She wished she could sink deeper into him. To dip her fingers under the hem of his shirt and run them over his warm skin. It was a struggle to turn her head and respond intelligently to the comments and jokes of the team as they ate their dinner.
She watched the squad as they laughed quietly together. Their eyes were warm, filled with the relieved joy of people who had come very close to dying only a few hours before. But a cloud still hung over them, dampening their joy with the knowledge that their friend was lying, hurt, in the infirmary, and that their safety still hung by a slender thread.
Val was quiet as the others talked, and she caught him watching her from time to time, but also looking out at his friends with that ever-present furrow between his eyes, his face unreadable.
She had seen the look on his face when Tristan had stepped forward as his second. A look of such surprised gratitude that she had wanted to put her arms around him there in front of everyone and remind him just how loved he was.
At least now, finally, they were all sitting together, eating together, like the family they were. Maybe it would go a little way to ease that desperate ache in Val’s soul.
The dinner ended early, everyone weary and knowing they had to be at their best for Val’s challenge the next day. As soon as the acolytes had cleared the dishes, they made their way inside and shuffled tiredly along their corridor and down to their rooms.
Tristan kissed Nim goodnight, whispering something in her ear that made her laugh. Then he left for his room as she disappeared through their shared door. The men each said a soft goodnight as they peeled off into their own rooms. But Alanna hung back, her steps falling slower and slower until finally she and Val were alone in the empty hallway.
He reached out and ran his fingers through her short hair, his eyes dark and serious. Then he slid his hand around until he cradled the back of her head and bent to kiss her, his other hand dropping to her waist to pull her closer.
His body was hard and warm against hers, and she lost herself in the gentle pressure of his mouth. The way he tasted her, stroked her, slowly deepening the kiss as she threaded her fingers into his thick hair and pulled him closer.
She had never been so acutely aware of her own body. Of her nakedness beneath the thin cotton dress. How heat pooled between her legs as her nipples tightened and rubbed against the smooth fabric.
But, far too soon, it was over. He pulled away and stepped back and she almost cried with how cold and alone she felt, even while she knew she could hardly expect him to ravish her in the middle of a temple corridor.
His voice was a deep rumble as he ran his thumb down her cheek. “Goodnight, Lanni. Call me if you need anything.”
She clasped her hand over his, holding it to her face, wishing she didn’t have to go. “I love you, Val.”
He smiled, the deep grooves fading from between his eyes for a moment. “I love you too.”
He dropped another light kiss onto her mouth and then gestured for her to go into her room. “Lock the door for me.”
She stepped into the room and closed the door softly, turning the key as she’d promised. A few seconds later, she heard the door to the men’s room open and then close again.
She leaned back against her door thinking about Val, reliving the tenderness of his kiss, his hand on her cheek.
Then she thought about the challenge in the morning. And just like that, she was deluged by a million terrors of everything that could go wrong.
Val was an excellent swordsman, but not invincible. Ballanor was just as distinguished a swordfighter, and he was rested and well.
Was this the last time she would ever see Val? Would “lock the door” be the last words he ever spoke to her?
Bard.
Her breath stuck in her throat.
What on earth was she doing? Who knew what was going to happen in the morning? She wasn’t going to waste this opportunity.
She took a hesitant step forward. Nim was sitting on her bed, still fully dressed, watching her with amusement. Alanna cleared her throat. “Um… would you mind very much if we rearranged…?”
Nim leaped off the bed and laughed gently. “Thank the gods. I thought you’d never ask!”
Within seconds, not giving her a moment to change her mind, Nim was out of their room and tapping on the men’s door. Alanna heard low voices and then footsteps and her door swung open. And Val was there.
He was wearing the breeches and linen shirt he’d worn to dinner, but he’d untucked it and pulled it open at the neck to reveal the dark hair of his chest, and she had to drag her eyes back up to his face, away from that exposed skin.
Val strode into the room, pausing only to close and lock the door, as she watched him, still standing slightly dazed in the middle of the room. And then he was right in front of her, looking down at her with eyes the color of the sky at midnight and just as filled with stars.
They stared at each other, the sound of their breathing and the soft splashing of the fountain outside filling the room.
She could feel the heat of his body, the thud of her heartbeat in her chest, the tingling of her lips, still swollen from his kisses. And, Bard, how she wanted him.
