For two weeks I had been unconscious, recovering from a lethal dose of Theridiidae venom. It was apparent that during that time Armand and family had wheedled their way into her good graces.
“Do you understand what it means if we stay here? If we tell other people that Armand is—that he’s your father? He will expect you to learn what it means to be his heir. Is that what you want?”
It was hard watching a serious expression dampen her enthusiasm. It was a familiar puckering of her lips when a melody was wrong or when a slip of her tiny fingers on her harpsichord’s keys made a sour note. This was how she looked weighing matters beyond my grasp, and that’s how it felt now.
Though I knew what was at stake, the risks were all hers to take.
“I don’t want to go back to the way things were.” Maisy straightened her shoulders. “I want you to promise me, and I want you to mean it. I want your vow that you won’t take any more jobs, ever.”
Taken back, I stammered, “I—I give you my word. No more jobs. Well, not those kinds of jobs. If we stay here, I’ll have to find a way to support us. I’m sure your friend Rhys could help with that.”
Scrunching her face, she shook her head. “You should do something that makes you happy. Like music makes me happy.” Her lips parted. “Oh. You could train more falco, like Tiah. When I visited the stable master yesterday, he said he would give his eyeteeth for a bird as clever as she is. When he cleaned her roost, he found five rodents, two gold chains and a gold locket with a piece of hair in it.”
“Impressive.” Tiah did love shiny things. She would have made a fine pickpocket for another master.
“I visited her every day you were sick.” Maisy leaned in for a hug. “She misses you, though.”
“How about we go visit her?” I dropped a kiss on top of her head. “I could use the exercise.”
She scrambled off my lap. “Will you talk to Master Giles about a position?”
“I will consider it.” Employment was the least of my concerns until I spoke with Armand.
Then, well, I had no idea what tomorrow would bring, let alone how I could afford the amenities Maisy had mentioned. Leasing two rooms in the Araneidae nest would cost more than I would have earned in a lifetime.
Perhaps I ought to ask this Master Giles if his falco needed a handler after all.
“Oh,” she added with a grin. “I finished Lourdes’s song. Rhys helped me with the melody.”
“He did?” Eager to stretch my legs after my long confinement, I stood. Maisy grabbed my hand and tugged me stumbling into the stables, convinced she had discovered my calling, eager for me to meet Giles.
When she was younger, I explained away my lack of talent by saying the gods had given her my portion. It was that difficult for her to understand why nothing consumed my life the way her studies did hers. As she wizened with age, she decided every person was born with a great talent, and it was our task to unravel our mysterious gifts. On the cusp of unraveling me, nothing would stop her now.
Raking fingers through my hair, I tamed the worst snarls, but my curls felt matted as a bird nest.
Ah well. If I was going to be interviewed as a falconer, I would at least look the part.
Bubbles tickled my nose as they burst. I sank deeper into the tub, swiping a hand through the steam curling in the air. I studied my fingertips—wrinkled—then wiggled my toes—also wrinkled—and sank until hot water closed over my head. When I ran out of breath, I pushed upright.
I groped blindly in the direction of my towel, only to have it drop neatly into my hand.
“You should have knocked,” I admonished, without opening my eyes.
“I did.”
“I didn’t hear you.”
“It must have been all that water in your ears. Is Maisy asleep?”
“I put her to bed hours ago. Her bed. Her room. You would think she’d never had her own room the way she acted.” After blotting my face, I cringed to find him at my elbow. “Enjoying the view?”
He flicked soap from my shoulder. “I would be if there weren’t so many bubbles.”
White froth covered the water’s surface with glossy bubbles. I was tempted to stay put, but they would all burst eventually and expose me. “Would you mind turning your back while I get dressed?”
“If you insist…” He waited expectantly.
I shooed him. “I do.”
He inspected the gown I had hung on the back of the door. “How was your talk with Maisy?”
“Enlightening.”
“Care to shine the details my way?” His shoulder twitched, but he caught himself.
“She wants to stay.” I stood and toweled dry. “She wants to be your heir.” I wrung water from my hair. “Though I didn’t mention it to Lourdes, Maisy also wants to marry Rhys when she’s older.”
His shook his head. “I will never understand the appeal.”
I smirked. “You would have to be female to understand.”
“Are you speaking from experience?” he asked quietly.
I reached over his shoulder and snatched my gown. “I’m not blind. He’s handsome, and he has a certain roguish charm.” After pulling the lace over my head, I fastened the buttons. “He’s also terrifying.”
“Did she…” he cleared his throat, “…did she mention me?”
I stopped with a comb tangled in my hair to stare at him. “You’re jealous.”
“Of Rhys?” He stiffened. “I don’t think so.”
I couldn’t resist twisting my thumb in his side. “You think she favors him over you.”
Armand rubbed the base of his neck. “She does want to marry him.”
“Well, she can’t very well marry you.” I laughed. “You are her father.”
“Yes.” His voice softened. “I am.”
