Aire stabbed his weapons into a pair of scabbards affixed to his back, then he fell into step with me, the tip of each sword flanking his narrow waist from behind. I’d never been able to decide what turned me on more. The pants clasping his tautass like snakeskin, or the deadly blades riding every flex of his shoulder blades.
Threading past the hedges, we emerged onto the main thoroughfare, where his stallion grazed. At our arrival, the black warhorse lifted his head. Bronze whorls twined up the courser’s limbs, naturally pigmented like all equines of Autumn, and his tail swished with displeasure. Because we interrupted his dinner, a snort puffed from the male’s snout, making his irritation clear.
I panned my gaze across the dirt road, hunting for boot prints or clues that I’d been keeping company with certain reptilian rulers. On that front, a golden carpet of newly fallen leaves concealed any potential signs.
Past the hood, I glimpsed Aire’s nonplussed expression. Understandable, since not once in my life had I caved to his demands.
Moss crocheted the undergrowth and crawled up the trees. While daytime brought every detail into glaring light, nightfall masked this setting in shadows, distorting the perspective.
We trekked in silence. Aire guided his stallion, a set of reins swinging from the knight’s gloved hand, the animal’s hooves clomping down the avenue. All the while, my joints ached from the battle as if someone had constructed me out of rusted nails.
Aire caught me wincing. He’d pulled his punches during the fight and then checked to make sure I was unscathed. Other than Rhys’s parting gift of a wrist bruise, I appeared fine on the outside.
Nonetheless, self-loathing contorted the knight’s features. “Did I—”
“I’m fine.” I massaged the pangs in one shoulder. “Just out of practice.”
The knight hesitated, took stock of my wrist, then reluctantly let the matter drop. My cloak hardly offered an uncensored view of everything beneath the fabric. Short of me doing a strip tease, or Aire giving me a pat-down worthy of role play, confirming my excuse wasn’t on the table.
Several miles into the journey, we reached a compact arcade of tupelo trees, their orange crowns glowing like coals. At the lane’s end, a cottage peeked above the shrubs, its brick chimney coughing plumes of smoke. Around the bend, visitors would discover a peeling blue door in need of fresh paint, cracked window panes, and a vegetable patch strangled by weeds.
I did my best, but it was hard keeping up with the tasks. When one got finished, another cropped up.
Hedges formed an arched entrance, which framed a garden fence door in the same aged blue color, with maple leaf cutouts decorating the facades. My first project. I’d learned to use a scroll saw that day and nearly took off my middle finger in the process. That would have been tragic, since I exercised that particular digit behind Rhys’s back so often. At any rate, I’d have to fix the door hinges soon.
I halted beneath the archway. Like hell was I leading my guest one step closer to the cottage’s threshold.
After relieving his warhorse, Aire surveyed the property, curiosity alighting his profile. Although this knight never judged, pride stung my flesh.
“Much obliged for the company.” I raised my chin. “I’m good here.”
He fixated on my home, his tone gentle. “You’ve never introduced us.”
Two clashing reactions assaulted me. A lump clogged my vocal cords, and my body went rigid. Nobody in our clanhad seen where I lived. No matter how much I wished for the opposite, I’d made sure of that.
This had nothing to do with the person waiting inside. I’d love for them to meet each other. But publicizing valuable relationships wouldn’t keep anyone safe, in case of random lurkers.
Anyway, Aire meant no harm with the comment. Yet it nudged open too many private doors, which would lead to information best kept in the dark, especially out here.
The hedges shivered, the abrasive noise grating on my flesh. He needed to leave.
Soon. Now.
Covertly, I rested a hand on my axe. “I’m sorry for almost decapitating you.”
Aire’s head snapped toward me, his lips twitching. “Almost does not count.”
A joke, coupled with the barest hint of amusement. Two phenomena from this taciturn warrior. And kill me now, a divot burrowed into the corner of that mouth. The extraordinary vision set my flesh alight, heat simmering across my flesh.
A fancy velvet jacket clung to Aire’s muscles, the navy color matching his irises, and thickets of mussed hair fell around that handsome face. He had no right to stand there looking like a sculptural masterpiece. Deadly, gorgeous, unattainable.
How many times have I imagined running into him like this? Under the cover of night, in the woods where no one would see us. His hands disappearing beneath the hem of my cloak, his rough growl scrapping against my open mouth, his fingers wrenching apart my naked thighs.
Taboo. Forbidden.
Rationale snuck up on me like a slap in the face. Aire was doing that thing he did with Nicu, cheering up the boy whenever Nicu needed it.
Humoring a friend. Not tending to a lover.
