After he'd complied with that request, she immediately tried to push Caine's hands away from her side. 'You're prodding, Caine,' she whispered.
'I'm almost finished, Jade.'
His voice sounded terribly surly to her, yet he was being incredibly gentle, too. It was a contradiction. 'Are you angry with me, Caine?'
He didn't even bother to glance up when he gave his curt answer. 'No.'
'You could sound a little more convincing,' she countered. 'You are angry,' she added with a nod.
'I don't understand why…' She paused to let out a gasp.
Caine assumed the bandage he was applying to her injury had caused her discomfort. 'Is it too tight?'
he asked, his gaze filled with concern.
'You think this is all my fault, don't you?' she stammered out. 'You think I deliberately…'
'Oh, no, mi'lady,' Sterns interrupted. 'The Marquess doesn't blame you. You didn't mean to get
yourself shot. Mi'lord always gets a bit…'
'Cranky?' she supplied.
The butler nodded. 'Yes, he gets cranky when he's worried.'
She turned her attention back to Caine. 'I'm sorry if I worried you,' she said then. 'Are you still worried?'
'No.'
'Then the injury isn't as terrible as it looked?'
Caine nodded. He put the finishing touches on his handiwork before giving her his full attention.
'A mere flesh wound, Jade,' he said. 'You should be up and about in no time.'
He really looked as if he meant what he said. Jade was immediately relieved.
'Cover my legs, Sterns, and don't look while you're doing it,' she ordered. Her voice had regained some of its bite, warming a smile out of the dour-faced man.
Jade was wearing only her chemise now. One side of the lace-bordered garment had been torn wide to expose her injury. She understood the necessity of having her clothes removed, but now that she knew she wasn't in jeopardy of dying, appearances needed to be maintained.
The butler did as she requested, then left to fetch a tray of supper for her. She and Caine were all alone. 'I don't care if it's only a paltry flesh wound,' she said. 'I've decided I'm going to linger, Caine.'
He sat down on the side of the bed, took hold of her hand, and gave her a heart-stopping smile. 'Why
do I get the feeling there's more to this announcement?'
'How astute of you, sir,' she countered. 'There is more. While I'm lingering, you're going to stay by my sick bed. This is, after all, probably all your fault,' she added with a nod.
She had to bite her lower lip to keep herself from laughing. Caine looked thoroughly confused.
'Oh?' he asked when she stared at him expectantly. 'How have you come to the conclusion that it's my fault?'
She shrugged. 'I haven't quite figured it out yet, but I will. Now give me your word, Caine. I won't rest easy until I know you won't leave my side.'
'All right, love,' he answered. His wink was slow, devilish. 'I won't leave your side day or night.'
The significance in that statement wasn't lost on her. 'You may take to your own bed at night,' she replied.
'May I?' he asked dryly.
Jade decided not to goad him any further, guessing he'd get downright cranky if she persisted with her orders. Besides, she'd won this round, hadn't she?
The inconvenience of getting shot was going to be turned into a nice advantage. She now had a perfectly good reason to keep him at her side. Why, she just might linger until Nathan came to fetch her.
She hadn't realized how exhausted she was. She fell asleep right after dinner, the tray still perched on her lap, and only awakened once during the night. Twin candles were burning a soft light on the night stand. Jade remembered the signal she needed to give to Jimbo and Matthew to let them know all was well, and immediately pushed the covers away.
She spotted Caine then. He was sprawled out in the wingback chair adjacent to the bed, his bare feet propped up on the bed, his white shirt opened to the waist, and was sound asleep.
Jade didn't know how long she watched him. She told herself she was just making certain he was really sound asleep. Lord, he was so appealing to her. He had quickly become far more, however, than merely handsome. He was like a safe haven from the storm, and the urge to lean on him, to let him take care of her, nearly overwhelmed her.
Her guardian angel began to snore, pulling her out of her trance. She eased out of the bed, picked up
one of the candles, and went to stand in front of the window.
Light rain cascaded down upon the landscape. Jade felt a bit guilty that her men were getting a good soaking. If she'd given her signal earlier, they could have found dry shelter sooner.
'What are you doing?'
Jade almost dropped the candle, so startled was she by Caine's booming voice.
She turned around and found him just a scant foot away. 'I was just looking out the window,' she whispered. 'I didn't mean to wake you.'
