Page 36 of Once Upon A Bear

“I’m sure a scolding from Lord Gideon would have me quaking in my boots,” she murmured as she snuggled deeper into her bed.

“More tea first,” Gideon told her, offering the mug of tea once more. “You’re not perking up fast enough, and I don’t like it.”

“I will be well, I assure you. I’m tired, but aside from exhaustion, there are no side effects to me using more of my magic than I ought to. That’s why I did it, because you were in pain, and it was my fault.”

She said the last line quietly, burrowing under the blanket so he could barely hear her.

“What?” he asked, frowning at her. “It wasn’t your fault. Why would you say that?”

“If I hadn’t chased you out, you wouldn’t have run into the trap,” she said.

“Just because I was too distracted to pay attention in the woods doesn’t mean it was your fault,” he told her sharply, “and I don’t want to hear that again. I’m a grown man, and I am quite capable of making my own decisions and being responsible for the consequences. You still shouldn’t have wasted that much energy on me.”

“Taking care of you isn’t a waste,” she mumbled.

Gideon’s eyebrows went up, and she must have mistaken his disbelief for a question, because she said louder, “I said taking care of you wasn’t a waste.”

“I heard you,” Gideon admitted, “but I don’t know that I believe you.”

Guinevere’s eyes searched his. “What do you mean you don’t believe me?”

“I don’t believe you,” he repeated. “I’m the expendable one.”

“You are not expendable,” she told him, struggling to sit up even as he gently pushed her back down, “and if you think you are, you’re wrong.” She settled back onto her pillow and frowned at him.

It was adorable, and Gideon couldn’t bite back his quiet laugh.

“I am,” he shrugged. “It’s okay. I know it. I’m not upset about it. It’s normal for second sons.”

“Would you say that Caspian is also expendable?” she asked him. “Because I don’t think you would. And if you wouldn’t say it about your brother, then you ought not to say it about yourself. I won’t stand for it.”

The frown earlier had been adorable, but the glare she directed at him now was somehow even more endearing.

“Get out of my house,” she said, though there was a teasing lilt to her voice. “I will be fine, and I’ll feel better without you making me mad. Don’t fall into any more bear traps, though.”

Gideon laughed. “I shall endeavor to stay clear of any such traps, if you will promise to recover quickly.”

Guinevere’s eyes softened. “I will.”

“Stay in bed,” he said, pointing his finger at her.

“No promises there,” she said. “I need to go to town later, but I will stay in bed until I’m feeling sufficiently recovered. Is that suitable, my lord?”

She said the words teasingly, but even then he didn’t like it, and he glared at her.

“I’m sorry. I forgot,” she said. “I will take care of myself, Gideon.”

Gideon nodded and brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear before standing up.

He would come check on her later.

“Thank you, Sunshine,” he said as he headed for the door. He glanced back at her, and she smiled once more, weakening his resolve to leave. “I’ll watch out for traps this time,” he promised before closing the door behind himself and heading for home.

She was a conundrum, and one that he would love to figure out. But for now, he would simply have to take her as she was and recognize that she was different than anyone he’d ever met.

It bothered him that she was willing to pour out so much of her own reserves to help him. She shouldn’t do that—she was going to hurt herself. The fact that she had done so changed the way he looked at her, though, because she’d been willing to do anything to help him.

It gave him hope that she would truly be able to help him break his curse.