Waking the Princess Read Online Free PDF

Dressed in a white collarless shirt and a dark vest and trousers, his hard torso pressed against her, and she felt the heat between them, felt herself blush.
    The room contained an armchair and a desk, and an oil lamp revealed untidy piles of papers and open books. The fireplace housed a cozy peat fire. Sir Aedan MacBride set her in the leather armchair by the hearth.
    "Oh dear, this is too much fuss. I am fine. I should go." She rose, and pain sliced through her hip and shoulder. The man guided her back down with a firm hand on her shoulder.
    "Not so fine as she claims," he said. His concern, his nearness, thrilled her—though he was a stranger, he seemed familiar somehow. His quiet, relaxed confidence was engaging.
    "I must go," she repeated. "This is your... private sitting room." Through a door, she saw a bedroom with a canopied bed, its covers folded back, pillows plumped. A dark dressing robe lay on the bed. "This is very improper."
    "It seems more improper to send you away limping," he said. "No one need know about this but us, madam." His voice was low, his glance penetrating.
    She subsided in the chair, and he dropped to one knee beside her. Firelight flowed over him, and his eyes were dark blue and sparkling.
    "Mrs. Blackburn, tell me where you are hurt, if you will."
    She relented, shrugged. "My... left shoulder."
    His hand slid up her arm, his fingers tracing over her shoulder, pressing lightly. Something elemental tumbled inside of her, and all she could do, when he asked what she felt, was nod dumbly or shake her head in silence. Withdrawing along her arm, he took her hand to move her fingers one by one.
    Something wonderful surged through her, and her hurts seemed to lessen wherever he touched her. Feeling her cheeks heat like fire, she watched the grace of his hands upon her.
    "Nothing seems broken. Where else does it hurt, madam?"
    "My... head," she whispered. "And my..." She could hardly tell him that her hip and bottom felt bruised. "My... leg."
    "I have a sister and female cousins. I've tended to twisted ankles before, without scandal, I assure you."
    She extended one foot, and he pushed her skirts above her ankle. Sliding his fingers over her foot, he flexed it gently. Shivers cascaded all through her.
    "Those slippers," he murmured, "are not suited to a medieval staircase."
    "So I learned," she answered, setting her foot down.
    "Your head hurts, too?" he asked. She nodded, and he spread his fingers in a cap over her head, probing. She nearly groaned with the sweet pleasure of it. When his arm brushed over her blouse, her breasts tingled, tightened.
    "Oh," she breathed.
    "Does something else hurt?" He glanced at her.
    "Oh, no," she murmured.
    "There is a bump on your head, but all seems well, though I am no doctor. No doubt you'll feel some bruising for a few days." He rested his hand on her shoulder.
    Even the simplest of his touches stirred a craving in her, a ready rush of desire. She had not felt like that in a long time. His warm hands, the rhythm of his breaths, the clean male smell of him, all tapped a wellspring of need in her. Sucking in a breath, she leaned away, knowing those feelings came from her lonely, aching, foolish heart.
    She began to stand. "I really must go. Thank you, sir."
    "Wait. You should not take the stairs just yet."
    Somewhat relieved, she sank into the chair again, glad for an excuse to rest, to feel his touch again.
    "You'll need to rest quietly tomorrow and use soothing packs on those aches, I think," he said.
    She shook her head. "I came here to work. I need to go out to the hillside in the morning."
    "Stubborn lass." He rose beside her. "You could have broken your neck on the stairs in the dark, wearing those cumbersome skirts and little slippers. What was so important that you took the stairs alone, and at this hour?"
    "I could not sleep, and I often study or read late at night, so I thought to fetch something from the library about the local history and geography before