Page 75 of A Constant Blaze

Muiredach shrugged. “Swallowed by its Norse neighbors. Inevitably.”

“Don’t you desire to go home and win it back?”

“God, no,” he said fervently.

She smiled faintly. “There can’t be many men who would rather be a musician than a king.”

His eyebrows lifted. “And what would you be, lady Mairead? If you could choose?”

“I have chosen,” she said lightly.

“You’ve chosen sides,” he argued. “That’s not the same thing. How would you make your own life, if you could?”

She looked away. “What is it to you, harper?”

“You intrigue me, too.”

She couldn’t stop her gaze from sneaking back to his. The glow from the fire emphasized the sharp lines and hollows of his cheeks. Physically and otherwise, he was an attractive man; she’d always been aware of it. “I think,” she said, “that I would travel and let the adventures find me. Then I could choose them as I wished, or move on.”

“You’re traveling now,” Muiredach pointed out.

She searched his eyes, her heartbeat quickening. “Are you offering me an adventure, harper prince?”

His lips quirked. “Perhaps.” He leaned over, giving her time to draw back if she wished. She didn’t. She let him kiss her. It was sweet, exploratory, and full of possibility. Of hope.

She drew back to look into his face. “I will not lie with you.”

“Ever?”

Her breath caught on laughter. “That is a long time. Not this night.”

“Then I’ll settle for another kiss.”

She gave it freely, and that was even better. “You are indeed full of surprises,” she murmured, just a little shakily.

“Does that mean you’ve changed your mind?”

“No. Would you really make love to me within the lady’s hearing?”

“No, I’d take you outside and make love to you in the rain.”

Involuntarily, she tightened her grip on his tunic. Something deeper than mere desire leapt at his words. She couldn’t deny she was tempted. Her heart was thundering so loudly now, he must have felt it.

“Then it’s as well I’ve already said no.”

“Truly?”

“Don’t you care that I am still married?”

“Do you?”

She sighed. “I have the comforting—or at least convenient—idea that I was never truly married in the eyes of God because I never meant it. I did it for a greater good, I feel He would understand.”

“At worst, imprisoning you is grounds for breaking the contract,” Muiredach opined.

“I was never an obedient wife,” Mairead said. “I never wanted to be.”

Muiredach took her hand from his tunic and kissed it. “I like you as you are.”

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