by C. K. Brooke
“Other motives? D’you want to know the truth?” He took a sudden step forward. “The truth is that I would forego all the gold in West Halvea to relive our night together in Beili.”
Dainy looked up, startled.
“But I heard you, back in the Knights’ Forest,” he accused her, “when you told Mac that it had been nothing.”
“B-but,” stammered Dainy, bewildered. “I only said that because—”
“Have you never thought back on it, then?” He cut her off. “Have you all but forgotten our passion that night?”
Dainy was shocked. “Your ‘passion’ that night was not genuine, Jon!”
“It is genuine now!”
“Sure,” she flung back. “As I’m certain it was when you kissed that girl!”
“First of all, she kissed me,” he growled, and Dainy rolled her eyes. “And furthermore,” he went on, his voice rising with emotion, “I only let her because you were busy singing and dancing in the arms of Marley Macmillan for the whole world to see.”
Dainy glared at him, her face hot. “So I may not so much as share a song and dance with a friend, while you may bed every maiden you meet?”
“Do not speak of my past, Dainy,” he roared, chasing back his hair in agitation. “Do you think it is something in which I take pride? Would that I could undo it all! For never before has a woman meant anything to me, until you! But you—you….” He cut off, turning away.
“What?” she demanded, her voice quavering as her pulse smacked feverishly. “I what?”
“Y-you p-prefer Macmillan,” he sputtered.
Dainy gaped at him. “Oh, open your eyes,” she implored him, her voice breaking. “It is you! It has always been you!” Hot tears rolled down her cheek as Jon slowly lifted his head. “Damn it, Jon Cosmith, I am in love with you!”
Her breath caught on her confession. She turned and bolted down the hall, leaving the astounded man behind her.
JON COSMITH WOULD NOT BE a fool that night. Not after the duchess of Jordinia had just confessed, to his utter astonishment, that she was in love with him.
He chased after her, catching her before she could disappear into her chamber. He seized her arm, stopping her from opening the door. The girl would not turn, so he took her by the shoulders and steered her to face him. Still, she wouldn’t look up, stubbornly hanging her head, her chest heaving.
Gently, he pressed a finger beneath her chin and lifted it. Her beautiful eyes finally meeting his, Cosmith gazed down at her, his breaths suddenly shallow.
Taking her face between his hands, he kissed her. Fervently, he ran his fingers through her slickened hair, then down the nape of her neck as his pulse throbbed. With his other hand, he pulled her in by the small of her back, all the while moving his lips against hers.
Before he was anywhere near finished, she pulled away from him, catching her breath, her expression stunned.
Seeing that tears streaked her cheeks, Cosmith brushed them aside. She gave an involuntary shiver as he slid his hands down the sides of her breasts, along the inward curve of her waist, and over her hips. His body sighed as she raked her fingers through his hair with mounting passion.
She grabbed him by the collar and pushed him up against her door, kissing him, her hands racing down his chest, while Cosmith reciprocated with equal enthusiasm. Neither spoke, communicating only with their roaming hands, their intimate embrace, their interlocked lips, until the man could bear it no longer.
“I must have you now.” He proceeded to plant fierce kisses down her throat.
“Jon,” the girl whispered, closing her eyes. “I can’t believe we’re doing this.”
His stomach twisted as she pushed him back into her room and hastily shut the door behind them. The room was lit by a single candle, its soft golden glow emanating all around. Cosmith began to unfasten the back of her gown, and Dainy stood still, permitting him.
The man moaned with deep, appreciative pleasure to behold her exquisite form. He undressed to join her, unable to remove his eyes from her perfection.
At long last, he lowered the girl onto her bed, kissing her sweetly, his heart and body overwhelmed with anticipation and fondness, lust and affection, and a powerful, unfamiliar sensation of falling.
As he fondled her, he noticed the furious drumming of her heart. He looked into her face, and brushed his lips against hers once more. “Don’t be scared,” he whispered, pulling the linens over them. “I’ll take good care of you.”
