Page 67 of Desire

I saw his disappointment even as he nodded his agreement. “Edmund scared him. He scared us all but Eadric the most.”

“Agreed,” Brandle said, proving he’d been listening to us. “That leaves the four of us to keep watch tonight. Help me prepare a light stew Edmund can eat when he’s hungry, and then go nap, Darian. You’ll take the first watch.”

We worked together to boil the root vegetables and mash them into a very watery soup. Once it was ready, Darian coaxed me into helping him make his bed in the cottage.

While he unrolled the mattress, I gathered two blankets. Turning my back on him was a mistake. Once I faced him again, I saw he had his shirt off and his hand extended in invitation.

He tempted me. They all did.

“Will you sleep if I lie with you?” I asked.

“Will my answer influence your decision?”

“Yes.”

“Am I allowed to lie?”

I laughed and settled in next to him, resting my head on his chest.

“Close your eyes and sleep, Darian. If you do, I promise to kiss you awake.”

He rumbled his anticipation and held me close, running his hand over my hair. Soothed by his touch, the tension from what had happened began to melt away.

“There it is,” Darian said softly.

I realized my fingers were wandering lightly over his ribs and smiled against his chest. A few minutes later, his breathing evened out. I carefully eased out of his hold and studied his sleep-relaxed face. He, like his brothers, was a very handsome man.

Shaking my head, I stood and turned to leave.

Brandle leaned against the doorframe outside the cottage, watching me.

“What were you thinking just now?” he asked gently.

“How impossibly handsome you all are. What will I do with seven of you? Daemon believes I’ll be the envy of every woman in Turre. His idealistic imagining of the future is a bit unrealistic.

“It’s never the man who suffers due to a tryst; it’s the woman. I will suffer seven times over when I accept the love each of you holds for me. Yet, I won’t turn away. I will endure whatever fate may result from my choices so long as I am the only one to suffer.”

“We’ve given you our trust. Now give us yours. We vow to protect you and keep you as our own for the rest of our lives if you allow it. You will not live a life filled with persecution and hate as you imagine. Please believe in us.”

I crossed the room and studied the sincerity in his gaze.

“Very well. I will choose to believe you. But we both know achieving such a life will come at a steep price. Are you certain it is one you are willing to pay?”

“Without hesitation.”

I thought of Maeve and all of the lives she’d already taken and the people she’d hurt.

“You know nothing of what you will need to face to free my sister.”

“And you know nothing of what you will need to face to?—”

He stopped speaking abruptly. He held my gaze steadily, and I knew what he couldn’t say. The curse that bound them wasn’t an idle curse. It had been cast by someone powerful. Someone with ill intent. Someone like Maeve. Or…perhaps Maeve herself since I knew nothing of Maeve’s life before she’d arrived at our home.

“I believe I have an inkling,” I said. “Do you truly believe I can help you? My abilities are chaotic and unreliable.”

“We don’t need your abilities, Kitten. Just you.”

I nodded and made to leave. He caught my hand and spun me into his arms.

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