“I can assure ye, lass. Ye will remain safe in Castle Brahanne.”
The assurance was put forth with such voracity that Willow was forced to lean back in her chair. She narrowed her stare on Keegan, cocking her head as the thoughts continued to swirl like a storm in her mind.
“And ye can be so certain? Ye must have quite the relationship with the laird for ye to make such claims in his name. Either that or ye promise things that arenae in yer power to deliver.”
The corner of Keegan’s mouth lifted up, but he did everything he could to deny the smirk that threatened at the edges. Instead, he paid attention to the last bit of bread left on the table, tearing off a solid chunk and popping it in his mouth. When he at last finished, the man irritatingly took a long drink from his cup before finally speaking.
“Ye will soon see for yerself, lass, that there is little in Brahanne that doesnae go the way I’d have them. I am confident that yer safety—and the outcome of this exchange—willnae be among the rare few.”
There was no boastful bravado in his words. Keegan did not exaggerate overly, and he didn’t fidget under the weight of a lie. In all things, Willow was forced to believe him. However, what surprised her the most was that even without the evidence, hiswords alone held the power to make Willow believe Keegan to be true.
She remained silent, polishing off the last dregs of her wine. Rumbling in her head would not cease, however, and she was uncertain how much time passed when Keegan became the one to break the silence this time.
“There is plenty of travel to do come daybreak. We should get our rest before the morning.”
Willow’s stomach dropped, and she couldn’t hold Keegan’s stare as he rose from the table and made his way toward the singular bed in the chamber. It was definitely large enough to contain the two of them, but it wasn’t so big as to allow them to sleep without being right near each other.
“Ye cannae truly mean for me to share that bed with ye. It is improper. Ye arenae me husband, and I am set to wed another man.”
But it didn’t seem to matter how much Willow protested. Keegan busied himself with stripping down to his shirt and plaid and climbed into the bed, lying back and closing his eyes.
“Ye can sleep wherever ye wish, lass. I will be choosing the bed.”
Glaring at him, Willow bit her tongue, doing her best not to let the numerous insults and curses in her head spew from her lips. She wouldn’t be lying on the floor, so it appeared that she wasleft with little choice. Willow only hoped that she would quickly fall into unconsciousness so that she wouldn’t have to put up with the insufferable man a moment longer.
She was also not removing a single stitch of clothing or covering from her person. It would undoubtedly be an uncomfortable night’s rest, but that appeared to be in her future for quite some time.
Lying down, Willow turned onto her side, facing away from Keegan, and tried to force herself to sleep. Still, every movement or breath the man released, Willow was intimately aware of because of his proximity.
Minutes dragged on, and she was still wide awake. The fire in the room had died down, and Keegan lay on the only blanket on the bed. She could not retrieve the thing from under such a massive man, and the little bit that she was able to use to cover herself was not sufficient. She was freezing.
This is absurd! I cannae sleep while I am being turned into an icicle.
Willow sighed, her eyes open wide in the darkening room. It was so much blacker than when she’d laid down, the light from the candle on the table having snuffed itself out and the fire now down to a few softly glowing embers.
There must be another blanket.
Every bit of the following day would be worse if she weren’t rested, so Willow looked around the space, deciding that she needed to find something else to cover up with or go without sleep. She craned around, looking over her shoulder at Keegan. His chest rose and fell, the sound of his breaths deep and slow. He was assuredly asleep, so she would be especially quiet as she snuck from the bed to find a cover.
As she sat up, putting her hands on the edge of the bed to slowly push off the mattress, she was immediately slammed back down to the cushions, a set of legs coming over her as hands pinned her hands over her head.
“Ah!” she shrieked. “Get off!”
“Why, lass,” Keegan whispered, Willow’s eyes still not quite able to make out his face in the darkness, “ye have been so brave and strong all day.”
The tone of his deep voice was lilting, and the weight of Keegan’s body atop her sent her pulse skittering into the sky. There was little she could do to overpower or escape from him; still, she could tell that Keegan’s grip around her wrists wasn’t as hard as he could have made it.
He was warm against her chilled skin as well, the intoxicating heat melting into her with each moment.
This is the most ye’ve been touched by a man.
The thought was a betrayal and highly useless. Though as Willow tried to shake it from her mind by squirming against Keegan, all it did was draw her attention to his thick warrior’s frame once more. As more of his expression came into focus, Willow found herself unable to look away from those eyes of his.
Until he leaned forward, craning over her and whispering in her ear like he had downstairs.
“Daenae be stupid now by trying to run away.”
Fury roared through Willow’s blood, and she wanted to blame it entirely on the menacing lump who had her pinned down. And while that wasn’t entirely untrue, it would be false to claim that it was solely his actions and not her traitorous reaction to them that annoyed her.