In a single motion, I hefted her up, and she squealed, wrapping her legs around my hips and nearly causing me to fumble as I redirected my weight. The layers of her dress bunched awkwardly.
“That was not my intention.” I laughed as she drew back to meet my eyes and set me with a false glare, the corners of her lips twitching up. To have her body wrapped around mine in this way brought back thoughts of the tower house and stirred my desire.
“And how am I to know your intentions are not impure?” She wrinkled her nose.
“Who is to say they are not?” I met her challenge, mirroring her expression. “No response to that?”
Sucking in her lips, she shook her head.
“As I said before.” I adjusted my hold on her. “Swing your leg over.”
This time, when I gripped her waist, she loosened her hold with her legs and let me heft her atop the mare. She landed somewhat awkwardly. Sorrel’s flanks quivered, and in response to the animal’s reaction, I held Evera a moment longer until I was certain the mare wouldn’t spook.
“Your mare is jumpy today,” I pointed out, considering how well she’d reacted to the situation with Calix the night of the fire.
“She’s fine,” Evera clipped, rolling her eyes.
Amusement rumbled in my chest.
Right, the animal is special to you. Very well.
Leading Sorrel by her harness, I brought her to the fence line. Mounting without someone in front of me was second nature. But with Evera on the mare’s back, I was unsure I could, and I wasn’t about to risk unsettling the jumpy creature. Using thefence would be easier. “Scoot forward,” I instructed, a hand at Evera’s waist.
She did as I coaxed. I climbed the fence and eased my weight onto the mare’s back slowly, testing her. Once I was confident she wouldn’t buck, I settled Evera with her back to my chest and wrapped an arm around her torso. The sight of her ass against my lap was admittedly distracting.
“Reins,” I said, the word coming out thicker than I intended.
Evera lifted the leather strap off Sorrel’s withers, and I drew my other arm around to take it. If she noticed the stir of my cock against her backside, she did not voice it. I swallowed, trying to calm myself. Though the newfound sensations were intoxicating, I was finding that the effects could be hindering at times.
Checking my breathing, I squeezed the mare gently with my heels and clicked, encouraging her toward the gate. Evera’s body tensed, and she braced herself with both hands. The animal’s ears pinned, and I pulled back on the reins, stopping her.
“Relax,” I instructed, placing a hand on Evera’s inner thigh.
She drew a sharp breath, and desire seeped through the bond. I cursed myself mentally for the placement of my hand, even as the racing of my heart and Evera’s eagerness in response encouraged boldness.
Knowing she desired me as much as I longed for her, I allowed my touch to wander. I stroked trailing fingers lazily at her leg. The rushing warmth through the bond intensified, and I leaned in and spoke against Evera’s ear. “I can sense that emotion, too.”
She raised her chin, the indigence in her tone underlined with teasing inflection. “Your senses betray you, Lark.”
Rumbling with my amusement, I wrapped my free arm around her torso. “I won’t let you fall, but if you keep squeezingthe mare’s sides like that, she might take off. You need to relax. Trust me.”
Though I expected a retort, Evera only grumbled. “Fine.”
The tension in her body relaxed through a breath, and she wiggled, settling against me. The movement made my cock throb; I had to resist the urge to rock against her. In the tower, she’d been fully clothed aside from the slip of her top. Now I envisioned her like this, in front of me, naked, with the firmness of my length against her ass.
No, not until I earn her name.I traced my thumb beneath the dip of her ribs, and when she leaned back into me, I rumbled against her ear, “Good girl.”
25
NEIRIN
As we nearedthe main road, the noise from the market tapered off, replaced by the steady crashing of waves at the base of the cliffside. Sorrel snorted, and her flanks twitched, then settled as she became accustomed to the riders atop her back. With a like sigh, Evera relaxed against my body. Amid the scents of brine from the sea and burning elmwood from the great hearth of the smithy shop, the faint floral and herbal scent of Evera’s hair washed over me. I had to resist the desire to fall into the precious peace of the moment, to draw her firm against my chest and breathe her in deeply. It was not what she needed, not what she wanted or was ready for, so I turned to conversation instead.
“On my count,” I said, “you have asked me three questions just since we entered the paddock.”
The concept of courting was, admittedly, something I understood more in concept than in act. It mattered little, though, to me at least. And I sensed it did so for Evera as well. Nothing about this process thus far had been done “correctly.” I only wanted to get to know her and for her to start trusting me. It was clear from her hesitation after leaving her shop that something weighed on her. And, though I’d altered her mood and she no longer seemed burdened by whatever had causedher distress, I would have preferred to soothe her worries by discussing them rather than by brushing them aside. Trust, though, would take time. I could be patient. I could earn her trust, just as I would work toward earning her name.
Resting against my chest, Evera hummed. “You have been keeping count?”
