“It was wrong what I did.” The words wrought shame and a deepsense of remorse. “To take away your choice. To think I know what is best for you. I should have asked for your decision and respected it, even if I did not like it.”
Her intake of breath was so faint, a man with ordinary hearing would have missed it.
“I wish only for your happiness.” Kassandr clenched his fists to keep himself rooted in place. “And so I will go to my father and…forcehim to do what is right.”
She was silent a long moment, and Kass pictured her chewing on her lip in thought. When at last she spoke, her words rocked him to his core.
“And if I do choose it? To marry you?”
For a moment, time seemed to stand still. His beast gave a triumphant howl, blood pumping hot through his veins. And for the first time in weeks, Kassandr allowed his old fantasy to replay in his mind’s eye. Saga by his side, sharing the daymeal each morning. Saga, sitting on a throne beside his, her clever wit strengthening his kingdom. Saga, tangled in the furs of his bed, writhing beneath him…
A sharp breath escaped him, and Kassandr realized he’d been silent for far too long. “What are you saying?” he asked.
“I’m saying,” she said, toying with the water, “that perhaps you’re brash and drive me absolutely mad. But I’ve been betrothed twice before and I find you far preferable to my other promised husbands.”
Kass’s brows dipped low at the reminder of Magnus Hansson and Bjorn Ivarsson. His beast’s hackles rose, a fierce wave of protectiveness thrashing through him.
Mine.
He shook his head, trying to clear it. He’d allowed such thoughts to drive him before, and it had been the wrong choice. Now he knew better.
“Not good enough,” he growled, hating himself just a little. “Your reasons are lacking.”
Saga turned her face to reveal her profile. Kassandr’s eyes roamedover her tilted blue eyes, the slant of her jaw, the elegant arch of her neck, and desire surged through him with dizzying force.
“What if,” Saga whispered, “I told you that I admire your character?”
His knees nearly buckled. “My character?”
She nodded, though the corners of her lips tugged down. “It was despicable of you to take away my choice, Kassandr, and I do not know if I’ve yet forgiven you.” The rising steam eddied with her exhalation. “Perhaps it is a comfort to know that you had my best interests at heart.”
His beast ran circles inside his chest.
“I suppose I understand you better now,” continued Saga. “And though sometimes you make the most wretched of choices, I’ve found your character to be remarkably steady.” She lifted a shoulder in a delicate shrug. “I find that an admirable trait in a husband.”
Kassandr turned her words over. Looked for hidden meaning. “Winterwing,” he said, his voice a low rasp. “Are you telling me that you…like me?”
“ ‘Like’ is too strong a word.”
Kass could not help his cocky grin. “You have a fondness for me.”
“I tolerate you. You will make a tolerable husband.”
A low chuckle escaped him. Her words were playful, teasing even. And though they were not bold proclamations of love, they hinted at something. Forgiveness. A chance to start anew.
He shoved a hand through his hair, his mind awhirl. Kassandr had come to this room to release her from the shackles of marriage, but he’d never considered she might want it for herself.
“Very well,” he said softly. “If you do not object, then I suppose it is agreed.” A sly smile spread across his lips. “Shall we seal it with a kiss?”
Saga snorted. “That never was a Zagadkian tradition, was it,Rurik?”
He shook his head, then realized she could not see him. “No. But how can you blame me for trying?”
“Very well,” said Saga, her voice a near whisper. “Let us seal it with a kiss.”
Kassandr might have lost his mind, for he did not remember surging forward, only that he suddenly found himself kneeling on the floor beside the tub.
Claim!snarled his beast, the need to mindlessly rut barreling through his veins. Kassandr yanked on its leash, trying to cage it away. But the sight of Saga Volsik reclined in that tub had knocked all the sense from his skull.
