He hesitated for a moment. “You must promise me one thing.”
Her stare brushed his face from his eyes to his lips. A tremor swept through her.
“You have to promise that if there is trouble, you will run,” he urged.
“Run?” she asked with distaste and abhorrence.
“Either that or we cannot work together.”
Sage paused for a long moment. Running away from battle was not the Hawke way. They were taught to stay and fight. Still, she would agree to anything in order to decode the book. And to learn to read.
And to remain with Marcus.
The last part shocked her. But, reluctantly she nodded. “Even though I don’t like it, I’ll agree.”
Marcus bobbed his head and reached in the saddlebag to pull out the book. He handed it to her.
She took the book, staring down at its black leather cover. It was safer for her to stay rooted in learning and deciphering. In knowledge. She wasn’t like Willow. She wasn’t pretty. She didn’t like the attention of men. She had only wanted to know what a kiss felt like. WhatMarcus’skiss felt like.
And now she knew. The only problem was it had awakened another level of curiosity in her. If his kiss could make her feel so heated, what could his touch do?
I might have agreed to run, she thought slyly, but I will not stop leaving a trail for my sisters to find me. Even though she enjoyed his kiss, and he was teaching her to read, she didn’t trust him. She placed a hand over the pocket in her breeches where she kept the ripped-up pieces of parchment.
