his graceful strength.  Her fingers
begged to tangle in his mussed hair that surely had been spun from rays of the
summer sun.  Her hands ached to stroke the muscles of his back and shoulders
that, although hidden beneath layers of cloth, bulged and flexed as he lifted
each bucket.  At the convent she had felt none of these stirrings.  What hold
did he have over her?  And why did her thigh still burn?
    "Sire?" 
    He turned his
wondrous face upon her, and her heart tripped.  Why did the mere sight of him
unravel her senses?  What power did this man possess to snatch her composure
and control her thoughts, her feelings? 
    "Are you a
wizard?"  Her voice came out too whispery and betrayed her dilemma.
    Lord Kyle cocked
his head, his brow furrowed.  "Wizard?"
    "Aye. 
Although I see both your hands, my flesh still feels your touch."
    A smile lit his
face.  "Are you always so truthful?"
    "'Tis the
way I have been taught."
    Her lord seemed
pleased by her confession.  He placed his forearms on his thighs and leaned
toward her, an expectant look in his sapphire eyes.  "Perhaps you feel
unbalanced?  Perhaps to spare you such discomfort, I should stroke a path up
your other leg to even the sensation."
    Eleanor let out a
nervous laugh.  "Nay, my lord.  My heart could not handle the
exploration."
    "Nay, lass. 
'Twill leap with the probe."  He reached for her skirt.
    Did he test her? 
Yet, she could not sit there and let him do his will.  Eleanor rammed her fists
between her legs.
    Lord Kyle gripped
her hem.  "Defiance, again?"  He smiled.  "I hoped you would. 
'Tis sensuous retaliation beneath your skirt.  Besides, woman, 'tis time for
your bath."
    Alarmed, Eleanor
pushed with her heels to scoot the stool away, but one wooden leg caught.  She
flailed her arms as she fell backwards, but Lord Kyle leapt, then ensnared her
and pressed her to his body as he came to rest upon one knee, her legs draped
over his thigh.  Her traitorous body tingled from the pressure of his touch,
from the nearness of his mouth.
    "That you're
anxious stirs my passion, wench.  You tempt me apurpose to mate with you."
    "Hah!  Only
when the sun ceases to shine!"
    The room darkened
as if a hungry cloud swallowed the mist-covered daystar.  Thunder rolled as if
laughing at her.
    The corners of
Lord Kyle's eyes crinkled with his amusement.  "'Even the heavens betray
you and declare your fate.  We'll start with a kiss." 
    Eleanor held her
breath with nervous expectation as he leaned toward her, breath hot, lips
parted.
    A clank sounded
from the doorway, then the shuffle of feet across rushes. 
    "Me is much
too slow, milord.  Me old bones complain with... Saint's preserve us!"  A
wrinkle-faced old woman in servant's garb peered over Lord Kyle's shoulder, a
basket of clay jars on one arm.  "Did the poor lass swoon?"  
    Lord Kyle
groaned.  "Nurse Kincaid.  How timely."  He set Eleanor upon the
rushes as if in resignation, but remained beside her on one knee.
    Eleanor didn't
know whether to feel relief or disappointment.  Then she remembered Lord Kyle's
intentions.  "Nurse Kincaid, would you be so kind as to tend me in my
bath?  'Twill be my first experience with so much water."
    Lord Kyle opened
his