Fletcher’s tail wagged, and he ambled toward the open doorway.
“He’ll take over the furniture,” Adele said, gazing after him fondly. “He thinks he’s lap-sized despite being large for a hound.”
“The sofa can accommodate him.” I moved toward the sitting room as well, acutely aware of how domestic it felt to discuss sleeping arrangements for her companion in my chambers as though we’d done this a thousand times before.
This was meant to be temporary. Just for tonight, until proper arrangements could be made. Except I knew that I wouldn’t move her to the guest quarters tomorrow. Or the next day. Or any day, for that matter.
She belonged here, in these chambers, with her weather magic gliding along the air currents and her distracted brilliance filling the space I’d kept empty for so long.
“Raoul?” Adele gazed at me with what might be concern. “Are you certain you don’t want the bedroom? I truly don’t mind the sofa. I’ve fallen asleep in much worse places. There was this one time in my research tower when I woke up draped over a weather vane?—”
“The bed is yours. I insist.”
“Very well. Thank you for being so accommodating. I know this isn’t what you expected when you agreed to marry a weather witch.”
No, it wasn’t what I expected at all.
I’d expected a marriage of convenience with a stranger who would want nothing from me. I’d expected distance and formality and the comfortable emptiness I’d grown accustomed to.
Instead, I’d gotten Adele Thornwick, who turned my flight paths into experiments, thanked me cheerfully for offering her a loveless marriage, and somehow made my carefully ordered chambers feel like a home.
She walked across the room, and I watched her rather than leave. I could not make myself look away.
Finally, I shook off my unwelcome fascination and strode into the sitting area, settling on the sofa, listening to her moving around in my bedroom.
Fletcher had claimed a full cushion and was already snoring.
Tomorrow, I would be sensible. I would maintain proper distance. I would remember all the reasons why attachment was dangerous, why I’d built these walls around myselfin the first place.
Tomorrow.
Tonight, I simply closed my eyes and let myself listen to the sound of someone else breathing in my chambers, filling the silence I’d grown tired of pretending I preferred.
CHAPTER FIVE
ADELE
Iwoke to unfamiliar softness.
For a moment, I lay perfectly still, cataloging sensations. Silk sheets against my skin. A mattress so comfortable I’d slept through the entire night without waking once, a rarity for me.
Then memory returned. The wedding. The flight. Raoul’s bed.
I sat up, blinking in the dim light filtering through the windows. Dawn was just breaking, painting the sky in shades of purple and pink. I’d fallen asleep studying the cloud formations, dressed in one of Raoul’s tunics because I’d had literally nothing else to wear other than my wedding gown.
The tunic was much too big on me, the hem reaching mid-thigh, the shoulders sliding down my arms. I’d found it draped over a chair in the bedroom, and after struggling out of my wedding dress, I’d gratefully pulled it on. It smelled like him, a spicy scent I couldn’t identify.
Since I was so rushed yesterday, I was wearing no undergarments. The tunic covered everything important.
I slipped out of bed, my bare feet silent on the cool stone floor. My mind was already churning with questions about the weather patterns I’d observed last night. The way the mountain’s volcanic heat interacted with the glacial air currents created fascinating convection systems that I must analyze further.
After cleansing my teeth and taking care of important business in the small bathing area, I padded into the sitting room, planning to make some preliminary notes before breakfast. I stopped short near the sofa with the huge fireplace in front of it.
Raoul was asleep on the cushions.
He lay on his side, scrunched up due to his height, one arm draped over Fletcher’s furry body. My basset hound sprawled across at least two-thirds of the cushions, snoring so loudly the sound echoed off the stone walls. Raoul had somehow contorted his tall frame to fit in the remaining space, which couldn’t possibly be comfortable.
The blanket he must’ve covered himself with last night had slipped off, onto the floor, and he wore only a loincloth.
