Through the Looking Glass (11 page)

Chapter 11

After he had his wound taken care and had taken a bath, Jakar went to the room he shared with his new wife. It was well after midnight by the time he crawled into the warm bed and lay his head on the pillow. He rolled onto his side to face Isobel as she quietly slept next to him. He had been careful not to disturb her when he entered the room because he knew she would be furious with him for leaving on the night of their wedding.

She softly sighed in her sleep as the moonlight streamed into the bedroom and touched her face. He pushed himself up on his elbow so that he could look at her closely. His wife looked so peaceful in her sleep. Her lips were lightly parted as she breathed and looked to be so soft. He wanted to feel them pressed against his as he claimed her mouth the same way he had on their wedding day. Her long eyelashes gently slept on her cheeks that were slightly flushed. Her hair, that he longed to have caress his body, lay tussled on the pillow and sheet next to him. He stretched a hand out and gently picked up a thick curl, rubbing it between his thumb and index finger. It felt so soft and he loved the way the end wrapped around his finger when he let it go.

Could he bring himself to believe she was truly the one meant for him? The woman lying next to him was from a world he knew nothing about. He knew nothing about her or her life. He had been so cruel to jump to conclusions when he had first come across her on the battlefield. He should have known immediately that she was different just by the way she had been dressed
and the way she spoke with her accent. It should have sent his senses into overload. For two days he had been away from her and now, here he was lying so close to her he could smell her womanly scent.

Sighing, he rolled onto his back and closed his eyes. Morning wasn’t too far off and he was dead tired. He needed to get a few hours of sleep before he would be called to take care of the daily problems his people faced.

******

Isobel stretched as she
felt the warm rays of the sun shining on her face. Turning her head in the direction of the sun, she opened her eyes lazily only to be jolted wide awake with the sight of Jakar sleeping next to her. He looked peaceful as he slept, almost boyish. His handsome face was relaxed and showed a hint of the scowl he constantly wore when she was around. His dark lashes lay on his cheeks as his eyes darted back and forth underneath their lids. This was the first time she had been able to look at him long enough to get her fill without him knowing.

If she had to remain in this world she wi
shed he would look at her with anything other than the disgusted look he seemed to always have ready for her. If everyone in Aslog knew who she supposedly was, why then did he deny it? Why he was so sure she was this spy he accused her of being? Would she ever be able to convince him otherwise?

A cloud
moved over the sun and cast a shadow into the room. She glanced to the window and saw the black clouds building up in the distance. Another day of rain meant she would be cooped up inside yet again. Movement next to her had her looking back at Jakar. She sucked in a sharp breath when she saw he was staring at her with his piercing ice blue eyes. Paralyzed, she stared back at him, letting her eyes travel over his face. His brows drew inward to inform her, or so she thought, that he was in another one of his sour moods.

Not knowing what to say to him, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind, “Good morning.” She drew in her bottom lip as she waited for a reply.

Nothing could get her to take her eyes off him until he moved to sit up and let out a loud hiss as he reached for his shoulder. Her gaze followed his hand that was clasped over a bandage.

“Oh m
y God! You’re hurt!” She jumped to her knees in front of him to help him sit up.

“It’s nothing major
, just a scrape,” he told her through clenched teeth.

She sat on her heels and gave him a look to let him know she wasn’
t stupid. “Really, just a scrape? No one makes that kind of a face with just a scrape,” she tried to imitate his rough voice. “What happened?”

He
r stomach was doing flip-flops as she waited for an answer. She was positive he was about to bite her head off but she persisted anyway. “Why won’t you tell me what happened?”

Jakar’s eyes ran over her b
ody that was only covered in a thin nightgown. “I didn’t get out of the way of a sword quick enough as it came at my head,” he mumbled loud enough for her to hear.

Her stomach dropped at the thought of something happening to him. Why? She had no idea. “Is that why you left the other night?” she asked quietly.

His eyes darkened with her question. “I do not need to report to you, my dear wife.”

The invisible slap had her moving away from him. “I only asked a question. There’s no need to bite my head off!” She slipped out of the bed and headed to the bathroom. If he was going to act like a fool then he could do it alone. She would get dressed and go down to the kitchen to find something to eat. After brushing her teeth with the paste Nana had made and washing her face with cold water, she whipped her gown up over her head, tossing it to side carelessly. Just as she reached for the dress
that hung on the hook near the door, Jakar kicked open the door. She let out a scream as the door slammed against the stone wall and bounced off. Her hand closed around the skirt of her dress, jerking it off the hook to try and hide her naked body.

Jakar
stopped dead in his tracks. He wore his scowl again while his blue eyes darkened even more. She stood there in front of him in her birthday suit while his eyes roamed up and down her body.

“Get out!”
she shouted at him. His look began to frighten her. He said nothing as he stood there until she shouted at him again to get out.

