Bryn cleared her throat, wondering how soon she could acceptably take her leave. “I was thinking, for the wedding, we could have maiden roses on the—”
“Maiden roses? Bah. Weeds. That’s the kind of rubbish they’d do in the Outlands. No, you, my lady, will have proper roses befitting a queen.”
“Oh.” She smiled tightly. “Good.”
He asked in his rasp, “Did you have maiden roses at your wedding to Trei Barendur?”
She thought over her words carefully as she sensed a possible trap. “I did. As you said, they’re hardly more than weeds, but in the Baersladen, it was the best flowers they had.”
Captain Carr rubbed a hand over his rough chin. “Forgive the insensitive question, but the consummation of your previous wedding . . . I can only imagine what that savage prince thought he could do to you in the bedroom. Trei had a better reputation than his two younger brothers, but not by much.”
Bryn felt her face burning both from embarrassment and rage. Was she really going to have to discuss sex with this old man?
She said curtly, “Ah. Yes, as you’ve pointed out, all the Barendur princes are . . . savage. Trei was no different.”
Captain Carr stopped Bryn with a hand on her arm. Alarm shot through her. The guards had hung back on the balcony, she realized. She was entirely alone with him.
“I assure you, my lady, the bedroom can be as pleasurable as it was doubtlessly painful for you previously. Our wedding night is something I look forward to with great relish. You’ll find me to be a gentleman in every way that your previous husband was not.”
It was almost laughable, and hard for Bryn to keep a straight face instead of balking in fury. Captain Carr had once said vile things about her and her sister to his soldiers, things anyone would deem “savage.”
Hewas the brute here, not Trei. Trei had demonstrated true nobility in every way. He’d struggled to walk the line between duty and love for another just as she had. He hadn’t so much as touched her without the utmost respect.
“I have no doubt about that, Captain.” Her stomach turned at the same time she painted on a smile.
Captain Carr touched a rough finger to her chin, tipping it up toward the moonlight. Bryn’s heart thundered in her chest. She knew there was a gardener’s entrance nearby—but if she dared make a run for it, Captain Carr would doubt everything about her.
“You’re a very pleasing woman to look at, Lady Bryn,” he rasped. “I’ll soon be the envy of every man in the kingdom to have you beneath me.”
Bryn suppressed a gag. Did the captain possibly think this talk was seductive?
She let her gaze fall as though in modesty, though in reality, she couldn’t stand to look at him another second.
But he chuckled and ran a hand down her jawline, taking his time as though examining some new weapon in the arsenal. Finally, he brushed the calloused pad of his thumb against her bottom lip.
“You’ll forgive me for wanting a taste.”
She braced herself as he leaned in for a kiss. The words of the purge spell were on her lips, but she knew better than to use it again. It had been risky enough to perform magic once; the same spell twice would raise his suspicions.
And then it was too late.
His lips were on her. Captain Carr had the experience that came with age, and the kiss was surprisingly confident, yet there was nothing tender in it. This was the kiss of a man used to taking what he wanted, not sparing a thought for his partner’s pleasure. His hand clutched her skull, trapping her in place.
Bryn closed her eyes and tried to think of something else.Just get through it . . .
His other hand clutched her waist, fingers digging into her skin painfully. His body might be powerful even at his age, but it was an unyielding, cruel kind of strength. A touch that promised pain despite what he’d promised.
She turned her head to break the kiss as soon as she thought it safe to do so. Her whole body was trembling in disgust.
For a moment, Captain Carr kept his hand around her skull, not releasing her, as though debating whether he wanted to take more from her that night. But then he let go.
Bryn fought to catch her breath, trying hard to maintain composure.
Captain Carr raked his gaze over her. “Soon, Lady Bryn, I’ll rule this kingdom as king with you by my side. I’m not such anold man that I can’t sire an heir on you.” He leaned in to rasp, “Believe me, I’m going to enjoy every minute of it.”
Chapter
Thirty-Five
