Light to Valhalla (9 page)

Tingles at her nape marked Alex’s approach
.
Snow and
pine needles crunched beneath
his feet, and t
he ache in her chest intensified with each
uneven
step
.
Had he been injured as well?  The thought left her sick and
terribly off balance
.
S
he whirled,
searching
her husband’s formidable
fr
a
m
e from
head to toe
.
No immediate
evidence of harm met her gaze
.

Alex stopped before her, slipping the field knife back into his boot
with practiced calm
.
At last he looked at he
r, and C
harley
’s throat ran dry
.
Hellfire lined every facet of
hi
s
handsome
face
.
S
he stepped
reflexively
back
.
He must be furious about the entire debacle
.
As if she could help being abducted
.
But… the scandal would be impossible to live down if word got out
.
“I—” she gulped
.
“I’m sorry
.
Th
-those men…” The anger in Alex’s eyes intensified
.
She had no idea what to say, what he might
expect of her
.
Despair and uncertainty settled over her
.
Alex would hardly be the dream knight come to rescue her
.
He’d come out of duty and obligation
.
Heartbroken, s
he braced herself for the scathing lecture sure to come.

“We should be going,”
Alex
clipped
,
a cool gaze shifting from
Charley
to
Sid.

Charley
swallowed around the
cotton lump in her throat
, struggling to find her voice
.
“S
idney’s
been hurt
.”

Sid
cast an indifferent glance down at his arm and tugged
at the torn
jacket sleeve “It’s
just
a scratch, Charles
.
I’ve had paper cuts worse than this.”

She raised a dubious brow
.
The wound certainly
appeared worse than
any paper
cut
s she’d been inflicted with
.

Alex
turned a dark glare toward
Sidney
.
“I’ll take care of it once we’
re back with our horses
.
Right now we need to move before those idiots come back and finish what they started
.
This is a prime place for an ambush.
”

Sidney
nodded in grave agreement
.
“He’s right
.
Let’s get out of here.
”
He reached for
Charley
, but
Alex
stepped between them
, slipping a possessive arm about her waist
.
A trill of
excitement
shot through her as the strength of his fingers pressed firmly into her
s
ide
.

“
We only have two horses so you’ll have to ride with me
,
Charles
.
”
T
he sarcastic
bite in
Alex
’s tone
swiftly cut any girlish trembling
inspired by
his touch
.
Why had
Sidney
used the pet name?  Only he called her Charles
.
It was all in good fun,
but
Alex
was sure to get the wrong impression
..
.
think the nickname intimate or some other such foolishness
.

Sidney
took the lead, guiding them through the inky wood
.
Not once did
Alex
loosen his hold on her
and he proved remarkably sure footed on the uneven terrain despite his limp
.

“
Watch your step,
”
Alex
murmured
, turning to face her
.
All anger was gone
from his handsome visage
, and only soft concern reflected in the moonlight
.
He
leaned down, slipping one arm around the small of her back and the other beneath her knees,
gallantly scooping
her up in his arms
.

“Oh!
”
Charley
’
s sto
mach flound
er
ed
.
Heavens, he lifted her as easily as one would a
horse
blanket.

“This snow drift looks a little deep,” he supplied
, cradling her into his
heat
.
“I wouldn’t want you to trip.
”
Warm gusts of breath tickled her cheek
, sending tingles dancing along her
skin
.

Tingles did
not
bode well for her peace of mind
.

“
Th
-thank you.
”
Her arms settled naturally
about his broad shoulders, fingers brushing
the soft
hair and smooth skin at the base
of his neck
.

He strode clear of the drift and she pulled away from his upper body, expecting him to set her back to the ground
.
Alex
,
however, showed no signs of slowing
.
“
You can put me down now.”

“
N
onsense,” he clipped
.
“
We’ll m
ove faster if I carry you.”

Charley rather doubted that
.
“Al
ex
—”

“Lay your head on my shoulder,”
he ordered,
the
words
quiet but filled with his usual gruffness
.
He shifted her easily in his arms,
giving her little choice but to comply, and marched
through the trees as though she we
re no more burden than a
potato
sack
.

After the night’s ordeal
Charley
simply didn’
t have it in her to argue
, and
tentatively
rested
a
cheek
against his shoulder
.
She sighed out a pent up breath
, relaxing ever so slightly
against his sturdy frame
.
This
was
much more comfortable
.
Her head fit perfectly within the crook of his neck
and his broad back blocked the
cold
wind
.
The
familiar
aroma of coffee
mingled with Alex’s masculine
s
cent
teas
ed
her senses
.
Coffee…
she’d forgotten he didn’t like tea
.
The sweet memory
reminded her
again
of
the friendship
they’d once shared and
her guard slipped
just a bit
.
“Why did you come for me?”

“You seemed in need of rescuing,”
he
murmured
softly
.

Spoken like a true fairytale knight
.
The unexpected tenderness coupled with the
fresh terror of her abduction
brought
on an urge to cry so sudden, Charley
barely
swallowed back
the
sob
rushing up her throat
.
Struggling to maintain her self-control
she
squeezed
her
eyes shut
, striving to banish the faces of her captors
.
A vision of Alex charging
into
the thicket swept through her mind
bringing with it a sense of security
that threatened the iron walls surrounding her heart
.

Cuddled
in his arms
she was warm and safe and, foolish or no, she didn’t particularly want to leave his embrace
.
H
ere was the sanctuary she’d craved in the clearing
.
Despite everything between them
Alex had
actually come for her
.
He hadn’t paid a ransom; he’d gallantly risked his life instead
.

A twig popped, snapping her from the fanciful haze
.
Lord above she’d bes
t not dwell on anything Alex may or may not have done
.
If she wasn’t careful her imagination would weave ridiculous daydreams
and she’d find herself falling hard and fast in love with a fairytale
.
Again
.
Alex did nothing unless he stood to profit from it
.
Best to remember that.

“You’re shaking,” h
e murmured
,
softly
touching his lips to her hair
.

Charley
’s fickle heart
twisted
and the trembling grew tenfold in force
.
“I
t’s just that…” She pause
d, reluctant to admit the true center of her thoughts
.
“
Those men… I—I s
till can’t believe
you’re here, that you found me
before
…” her voice trailed off
.
“I’m sorry,
Alex
.”

“Think no more of it for now, love
.
You’re safe and we’ll discuss it later.”

Love?
 
Her insides quivered
.
Stop
.
Stop
.
Stop that,
she scolded silently
.
No good could come of reading into
meaningless endearments
.
The same endearments he used for children, animals
,
and likely the cooking staff
.
The reality was
quite depressing and her heart sank along with her thoroughly
battered
spirits
.
What a day
.
What a night
.
What a disappointment
.

“Rest your head
.
I’ve got you.
”
Comforting gusts of breath
licked her hair
and foolish though it may be she complied
.
He
re in the dark of night, in the shadowy
woods, w
hat could it hurt to let those powerful arms surround her for just a
spell?  He hadn’t scolded her for the situation and was being very attentive
.
She snuggled
deeper,
wrapping
her arms more fully around his neck
.
Just
this once she’d play the role of
damsel in distress, and he would be her armored knight
.

A
lex wove steadily through the trees without another word and showing no signs of weariness
.
A
fter a few minutes Charley spied
the road
winding through the trees
, illuminated by moonlight
.

“Keep
Charley
back,
Alex
,”
Sidney
called from the
roadside
.
“She doesn’t need to see this.
”