Page 32 of Return of the Nutcracker Prince

“I do.”That got him a smile.

“We’d better rest for tomorrow.”

Klaus pressed his hand over hers and laid a kiss on the inside of her wrist.She shivered.

“Cold?”She shook her head, but he smiled.“Let me warm you up.”He pulled her hands around his neck and wrapped his arms around her.Pressed breasts to chest, he took her plump lips and kissed her like a man coming home from war.

Angling his head this way and that, he tasted every inch of her mouth.This new realization made him desperate for her.He didn’t dare say anything yet; Goddess forbid he distracted her from their task tomorrow.There would be time for confessions when they returned home.When her knees went slack, it set off an alarm in Klaus’s brain — he needed to stop this now before he did something Clara might regret in the morning.Pulling back, he took in her flushed cheeks and the glazed look in her eyes.

“Klaus…”

“I’m keeping you from your rest, lovely.You should go.”He held her waist steady as she got her legs back under her.If he carried her to her bedroom, he knew he’d never leave.When she pressed another goodnight kiss to his mouth, he held perfectly still.

“Good night, My Prince.”

“Good night, my Clara.”

It wasn’t until she closed the door that he realized she hadn’t corrected him.

Chapter 10

“MissClara,timetoget up!”The sound of Trixie’s voice roused her from a dream; a nightmare with her and Klaus surrounded by mice while her parents’ New Year’s party went on around them.Shaking her head, Clara opened her eyes to see an inky sky scattered with stars peeking through the curtain.

Throwing off her covers, she hurried to the bathroom.When she returned from her morning routine, Trixie had laid her mage robes out on the bed.They were a cinch to throw on once Trixie laced her stays.A quick spell from Trixie and her hair braided itself and wrapped around her head, out of the way.Clara sat on the bed while Trixie laced up her Caster boots.A mage’s uniform warded off other magic, as well as bullets, but a direct hit, or a close melee battle, could still injure her.

She pushed the thought down deep.Fear had no place today.

The mages gathered in the stables.A pixie servant pressed a breakfast pastry into her hands while she waited her turn to be assigned a horse.Two of the mages she’d trained with yesterday sat in a supply wagon while stable hands hitched up a pair of pale draft horses.When it was her turn, she wanted to leap for joy when she saw her horse.

“Tinsel!You’re alright.”The brown mare nuzzled her outstretched hand, then checked her for crumbs.At the stable hand’s confused look, she said, “Last I saw her, we had quite the adventure.”

He cleared his throat.“They’re waiting up front, Miss.”

“Thank you.”Her robes were no hindrance in mounting this time, and she gently guided Tinsel to wait with the other mages.

“Clara!”Mother Gingerbread’s horse trotted over to her.“You’re with me.”

“Yes, Head Mage.”She guided Tinsel to follow the other horse up towards the front of the line.There, astride his stallion, Peppermint, was Klaus.

He looked dashing in his red and gold uniform, the one he’d worn in their first impromptu battle together.Mother Gingerbread rode her horse up to his right-hand side, and he waved Clara up to his left.

“How are you this morning?”he asked with a brilliant smile.

Her stomach rolled, and she hoped that her breakfast would not make a repeat appearance.She swallowed hard.“Nervous.”

“You’ll do fine,” Mage Gingerbread called across.“We’re ambushing them.A piece of cake.”

Thank goodness her trainer had faith in her.Clara gnawed on her lower lip.What if she couldn’t keep up?She’d never forgive herself if she had to go home with her tail between her legs.Had Klaus done the right thing by bringing her here for this war?

Klaus leaned over to whisper in her ear.“I have every faith in you as well.”Their eyes locked over the short distance between their horses.He licked his lips, and she swore he was going to kiss her in front of the entire army.

Her cheeks flushed with heat at the thought.

As if realizing where they were, Klaus pulled back, regret in his eyes.But he reached over and squeezed her hand.She squeezed back, that slight gesture saying so much.

The sun had barely risen when Klaus gave the order to march.Clara hadn’t seen this part of the country on their brief tour.The road from the castle eventually turned to dirt instead of the gingerbread cobblestone, and the trees grew thicker as they went along.

Despite the sun beating down in the lavender sky, the forest shielded them from sight.After riding half the day, the general from the front line rode back to Klaus.

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