by Sandra Elsa
Lying on the floor listening, Trace heard her breathing deepen into the regular pattern of someone sound asleep.
Sleep did not come so easily to him. In his mind he planned what must be done in the morning. He would need to convince his superiors that his “sister” was combat ready or she would never be allowed to go with him to his unit’s position near the border. She would probably have to go through many weapons’ tests. He hoped she was, as she said, at least “competent” with an assortment of weapons. That would certainly make it easier.
There was no question she was competent with her bow. She looked too lightly built to handle a sword. She had said she could; until proven otherwise he would have to believe she was telling him the truth.
The other problem he foresaw was that she could easily have been the girl of his dreams. Her slumbering innocence, drew him. One move that was not entirely brotherly could cause more trouble than either of them would care for. There were other women in the Army, but this sister of his was far better looking than any that he had met so far. She would be very popular with the male soldiers. While most of them would respect her as a fellow soldier, he could foresee a rough settling in period.
All the more reason to take her with him. He knew the soldiers in his unit well. Their lives depended on each other. There were only one or two men he could imagine giving her a hard time. Trace wanted to protect her. He watched her small perfect breast rise as she snored softly. His face heated with a rush of blood. He fought down the urge to stand beside her; just to stare at her. How could his grandfather bring him somebody so stunning and tell him she’s his sister? That just wasn’t fair! That was his grandfather.
The wolf was another matter. He would be no problem. From what his grandfather said, he would probably be invisible most of the time. He would be a boon to the unit as long as he was happy with the way Bella was being treated. There was little doubt in Trace’s mind that if there was any problem he couldn’t handle himself, the wolf would be there to handle it. Bella could be naked in the woods and she would be perfectly safe. That mental image caused him some moments of discomfort.
The connection to the stallion that traipsed through the forest with her was odd. No lead rope and he still hung by her side as though glued there. Plainly he did not care for anybody else. She had warned Trace to stay away from—what did she call him—Angel. One glimpse of those teeth had been enough to convince him not to challenge her warning.
If they were going to return to his duty station she would have to ride him. Annoyed, Trace realized he hadn’t bothered to find out if she could ride. She seemed so capable in every other respect it hadn’t even crossed his mind earlier that she might not be able to. Now that he thought about it, it was very unlikely she did know how. Slaves were rarely permitted to ride, and since she had run away, everything she described had been a matter of walking on her own two feet. That could be a problem.
Perhaps that was why she had not yet ridden Angel. Nobody else could get close to him and she had no idea how to train him. He would ask her about that tomorrow, there was no denying Angel was the finest horse he had seen in a long time. Too bad he was so devoted to someone who apparently had no clue.
Of course when Trace arrived in Relante two years ago he had been little better. He had ridden, but his skills left much to be desired. Now there were days when he found himself in the saddle for eighteen hours at a time—pausing only long enough to rest the horse or to swap to a new one.
One horse had died underneath him... Discovered well inside Telgarn territory, he had no choice but to run. Only two things had saved him that time. A well thought out escape route and a horse with more heart than sense.
Fortunately by the time the horse dropped, Trace was close enough to the bolthole he had arranged--just in case--to get there on foot. He remained there for two weeks as a company of Telgarn soldiers rode back and forth in the area, searching for him. They had given up and went back to their post, but that was one of several experiences he had nightmares from.
Trace’s thoughts quieted. With a look at the girl resting on the bed he sighed heavily and turned to face the window. He fell into a restless sleep until a short time later they both awoke when the door to the room opened. It turned out to be Johann returning and everybody went back to sleep.