I gave a mighty yank of my comb that made my eyes water. “You can turn around now.” I spun a strand of silk from my finger, holding it between my teeth while braiding my hair, then tied the end.
He flipped the ruffled collar. “I like it.”
“You should.” I picked at the fabric. “You chose it.”
“Your belongings were confiscated.” He feigned hurt. “I was trying to be a gracious host.”
I ran my fingers along the hem, which barely covered my bottom. “Gracious, huh?”
His gaze followed the motion. “I had to guess your size.”
“It’s unfortunate you didn’t have, say, a trunk full of my clothes to base your measurements upon.”
“The trunk was evidence.” He stepped from the bathroom. “I couldn’t very well tamper with it.”
Rolling my eyes, I trailed him. “Despite your questionable taste in gowns, I do appreciate this. I might even have a means of paying you back, but you’ll have to let me know what the lease costs.”
He sank into a chair and crossed his legs. “These are Maisy’s rooms. Every heir is given a suite. These rooms are hers. She will also be receiving an allowance you will be in charge of administering until she comes of age.” He drummed his fingers on his ankles. “You’re her tenant. Any arrangement you make is between the two of you. Though I am interested in how you planned to compensate me.”
I folded my arms over my chest when his steady gaze pebbled my nipples.
“Maisy has decided I’m a falconer. She had me speak with Master Giles about a position earlier. I believe he will first discuss the matter with the maven given my lack of credentials and the fact my sole character reference came from a nine-year-old, but he was impressed with how I trained Tiah.”
If I obtained the position, I knew just who to hire on as my apprentice—the hen-and-eggs girl, Holly. Who better to help me than a girl familiar with the care and keeping of fowl?
A smile tempted his lips. “I’m glad you’re settling in to the idea of staying here.”
I shrugged. “Where Maisy is, I will be. I might as well make myself useful.”
He leaned forward. “You don’t have to work if you don’t w
ant to.”
“How would I live?” I laughed until I realized he was serious. “No. You aren’t supporting me.”
“I had to offer.”
“I ceased to be your responsibility a long time ago.” I made a circuit of the room until I located a pitcher of water and poured a drink. “I can take care of myself and Maisy without your help.”
“What if I want to take care of you, both of you?”
I set down my cup before it slid through my fingers. “It’s too late to make an offer like that.”
He pushed from his chair. “Are you saying there’s no hope for us?”
“There is no us. We had our chance. It’s over.” The best I could offer was, “We can be friends.”
He stalked me across the room. “That’s not enough.”
I stumbled, trying to escape him. “Who are you to say it’s not enough?”
He lunged, almost grasping my wrist. “You still desire me.”
“What’s your point?” I picked up my pace, counter-circling him, easing toward the door.
“You wouldn’t have given yourself to me if you didn’t have some feelings left for me.”
“You didn’t know who I was then,” I reminded him. “There were no strings attached.”
His strides grew longer. “Then why do I feel caught?” He beat me to the door, twisting an old-fashioned key in the lock and pocketing it.
I jabbed a finger at the door. “Unlock that.”
He patted his pants leg, making it jingle. “Not until you hear me out.”
A low growl rose in my throat. “Start talking.”
He stood taller. “I want to marry you.”
I backed into the nearest wall. “You aren’t serious.”
“I lost you once.” He advanced on me. “I’m not going to lose you again.”
Forget him, I was insane for not screaming for the guards. “I don’t know you.”
He clicked his tongue. “You know me better than anyone ever has.”
Palms sweating, I felt my way past him. “I knew you better—and that was a long time ago.”
“We’ll have a lifetime to fill in a decade.” He rolled his shoulders. “How hard can that be?”
Familiar anger spiked. “It might have been easy for you, but it wasn’t for me. I can’t forgive and forget just because you’re asking me to. It doesn’t work that way. I can’t pretend everything is fine.”
He paused then, his eyes hardening. “Sending you away was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. If I’d known about Maisy, I never would have let you go. Why do you think I wrote your parents?”
Stomach churning, I hated feeling so torn between our past and the present.
“I don’t know if we can fix this,” I admitted at last.
“Can we try?” His jaw flexed. “Do you want to?”
We continued walking in a circle, appraising one another, studying the other to see which might bend first. If he got his hands on me, I would forget my name, let alone why our being together was a bad idea. Could I forgive him? Forgive his family? Begin again? Resume the life I might have had?
“I loved you so much.” Heart racing, I licked my lips. “I’m not strong enough to lose you again.”
“You won’t lose me.” He stood still. “If our time has passed, if you decide you can’t love me in return, then we’ll be friends, for Maisy’s sake as well as our own. But I have to know. I have to try.”
My steps slowed as I neared him. “What if you can’t love me?”
His lips twitched. “What if the moon falls from the sky?”
“It would leave a crater.”
He scratched behind his ear. “You aren’t making this easy.”
“Nothing easy is worth having.”
“The hard way it is.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I mean that literally. Since I had you, I think of nothing else but you. How you smell, the way you taste, your laugh. I want you, only you. I can’t imagine not falling in love with you because I’m halfway there already. I don’t think I ever stopped.” He glanced up at me. “You were the first girl I ever loved, the first girl I ever made love to, and I want you to be the last.”
