Page 27 of Married By Treachery

“Calm down.” His voice was thick with amusement. “Sienne will murder me if I let you pass out again. And anyway, I did not share your bed. Whatever you may think me, I’ve manners enough to ask a woman first, though they’re usually the one’s asking me…”

Raquel narrowed her eyes at him. “Scoundrel.”

Those blasted dimples reappeared, which loosed a swarm of butterflies inside of her stomach, and then his features sharpened with concern. “Hm. Let’s get you near the fire.”

“Why?”

“You look a bit feverish.”

“I’m not feverish.”

He gave her a patronizing look that was becoming irritatingly familiar. “Your face is bright red and you’re trembling.”

She realized that she was, in fact, trembling, though she did not think it had anything to do with sickness. Still, she didn’t resist as he escorted her toward the sleepy hearth. She couldn’t. She didn’t have the strength, but also Jake had one arm wrapped firmly around her waist. The weight of it proved a strange comfort, and his delicious heat seeped through her thin nightdress, which was all the motivation Dream Raquel needed to strangle Awake Raquel into subservience.

“How long have I been asleep?” Raquel asked.

“Two days.”

“Two…days?” Raquel gaped up at him.

Jake snapped his fingers, and flames erupted in the hearth, bringing immediate warmth and light to the room. “You’re fortunate it wasn’t longer. My cousin purged the poison from your veins, and while Sienne is extremely gifted in the arts of healing, you managed to challenge evenherconstitution with the amount of poison you infected yourself with.”

“You speak as if I did it on purpose…”

He eyed her sideways, a glint in his eyes. “Are you suggesting youaccidentallystole my coat, escaped through my window—I’m still impressed by that, I might add—and charged into battle in the middle of the night?”

Raquel pursed her lips. “I did warn you.”

“You did.” He smirked. “Here. Have a seat…Raquel.”

He’d stopped before one of the high-backed chairs situated in front of the hearth. Raquel mustered whatever dignity she had left and sat down, and once Jake appeared confident that she could sit without falling over, he sat in the chair opposite. He snatched an ampoule off the small table between them, then bent forward and filled one goblet, then the other. A lock of dark hair fell over his brow, though his gaze remained focused on the task at hand. He had large hands, she noticed. A wide palm and thick fingers that might be considered too large for his frame—the only trait that marked him as the real Prince Edom’s relation—but his motions were not clunky or awkward. Every movement was precise and efficient.Graceful. The light of the fire warmed his skin, softening those sharp kith features, and both Dream Raquel and Awake Raquel found themselves wholly arrested by his beauty.

His gaze lifted to hers, and he raised a brow.

Raquel realized she’d been staring. Unabashedly.

She folded her arms and promptly looked to the flames, but not before catching a glimpse of his triumphant grin.

“I’m not sure what you’re smirking about,” Raquel said tartly.

“Mm,” was his only reply, which also sounded triumphant, and then he held one of the goblets in front of her face.

“No, thank you.”

“It’s just water, my bride. Drink. You need it.”

She meant to scold him for not using her name, but at mention of water, her mouth felt immediately parched, so she took the goblet instead. Jake leaned back in his chair, his long legs stretched and ankles crossed. The fire reflected in his eyes, making them molten, and Raquel found herself staring again, searching for the man from her dreams. The Jake with real tears and a bleeding heart. The one who made her heart ache—it ached even now. Confound it all! This would not do! She looked back to the fire and raised the goblet to her lips.

“Why did you go after the children?” Jake asked.

The goblet froze at her lips. In her dreamy, simpering stupor, she’d completely forgotten about them. “Oh, saints…the children!” She pulled the goblet away and slapped a hand over her mouth. “I completely forgot to ask…are they well? You did manage to save them, yes?”

“They are well,” Jake answered firmly, as if he meant to mollify her inevitable spiral of concern.

Raquel sighed with relief. “Oh, thank the saints…”

“You are very lucky to be as well,” he said with such candor that Raquel glanced back at him. His eyes bored into hers, though she could not read the expression there. “Which is why I can’t figure why you risked your life to go after the offspring of your sworn enemies.”

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