found no livestock and only a few edibles in
the tiny kitchen garden. Not only did he need something to eat, but some sort of broth was needed
to feed Alana. She could not continue to fight off the fever unless she got some sustenance.
If not for the dangerous illness that had befallen Alana, Gregor would have thought them blessed.
The snare he had set out earlier had caught a fat rabbit, and a more thorough search of the garden
had uncovered a hearty assortment of vegetables and a few herbs he recognized. Though some were
not fully mature, they were more than adequate for his needs. Even better, Alana was still sleeping
when he returned, which allowed him the time to prepare the food and set it in the battered pot that
had been left hanging in the fireplace.
It was as he was finishing his meal that Gregor noticed something odd about Alana. Her skin
appeared to glisten where the light from the fire touched it. Setting down his bowl, he quickly
moved to her side and felt her forehead. She was cool and covered in sweat. Gregor was so relieved
at this sign that Alana’s fever had finally broken, he nearly cheered. He stepped around the cat that was greedily licking his bowl clean and fetched water and cloths to clean the sweat from her skin.
By the time Gregor got Alana clean and settled between dry blankets, he was knotted up with lust. It
both annoyed and puzzled him. Despite the opinion of his eldest brother Ewan, Gregor had never
had any trouble controlling his lusts. The fact that Alana was in need of his care, that she was ill and dependent upon him, should have been enough of a tether upon his baser feelings, but that tether
had consistently failed him. He had never been so easily or fiercely stirred by the sight of a
woman’s body or the feel of her skin. It would be easy to blame it on the fact that he had not had a
woman in weeks, but Gregor could not convince himself of that. Something about Alana set his
blood afire.
And that was something he had to think hard about, he decided as he draped the shift he had just
rinsed clean over the bench to dry. Since the moment he had met Alana, his doubts about the
wisdom of marrying Mavis had grown. Gregor knew that the possibility that Alana really was the
child she pretended to be had helped keep his feelings for her in check, but that restraint had been
shattered the moment he had removed her binding.
Gregor settled himself next to Alana, grimacing when she curled up next to him. When they had
shared a bed before, she had been clothed and he had thought she might be the child she claimed to
be. Now, she was naked and he was well aware of every soft, womanly curve of her body.
Feverishly, achingly aware. It was a hunger that seemed to possess every part of him, and not just
his heedless groin.
In the past, he would simply have seduced her, fed his lusts, and walked away. That was not a game
he could play with Alana, and not simply because she might well be a Murray, a wellborn lass with
a vast army of kinsmen behind her, ready and willing to avenge any insult to her. Alana meant
something to him, although he was not exactly sure what or how deep that feeling went. The
unsettling feeling that if he made love to Alana, he would not be able to walk away also prompted
him to be cautious.
He had some hard decisions to make, but he was too exhausted to make them now. Later, when his
wits were sharp again and he was not feeling so needy. A few facts were needed as well, he mused
as he closed his eyes. Facts such as exactly who she was, why she was wandering about alone, what
had happened to her sister, and if she already belonged to someone. The thought that Alana might
already belong to some other man chilled Gregor, and he hurriedly pushed that thought from his
mind. Aye, he thought, there were decisions to make, and as soon as Alana was awake and clear-
eyed, he would get the answers he needed to make them.
Chapter 5
There was a
the tiny kitchen garden. Not only did he need something to eat, but some sort of broth was needed
to feed Alana. She could not continue to fight off the fever unless she got some sustenance.
If not for the dangerous illness that had befallen Alana, Gregor would have thought them blessed.
The snare he had set out earlier had caught a fat rabbit, and a more thorough search of the garden
had uncovered a hearty assortment of vegetables and a few herbs he recognized. Though some were
not fully mature, they were more than adequate for his needs. Even better, Alana was still sleeping
when he returned, which allowed him the time to prepare the food and set it in the battered pot that
had been left hanging in the fireplace.
It was as he was finishing his meal that Gregor noticed something odd about Alana. Her skin
appeared to glisten where the light from the fire touched it. Setting down his bowl, he quickly
moved to her side and felt her forehead. She was cool and covered in sweat. Gregor was so relieved
at this sign that Alana’s fever had finally broken, he nearly cheered. He stepped around the cat that was greedily licking his bowl clean and fetched water and cloths to clean the sweat from her skin.
By the time Gregor got Alana clean and settled between dry blankets, he was knotted up with lust. It
both annoyed and puzzled him. Despite the opinion of his eldest brother Ewan, Gregor had never
had any trouble controlling his lusts. The fact that Alana was in need of his care, that she was ill and dependent upon him, should have been enough of a tether upon his baser feelings, but that tether
had consistently failed him. He had never been so easily or fiercely stirred by the sight of a
woman’s body or the feel of her skin. It would be easy to blame it on the fact that he had not had a
woman in weeks, but Gregor could not convince himself of that. Something about Alana set his
blood afire.
And that was something he had to think hard about, he decided as he draped the shift he had just
rinsed clean over the bench to dry. Since the moment he had met Alana, his doubts about the
wisdom of marrying Mavis had grown. Gregor knew that the possibility that Alana really was the
child she pretended to be had helped keep his feelings for her in check, but that restraint had been
shattered the moment he had removed her binding.
Gregor settled himself next to Alana, grimacing when she curled up next to him. When they had
shared a bed before, she had been clothed and he had thought she might be the child she claimed to
be. Now, she was naked and he was well aware of every soft, womanly curve of her body.
Feverishly, achingly aware. It was a hunger that seemed to possess every part of him, and not just
his heedless groin.
In the past, he would simply have seduced her, fed his lusts, and walked away. That was not a game
he could play with Alana, and not simply because she might well be a Murray, a wellborn lass with
a vast army of kinsmen behind her, ready and willing to avenge any insult to her. Alana meant
something to him, although he was not exactly sure what or how deep that feeling went. The
unsettling feeling that if he made love to Alana, he would not be able to walk away also prompted
him to be cautious.
He had some hard decisions to make, but he was too exhausted to make them now. Later, when his
wits were sharp again and he was not feeling so needy. A few facts were needed as well, he mused
as he closed his eyes. Facts such as exactly who she was, why she was wandering about alone, what
had happened to her sister, and if she already belonged to someone. The thought that Alana might
already belong to some other man chilled Gregor, and he hurriedly pushed that thought from his
mind. Aye, he thought, there were decisions to make, and as soon as Alana was awake and clear-
eyed, he would get the answers he needed to make them.
Chapter 5
There was a
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