Rogue Within
Page 33
She pinched him. “Don’t you say anything about that here.”
His words “But I gave you to—”
She pressed her palm to his mouth. After he’d taken the slave spell back from her, volunteering that pain just to spare her, he still worried. “You are a brilliant fighter. That battle is done. Stop thinking about it.”
He stayed tense and quiet, but his hands passed steadily down her arm in a soothing rain of warmth. “You are a woman of great value.”
“Of course I am. And I have excellent taste, so my man is pretty expensive, too.”
He snorted.
She kissed his chest, fingers plucking and rubbing at his nipple.
Shivering, his hand held hers still. “I will be a disaster for you. I’m rude and impatient. I’ll hit someone I shouldn’t. Your people are rioting for my blood.”
“Leave that for me to work on. In a year, I want to renew our vows in the Temple. Not the bailey in front of thousands, not the Royal Temple, but the City Temple, the one you cleared on that first day. Of course, to do so means you’ll have made the City safe by then.”
“You don’t ask for much.”
She smiled. “Every year, we’ll renew our vows in another City’s Temple. And maybe by the eighth year, we’ll talk about children.”
“What?”
The word was so blank, she laughed. “I’ll be ready by then. I’m thinking at least two. It’s a Royal duty, you know.”
His fingers gripped hers hard. “You can’t be serious.”
She took pity on him. Dousing the last magelight, she sang a soft lullaby until the stars came into focus. It was wrong to tease him when he was so uncertain. Cleaning the Cities was a hideous job and it was horrific of her to ask him to do it. But he was the one thorough and true enough to succeed. No false tears would sway him, no politics or bribes would touch him. She shivered, her smile fading. She would walk every step with him. They would share their nightmares.
“I don’t deserve you,” he breathed into the night.
Her spine stiffened. “Are you calling my love misguided? Is my judgment poor and my mind weak?”
His palm cupped her breast, possessive and heavy. “Sleep, sweetbread. Take pity on a tired bear.”
She huffed, snuggled into his arm, and knew absolutely nothing could harm her. She relaxed. She’d fetched him back. Their journey had begun.
A moment from sleep, she felt him press her more tightly against him. He whispered a child’s prayer. “Sky close tight and Earth grip bold. Hold my heart between.”
Her body sank, but her grip stayed bold indeed.
The End
About the Author:
Mima is a dreamer in upstate New York. When people query her on what she’s reading, she answers proudly and simply, “A really sexy romance.” She firmly believes women know the difference between fantasy and reality, and need both. No matter how sweet the kids, husband, mother, cats, house(work), and job are. Mima is at runemima@yahoo.com and www.mimawithin.com