FREE! In The Arms of My Enemy (Completed!) Book 1

Strange Bedfellows

Fidelia snuggled deeper under the covers for warmth, sniffling at the chill.

Something stirred beside her and she rolled over, snuggling closer to Lottie to share body heat.

She sniffled again. That... did not smell like Lottie. Her eyes flew open. Tousled brown hair tickled her nose and broad shoulders rose and fell against her arm as her bed companion snored slightly.

"Off!" Fidelia snarled and planted her feet squarely against his back, shoving him roughly out of the cabin's berth.

"Agh!" William yelped as he sailed over the tiny gap between the bed and the wall to crash against the rough wood. He sat up in the gap, the blanket caught around his head. "What's happened? Are we being attacked?"

"You are. How dare you try to share my bed?" Fidelia clutched the pillow they had shared and brought it down roughly on his covered head. "Scoundrel!"

William barked in surprise and struggled under the tangled blankets to protect himself. "Woman!"

"This marriage is in name only, in case you've forgotten, and if you try something like that again—"

"You were freezing," William finally managed to yank the blanket off his head and frowned at her. "You were soaked to the bone last night and the only thing that could keep you from shivering was to share body heat. My intentions were entirely honorable—"

Fidelia smacked him with the pillow again and glared at him. He snatched the weapon and tugged roughly, but she snarled and held it back. Finally, William managed to wrestle it from her hands, and he huffed, blowing the hair from his forehead.

She copied him and crawled off the bed to gather her clothes.

"I never imagined I would wed such a childish woman," William muttered behind her. She turned her head to glare at him so quickly that her neck pinched uncomfortably.

"What did you say?" she asked quietly, narrowing her eyes.

William backed up a step, holding up the pillow like a shield. "Nothing! Nothing, my dear wife."

Fidelia snorted and pointed to the door. "Out. And don't you dare call me that again."

William inched around her; his back pressed against the wall with the pillow still between them as a deterrent until he reached the door. Finally, he tossed the pillow back onto the bed and flashed her a smile that would have made her knees a little shaky if she hadn't been so determined to be mad at him.

Finally alone again, her shoulders drooped and she rubbed the back of her neck. It ached terribly. Shivering, she changed into her only dress, surprised that it was dry and warm. William must have hung it up the night before. Grudgingly, she had to admit that the cabin was much colder without him. Or perhaps she was still feeling the effects of the rain from the night before. That must be it, she told herself firmly. She absolutely did not miss William's presence.

***

William leaned on the railing, looking out at the sunrise peeking over the quiet ocean waters. Soft pinks and blues tinged the world around him, but he hardly noticed it. Instead, he smiled and ducked his head, chuckling as he remembered the way Fidelia had shoved him out of bed with her little feet.

"You seem happier this morning, my Lord," Lottie greeted him as she joined him at the rail.

He straightened and nodded, his lips curling up slightly on their own accord at the memory of the way Fidelia had copied him, blowing the hair out of her eyes to glare at him. "Humor is the best medicine," he said, gesturing to his bruised face.