by Amy Patrick
“What do you mean?” She glanced around. “Did Ava do something?”
“No. It’s Lad. Something’s wrong with him. He’s not acting right. His face doesn’t look right.”
Her eyes searched the ballroom and found him now speaking to Ava. Culley was by her side, yawning and rolling his shoulders, obviously bored out of his mind. Ava dipped her gaze and then threw her head back in a laugh. Lad grinned at her like she was the most adorable thing he’d ever seen.
“He loves you, Ryann—only you,” Vancia said. “Trust me on that one.”
Thinking of his beautiful handmade wedding gift, the words he’d written, I said, “I know. But he sure isn’t acting like it tonight.”
“He must have a lot on his mind. Nox said he bit his head off a little while ago, too.” She patted my hand resting on the tabletop. “It’s not easy being with a king, is it? They’ve got so many demands on their time. Nox has spent half our honeymoon running around negotiating with the European tribes, wining and dining their leaders. And I’ve already done enough ‘hostessing’ to last me a lifetime.”
“But you’re not sorry? That you married him?”
She laughed. “I’m so in love with him I can hardly see straight. And the other half of the honeymoon—let’s just say it makes it all worthwhile.”
Her blissful smile filled me with envy. She and Nox had what I so desperately wanted with Lad. Closeness. Bonding. Eternity. His frosty demeanor tonight made it feel like a dream that would never come true. I was overcome with a desperate wish that we’d already bonded, so nothing could threaten to tear us apart.
I sighed, and it must have been pretty loud, because Vancia patted my hand again. Then she looked at me speculatively.
“Ryann… have you two… uh…”
Reading her face, I gathered her meaning without her having to say it. “No. Not for my lack of trying. Lad wants to wait until we’re married.”
“The Light Elves are old-school all right.” She paused as if considering whether to say any more. “You know… one thing that always works for me is a sheer nightgown.”
“Vancia!” My cheeks instantly went hot, and my eyes felt like they were bulging out of my head. My gaze went to the floor, the tablecloth, the dancers.
She laughed out loud. “I’m telling you—it gets Nox’s mind off of business and back where it belongs—with me. And he’s so much more relaxed and fun afterward. I have a brand new nightgown in my suitcase that I bought in Paris. It was going to be a bridal shower present for you, but you can have it early—if you’d like to try it.”
I shook my head, my heart pounding. “I can’t.”
Vancia once again glanced over in Lad’s direction. “You sure about that girlfriend?”
I followed her gaze to see Ava now practically draped across Lad’s body she was standing so close. Culley had disappeared. Nox was wrong about that sexual glamour—what else could it be?
“Where is it?” I asked, getting to my feet. “In your room?”
Vancia grinned and pushed back from the table. “Follow me.”
Chapter Eighteen
Ryann
The nightgown was exquisite, and as advertised, it was sheer.
I stared at myself in the full-length mirror, the contours of my body clearly visible beneath the delicate fabric. When Lad saw me in this—if he saw me in this—there’d be no doubt in his mind what I was there for.
I still hadn’t made up my mind to wear it. I’d followed Vancia to her room, accepted her generous gift, and then gone back to my own suite to try it on.
My thoughts were racing almost as ferociously as my heart. What if somebody caught me sneaking into Lad’s room? Well, most everyone was still at the banquet. And really, what were they going to say—no? I was the king’s betrothed. I had a right to come and go as I pleased.
What if the nightgown worked and Lad and I got started and I messed things up somehow? I really didn’t know what I was doing. He was already in a bad mood. What if I made things worse?
And that brought me to my chief concern. What if he saw me in this transparent gift-wrap and turned me away? I’d never be able to look into his eyes again. This whole scheme could blow up in my face.
But what if he did like it? I spun around and peeked over my shoulder to check out the back view. Okay then.
What if Lad saw me and wanted me and things went right? All this worry for the future and concern over his recent behavior would be gone. We’d be bonded for life. This very night. And in just over a month, we’d be married.
