“Just one thing, m’lord,” Ersal spoke up as Verice turned to go. “Lady Warna has written a letter to her great-uncle in the Barony of Summerford. Should I find a special messenger, or send it along the regular trade routes?”
Chapter Sixty
Verice’s first thought was to rip the letter from Ersal’s hand and tear it to shreds.
“The trade routes are slow and uncertain,” Ersal frowned at the letter. “The city of Alsmeda lies along the border with Summerford. We could probably find a messenger there, but there’s a cost involved.”
Warna had been honest with him. She’d told him what she wanted, and she’d laid out what would happen. Why was he so angry that she was keeping her commitments to him?
Yet, he didn’t want that message to go.
“M’lord?” Ersal waited for an answer.
“Special messenger,” he managed to croak, but it wasn’t what he wanted to say. He wanted the damn thing in the fire, or on the oldest, slowest, fattest pony that ever walked a caravan route.
“As you wish, m’lord,” Ersal said.
Not really, Verice thought, but he managed to keep his mouth shut as he left the room. With the door shut, he took a calming breath, and then headed for their chambers.
He was rounding the last flight when he saw her. Warna appeared down the hall, her errands done, heading for their chambers. There was a flush to her cheeks, and a twinkle in her eye as she stopped and stared at him.
His heart started racing.
Warna laughed, and she backed up a few steps, as if daring him to—
With a laugh, a twist of her skirts, and a flash of a lovely ankle, she was gone.
Verice gave chase.
Warna caught herbreath at the look of desire in Verice’s eyes. She couldn’t help laughing in pure delight, and then with an impish leap of her heart, she turned and run down the corridor.
She had spent enough time in the keep to know its twists and turns. She darted up the next staircase, hearing the sound of Verice’s footsteps behind her. She flew down the next corridor, avoiding some of the staff scrubbing the floor. With a frantic motion, she shushed them as she ran past. She could hear their stifled laughter as she disappeared around the next corner, and pressed herself against the wall.
Verice ran by, his surprise clear as he sailed past her, sliding to a halt. She fled back the way she’d come, running by the servants who were smiling and giggling. Warna rushed for the stairs, daring a quick glance behind.
Verice was running, gaining on her.
She laughed, picked up her skirts and bolted up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Breathless with excitement, she headed for the farthest door, and dashed through it, onto a balcony of white marble that shone bright in the noon sun.
Verice bolted throughthe door, and his heart almost stopped in his chest. For an instant, he saw Warna in her tattered clothes, fleeing from him, about to leap out into—
Warna turned, her hair flying free, her laughter ringing out, and the memory was wiped away in the next instant. She launched herself into his arms, and he swept her up, twirling her in a circle that left her even more breathless.
“Verice—” but he cut off her words by claiming her mouth.
She moaned, returning the kiss with passion, wrapping her arms around his waist. It was only when the need for air was overwhelming that he broke away, burying his face in her hair as they both struggled to breathe.
“Bed,” Warna whispered in his ear.
He nodded, sweeping her up into his arms. “Bed.”
She wanted topreserve every moment in her memory, remember every detail humanly possible. Every touch, every soft sound of pleasure.
Verice’s gaze seared her skin. Intent, hungry, focused on her and her alone. It was terrifying, yet she wasn’t afraid. There was no fear in her heart as they came together, grasping at clasps and fumbling with buttons and laces. No, the tingles on her skin, the feelings in her chest, those weren’t fear.
She reached for him, comfortable now with touching and stroking. She knew the places, the ways to touch him. Verice responded, and reached for her as well.
His kisses were sweet, not just on her mouth, but along her neck and over her shoulders, and her breasts. Warna leaned back, giving him access, confident in the strength of his hands to hold her upright even as she melted against him.
