I’d never been so thankful in my life to see Orion approaching with a curious look on his face. “Lord Trystan!” he boomed, slapping the man’s back as if they were long-lost friends. He looked annoyed, but kept his mouth shut. “Come now, we must catch up! It’s been too long.” He grabbed Trystan’s arm and tried to steer him away, but he didn’t move. He stared at me with cold eyes.
“It was an absolute pleasure to meet you, Princess. I feel hopeful that we’ll meet again soon.” He left with Orion, their voices raising slightly, but I couldn’t make out their conversation.
One thing was for sure, I’d marry just about anyone before I would let my father arrange a relationship with a stranger like Trystan.
* * *
I continuedto dance well into the night with more men than I could count. It would seem that my father’s idea of letting the nobles in attendance know that I was eligible had sent out a beacon that drew everyone nearby. I’d hoped that Matthew might have reappeared to ask me to dance again, a chance to talk to him more, but he seemed to have vanished just as quickly as he had appeared.
I felt the need to drink copious amounts of wine to keep myself levelheaded in order to handle the boldness of my dance partners. Men could be such pigs, assuming that I should fall over them because they had a dick. No, I wanted someone to call me out on my bullshit. Someone that made me laugh, and who loved me for who I was. So far, I had zero men that fit the bill.
At half-past one in the morning, the attention I garnered seemed to dissipate. I slipped out the side door of the ballroom. I had a feeling that if I wasn’t buzzing from the wine that I wouldn’t have made it as long as I had. Damien had been kept occupied by my sister or other lords and generals, so I assumed he wouldn’t notice that I was gone. As per usual, I was wrong.
When I stumbled into my bedroom, powerful hands grasped my waist to steady me.
“Let go of me!” I cried, striking out with the heel of my palm, and hitting what felt like a nose. There was a definite crunch ringing out in the night air. My hand moved back to strike again when a hand clasped around my arm.
“Fuck Eva! Ow!” the voice cried.Shit.
“Damien?”What was he doing here? How did he get here before me?Questions swirled around my mind as he let go of my arm and we both stumbled back.
He continued to curse as I walked over to a small lantern that I kept burning through the night. Grabbing it, I shone the candlelight on Damien’s bloody face. There was a slight thrill seeing the damage that I had done.Serves him right, I thought to myself with smug satisfaction.
We moved over to a small sitting area in the far corner of the bedroom. “Sit,” I directed him. While there was a level of uncertainty in his eyes, he did so with little complaint. “Let’s take a look here.”
I reached out and grasped his chin to tilt his head backwards. “Keep it right there and don’t move,” I told him. He only grunted in acknowledgment.
I walked into my bathing room to pull out some linen washcloths and a small basin filled with water. Even though his head was titled, I could feel his gaze on me as I walked back toward him.
Gently, I dampened the cloth and pressed it to his nose. I felt his body tense beneath me. “Fuck.” I couldn’t help the smile that tugged at my lips.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying all the pain that you’ve inflicted on me tonight,” he mumbled.
“I am, actually. We’ll call it payback for sneaking into a maiden’s room while she was unaware of your presence.” Again, I smile as he scoffs.
“You must have truly been taking your time because I leftafteryou snuck out.”
I shrugged. “I was enjoying being alone with myself and my thoughts.”
It was a rare occasion when I got to be alone these days. I was followed by at least one sentry every time I left my room. These walls felt as though they were closing in on me sometimes, the tightness in my throat making it hard to breathe. I wondered what it would be like to be free, to be normal.
Damien studied me with a strange intensity as he quietly said, “We never could finish our conversation from earlier.”
I took my time cleaning his face, enjoying the contact. Our bodies were close, the heat dripping off him. One of his hands had drifted to my back and traced soft circles on my skin. I hadn’t changed out of my gown yet, and there was a part of me that was thankful.
I wanted him to be the one to peel it from me slowly.
“There. That looks better.” I smiled down at him as he pulled my body all the way into his. His arms circled around my waist as he laid his head near my breasts. I brought my hands around him and stroked his hair.
“I could stay with you like this forever,” he whispered onto my skin.
My heart was pounding, despite his calming strokes on my back. His body was the only thing that could drown out my senses. I reached my hand down and touched his face, tilting it so he looked up at me. I studied his features and noticed the slight stubble that was lining his chiseled jaw. My fingers ran across it as I reached for his mouth.
He would be so easy to love if I just let myself open up to him. I could see the life we would lead, little glimpses into the future with him by my side.
He’s the safe choice, Eva. It would be better to be with Damien than someone you didn’t know. At least with him you would have a chance at happiness…
My lips crashed against his in an outburst of passion. I’d made my choice, and I wasn’t going back. I needed him. There was a fire that was radiating from my core that only he could quench.
