Page 52 of Forged in Cursed Flames (Crown and Crest 2)

It looks like we’re in the dark.

I hurry to join Clover, catching up to her just as she runs into something else.

“Is it so difficult to clear a hallway?” she mutters under her breath. “The captain has all these rooms. Must he stash things in the walkways as well?”

Chuckling, I take Clover’s arm and guide her toward the stairs. Somehow, we manage to make it to the deck without maiming ourselves.

Moonlight greets us, making it far brighter up here than it was below.

With Maisel’s words circling in my head, I drop Clover’s arm.

Clover glances at me as if surprised. Her expression is hard to read, especially in the dim light.

A gust of wind crosses the sea, lifting Clover’s now-wild curls. She laughs as she pushes them out of her face and holds them back.

I’m mesmerized by the sight, remembering how her hair felt between my fingers.

When she realizes I’m watching her, she falls quiet. After a moment of indecision, she lets her hand hover over the cuts on my chest. “Do they hurt?”

“No.”

She wrinkles her nose as she teases, “You smell like a gnome garden.”

I laugh under my breath. “It’s late. You should get some sleep.”

She looks like she wants to argue, but she finally nods.

I walk her to her cabin, and we pause outside the door. Clover doesn’t go inside…and I don’t walk away.

Her eyes search mine, and she looks unusually vulnerable. Softly, she whispers, “If I asked you in, would you take it the wrong way?”

I’m hit with a tidal wave of heady desire, and it takes me a moment to control it.

Clover suddenly smiles. “Despite what Maisel claims, I’m not a ‘trollop.’ I swear I won’t take advantage of your noble, innocent self. We’ll just…talk.”

“Who says I’m innocent?” I murmur, moving in closer.

I’m conflicted in the worst way. I know I should walk away, but am I not allowed to do the wrong thing for once in my life?

Surprise softens Clover’s features. She looks nervous and eager. Hopeful. And maybe a little bit in love.

I can’t do this to her.

Shame racks my body and mind. Am I Lawrence? Do I wish to be a heartless cad, eager to take advantage of a woman even though I cannot keep her?

I do not.

Gently, I nod toward the door. “Goodnight, Clover.”

“Oh.” The light in her eyes dims, and she turns her gaze to the deck. “Right. Goodnight then.”

She slips inside, not bothering to look back before closing the door softly behind her. I stand here for several seconds, wavering.

Would it besowrong? I wouldn’t let it go too far.

One night.

Only one.

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