Page 115 of Enchanted Shadows
“I am a fool,” she repeated. “Did he ever love me at all? Or only what I could do for him? He will keep offering until he finds the right manipulation. He thought it would be queen. But when it is your safety dangled in front of me instead?—”
“You tell him hell no.”
“Give me something real,” she whispered as she swallowed hard. “I don’t wish to talk about Calix anymore.”
I stepped in closer. “Something real? How about the fact that your brotherissafe. Already. Right now, he is safe. Because ofyou.” I brushed a kiss to her temple as she moved to hug me. She was the perfect height to tuck into my neck as she did. I enjoyed far too much how my wife fit into me. “You already did it, Kess.And it had nothing to do with Calix Cyncrest. It was all you, honey.”
The night was so quiet we could hear the women laughing from the deck of the other ship, a lantern seen in the distance next to where they were all sitting.
I couldn’t wait to step foot in Agria, handle business, and get the hell out.
“Do you want to head over and join them?” I asked as I pulled back slightly.
She shook her head. “No. I don’t trust Calix with your men without me.”
“They can handle themselves,” I promised her. I was fairly certain about half of them were begging for something to happen. Calix wanted me gone, so by default, if they had a valid excuse to remove that threat before we arrived ashore, they’d not hesitate to do it.
“True, but I also know he won’t try anything, won’t risk making me angry. It’s something small I can do to maintain the mirage of peace. If only for a little while longer.” She tugged my hand. “Let’s head in.”
I never slept well on a ship, but I wasn’t about to admit that to her. No matter the rooms, they were never as comfortable of beds as the one I had at the castle. Also, the constant moving made it hard to get a deep sleep.
“Owen,” she whispered.
“Yeah?”
She looked around. “Can you put up a barrier?”
“You can.” Seeing the defeated look on her face, I decided to just humor her.
I wasn’t prepared for the next string of words to come out of her mouth. “I need you to kiss me disrespectfully again.”
I laughed.“What?”
“We need to practice. You said we could.”
“Kessara,” I warned.
“Look. I’m afraid I’m going to mess this all up. I’ll fall for one of his many games and ruin us. I just need a reminder?—”
So I kissed her, interrupting her vicious thoughts. Taking her breath and then some. I didn’t stop until neither of us could breathe. Until she had that disheveled glow, until I had to pull on every bit of my restraint to keep from taking things into the territory that homed my bliss and her regret.
I trailed a kiss up her neck and whispered, “We are not so easily ruined, Princess.”
She smiled up at me. “I hope so. Also, you should get used to this. Having to kiss me. There are shadows everywhere in the castle. Therefore, spies everywhere in the castle.”
“It will truly be a hardship.”
She snickered, and before she could move away, I pulled her right back and kissed her once more. “Wouldn’t want you to forget.”
She finally looked less tense. “Let’s go to bed. We have a war to avoid tomorrow.”
I wasn’t certain we’d be avoiding one at all. I had a trick up my sleeve which might make things entirely worse, but only for this woman would I start a war.
CHAPTER 36
Kessara slept much better than I did that night. I dozed in and out for hours at a time. Restless even in sleep. At one point in the night, I must have woken her. She used her shadows to cover us both in darkness, the cool weight of them finally enough to lull me into a deeper sleep.
I hadn’t said a word, neither had she. She’d just done it.