“I’ve loved you since the moment you first called me your little firecracker,” she confessed.
Cosmith smiled, savoring the incredible bliss of her beneath him. “Let me show you my love.”
DAINY HAD NEVER KNOWN LOVE until Jon Cosmith held her, devouring her with his magnificent brown eyes, his strong hands, his delectable mouth. She became a woman in his embrace that night as he made love to her, whispering his vows of endless devotion in the candlelit darkness.
Finally. At long last, he was her very own.
Afterward, the man drifted off in her arms, and Dainy lay awake, holding him and stroking his hair. Watching him sleep, her heart overflowed. There was simply no containing her love for him. It merged with everything around her, until she could scarcely tell where she ended and the rest of the world began.
The candlelight faded, flickering as it burned out, casting her into a dreamlike semi-consciousness, before she, too, finally dozed. All of her dreams were of Jon.
In the paradise of his arms, she slept.
HER CHAMBER LIGHTENED WITH THE sunrise. For a time, Cosmith lay awake, watching the girl sleeping soundly beside him, amazed at what had transpired the night before. Fondly, he gazed upon her sensual form reposing so peacefully under the linens, desiring nothing more than to wake her and hold her again.
But he knew he couldn’t stay, lest he be seen emerging from her room and arouse talk. Not wishing to bring any shame upon her, Cosmith reluctantly slipped from the warmth of her bed, dressed himself, and departed soundlessly so as not to wake her. He would see her again soon enough, once she rose.
After carefully shutting the door behind him, he gave a start. In the shadows, Selu was leaving her own chamber, wearing her tunic and trousers.
Her violet eyes grew as she looked from Dainy’s door to Cosmith and back.
“Morning,” he tried to greet her lightly, but his mind raced. For once, he could formulate no explanation as to why he was leaving a girl’s bedroom at sunrise, apart from the obvious one.
Selu gave an obnoxiously wide grin, one eyebrow disappearing into her violet hairline.
“I, uh,” said Cosmith, hard at work to fabricate an acceptable excuse. “I was just checking on Dainy this morning. Seeing if she needed anything.”
“Mmm,” Selu nodded, clearly not believing him.
He knew not what else to say, so he turned and made his way back up the hall.
“Hey, Cosmith,” she called after him. “You may want to fasten your belt.”
SELU HADLEFT FOR THE stables to arrange for the horses’ return to their owner, and Cosmith presently entered his unslept-in chamber.
He found the bed still made, his satchel on the bureau where he’d left it, and the sack of gold from Dainy, which he’d all but forgotten, resting on the floor in the doorway. He bent to open it and glimpsed the two solid blocks inside. He thought for a moment, the bag heavy in his hands, before making up his mind.
Cosmith made his way down the iron staircase and out the double doors. He crossed the expansive lawn, heading to the stables, where he spied Selu petting the horses with an elongated arm.
“Selu.” He held out the bag he’d been given. “Here.”
She eyed it suspiciously. “What’s this?”
“Just take it.”
She lifted the mouth of the bag and peered inside. “But this i
s your prize,” she realized.
“I already have my prize,” the man replied quietly.
She smirked. “Quite sweet, Cosmith. But I cannot take your gold. You found Dainy; you’ve earned it.”
“I don’t want it.”
She blinked.
“Look.” He prodded at a puddle of mud with the toe of his boot. “Bos desires no compensation, and Macmillan is a thorn in my side.” What he didn’t say was the rest. I know where you come from. You and I aren’t so different. I know how badly you need this.
When she still refused to budge, he huffed. “You provided the horses, you’ve intended all along to steal from whomever won. So, here you go. You’ll never have to steal again.”
Although she seemed hesitant, she finally relieved him of the bag. “I know not what to say.” Her voice betrayed a hint of emotion. “That is very generous of you.” She tucked the bars into her cloak. “Thank you, Jon.”
