The final horn wailed across the meadow. In a flash of motion, we plowed toward one another.
Matching her velocity, I clenched the lance, maneuvering it at the same angle. Our momentum synced. A dynamic energy streaked through me, an unprecedented, unconditional connection.
Memories cycled through my head. Her laugh. Her smile. Her kiss. She had told many falsehoods, but none of those moments had been fake.
We charged as allies instead of enemies. Our lances blew together, grinding them down, splinters bursting into the eventide.
A draw.
As we thundered past one another, my armor brushed hers, a shiver rushing over my skin. Wheeling our mounts, we accepted our replacements and bolted toward each other once more. Now that we had perfected this exhibition, she and I made the ending count.
A genuine strike that destroyed each weapon and ensured a combined win.
I increased my speed, the equine’s hooves ramming into the earth. Aspen did the same, so that I imagined those snarky lips curling.
At the midsection, we struck. Our weapons pared into one another, wood shearing through wood. The noise split my eardrums, and timber showered around us.
My horse slowed partway down the lane, then scooted around on my command. In unison, Aspen turned her mount. Our gazes dropped to the weapons, each demolished to stumps.
Yet I peered closer. Not a draw.
One weapon had splintered shorter than the other.
Aspen belted out a genuine gasp, and her head swung upright. Magnificent woman. She had planned to break even with me, but none of us ever knew the extent of our strength until it was tested.
Roars blared from the crowd. Yet the applause faded as I cantered to the center, meeting Aspen there. At the same moment, we ripped off the helmets, welts and gashes bisecting her flesh.
I must look similar because her fingers reached out to caress a place on my jaw that flared with pain and leaked fluid. Not that I gave a fuck. With a hiss, I snatched her elbow and yanked Aspen against me.
Over the divider, I hauled this exceptional woman forward. Her breasts smacked my torso, the triumphant sight of her fueling my pulse.
My brave temptress. My reckless inspiration.
I would lose to her any day. Over and over again.
Stunned, Aspen gripped my biceps, my muscles pebbling in response. Our panting outtakes mingled, and those hot pupils sought my own.
Amid the stimulus, I lowered my head. My lips skimmed her own and declared my greatest truth.
“I love you,” I whispered against her mouth.
Shock blew through Aspen’s features. “Say it again.”
“I love you.”
“Again.”
“I love you.”
Slanting my head, I crushed my mouth to hers, kissing Aspen in the midst of a dueling field. She grinned against me, her lips yielding beneath mine, the slick tip of her tonguewrithing with my own in an arduous rhythm. Overcome, I pried her open, losing my breath.
Long ago, she fell first.
But I had fallen deeper and harder.
45
Aspen
