MASTER SEBASTIAN

Chapter 41

Sebastian returned later that evening with two pales of water and an armful of chopped wood.

I watched as he loaded them off. "How long are we going to stay here?" I asked.

"Until the worst of the storm dies down," came the monotone reply.

"Okay." From the bed, I watched his side profile. It's been a full day since we got here and in all that time he'd been closed off and kept to himself a lot. I on the other hand also had a lot on my mind. Putting away the plate of soup I held, I started to slide my legs away from underneath the covers, hoping to get down. Sebastian's voice lashed through the air. "Don't leave that bed."

I frowned. "I'm not weak anymore. Look, I can sit up on my own."

"I think taking on an army of soul eaters requires more than the ability to sit up on your own."

I pursed my lips. "Well I hadn't done so bad yesterday when I froze them all up!"

His eyes lasered on mine. "Never do that again."

"Do what??"

"Put yourself at risk!"

"Uhh, in case you didn't notice, big guy, I was protecting myself."

"No," he gritted out. "You were protecting me."

I threw my hands up. "And that is such a bad thing?"

Silence met my outburst. Pulling water from the large pot hanging in the small kitchen, he took it over to the small wooden tub, filling it.

Once he was done, he stalked over to me and fitted an arm under my knee and hefted me up. "I can walk," I grumbled.

He dropped me gently to a stand before the tub. Before I could register what he was doing, he loosened the lacing of my gown, pulling it down my shoulders. My hands shot out, holding the coarse material to my body. "What are you doing?"

"I changed your clothes. It's nothing I've not seen," he said gruffly.

"Well, it's different this time because for one thing: I'm wide awake."

There was a stretch of silence. My core tightened when his hands slowly came back to the lacing, continuing their undoing. Heat licked at my skin, the temperature in the room increasing as my breaths laboured. His dark head bent to my shoulder. In a low voice, he said, "Let me."

I shivered when the rough pads of his fingers skimmed down my back. His voice still low, he admonished softly, "What you did yesterday shouldn't repeat itself."

Knowing what he spoke about, I said, "Wow. I think I just can run away and leave you fighting all by yourself against an army of soul eaters and who knows what else. Gee, your opinion of me is so flattering."

"I swore to your father I'd protect you."

My chest constricted. A familiar lump pushed It's way into my lungs. Clearing my throat, I asked, "And have you got any word on him yet?" My stomach tightened in dread as I waited his reply.

"Yes. He got away. It's all over Abberdin. Robert and his men are still on the hunt for him."

I let out a tremendous breath of relief, sagging against him.