Chapter 2 #2
Possibly too much.
When they finally began to close up, she watched as Lucian tried to pay Mr. MacDonald. After a few minutes, Lucian gave up and put the coins away. Isabelle grinned as she hurried to finish her duties so she could be with Lucian.
Alone.
With only the darkness and the night.
A shiver of eagerness went through her.
Lucian couldn't wait to walk Isabelle home. This time he would go inside if she invited him. This time he would speak of who he was—and where he was from.
He just prayed she was willing to listen.
“I'm done,” she said as she placed the last chair atop the table.
He nodded. “Stay here while I get my horse.”
When he returned, Mr. and Mrs. MacDonald stood at the door with Isabelle. “Thank you again for the delicious meal and fine ale.”
“We want to thank you for happening upon our Isabelle as you did. Lord only knows what would’ve happened had you not been there,” Mrs. MacDonald said.
Lucian refused to think about it and instead held out his hand for Isabelle. “Shall we?”
She waved good-bye to the MacDonalds, and he lifted her atop Elad before he took the reins and started into the darkness.
“How long will you be staying here?”
“Until I find what I came for.” He knew that wasn't the answer she wanted, but he didn't wish to speak of such things until he could see her face.
“More evasive answers?”
He grinned into the night. She was feisty. Just what a princess of Drahcir should be. “I’ll answer all your questions, just not now.”
“Fair enough, I suppose.”
“Tell me of you,” he urged. “How long have you worked for the MacDonalds?”
He heard the smile in her voice as she said, “I started out helping with odd jobs when I was smaller and my grandparents were in the village. Then, as I got older and realized the extra coin helped, I began working whenever they needed help. It was about two years ago that I started working every day. They’re very good to me. ”
“They love you.”
“Aye, and I love them. They’re my family now.”
He wanted to ask about her grandparents and parents but decided to wait. Somehow he knew it wasn't the right time. All too soon they arrived at her cottage, and he wondered if she would ask him in for tea again. He halted Elad by the door and reached up to help Isabelle down.
It was a taste of rapture to be able to touch her again, even if it was just his hands on her waist. When her hands gripped his shoulders for balance he thought he heard a sharp intake of breath. Did he affect her the way she affected him?
He forced his hands to release her. He let them linger on her before his arms dropped to his sides. It was painful to know the woman who could help secure his kingdom stood before him, but knowing what it would cost her kept him from spilling everything right then. He had to take it slow.
“Thank you for escorting me home.”
Lucian bowed regally. “A pleasure, for sure.”
“Would you like to come in for tea?”
“I would love to. Let me see to Elad.”
Isabelle bit her lip as he walked away, then spun around and rushed into the dark cottage. She walked blindly to the hearth and hastily started the fire. By the time she had water in the kettle and over the fire, she heard the door open.
She smoothed her hands down her stained brown gown.
Men never made her nervous, but this one set her on edge, made her worry about things like if her hair was neat or if her gown looked good.
Men of marriageable age in her tiny village were scarce, and she never caught their eyes.
She had known for years that she would never have a family of her own.
Slowly, she turned to face her rescuer.
Her eyes traveled from his face to his wide shoulders. She swallowed as she imagined what he looked like without those fine black clothes of his.
“It’s as if you are of the night, almost as if you belong to it.”
His eyes narrowed as he cocked his head. “What do you mean?”
“You wear all black, your hair and eyes are black, and even your horse is black.”
One side of his mouth pulled up in a smile. “What if I tell you that it’s exactly what I am?”
“I may be a peasant, but I’m not a fool. My lord,” she said, after a small hesitation to let him know she knew he was of nobility.
Lucian clenched his hands in fists as he watched her turn to the kettle. It was everything he could do to talk to her instead of crushing her to him and tasting her plump lips.
He had never believed everything his father told him. Aye, he knew he would recognize his mate, but he never expected to feel such…lust. He had thought his father told him that just to make things easier.
His eyes raked over her slender form, a form he watched from afar for too long.
Now that she was so near to him, he devoured the very sight of her, from her soiled, plain gown to her long fingers that gripped the kettle handle to the profile of her face, a face that was no more peasant than he was, with her high cheekbones and stubborn chin.
When she turned and handed him a cup of tea, he looked into her midnight-blue eyes and wished he could tell her everything without the fear of her running away.
“What is it?” she asked, her brow slightly furrowed as she stared at him.
Her question drew his gaze to her mouth, a mouth of the darkest pink, full and inviting.
“Nothing,” he said as he accepted the cup and sat down at the small table. “Have you always lived here?”
She nodded as she poured herself a cup. “It’s the only place I’ve ever known.”
“Are you happy here?”
She laughed as she joined him at the table. “What a strange question.”
“Not so strange.”
“Do you like where you live?”
Lucian sighed as he recalled his beautiful home, a home that called to him even now. “Nay, I doona like it. I love it. It’s a wonderful place, and a more beautiful place I’ve never seen. The people are friendly, the game plentiful, and the town prosperous.”
She smiled wistfully as she placed her chin on her hand. “I’d love to see such a place.”
“Then I’ll take you there,” he said, his breath caught in his throat
She cocked her head to the side as she gave him an indulgent smile. “If you love this place so much, why did you leave?”
“I had to,” he said as he glanced down at the cup. “I’m looking for someone.”
She turned her blue eyes away from him and drank. “Have you searched long?”
“Nearly two winters.”
“It must be someone of great importance.”
“She is.”
Her eyes flew up to meet his, and for a moment Lucian thought she might ask who it was he sought. Instead, she lifted her cup and took another drink.
His patience was about to run dry. But, he recalled the words his father had told him.
“Go slowly, son. Doona rush your mate. She has to realize the truth on her own. Bringing her here against her will is worse than never finding her at all.”
Yet, even the reminder of his father's words didn't stop the impatience as it usually did.
Now that Isabelle was here with him, he wanted to hurry back to Drahcir, convincing her on the way of just who she was.
But she wouldn't believe him, and in the end he would fail, sending his beloved kingdom to doom.
“Where are your parents?” he asked, needing to turn his mind away from his quest for a moment.
“I was raised by my grandparents, who I lost last winter. My mother died giving birth to me.”
“I'm sorry. And your father?”
She shrugged. “I’ve never met him. What of you and your family?”
“Both my parents still live. They wait expectantly for my return.”
“And I suppose you cannot return until you find who you seek.” At his nod, she continued. “It’s your sister then?”
Lucian laughed. “I've no sister. