Page 4 of Enchanted Heir
As he pulled back, I had to ask, “So pissed at me you aren’t going to be my guard anymore?”
He gave his head one shake. “And miss out on all the cookies? I don’t think so. I have a figure to maintain.”
I smiled, snot and tears flying everywhere. “I’ll make you cookies every day for the next week.”
“Cinnamon oat?”
I nodded.
He brought me in for another hug. “That’ll help. I’m just so damn glad you’re okay.” He switched his attention back to Krew, then to me. “So you two are going to be all over one another tomorrow night for this ball, huh?”
I groaned and wiped at my eyes. “Don’t remind me.”
Owen’s eyes flicked to Krew’s before he looked at mine. “I need some sleep. See you both in the morning for what is bound to be an eventful day tomorrow?”
I reached out and hugged him hard one last time before he also left us.
The door clicked shut as Krew looked at me. “Honestly, that could’ve gone far worse.”
I shook my head. He was ridiculous. But knowing how his father was, he was also likely right.
He strode for me again, probably ready to finish whatever he was going to say when Keir had come flying in. But then he went around me and into his lavatory and closet area which I was sure was similar to Keir’s. He was gone only a moment before handing me a shirt. Of his.
“I will send for your things in the morning. It’s late and you need some rest,” he explained. “I’ll be in one of the other rooms. You take this one.”
My eyes went wide while I took the shirt. “What? No. This is your bed. You take it.”
He shook his head. “No, I insist. If we are going to sell this, then one of my father’s men seeing you sleeping in my bed would only help our cause.”
“Oh.”
He cocked his head. “Though I know what that makes it look like. And I apologize, but the faster my father believes I’m infatuated with you, the quicker you get to go home. He already knew you weren’t sleeping in the same bed as Keir.”
I shrugged. I was already a harlot for being the woman to switch harems. Whether I was sleeping with Krew or not was irrelevant.
I thought he was about to leave, but then he leaned in and brushed a tear away. One that must have been stuck on my cheek without me knowing it. “I had no idea things had gotten that bad with Keir. I knew you two were working through some things, but I didn’t know, or I would have helped you before tonight.”
I shrugged. “They hadn’t been great for a long time.”
He gave me a nod of understanding. “I have one rule though.”
“Here we go with the scoldings,” I groaned.
“I will do my best to get you your freedom in as timely a manner as I can. I will even try to keep you in the loop on things, as I am going to need your help to pull this off for both your cause and my own.”
“Why do I get the feeling there is a ‘but’ coming?”
His lips turned up at only one corner. “All I ask is that in return, you keep me informed of all that is going on in that cunning head of yours. Any plans or ideas that might pop up along the way.”
That sounded reasonable. “So that you can keep me from making another stupid mistake, you mean?”
He shook his head as his magic flared. “No. So that I can help.”
CHAPTER2
Sleeping in Krew’s bed was impossible. His shirt smelled like him. His sheets smelled like him. And he smelled good, so that wasn’t the problem. It was the smell of the forest after it rained, with a dash of something far more sinister... whiskey, maybe? But that wasn’t the problem at all. The problem was that even just the smell was a constant reminder that I was not where I was supposed to be. And despite the exhaustion from the day and what was sure to be a busy following day, I just could not sleep.
So I looked out his balcony window for a while, careful not to make any noise when I stepped out of bed and over toward the window. Like Keir’s room, Krew’s had an excellent view of the forest. Possibly even better because his room was angled in between the mountain and the forest. Rather than looking down from the castle, I felt like I was actually on the mountain in Krew’s room.
