Chapter Six
Despite living aprivileged life compared to most, Daric knew hardship and crushing responsibility. Three days later, he decided that nothing had ever been as torturous as bedding down next to Rain each night and not reaching for her. He wanted to bring her into the warmth of his body, breathe in her scent as they slept, and hold her against him.
Oh, for the love of Braylian, hedidn’t want to justholdher. He wanted to roll her beneath him and kiss and touch and cover her.
But he would also hold her. He wanted to hold her forever—something he couldn’t do if she was Aldo Lockwood’s wife.
His stomach plummeted, killing his morning arousal.
Rain stirred in her sleep, huffing softly. She wasn’t an easy sleeper—something he hadn’t known. They never shared a room or tentor any quarters that could be considered intimate. They never traveled without guards and an entourage. They hadn’t spent this much time together without anyone interrupting them in years, and never nights in each other’s company. Even now, they’d intended to travel with guards—Soren and a team of warriors. No one, not even him, had meant for them to go on this quest alone.
He did, however, knowwhat Rain looked like when she woke: bleary-eyed, sleep-tousled, rosy-warm, and delightfully provoked. She didn’t enjoy rising early, which seemed ironic for someone who had once embodied spring, but he was always desperate to see her in the mornings, to make sure she hadn’t evaporated during the night, hadn’t turned into mist and left him.
Having her with him day and night was reassuring inthat regard.
Rain jerked in her sleep and mumbled something incoherent. Daric reached out a hand and touched her head. She settled instantly.
He wondered if she was dreaming about how she’d once roiled and rolled across the continent, a formidable daughter of Braylian. He saw relatively little of the powerful being from the Cauldron in her, but sometimes lightning flashed in her eyes, and itwasn’t just an expression of temper. He wasn’t sure what it meant, or if she was even aware of it.
That wasn’t the only thing he’d noticed. She didn’t seem to realize that the wind sometimes blewfromher, not around her, or that the castle lawn wasn’t still green simply because they were lucky, but because Rain trod upon it.
Unable to stop himself, Daric wound a long strand of Rain’s silverhair around his fist. In the liquid pre-dawn light, it looked more like a waterfall than ever. He let her sleep. They’d been riding hard and had a tiring push ahead of them to get to the Heights of Alder before sundown. He only drew his hand back from her hair when the sun finally rose high enough to wake her.
Rain slowly opened her eyes, squinting and wrinkling her nose. “Ermph.” She rolledover, flopping an arm across her face.
“Good morning to you, too, Raindrop.”
“What’s good about it?” she grumbled. “I’m cold and stiff and—”
“As grumpy as ever?” Daric finished for her.
She sat up and scowled at him. “There’s no reason to be so annoyingly chipper.”
“I’m with you,” Daric said simply. “Why wouldn’t I be happy?”
She flushed bright pink, which delighted him more than it shouldhave, considering they were both betrothed to other people.
Rain rummaged in her pack for a comb while he prepared their meal. She braided her hair and then wound it around her head like a crown, securing it with pins. As a finishing touch, she added the starflower.
Satisfaction welled inside him along with something frankly proprietary. Rain’s daring request for a kiss—coming right on the heelsof learning she was betrothed to Aldo—had unleashed something primitive in him that made him want to howl and curse and never let her out of his sight again.
It made him want to abandon his duty.
To resist hauling her into his arms, Daric handed Rain her breakfast. Her smile seemed shyer than usual and struck him in the chest. Was it truly possible to fix their problems without having to loseeach other, Leathen, or anything else?
“When you look at me that way…” Rain’s voice faded to a mere whisper. “I feel much warmer than this frigid morning should permit.”
Pressure clamped around Daric’s heart. The need to reach for her was a physical ache. In a cavern-deep rasp, he asked, “In what way is that?”
The flick of her eyes over him was like a warm brush of lips. “Like we shouldn’tbe dressing right now, but rather undressing instead.”
Heat blazed through him, and his groin tightened fast.
Her suddenly roguish grin almost had him groaning out loud. “I believe I’ve shocked you, Daric. But if now’s not the time for boldness, I’m not sure when is.”
He swallowed hard. “I adore when you shock me. I’d have you shock me silly for the rest of my life.”
“Really?” She soundedsurprised.
