“I mean it when I say we want to fix things. We’ll work to gain your trust.”
“I guess saving me from assholes is a good start.”
The needle makes me want to jerk, but I hold still again. “Then, we’ll save you from a hundred assholes.”
“Lucien…” she says again.
I smile.
“What?” she asks, confused by my smile.
“You called me Lucien again. I like that.”
She finishes stitching up my arm, cleans it again, and dries it. “I hadn’t realized I was calling you that.”
“It’s a good sign.”
“Is it?”
“Yes, it means you’re becoming more comfortable with me. I want you to feel more comfortable with me.”
She brings her tools back to her desk, washes her hands, then brings back herbs, probably to ensure it doesn’t become infected, and something to wrap my arm. As she works, I can see her thoughts tumbling around. Her expression is concerned.
“What are you thinking about?”
She jerks a little, hesitates, then speaks. “I’m trying to figure out if this is another game with all of you. And if it is, what your angle is.”
Inwardly, I curse, and when she finishes wrapping my arm, I take her hand. She studies me suspiciously. “Listen, I think if our father called off the marriage right now we would still push for it to happen. It’s about more than just the connection between us and our dragons. All three of us like you. We like being around you. We like talking to you. We’ve never before met a woman like you. You’re brave, stubborn, fearless, and you somehow know how to see all the fun in life too. Ever since that day in the honeysuckle, all I’ve wanted to do is go back to that spot with you. I just want to see the world through your eyes again, if only for a little while.”
“I thought my stubbornness drives you crazy.”
I grin. “It absolutely does.”
“And I thought you guys completely disagreed with the way I see the world.”
“Just because we can’t see it the way you do doesn’t mean we don’t want to.”
“Lucien…”
Again, I smile, and she blushes.
“Prince…”
I reach up with my free hand and cup her face. “No, just Lucien. There’s no need for a title between us any more. Harper, I care about you. I like you. I want to marry you. Give me a chance to earn your trust.”
She works her lip between her teeth, her gaze sliding between my eyes and my mouth, as my blood thunders through me. “Maybe.”
“Maybe?” My chest feels lighter. “I can work with maybe.”
I closer, my hand holding hers in her lap. I slowly, inch by inch, close the space between us, seeing if she’ll flee. I’m giving her a chance to turn me down, but she doesn’t. She stops working her lip. She holds herself perfectly still, and my heartbeat thunders in my ears.
17
Harper
I’m staring at Lucien,goosebumps running across my skin as he leans in closer and closer, watching my every move. There must be something wrong with me because watching Lucien beat up Tesson was the first time I really felt like I could trust him. Actions have always spoken louder than words for me, and the way he hurt that man who attacked me was measured. Like he wanted to make sure Tesson suffered for what he did to me.
Lucien might not know it, but I’ve wanted someone to teach Tesson a lesson from the first time I saw him punch a kid in the school yard, the first time I saw him steal someone’s lunch or destroy their books and paper for no reason. I might have been a better fighter than him, but I couldn’t hurt him because of who his father was and because of what his family might do to mine.
