Page 82 of Besotted
I finally peeked up, chancing a small glance. The man stood in the doorway, leaning casually against the frame as though waiting for my attention. Arms and feet crossed nonchalantly. A lazy smile on his face. And silvery-blue eyes that could light the darkest night.
I squealed and cupped my hands over my mouth. Then without thought to being a queen of one of the greatest nations on earth, I ran. I ran as fast as I could toward the man I loved.
With a growing grin, he pushed away from the door and waited for me.
When I reached him, I flung myself into his arms. I didn’t care that I was laughing and crying or that my courtiers were staring at me and likely murmuring about my unruly behavior. All I cared about was being in Kresten’s arms.
He squeezed me tightly as though he might never let go.
Finally, I tugged back. “How? When? What happened?” I couldn’t get my voice to work properly, especially as he gazed down at me with eyes full of love.
“I’m here to marry you, if you’ll have me.”
“You’re the one arranged for me?”
“Yes. And I couldn’t have picked a better match myself.”
I smiled through my tears of joy. “But I thought you were dying in the sleep of death.”
Over my head, he looked at Aunt Idony standing speechless next to Aunt Elspeth and winked at her. “There’s something called true love’s kiss. I’ve heard it’s the strongest weapon for fighting the battle with death. That if you truly love someone more than you love yourself, then a kiss filled with that love may have the power to bring life where there is none.”
Wonder blossomed inside me. “You heard Aunt Idony?”
“And I heard you. I think you said I’m the only man you have loved and will ever love. Is that still true?”
“It is.” It was more than true. “You still have my heart, soul, and body.”
“Then I pledge to you this day to give you the same.”
I wrapped my arms around him again, and he drew me into another embrace. “Why don’t we just skip the betrothal and get married today?”
Heat rose in my cheeks. “I am agreeable.” Heartily so, but I couldn’t say that.
“And before we do anything else, could I have another one of true love’s kisses? Just to make certain it worked?”
His roguish grin made my heart patter hard, and before he could say anything more, I rose to my toes and kissed him with all the love that I had, love that had the power to bring life where there had been none.
As he kissed me in return, my heart thrilled that somehow, someway, God had brought us through the testing fires to this place where we could finally be together. I hadn’t believed it even possible. And though the future would still be full of challenges, I would rule alongside the man I loved. We would serve the people well. Together.
