Warprize (Seven Brides for Seven Bastards, 5)(MFMMMMMM) by Georgia Fox Page B

again and there
were more, distant shouts. Dominigo also dressed but with less
speed. He did not appear too worried about this
discovery.
    "They will kill you if you are found,"
she whispered, fastening her belt. "Barberousse has many powerful
friends."
    " Had ," the man corrected, yawning
lazily.
    Again she shook her head. "What
happened?"
    Dominigo scratched the dark bristles
of his cheek. "We had a disagreement, he and I. In a tavern in the
town. He did not know enough to concede defeat and followed me into
an alley, intent on continuing the argument, but I was in no mood
for it."
    "So you murdered him."
    "He came at me with a sword. What else
was I to do?"
    She tossed him his stolen cape. "Then
you took his place to escort Rosemund."
    "When I read the scroll he carried, I
thought she might earn me a handy dowry or a ransom purse." He
grinned wryly. "Once I met the lady I decided neither was worth the
inconvenience of her company."
    "And now you have brought this trouble
to my gate." Cedney ran to her window and looked out on the yard
where soldiers had gathered, including some she did not recognize.
They must have tracked Redbeard's murderer across the marshes with
their hounds, although it was no easy thing to do. A man could hide
in those fog-shrouded wet fields for months if he knew his way
around. "Pay heed, d'Anzeray, there is only one route out of the
manor now. You'll have to hide under the bed until I am rid of the
guards in the hall," she whispered, "and then I'll come back and
show you the way."
    "I've no need to hide. I'll fight my
way out."
    It occurred to her that this was not
hollow boasting; the man really thought he could take on so many
soldiers at once. But she did not want him dead, or badly wounded.
The fool! She should not care. She should let the man do as he
pleased. Another man would not try to stop him.
    "I'll fight my way out," he repeated,
adding smoothly, "and you're coming with me."
    "I am not! My place is
here."
    "Your place is with me, at my side and
in my bed."
    "Just get under my bed, d'Anzeray, and
stay there until I fetch you."
    Frowning, he stood before her,
bare-chested, and prepared to argue again.
    She swiftly drew her sword from where
it hung by the wall. The blade gleamed in that cool afternoon light
as she raised the point to his chin. He glanced slyly at his own
weapon where it lay across a chair, three or four steps from where
he stood.
    "You can try, d'Anzeray, but I will
not hesitate to use my sword."
    "Even on your lover? The man who
claimed your maidenhead?"
    Cedney kept the point of her weapon
trained on his throat. "I was not in my right mind. Already I
regret giving you so much."
    His eyes darkened with grey anger. His
jaw twitched.
    "Do you think I cannot fuck and
forget?" she demanded. "Just as you have done many times, no
doubt."
    Still he was silent, although she
suspected it cost him a heavy fee to remain so. Unless he was
thinking again. God Forbid. A man who thought so much was worse
than a woman who talked too much.
    "But I suppose I must thank you for
the lesson, d'Anzeray," she added coolly. "It was...
educational."
    "It was more than that," he replied at
last. "Much more."
    "For you perhaps. Not for
me."
    "You pretend it was not
enjoyable?"
    "Was it meant to be? I thought you
were merely interested in your own pleasure. Like all
men."
    Oh, the fury flamed now inside,
turning his eyes to cold, hard iron.
    "Get under the bed and wait," she
snapped.
    Still he hesitated, muscles flexing,
trying to draw her eye to that powerful splendor no doubt, she
mused.
    "It must be hard for you to obey a
woman's command," she added drily. "But try. Not only for your
sake, but for mine this time."
    Instinctively Cedney knew that would
silence him. It did.
     
    * * * *
     
    As he lay under her bed in the dark
and listened to retreating steps, Dom considered the strangeness of
this day and of the woman who had just left him. She would not let
him fight, but thought he could sneak