He stepped out into the hall.
The door swung shut behind him.
Rune sank onto the bed, her breath rushing out of her. There would be no other cabins. They’d already been reluctant to give her this one, which was normally reserved for staff. She could have told Gideon this, but in truth, she wanted him gone so she could get her thundering heart under control.
Two nights,she told herself.It’s only two nights.
Two nights in bed with Gideon Sharpe.
Rune squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to think of all the ways this could go horribly, disastrously wrong.
SIXTEENGIDEON
THERE WERE NO EXTRAcabins.
They offered Gideon a bunk in the staff quarters, but taking it would ruin the newlywed image that was now firmly in place.
Gideon would just have to gird his loins and continue down the path Rune had forced him onto.
You’ve pretended to be in love with her before. You can do it again.
But there was that voice inside him again, small and insistent, begging to differ:
How much did you really pretend?
If Gideon were honest, Rune had always enchanted him. He was fifteen the day he met her and his heart first jumped into his throat. Ever since, he’d spent his time insisting hewasn’tdrawn to her, for his brother’s sake, and for the sake of his pride—because someone like him could never deserve someone like Rune. She had said as much herself two months ago, when he exposed her as the Crimson Moth.
Standing at the railing on the upper deck, watching the Continent disappear in the distance, Gideon blew out a ragged breath. It was only two more days before they reached port. He could keep up this charade for two more days.
After that, Rune would be at his mercy. The moment they docked, he would arrest the Crimson Moth and hand her over.
It would restore his standing as a patriot, prove his loyalty.
It would burn this weakness out of him.
The salt wind stung his cheeks as he thought back to the cabin. To that officer drinking in the sight of Rune’s nearly naked form. Despite the cold air, the rage it ignited still simmered inside him.
After everything Rune had put him through, his first instinct was to protect her. She was like a magnet sending the arrows on his moral compass spinning. Making him forget who he was and everything he’d committed himself to.
But it was worse than that.
As he’d unlaced her dress, Gideon had tried not to admire the swoop of her shoulder blades, or the ridges of her spine. He’d tried to ignore the urge to touch her porcelain-smooth skin, to slide the dress off her shoulders and down her arms. To let the whole thing drop to the floor.
Gideon clenched his hands into fists.
No.
He wouldn’t fall prey to her again. He needed to be impenetrable if he was going to stay ahead of her. He needed to keep his distance. The further apart they were, the clearer his head got. And the clearer his head, the better he could focus on his plan.
But how was he supposed to keep his distance in that tiny bed?
The thought of it—of lying next to her—made Gideon feel things he didn’t want to feel. Things he’d tried so hard to forget.
He scrubbed his hands over his cold face.
Mercy.What a mess he was in.
The sun was setting on the horizon. It would only get colder from here on out. With a shiver, he turned to make his way belowdecks, but familiar voices stopped him in his tracks.
