Rennick’s body relaxed, which pissed her off even more. “I will bring you to visit your friends as often as you wish.”
How easily he thought she would follow his lead, but she refused to back down. “I wish to stay.”
He pursed his lips and turned to Finn. “Head back to ensure everything is ready for our arrival. She and I will retrieve her fox and whatever else she needs.”
Had he not heard her? She wasn’t going.
“Do I need to send guards with more horses and another carriage?” she heard Finn ask as she turned and walked away.
“I will buy a carriage here and hire a driver,” Rennick replied. “No guards are needed. We should be home by nightfall—where are you going, love?”
She walked faster, contemplating if running would be worth the exertion. His long legs would no doubt catch up to her in one stride.
When he appeared at her side without a sound, she screamed, grabbing her chest. “Don’t sneak up on me,” she snapped.
He smirked but wiped it away when her eyes turned to slits. “Fae are naturally graceful and stealthy.”
“Then wear a bell,” she grumbled, picking up her pace.
“We will go to the boardinghouse first to gather your things,” he said as though she wasn’t trying to escape. “I need to know how many trunks you have before buying a cart.”
He reached for her hand, but she slapped it away. “For thelast time, I will not leave my life behind because the Mountain King thinks I’m his mate.” She was three seconds from losing it. “And if Ididwant to go, I can’t just disappear without a trace.”
Not that anyone would look for her except Clover and Miss Bea, but Rennick needn’t know how pathetic her life was. It occurred to her that as she’d aged, she’d never bothered getting close to anyone because she thought she’d leave with him one day. The thought made her scowl at the man, who stared too intently after her.
He looked amused, and she stomped through the snow like a petulant child. All these years she’d waited for him to come, and now that he was here, she wanted him to leave.
No, you don’t,a little voice whispered in the back of her mind.
Fuck you, too, she whispered back.
He’d omitted crucial truths about himself, making her question if anything he said was true.
“Did you mean everything you wrote?” she asked without thinking, praying he couldn’t hear the desperation in her voice.Or feel it.
He stopped abruptly. “You think I would lie to you?” He didn’t sound offended; he sounded hurt, and she wanted to snatch the words back.
She grappled for something to say to reverse what she’d done. “You lied about who you were.”
His nostrils flared slightly. “I never lied to you. I couldn’t reveal anything about my true identity, but I never lied.”
He hadn’t lied about coming for her. Her eyes flitted to his fighting leathers and broad, muscular,barechest. It was obvious he trained often, so he hadn’t lied about that either. It might be reckless or stupid, but she believed him. What other choice did she have?
“You’re ordering me around without asking what I want. Iam not a dog.” She crossed her arms defiantly. “In your letters, you were more considerate than this.”
Rennick stared at her for the longest time before taking her hand. “We can make a decision together, and if staying here is your wish, then we’ll stay.”
We’llstay?
Her heart kicked up a beat at his submission.Can a king live in another kingdom? Doesn’t he have duties?
Nodding dumbly, she squeezed his hand and started toward the boardinghouse.
Rennick ducked his head to step through the doorway of Amelia’s small room. He’d seen glimpses of it through her window over the years, but never the entire thing.
A small nightstand sat next to a modest bed tucked into the far corner of the room. Next to her closet on the opposite wall sat a worn dresser adorned with various items, including the mold of his hand. A small overflowing bookshelf stood next to her writing desk near the window, and an old stone hearth took up most of the fourth wall.
It was small, but it washer, and he loved everything about it.
