Together.
Why did the one word make a difference to her? She could not say. But it did. It fell heavy in her chest, yet it was oddly reassuring.
She rose from the bench and moved closer to the table, closer to Kaelan. “Aye, together.”
His gut tightened. Her brief words made it clear. She would not leave his side. That meant she felt it stirring in her, yet she still had not come to understand it.
“I do not know who or what to trust here,” she admitted. “Winnie is kind, yet she speaks in riddles. Kilham looks at me as though he knows something I do not. This council rules a land that seems alive in ways I cannot begin to understand.” She wrapped her arms loosely around herself. “At least when I am with you, I feel safe, protected, and I don’t want to leave your side.”
The moment the words left her mouth, Bria wished she could pull them back. Because they revealed far more than she intended.
Kaelan rose slowly from the table.
The movement alone made her pulse quicken.
“You trust me?” he asked.
Bria held his gaze despite the dangerous warmth beginning to spread through her again now that he stood near.
“I think perhaps I trust you more than I should.”
Something dark and intensely satisfying flickered briefly through Kaelan’s eyes at the admission before restraint settled over him once more.
He stepped closer. Too close for sensible thoughts to survive comfortably.
“And if I told you that leaving you behind would trouble me far more than taking you with me?”
Bria’s breath caught softly.
The fire crackled low behind her while rain whispered steadily beyond the cottage walls. And suddenly the small space between them felt far more dangerous than all of Driochmor beyond it.
“It would please me,” she said barely above a whisper.
Kaelan’s arm circled her waist slowly and drew her just as slowly against him. He lowered his head, his lips close to hers. “You please me, Bria, since I first saw you, since you first laid your hand upon me, since you followed me into Driochmor without thought, and that you stay by my side no matter what.”
His lips settled on hers gently and she welcomed his kiss, had hoped he would kiss her again, feared she might kiss him if he didn’t kiss her soon.
She pulled her head back, the thought startling her.
“Let yourself feel,” Kaelan whispered. “Let yourself feel what I feel.”
Was he inviting her to let her use her comforting skills? To touch, feel, sense? She did not bother to confirm it. She placed her hand on his chest.
Chapter Fifteen
Discoveries Uncovered
Feelings Explored
Bria let her warmth seep slowly into him.
At first, she felt only the familiar things she often sensed when comforting others—strength, tension, and exhaustion buried deep beneath control.
Then suddenly something deeper opened beneath her touch. The force of it stole her breath so quickly she had no time to gasp or make a sound. Emotion crashed through her so fiercely she nearly jerked her hand away.
It wasn’t desire nor simple affection.
Love.