One side of his face slowly raised up in a half smirk when he finally found his voice again. “I d
on’t have to get out, wife.” He took a step closer to her as she took a step away. “What’s the matter now, my little wife? Cat got your tongue?” The other side of his mouth lifted to form a complete grin as he steadily came towards her.

Trying as hard as she could to keep her dress in front of her with one hand, she held up the other in an effort to keep him at a distance. “No,” she replied breathlessly.

“Oh I think it has. Maybe I should see if I can help you in some way?” He continued to walk slowly to her until he had her backed up against the wall next to the bathtub.

Her breathing was coming in rapid gulps as she stood beneath his lingering gaze. He was so tall compared to her that she had to tilt her head all the way back to look up at him
. Her voice had deserted her as she looked into his hooded eyes. He didn’t touch her physically but she felt as if his hands were running all over her body. 

Heat emanating from his body was causing hers
to flush. She could feel her core becoming slick as his eyes continued to bore into her. She swallowed nervously as she tried to make herself disappear into the cold stone she was pressed against. When he reached up with his hand she flinched. For a split second she had thought he was going to strike her for provoking him in the bedroom earlier, but as his hand gently caressed her cheek, she sighed.

His face took on a new look as he softly touched her cheek with his fingers, travelling down to skim across her lips. “Did you think I would strike you?”

Isobel could automatically tell he was deeply troubled by her thought. After what Daniel had done to her family she wasn’t so sure of any man’s actions anymore. Unable to voice her answer, she simply nodded at his question.

He drew his hand away as if she had stung him with her nod. His eyes darkened
quickly then slowly faded back to their normal color.

“Why would you think such a th
ing? Do you think I am capable of such a thing?” He studied her face and he wasn’t about to let her pass until she gave him an answer he would be satisfied with.

“I don’t know what you might be capable of. You haven’t shown me any kindness or compassion since the moment you found me, so what else am I to think?”
Did she just dig herself deeper into trouble with him,
she asked herself.

He stepped back from her before he answered. “I may be a lot of things, but an abuser of a woman I am not!”

The look on his face told her she had hurt his feelings. It shouldn’t have bothered her in the least but it did. She stood there staring at him, wondering what he was going to do next. The chill of the bathroom was starting to cause goose-bumps to pop up on her naked flesh, so she prayed he would leave her in peace to get dressed.

“Can I get dressed now? Or do you prefer to watch?”

Jakar simply nodded and turned to leave the room, shutting the door behind him. She let out a shaky breath as the door shut and she was alone again. Without a moment of hesitation, she pulled her dress over her head. She didn’t want to give Jakar time to reconsider his decision to leave her alone and come back in.

The long sleeved dress reminded her of a style of dress she wore at home. It was a simple, plain blue dress that fell to her ankles. The top portion of the dress was more of a baby doll style dress with its empire waist and A-line skirt. The exception was that it fell well past her knees.
The long sleeves would keep her arms warm but still allowed her hands to remain free from excess fabric. She felt more comfortable in the dress than she did in her wedding dress because her cleavage was completely covered up.

Nana must have come in sometime earlier because there was a pair of small boots sitting next to the door which looked as if they would fit her. She pulled on the pair of cream colored stocking
s then shoved her feet into the brown boots. Surprised that the boots fit her, she quickly laced the strings up the fronts then tested the boots with a few steps. Satisfied her wardrobe was to her liking, she opened the door to go find something to eat in the kitchen.

At first she didn’t noticed Jakar standing near the window. The sound of his voice speaking to her had her whirling around to find him. He continued to gaze out the window as he addressed her which she thought was a bit strange.

“I would like for you to accompany me into the village. There are some things I need to attend to and I would like for you to join me.”

She didn’t know what to say at first. Her heart reeled
with excitement. He was asking her to go with him! This was the first time he was willing to spend some time with her. She would have to keep her guard up in case he was trying to trick her or something but at least she would be able to get out of the castle for a while.

“O…ok,” she squeezed out in a short breath.

He turned to look at her then. His face no longer held the scowl she thought would become permanent on his face. Rather, he was smiling at her! The difference the smile made was astonishing. It reached his eyes and revealed his straight white teeth.

“When will we leave?” she asked.

He strode towards her and took her by the hand, pulling her behind him as they left the room. “Right now.”

She had to trot behind him to keep up. He headed to the staircase and started to take them two at a time which caused her to stumble and call out to him. “Jakar! I can’t go as fast as you!” She slammed into his back when he stopped suddenly.

“I wasn’t thinking.” He was still smiling at her. “I’m sorry. I’ll slow down.”

He didn’t let go of her hand as he started back down the stairs. A couple of the servants stood to the side as they walked by holding hands. Isobel looked back at them and caught a glimpse of the smiles spread across their faces. They continued on through the castle halls until they were outside in the open air. Even though the sky was gray with heavy clouds, it still felt good to be outside.