Gem of Gravane (The Northern Knights) by Dane Amber

Author:Dane, Amber [Dane, Amber]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Amber Dane
Published: 2012-06-29T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Danielle muttered a curse, wincing from the pain as she lowered the cloth yet again from her stinging cheek. She pressed her fingers lightly to the tender spot. “Oh! Is it truly ugly, Edie?”

Danielle moved over to the basin on the chest, dipping the cloth yet again in the cool water. Her maid walked across the chamber and stood back looking her over, her eyes inspecting the swollen and purple bruise.

“Nay, milady. Just looks painful. Your cousin will be heard begging for mercy all the way to London when milord sees this. And rightly so.” Edie’s words were angry.

Danielle groaned. She wished she could wear something to cover it.

“Leave us.”

She had her back to the chamber door and Aric’s words chilled her. Oh, how was she going to hide the mark now?

Edie left them quickly and Aric closed the chamber door. He started yelling and screaming as he walked across to the window.

Danielle kept her head down, her eyes downcast and trained on his feet. She watched them as he walked over and stopped in front of her. Although his tirade had softened a bit, she still heard some of the mumbled curses he said under his breath as he vented over her behavior. She braced herself when silence finally filled the chamber.

He smelled of sweat and she could feel the anger radiating from his towering form.

His fingers touched her chin. She resisted, but he tightened his hold. Danielle stopped breathing as he tilted her face up to his. The loud oath she was sure could be heard by all down in the courtyard below, erupted from his mouth.

Then after a moment, he demanded quietly. “Open your eyes, Danielle.”

She hadn’t realized that she had squeezed them shut. She opened one eye slowly, that move caused Aric to calm slightly.

When both her eyes met his, he let the back of his fingers brush softly across the skin around the bruise on her cheek before sliding them down her throat to touch the raw scratches from Thomas’s fingers there.

“Danielle, I’m so sorry for this. I am sorry I was not there sooner. I would not see any harm come to you.”

To her surprise, he pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly for a few moments. Then he set her away with his large hands on her shoulders. “I would see your cousin dead for this and his heinous crimes against you. Never again question or ask a boon of me when I am dispensing justice and in such a mood. ‘Tis dangerous.”

Danielle knew she had erred, but in that moment she’d known that she would not have been able to live with herself had he run her cousin through. Tears sprang to her eyes. The week had been quite stressful and today made it all that much worse. Her tears choked her and she managed a nod.

Aric knew her reasoning without her speaking it, but he did not agree. It took everything in him not to leave her side now and go cut that bastard’s head off.

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