Liron's Melody by Brieanna Robertson Page A

as well. I insist.”
    Melody shot a scathing scowl over her shoulder at Liron as
she stiffly followed after the woman. Liron trailed after them into the tavern
and up the stairs. The woman ushered Melody into a room where there was a
heated argument for several moments between the tavern owner and another girl,
presumably her daughter, before the owner came out again and all but fled down
the stairs.
    “Gwennie will see to your lady, sir!” she shouted back at him
as she hurried away. “And I will tell my husband to cook you the finest steak
chili. We just slaughtered a cow this morning!”
    Liron blinked, then sighed and leaned back against the wall
to wait, much like he had done the night before. He had only been standing
there for maybe ten minutes at the most when the door flew open again and a
young girl stormed out looking irate.
    She faced him and stabbed her finger in the direction of the
room. “Go and tend to your lady!” she commanded.
    Liron arched an eyebrow and stood up straight. “I beg your
pardon?”
    She huffed and shoved a strand of her sandy hair off of her
freckled face. “I’m not trying to be rude here, but I can’t sit around and dote
on her because my mother is a clod. I have things to do!” She glanced at the
stairs, then sidled up to Liron and spoke behind her hand in a hushed tone. “I
have a man to do.”
    He frowned and stared at her for a few seconds. “That
was…entirely too much unnecessary information,” he stated.
    She rolled her eyes and spun toward the stairs. “I laid out
some clothing for her. So just do what you need to do and let yourself out.”
She rushed down the staircase.
    Liron stared after her, then heaved a sigh and opened the
door. He strode in and stopped short at seeing a tub in the center of the room,
with a scowling Melody in it. A scowling, naked Melody. He squeezed his
eyes shut and turned his head to the side as the door swung closed behind him.
“Oh, good lord!” he cried.
    “Well, gee, Liron. That’s just the kind of reaction I
was hoping for.” Her voice was saturated in aggravated sarcasm.
    “Forgive me, I didn’t know…. I mean—the girl….” He felt like
a blabbering fool. “She never said….” He huffed. “I’m sorry. I will wait
outside and let you dry off. She didn’t tell me you were…indisposed.” He
turned.
    “Liron, gimme a break. What are you, twelve? I know what
parts I have and so do you. I don’t care! Just get me a freaking towel so I can
get out of this freaking tub!”
    He swallowed once, twice, and then somehow managed to gather
the strength to be able to open his eyes and turn to look at her while keeping
his body in check.
    It was a monumental task.
    Sure, he knew all about female anatomy. That did not mean
that he was great at getting his male anatomy to cooperate when he was suddenly
thrown right in front of a wet, naked woman who he so happened to be horribly
attracted to. Gentleman or not, he was still a man. Certain things were just
biological.
    He stifled a groan as he stepped toward her and grabbed the
towel that had been placed on a chair just out of her reach. “How come they
decided to bathe you?” he asked, chancing a glance up at her. Just look into
her eyes. Look into her eyes.
    Her eyes were very unamused.
    “Well, because. I had hog slop running down my cleavage, so
there was that.”
    A laugh was torn from him at her curt tone, and he handed the
towel out to her, averting his eyes as she stood up and stepped out of the tub.
He grasped another towel and turned back to her once she had wrapped the first
one around herself. His heart softened. She looked bedraggled and war-torn. Her
eye makeup had run tracks down her cheeks and her lustrous blonde hair was damp
and stringy.
    He smiled and guided her to sit on the edge of the tub. Then,
he took the towel he held and started to gently wipe the rogue makeup off of
her cheeks.
    She made a small, growling noise in the back of her throat.
“I don’t