I wrapped a heavy robe around myself to hide the naughty secret underneath and let that happy thought propel me out of my room and down the hallway toward Lad’s quarters. My breaths were quick and shallow as I scanned the corridors, praying I wouldn’t run into a servant or—God forbid—Lad’s mother.
Pulse racing, I stole through the dim hallways like a cat burglar, jumping at the slightest faraway noise or flicker of light. I ended up seeing no one. Reaching Lad’s door, I pushed it open and peeked inside. Empty. He was still out, just as I’d hoped.
I slipped inside and shut the door behind me, still hardly able to believe I was here. My heartbeat thrummed not just in my chest, but in every part of me. Before when we’d discussed bonding before marriage, it was just that—a discussion. I was hoping there would be no discussion tonight. If Lad saw me in this and wanted to talk—we had a problem.
For a few minutes, I paced the room, nervous and unsure of what to do with myself. The lighting provided by the phosphorescent stones was already perfect, romantic and low. Mood music wasn’t exactly an option here with no electronics. That was probably cheesy anyway, right?
I went to his bed and stretched out on top of the coverlet, experimenting with poses. Should I lie on my side, facing the doorway, so he’d see me there when he first walked in? Should I get under the covers? No. That would defeat the purpose of the nightgown.
The debate ended when I heard the door opening. Without even thinking about it, I shot off the bed and stood in front of it with my bare feet and might-as-well-be-bare body, my thoughts scrambling and my heart whizzing around my chest like an entire pack of fireworks that had been lit from the same fuse.
Lad entered the room and turned to close the door, his wide shoulders slumping with relief. Then he turned around. And froze in place.
“Hi,” I said, the word strangled and barely audible.
His eyes traveled over my body, blazing with heat and giving me hope. He liked what he saw.
Or at least I thought he did. My emotional glamour was overwhelmed by a sense of yearning I was pretty sure was his. Could have been mine—he looked incredible standing there in his formal attire with raging desire in his eyes.
I was as scared as I’d ever been in my life. I felt so vulnerable standing before him, basically naked, waiting for him to respond. I took a tentative step toward him. He took one toward me.
Lad swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple moving under the smooth tan skin of his throat. His voice was rough and low. “Why are you here, Ryann?”
“I…” I had to stop and swallow, too. My mouth had gone completely dry. Then I glanced down at myself, thinking it had to be pretty obvious why I was here. Finally I managed to speak. My voice was shaking. “I love you Lad. And I want you—like I’ve never wanted anything before in my life. I want to be yours completely. Forever. Let’s not wait anymore. Make me yours. Make love to me.”
The wait for his response was excruciating. I watched his eyes as they warmed and filled with unmistakable anticipation. He took another step toward me, closed the distance between us, and reached for me.
His fingers coasted lightly over my bare arm then traced the plunging neckline of the gown. He licked his lips and took a shuddering breath as he pushed one tiny strap from my shoulder. His gaze was riveted to my chest.
Yes. Yes. Oh God, finally.
And then he stopped. His eyelids closed. He scowled, and a full body shudder pas
sed through him. He fell back a step, his hand dropping away from me. “I think you should leave.”
The breath I’d been holding left me in a painful gust. I could barely manage to ask, “Really?”
“You should go, Ryann. I’m tired. It’s been a long day.” He turned and walked away from me toward a chair on the opposite side of the room, gripping it so hard I heard the wood crack. His arms were so tense they shook.
Alarmed, and no longer the least bit turned on, I followed him. “Lad—what is the matter?” I pleaded for an explanation. “What’s going on with you? Talk to me.”
He wouldn’t look at me. “Just go, Ryann. We’ll talk in the morning.”
His tone was so angry. I had expected some resistance, maybe. But not fury. Was he that serious about waiting?
Or was it something else? Someone else? I wanted a second opinion on whether that little witch Ava had sexual glamour. She’d done something to him, I was sure of it.
And I’d made a huge mistake coming here.
