The Robber Knight's Love (The Robber Knight Saga #2)(66)

He didn't need to say it, of course. He had already told her once, and repetitions were so bothersome and completely unnecessary, weren’t they? She could hardly have forgotten his confession, after all. A girl forgetting his declaration of love? Preposterous!

She knew all right. It was her turn now. So why hadn't she said anything?

And then, all those little gestures—like not letting go of his hand, for instance. Why did she send him all these confusing little signals? It was just like the time when he had first confessed his love for her. It had been a very inspired and romantic confession. He had stared at her with that intense look that made women melt using all of his considerable charm.

And what had she done?

She had just sat there and said one word. One teasing, little word:

Thanks!

That had been it. Then, she had run off. All right, there had been a battle imminent at the time, but still. The way she never committed, never told him her actual feelings made him wonder if perhaps she didn't love him, but simply encouraged his feelings to have an additional protector by her side.

He glanced down to his right, where she walked beside him, his strong hand clasped tightly in her smaller one.

Well, if that was her game, she was playing it infernally well.

Yet when he held her in his arms, looked into the depth of her sapphire eyes, he could almost sense the force of the feelings emanating from inside her. She had to feel something for him, didn't she?

These thoughts occupied Reuben so much that he and Ayla had already progressed some distance down the corridor before he noticed that she was limping.

“Ayla! What is the matter?” A possibility occurred to him. “Did someone hurt you? I'll…”

“No, no.” She hurriedly shook her head. “Nobody hurt me—well, apart from myself. I ran up the hill barefoot.”

He frowned. “That was silly.”

Ayla rolled her eyes at him. “Well, thank you very much for your moral support. I must admit, I was a bit too distracted at the time to care about bare feet. There were those rotting heads everywhere!”

Reuben just had to grin at her. He couldn't resist it. “And they took your shoes away?”

“No, of course not, you blockhead! I lost them.”

Evading her elbow in the ribs, he swiftly bent to examine her feet. When he grasped her ankles, she teetered precariously.

“Hey! Be careful!”

“Hmmm…” Slowly, Reuben ran a finger over the skin of Ayla's foot. There were a few small cuts on the soles of her feet, but apart from that, her skin was smooth and unblemished. “Doesn't look too bad.”

“Not in comparison to some of the cuts you've had, I'm sure. But I'm not in the habit of letting my body be pierced and battered on a regular basis.”

“True,” Reuben nodded. “Is it very painful?”

“Enough that it's difficult to walk. Are you finished with your examination?”

“Depends.” Carelessly, Reuben's fingers stroked the skin around her ankles. “Are you sure the only cuts are way down there?” His finger traveled up a bit. “You could have a few further up—on your calf, or your thigh, perhaps. Maybe I should check.”

“No, thank you!” Reuben looked up just in time to see the blush on Ayla's cheeks. She pulled her dress more tightly around herself. “I'm sure everything is fine.”

“That's hardly fair,” he pointed out, grinning up at her as lasciviously as he could manage—and that was plenty. “You already got to undress me once, remember? Why shouldn't I get the same chance?”

By now, Ayla's cheeks were a delightful cherry red. “That was different,” she muttered. “I…err…was tending to your wounds.”

“Well, so am I.”

“I am perfectly fine. See?” She took a step forward, stumbled, and only managed to stay upright by grabbing a doorframe. Reuben was beside her again in a second.

“Fine, hm, Milady?”

“Well…nearly, anyway.”

“Are you, now? Well,” Reuben sighed, “if you're not going to let me tend to your wounds, I think there remains only one properly chivalrous thing for me to do.”

She eyed him suspiciously. “Proper chivalry? From you?”

“Of course.” Before she could move so much as an inch, Reuben had bent again and swept Ayla's legs out from under her. With a startled yelp, she fell back into his expectant arms. He picked her up and held her to his chest. “I'll have to carry you.”

“Reuben!” She protested. “Let me down!”

Reuben sighed. “And there I was, hoping I would receive a few gentle caresses as thanks for my solicitude.”

She raised an adorable little fist. “I'll give you gentle caresses if you don't let me down!”

Let her down? Not hardly. Reuben was quite liking the feel of her soft body pressed against him, all warmth and gentle curves. He would have liked it a lot better if his armor hadn't gotten in her way, and her dress was kind of redundant, too, but still it felt very nice.

Ignoring her quite ineffectual and not very earnest attempts to struggle out of his grip, Reuben advanced to the next door and kicked it open with one foot. It slammed against the wall and made the guard who was waiting a few feet away jump.