Page 108 of The Shadow Path
“I was with Lachlan and you knew that.” She pointed to the bed. “Before we ever?—”
“Doesn’t mean I have to like it!” he shouted. “And that doesn’t mean I’m willing to share.”
“I didn’t have any plan toshare!”
That took the wind out of his sails, and he had the grace to look abashed. “Carys?—”
“No, I’d like you to leave.” Her face was burning up. “I realize that this is not a situation either of us has ever been in, but…” Carys realized that actually, she had been in this situation. Infact, she knew exactly how Duncan was feeling. “Do you think I was jealous of Seren?”
Duncan had started toward the door, but he stopped in his tracks. “What?”
“Even before I knew anything about this place or this parallel world or who Seren really was, do you think I was jealous of her?”
Duncan frowned. “I have no idea.”
“I knew Lachlan had a dead wife. I knew that there was someone he loved deeply, long before he met me. Someone who had been his first love. Someone hestillloved, in fact.”
“It’s not the same thing.”
“No, it’s not, but if you’re going to keep bringing up my past with Lachlan when we’re together, that is going to be a problem.”
Duncan stepped toward her. “Well, it’s not exactly a settled issue, is it?”
“And you think this is the way to settle it?” She marched over to him and glared up at his stubborn, handsome face. “I had a life before I met you. In fact, that’s the life that led me to you. So if you cannot handle that, if you’re going to always doubt me because somewhere in the world there is a man that I loved before I met you?—”
“He’s still here!” Duncan pointed toward the door. “There’s more than half a chance he’ll be in this house before nightfall.”
“And you think that means I’m going to sleep with him?” There was a hot ball of anger in her chest, and she felt like punching him in the stomach, but that was far more likely to break her hand than him. “If you think I’m the kind of person who will just?—”
“I’m fucking in love with you, Carys!”
Dead silence in the room when a timid knock came at the door. “Lady Carys, your bath is ready.”
Carys felt frozen as she walked to the door, highly conscious of the effort it took to heat water in the castle. Sending the chambermaid away when she’d asked for a bath would be impossibly rude.
She let the maid in, then stood back as two stewards carried in a wooden bath. The maid walked to the pipe mounted to the wall, whistled out the window, and pulled down the spout, aiming it over the bath before she pulled the bronze chain that controlled the water.
Duncan murmured, “I’m going to?—”
“Don’t you dare leave,” she hissed.
Carys felt like two dragons were battling in her chest.
One was ridiculously happy and spinning circles.
The other one was slightly terrified and breathing fire.
And neither of those dragons was willing to let Duncan Murray leave her room after he’d said that he loved her.
Did she love him?
Yes.
Oh fuck.
Yes. She did.
Did that mean she didn’t love Lachlan anymore?
