Hearing my name on her tongue made my cock ache, almost painfully so. Her hand stilled in its path, and despite my efforts of restraint, I shifted my hips, instinct driving me, needing more. A look of satisfaction flashed in her eyes, glinting with mischief.
Before I could respond or find the courage to close the short gap between us and kiss her, she withdrew. The lack of her presence, and warmth, caused a knot to form in my throat.
“You were telling me of your brother,” she said as if the conversation had never shifted.
“Sindri is a traitor, and you,” I rumbled, letting playful amusement lace my words, “are a tease.”
She laughed and shrugged.
Despite the fluster I felt in her presence, the woman was easy to talk to; her candor was light, casual, and whatever forwardness I lacked, she more than made up for. She was bold and a bit crass. Stunning.
Determined to keep her engaged in conversation, I followed her lead. “He is young, irresponsible. It lends me to worrying over him and…his future. His safety. What of your brother?”
Scoffing, she took another minuscule sip of her liquor. “My brother aims to marry me off to a shoemaker.”
“Do you care for the man?” The words stung.
“Not like that, no.” She set her eyes back to the night sky. “But if I do not marry— It’s not about what I want.”
The sorrow in her tone drew a sigh from my lungs. “Very rarely is our life what we want it to be.” I ran my hand throughthe section of my hair left unbraided.What we want it to be.A muscle in my jaw flexed.
Perhaps the only thing worse than having unfulfilled desires was to not have any hopes for the future to begin with. But what future could I have? All I could do was look after my brother. That was my purpose, and that alone was all I needed. In an effort to lighten our conversation, I nudged her shoulder playfully. “Tell me then, what do you want?”
With a tilt of her head, she looked over her shoulder at me, studying. “What I want will only cause trouble for my family.” She spoke faintly, defeat lacing the words. “The people in our village whisper that I am a witch.”
A witch.An Alidian.My stomach dropped. “Are you a witch?”
“Would it matter if I were?”
“No,” I said, knowing that if I hesitated in my response, it would distance her affections. Still, the lie was bitter on my tongue.
Seemingly not catching the weight her question bore on me, she resorted to rambling. It was one of the reasons I didn’t take to courting a woman, the way they went on about things. Quiet was better. Yet with her, I didn’t mind. Clearly, the situation with her brother burdened her, and in truth, I could listen to her voice endlessly without growing tired of it.
Half of what she told me made little sense out of context, but I listened anyway. I let her speak and enjoyed the play of light across her soft features, as well as the sharp, contrasting shadows the mask cast in curving shapes and ridges on her face.
“So yes,” she finished with a breath. “He is a prick.” I parted my lips to give a response, but she cut me off. “And who is he to tell me who to bed?”
If her brother was the head of their house, it was in his right to arrange a betrothal for her. But something about the womanmade custom seem irrelevant. There was a fire within her, one that, if quenched, would leave a darkness in the world.
My heart leapt. Though my nerves had lessened as we spoke, they flushed through me again. But this was my chance. I recognized the signs in the way she positioned herself at the edge of her stool closer to me, and the lingering glances. Even the path of her conversation was pointed.
“Yes.” I tucked a strand of her cinnamon curls behind her ear, letting my touch pause on her cheek before I drew back. “Who is he to tell you who to bed?”
Mischief danced in her eyes again, and when they lowered to my lips, I took my chance.
Leaning in until my nose brushed hers, I brought my hand back to the side of her face and stroked along her jawline with my thumb. She whimpered faintly. The sound tightened my body, and I released a heady breath. But what if, like with Frella, I was unable? If I lost my vigor? The thought made me hesitate.
“I’ve broken rules today,” the woman said against my lips at my demurral, allure thickening her voice with sex. Her fingers tapped at my thigh.
“Your brother’s rules?”
She hummed her acknowledgement.
“Are you telling me this because you plan to break another?”
She ran her nose along mine.
I sucked in a breath as she moved her hand slowly, teasingly, sending waves of throbbing need between my legs. When her touch found me, she grasped my length through the cloth of my pants, and I let my head fall back, entirely lost in the sensation of her touch. I thrust against her, and a faint sound of amusement escaped her.
