Page 46 of Forged in Cursed Flames (Crown and Crest 2)

Henrik stands in front of me, looking highly forbidden.

“Clover,” he says, lowering his voice in the quiet of night.

I glance over my shoulder to ensure we are alone. “Are you going to let me in?”

He turns to the side, but he doesn’t actually move away from the doorway. I edge past him, left with no choice but to brush against his chest to get through. Once I’m inside, I set my lamp on a table and gape at the space. It’s not a room, but a large storage area.

And it’sclean. There’s no dust, and the clutter has been stacked and sorted.

I turn to Henrik, bewildered. “Did you do this?”

He shakes his head as he steps into the room and closes the door. He scans the space. “It was like this when I found it.”

“How odd.” I pick up a folded woolen afghan that rests over an old chest and give it a sniff, marveling that it isn’t riddled with moth holes.

Carefully returning the blanket to its resting spot, I turn back to the commander. He’s still hovering near the door, looking unsure. I suppose I had hoped that if I got him here, things would progress naturally.

But Henrik simply stands there, looking immobile.

This was a bad idea.

And just like that, I lose the last of my nerve. Immediately, I head for the door. “It’s late, and we probably shouldn’t be down—”

“Clover.” Henrik steps in front of me to block my path. “Before you go, at least tell me why you asked me to meet you here.”

I force myself to look up, studying him from under my eyelashes. “It was a silly notion I had, that’s all.”

“And this notion was?”

I shrug, playing indifferent as I grasp for a reason that’s not too absurd—and fail. But anything is better than telling him what Lawrence suggested.

Clearing my throat, I say, “It’s nothing, really. I just thought you might like to clear your name since this could be the last chance you get.”

The last chance before Camellia steals him from me.

Henrik’s forehead creases with confusion. “Clear my name?”

I turn back, crossing the room as if I’m suddenly very interested in a chipped white and blue porcelain vase that sits on a desk. I pick it up, turning it in my hands as I study it. “You don’t remember?”

Though I only watch Henrik in my peripheral vision, he claims my whole attention. For several moments, he stands very still. Then he walks toward me, eating the distance with his long strides. My heart’s pace becomes erratic, and I set the vase down before I fumble it.

“Are you referring to the conversation we had the night we camped atop the outcrop?” he asks from my side, his voice a little darker. “The conversation about my kissing prowess?”

He’s so close, I can feel his body heat. My skin flushes, and I grow a bit lightheaded. I want to reach for him, and the thought makes me realize he’s not wearing his brigandine. My eyes wander the room, and I find it on the back of a nearby chair.

My stomach tightens as I stare at the discarded piece of lightweight armor, and I nearly jump when Henrik clears his throat.

“It’s warm in here,” he says, apparently feeling the need to explain the casual state in which I’ve found him.

Slowly, I nod. Drawing my bottom lip between my teeth, I turn to face him. He’s in a cream-colored shirt he often wears under his brigandine, along with dark brown trousers. He’s removed his rank pennant and badge as well. There are laces at the neck of the shirt, but they’ve come loose, and the fabric gapes open, revealing a generous portion of his broad chest.

My mouth goes cottony, and I can’t seem to look away. Trying to make light of the situation, I give one of the laces a playful tug. “Did you plan to seduce me, soldier? Should I be concerned?”

Henrik fixes his eyes on my face as he takes a purposeful step in—and then another, herding me back until I bump into a wall. Leaning forward, the commander places one hand on the wall next to my shoulder and the other on the other side. “I’m starting to wonder if that’s whatyouhad in mind.”

I blink at him. “Not…seduce. That’s the wrong word. I simply wanted to give you the option to—”

“Clear my name.” He smiles a little, and my heart beats harder. “Yes, you mentioned that.”

---