That right there was why I had to keep things in perspective.
I conquered the last step. Yes. Success. Clover had lit a lantern by my door and the hallway was bathed in comfortable light. Just a few more feet and I could fall into my bed face-first and let the world fade away.
“Why did you ask Avaria about contracts?”
I held Tillmar’s contract out to him. “There is something wrong with it.”
“There is everything wrong with it. The whole thing is an abomination.”
“Yes, that, too, but that’s not what I mean. Feel it.”
Everard ran his hand over the paper and stopped above the signature line. He frowned and raised the contract up, so the light of the lantern shone through it. A complex design curved and wound within the paper, wrapping around the signature spot.
“What is that?”
“I don’t know.” He held his hand over it. “I can break it, but it would destroy the paper. We need a mage.”
Where could we get a mage without attracting attention . . . The Mage Tower was chock-full of them, but I needed a mage that wouldn’t report to Archmage Damaes. We had no idea what this contract did. We needed someone with some autonomy.
“Maybe I will make a trip to the Garden,” I murmured.
“Not without me, you won’t.”
“You cannot leave the house.”
“You cannot go without protection.”
“I have a perfectly good cousin. He can take me.”
“I will take you.”
“You are a wanted man. Solentine is more than capable of protecting me.”
“Maggie, you try my patience.”
And here he was, the Sleepless Duke coming out.
He fixed me with his stare. “After everything we have been through, why do you trust Solentine over me?”
“Because he didn’t lie to me.”
“I didn’t lie to you in all things,” he said. “When I promised you I would protect you, I meant it. When I told you I could give you everything Solentine offered and more, I meant that, too.”
The light of the lantern softened his face. He looked so handsome right now. Strong, trustworthy. Hot. Almost irresistible. I could just wrap my arms around him. He would kiss me and carry me to my bed. It would be scorching hot and dirty, a night I would never forget, and then I could fall asleep wrapped in those strong arms. I didn’t even know what I craved more right now, sex, intimacy, or comfort. I wanted all of it.
“This is how Omelyana drowned, isn’t it?”
“Drowned?”
“In my future. She looked into your eyes, heard your voice, so sure and sincere, and decided to live just for you. I’m no Omelyana. I have other things to do.”
He pondered me. “I’ve met Omelyana. She is an accomplished woman. In your future, I married her because Selva needed her. By your own account, I worked hard to keep her satisfied.”
“Yes, you did.”
“If I worked that hard for the sake of someone my domain needed, I wonder how far I would go for the sake of someone I truly want?”
So smooth. His eyes were full of the fire that every woman who had ever wanted a man hoped to see. It was that heady mix of want, need, admiration, and just a hint of a possessive challenge. He didn’t make it blatant or obvious. He made no demands. It was just there, and it was intoxicating enough to make you lose all grip on reality.
