The other man replied with a tight nod.
“I said,” the man repeated, yelling over the now silent room. “Who are you calling loud?”
Noah turned and handed her a key. “Upstairs with you. Quickly.” Then he looked at the innkeeper. “Have one of the wenches escort my sister, please.”
“But,” she started. “You don’t like fighting. Come up with me.” She didn’t mean to tell him what to do, but he’d said as much to her yesterday about hand-to-hand altercations.
He looked back at her with a quick wink. “I can take my licks in a pinch. But you needn’t see it. Go on.”
“Who’s the lady?” another from the table called. “Is she pretty under that veil? Should we pull it off and find out?”
Avery froze behind him. It was everything she’d feared, and Noah was all that stood between her and those men.
“Innkeeper, send a boy to fetch the local constable.” Then he cracked his knuckles one at a time. “The next one who speaks of my sister that way gets my fist in his face first.”
She blinked as she looked up at him. His voice was deadly quiet, as menacing as any she had ever heard, and yet, it was like a sweet trill along her ears. In this moment she’d never been more grateful or more…
What? She tried to discern how she was feeling but another woman grabbed her arm and tugged. “Come on, luv,” she said as she escorted Avery toward the stairs. “Yur brover says it’s time fer you to head upstairs.” Then the woman leaned closer. “Strapping fella, yur brover. Handsome too. Is he married?” Then she cackled. “And don’t worry about the party in the corner. They’re all talk mostly.”
Downstairs she heard one of them call out. “No need to be so rough, sir. We were just having a bit of fun.”
Avery relaxed at that. Noah had the situation under control. Her own feelings, however, were much more complicated.
Noah watched Avery disappear up the stairs. If anything had happened to her…
He ignored the pang that told him he was more concerned than he ought to be. A husband was responsible for keeping his wife, or future wife, safe.
He looked back at the men who were already retreating from their show of bravado. Didn’t they realize there were six of them and only one of him?
But as he looked around, a few other men gave the table of ne’er-do-wells some hard stares and he realized he wouldn’t have to fight alone if it came to that. Not that he wanted to fight, but he wasn’t afraid to either and he would not allow these men to disrespect his— He stopped short.
He’d been going to say his woman.
Technically, Avery was his to protect on this trip and in the future.
But his concern hadn’t come from duty but something much deeper. A primal need. His fists clenched and unclenched.
She’d declared that she would not marry him, and he hadn’t belabored the point. But at some point, he was going to have to tell her of his deception. That she’d never had any choices. Perhaps he should tell her. She’d hate him for it and then that emotional distance he was attempting to achieve would be a forgone conclusion.
He closed his eyes. As much as he knew he should not want her to care for him, the light in her eyes had become so important to him. Noah had gotten a great deal more than he’d bargained for with Avery.
He wasn’t supposed to care for her.
Because when he did, he opened himself up to hurt again.
How could he listen to a woman he loved go through childbirth? The very idea of being on the other side of the door and hearing her screams…
He turned away marching up the stairs. Not that he was ready to see Avery.
They had side by side rooms he noted as he bypassed hers, heading for his.
While the idea of her birthing his child filled him with anxious excitement, the notion of listening to her go through the pain of labor… Dear God, it would be like Lily all over again.
He opened his door and stepping inside, clicked the lock closed once again. He shuddered and then tossed himself onto his bed.
He wasn’t afraid of those men downstairs, but the woman next door… She scared him half to death.
A knock sounded, but he ignored it, tossing an arm over his eyes. It came again louder. Was it the innkeeper delivering dinner already? “Who is it?”
A door creaked and he sat up, sure he’d locked the door behind him.
But it wasn’t his exterior door that opened but the connecting door between his room and Avery’s. She stood in the doorway, the veil gone, her brown hair in a loose braid over one shoulder once again. “Is everything all right?”
“Fine,” he answered, laying back down and covering his eyes. “I’ll call you when dinner arrives.”
“What’s wrong?” she asked her footsteps moving closer. “Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?”
“No,” he answered. “Return to—Avery!”
His eyes flew open as her hands ran all over his body. They started at his shoulders, tracing his torso. Her touch was gentle yet firm and he ached for more as her gaze searched his face. “Are you hurt?”
“No one even touched me.” He sat up again because…well because her hands had felt far too good.
“Excellent.” She straightened. “You seemed to have the situation well in hand, but when I saw you on the bed, I was worried.”
“I did,” he replied, “have the situation in hand.”
“Good.” She leaned down again and placed a small peck on his cheek.
His hand covered the skin she’d just kissed. “What was that for?”
“Thank you,” she softly murmured. “For standing up for me. I really appreciated it and—” She drew in a breath. “Thank you.”
Then she spun on her heel and raced back to her room, the door slamming behind her.
He stared at the door where
