The Robber Knight's Love (The Robber Knight Saga #2)(50)

“Reuben? What is it?”

“How high is your castle wall, exactly?” he suddenly demanded.

“The outer wall?”

“Yes.”

“I couldn't say… You would have to ask Isenbard. Why?”

Reuben shook his head. “It may be nothing, but I'd like to talk to him. Could you send him in here to talk to me?” He grinned. “I don't think my guards would take kindly to me wanting to take another stroll out of my room, considering the rather forceful way I asked their permission last time.”

“You mean bashing in their faces?”

He grinned. “Yes, exactly.”

Ayla had to fight the urge to grin back at him. This wasn’t supposed to be funny. But it still kind of was, in a way she felt very guilty about.

But then the urge to smile left her. He still thought he was being guarded. She took a deep breath. This was the moment to tell him of her decision.

“There will be no more guards stationed outside your room from this moment on.”

There was a moment of silence, during which Reuben looked at her steadily. “So you finally trust me?”

“Trust you?” She let out a choked giggle. “Never in a thousand years! I just don't want any more of my men to have their ribs squashed and noses broken!”

Reuben let out a bark of laughter, Ayla joined in, and soon they were both howling with laughter. It felt good to laugh again, after so long a time.

“A very wise policy, Milady,” chuckled the robber knight.

Ayla tried to contain her mirth and look at him sternly. “We shouldn't be laughing about this. And you should apologize to the men you injured.”

Reuben snorted derisively. “Why in the Devil's name would I do that?”

“Because you injured them! And I told you not to swear in my castle!”

“They were in my way. And I'll swear wherever I damn well please!”

“You could have asked them to step aside. And this is my castle, and you will abide by my rules.”

“Considering that you had a knife at your throat at the time, I didn't think it was the time for polite conversation. And I don't follow the rules of God, the Pope, or the Emperor—so why should I follow those of a little lady like yourself?”

“If you had explained everything, they would have helped you. And as for your question…Let me think…hmm, maybe because the little lady will have you put in the stocks if you don't?”

He quirked an eyebrow. With tangles of dark hair hanging into his face, he looked unbelievably devious and desirable. Ayla ached to reach out and touch him, hold him—but she restrained herself. Last night, she had only sought comfort in his arms, but she knew that, if she touched him now, it would be for more than comfort. For things that were forbidden.

“They would only have been in my way,” Reuben told her. “And your threats of punishment are getting less impressive day by day. First, it was hanging, then being thrown out of a window, and now only the stocks?” He smirked at her. “You should really try to be more creative.”

Ayla pouted and glowered at him, although there were other things she wanted to do far more. “I will only be too happy to oblige!”

“If you can't think of anything else, being put on the rack is always a classic people are glad to see. Or you could use a brazen bull, if you want.”

“What in God's name is a brazen bull?”[13]

His smirk didn't waver, nor did his voice as he said, “You wouldn’t want to know.”

The way he said that told Ayla more than any horrible description ever could. And yet, the way he said it was so cool, so off-hand, as if it were nothing special to die a torturous death.

With a shiver, the memories came flooding back into her mind. Memories she had done her best to forget: Reuben standing on the wall, holding fire in his hand. Reuben forcing the fire down on the mercenary, lord of the flames, like Satan himself. How had he been able to do that without collapsing from the pain? What dark, demonic secrets were there in his past?

She glanced at him.

Should she ask? Could she dare? What if he wouldn't tell her? Worse even—what if he would?

“Would you scream in pain from this brazen bull?” The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could hold them back.

He regarded her intently.

“That depends. Do you mean 'you' as in ‘somebody,’ or ‘you’ as in ‘you.’”

She took a deep breath. “The latter. If it were used on you, Reuben, would you scream?”

There was a moment of silence.

Finally, he said, “I didn't the last time.”

Oh dearest Lord above, thought Ayla, hardly able to keep her tears from flowing. What must his eyes have seen?

She could have asked him in that moment. Yes, she could have. She felt almost certain he might have answered.

Instead, she softly asked, “How's your hand?”

He looked at her with an emotion she couldn't quite decipher. Then, his devilish grin reappeared on his face, and he shrugged. “Quite well, actually. The gauntlet protected from the heat better than I would have expected.”

“Then why are you hiding it behind your back?” she asked suspiciously.

“I'm not hiding it. I just happen to hold it there, that's all.”