“I’m better now,” she whispers, perhaps thinking I cannot hear her. As if sensing my thoughts, Sorin faces me with furrowed brows then back to Agnes.
“Is something wrong?” he asks, long and drawn out.
“Just tired, dear,” Agnes says before I get the chance to answer.
“Same.” I shrug. “I’m going to turn in, let’s reconvene in the morning.”
Before I can make it to the door, Sorin’s hand grips my arm. “Don’t you want to know how it went with Thaddeus?”
I pull my arm away. “I imagine things went well and that’s why you’re back so soon?”
Sorin says nothing as he watches me. Curiosity and perhaps a bit of frustration inked into all the sharp features of his face. I’ve never been one to be so distant, especially from him. He’s my best friend. The brother I never thought I’d have. But the older I grow, the more I’ve come to realize just how much of my life—my childhood—was spent around his secret.
Around whom he is. The true heir to Valebridge.
“The Jade Guild will help us.” Sorin’s shoulders relax slightly. “I haven’t a clue what made him change his mind.” He moves to the bed, sitting down to pull off his boots. “All those years I begged for his help and now…” He runs a hand through his damp hair before glancing up at me. “Are you sure there’s nothing wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong.” Other than the fact that he can read me plainly. “Let’s talk tomorrow.” I shoot him a small smile, before I head down the hall to mine and Jarek’s shared room.
I don’t make it far, however, before he finds me. “Oh,” I say through a laugh, bumping into Jarek. “I was just coming to look for you.”
“Likewise.” He grabs my hand, kissing the back of it. His blonde hair is tied up, his dark shirt tight against his broad chest and shoulders. “Long chat?”
He draws back and his eyes tell me he knows something’s bothering me. But my relationship with Agnes has never been something I easily talk about. Fear of sounding like a petulant child cutting me short, so I bury down my resentment at being her other, less impressive child and smile at Jarek despite the falsity in it.
“Yes.”
“Let’s go.” He takes my hand and drags me toward our room.
“What about the pub?”
“Forget the pub.” Once we’re inside, he latches the door. “What are you thinking about, my queen?” Jarek asks, helping me peel my clothes off, then his own. He tosses his shirt aside before scooping me up and carrying me to bed. A tiny spark ignites in my stomach.
“I’m thinking that I’m not that tired anymore.” Propping myself up on my elbow, I kiss his cheek. Then his neck. He grumbles something in Scandavi before turning and kissing me deeply.
“You are a terrible liar, Samaria,” he says before kissing me again.
I’ve never been able to hide my feelings from Jarek. He has a way of knowing me better than I know myself.
“Just usual mother daughter frustrations.” My fingers trace the bumps and curves of his muscled arm. “She has a powerful way of making me feel insignificant.”
Jarek grasps my hand, locking our fingers together. “You are anything but insignificant, Sam.”
There goes that tiny spark again, growing much more rapidly now. I move to sit in Jarek’s lap, my legs straddling either side of his hips. “Tell me again all the ways you love me.”
He chuckles, running his fingers down my spine. His strong hands push the silky fabric of my camisole against my skin, causing delicious friction. “Will you believe me this time when I do?”
“No.” I sigh, leaning forward so my head rests on his shoulder. I bite down slightly before placing a kiss there. “But tell me again anyway.”
His hands trace lines down my back, his beard softly scraping against the bare skin of my shoulder. “Do you remember when we first met?” he asks. I nod, closing my eyes, letting Jarek take control. It isn’t an easy thing for me to give up; control. But Jarek is my safest place and with him I never feel any need to battle for authority. “I was running so fast I knocked your brother right on his arse.” Jarek laughs, his entire body shaking as he does. But his grip around my waist tightens. “You helped Sorin up then looked right at me and said?—”
“If the Mother blessed you with eyesight, I recommend you start using it.” I smile, drawing idle circles with my fingertip across his shoulder blade. I’ll never forget that moment. How frustrated I was to be running behind, how captivating this large man with eyes like the ocean was.
“Aye,” Jarek mumbles against my neck before placing a kiss there. “But before you and Sorin turned away, you helped me up. You stuck out your hand and pulled me to my feet.” He pulls me back so we’re face to face. “I knew it then you were someone I needed to know. Not just wanted to know, butneeded. And by the grace of the Mother, you told me to hurry on and follow you. That if I was in such a rush, I must be desperate for work.” He smiles before placing a kiss on my lips. “It wasn’t long after that I fell in love with you Sam. Inallthe ways that make you, you.”
“Even the temper?”
“Especiallythe temper.” He brushes a kiss to my bare shoulder. “I love the fire that makes up your soul.” A shudderruns through me as his hands trail across my arms with feather-lite touch, causing the hair on my skin to raise until his hands settle on my hips again, pulling me closer to him.
