“I enjoy the silence.”
“I don’t. And if I’m going to be stuck with you for days, you’ll need to speak to me.”
I steel my eyes before I turn to look at her. Reinforcing the barrier I’ve erected between us. Making sure my voice is cold, distant.
“No, I won’t,” I tell her at last. “We’re not going to get to know each other. We’re not going to talk about our lives or anything else. We will do this job for Bevin no closer to each other than we are now. Then we will go our separate ways. And we will never see each other again.”
I expect to see a bit of hurt in her dark eyes, not the anger that flashes there.
“I don’t want to get to know you, you arrogant ass,” she flings at me, spite in every word. “But I’ll be damned if I’m going to ride in silencefor days. We’re stuck together. You don’t have to make it completely miserable.”
“It is miserable. For both of us. A little chatter won’t change that.”
“Oh my gods, you’re a bastard.” Her head spins forward, and she kicks her heels to nudge Hilde forward. Away from me. When they’re twenty or so feet in the lead, they settle into a walk, matching my speed to stay in front.
I smother the flames of emotion that start to stir inside. Regret that I have to cause her pain. Desire to comfort her, take away the angst and dislike of me that I’ve built inside of her. A wish we’d been born into a different time and place, that would let us explore our bond.
This is necessary, I remind myself.It’s the only way.
I’m so relieved to see the inn when it appears in front of us. It’s a slovenly place, but the kitchen will offer a hearty meal and the beds are clean. And I’ll finally get away from her. Her smell of lavender with the smallest hint of rosemary. The dark skin that looks soft and firm in all the right places. The eyes that reveal bits of her soul. The curls I’m desperate to touch. The leather pants cupping a perfectly-shaped ass that Ineedto hold.
I’ll be able to let go of my magic—the wall I must keep between us—while both of us are lost in sleep.
I let out a sigh of relief when the owner tells us they have two rooms.
“Thank the gods.” Sifa echoes my feelings. She smiles at the handsome woman and lifts a hand to gesture to me. “This one’s a miserable prick. I was dreading the thought of being stuck with him all night.”
The woman’s eyes narrow as she looks at me. “Happy to be of service,” she says at last.
I resist the urge to defend myself. What do I care what either of them thinks of me? “Where are the stables?” I ask instead. “Our horses need to be rubbed down and fed.”
“My men will take care of it,” she assures us. “Just leave them out front.”
I’d normally insist on doing it myself, but I need to get to my room.
I need to get away from Sifa.
She doesn’t make it easy. “Are we going to eat together?” she asks as she follows me down the hall toward our rooms. They’re too close together, but I can’t do anything about it.
“No,” I tell her. The fewer words between us, the better.
Reaching out, she takes my wrist, stopping me in my tracks. She places herself directly in front of me, inches between us, before speaking. I want to push her out of my way, but I don’t know whether I can trust myself if I touch her.
“I don’t know what this is about, why you hate me so, or why I can’t stand to be around you. But I do know we have a job to do. You better not screw it up because you refuse to talk to me.” She pauses, poking a finger into my chest as her gaze holds mine. “I don’t want to be your friend. I don’t want to be anything to you. But we need to learn to trust each other. At least a little. In this, even if in nothing else. So get over yourself.”
She spins to stalk down the hall, swinging her door open and slamming it behind her.
She’s right. I know it. This job won’t be easy. It’ll be impossible if we don’t figure out how to work together before we get there.
Tomorrow. I’ll deal with that tomorrow. Tonight, I just want to pretend she’s nowhere nearby and sleep.
I take a long bath, hoping it will give her time to eat before I go downstairs. But she seems to have done the same thing. She’s sitting alone at a small table when I get there, no hint of food in front of her. She sees me as I enter the room and narrows her eyes. If she could throw a dagger at me she would. And then she turns away to look toward the kitchen.
Resisting the urge to go back upstairs and return in a half hour, I take the only small table still available in the full room. It’s twenty feet from her, but it gives me a perfect view. I could spin the chair and stare at the wall instead, but I never give a full room my back. I’m stuck.
There are plenty of other people here. I can focus on them instead. But that’s even worse, I realize after a few minutes. This inn is a favorite spot for the Dróttning’s warriors. She’s never been one to like Valkyries in her service so there are few. The men who protect her, fight for her, come here for drinks and bedmates. And Sifa looks to be the only female who doesn’t charge for the pleasure she might bring.
It doesn’t help that she’s also the most stunning female in the room. By far.
