Unbroken (Unarmed Trilogy #2) (3 page)

They all continued to travel in mostly silence as Will slowed Angus down to keep pace with the wagon carrying Tamzin. He could see her in the pile of pillows with the furs pulled around her shoulders. She did sleep much better during the day, Will noted. Her breath came out in small spurts and she didn't fidget as much. The air was still cool, though they continued to approach the South.

Roth Territory was the furthest territory south for the North and after Roth, it turned into the Deep South. It became truly unfriendly roads after Roth and though Will remembered the warning from Isabelle, the roads stayed mostly clear.

Will found himself counting the trees that passed, to avoid replaying the conversation with Jacque, when he felt his attention be drawn elsewhere. He turned to see Tamzin with her head out of the side of the wagon. She stared up at the sky and watched the sky change different colors as the sun began to set.

"My father used to say every answer to every question is in the stars," she said as she reached her hand up and drew a design into the sky. "He says every person in the world is like a star in the sky."

"Not you," Will said as he watched the stars become illuminated as the sky grew darker. "You're the moon."

"I know I've become quite large, but it is cruel to mock me so," Tamzin frowned, though her cheeks flushed red with laughter.

"You're the center of everything," Will said simply and refused to acknowledge her comment. "You hold the world together."

"It's a big job," Tamzin remarked as she turned her body to look at him. "And what are you?"

"I don't know," Will frowned as he turned his gaze to the men following him.

"You're the sky. The sky is needed to hold the moon up. When they are together, the sky and the moon can rule the world," Tamzin said as she lazily reached out for his hand. Will leaned slightly on Angus and touched their fingers together.

"Do you want to rule the world?" Will asked.

"I just want to be happy. I want you to be happy. It's a small request, but it's the hardest to achieve," Tamzin said as she leaned her head against her arm. "But everyone is happy, even if it is only for a short period of time."

"Do you know what will make you happy?" Will asked as he brought Angus to a stop. It was time to rest for the night.

"To bring an end to my enemies. I will smoke them out," Tamzin said as she looked up to the sky, her face illuminated by the stars. "I want Douglas Johansson's head."

"Do you wish me to bring it to you?"

"I want us to take it together," she said as her eyes darted to meet Will's face.

"What you want is revenge, then?" Will asked as he stepped down from Angus' back. "I know enough to tell you that it will bring you nothing in return."

"I fear I will never be happy again," Tamzin said as she watched Will approach the wagon. "What if nothing can save me?"

"You will be happy again," Will said as he placed his hands on her cheeks. "If I knew what to say, I would say every word that I knew to make you happy again. When you return home, you will feel happy again."

"Do you promise?" Tamzin asked as she pressed her lips to the edge of his jaw.

"I swear my life upon it," Will responded as he nuzzled his nose against her throat. He felt her belly against his stomach as he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her pulse point. He turned to his left to see a small stream. "Come join me, love. Two days of travel has left me in great need of a bath."

Tamzin turned to her left to see the stream Will pointed to. She said nothing but nodded and felt him take her hand to lead her away. The men were silent as they packed some of the tents out of the wagons, while others started fires and food preparations.

Tamzin's hand was warm in his as Will lead her to the outer banks of the stream, hidden by trees. As they stood on the banks, Will watched as Tamzin wordlessly pulled her dress down to her feet. Cautiously, she dipped her toe into the water before she began to wade into the water.

"It's warm," she said with a soft smile as she stood in the water, deep enough to cover her breasts. "Aren't you coming in?"

Will pulled his tunic over his head and pulled his breeches down and shrugged out of his boots. He watched Tamzin's eyes darken as she inspected his naked body from head to toe. Thankfully, he didn't earn any new scars on his body and had minor bruising from the battles.

"You still give me butterflies," Tamzin said as he went waist deep into the water and held out his hand to her. "I've shared your bed countless times, you put a child in my belly, and still little butterflies."

His arm wrapped around her waist and Will brought Tamzin's body to his, where she leaned back and let her hair sink into the water. She rested the entire weight of her body on his arm and thought nothing of it.

