Page 96 of The Great Pursuit
Again, he nodded. Each pressed their ears against the wall, but the other side was silent. If someone were in that other room—if the passageway was discovered—they were both dead. But they couldn’t remain within the walls forever. Paxton rubbed his temples.
“Sit down a moment,” Aerity told him. He sat heavily in the chair while Aerity fit the torch into the sconce on the wall. She watched as he put his elbows on his knees and let his forehead rest against his palms. “How long has it been since you slept, Pax?”
He chuckled quietly. “I don’t know. Days.”
He’d been carrying the weight of the kingdom on his shoulders.
“Let’s take a few moments to rest before we decide what to do,” she said.
Aerity crouched next to the chest and quietly pulled up on the unlocked clasp. Its hinges creaked when she began to open it, so she stopped and went slower until the lid was fully up. Inside was empty. “Well, that’s not helpful,” she muttered. She left it open to avoid more creaking.
Aerity pushed to her feet and stood before Paxton, gathering his head in her hands. He brought his arms around her, above and below her hips, and rested his face against her stomach, pulling her to stand between his open legs. She ranher fingers through his hair, then over his smooth cheeks. In that one single moment, her world felt right.
“I love you, Aerity Lochson,” Paxton whispered into her skirts, and her heart brimmed with fullness.
“I love you as well. Even if you were a rogue skirt raiser when we met.”
His chin lifted to send her a questioning look. Aerity smiled. “It’s what Wyn used to call you.”
A small, tired grin played on his lips.
“What will happen to us, Pax?” she whispered.
A deep sense of desperation to grasp their time together rose within her. This could be it. This could be their last moment alone together.
He held her tighter and pressed his forehead into her abdomen. “I just want to keep you safe.”
“And you have. We’re safe right now, aren’t we?” Her heart began a rhythmic pounding as she realized what she wanted. Perhaps it was foolish and dangerous, but she’d never felt such dire desperation. “You have my heart in this lifetime and the next, but we are not promised more than this moment together.”
He lifted his chin to peer at her again, whispering fervently, “I won’t let Vito touch you, Aerity. I swear it.”
“We don’t know what is to happen when we leave this room. And even if by some miracle of the sea we’re able to escape and somehow beat Kalor . . .” Her voice caught. “I am still promised to Lief.”
She licked her dry lips. Paxton’s brow creased at this thought, and he dropped his gaze. She took his chin and lifted it to look at her. His eyes were full of remorse at the mention of her marrying, as if he’d lost her already.
“I am yours, Paxton. And we have now.”
He stared at her a moment longer. His voice deepened. “What are you saying, Aer?”
“I think you know,” she breathed.
He stared. She could see the war between yearning and fear in his eyes. She wondered if the pattern of his heartbeat matched the gallop of her own.
Aerity’s voice shook with nerves and need. “Give me a memory of our love that I can keep with me always, Pax. Something no one can take from us.”
His tight jawline began to relax, and she watched as the fear shed away and pure yearning took over. Slowly, with his eyes fastened on hers, his hands roamed down from her hips, down her legs, and grasped the bare skin of her ankles before sliding back up, under the hem of her gown. Aerity’s breath hitched as his hands cupped behind her knees, stroking upward to the backs of her thighs. His small grin turned wicked.
“You want me to make good on my nickname?”
Aerity seemed to have forgotten how to breathe. All she knew was that she did not want Paxton to stop. In that hidden room she was not a queen. She was simply a lass in love with a lad, and wanting nothing else in the world than to give himeverything and take all he was willing to give in return.
“Aye, Pax. That is what I want.”
His gaze heated. His hands slid upward, under her petticoats and over her hips until his fingertips circled her bare waist and held tightly. He gave her a tiny shove back without releasing her, enough to pull his knees together and yank her forward again to straddle his lap. Then he raised her skirts and lowered her, a hand behind her back and one on her neck. Aerity whimpered at the feel of him through his breeches.
She loved that he didn’t question her forwardness, didn’t ask if she was sure or attempt to save her virtue, because despite her obvious nervousness he trusted her judgment. She knew he’d give her anything she wanted if it was in his power.
Their mouths met with passion and impatience, knowing their precious time together could be stolen from them at any moment. Paxton curled his fingers around the fabric at her shoulders and pulled it down her arms, below her chest as far as the chemise would allow. He kissed down her neck to the softer, fuller skin of her breasts now displayed.
