“Who knew you’d be this voracious?”
“The reason is evident. One glimpse of you drives me to the brink. How pitiful that I’ve neglected to bid you good morning in return.”
“You’re doing a thorough job of it now,” she reassured, sliding her arms around my shoulders.
I beamed like a smitten fucking juvenile. “It thrills me to see you in my wardrobe.”
“That spares me the trouble of stealing this shirt.”
Now my smile became wolfish. “Did I please you last night?”
Red climbed up Aspen’s features. “I think you heard and felt the answer.”
I had. Multiple times.
After three climaxes in succession, followed by an encore that lasted hours, I was merely indulging. Aspen was just so pretty when she blushed. For a spitfire warrior, she was quite the affectionate minx.
Yet after a carefree moment, the flirtation ceased. Her eyebrows crinkled, guilty trepidation pulling down her features.
I knew why. I’d been brooding about the same thing.
One palm raised to frame her cheek. “All will be well.”
“I lied to them,” she whispered. “All of them.”
“Every member of the clan makes mistakes. Jeryn alone is still atoning for his brutal history. You’re not an isolated case. It won’t be easy, but they love you as much as you love them. In time, they will show you grace.”
Aspen fisted my lapels. “I refuse to go unpunished. It’s their right.”
“Spoken like an honorable fighter.” I rested my forehead against hers. “Whatever comes next, I stand by you. However they reply, I pledge to remain at your side. And to make you happy.”
“I promise to do the same,” she invoked. “No lies. Only truth.”
“We’ll make it work. We’ll get through this.”
She nodded. “Together.”
Hauling her forward, I clamped my mouth over Aspen’s. With nothing left to hide, I rocked us into a full-bodied, full-hearted kiss.
Whistles blew across the forest. An ovation of claps resounded overhead.
We broke apart. Glancing to the level above, we found Lyrik and Nicu standing on separate platforms, applauding us.
49
Aire
They hadn’t overheard. Rather, they found us at the onset of our kiss.
All the same, we told Nicu separately. Once Lyrik departed the scene, the three of us retreated to my liege’s cabin, where the story unfolded.
A motley of reactions dominated Nicu’s features. Shock. Hurt. Anger. He wore these expressions openly, gaping as Aspen disclosed every detail.
While seated at a dining table, remorse clotted her voice. Although Aspen rarely let herself slip in the presence of others, Nicu was an exception. Because she idolized him, his response provoked the most fear.
Still, Aspen did not indignity the young man by cowering or wilting. Nor did she neutralize her demeanor or overstate her defense.
Before Nicu’s judgement, Aspen purged herself of the last seven years. All the while, I held her hand, a gesture that did not go unnoticed.
