Lila's Wolf (Out of Time Book 1)
Page 17
“My child, it’s not every girl whose proposal is ratified by two high-ranking ghardians. I am very proud of you and want you to be comfortable with this match.”
Two high-ranking ghardians? He had to mean Bran and Lieutenant Commander Ash.
He continued, talking over me when I tried to stop him. “I imagined you would be pleased at the idea of this commitment, but if it doesn’t suit you, I’ll reject it on your behalf.”
I thought about it. Only a coward would hide behind her father like that. It was up to me to tell Marc. I dug my nails into my palms and battled against the tears that threatened. My father had to leave before I embarrassed us both. “Please, Father.” I blinked and swallowed hard. “I will tell Lieutenant Gallagher myself. Tomorrow.”
He stayed in the room. I raged against him inside my head. Go, I yelled. Leave me alone.
“Why would you tell Lieutenant Gallagher? Granted, he’s one of the two who ratified it, but the proposal has come from Jared Grohl.”
Chapter Sixty-Nine
Lila
I didn’t see Marc again until the day of the commitment ceremony, a month later. Once I’d told my father an ecstatic yes to the proposal, he’d allowed Jared to visit every day, and we’d spent many happy hours planning our life together.
I had to agree to take a year off from jumping, but I had plenty of work to do on the Archives anyway, updating many of the incorrect assumptions that had been made. Jared would work by my side, as always, but now he’d be with me properly. In my bed. In my heart.
The ceremony was short and straightforward. Jared looked strong and fit and happy, smiling as I’ve never seen before. As we left the Council office for the formal celebration lunch, I squeezed his hand. “I need to speak to Marc. I’ll catch you up.”
He nodded, the smile slipping a little. “I know.”
I watched as he walked away, talking to my father, then turned to see Marc staring at me. He wore the ghardian’s traditional dress uniform and looked so handsome, I thought my heart would break. Dark eyes regarded me, and he nodded toward the rose garden outside. We left in silence. I stared at my shoes.
A few steps along, we found a wooden bench in a patch of sunlight and sat together. With a sigh, Marc turned to face me. “I wanted to speak to you, to apologise for my behaviour.” What? He hurried on. “Out on assignment, it’s easy to get caught up in the emotion of the moment, and I may have led you to believe that I would propose a commitment for you.” As I leaped in to speak, he pressed a finger against my lips. “I should know that emotions are not reliable, and I want to be sure you don’t feel any discomfort or obligation from my rash words.”
I was dumbfounded. I’d been tying myself in knots over breaking his heart, and the truth was he’d felt nothing for me. I sat back. His hand dropped to rest on his thigh. I spoke carefully. “I felt concern you may have developed an attachment to me.” I closed my hand over his. “I would have hated to hurt you. While I’m here, I want to thank you for ratifying Jared’s proposal. You have been a good friend.”
His face remained bland, but beneath my hand, I felt his fingers tense and dig into his leg. I smiled at him, a little uncertain. “Even though I won’t be jumping for some time, I’ll still see you at the Archive briefing sessions.”
He snatched his hand away, flexed his fingers, and shoved it in his pocket. “I’m being reassigned. I start training for a new time period tomorrow.”
“What?” I stood up, shocked. “Why? You’re a Dark Age specialist. And you’ve received a commendation. Can’t you ask to stay in the period? Why are they transferring you?”
He gazed into the distance for a long moment, and then fitted his uniform cap and stood, smoothing his jacket before he met my eyes. “Lila.” He hesitated. “I asked to be reassigned.” He snapped a sharp salute and marched away, heading for the street. Even though I waited there until I could no longer see him, he never turned around.
Guilt tore at me. I stood there lost in thought, only surfacing again when I felt Jared slip his arm around my waist. “You okay, Lila?”
I buried my face in his chest and felt his arms enclose me, safe and loved. “He’s transferring to another period.” I felt desolate.
“I know. Commander Fleur told me.” He held me tighter. “It’s okay. I think he’s left to give us a chance together. I respect that. He’s an honorable man.”
“He wanted to propose for me. Before he knew I loved you.”
“I know,” he repeated, his breath warm against my ear. He pressed a hot kiss against my temple. “I don’t resent him or feel jealous. Every time I hold you, I will be grateful to him.”
Tears trickled down my cheeks, and I reached up to wipe them away. Jared got there first. “Shall we go and enjoy the celebration lunch?” he asked. “I didn’t tell you earlier, but we’re going away for a few days after this. What they used to call a honeymoon.”
I sniffed and managed a watery smile. “Really? Where?”
“There’s this mountain in Wales, the locals call it Eryri, and tonight is the first night of the full moon. I plan to make love to you under the stars, Lila.”
I threw my arms around his neck and claimed his lips. “I think that sounds perfect.”
About the Author
Romance author Sofia Grey spends her days managing projects in the corporate world and her nights hanging out with wolf shifters and alpha males. She devours pretty much anything in fiction, but she prefers her romances hot and her heroes to have hidden depths. When writing, she enjoys peeling back the layers to expose her characters’ flaws and always makes them work hard for their happy endings.
http://www.SofiaGrey.com
Coming soon, Clara’s Airman, Book 2 in the Out of Time series.
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