At least he knows I love him.
Kara forced herself to take a breath.
She wouldn’t fall apart. Not yet.
And just when the ache of missing him started to twist into fear–
Footsteps. Quiet. Familiar.
She sat up fast, heart thudding.
He stepped inside, windswept and flushed from his run back, a cloth bag in hand. And wrapped, she noticed, in a new black hooded travelling cloak. He’d remembered her advice – less conspicuous than crimson. When he smiled at her – tired, relieved – she could finally breathe again.
“Told you I’d be fine,” he said, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“What happened?” she asked.
“Nothing.”
“Sebastian.”
He sighed. “A patrol came through the village. I waited them out. Had to make sure they didn’t come this way–”
She inhaled sharply. “You could have been captured–”
“But I wasn’t.”
“How close was it?”
He didn’t meet her eye. “Close enough.” At the look on her face, he hurried on. “It’s fine, Kara. They didn’t see me. And they’re gone now.”
She crossed the barn and kissed him. Hard. It was full of that same heat she was starting to crave more than air.
He made a small, surprised sound – then grinned into it.
“Oh,” he said, clearly pleased. “Did you miss me?”
She narrowed her eyes playfully. “Shut up.” She looked curiously at the bag. “What did you bring me?”
He pulled out water, bread, meat – a lot of it – then hesitated.
“I also got a dress for you. Thought you couldn’t exactly travel in that one.”
He glanced down at the ripped, blood-soaked green fabric she still wore, and her gaze followed. She blinked. Right. She’d been wearing the same ruined dress for days and hadn’t even thought about it – not really.
But he had.
He reached back into the bag and pulled out a pale blue cotton dress and a thick navy travelling cloak. He held them both out awkwardly, not meeting her gaze.
Is he worried I won’t like it?
She took them from him gratefully, brushing her fingers over the fabric. Soft. Clean. Sebastian had chosen it for her – of course she’d love it.
“Thank you,” she said, her throat tight.
She turned and started changing without a second thought. She didn’t care about modesty around him now – after the cell, the blood, the night spent tangled in each other – but as her dress hit the floor, he went still.
She glanced up, and caught him gazing intently at her bare back.