Humiliated, I drew on the robe and left the room, casting a last glance back before leaving. Lad was still facing the wall, not even watching me go. What the hell was going on? There was desire in his eyes. I’d seen it. I’d felt his longing for me. How could he just send me away like this with no answers?
Battling my tear ducts, I rushed through the dark hallways, desperate for the sanctuary of my own room where I could let the tears flow freely. This had been the night from hell, and I just wanted it to end. I rounded the last corner before reaching my room and ran straight into someone.
Assuming it was a servant, I backed away and stammered, “I’m so sorry.”
Culley’s concerned face stared down at me. His hands came to my upper arms, steadying me. “Ryann. Are you all right there sweetheart?”
I shrugged from his touch. “I’m fine. Good night.”
I moved to walk around him, but he side-stepped into my path. “Hold on now. I don’t think you are fine. You’ve been crying.”
Noticing the way his gaze wandered down my front, I looked down and snatched my robe back into place. Our collision had apparently knocked it askew, giving him an eyeful of something meant only for my fiancé. Of what he’d just turned down, rather.
Glancing down the hallway in the direction from which I’d just come, Culley’s eyes took on a new gleam. They came back to meet mine. “You know… if you showed up in my room looking so utterly tempting… there’s no way in hell I would have sent you away.”
A loud crack echoed through the hall as my palm met his cheek. I hadn’t meant to slap him. It had just happened. Culley was always flirtatious, but that was just plain mean, and my emotions were all haywire.
“Mind your own business,” I spat out and charged away toward my room, shaking my stinging hand.
Now the tears did flow, breaking through all my control mechanisms. That was just perfect. I was being propositioned by someone who was betrothed to another woman, and I couldn’t get my own fiancé to sleep with me.
Passing a room that served as an overflow pantry, I spotted a tray of full wine glasses. I knew they were intended for the banquet, but no one needed a drink more than I did at the moment. I stepped inside, and peeking around to make sure I wasn’t observed, swiped two of them. One of them was drained before I’d even reached my bedroom door.
The other glass I almost dropped.
Because when I stepped into my room, Lad was waiting for me.
Chapter Nineteen
Ryann
“Lad,” I yelped. “You scared me. What are you doing in here?”
Standing deep inside the room, he crooked a finger at me in a gesture to come closer. The lights were turned down very low—he’d obviously covered most of the glowing stones in my lamp-vase. Only the gleam of his blond curls and white teeth were clearly visible. That, and the outline of his magnificent body.
He was fully undressed, the glow of the colored stones gilding the cut of his muscles. He was perfect—the wide shoulders, the long legs, and tightly sculpted midsection. Mesmerized, I closed the door and moved toward him. As soon as I got close, he grabbed me and dragged me to him, kissing me with near-frenzied passion.
My heart pounded as if it would burst. Where had this come from? What had changed his mind? At the moment, it didn’t seem as important as his lips moving hotly with mine and his hands roaming freely under my robe.
He pushed it from my shoulders and it fell in a heap at my heels. When he moved his mouth from my lips to my throat, I moaned with excitement, giving in to the pleasure. It was finally happening. He wasn’t rejecting me. Lad was on fire, acting nothing like his usual responsible, cautious self.
“When you sent me away,” I gasped. “... I thought you didn’t want me.”
He whispered a response against my neck between kisses. “I was an idiot.”
Relief and arousal flowed through me as he swept me off my feet and carried me to the bed. He set me on the mattress and in one swift move yanked the flimsy nightgown over my head. As I lay there, bared before him, ready to give him my body, my soul, my love forever, Lad sat back on his knees and stared down, drinking in the sight of me.
But he didn’t touch me. He loomed above me, hands clenched on his own thighs. His chest rose and fell, his accelerated breathing loud in the quiet room.
Oh no. Not again. What are you waiting for? I prompted. You do want me… don’t you?
Another few seconds passed before he answered. “You are tempting, love. Taking you now would almost make this whole permanent mark business worthwhile.”
My body went rigid, my fingertips digging into the bedcovers.
His voice was wrong.
And the words had been pronounced with a distinct Australian accent.
