assure you. If you agree to my terms, I’ll unbind you now.”
Ava’s pride held her silent for only a few seconds. Her aching stomach and tingling bladder eradicated it fully, though and she nodded her consent.
“Good girl,” he replied with a smirk that said he didn’t believe her for one second. Nevertheless, he reached behind her to remove the gag. Ava gasped and filled her mouth with the taste of clean morning air once the rough fabric was gone from her mouth. Her bone-dry tongue felt like tree bark in her mouth.
“Water,” she croaked. Her own voice sounded foreign to her ears, her throat was so parched.
A wineskin materialized in her captor’s hand that was thankfully filled with cool water. He lifted it to her lips—her hands remained tied behind her back—and allowed her to drink her fill. Water rolled down her chin and neck, but Ava didn’t care. The water was entirely too satisfying for her to worry about how she appeared to her kidnapper.
“What’ll it be now, hellcat? Breakfast? A few moments of privacy behind a tree?”
Ava detested his referring to her as ‘hellcat,’ but she wanted relief from the swelling pain in her bladder and the gnawing of hunger in her stomach.
“The tree, please,” she answered.
After fumbling with the rope around her ankles for a few moments, he pulled her to her feet with a rough yank. Ava glowered at him as he freed her wrists. As she turned to walk toward the trees, Julian’s hand clamped down tightly on her arm.
“Not so fast,” he said with a chuckle. “I’ll need some assurance that you won’t go wandering off.”
“My word wouldn’t suffice?”
This chuckle was a sarcastic snort. “No.”
A new length of rope, a longer one, appeared between his large hands. He knotted it around her waist so tightly Ava could never hope to pull it loose. Still holding the other end of the rope, Julian waved her off with an imperious motion.
“Off you go,” he said lazily, resting his back against a nearby tree. “If you’re not back in five minutes I’m yanking on this rope until you appear.”
Ava bit back her retort and retreated into the woods, grateful that he had at least given her enough rope to disappear from his sight. She felt like a new woman after coming out, the swelling sensation in her stomach now gone. Of course, hunger was gnawing at her now more than ever.
When she reached the campsite, Julian was waiting for her with the wineskin and a dry-looking oatcake. Ava accepted the cake reluctantly and frowned.
“I apologize of the fare isn’t up to your standards,” he said. His amusement was infuriating. “However, if you don’t want to pass out in the saddle I suggest you eat it.”
Ava took a large, un-ladylike bite and chewed noisily, her narrowed eyes fixed on his twinkling black ones. A smirk pulled at the corners of his firm mouth, emphasizing the small scar on the upper lip. Ava choked down the mealy, flavorless cake quickly and washed it down with more water from Julian’s offered wineskin.
Just as she finished, Julian’s partner approached, leading two horses by the reigns.
“Ah, Simon.” Julian said. “Just in time! Our companion has awakened and is ready for travel.”
Simon’s cheeks and neck flamed red as he nodded at her. His embarrassment over their first encounter was evident. Refusing to relieve his discomfort by releasing his gaze, she lifted her chin a few inches and stared back, the challenge in her expression clear.
“Well then,” said Julian after the silence had grown beyond uncomfortable. “Shall we go now?”
Ava eyed the two animals patiently pawing the ground behind Simon. “There are only two,” she argued.
Julian’s smirk became a grin and he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Ah, that my dear, is because I wouldn’t trust you on a horse farther than I could throw you. You’ll be sharing my mount.”
Ava’s eyes widened and she felt her heart kick into double-time at the thought of