"He rarely let me bathe," Tamzin began as she watched the stars. They entranced her and it felt like she was telling them her secrets. "He practically kept me naked for the first few months."

"Duke wanted to humiliate you," Will offered up as he laid back on his back to float alongside her, their fingers entwined. "If you can, I want you to tell me everything. I know it sounds hard to believe, but it will help."

"Who do you tell your secrets to?" Tamzin asked as she relaxed in the water. It felt nice to feel her hair splay out in the water and she shut her eyes as the feeling of weightlessness settled over her.

"I never did, which is why I can't sleep. I wish I talked to someone, but my father was not interested in my pain," Will said with a frown as he drifted closer to her. "I promise if you talk about what has happened, you will be able to sleep. You will be able to be happy again."

"I don't think it's that simple," Tamzin responded as she turned her head slightly to look at Will.

"Actually, it is," Will said before he sat up in the water. "If you can't tell me, then tell someone. Perhaps your mother?"

"I don't ever want her to know what has happened to me, nor do I want you to know," Tamzin said as she reached down to comb her fingers through her hair in the water.

"It won't be any worse than what my mind tries to make me believe happened," Will said as he began to swim towards the banks. "Come here," he said as he held out his hand.

Tamzin didn't feel nervous about her nakedness as she followed him to shore. The soil was wet and hard beneath her skin as she laid out on the bank next to him. She watched as he reached for his breeches and pulled out his sharp dagger.

"Do you need me to shave you?" Tamzin asked as she began to sit up, but Will stopped her with a gentle hand to her shoulder.

"I thought I could shave you?" Will asked as his hand ran up her slightly prickly leg. "I'm not making a comment, but I thought it would make you feel good."

Tamzin laughed softly.

"You and I have no boundaries anymore," she teased as she felt him stretch her leg across his naked lap. "We will really have no secrets anymore."

"If we do, then we do," Will said with as a shrug of his shoulders before he gently swept the dagger upwards on her leg. "Does it feel okay?" He asked as he watched her nod, but didn't say the words. After every touch of the blade to her skin, Will washed it in the stream. He kept his eyes focused on the delicate skin behind her knee and the mole on her inner thigh.

He took his time caring for her, until her legs were smooth again and Tamzin sighed as his rough hand touched her legs.

"Are you relaxed?" Will asked before he reached for his breeches. "I wish we could spend all night here, but I imagine the men want to take their bathes as well."

"Just one more minute," Tamzin groaned as she opened her eyes, the moonlight streamed onto her face. "It's so peaceful here. I wish we could stay forever."

"On a river bank? Does it take much to make you happy?" Will smiled as he pulled his breeches on. He laid down next to her and put his arm over her belly.

"It's quiet here," she said as she turned to look at him. "Sometimes, when the moment is just right, all I want is to be with you forever." She leaned in and pressed her lips against his in a gentle kiss.

"I know the feeling," Will breathed against her lips. "I want you to feel it always."

"Of course you do," Tamzin laughed genuinely as she touched his face. "Tonight, under the moonlight, promise me you will always love me."

"I promise it under moonlight, sunlight, or no light."

With her dress put on haphazardly, Will led Tamzin back to the wagon, where he laid with her for the rest of the evening. The wooden floor of the wagon was uncomfortable, but the pillows and furs kept the couple warm as Will watched his men. Tamzin kept her head on his leather clad chest and sighed happily as Will gently ran his fingers through her hair.

Will had slept some, but he mostly stayed awake. Every snap of a twig or rush of the stream woke Will from a fitful sleep and by the time he relaxed enough to fall back asleep, the sky began to lighten. Tamzin slept much more peacefully when Will kept his arms around her, like an iron cocoon. He felt her breath on his neck quicken as she opened her eyes and looked up at the awning of the wagon.

"Where do you think we go when we die?" Tamzin whispered as she pushed her hand into the warmth of his leather jerkin. She ran her nails over the taut skin of his stomach, over the ridges of his muscles as Will pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Some place nice. We go where we want, I suppose," Will said, unsure of what to say. Though he faced death more than the average man, he never wondered what happened when he would go. He was too young.

