Page 27 of Straw and Gold
“Ta fìor lebherahlann a' casteil on ùir ann uamh.”
“The something library…” I repeated the sentence over and over in my head, searching for similar patterns to the common language in Revelry. “Iscasteilcastle?”
His eyes lit with amusement. “It is.”
I nodded, thinking hard and mumbling to myself. “Give me another meaning. What isùir?”
“Soil or ground in this case.”
“The castle library is in the ground?” I attempted.
He laughed in a rich, carefree tenor. “Well done!” He stood, jerking his head toward the door that led to our room. “‘Ta fìor lebherahlann a' casteil on ùir ann uamh.’ In common, ‘The true castle library is below the ground in a cave.’”
“A cave?” I gasped, following him into our room.
“Ann uamh.”
“Will you take me there?” I asked, reaching behind my back to untie my gown. His hand grabbed my fingers and I turned in surprise.
His eyes narrowed and he let go. “Don’t undress in front of me.” He jerked his head to the screen panels hiding my bed. “I’ve given you a place for privacy.”
Gulping and nodding, I shuffled behind the screen, hidden from my husband and conflicted with how to feel about him. Did he send me behind the screen so I wouldn’t get the wrong idea of his intentions? Or did he send me behind the screen because he didn’t want to admit how my undressing would make him react? Because it didn’t feel like he didn’t want me. It didn’t feel like his eyes darkened on my figure for any reason other than exactly that.
I undressed quickly, stepping into my crimson nightgown and slipped out from the screen, hurrying to the bathing room without another word. My teeth clean and my face washed, I plaited my hair into a tidy length that fell over my shoulder and slipped back through the door, practically jumping into my bed and pulling the soft covers up over my body.
I was too nervous to ask for a kiss goodnight.
And far too tired to argue about it.
For now, in the dim glow of the last candle lit in the room, I felt foolish for ever bringing it up at all. The relationship I wanted with my husband was one he seemed determined to resist, so who was I to pressure him?
I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep as he left the bathing chamber. The side of my bed creaked with the weight of him and my eyes flew open, finding his face in shadow with the last glow of the candle at his bedside behind him, illuminating the red of his hair.
“Ann pìor, Morella.”
My eyes drifted to his lips. I could guess what that meant.
I sat up, nodding. “Ann pìor, Killian.”
He leaned in to kiss me, this time softer, this time gentle and slow, sending my racing heart into a fit of want and need. I gripped the bedding in my fists, never touching him, never grabbing onto his bare shoulders and pulling him down onto me where I wanted him. As our lips parted and he sat back, I tried to guess if it was what he wanted, too.
“Goodnight, Moh Dhóches,” he whispered.
“Goodnight,” I repeated, slipping back into my sheets, trembling with excitement, and fear, and lust for my husband who slid into his own bed and blew out the last flicker of light.
CHAPTER 16
Killian
I wasn’tsure how long I laid there.
Long enough to pick up the steady ease of her breathing.
Long enough to settle my body, restless as it had been.
Long enough to hear her hum and turn in her bed.
Long enough to pray to every Goddess in Revelry that I was strong enough to resist moh dhóches.
