“And here I’dintended to distractyou,” she said throatily, sometime later.
I’d rolled onto my back again, as post-coital crushing is far less erotic, draping her over me. She lay in boneless abandon, her head nestled in the hollow of my shoulder, her favored spot. I traced the lines of her body, savoring this rare moment when she was utterly relaxed and without care.
If I could have her that way all the time, I would. But then she wouldn’t be the womanI’d fallen in love with—a kindred spirit. Both of us shouldered the burdens of caring for those we loved, of fighting for the just cause, preventing the power-mad from consuming everything in their unfeeling greed.
“You’re right,” I said quietly. “We protect each other. You are no soft and sheltered maiden. I’ve known that all along. I fell in love with you the first time I laid eyes on you becauseof that.”
She propped her chin on my chest, looking up at me. “Not because I reminded you of her, of what your eldest sister suffered—not even a little?”
I combed my fingers through the silky fringe of her fiery hair, admiring the sharp mind beneath. “I didn’t know that about you when I first met you,” I pointed out.
“You knew.” She regarded me solemnly. “You’ve always been able to see throughme.”
Not always. It would be an excellent skill to have, however. “I think you would’ve liked each other, you and my sister.”
“I look forward to meeting her someday.”
“I think I have to face that she’s gone forever. That it won’t happen.” When Ursula opened her mouth, I headed off the argument. “But you would’ve liked each other. Though you’re very different, you share the same sweetness, thesame purity of a truly good heart.”
“I’m not sweet, Harlan,” she said, and her voice held a hint of hardness, the first of her defenses going into place again.
She started to move and I held her there. Not fighting my grip, she subsided easily, her expression holding a question. “Don’t go yet,” I said, not sure what else I could say.Don’t say the words that will end this forever.
“I’m not.”She glanced out the window. “But we have formal dinner this evening, with our guests—including your brother, unless you’ve changed your mind about killing him?” She raised her brows at the question, humor in her eyes.
I laughed, loving her all the more, impossible as that seemed. “No.” With a sigh, I released her and sat up. The idyll couldn’t last. “I lost my head this morning. It won’t happenagain.”
“I think you get a pass on that one,” she replied, strolling naked to the washbasin, her tightly muscled buttocks flexing with her warrior’s stride, the subtle flare of her hips swaying slightly. She tossed me a wet cloth, and I caught it as I stood, using it to clean myself and watching her dress again in the outfit she’d had on before.
Not a good sign, that. She’d have to change toa more elaborate gown for formal dinner, but she’d chosen her court garb instead of a lounging robe for the interim, which meant she wanted to feel armored for this battle with me. Salena’s rubies glinted with a fiery gleam at her ears and on a bracelet she donned again, taking comfort in her mother’s jewels.
With a mental sigh for it, I donned my own clothes, including my boots, since she had.“All right, then,” I said, sitting again at the table and serving us both with more food. We’d barely eaten before. Knowing Ursula, she’d be too busy watching the political currents and guiding discussion to eat much at dinner. “Out with it. What is this terrible news?”
