Very slowly I glance up at him, unsure of what response I will find. As usual he is steady in expression, surprise not even entering the equation. “That must have been boring. No trysts of love, no sneaking off beneath the vibrance of your world to dip your toe in the forbidden? The world must seem awfully big to you.”
He has no idea just how overwhelming things can get. Or maybe he does. His character and stature gives a resonating glow of experience and fearlessness. I can’t imagine there is much more than that.
He finishes his glass of wine and snaps his fingers, waiting a moment as the servant hurries over, putting his head down and leaning toward Kane’s lips. Kane whispers in his ear, and the servant nods, keeping his eyes down before running off. With a swift gallant move, Kane wipes his mouth and tosses the napkin on his plate, reaching out to me as he stands. I glance at his hand for a moment in apprehension before fastidiously placing my silverware on the plate and sliding my fingers into his palm.
There is a rush of heat that blows up my arms and over my skin as I stand, and I wonder if he is forcing it over me, or if the feeling comes naturally. Leading me around the long table and toward the fireplace, he releases my hand and I pull my fingers together, resting them in front of me. My eyes dance with the flames, watching the way the shadows of the room cling to the curves of his taut sides and firm curves of his thighs. Instinctively my hands move up to my stomach, pressing against it in an attempt to slow my laboring breath.
“Come,” he says, sitting down on the large fur rug laying in front of the fireplace. “Sit with me.”
My background of long and tedious lessons on etiquette attempt to scream profanities at me, but I swat them from my mind, reaching out and taking his outstretched hand as I demurely sit down next to him. I straighten the billows of my skirts around me and run my hands over the soft fur beneath my legs.
The servant returns, placing a silver tray on the floor in front of us. He uncorks the bottle of wine and pours two glasses, handing the first to Kane for approval, and then the other to me. I smile at the servant even though I know his eyes will never meet mine. Kane smacks his full lips and looks over at me, his eyes darker than before. “Now, about your childhood.”
I nervously divert my eyes to the flames, sipping my wine. “There isn’t much to mention about my childhood.”
Kane stares at me for a moment before reaching up and running the back of his fingers down my arm. “Please, Briar. I wish to learn more about you.”
The sincerity in his voice startles me for a moment and I can feel a pulsing sense of calm coming over me. It is surely his doing, but I don’t mind, the anxiety was beginning to take me over. I don’t want that to ruin the small bit of time we are getting to spend together. Kane’s kindness is only given in scraps of affection, so when he offers it freely…
With my newfound calming sensation slowing the beating of my heart and a reciprocating want for him to know me more, I begin to speak. “As you know, I have my sisters who took up the majority of my free time, at least at first. My sisters and I were close when we were children, but things changed after a while.”
Kane is watching me closely as I speak as if his interest is true. “And what did you do every day?”
My brow lifts and falls as I look into the fire, picturing what my life used to be. “Well, from sunrise until very late hours of the night we were expected to attend lessons on etiquette and decorum. Unlike my sisters, I was forced to learn how to fight and tutors kept me awake for long hours to teach me about the underworld. My preparations were…unique in nature.”
Kane wrinkles his nose and reaches over, pouring himself another glass of wine and then tops mine off. “That doesn’t sound like the life I expected of a princess. Where are the stories of parties, gallant suitors, and royal drama?”
I let a laugh escape, feeling at ease enough to be true in nature. “I’m not sure, but if you find that out, I would love to know. It seems I missed my invitation to such adventurous events.”
Boy, whatever he is doing to me through his tepid touch, it’s opening up that sass in me that I never dare to reveal to him. He is seeming to enjoy it though, his affections continuing. “What about your family, your friends? What were they like?”
My shoulders shrug as I drink a bit faster. “I rarely ever saw my family, so I made friends with the servants. My family disapproved, but I felt so alone that it didn’t matter to me anymore. After my mother…” My throat closes up, disabling my ability to speak as pain lances through my chest. I lift my glass to my lips with trembling hands, hoping that Kane doesn’t notice. But he does. Kane notices everything.
“It is alright to feel the sadness radiating from you,” he whispers, his face growing closer to mine. “It is natural to feel that way about someone so close to you, or so I’ve been told.”
I lower the glass from my lips and turn toward him, staring deeply into his eyes. His comfort is hitting me deep, dampening the pain and turning my cringing knotted stomach to something more settling, more heated. My lips part just slightly and I can feel his breath against my skin. I long for his lips once again. To feel