Cosmith gave her a small smile, meeting her oblong eyes. And that was the last he saw, for he was seized from behind, a scarf tied over his eyes, and his wrists bound in rapid succession.
Judging by Selu’s screams beside him, the same was happening to her.
“Well, if it isn’t the duchess and her champion,” came a strange voice.
“Who are you?” Cosmith fretted, unseeing behind his blindfold as someone dragged him through the grass.
“Unhand me!” Selu cried.
“Demanding little thing. Most definitely a royal,” laughed a second voice.
“Did you think we would not intercept you?” said the first patronizingly. “Did you honestly think you could defy the New Republic of Jordinia?”
Cosmith’s mind tossed until he finally understood. These men—whoever they were—thought Selu was Dainy, and they planned to complete her execution, once and for all! If only Cosmith could persuade them of their ignorance and be let go, they could flee in time to warn the real duchess.
“You’re mistaken,” he insisted. “This woman isn’t Eludaine Ducelle!”
But he was met with a blow to the back. “Nice try, traitor.”
They threw Cosmith down onto the floor of what felt like a carriage, and Selu was hurled unceremoniously beside him, her shoulder bumping his as she continued to screech up at their captors.
“Please,” Cosmith implored them. “You must listen to us!”
“You will say no more,” the first man growled, and a woolen gag was placed in Cosmith’s mouth. Beside him, Selu fell silent.
Cosmith could think only of Dainy. How could this be happening? And why that morning, of all mornings, after all they’d shared the night before?
He didn’t want to die. Not today. Not when Dainy was right behind him, with all of her love awaiting him. He couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing her again.
He wished he could have had one last chance to speak with her, to warn her of the men who meant her harm. What would happen to her? Why, oh why should it have to end like this?
Brokenhearted, Cosmith dropped his head against the floor of the moving carriage. It vibrated painfully against his skull, but he didn’t care. It was nothing next to the pain in knowing this was the way he would depart his life, the world, and the only woman he’d ever loved.
DAINY BLINKED HER EYES OPEN. With a flutter in her stomach, she recalled all that had transpired the night before. Smiling, her body shivering despite the bed’s warmth, she turned to embrace Jon, only to find the mattress empty beside her.
Sitting up, she glanced around. Her door was closed. But where was Jon? She looked to the rug where he’d shed his clothing, but his clothes were no longer there.
Dainy slid out of bed and got dressed.
Making her way down the hall, she saw that Jon’s door was ajar. But when she knocked and peeked inside, it was empty, and left virtually untouched. His bed was still made, never having been slept in, and his suit jacket remained draped over the bureau chair, just as it’d been the night before.
But she noticed, looking down in the doorway, that the sack of gold was gone.
“Jon?” she called, but there was no answer. Her heart skipped a beat. Surely, surely this could not be.
She took to the stairwell and leapt down the steps, two at a time, until reaching the ground floor. She searched wildly, her bare feet cold against the marble, until a maid looked up from her dusting. “May I help you, my lady?”
“I’m looking for my friend,” Dainy told her, her voice higher than usual. “Perhaps he’s gone to breakfast?”
“Breakfast shall not be served for another hour. But if you’d like, I can bring something to your chamber?”
Dainy shook her head, her stomach roiling unpleasantly. “No, thank you.” She turned and headed out the front doors, peering around the lawn and calling out for Jon, but to no avail. The man was nowhere to be found.
Pressure built behind her eyes and her throat burned as Dainy reentered the house and stormed back upstairs. She was floored. How could Jon do such a thing? How could he be so heartless, deceitful and cruel? Why, his love had been naught but a lie—one enormous, devastating, heart-shattering lie! And how naïve she’d been to believe it!
Despite knowing what he was—a traitor, a thief—and despite the others’ warnings about him, despite every despicable thing he had done—plotting to steal Pascale’s boat, binding Dainy’s wrists and feet, kissing that blonde at the inn—Dainy had still fallen for him. Not only that, but she had given herself to him.
