When the clock chimes twice, everyone in the Treaty stands and heads for class. Claudia and Cassius are supposed to go to Olivier’s lecture, but once they break from the rest of the group, he stops her in the hall.
“Claudia.”
Her eyes land where he holds her wrist before she looks up at him. “Cassius.”
He waits for her to speak further, but she doesn’t. After an incredulous laugh, he says, “I need a little explanation.”
She grabs his hands and kisses his knuckles. “I can tell you everything tomorrow.”
“That’s not enough.”
She knows he’s right, but she can’t tell him everything before she’s fixed it. In fact, she doesn’t ever intend to tell him the whole truth. After tonight, she’ll have to craft a perfect lie to excuse her behavior.
But there is one truth she can tell him now.
One truth that’s more important than everything else.
One truth she’s been dying to tell him for far too long.
She takes a deep breath and looks up into his eyes. “I love you.”
Stunned, he stands perfectly still as a statue. “What did you just say?”
“I said I love you. I’ve loved you since the night ofThe Deer and the Daughter. I’ve fallen harder and harder every day, and I held back because I thought our love was doomed to fail. Now I know it’s not.”
He still looks confused, but Claudia can’t wait any longer. Balancing on the tips of her toes, she kisses him. His mouth parts against hers and his hands flex at her back. Her fingers tighten in his soft black hair. He tastes better than she remembered—like nectar, like autumn, like time standing still.
It takes all her willpower to pull herself back and ask, “What are you thinking?”
Bewildered and breathless, he says, “I love you, too.”
As they stand in the center of the corridor, eyes locked, chests heaving in shared rhythm, the rest of the world fades away. Bustling crowds blur, unnoticed. All other sounds grow quiet. There is only Cassius—the strong heat of his body, the sweet smell of his skin, the tease of his grip tightening upon the small of her back.
“We should go somewhere,” he says.
“Your room.”
He nods. “Come.”
Hand in hand, they rush through the halls, crashing through walls of students and stumbling around sharp corners. Their steps echo through the Musices wing, percussing the men’s choir as they rehearse Machaut’s “Sanctus.” Claudia’s heart is pounding harder than it ever has before. They cut through the Lexora, earning harsh whispers from Mrs. Winters and several students hunched over tomes.
When they reach Cassius’s door, Claudia can’t hold herselfback. She takes his face into her hands and kisses him, sliding her tongue against his and moaning into his mouth. Locked in her embrace, he fumbles with the key and shoves the door open. Hooking his hands beneath her thighs, he picks her up and moves his hold to her hips as she wraps her legs around his waist. Not once does their kiss break. Cassius kicks the door closed behind him and carries Claudia to the bed. He lays her down and crawls on top of her, hands roaming her body as though he’s worried she’ll disappear. Claudia’s hands race down Cassius’s robes and pull them off over his head, along with his shirt. While he removes his trousers and underwear, she tears off her own robes and tosses them over her head. Her underdress is so thin it feels like they’re already skin to skin.
Cassius pulls back, his body trembling.
“Claudia,” he says through a breath.
“Cassius.”
“Please don’t ever leave like that again.”
“I won’t,” she says quickly, but Cassius’s face remains tense. She runs her fingers along his face, his shoulders, stopping at his chest. Her right hand rests over his heart. “I promise.”
“How can I know?” His voice is desperate. He needs more assurance, more security, so that he can give in to this moment. Claudia knows she owes that to him.
She brushes his hair out of his eyes. “I’m not going anywhere. Tell me what you need in order to believe me and I’ll give it to you. You can carve your name over my heart or put a ring on my finger or tie me to your bedposts so I can’t leave. Anything you want. Mark me in a way that lets you know I’m yours forever.”
His eyes darken. He takes her wrists and pins them down on the bed, framing her face. “Is that what you want? Do you want me to tie you down and make you mine?”
