Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 101336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Sky hurried to swallow the little food in her mouth and looked anxiously at her husband as the warrior nodded and hurried off.
Slayer responded without Sky saying a word. “Nay, you cannot come with me.”
“It may concern me and my sisters, and perhaps he knows something about Leora’s whereabouts. I truly would like to hear what he says,” she said, hoping to change his mind, though knew the likelihood of that was bleak. He would not risk her safety.
He turned to her. “You will not want to see what I do to him to get those answers.” He raised his finger to silence her. “Not a word. It is done.”
She did not want to think about what the men would suffer, but she did want to know what they had to say. “Will you at least share with me what he reveals to you?”
Slayer was ready to deny her when he caught the concern in her eyes. She did not worry about herself. It was her sisters’ safety that concerned her.
“I will consider it,” he said.
Relieved that he did not completely refuse her, she smiled appreciatively though she would have preferred to lean against him and give his hand a squeeze. Instead, she simply said, “I am grateful, and I will gladly do my share of whatever chore you set for me while I am here.”
While I am here.
Those words irritated Slayer even though they were meant for the servants nearby to think she was nothing more than a guest willing to do her share.
Another warrior hurried to the table. “One prisoner has arrived, my lord, and I do not believe he has much time.”
Slayer stood and called out, “Euniss! See to Sky!”
“Aye, my lord,” Euniss said from across the large room.
Sky was not surprised or upset when he left without saying a word to her. Whispers could already be heard amongst the servants questioning her presence and that he had even sat with her at one of the tables meant for his warriors and guests. This was not going to be easy being among so many strangers and not one of them knowing she was Lord Slayer’s wife.
Sky kept her eyes closed and had hoped to be left alone after she had informed Euniss that she required no help bathing. Euniss had thought differently and after much debate, the woman had agreed to leave her alone to disrobe though not to wash.
She had barely gotten into the tub when Euniss returned with two servants, but she cared not since the hot bath water she was immersed in up to her neck felt far too good to care about anything. If only she could linger in it for hours, the heat easing the few aches that plagued her, but the bath water would not stay heated for long. She was relieved that her raw wrists had healed well, and her bruised eyes had long since vanished or it would have made her arrival here that much worse. Gossiping tongues were probably already busy creating a tale about her two different colored eyes that would no doubt embellish with time.
She shook her thoughts aways, wanting nothing more than to enjoy the heated water. The wood tub was a substantial size, far larger than she was accustomed to, a fit more preferrable for Slayer. Though it might be confining for him with the width of his impressive shoulders and long legs. His size alone could intimidate. It certainly had intimidated her and still did at times. Other times, it did not disturb her at all. And his pronounced muscles could cause any man to think twice about challenging him and yet she loved the feel of them, loved feeling his strength when he maneuvered her around in bed with a lift of one arm to fit her perfectly beneath him.
She bit back the soft moan rising inside her along with her passion. There had to be something wrong with her that her need for her husband was so great. She recalled hearing women talking and laughing among themselves, not realizing she was near or perhaps not caring. What was it some of them had said about their husbands?
Mine stirs me to madness.
Lucky you, mine doesn’t stir me at all.
Mine makes me tingle all over.
A simple touch from mine stirs me.
I got myself the wrong husband.
Slayer could certainly stir her to madness, and he made her tingle all over and, Lord, help her, his touch alone could spark her desire for him. She smiled to herself and silently thanked the heavens that she accidentally found the right husband.
Strong whispers penetrated her thoughts, though she was glad for the interruption, needing to quell her passion. She listened to the whispers, loud enough to hear. The two servants were pleading with Euniss to be dismissed. They feared helping her because of her strange eye color.