Page 78 of Winter's Scorching Kisses
Once she was done pummeling his chest with her fists, he grabbed her by the shoulders until she calmed. “If I had told you about my involvement, you would’ve hated me and never given me the chance to prove to you that I was more than a hired killer.” Mathar waited for her to argue with him.
“Yes,” she finally uttered, “I would have hated you, and you would have deserved that hatred.”
She glanced up at him her hazel eyes pouring out the sadness and anger within her as her eyes teared up. He wished he could take it away and show her he was sorry for ruining her wedded bliss… but she was alive and well, and he couldn’t be sorry about that.
Adorra was shocked by her body. He was near yet again, and her body was responding to him. Warming up in all sorts of areas. She’d never reacted this way to Edmund, perhaps because he’d been a tad cold towards her. Edmund had always been that way though. He was never a warm man, and she’d known that going into the relationship. He’d still been kind, just always at an arm’s distance.
She raised her hands, making sure there was plenty of distance kept between them. Mathar had a way of causing her to forget herself.
“I do despise you for what you did. How you acted.” Before Adorra turned away from him, she saw displeasure flare up behind his dark eyes. He thought she shouldn’t be mad at him, but he’d been the one who made the choice to plunge the sword into her husband’s back.
As she walked away, Mathar called after her, “Just remember I’m the reason you’re still breathing.”
Adorra didn’t spare another glance behind her, but he’d stopped following her and that was exactly what she’d been hoping would happen. She was tired of having his constant presence behind her.
As she exited the castle and entered the courtyard the cold air wrapped around her in a chilly embrace. She paused mid-step and let out a sigh of relief. The fresh air was welcome and helped to clear her mind.
Quickly, she followed the directions she’d received on how to get to the gardens. She dashed through the courtyard to a small wooden door. Bracing a hand against the cold metal doorknob, she twisted it and walked through into the warmest room she’d ever been in.
She stood there gazing around herself in amazement.
“Close the door!” Jasmine walked up beside her.
“Oh! Yes.” Adorra quickly shut the door after her. “I was so surprised. When you sent word about a garden, I could never have imagined something like this.”
“This was something Dryden set up for me.” Jasmine raised her hands and spun in a tight circle, and her lose reddish-brown hair swirled around with her. “You may not think he loves me, but this shows me he does.”
Adorra raised an eyebrow.
“It wasn’t here before I came to the castle. It was built just for me.” Jasmine told her, a sparkle entering her eyes. “It’s my perfect getaway when the cold of the ice giant mountains gets to me.”
“That was sweet of him,” Adorra admitted because it had been thoughtful. This would have cost Dryden a lot of money and wouldn’t have been a simple task.
“It must remind you of things Lord Gothar did for you,” Jasmine said with a sly twinkle in her eye that Adorra didn’t miss.
Adorra pointed a finger at her sister. “I know what you’re doing.”
“What?” Jasmine backed away a couple of steps with her hands held out, acting innocent.
“Lord Gothar was sweet to me in his own way.” And that was all that mattered to her. It didn’t matter if no one else could see it. Edmund may not have built anything for her, but he’d been there for her during Jasmine’s disappearance.
“Okay.” Jasmine turned and began walking through the indoor garden.
Adorra followed after, but slowly, because Jasmine had got her thinking. When had Edmund done anything like this for her?
She glanced around at the glass ceilings above her. This was something Dryden had built to make Jasmine feel more at home. Edmund had given her a few pieces of jewelry but nothing as grand as her own indoor garden. There hadn’t been too many intimate moments between them either. She was beginning to think her relationship with Edmund had been more about respect than actual love. Respect was nice, but she also wanted love. The kind of love that made a woman tremble in her shoes.
“Is that why you asked me down here? To show me this?” Or to once again tell her that Edmund had been nothing but a calculated killer waiting for his chance to seize what little she had.
“I thought you might like it here. Even with all the fires in the castle, it can still get a bit chilly, but in here,” Jasmine wrapped her arms around herself as she continued to guide Adorra through the room of plants, “I never feel a single chill.”
“It is nice.” Adorra agreed. She was even beginning to get a little too warm.
A purple flower with streaks of blue in it caught her eyes. Bending down, she caught a bloom between a couple of fingers and raised it to her nose. Beautiful. It smelled so good and just pulled her in.
“They have to be some of my favorite.” Jasmine smiled. “You won’t believe who sent them to us.”
“Who?”
