“I belong to no man,” Cleopatra scowled at him.
He couldn’t help but chuckle at the fierceness in her features. Her eyes tightened as her lips pulled together. Even her nostrils flared with defiance, but she was no monster, nor could she pretend to be one. Her face was far too kind and gentle. Even the scowl she gave him wouldn’t scare a fly.
“Ye could have been killed,” Jude said in such a low voice that it scared him to even say it. The dark shadows in his mind resurfaced and he shuddered at the thought.
“I had it covered,” Cleopatra insisted.
“Did ye now? It dinnae look like it from my perspective.”
“You were looking at it wrong,” Cleopatra said pulling her arm off of him. Instantly, his body chilled as she removed the heat. He shook his head and pointed his finger.
“Nay, ye were lookin’ at it wrong, if I dinnae show up, we would have found yer body in pieces.”
“What’s it to you if I live or die? I’m nothing but a burden to you,” she said dropping her head. Her words pricked him.
“If ye were a burden, I wouldnae have come lookin’ for ye,” Jude answered. She whipped her head up and nodded.
“Yes, you would have. You think I do not know that I have a price on my head? You’re taking me with you for a ransom. It’s the only reason why you never let me go in the forest.”
“Ye ken nothin’,” Jude said turning his head. He could feel the heat rising him is chest. He was inches away from telling her the truth. Her father’s words were on the tip of his tongue ready to slip out. Still, he held them back and kept them to himself.
“How’s yer leg?” he asked as he knelt to inspect the bite marks.
“It hurts,” she answered. He could feel her eyes on him as he drew the hem of her dress up to her knee.
“We need to clean this,” he said. “At least I daenae think it is deep.”
“And if it were? Would you leave me here?” she asked. He glanced up to her and she pushed the torched to him.
“Nay,” he said. “I wouldnae do that. Nae to a woman, and certainly nae to ye.”
Holding her gaze, he noticed something in her expression shift. The anger that had creased her brow had faded and she stared at him with wide eyes.
“Come on,” he said as he rose. “Let’s get this cleaned. There is still a wee bit of time before the sun comes up and we need sleep.”
He moved toward the river and was surprised to find her following close behind him. He turned to face her and forced the torched back into her hands. She took it immediately and he reached for her dress. She didn’t flinch as he tore a scrap of cloth from her dress. Carefully, he lowered himself to his stomach and dipped the cloth into the cold water.
“Sit,” he ordered. She didn’t hesitate or question him as she sat on the ground instantly.
“This is goin’ to sting a bit,” he said as she hiked the hem up a bit. Holding his breath, he looked at Cleo’s bare leg. It was soft and delicate as he brushed his fingers over the calf. In the back of his mind, he could swear he heard her gasp as he ran his fingers over her smooth skin.
What a lovely creature she is. How smooth and tender. I must keep me head on straight. I cannae be givin’ her the wrong impression despite the longing in me loins.
Carefully, and as tenderly as he could, he dabbed the cloth to her wounds. She nodded without saying a word. He knew the cold water didn’t feel good. After all, there was many times he too had to clean the open wounds from battle from this very river, but he knew it had to be done.
“Thank you,” she said in such a low voice that he wasn’t sure he heard her speak. Glancing to her, she lowered her head and said it again. “You saved my life, even after I was being so nasty to you. My father would have left me back there to deal with those beasts alone. He would have said it would build character.”
“I am nae yer faither,” Jude said dabbing the rest of the blood away. “I’d never do such a thing.”
“I see that now,” she said as her head bobbed slightly. “And I’m sorry. Forgive me.”
Jude glanced up to her and dropped his shoulders as he sighed. The sincerity in her eyes and the way her lips curled down into a pout broke his heart. He bobbed his head.
“Please daenae make me go after ye again,” he said. “I was lucky to find ye in this weather. If ye hadnae screamed, there’s nay tellin’ if I would have found ye.”
“And for that I am sorry,” she said as she chewed on her lower lip.
Jude reached up and brushed his fingers over her calf. He held her gaze as he touched her. Her flesh was warm and so soft he almost had forgotten what it felt like to touch a woman in such a way. His fingers drifted to the scraps of cloth dangling from her dress. With a fluid motion, he ripped the bits off.
“I have to bind the wound,” he said.
“Do what you must.”
Carefully, he wrapped the cloth around her leg and tied it off. “There.”
“Thank you,” she answered as she rose to her feet. He watched her carefully as she hobbled to the cave.
“Rest, Cleo,” he said. “We still have a long way to go.”
With her shoulders dropped and her head low, Jude followed behind her. In the back of his mind, he wished she would slip so that he could catch her. Yet she managed to stay on her feet. She paused at the opening of the cave. The rain had eased up a bit, but her hair clung to her neck
