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“Aye.”

Part of me wishes to say more, but most of me does not.

“But I am here now. And as you say, this night is about enjoying life and all it offers us.”

Erik looks at me in a way that makes my core clench.

“Its pleasures, I believe I said.”

I swallow. “Aye.” I lift my goblet. “Such as good wine. Sindridge, I believe.”

Our feud with Meria has a long history, but none on the Isle have ever stopped trading with wine merchants from Sindridge. Sometimes I think it is the only reason we’ve gone so long without declaring all-out war on Meria.

His smile broadens.

“And music.” I nod toward the musicians. “The pipers are most talented.”

The corners of Erik’s eyes wrinkle, but still I cannot stop myself.

“And of course the entertainment. Who do you believe will follow the jugglers?”

He does not answer.

Instead, he moves even closer to me. So close I can smell his unique scent once again.

“Those are all most enjoyable, but . . . there are pleasures you seem to be forgetting about, Reyne.”

Oh dear.

“The food?” I venture.

His laugh is deep and all-encompassing, and I have the strange fancy that I’d like to drape it all over me.

“Those are not precisely the pleasures I referred to.”

Don’t ask. Don’t ask.

“So which ones do you mean?”

I asked.

And I fear Erik is about to answer.

11

Erik

I have seduced women before, so I know this is the very moment I should continue to pursue Reyne. If I willed it, and I most certainly do, I’d taste those sweet lips even before the night is through.

And yet, the deception weighs heavily on me.

’Tis for Cettina. For Edingham. And you want her. Badly.

Still, my mother’s words the night before I left for the court ring in my ears.

“Do not let them change you, son.”

They have tried. At times, unintentionally—the customs there just different than in the Highlands—and other times much more pointedly. Many have tried to bribe me for the queen’s ear.