Chapter Twenty
Ava
Dread slowed my steps as I walked toward Lad’s room. I had waited for Culley’s signal before leaving the banquet. He told me he’d seen Ryann leave the ball early with Vancia and suspected the two girls may have caught onto us. Now I was creeping through the royal residence like a beady-eyed mouse. Or a rat.
Unfortunately, my mission hadn’t ended with manipulating Lad’s existing memories. That was bad enough, but apparently I was required to go above and beyond the call and make certain the Light King’s brains were scrambled by going to his room tonight and implanting some entirely new false memories. When I was done, he’d no doubt kick Nox and Vancia out of Altum along with Ryann. Which was the whole point of my mission, actually.
Part of me hoped I’d get there to find him in bed with his fiancée. Not likely after the mental poison I’d injected. He’d find it hard to even look at Ryann without putting his fist through a wall.
Guilt assaulted me again. Poor girl. I’d seen her face at the ball when Lad had been so aloof toward her. She’d be primed and exceptionally vulnerable to Culley’s plan of attack—especially with his glamour. What did he look like to Ryann? He probably appeared to be a clone of Lad. I shivered at the creep factor of it.
Just do your job Ava. These people are not your concern. Think of your family.
I shook off the shame and continued toward Lad’s quarters, wondering how I’d contend with the inevitable guards when I got to his door. But the weirdest thing happened. Before I even reached his corridor, I spotted him running toward me in the hall. I moved into his path and put my hands out, stopping him.
“Hi. Where are you going so late?” I asked him in as casual a tone as I could produce.
Lad looked terrible. His hair was disheveled as if he’d run his hands through it a hundred times. His eyes were wild.
“To find Ryann. She came to me, and I… I don’t know what’s going on with me. I hurt her feelings—I didn’t mean to. She looked so good, and I… I wanted… but then… I thought I was over the thing with her and Nox, but it’s like it’s haunting me. It’s all I can think of. Maybe it’s just cold feet or something. I know she doesn’t want him, but I keep seeing them
together. I keep trying to think of something else—of the good times—but it all just seems kind of… bad now. I don’t know.”
He stopped rambling and stared at me wide-eyed as if just realizing I was there. “Ava. I’m sorry. I’m not feeling very well. I think I might have had something to drink tonight that didn’t agree with me. I’m really… confused.”
There was no doubt my glamour had worked exactly as intended. Lad was a mess. It wouldn’t take much more to seal the deal.
“Well, maybe we should talk for a minute and let you get your head straight before you go running off after her.”
Regarding me again with bleary eyes, he nodded. “Okay.”
I patted his arm and led him to sit with me on a bench in an alcove of the hall. “Now, what’s the problem? She came to you tonight, and you didn’t want her? Maybe it’s a good thing you figured that out before you married her. Right? It’s not something to take lightly, you know.”
Lad glared at me. “I do want her. I love her.”
“Okay, okay,” I said.
I took a second to gird myself for what I had to do next. Lad’s mind was in such a fragile state, all I had to do was turn my glamour up a few more notches and I could remove every good memory he’d ever had of Ryann and amplify every bad one he’d ever had of Nox. I could erase every proof of love she’d ever given him, strip away his reasons for wanting her, and obliterate his relationship with his brother as well.
It was, after all, what I was here to do. It was what I was good at. The only thing I was really good at. And it was too late to turn back now. I’d already done more harm than could ever be forgiven.
I inhaled deeply and covered one of his large hands with mine. “Lad… why do you suppose you sent her away? Is it because she doesn’t love you?”
Then Lad said something that stole my breath away.
“It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if she loves me.” He shook his head, his voice changing, rising in tone and volume as if he was just coming to a new understanding. “It doesn’t matter what she’s done, or what she will do. I love her. No matter what. I always will. I’ve only ever wanted her. I’ll never be able to want anyone else. If she won’t forgive me for the way I’ve acted tonight—for rejecting her—then I’ll just be alone. I won’t take a wife. Ever. I won’t have an heir. My family’s reign on the Light Throne will end with me.”
