Page 75 of Love & Letter Charms
She blinked, slowly. The driftshade still lingered in her veins, and the memory of the music still hummed around her, and what she wanted to say was,Not while looking at me like that.But she forced another breath into her lungs and lowered hereyes. She might have been feeling light and unguarded, but she possessed just enough sense to know she ought to return to her rooms before she said or did something she would most assuredly regret.
I would never do anything you did not wish me to do.
“I believe it is time to return to my chambers now,” she said a little too loudly, as though attempting to drown out her own thoughts.
“Yes, of course.” The prince stood and offered her his hand, but before she could reach for it, she remembered her hands were bare.
“Oh. My gloves.” She reached for them, trying her utmost to sound casual, though she very much suspected she would never look at another pair of gloves in quite the same way again.
She slid them on, fastening the tiny buttons with careful fingers before placing her hand in his and allowing him to pull her to her feet. The world tilted slightly, and she steadied herself against his arm with a small laugh. “Oh. Perhaps the ground isn’t quite as stable as I recalled.”
“The ground is perfectly stable,” he said, unmistakable amusement coloring his tone. “You, however, are delightfully unsteady.”
He kept hold of her arm, and she made no effort to draw away.
As they made their way back through the moonlit gardens, the charged tension between them gradually softened into something warmer, easier, perhaps aided by the fact that she seemed incapable of walking in a straight line. She tripped over roots that weren’t there, lost her balance on even ground, and giggled at his teasing insistence that Lady Aurelise, paragon of grace, could not possibly be capable of such clumsiness unless the universe itself was conspiring against her.
It was, frankly, a wonder they reached her suite at all without waking half the palace. There had been the small table that appeared out of nowhere and caught her hip, and the towering flower arrangement she somehow managed to topple—though she could have sworn it had been nowhere near her path. Prince Ryden, of course, found every mishap thoroughly entertaining, especially the part where they were forced to hide behind a marble statue while several footmen came to investigate the mysterious crash.
By the time they arrived at her door, she was deliciously drowsy and pleasantly content, already imagining the bliss of sinking into her bed and not stirring until noon. Though perhaps—just perhaps—she might first find the courage to reply to R. After all, she could now claim to have completed a dare he surely believed she would never attempt.
She stepped inside and turned to bid the prince goodnight. He was already leaning against the frame with that casual grace that seemed as natural to him as breathing. “I still can’t quite believe you actually allowed me to talk you into this,” he said.
“Nor I,” she agreed with a small smile. “I’ll likely be horrified when I wake in the morning and remember.”
“I hope not. I thought it rather fun. We may have to attempt it again.”
She laughed, then quickly pressed a hand over her mouth when the sound rang far too loudly in the quiet space. “Definitely not. Though I suppose if I’m ever to complete dare number three, I may require a similar degree of … assistance.”
“Oh?” The prince’s brows rose in exaggerated interest. “Are you saying you have plans now to complete that particular challenge? You seem to have been firmly against it since the beginning.”
She tipped her head and gave him a shy smile that was laced with something … daring. “Why, I’ve been saving it for you, of course.”
Something flared in his eyes. He leaned closer, hand rising to ghost along her jaw before tucking a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. Then he bent nearer still, his lips grazing past her ear as he whispered, “I believe you may now cross that one off your list as well, Lady Lise.”
~
Dearest Remarkable Ridiculous Ravishing R,
At last, I have found a way to shock you rather than the reverse.
Dare number nine. Smoke driftshade leaf. I daresay you thought I wouldn’t do it. But I have triumphed. I have
In addition, I should warn
It is highly probable my mind is still drifting while writing this.
And highly probable that I shall regret this tomorrow when I
But I keep telling myself that I should try. At least try. To explain. Because am I not supposed to be bolder now? Is that not what you’ve been trying to show me with this darned list of yours? That I can
Did you overwhelm me again? Yes. You absolutely did. Your words have a terrible way of slipping past all my carefully constructed barriers. As if they know exactly where the cracks are.
I should be furious with you for that ‘you already have it all’ declaration. It was unfair, you know. Spectacularly, breathtakingly unfair. You broke the rules. You were supposedto pretend that nothing has changed between us. That you are not desperately mine.
You were supposed to pretend you are not fully aware that I am
That I am also
