I considered making a comment about his inability to feed an additional single servant but decided I would simply be asking for a fight. I didn’t want to provoke him when we were so far away from any witnesses.
“And you will not need to bring any of your things.”
“What?” I interrupted. “Forgive me, but it sounds like you want me to just leave every part of my life behind. Am I to accompany you home with no clothes on as well?” So much for not provoking him.
His brow rose, and his eyes sparkled with wicked intent. “A naked bride in my carriage. I am sure that can be arranged and would be most enjoyed.”
My heart nearly stopped. Good job, Allete, I scolded myself. Bringing up the absence of clothing around Cathal was as stupid as waving a piece of raw meet in front of a starving tiger, and just as dangerous.
“I do not understand why you wouldn’t want me to take some of my own things. It would make me feel less homesick,” I argued. When he simply stared at me, I realized what an imbecile I was being. I wasn’t going with him anyway. None of what he wanted mattered. So why was I intent on quarreling with him like it did?
“I think a fresh start will do you good. You are going to be my queen. I want you to have the mind of a queen, the manners and look of a queen, a regal woman—not a girl.” He glanced down at my body and then back up to my face. “I know there is a woman underneath that fabric, and I want you to look the part.”
I screwed my face up into one of disgust. “Why do you desire me to wear such revealing clothing? Does it not bother you that other men may stare?”
He glanced over his shoulder at Torben and Brant as though I somehow meant those two. “I won’t have to worry about that. The men in my kingdom know I would scoop their eyes out with a spoon and feed them to the crows if they so much as glance at you.”
I swallowed down the bile that rose in my mouth. That was a bit disturbing.
“Just do as you’re told, Allete, and your life will be much easier with me. Now.” He paused and then stepped closer to me. “I haven’t seen or touched you in a few days, and I will not refrain any longer.”
Before I could stop him, he’d wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me tight against his body. His other hand ran up my back until it was at the nape of my neck, his thumb and fingers brushing beneath my ears. I tried so hard to think of Torben’s hands and imagine it was him who held me.
Cathal tilted my head back and made me look up at him. After simply staring at me for a little while, he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. It was surprisingly gentle. I gasped as his full lips caressed my own, coaxing me to respond. When his tongue slipped out and licked across mine like velvet, I gasped again, and he took advantage by slipping his tongue into my open mouth. His soft groan was as surprising as was my own reaction.
I didn’t want to enjoy what he was doing and I certainly didn’t, just because of who was performing the actions. But I could not deny that what he was doing was very, very different from the way he had kissed me previously. This time it was as though he were savoring me. He pulled me closer, and his hard body molded my softer one to him.
I was lost. I didn’t understand what was happening or why I was allowing it, but I couldn’t stop him from kissing me or deepening the kiss. I couldn’t even stop my own sensual moan, and it made me want to vomit. I was moaning into Cathal’s mouth while Torben, no doubt, watched on.
Cathal’s hand ran down my back and grasped my waist. But it didn’t stop there. He continued down until he was grasping the back of my thigh, right where Torben’s hand had been when he’d helped me up onto the back of the horse.
He pulled back then, all the while still holding my thigh. “You are mine to touch. No one else’s. Do not allow that guard to touch you in such a way again, or I will cut his hands off while you watch.”
My mouth dropped open even further, and I stared up at him, seeing flames dance in his eyes. Only seconds ago, he’d been kissing me as though I was a precious lover, and now he was threatening me. I was about to say something, but the sound of hooves running mercilessly across the ground caused me to step back and look past Cathal.
Torben hadn’t bothered to look behind him to see what was coming. He was too busy staring at Cathal. His face was contorted into a level of rage that I had never seen before. When his glance flicked to mine, I flinched and took a step back. He looked ready to kill someone, anyone, and I wondered if I was on that list.
“Allete!” I heard Dayna’s voice before I saw her. She and Thomas were riding up through the trees. They both looked breathless, as if they’d been the ones to run instead of the horses. Both of their eyes were wide with fear.
“What’s happened?” I asked, pushing past Cathal, Torben, and Brant. I knew it was something bad, as all the blood had drained from Dayna’s face.
“We need you back at the palace,” Thomas spoke for her. “Now.”
When I caught the inflection of his voice as he said ‘you,’ I understood he meant that they needed me specifically. Someone had been hurt; they needed my ability. I nodded and looked back at Cathal. “I’m sorry, my lord, but I must cut our time short for now.”
“You can ride with me,” Cathal said as he started toward the horse, which had wandered a few paces from us.
“Like hell,” I heard Torben growl as he grabbed my hand. He pulled me to his horse and lifted me by my waist effortlessly. “I’m her guard, and I can get her back quickly.” He called over his shoulder, not even looking at the king. “Where?” Torben asked Dayna.
“The gardens, by the pond,” she said quickly, and I didn’t miss the tears in her eyes.
Torben hopped up behind me and wrapped a strong arm around me. He pulled me back against him and squeezed the horse’s flanks. The animal took off in a huge lunge moving smoothly into a fast cantor.
“I need to warn you now that I will be kissing you later,” Torben murmured in my ear. He pulled me tighter against him. “It took everything in me not to kill him right then and there.”
My breath caught, and my heartbeat flew at an unnatural pace. Not only was I worried about what I was going to find at the pond, I now had Torben threatening to kiss me. A threat that I was all too eager to endure. Stupid woman, I thought to myself.
He didn’t say anything more; he simply pushed the horse harder, almost as if he could sense my own urgency to get there. When we were finally drawing close, I turned my head so that Torben would hear me.
“We cannot let Cathal, or anyone, see if I’m needed to heal.”
“I’ll protect you,” he said gently. “You don’t have to worry about using your magic. I will always protect you.”