dropped the aqua ardens he had been distilling for weeks. He cursed when the glass vial shattered upon the oak floor, ruining all his work and proving how much the girl upstairs had disrupted his once well-ordered life.
Anger overtook the guilt, but he did not know whether to focus the emotion on his brother, himself, or his enchanting prisoner.
He was most angry with himself, he decided, picking up the shards of glass with a trembling hand. Deep down, he feared an ulterior motive for every kindness he had shown her. The fierce desire to win a kiss, or even more, had clamored within him since he had first taken her out of the dungeon.
If he acted upon those desires, it would make him no better than Sa’id. And he would rather throw himself off the ramparts and crash upon the rocks below than destroy that lovely girl in the irreparable way he himself had been damaged.
Tossing the glass into the trash barrel, he headed back up the stairs. Renewed guilt assailed him when he entered his bedchamber and found her bound arms twisted in an awkward angle as she attempted to sleep on her side.
What a brute he was, to have left her this way.
If only there was a way to make it up to her…
He gazed down at her pale face, noticing again how battered and bruised the journey from the coast to the castle had left her.
She met his gaze, and he saw that all her earlier fire had evaporated. She looked weary in both heart and soul. Despite his tisane, she must ache all over, and her strange garment had chafed her pale skin in dozens of places. A hot soak would lift her spirits immensely, and ‘twas the one gift he could give her.
Leaning forward, he unbound her hands, then slid one arm under her knees and the other behind her shoulders. “Put your arms around my neck, my lady. I have a pleasant surprise for you.”
He pushed to his feet, holding her tight against him. A chill still clung to her skin and dried saltwater had made her odd clothing stiff and scratchy.
“Where are you taking me?” Sudden nervousness roughened her voice as he moved away from the bed and made for the door.
“Be calm. I will not harm you.” Grabbing her light stick from his desk, he handed it to her so she could light their way. Once he had descended to the ground level of the tower, he strode to the back wall of his workroom.
He set her down and slid aside the cabinet, revealing the hidden doorway set into the wall. The staircase to the cavern yawned before them, dark and slightly ominous. Picking her up again, he began the treacherous descent.
She clung to him like a limpet; his every midnight fantasy come to life. For so long he had denied himself even the hollow pleasure of self-gratification, trying to make his body oblivious to the need clamoring inside him. But now, with this beautiful stranger in his arms, he knew he had mastered nothing.
“There is a hot spring beneath the tower,” he explained, hoping to take his mind off the soft press of her breast against his chest. “The heat might ease some of your pain. These stairs are the only way down, and I have seen your feet. You could not possibly walk down here yourself.”
She relaxed a bit and twined one slim arm around his neck, anchoring herself more firmly against him. “Thank you, Sebastian.”
“You are welcome, milady.” Her gratitude made him uneasy. In fact, everything about her made him uncomfortable. The intelligence in her lovely blue eyes surprised him, as did the direct way she met his gaze.
Fey, his brother had said, and Sebastian had to agree.
He rushed down the stairs in record time, depositing her at the edge of the steaming pool of water with unseemly haste.
In the distant past, someone had turned this small cave into an oasis of decadence. Tiled sitting ledges had been carved into the stone pool, and beautiful mosaics were set into the walls and floors, depicting blasphemous astrological scenes. Sebastian loved everything about it.
“Soak as long as you want.
Anger overtook the guilt, but he did not know whether to focus the emotion on his brother, himself, or his enchanting prisoner.
He was most angry with himself, he decided, picking up the shards of glass with a trembling hand. Deep down, he feared an ulterior motive for every kindness he had shown her. The fierce desire to win a kiss, or even more, had clamored within him since he had first taken her out of the dungeon.
If he acted upon those desires, it would make him no better than Sa’id. And he would rather throw himself off the ramparts and crash upon the rocks below than destroy that lovely girl in the irreparable way he himself had been damaged.
Tossing the glass into the trash barrel, he headed back up the stairs. Renewed guilt assailed him when he entered his bedchamber and found her bound arms twisted in an awkward angle as she attempted to sleep on her side.
What a brute he was, to have left her this way.
If only there was a way to make it up to her…
He gazed down at her pale face, noticing again how battered and bruised the journey from the coast to the castle had left her.
She met his gaze, and he saw that all her earlier fire had evaporated. She looked weary in both heart and soul. Despite his tisane, she must ache all over, and her strange garment had chafed her pale skin in dozens of places. A hot soak would lift her spirits immensely, and ‘twas the one gift he could give her.
Leaning forward, he unbound her hands, then slid one arm under her knees and the other behind her shoulders. “Put your arms around my neck, my lady. I have a pleasant surprise for you.”
He pushed to his feet, holding her tight against him. A chill still clung to her skin and dried saltwater had made her odd clothing stiff and scratchy.
“Where are you taking me?” Sudden nervousness roughened her voice as he moved away from the bed and made for the door.
“Be calm. I will not harm you.” Grabbing her light stick from his desk, he handed it to her so she could light their way. Once he had descended to the ground level of the tower, he strode to the back wall of his workroom.
He set her down and slid aside the cabinet, revealing the hidden doorway set into the wall. The staircase to the cavern yawned before them, dark and slightly ominous. Picking her up again, he began the treacherous descent.
She clung to him like a limpet; his every midnight fantasy come to life. For so long he had denied himself even the hollow pleasure of self-gratification, trying to make his body oblivious to the need clamoring inside him. But now, with this beautiful stranger in his arms, he knew he had mastered nothing.
“There is a hot spring beneath the tower,” he explained, hoping to take his mind off the soft press of her breast against his chest. “The heat might ease some of your pain. These stairs are the only way down, and I have seen your feet. You could not possibly walk down here yourself.”
She relaxed a bit and twined one slim arm around his neck, anchoring herself more firmly against him. “Thank you, Sebastian.”
“You are welcome, milady.” Her gratitude made him uneasy. In fact, everything about her made him uncomfortable. The intelligence in her lovely blue eyes surprised him, as did the direct way she met his gaze.
Fey, his brother had said, and Sebastian had to agree.
He rushed down the stairs in record time, depositing her at the edge of the steaming pool of water with unseemly haste.
In the distant past, someone had turned this small cave into an oasis of decadence. Tiled sitting ledges had been carved into the stone pool, and beautiful mosaics were set into the walls and floors, depicting blasphemous astrological scenes. Sebastian loved everything about it.
“Soak as long as you want.
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