Champion of the Heart by Laurel O'Donnell

dirty cloth and his shirt had been ripped and hung open to reveal a portion of his chest. A strong chest. She could see the muscles and the ridges of his stomach.
    Fox chuckled deeply. “Perhaps you need someone to protect you from yourself.”
    Jordan snapped her gaze up to his. His deep blue eyes shone with a dark knowledge, and his lip was quirked to one side. His impudence irritated her. Jordan grimaced and reached for his arm. When her hand closed over his skin, she was surprised at the strength rippling beneath her touch. She couldn’t help but run her hand across his smooth muscle until she touched the sticky cloth that bound his wound. Slowly, Jordan unwrapped the cloth and threw it onto the floor.
    She gasped at seeing the wound. Blood still oozed from the red, irritated cut near his upper elbow. Without taking her eyes from his wound, she reached into the water and pulled out the cloth. Gently, she touched the clean water to the wound, washing it with soft strokes.
    “Unchain me, Jordan.”
    She turned to him. Had he truly asked that of her? She stared into his eyes, eyes so intense that she almost reached for the manacles. Am I mad? she wondered. What’s come over me? She jerked back, dumping a cloth in the water of the basin.
    “This is dangerous work. Have you no one else to tend me?”
    He was mocking her! Jordan lifted her gaze to him. His eyes, a cool blue in the candlelight, centered on her with amusement. His cheeks were clean shaven, and she could see the muscle in his jaw working.
    She realized quite suddenly that she was rather close to him. As if in response, she felt a jolt through her body. Her gaze shifted to his lips. She had always liked Fox’s lips, had often found them mesmerizing when he spoke. And even after their long years of separation, she still found her gaze hypnotized by them. They were so sensual, so alluring.
    She shook herself and dipped the cloth into the water to clean it of blood. “It is a punishment.”
    “Punishment?”
    “I threw the dagger,” she said quietly, keeping her concentration on her work. But she couldn’t help the guilt surging through her. She had done this. She had caused him this injury, and it probably hurt like the devil. She finished wiping the cloth along his skin, cleaning it of blood.
    A frown darkened Fox’s brow. “It would take more than your dagger to kill me.”
    Shocked, Jordan sat back. She studied his dark face, the sudden anger thinning his lips. She had certainly not meant to kill him, although at that moment the thought was not altogether unpleasant. She should have wanted to kill him for what he did to Maggie. But she would have been just as happy to see him locked up. She picked up the clean cloth and began to wrap it around his wounded arm. “Why did you steal those herbs?”
    He lifted his head even higher to face her squarely, revealing more of himself to her. She saw a strong, square jaw, and angry but still very sensual lips. “It’s none of your damned business,” he retorted.
    Jordan’s mouth fell open, her eyes rounding in surprise at his vicious tone. She snapped her mouth closed and her eyes narrowed. “They were meant for me. I sent Evan to hurry the merchant. I needed –”
    “I don’t care why you needed them.”
    Jordan pulled the cloth tight around his wound and was rewarded by a gritting of his teeth. “You uncaring, unfeeling cur. Do you know the consequences of your actions?”
    “The question should be, do I care?”
    Jordan rose before him, her blood boiling at his callous retort. “You heartless bastard!” She wanted to stomp on his toes or kick some sense into him. She moved closer, leaning down near him to give him the full force of her anger. “A child died because of you,” she spat.
    For a brief moment, Fox sat motionless, a quick spark of dismay and disbelief flashing across his eyes. Then he looked away from her, his face once again disappearing into the dark shadows of the dungeon. “One