Page 91 of If The Crown Fits
She made an attempt to step towards me, but Ray and Cai quickly pulled us apart. We made it back to our horses and Uncle appeared, finished with his meeting with Olwin. He gave me a slight nod as we mounted. Whatever they had discussed, the deal was done.
Chapter 26
The Evernean Forest
Cai
The breeze was warm and her forehead creased with fierce concentration. She had an arrow aimed at a target, a painted hay-sack on the branch of a nearby tree. Breathing slowly, I watched her, the string of the bow pulled tight. I leaned forwards on the tree branch.
Before she could realise my intentions, I gently pressed my lips to her jaw as she let the bowstring go, sending the arrow flying into the leaves of the nearby trees.
“You scoundrel.” She elbowed me in the ribs and I let out a laugh.
“You and I both know you cannot shoot should your life depend on it. This way I saved you the embarrassment of losing, as you get to blame it on me.”
She pulled out another arrow. “If you think you’re getting away with this, think again.” She pulled the string tight once more.
“Here, let me show you.” I covered her hands with my own. “Pull the string to your mouth and relax your shoulders.” She followed my instructions. “Now breathe in and once you’ve let it out, in that moment when you’re completely still, before breathing in again, you let the arrow go.”
She breathed deeply against me, then stilled completely. This time the arrow actually managed to hit the target. “See?” She grinned. “I told you I could shoot.”
“I wouldn’t call the winner just yet.” I chuckled and her eyes met mine with an unfamiliar look. “Have you given any thought to my proposition?” I asked. She looked back towards the targetalmost shyly, allowing me to smile. Beneath that cold exterior, Lara had a softness she didn’t allow many to see.
“Are you referring to the proposition of me falling in love with you before we go to war against the Evernean monarchy and possibly die?”
“Something like that.”
She pulled the bowstring tight with a new arrow. “Well, I’ll tell you this, Your Highness — you can kiss my neck until it kills you, but I still won’t be yours.” She let go and the arrow hit the branch next to the target.
I let out a laugh, placing my hands on her waist. It caused her to jump, and we ended up losing balance and plummeting to the ground. Luckily the ground wasn’t too far off, but it still felt like the air had been knocked out of my chest.
Lara giggled. Her landing was more comfortable, considering she was practically on top of me.
“You really are trying to kill me,” I said, and she laughed even more. I had grown fond of the sound.
“Nah,” she said, surprising me by grabbing my collar. “You’d be no fun if you were dead.” She pressed her lips to mine in a swift kiss that was over too soon. Lara sat up, her legs falling on either side of mine. I pushed myself up into a sitting position.
“Do that again,” I said shamelessly.
“Are you ordering me, Prince?”
“Maybe.” I couldn’t help but grin.
“If you think I’m going to start taking orders from you now, then you are very wrong.”
I placed a hand on her waist and gently brushed her hair away from her neck before pressing my lips to her collarbone.
“Mmhh,” I murmured against her soft skin.
“We should probably be getting back,” Lara said but I felt her breath hitch.
“Not until you kiss me again.” Our faces were inches apart now and it took every ounce of self-control that I possessed not to close the gap between us. Lara started leaning forwards but we both pulled apart quickly upon hearing laughter nearby.
“Who was that?” she asked.
“Don’t know. Probably someone fetching water.” We weren’t too far from the river. “The laugh sounded female.”
I helped her into a standing position, in silence, as we tried to locate exactly where the sound had come from.
