He ground his teeth. Hilarious. He was laughing so hard right now.
Damn his bloody best friend. Because that dance.That dance.
It ruined everything.
It hadbeeneverything.
He groaned. Where was a wall so he could bash his brains in?
His head drooped as he made his way to the stables, the weight of everything momentarily too much to hold up. Before, the main issue had been avoiding Lady Felicity’s advances. His and Colborn’s relationship was about as strong as a thin, wet sheet of parchment, and even if it were stronger, sleeping with his son’s betrothed was a surefire way to destroy it.
He could avoid bedding his son’s betrothed, even though he had an unacceptable attraction to her. Restraint was as familiar to him as his right hand was to his cock. This should be terribly easy.
So why the bloody fuck wasn’t it?
Because he was starting to wonder dangerous things. Wonder if there was something…deeper that had drawn him to Lady Felicity. A fanciful belief that whispered things likefatedandonce in a lifetime.Foolish thoughts, he was sure were influenced by his passion for mythology. And he knew they were foolish, because they made him want to do something selfishagain.And when Ash was selfish, people got hurt. People died.
That fucking dance.
Two forms stood in the distance by the covered arena. One short and square, the other about twice as tall. Barrow and Sam. Excellent. Maybe he could persuade Barrow to aid him in his murder of Sam. If his friend hadn’t forced him into that dance, his heart wouldn’t be bleeding inside his chest right now. It wouldn’t be clawing against the cage he’d created for it, desperate to get to the woman it yearned for but wasn’t allowed to have.
Except as he approached the two, and they turned to see it was him, their conversation ceased immediately. And they wore identical expressions ofwe are doing absolutely nothing wrong.
Guilty bastards, that’s what they looked like.
“What are you two conspiring about?”
Sam stepped forward, a smooth smile spreading across his face. “Nothing, Ash. We were simply going over a bit of bad news, and when we saw you…Well, we knew you wouldn’t take it well.”
Ash eyed him, his gaze narrowing, and he crossed his arms. “What’s the news, then?”
Barrow’s voice rumbled low and gruff. “The roads are still impassible, Your Grace.”
“Bloody fucking damn it.”
But he wasn’t swearing because he was frustrated that he still couldn’t send Lady Felicity home. He was swearing because his chest had bloomed with warmth at the news, happiness pulsing in his veins. Which was not the reaction he should be having.
He knew that.
Do you, though?
He was in serious trouble. And not because he now had to find more ways to avoid her and resist her. But because it was becoming quite clear that he didn’t want to ever send her home.
The roads being impassable granted him more time with her before they inevitably parted. And though there were very selfish thoughts floating around in his brain—selfish thoughts he was most definitelynotgoing to admit even to himself—the flooded roads were an excuse. One he had no control over. An excuse to keep her here and torture himself with her presence a tiny bit longer. And he relished it.
Ahh, there was that unhealthy obsession with pain again.
He glanced between his friends, a suspicious prickling coasting over his skin. “Has Lady Felicity been informed of this news?”
Sam nodded. “She has. I passed her earlier as she departed for Willow Grove.”
Ash’s eyebrows flew up. “Willow Grove? Did someone go with her? That area runs along the river and is surrounded by marshland. If the roads are still not fit for travel, that area could be dangerous.”
Barrow and Sam exchanged a glance, and Ash gritted his teeth because he didn’t know what it was, but his friends were up to something, and if it put Lady Felicity’s life in danger, he would kill them both.
Sam looked back at him. “She went off alone.”
Ash glared at his friend and didn’t even look at Barrow as he addressed his stable master. “Saddle a horse for me, Barrow.” His voice was near a growl. How could his friend have let her travel out by herself to such an area? Sam looked much too happy about the murderous glare Ash was sending his way. A slow death. Definitely a slow death for his best mate.
