by Sofia Grey
Jared paused above me, our eyes locked. “Baby, you feel so good. You okay down there?” The softest of whispers, he followed it with another heart stopping kiss. I wiggled my hips, felt him shift inside me and saw his eyes widen. I stole another kiss. “I’m very okay.” It came out breathless, but with a sense of anticipation. “Is that it? Have you finished?”
His eyebrows shot up, and he chuckled, before sucking my lower lip into his mouth. “We haven’t even started yet.”
I felt a hand slide down my thigh, adjusting me, lifting my leg to bend at the knee. He was deeper again, and the pressure took my breath away. Jared started to move, flexing his hips, sliding inside and then retreating, forward and back, in and out. The tension inside me grew again, a deep ache low in my belly. My skin felt too tight, too sensitive. Jared’s breath scorched me, and when he bent his head to lick at my nipple I clutched at him, needing him closer—needing something I couldn’t define.
I bucked and rose to meet him, twisted in his arms and tried to pull him closer, wanting our bodies to be touching as much as possible. I stroked his cropped hair, traced the muscles in his biceps and wound my arms around his neck. His movements grew harder, faster, his breath ragged as he kissed me with everything he had. I lost track of time. We could have been there minutes or hours. I had no idea. It was just Jared, finally a part of me. I scraped one foot up his leg, my hands gripping his shoulders and my fingers curling into his flesh.
He groaned, buried his face in my throat, and gave one last deep thrust, before holding still inside me. “Lila, baby.”
I felt him move one hand, drag it down between our bodies and touch me where we lay joined. An electric shock zinged through me and I couldn’t hold back a cry. He closed his mouth over mine, muffling the noise.
I had to touch him. I snaked down my own hand and closed my fingers around him as he slid out again. Jesus. Hard like a metal rod, but hot, burning hot, and silky. Velvet over steel. He jerked and cried out into my mouth. I explored with my fingertips and found his hand pressed against me, cupped around my mound. He grabbed my fingers and held them there, rubbing against me, finding a spot that electrified my entire body. Raw pleasure crashed over me, sending my head spinning and driving the breath from my lungs. Unable to stay quiet, I gasped and whispered his name, soft little moans.
I teetered on the edge of a dark precipice. Blind and mindless, burning at every touch, I felt as though I would break into a million pieces. I clawed at him, desperate for more. His fingers were still wrapped around my own. They stroked and touched between my legs, brushing the hot little point of pleasure and driving me to climb higher in this crazy spiral.
Jared hammered into me, his breath ragged. I felt a moment of wonder and then I convulsed, my body contorting and pulsing while I whimpered, utterly stunned.
“Lila.” Jared shouted against my skin, the cry filled with emotion. He lay motionless apart from gasping for breath. Finally, he lifted his head, perspiration dotted across his forehead, and searched my face. His kiss was gentle. Intimate. “I never thought we’d have this. You have no idea what you do to me.”
He started to move, to lift himself from me, but I clung tightly. “Don’t go,” I whispered, burrowing into him. If I could crawl inside his body and stay there, I would.
He sagged a little and rolled to the side, taking me with him. Still joined. I closed my eyes and pressed tiny kisses across his poor, scarred chest while he wrapped his arms around me, holding me close.
“They’ll be here soon.” He brushed a kiss against my temple and nuzzled my ear. “Lila, baby, they can’t find us like this.”
Chapter Fifty-One
Jared
He loved the dazed, flushed look on her face. Loved the knowledge he’d put it there. If they’d had more time, he’d have taken her again, but more slowly, dragging out every second of her pleasure. The sound of her moans and the feel of her hands were things he’d never forget. The moment he’d entered her was etched on his brain. She was so tight and hot, as though made for him.
Dragging his thoughts back to the moment, he eased out of her and retrieved the abandoned washcloth. He needed to clean her, to wipe away all traces of him. He kissed the damp skin as he washed it, unable to stop touching her. She had a tiny mole on her inner thigh that fascinated him, and a ring of scars around her left knee. He touched them gently with the cloth, curious as to what she’d done, but she wriggled free and brought his mouth to her breasts, and he forgot to ask.
