Summer's Celestial Plea by Leigh Ann Edwards

Author:Leigh Ann Edwards
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance
ISBN: 9781959988434
Publisher: Tule Publishing Group, LLC
Published: 2023-03-09T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Feeling winded, Broccan wiped the sweat from his brow. He’d taken the obligatory bows, listened to the cheers and whoops at his victory and waved to the crowd. He started down the back lane by the field, wanting to avoid the excited mob that would surround him. He didn’t feel celebratory by any means.

The Cymruian knight had been skilled with a sword. The bout took longer than Broccan wanted, and he was drained. Luckily, he wouldn’t participate again till evening. He was not in top form. He’d overdrunk last night both before and after he’d seen Elspeth. Or Rhianwyn, or whoever the hell she was. He didn’t bloody well know anything anymore.

Still, he couldn’t sleep no matter how much ale he consumed. His mind kept returning to seeing her with Agnes. She’d purposely hurt him. She’d even suggested he join them, carnally. He couldn’t deny he’d considered it. She was entrancing and seeing them together was arousing. But now he was utterly confused. That couldn’t be his lovely, kindhearted, Rhianwyn. She’d never hurt him so cruelly or be with another woman when she had no attraction to her own gender. What they’d once shared was too special to suggest someone else be brought into their marriage bed.

Would Rhianwyn do something wholly uncharacteristic and hurtful to make him believe she was Elspeth? Or was it simply Elspeth all along and he’d been completely wrong about the women undergoing a soul transformation? With his head down, his arm again swiping his sweaty brow, he nearly ploughed straight into…Elspeth? Rhianwyn? She had the outward appearance of Elspeth. That was all he knew.

“I didn’t think I’d meet anyone here just now,” she said.

She sounded almost nervous. Was she feeling guilty about last night?

He glowered. “This is the side path from the training field to the keep.” He knew he sounded gruff.

She nodded. “I’ve just taken a tray of food to the field. You’ll probably want to restore your strength after your lengthy match.”

Had she watched? Was she concerned or just doing her job as a servant?

She turned to leave, and he grasped her arm, too forcefully. She winced and pulled away.

He inhaled. “I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to grab you so roughly.”

“I’m accustomed to men being rough.”

That was a kick in the bollocks. She’d been beaten by her husband only weeks ago. No matter how furious he was, he shouldn’t have grasped her so tightly.

“I apologize.”

She nodded meekly and began to walk away again.

“You don’t think you owe me an explanation or an apology after last night?”

She turned back, uncertain. Didn’t she regret hurting him? Maybe she didn’t see her actions as blamable. He continued to stare. She crossed her arms, yet more delicately than usual.

“If I apologized to every damn person who felt I’d wronged them, I’d be groveling all the sarding time.”

The words sounded like Elspeth, yet her voice was quieter and held no conviction. Maybe it was Elspeth, and she was as conflicted as him about their attraction to one another.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.