Page 101 of Enchanted Shadows
I didn’t know what the hell this was, or where it came from, but I was here for it all the same. So I did what any sane man would do: I kissed her back.
I pulled her in even closer and traveled my hand down her bare back. Something I had wanted to do all night. She shivered beneath my touch. But that shiver reminded me of the way she was almost shaking before Calix. Reminded me of the way the night had all gone to hell.Whyit had all gone to hell.
Kessara pulled back as if sensing my hesitation.
But before she could walk away, I reached out and grabbed her wrist, gently stopping her. “Kess.”
Her eyes filled with tears before my very eyes. “He’s going to kill you. He’s going to kill you because of me.”
“He can try,” I told her, moving a step forward to that enticing place where we started.
“I came here for help, not to get another person I care about killed!”
“I’m not worried about that,” I said gently, resting my other hand on her waist. “But explain to me what the hellthatwas?”
“That was... well, that was a bad idea. I’m—I’m not used to people defending me.”
I cocked my head. “You don’t owe me a damn thing, honey. People should’ve been standing up for you your whole life.”
A tear slipped out of her eye. “I meant what I said down there. You are twice the man he will ever be.”
I reached to wipe it away. Her eyes had never been so blue as they were in this moment. Then again, I was rarely this close to them, which was a damn shame.
She finished, “I’m merely proud of the man I married and got a bit swept away.”
Her word choice reminded me of what she said about her family. “But you don’t belong under a rug.”
She smiled at me as another few tears broke free.
“Kessara,” I snapped, pulling her into me, wrapping one arm around her, the other sinking in her hair. “I’ll be your bad idea whenever you’d like. He just can’t be the reason this goes real, yeah? Do that because of you, not because ofhim.”
“I’m sorry I keep needing saved,” she whispered from where her head was tucked into me, in no hurry to move away. “I feel so indebted to you all. And if Calix is here, that means we will have to go to Agria soon. This is supposed to be your month off.”
“So take me on an adventure, Princess.”
We stayed that way as the seconds ticked on, blending into minutes. Finally, I told her, “You need to get some sleep. I’ll be here the whole night through.”
She nodded and pulled back, the tears thankfully gone. “Okay.” She turned sideways and lifted up an arm. “Can you help me with this zipper though? Molly was supposed to help me once we got up here, but after the meeting?—”
I held up a hand and cut her off. “Say no more.”
I moved forward, laser focus on the zipper and zipper only. Not on how easy it would be to get lost in one another. To forget all that hung in the balance. To truly be husband and wife, even if only for a night. I slid the zipper down and she held the dress tightly to her body.
I stepped back, only to find her looking at me in the same way I was looking at her.
“Go change,” I demanded. “Before I make you forget how to say his name.”
A phantom smile graced her lips. “Which way exactly is that supposed to sway me, Commander?”
The urge to remove the dress from her was weighing on me. “Not sure,” I admitted. “Could go either way.”
She laughed before heading to change.
I took a turn changing and crawled into bed next to her.
“Goodnight,” she told me simply.
“Kessara?”
