She gave a curt nod.
“Leave us!” Cree shouted and his men scurried off. “Haven’t you gotten yourself into enough trouble today?”
Dawn turned her eyes wide and slapped her chest.
“Yes, you.”
She gritted her teeth, scowled at him, and turned and walked over to pick up the spilled contents of her basket.
“I am speaking to you,” Cree said sternly.
Dawn turned patted her chest, tapped her lips, shook her head, and pointed at him.
“You’re not speaking to me?”
She smiled, nodded, and resumed her task.
His strong grip on her arm stopped her. “I would not advise that.”
She questioned why with her usual shrug.
He let go of her arm to stroke her neck, angry with the light bruising he saw there. “Because I want no silence between us.”
His words stunned her. Did he truly feel as if she actually spoke to him? Did he hear her voice as silent as it was? Her anger melted and she pressed her finger to his lips and then to hers and shook her head.
“I’m glad you feel the same. I would miss speaking with you.”
He stunned her again and her reaction was instinctive, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. And all she could think about as she did was how very much she loved this man... not the devil... not the infamous Cree... but this man who would miss talking with her.
When the kiss ended Cree was quick to say, “You’ll come to the keep with me and enjoy the warmth of the fire while I tend to some matters.”
Dawn did not relish the idea of sitting in the Great Hall while Cree was busy. She wanted nothing more than the solitude of her cottage. She shook her head and pointed to her basket and the contents lying scattered about.
“The wreath,” he said with a nod. “You wish to return to the cottage and work on the wreath?”
She smiled and nodded.
“You promise me that you will stay there?”
She crossed her heart with her finger.
“I will join you for supper.”
Her smile grew and she nodded vigorously.
Cree smiled as well and teased, “That hungry are you?”
Dawn felt playful and a bit wicked and so she licked her lips ever so slowly as she nodded.
Cree watched the play of her tongue along her lips leaving them moist in its path and he couldn’t help but wonder how her tongue would feel licking his—
“Enough,” he said with a low growl, the image it evoked growing him hard. He shouted and a warrior appeared. Cree instructed him to help Dawn gather her twigs and pine cones and see her to her cottage. He then turned to her. “I will see you later and make sure to stay put this time.”
With that he was gone, Dawn disappointed that he would not walk her back to the cottage. She had hoped to coax him inside and...
She turned away dropping down to refill her basket and hide the blush that surfaced. She had turned into a sinful woman and if she was not mindful of her thoughts she would surely suffer for it.
It didn’t take long for her to collect the spilled contents and return to her cottage. She was grateful for the solitude and for the chore that not only kept her hands busy but her mind as well.
The knock interrupted her peace, though when Old Mary entered, she smiled greeting the old woman.
Old Mary shut the door behind her and rubbed her gnarled fingers. “Snow’s coming for sure.”
Dawn pointed to a chair and poured her a tankard of cider from the pitcher being kept hot by the hearth.
Old Mary accepted it with a grateful nod. “I used to make wreaths, and oh how I loved to weave baskets, but these old hands won’t let me do that anymore.”
Dawn patted her chest and pointed to the woman.
“That is sweet of you to offer to make me one.” Old Mary took a sip and remained silent for several minutes.
Dawn patted the old woman’s arm and shrugged wanting to know what was troubling her.
“You are perceptive. You know people, understand them better than most, but then you have no choice but to listen.” Old Mary reached for Dawn’s hand. “Listen well to me, Dawn. Things are not what they seem to be; they never were. You must be careful; you must not trust anyone.”
Another knock at the door had Flanna entering with two servants and baskets of food. Her entrance not only turned Old Mary silent but had her bidding Dawn good night. Dawn tried to get the old woman to stay and partake with her but Old Mary was adamant about leaving. Dawn was disappointed, she wanted to know what the old woman meant by things are not what they seem to be and never were.
Old Mary’s warning made her nervous. Of course they could just be ramblings that meant nothing, but Dawn had known Old Mary too well to believe she rambled. Her mind was sharper than anyone realized or that she led anyone to believe.