Tomorrow, he’d said.Every tomorrow.
She wondered how many tomorrows they’d have before the truth came crashing down.
Chapter 22
Brandt
She arrived as the first rays of moonlight turned the Tower walls silver, and Brandt felt his chest constrict at the sight of her. Idabel wore a simple, burgundy linen dress, her hair braided back, but to him she might have been wearing a dragon queen’s raiment. The years apart vanished in an instant, being in her presence.
“You came,” he breathed.
“I said I would.” Her smile was hesitant, her eyes questioning. “Every tomorrow, remember?”
Ghantal appeared from her chambers and headed straight to the door. “The moths tell me I need to visit the market tier. Something about new woolens in stock that they plan to devour if I don’t purchase them soon.” Her tone was knowing. “I’ll be gone for hours. Many hours.”
“Mother, don’t trouble yourself to leave,” he protested, embarrassed by her transparency. He didn’t want Idabel to think he was some kind of rutting beast. That he only wanted her for physical respite. Ghantal waved him off.
“Enjoy your evening.” She squeezed Idabel’s shoulder in passing, a gesture of acceptance that made his chest tight for different reasons. Then she was gone, leaving them alone in his eyrie.
Silence stretched heavy between them. Where to begin? Idabel moved to the window, fingers trailing along the stone sill as she pretended to look out at the city’s slate roofs and glowing windows. Fog wreathed some of the higher towers and muted any view beyond the city walls.
“I suppose things have changed since you left.”
“Everything has.” He crossed to her, unable to maintain distance any longer. One hand in the small of her back became the focus of all his senses. Her soft scent, her muscles rippling under his palm as she moved. “Even you are different.”
“Time changes people. I’m not so young anymore.” She turned abruptly so she faced him, her back to Solvantis, and tipped her chin up so she could look up at him directly. Her mouth curved at her own joke, her brown eyes searching his face for any hint of amusement.
Shehadchanged. There were tiny, lacy lines at the corners of her eyes where she’d laughed, and a few more freckles on her cheekbones. She was thinner in some places and rounder in others. Her hair had grown, and he counted three silver hairsthat hadn’t been there before amongst her thousands of dark ones.
He brushed the back of his knuckles against her cheek. “You’re even more beautiful.”
She laughed, but he could hear sadness in it. “Don’t be silly.”
“I won’t hear any arguments on this point.” Feeling reckless, he lifted her in his arms, cradling her against his chest. The way she clutched at him in surprise made him want to growl with satisfaction.
“Where are you taking me?”
“To our nest, where you belong.” He was a beast, after all.
“Brandt, we should really talk—”
“We can talk after,” he growled.
“After what?”
She could not be so innocent of his intentions. He carried her to his nesting chamber instead of answering, setting her down among the furs that only held the ghost of her scent from years ago. He intended to spread her scent all over this chamber tonight.
He shut the door against gossiping moths and lit a few candles before returning to her.
Idabel was already flushed, breathing quick, and when he scented the air, her arousal was unmistakable. She knew exactly why he’d brought her here.
“We should take our time,” she murmured, but her hands were already reaching for him, running over his chest and belly. A few more touches from his deft fingers and he’d spend in his breeches.
“We’ve had time enough.” He caught her wrists in one hand and held them, gentle but firm. “I need you now. Need to feel our connection. Maybe our bodies can repair what’s broken between us.”
“I’m not sure it works that way.”
“Please.” The word came out raw. “I can’t feel you through the bond. Can barely sense you’re there at all. But this” —he pressed his hips against hers, felt her shudder—”this I can feel.”
