“Oof!” Kian grunts as I quite literally land on top of him. The horse snorts, and I take a deep breath.
“I can’t believe you caught me.”
Kian scoffs. “I can’t believe you thought I wouldn’t.”
“Did I hurt you? Or your horse?”
“No, of course not,” Kian replies. “We do tricks all the time.”
I shudder as the adrenaline courses through me. “We should go,” I say. “Stepmother is on to us. She locked me in my room.”
Kian curses.
“If she catches us out here there’s no telling what she’ll do. She already threatened to go to the king.”
“Well then, we’d better get out of here,” Kian agrees. “That explains the servant I saw snooping in the gardens. I almost gave myself away.”
“What did you do?”
“You do realize it’s far past our meeting time, right? He went back in when the clock struck one.”
“Oh,” I say.I can’t believe he waited this long for me . . .
Kian settles me in front of him and wraps an arm around my waist, leading us out through the garden and into the woods.
The events of the night finally catch up with me, and I find myself shaking as I come down from the adrenaline.
“Rae, are you all right?” Kian asks, sounding alarmed. He pulls his horse to a stop and turns my face toward his.
“No,” I say, my teeth chattering as my entire body starts to convulse uncontrollably.
Kian jumps off and pulls me down. I’m out of control. I don’t know what’s happening to me, and Kian says something, but I can’t even comprehend his words. His firm grip with one arm around my waist keeps me up while his free hand draws soothing circles on my back as he holds me tight.
“Shhh, it’s okay, love, I’m here,” he repeats over and over.
I’m not sure how long it takes, but slowly, my heart rate comes down and my body starts to feel more like my own.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I didn’t mean to lose it on you like that.”
His soft chuckle rumbles through me as he continues to hold me close. “Damn, Rae, you scared me. I had no idea what to do.”
“Well, whatever you did clearly worked,” I mumble into his chest. Taking a deep breath, I inhale the scent of leather and spice, allowing it to calm me. I’m completely weak but also feel oddly safe.
“Thank you for catching me,” I say.
“No problem, love,” Kian replies. The endearment sends a flutter of butterflies dancing in my stomach instead of the usual annoyance.
I pull back and look up at him. “What now?”
Kian sighs and lets go, running a hand through his windswept hair.
“We go somewhere to wait until dawn.”
I frown. “Out here?”
He chuckles. “Where else? I can’t take you back to the palace until you’re my wife.”
Wife. Damn, that sounds strange. I’m not sure I’m ready for this.