I froze an arm’s length from him and inhaled a shuddering breath. “All right. We’ll try.”
The smile that broke across his face cracked the tough shell protecting my heart.
Armand wouldn’t stop until he shattered me.
I would just have to shatter him right back.
“I’m glad that’s settled.” I stretched my arms over my head, raising the hem of my frilly gown a tad bit higher. High enough cool air nipped at my thighs and hipbones. “It’s late. I’m ready for bed.”
He choked when he realized I wasn’t wearing undergarments.
I headed for my bed and threw back the covers. “Want to tuck me in?”
Armand made a strangled sound I think meant yes.
I sat on the edge of the mattress, knees together, legs crossed at my ankles.
He sank to his knees, cupped each of my calves and tried to spread my thighs. He failed. I smiled smugly, until he caught my foot and tickled the arch. I kicked him in the gut on reflex. Grunting, he wedged his torso between my legs, reaching behind me to grasp my arse and drag me closer to him.
“That wasn’t very nice,” he wheezed.
I leaned closer. “You don’t like me nice.”
Capturing my mouth in a searing kiss, he chuckled. “I like you any way I can get you.”
I shoved his chest. “You’re incorrigible.”
“You’re beautiful.” He sought my lips again. “Let me show you.”
My pulse stuttered when he grazed the side of my neck with his fangs. When he struck, sinking his teeth into my skin, his venom burning through my veins, I could only fist his hair and hold him to me. Araneidae venom was mild, but Armand had a Theridiidae father, and his bite ignited my blood.
I was trembling by the time his lazy exploration left slow kisses down my throat to my breasts. I quivered when his mouth closed over one taut nipple, swirling his tongue around its aching peak. It was too much, not nearly enough. I clutched his wrist, placing his hand where I needed his touch the most. His palm covered my core, and my thighs clamped tight around his hips, unable to close. His clever fingers had me rolling my hips against his, begging for the release he kept out of reach. When I began panting his name, he took mercy, planting his palm between my breasts and laying me down.
My back hit the mattress, and he grasped my knees and spread me wider.
The first stroke of his tongue made me stab my fingernails into the sheets. The second made the world go bright. I was still trembling by the time he crawled up my body and cupped my face in his hands.
“Beautiful,” he murmured, his lips hot on mine, his weight pinning me beneath him.
I grasped his wrist, thinking he was the beautiful one with his hair damp and his eyes molten.
He entered me on a sigh. I think it was mine. His pace was unhurried. I was clawing his back, a ripe curse poised on my tongue long before his hips matched my frantic pleas. A low groan at my ear was my warning. Armand bit me hard enough to draw blood, hard enough to leave a mark, his mark.
Bliss rolled my eyes closed. I speared fingers through his hair and kept him locked against me.
Brilliant as this pleasure was, for the first time I dared to believe our future might be brighter.
The End
About the Author
Born in the Deep South, Hailey is a lifelong resident of Alabama. Her husband works for the local sheriff’s department and her daughter is counting down the days until she’s old enough to audition for American Idol. Her doxie, Black Ilex, helps Hailey write by snoozing in his recliner in her office.
Her desire to explore without leaving the comforts of home fueled her love of reading and writing. Whenever the itch for adventure strikes, Hailey can be found with her nose glued to her Kindle’s screen or squinting at her monitor as she writes her n
ext happily-ever-after.
Website: http://haileyedwards.net/
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Titles by Hailey Edwards
Now Available:
Araneae Nation
A Hint of Frost
A Feast of Souls
A Cast of Shadows
A Time of Dying
A Kiss of Venom
A Breath of Winter
Daughters of Askara
Everlong
Evermine
Eversworn
Wicked Kin
Soul Weaver
Hope dangles by a silken thread.
A Hint of Frost
© 2012 Hailey Edwards
Araneae Nation, Book 1
When the head of the Araneidae clan is found poisoned in her nest, her eldest daughter, Lourdes, becomes their clan’s new maven. If her clan is to survive, she has but one choice: she must marry before her nest is seized. All she needs is a warrior fierce enough to protect her city and safeguard her clansmen. Such a male is Rhys the Cold.
Born the youngest son of an impoverished maven, the only things Rhys has to his name are his sword and his mercenary reputation. His clan is starving, but their fondness for the flesh of fellow Araneaeans makes them unwelcome dinner guests. Torn between loyalty to his clan and fascination with his future bride, Rhys’s first taste of Lourdes threatens to melt the cold encasing his heart.
Amid the chaos of battle, Lourdes’s sister disappears and is feared captured. Lourdes and Rhys pursue their enemies into the southlands, where they discover an odd plague ravaging southern clans as it travels north, to Erania. Determined to survive, Lourdes will discover whether she’s worth her silk or if she’s spun the thread by which her clan will hang.
A Kiss of Venom (An Araneae Nation Novella) Page 9