Loved By a Warrior Read Free Page B

broke some other pieces over his knee, and then he piled them all in the fireplace and had a fire going in no time.
    â€œWe’ll need more wood. I think I saw a woodpile near the door.”
    He was out the door and back in no time, and he repeated his actions until there was a good-sized stock of wood inside.
    â€œHopefully, the storm will stop before morning, and we can be on our way,” Reeve said, pulling the plaid he had wrapped around his chest off and hanging it from the end of the mantel.
    â€œOr it could last for days,” Tara suggested.
    Reeve shrugged, as if it didn’t matter to him. “Then we’ll certainly have enough time to become better acquainted.”
    Tara had no intentions of becoming better acquainted. The less she knew about this man, the better for him and for her.
    She slipped the bundle off her back and took off her cloak, spreading it on the hard-packed dirt floor in front of the fireplace. Her hand disappeared into her wrapped bundle, and when she finally found what she was searching for, she smiled.
    She opened the cloth-wrapped parcel and tore the hunk of dark bread in two, offering one to Reeve. “It’s what’s left of the bread I baked for the journey.”
    He took the bread from her and sat down beside her before taking a bite.
    He sat cross-legged like she did, and their knees looked as if they touched, but they didn’t. She cautioned herself to move away, not to remain close.
    Keep away. Keep away. The chant repeated like an echo in her mind.
    Unfortunately, she didn’t listen to her own advice. She remained as she was, allowing herself a modicum of closeness to this man.
    â€œThis is delicious,” Reeve said after finishing the piece. “You baked it?”
    â€œI did,” she admitted, realizing he would find it odd.
    â€œYou’re obviously of noble class, and I’ve never known a woman of your status to cook, let alone know how. That is usually left to servants, is it not?”
    She turned his question on him. “You know many women of my status?”
    He laughed. “I will satisfy your curiosity, and then you will satisfy mine.”
    He was even more handsome when he smiled, and his lighthearted, teasing nature made him all the more appealing. And both were dangerous thoughts.
    She nodded and silently cautioned herself that she didn’t need to know anything about this man, but she was too curious to listen to her own warnings.
    He leaned closer to her, their shoulders near touching. “I’m such a devilishly handsome creature that born noble or peasant, women can’t resist me.”
    Tara had to laugh since his dark eyes danced with merriment, and his grin was too mocking to take seriously. “That is no answer.”
    â€œBut it’s the truth,” he said with a wink.
    She almost reached out to touch his face, but clasped her hands together instead. She wanted to make certain he was real, that she wasn’t dreaming that she was truly sitting beside a man in front of a hearth talking. It simply felt too surreal to be true.
    â€œNow your turn,” he said.
    â€œThat was no answer,” she argued lightheartedly. “You claim you are irresistible to women and have known many, even noblewomen. Does that mean you are of nobility yourself?”
    She detected a brief change in his eyes, as if a shield had been raised, and she wondered if he hid something from her as she did from him.
    â€œI am of no noble birth, though my numerous travels have allowed me to meet people of all classes.”
    Before she could probe for more, he was quick to claim once again that it was her turn.
    She was reluctant to explain to him why she could bake bread. The less he knew about her, the better, though perhaps if he learned the truth, he would then be more willing to keep his distance from her. Then, if she should happen to fall again, he would not be so quick to catch her.
    â€œI spent time