They were both silent. Lila seemed shy again, overwhelmed, and he feared she regretted it. Regretted him. He washed his hands and face in the cooling water, sluiced some over his hair and tried to bury his rampant, out of control need for her. It was no use. He turned to face her and caught her staring at his back.
She moved closer, hesitated a moment and then threw herself into his arms. “I had no idea,” she whispered. “Why didn’t I trust you? All this time we’ve been apart, everything you’ve been through. If I’d gone with you, we could have been together.” She swallowed hard, her voice shaking, and he hastened to interrupt.
“Don’t say anything. Just let me hold you.”
They were clean, dressed and sitting apart from each other when the ghardians returned. Would they suspect? Jared watched Marc’s gaze sharpen as it raked over Lila’s beautiful face, saw how her cheeks flushed in reply. He ached to cross the room and take her hand but resisted. To make this desperate plan work, Lila’s ghardian had to trust him—had to still want Lila.
Before Jared had time to change his mind, he strode up to the soldier and addressed him in a friendly tone. “I would speak with you a moment.” Jared looked toward the door, and Marc nodded, suspicion flaring in his dark eyes.
They moved together in a rustle of cloaks and leather, and Jared was painfully aware of Lila staring at them. He flashed her a smile and closed the door behind him, drawing Marc into a huddle.
“What’s going on, Grohl?” Marc’s face gave nothing away, but his voice was cold.
“I need you to promise you’ll take Lila back. She plans on staying here with me.”
The soldier flinched. “She told you this?” His fingers clenched around the sword at his side.
“Yes, but it’s too dangerous. I won’t let her risk her life for me.”
“You want me to force her through the portal?” The words were calm and measured. Jared had no idea what was going on inside Marc’s head.
“I want you to tell her I’m dead. She’ll have no reason to stay here.” There. He’d said it. He felt sick. Marc stayed silent, his brows drawing together into a dark, forbidding V. “You have to. If she thinks, even for a second, that you’re lying, she’ll come back. You know how stubborn she is. She has to believe you, ghardian. Please don’t fail her.”
Another long, pain-filled moment hung between them. Marc’s voice was gruff when he spoke. “Why are you doing this?”
He couldn’t lie. “I love her. I want her to be safe and I know you will look after her. I know you care for her.”
“Noble,” murmured the ghardian. “Maybe I misjudged you.”
Jared swallowed hard, the countdown hammering inside his head. “Will you give me your word, Lieutenant?”
Marc clasped his arm. “On my honor and by the blood in my veins, I will protect her.”
It would have to be enough.
Chapter Fifty-Two
Lila
I didn’t know how to face Marc. Would he know what I’d done with Jared? Surely he’d see it on my face? I was different now, gloriously, life-affirmingly changed in a way I’d never believed possible. When Jared went outside with Marc, I felt bereft. I tried to listen to Bran, but my mind was elsewhere, whirring in a spiral of fears and doubts, and sparking in random directions.
What were they talking about without me? I turned slightly so I faced the door, my heart pounding and stomach churning as I waited for them to come back. Waited for Jared.
“Ms. Cammell. Lila.�
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I blinked and dragged my attention back to Bran. “I’m sorry…I missed that.” As I spoke, the door opened and Jared strode in, Marc right behind him. Marc’s face was grim, but Jared flashed me a tiny smile and I had to make do with that. We stood in a loose group, Bran, six of his ghardians, Marc and Jared. The discussions continued with detailed meticulous planning of the evening’s escape. I should have been focused on that, but I couldn’t tear myself away from the man standing behind me. I couldn’t concentrate at all, until Jared inched closer and brushed my hip with his fingers. The fleeting touch would have been insignificant to the others, but it grounded me.
Marc shifted in the group, came to stand by my side and ducked to murmur in my ear. “You need to pay attention. It’s nearly time to go.” My ghardian and my lover, both standing with me. Would Marc forgive me for running out on him? Would he be sent back to retrieve me? Or even worse, would he be punished for covering the truth and allowing me to escape? The deceit clawed at my chest. There was no clean, easy solution.
