Page 34 of Married By Treachery

His gaze dropped to her dainty nose, particularly the smattering of freckles along the narrow bridge. They reminded him of the stars in the night sky and all the constellations that he had not seen in ages. And then his gaze slid further still, to her mouth and the pucker of those chapped and rosy lips that he had meant to kiss last night.

It was the mission—yes, that was what it was. He was playing a part so well and so thoroughly that his subconscious kept him resolutely in character. But then his dream flashed again. Her rounded belly, the feel of her in his arms.

The feel of her in hisheart.

Jake’s chest ached sudden and sharply, his breath came in frantic bursts, and then for reasons Jake could not quite comprehend—not yet—he turned on his heel and stormed away from her. Right past a startled Rian and Banon.

“Where are you going?” Rian called after him, clearly confused.

“To find Sienne.”

11

Raquel watched Jake go. She watched him storm away from her, watched his kith stare after him. Watched him turn out of sight.

And then Rian and Banon turned toward her.

Raquel felt a sudden flare of embarrassment, as if she’d been caught doing something she ought naught, though she’d done nothing untoward.

Not on the outside, at least.

But they were still looking at her, so she pressed down her skirts, and—not knowing what else to do—said, “I can help with the horses.”

Rian looked to Banon, whose gaze flickered in the direction Jake had gone.

“I am quite familiar with them,” she continued. “I grew up around them, and I’ve a lot of experience fitting saddles.” She didn’t really understand why she felt so adamant about this, but there were all sorts of strange emotions churning inside of her, and hard work was always the best remedy for controlling unwieldy feelings.

And she needed to get these under control before they shredded her resolve to pieces.

At last, Banon nodded once, sharply, and said, “I’ll handle Vizzi. Jake’s very particular about his saddle.”

“Really? Does he realize the bit’s too tight and damaging poor Vizzi’s molars?”

Banon’s brows shot up, he and Rian exchanged a long look, then Banon waved a hand at Vizzi. “He’s all yours. But know that if Jake complains, I’m not taking the blame.”

“If he doesn’t, I hope you don’t take the credit, either,” Raquel said.

Banon looked at her as if he couldn’t decide whether to be impressed or offended. Rian laughed, then cuffed Banon on the shoulder and said, “Come on. We’ve only got ten minutes.”

Banon and Rian moved to other stalls, and Raquel turned back to Vizzi, who regarded her mildly.

“Now. Where were we…” she murmured to herself. Then, to Vizzi, she said, “You eat. I’m going to make some adjustments to your saddle.”

She slipped around Vizzi, patting his side as she did, to where the saddle lay upon a narrow bench. It was a fine saddle; she hadn’t had a moment to appreciate the craftsmanship before while riding in the arms of her brutish captor.

The thought of sharing a saddle with Jake,as himselfand not as the hairy Bear Prince, sent a shiver down her legs.

Saints above, this would not do!

Raquel ground her teeth and turned her focus back to the saddle, to the neat line of stitches and oiled leather. “If only your master took half as good care with you as he does his saddle…” She’d said it quietly, but not quietly enough. Rian cleared his throat from a few stalls over. Raquel bent her head toward Vizzi’s ear and whispered, “Well, it’s true.”

She found the harness and bit beside the saddle, noting a number of broken stitches in the leather and a stress crack in the mouthpiece. She sighed. “Well, I don’t have time to fix all of this properly, but I can loosen the tension a bit to give you some relief. Does that sound all right?”

“You know he can’t understand you, right?” Rian said over the stalls.

“He understands more than you think,” Raquel replied, but as she turned, she spotted a little kith girl hovering behind a nearby post, watching her.

It was one of the three from that night. One of the children that Raquel had run after.

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