Twelve
“Ada!” Esther and Maximilian exclaimed joyously.
With Hella and Freya on her heels, Ada rushed into the cave, heading toward the direction of Maximilian’s voice. “We must hurry!” she said, touching the lad’s head, then pressing a kiss to it while trying to ignore William’s large presence near Maximilian. It was nearly impossible. The man had not said a word since she’d made her presence known, but even in silence, she was utterly aware of him. She could feel him as if he touched her. She could hear him breathing as if each breath was for her. And she could smell the power he caged and possessed like a wild animal. Power he had unleashed on her and that had left her deliciously spent and equally as foolish.
“How did ye get here, Lady Ada?” Maximilian asked.
“I’ll explain later,” she hurriedly replied, Freya at her side while Hella moved close to William. “Are ye bound or chained?” she asked Maximilian.
“Bound behind my back by my wrists,” he said.
“I’m chained,” Esther said, “and my ankles are tied together.”
“I’m chained, as well,” a voice she did not know said. It had to be William’s acquaintance Thomas. “I dunnae suppose ye have the key?”
Ada pursed her lips. “I suppose I do.” She was not yet getting a feeling one way or the other about Thomas.
“He supports the king,” William said, his voice reaching out like fingers to wrap around her heart and squeeze it. Devil take him. She wanted to despise him, but apparently her foolish heart felt otherwise. The instinct that Thomas was meant to aid them in helping King David suddenly swept through her, as if William’s words had triggered her intuition. She swayed with the feeling for a moment, fighting back the nausea.
Once it had passed, she said, “And I’m to believe ye because…?” She allowed the full ire she still possessed to seep into her tone.
“I am nae lying to ye,” he said.
“Ha!” she barked and released Maximilian from his ties. She walked away from the lad, Freya by her side, to release Esther.
“I told ye I was here to seduce ye,” William said testily. “Well before ye wed me, I told ye that.”
“There is telling, and then there istelling,” she said, setting Esther free, who gave her a quick hug before Ada disengaged herself and moved to stand before Thomas. She hesitated in releasing him only because she wanted to hear what William would say in return to her.
“Ada, dunnae punish Thomas because ye are vexed with me,” William urged her from across the cave. “I’m certain ye have a good plan, but I would think the guard would be a concern.”
Ada snickered. “He would be except I knocked him on the head with a chalice, and he fell straight out.”
“Ye killed him?” Thomas asked from in front of her.
“Nay. He’s just taking a lovely little sleep.”
“My,” Thomas said slowly, “aren’t ye the dangerous lass? I like that in a woman.”
“Thomas,” William growled, “if ye banter with my wife anymore, I will punch ye when I am untied.”
Hope that he might truly care tried to niggle at her, but she quashed it with her anger. The man did not care about her; he was simply possessive, like a spoiled child with a favorite toy. “Dunnae pay him any heed, Thomas. We are wed in name only.” With that, she started to release Thomas.
“Make no mistake, Ada, ye are mine,” William said. “Ye belonged to me the moment ye said yer vows, and when—”
“That’s quite enough!” she hurried to cut him off, her neck, face, and ears burning with embarrassment. How dare he! How dare he use her, make her feel so wanted, tell her so cruelly he did not really desire her, and then think to lay claim on her? The unfairness and awfulness of it burned her eyes with unshed tears.
Suddenly, Thomas touched her face with his fingers. “Lass, nae any man is worth yer tears.”
“Thomas, dunnae touch my wife!” William roared, and everyone, including Ada, shushed him.
She gently pushed Thomas’s fingers away from her cheek. She felt a sudden liking for him, but his touch unsettled her. She suspected it had everything to do with the fact that her body wanted William’s touch and no other man’s. “I would have to care about William to shed a tear for him. The salt in the air burns my eyes.”
Thomas leaned in and whispered, “A verra good story. I shall keep yer secret. Now scoot over and release him, as I’m certain ye ken ye need him, and I’m equally certain time is of the essence in order for us to escape.”
She nodded and moved toward William because what Thomas said was true. Freya ran ahead of her, and Hella was still at his side where the disloyal hound had stayed since they’d entered the cave. When Ada stood before him, his heat invading her and his power engulfing her, desire tightened her core. Devil take him. He’d made her a wanton with one joining.
She pressed her lips together on speaking, not trusting herself to successfully hide her tumultuous emotions, but William bent his head toward her. “Ada, I’m sorry.”