I’d imagined that now we had a squadron of ghardians in our midst, they’d provide cover for our escape attempt, but Bran was making plans to position them around the hall and outbuildings as part of his mission. A clatter of feet in the corridor drew everyone’s attention, and we all stared as Mischa, the ghardian who’d tended us, burst through the door. “Report,” snapped Bran as the soldier saluted him.
“The switch has been discovered, sir. The Saxons are hunting for Lieutenant Gallagher.”
Marc’s stoic expression didn’t change, but he had to be unnerved by the news. I pressed my fingers to the back of his hand, catching his attention. He quirked an eyebrow at me. “It was to be expected.” He addressed Bran. “Will they be able to search your quarters, sir?”
“We’ll make sure they’re empty before they get here.” Bran glanced outside, at the sun hanging low in the distance. “We’re still a good thirty minutes from sundown. I hoped you’d have the cover of darkness, but we’ll have to work around the remaining daylight. To your positions. Rendezvous as agreed.”
The soldiers dispersed in a flurry, Bran staying a few moments longer. He reverted back to our native language and spoke softly to me. “Take care, Ms. Cammell. Do not take any risks.”
It was time to go. I tugged the dark brown cap low on my head, partly to disguise my face, but also to hide my cropped hair—a giveaway of my slave status. Jared and Marc both wore leather armor, the same as Bran’s squadron, and Jared now hid his bandaged hands in leather gloves. I hoped it would be enough. “Jared, how long will it be until Rowena realizes you’ve gone?”
His fingers flexed around the knife Bran had given him. “Any time now. She’ll be expecting me to serve her at dinner.”
Chapter Fifty-Three
Jared
The ghardian stared at Lila before they left the room. “Excuse me for this.” He reached into the cold fireplace and rubbed his fingers in the remains of the ash, and then wiped some rough smears on her face. “Your hands too. A servant wouldn’t be so clean.” She blushed under his scrutiny, the color making her eyes sparkle, and Jared felt a spike of jealousy at the ghardian. He had to look away. He couldn’t bear to see the other man holding her hands, dirtying them. The memory of those slender fingers on him, loving him, was too raw. He breathed through his nose, blinked at the sky, and forced himself to wait.
“We hide best in plain sight, remember.” Marc repositioned her cap, his fingers brushing against her cheek in the process. “You are my servant, and we have every right to be here. It will look as though we’re going to join the feast.” He nodded to Jared. “Let’s go.”
They strolled down the corridors, chatting about unimportant things, with Lila trailing a step behind like a well-trained servant. Instead of heading deeper into the building, toward the banquet hall, they peeled off and went outside.
Mischa had been right. Saxons bustled around the courtyard in small groups, a general sense of unease visible in their lack of coordination. Some had been called straight from their quarters, by the look of it. Buckles were being fastened and armor hastily fitted as they gathered. One of the child slaves was busy lighting torches, and Jared was struck with a horrible realisation.
Kai. He’d forgotten about Kai.
The Saxons didn’t seem to notice them ducking into the stable block, and Jared led the group to the corner where he’d stashed the tack. He handed them a lightweight saddle each, along with a pair of bridles. “Top field has our two ponies. It’s about ten minutes’ walk, heading up the side of the hill.” He looked directly at Lila, drinking in her image for what was possibly the last time. “You’ll need to share. I’ll take the second one with Kai. Leave our tack on the ground. Just get the hell out of here as soon as you see the blaze.” God knows how, he managed to dredge up a reassuring smile for Lila. “We’ll only be a few minutes behind you, but don’t wait.”
She opened her mouth, no doubt to object, but he talked over her. “It’ll be easier for us to get away separately, rather than riding out together.”
Lila nodded at his words, although she looked uncertain. He swallowed as he gazed at her. So many things he wanted to say, but he was out of time.
Marc shifted his feet on the straw laden floor. “We’ll wait in the village.”
