Ania introduced me to a seamstress who would source and alter suitable clothing for me to wear once I arrived in Capita disguised as Bethel’s lady-in-waiting.
‘She must have a red dress.Oh, and a fur cloak.She won’t be accustomed to the cold in Capita.’Ania piled garments on the seamstress’s worktable.‘Make sure you lower the hems and the necklines.’
I raised a brow at Ania’s instructions but refrained from interrupting what was clearly an exciting moment for the young woman.I had to stipulate the need for a few hidden pockets to be sewn into my garments.
‘Oh my, Caris, look at this lovely blue gown!It will bring out the colour of your eyes.’
‘It looks expensive,’ I murmured, rubbing the delicate silk between my fingers.I had never worn something this fine, but I needed to pay Cillian for new armour, and looking at all that Ania had gathered, I wasn’t sure I could pay for everything.
‘Father has already paid, so you don’t need to worry about that.’Ania laid the dress gently on the top of the pile.She sighed and looked wistfully at the gown.
‘It’s safer for you and Wolfe to stay in Murus.’I knew she was disappointed that she would not be going with us.
‘I know.’Ania frowned as she watched the seamstress get to work on the silk gown.‘It’s just that I always get left behind.’
Before we returned to the fortress with my new clothing, I stopped to collect the armour that Cillian had finished making for me.Ania was beside me, so we couldn’t discuss what was foremost on our minds.I didn’t want her to wait outside on the street, as the danger was too high and I wasn’t prepared to let her out of my sight.
‘Come to me tonight,’ he whispered as he gathered my armour.It would be our last night in Murus.
‘I can’t.Lord Warwick has asked us to join him for a meal tonight.’
‘Then come before.I will close the shop early,’ he said, placing his large hand on mine.
‘There is so much to do.I don’t know if I will have time.’I regretted the words as soon as I uttered them.
He gave me a long, pained look.‘You’re mad at me.’
‘That’s not why …’ I smiled, trying to ease his hurt feelings.‘I will make time for you.’If there were ever a time to put away my anger, it was now.
As Ania turned to open the door, I leaned over and kissed him tenderly.Releasing his warm lips was difficult.
Tonight, I would convince him to stay.
I returned Ania to the Warwick family rooms and pretended not to hear Bethel, who called out to me.She had been sending me on pointless errands the last few days, and I refused to let her take away what precious time I had left.While packing my things, I prepared what I would say to Cillian tonight.I would convince him to write down everything he knows about the castle dungeon.He could draw diagrams and maps, so there would be no reason for him to go to Capita.
Cillian grinned when I appeared at the forge later.He set down his hammer and hung up his blacksmith apron.I leaned against a post as he removed his shirt before dunking his head into a barrel of water to cool off.
My breathing quickened as the water trickled down his heavily muscled back.I continued to stare when he turned, revealing a broad, defined chest and a stomach that had a little padding from too much cake.Seeing that slight layer of softness over his massive muscles did strange things to my insides.
He picked up his discarded shirt.
‘Don’t.’I moved forward, taking it from him.He raised a brow as I dropped it to the floor.
He twitched under my fingers as I explored the dips and swells of his chest and the light sprinkling of hair down the centre of his torso.He sucked in a sharp breath as I lingered over the flat peaks of his nipples.
What was I doing?I had come here to convince Cillian to stay in Murus, where I knew he would be safe.But my carefully thought-out words flew from my mind when Cillian’s mouth found mine.His lipswere forceful and his tongue was demanding, stoking the embers dancing low in my stomach.
The click-clack of a cart’s wheels along the cobblestone street reminded me of our lack of privacy in the open forge.
The same thought must have occurred to Cillian because he pulled me around the corner to his workbench.He often hid in this corner of the forge, working on blueprints or fixing tools.
Soon, his hands were inside my shirt, and his lips explored the delicate area under my jaw.
‘Take it off.’I gasped as his fingers reached my bindings.He had my shirt off, and my bindings untied in moments.
He stepped back, his thick lashes lowered, his golden-brown eyes hidden.
‘What is it?’I shivered, missing the heat of his body pressed against mine.
