A Love Worthy

Chapter Fourteen

            Her smile faded and she turned her back to him. She couldn’t let him see the affect he had on her. How could she tell him that when he was sweet and gentle, he made her heart beat for a reason entirely foreign to her, a reason that she couldn’t fathom possible, especially with a man like Dorian.

            “Why are you afraid of me?” his voice hardened and she turned to him, stunned by how quickly his demeanor changed.

            She shook her head, “I told you-“

            “I don’t believe you.” He stepped towards her and she retreated. His blue eyes narrowed, “What has colored your opinion of me?”

            Ginelle swallowed back a heavy lump lodged in her throat. She wasn’t ready to reveal anything, especially to him.

            He reached out to brush her face and she turned away from his touch. His hand curled into a fist and he dropped it to his side. His features darkened as he demanded, “Who is Pierino?”

            Her eyes widened and her face paled beneath his questioning glare. She gritted her teeth and turned abruptly around, “I think it best we return home.” She made a move towards the horse but strong, lean fingers seized her arm, steering her back around.

            “Answer me dammit!” his fingers gripped her upper arms as he searched her face. “Did he hurt you?”

            Tears filled the rim of her eyes and she struggled against the rising storm of emotions. “Yes!” she wrenched from his grasp and stepped away, quickly wiping the tears from her face.

            Dorian stared at her rigid back, her shoulders shaking with her fear. “Was he there?” he asked gently, “At the banquet?”

            She nodded.

            “What does he want with you?”

            Ginelle whirled, her eyes flashing like daggers as she cried, “I don’t know!” she gasped for a breath, “He is an evil man who will stop at nothing to see that I suffer and that’s just it, I don’t know why. I cannot tell you his intentions but he seems to want me for a reason that I cannot explain.”

            She stalked away from him, unable to look at him for revealing too much of her painful past. He grasped her arm, pulling her back towards him. “Let go of me!”

            “Ginelle.” His arms tightened around her waist as he reached up to cup her chin, forcing her to peer into his eyes. He traced a finger along the curve of her cheek as he said, “This man will never hurt you again, and so as long as I am alive, no harm will come to you.”

            She shook her head, “Do not make promises that you cannot keep.”