"I dreamed that Kendall was back home. I hope she is somewhere warm and where the sun is always shining," Tamzin said as she snuggled her face into his chest. "If I was to die..."

"You're not going to die," Will interrupted as he looked down at her. "We're too young."

"That didn't stop Kendall from dying," Tamzin said with a raised eyebrow. "Women die every day from childbirth. Both of our mothers did."

"You're not your mother and you certainly aren't my mother. I will keep you alive," Will explained as he reached down and touched her belly. His child kicked when Will tapped his fingers on her belly. "I will keep you both alive."

"It isn't that simple. If I could have willed everyone in Thurston to stay alive, I would have. My best friend would still be alive, then," Tamzin said bitterly before she scraped her fingers against his skin again. "Are we almost home?"

"This will be our last day of travel," Will replied as he continued to touch her belly. "Your father is going to despise me even more after he finds out."

"You're afraid of my father?" Tamzin asked with a slight smile. "You're going to be a father yourself, soon. You can pick up some pointers for when it's time for you to be angry with your daughter's husband."

"I think you're carrying a boy," Will said as he turned onto his side to see her face. "What will we name him?"

"William, naturally. We can call him Liam for short," Tamzin smiled as she felt Will continue to touch her.

"We're not naming him after me," William said with an eye roll.

"We can name him Turner, then," Tamzin giggled as Will frowned. "He is being named after his father or his grandfather."

"Gregory is an option, then?" Will teased as he ran his fingers over a ticklish spot on Tamzin's side. "I remember how I found this spot."

"You thought you were being sexy when you kissed my side," Tamzin responded as Will rolled her onto her back, his lips at her throat. "You should have seen your face when I laughed."

"I wasn't the most experienced lover, but no one had ever laughed!" Will exclaimed as he tugged her dress down to expose the tops of her breasts. "I may keep you with child if your breasts stay this size."

"They're not any bigger," Tamzin remarked as his rough beard touched her sensitive skin. She shivered. "We can't do much, love. The floor is too hard." She felt Will nod as he adjusted her dress again.

"I don't want you to name our boy after me," Will whispered into her hair before he sat up. He watched her as he retied his jerkin. The air was warmer than the night before as they drifted further south. Will could hear the dissatisfaction of his men.

"I will name our boy or girl what I want, and for a boy, I want another William in my life," Tamzin smiled as she sat up. "Perhaps Kendall for a girl?"

"I wouldn't object to that, sweetness," Will said as he reached out and took her hand in his. "We will discuss names more if I survive your father when we reach Roth."

"Don't worry, I won't let him hurt you. I killed Junior Johansson; I can handle my father," Tamzin smiled meekly as she wrapped her arm around Will's broad shoulders. He stared at her for a moment; tried to memorize how wavy her hair was and how dark her eyes were. Will leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips as he wound his fingers in her hair.

"You're a brave girl for what you did. When you can't sleep and remember all the bad things that have happened to you over the past three months, remember that you killed him. By doing that, you've saved many more than you think," Will said as he kissed her cheek. "Stay in the wagon. We're going to leave shortly."

"My father has no idea we're coming, does he?" Tamzin asked as she sat up and against the wall of the wagon. "My parents have no idea I'm swelling. I wanted to tell you before anyone else."

"And our enemies knew before I did," Will said gruffly as he jumped out of the wagon and onto the ground. He wiped the sweat from his brow as he left Tamzin behind. He would never admit it to her, but Will was angry that he didn't know of her condition when he left. Tamzin hadn't maliciously kept it from him, but he should have known. He was the father, after all.

Will kept his anger and thoughts to himself as he walked by the other wagons and his men. They regarded him with nods, but no one spoke as they packed what little was taken out. Will found Angus being tended to by Seraphina. Will still hadn't spoken to Garrett and this was the first time he saw Seraphina in their travels.

"I have fed and brushed him, Your Grace," Seraphina said as she handed the brush to Will. "He is a suspicious horse."