Page 37 of A Baron of Bonds
If my love for Karus was strong enough to challenge the most powerful magic on Arcaynen, I was heartily ready to accept that.
I wondered how her eyes would look black if she accepted the Baronship with me. It would be the biggest downfall, but maybe I’d get to see the green of them again when she was loving me.
I lifted the ring out of the water to inspect its shine. I used a soft cloth to dry it and slipped it into my pocket. I gathered the ribbons and flowers I had managed to use my connections here to find and stepped up to the door of my room, absolutely ready to begin this night. I’d come back for the food and tea later.
I opened the door just as Karus’s fist raised to knock.
She lit in mirthful laughter, tilting her head back, exposing more of her beautiful neck and chest. She held a tray in one hand and wore something a bit more fitting than the rosy pink dress she’d found me in. This one laced up the front, pulling her breasts taught and lovely, the deep copper accenting her eyes and making her smooth skin glow in the dim light of the hall.
I stepped forward to slide my hand around the back of her neck. “You are…” I shook my head, unable to contrive a word that could even come close to describing her beauty.
“Yours?” she whispered, lifting her lips to mine, wrapping her hand around my arm that still held onto her.
I breathed in her scent, lavender and rosewater, as she pushed me back into the room.
“Are we doing this in here?” I asked, setting the flowers and gold ribbons on the small table. I took the tray from her hand and set it next to my own.
“If you don’t mind.” She shrugged timidly, and I realized she must have memories in her old room she’d rather not recall tonight.
I shrugged as well, inspecting what she had brought. “I don’t mind at all. I’d bond to you in a lumen den if need be. Speaking of…are Rauca and Parvus safe?”
She nodded and paused. “They’ve been through a lot.”
I watched her choke slightly on her last words, but I would not pry. I picked up the small bag of styris tea I had brought and compared it to hers, smirking and raising a brow her way.
She picked up the mums and lifted them to her nose, chuckling. “I see we’ve both been busy preparing.”
“Indeed. How did you find the tea?”
“I used to live here. I know where it’s kept. The question is, how didyoufind some?”
My lips twitched. “I’ve been busy and resourceful while you’ve been away. Thankfully, that hard work is paying off.” I inspected the hard cheese and fruit she had brought as well. “Would you like to eat first?”
“Absolutely not.”
She slipped her long fingers through the gold satin ribbons, four in total, and brought them to her chest, looking at me with precious vulnerability. We held each other’s gaze in silence, and I remembered those times she would come to my study after she had found the rhyzolm in the forest. We would say so much in those moments without speaking a word.
Back then, she had looked at me with curiosity and confusion, though always with a hint of desire. Desire to know me or desire that seeped from somewhere deep within, I never knew. My gaze had always been one of longing, frustration, and hope.
“I love you,” she said, keeping her eyes on mine and stepping forward, ribbons in hand.
I nodded. “I love you, too.”
I knew what she meant. I knew the simple words were not enough to express what we felt, but our hearts spoke the truth louder in their steady silence deep within our chests.
She smoothed the ribbons out on the table and raised her right hand to me. I took the emerald ring from my pocket andslipped it onto her forefinger. She laughed lightly, grinning up at me without inhibition as I clasped my fingers around hers.
She inhaled long and loud as she picked up the first ribbon, exhaling softly through her full, ruby lips. “Ready?”
“Yes,” I murmured. I wanted to shout through the streets that I was ready to bond to this woman. I wanted a public declaration to all of Arcaynen that I loved her and would want her all the days of my life. But I could see what this meant to her. Just her and I together, alone, where we loved each other best. The time would come soon enough for me to be able to shout to the rooftops of my soul singing her song, but here, in this borrowed room, she needed me…just me.
Finding the center of the ribbon and placing it over our joined hands, she carefully wrapped one end around her own wrist and then to mine, beginning the words to the bonding we had both been practicing.
“In this binding, I share with you my hopes and desires.”
I took the other end of the ribbon and repeated her movements, first wrapping the long end around my wrist and then hers. “In this binding, I share with you my hopes and desires.”
She bit her bottom lip in pure joy, and I shook my head. She knew I struggled to resist that.
