Beloved in His Eyes (Angel's Assassin #2)(10)

“Better?” Gawyn asked.

“Too bad the view isn’t better,” she joked. “But yes, this is wonderful.”

Gawyn took her hand and pulled her to one of the merlons. “This is Acquitaine.” He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her so she was looking between the crenels, away from the castle. “We try to please.”

Justina gasped at the sight. Mountains rose in the distance; the river rushed by before them, reflecting their snow-capped peaks in its glistening water. The sun was setting, bathing the lands in a soft red glow. It was magnificent. So beautiful. So...

“Better?”

Justina couldn’t answer. It was the most beautiful landscape she had ever seen. She glanced back at Gawyn. And he was the most handsome man she had ever seen. For a moment, she couldn’t tear her gaze from his. Words escaped her. Her gaze swept his face, his strong, square, clean-shaven jaw, his generous mouth, his straight, proud nose, and his eyes. Oh, those eyes made her knees weak. She could see intelligence in them and a bit of humor. It wasn’t what she could see in them, but how intense his gaze was when he looked at her. As if she were the center of the world, more beautiful than the view. “It’s magnificent,” she whispered.

He took her hand again and she was suddenly aware of the way it engulfed hers, warm and strong. He jumped up on the edge of the crenel, all the while holding her hand.

Her heart flinched. “No,” she said, panicked. “Get down from there.”

He gently tugged her. “I’ll help you.”

“As I’m falling?” she asked and pulled her arm free. She shook her head. “I like the view from right here.” Of course, looking up, she did have a grand view…of his rounded bottom.

He shrugged and leaned back against the merlon, his arms crossed. He looked out toward the mountains and for a long moment said nothing.

Justina followed his stare. The wind worked its way through the strands of her hair. She pushed them back from her eyes, not wanting to miss one second of the marvelous sight.

Gawyn inhaled. “I come up here to get away. When it all seems too much.”

She looked at him positioned precariously on the edge of the crenel. He seemed so strong, so confident. “It’s hard to believe there is anything you can’t handle.”

He glanced down at her, his hair falling forward. “Says a girl who took me down to the ground the first time we met.”

“I...” she stuttered for a moment before clamping her lips closed. Her father had taught her the move. It was for defense. She shrugged. “I didn’t know you. You could have been a robber.”

He jumped down to her side. “How did you do it?”

Justina rolled her eyes. “I put my leg behind yours and pushed. It really wasn’t that hard.”

“How did you learn to do that?”

She couldn’t look him in the eye. She shouldn’t have been able to push over the captain of the guard. “I was the daughter of a rather overprotective father who worried about me wandering around the countryside. He wanted me to be able to take care of myself.”

Gawyn leaned back against the wall of the castle. “What else did he teach you?”

Justina inhaled, thinking about all her father had taught her. “How to survive in the forest by eating what nature offered. How to hide in the forest. How to cover my tracks.” She shrugged.

Gawyn laughed aloud. “That’s not typical training for a young farm woman.”

“I suppose not.”

“Have you ever had to use any of your training?”

Justina cocked an eyebrow at him. “You mean beside against you?”

Gawyn smiled full out.

Justina’s heart did a small leap. He was gorgeous. She loved the sound of his laughter; she loved the way the sun shone onto his brown hair creating gold highlights. “I suppose not.” She lifted her chin. “But I’m glad I had the training.”

Gawyn’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I’d like to see what you know. Perhaps I can add to your training.”

“Why?”

“I’d like to know that you are protected, that you can defend yourself. I know what’s out there. I know that not all of it is good.”

Her smile slowly faded. Like an assassin. She realized he was not speaking about the monster living in the castle, but about the barbarians bordering Acquitaine. “Like the Hungars.” Justina considered his offer. She could learn more defensive moves, maybe even teach them to Adam. But strangely, it wasn’t learning that was so appealing to her, it was the chance to be alone with Gawyn. She found it strangely thrilling. She agreed with a nod.

Gawyn’s gaze swept her face slowly like a gentle caress.

Justina felt a strange heat blossoming over her cheeks and she looked away at the view again.

“We’ve missed the evening meal, but I’m certain we can find food in the kitchens, not that Joy will be happy to see us, but she will make sure you have something to fill your stomach.”

Justina turned to him, opening her mouth to object, but he continued.

“I’d like to escort you around the castle, if you’d like. Unless you are too exhausted from the ride.”

Justina grinned. “I’m not sure Adam will sleep the entire time he is here.”

Gawyn nodded in understanding. His gaze lingered for a long moment on her lips.