With the future so uncertain for my country, my king, I know at least one thing for sure.
I’ve fallen for this beautiful, feisty healer who has as much courage as the men I lead. I crave her touch. Her gaze. Her words. Every time Aedre looks at me, I want to pull her to me and claim her as my own.
But I have no such claim. Nor will I ever.
And now this, when I’ve tried so very hard to be respectful. A gentleman.
I know what I should do—say no. Take her back to her father. To her grandmother. To safety. And yet, I find myself saying, “Where would you have us go, if not home?”
“The rocks? ’Tis nearly a full moon.”
Indeed, which makes it easy to ride without the benefit of a lantern. But the moonlight, along with the sound of water striking against the cliffs we pass, creates a near magical atmosphere, one which will make it harder yet to stay away from her.
The loveliest faces are to be seen by moonlight, when one sees half with the eye and half with the fancy.
My trainer, Albertus, had many sayings. Matteo and I often asked him where he’d acquired them. In answer to our questions, he would only reply, “From life.”
“Vanni?”
Lulled into distant memories of the past, I tighten my arm around Aedre.
“Tell me your thoughts,” she says quietly.
She truly is an expert at reading moods. At least my moods.
“I thought of Albertus. And of Matteo.”
“You’ve not said much about him.”
Because talking about the Prince of Meria would be akin to admitting he is gone, forever. Which, of course, he is. Along with so many others.
“A highly skilled swordsman, he is . . .”
Was. No longer is.
“He was quick to temper at times, but otherwise he was very much like his father. Kind. Loyal. The blood of kings ran through him, and no one could deny it. He would have made a fine leader.”
“You must have lost so many people you knew that day.”
My fist clenches over the reins.
“I should have been with them, but Galfrid insisted both Ren and I stay behind to prepare for a possible counter-attack. One that is still likely coming.”
“Ren?”
The slope gives way to flatter ground as we approach the village.
“He is second commander. Also a member of the Curia.”
“And you think Edingham will still attack?”
If only I knew for certain.
“If they do not, certainly Queen Cettina is planning something. We attempted to send over two hundred men to her shores. It matters not that her Borderers gave us just cause.”
“I’ve heard the queen harbors problems of her own.”
“You are well-informed.”
I make a fateful turn, tugging on Dex’s reins just slightly.
“The return of her sister and brother-in-law will not prevent a counter-attack, I don’t believe. As much as I wish she were distracted by them. I fear dark days ahead if . . .”
I hate that Aedre is involved in this. But there’s no denying her close relationship with Kipp, even though, after this eve, I am reassured it is not a romantic one.
Why should that matter?
It should not. But it does.
“If Kipp does not return with you.”
In answer, I guide Dex to a hitching post and dismount. Reaching up, I take Aedre’s hand, neither of us commenting further on our destination. Tying off Dex, glad for the post given there are no trees nearby, I pat him on the neck and turn toward the water.
Aedre falls in step with me, and though I itch to give her my hand once more, she navigates the rocks easily without me. Finally, we arrive at our rock. Unable to resist any longer, I take her hand with the intention of helping her to arrange her gown beneath her.
Instead, I pull her toward me, giving in to the temptation that has taunted me from the very moment she walked into the courtyard at the inn this eve. I kiss her with all of the need and longing that has built up inside me, barely waiting for her mouth to open before I plunge inside.
Our tongues tangle, her reactions are anything but timid, as if she, too, has been waiting for this from the start. I’m the one who pulls away.
“I vowed to protect you. Even from me.”
Aedre is not playing this game.
“I don’t want protection from you, Vanni.”
Pressing myself against her, I try to make her understand.
“You may not want it, but you need it. I will be leaving—”
She presses her finger to my lips.
“I’d know some measure of pleasure from a man I . . .”
My heart skips a beat.
“. . . desire,” she finishes.
Desire.
It is enough, I suppose.
“I am not so innocent to believe there is just one way for a man and woman to find pleasure.”
Of course she isn’t. But having no experience with a woman who is both a virgin and a Garra, I’ve no notion of how to proceed without offending her.
Waves crash along the cliffs in the distance, the water’s edge not reaching us this far back.
“This is no bedchamber. And I’m no despoiler of virgins, Aedre.”
Especially not you.
“Kiss me, Vanni.”
I would do that, and so much more. Kiss her. Be inside her.
Love her.
He wars with his sense of honor, but I’ve no more patience for it. So I pull Vanni’s head toward mine. When our lips meet this time, I know they won’t part anytime soon. His tongue tangles with mine, and all at once, Vanni’s hands are everywhere. As gulls cry above us, the gentle protector becomes something more.
A warrior.
Intent on winning . . . me. But Vanni does not realize his battle is already won. I’m so enjoying every nip and lick of his lips that it’s only when the breeze reaches my bare thigh that I realize he’s managed to pull