How could she have been so guileless? Why, surely the man had given the same pleasure, uttered the same words, professed the same undying love to countless other maidens. Had she become just another one of them?
Something Uncle Pascale had said to her resounded in her memory. “Stubborn girl, you had set your mind and would hear nothing more!” How painfully right he’d been. She had, indeed, been stubborn, ignoring the signs, and was now paying the consequences.
Feeling positively ill, Dainy ran to Selu’s room and pounded on her door. But there came no answer from her, either. She forced open the door, but Selu’s chamber, too, was empty.
Why, had all of them gone somewhere without her? Had everyone’s friendships only been a farce, each of them having abandoned her upon receiving their rewards?
“Jon,” cried Dainy, stalking back up the hall. “Selu!”
“Dainy?” A door opened, and Mac stepped out from his room. “Is that you?”
A single look at Mac, his modest clothes, his hair disheveled with sleep, and Dainy fell to her knees. “Oh, by the gods,” she moaned, holding her stomach. “What’ve I done?”
The young man knelt beside her. “What’s the matter?”
Dainy wept in earnest, feeling bile rise to her throat. “Jon,” was all she managed to say.
Mac’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “What did Jon do?”
“I’m so sorry,” she choked.
“For what?” asked Mac, a shadow overtaking his features.
Her chin quivered. “I spent the night with Jon.”
Mac’s expression hardened, and Dainy couldn’t bear the look of disgust he gave her. “You what?”
“And now he’s gone,” she whispered, as more tears fell. “Along with the gold I gave him.”
Mac’s nostrils flared as he stood. He smacked the wall, causing her to flinch. “Damn it, Dainy!” She trembled at his feet. “I warned you!” She was shocked to see his eyes welling. “Have I not been a good friend, a good man to you? Why has it always been him?” His voice shook. “Why have I never been enough for you?”
Dainy’s heart ached as she wept, crumpled in a heap of skirts at his feet. “I’m sorry!”
“Sorry doesn’t undo the fact that you’ve given yourself to Jon Cosmith! Of all people, Dainy, why someone so vile as him?”
But Dainy could only sh
ake her head. “I loved him,” she sobbed, as Mac glared at her.
“What is this?” boomed a deep voice.
Dainy glanced up as the tremendous Bos stormed out of his chamber. For some reason, she felt considerably soothed.
The brawny man glowered at Mac. “Why are you shouting at the duchess? Why is she on the floor?” Bos swooped down and effortlessly pulled Dainy to her feet.
Grateful, she clung to him. Looking up into his rugged face, she suddenly understood Selu’s attraction. There was something appealing about a man who could defend her, protect her….
“Worry not, Bos, for it’s nothing we’ve not been expecting all along,” spat Mac.
“Calm yourself,” Bos ordered him coolly, wrapping a shielding arm around Dainy. “And tell me why your voices are raised.”
“Dainy divided the gold between us last night,” Mac informed him. “Then she went to bed with Cosmith, only to find him gone this morning. Along with the gold, of course!”
Bos sighed, and never before had Dainy felt so debased. Hanging her head, she stepped away, moving down the hall and trying to ignore their conversation. Spotting Selu’s room, however, she paused, her heart pounding again. She’d thought it couldn’t have gotten any worse.
“Bos,” she whispered, hardly able to use her voice for all her sorrow. “Selu has gone with him.”
They looked up.
“Selu?” repeated Bos.
“Oh, wonderful,” said Mac abrasively, looking unhinged. “I always knew there was something going on between those two. And now they’ve taken their winnings and run off together, just as they’d been plotting all along!”
Dainy felt as though she would never breathe properly again. Not Selu, she begged. She had trusted her. The woman had been like a sister. The pain of her friend’s betrayal on top of Jon’s was simply too much, and the girl threw back her head, beyond tears.
But Bos’s steady voice rumbled firmly. “Seluna would do no such thing.”