In the gloom of the stable, Lila’s eyes looked huge. She glanced up at the ghardian and then back to Jared. Did she suspect? Jared couldn’t speak. Twisting inside in agony, he felt as though his heart was being ripped from his chest, one piece at a time. He turned his gaze to the ghardian, hoping Marc would understand his unvoiced plea. Please take her away, he begged silently. This is killing me.
One last kiss, did he dare? Her lips called to him, the sweetest siren song. He couldn’t resist. He began to lean forward, everything in slow motion. One last taste, enough to sustain him. One last memory.
A noise in the doorway snagged his attention. A slave carrying a pail of water. The boy kept his head down and made his way to one of the horses, and the moment had gone. Marc placed a hand on Lila’s shoulder. “We must go.” His gaze met Jared’s. Jared felt as if his spirit was hovering above his body, watching as he stood there, frozen.
Lila fussed with her cap, pulled the bridle higher onto her shoulder and flashed a smile at Marc. “I’ll follow you.” The smile grew and danced as she turned back to Jared. “We’ll see you soon. Stay safe.”
No, he wanted to cry. Please don’t go. I’ve only just found you again. Please don’t leave me.
Instead, he nodded, struck dumb by the weight of emotion. She hesitated, maybe waiting for him to speak, and then moved away. He had to say something. One final goodbye. “Lila.” She paused, peered over her shoulder. He opened and closed his mouth, searching for the right words. “Be…” He nearly said happy. Nearly. “Be careful.” She gave him a puzzled nod and left, taking the remains of his heart with her.
Chapter Fifty-Four
Lila
I tried very hard to look composed and confident, but inside I was a trembling mass of nerves. Leaving Jared behind seemed wrong. Their plans made sense, and we’d left the hall earlier than expected, but it gnawed at me as we set out for the fields. He’d looked lost. As though I’d abandoned him. I trudged behind Marc, hugging close to the high hedges for cover, and kept the metal parts of the bridle close to my body to muffle any sound. The sun lurked on the horizon, long fingers of light flooding the paths ahead. We’d be visible from the courtyard below. I snagged Marc’s tunic with my fingertips, and he stopped instantly.
“It’s too bright. What if they see us?”
He pointed to a ditch up ahead. “We’ll crouch in that. We only need to wait ten minutes or so.” He moved closer. “Be careful talking. The wind is blowing from us down to the yard.”
I shivered despite the warmth of the evening, anxiety swirling in my gut. Jared had been right about the weather. Storm clouds were building in the distance and the wind was rising.
&nbs
p; Huddled with Marc in the ditch, my shivering ramped up a notch. Marc frowned at me. He took the tack from my hands and laid it all carefully on the ground, and then gently slipped an arm across my shoulders and tucked his cloak around us both. It felt wrong, now that Jared and I had been intimate, but I couldn’t say that.
I stiffened against him, and he obviously noticed. “Take my warmth. Let me look after you, Lila.” His mouth brushed close to my ear. “Please.”
I inched closer, and let him hold me tight, my nose pressed against the base of his throat. I had too much going on in my head and I blurted out a question. “What would happen if I didn’t go back with you?”
There was a long pause before he replied, his breath tickling my skin. “Didn’t go back, as in stayed behind?” I gave an awkward shrug and felt him sigh in return. “I couldn’t let you stay. You know that. Aside from the runaway status, I swore an oath of protection, Lila. I don’t break my word.”
Every syllable dumped another load of guilt. What had happened to me? I used to be so focused and honest. You fell in love with Jared, said a little voice inside my head.
“Marc, do you believe in love?”
Another long silence. I thought he was going to duck the question, and I was about to say he didn’t have to answer, when he huffed out a long breath. “I believe in trust and responsibility. Loyalty and respect. Ghardians are trained to control their emotions, and love is the strongest and most destructive of them all.” I felt one of his hands rubbing slow circles at the base of my spine. Soothing. He cleared his throat. “I suppose the better question might be, do you need love?”
Yes.
Marc froze beside me. “Shhh,” he whispered in my ear. “We have company.”
Chapter Fifty-Five
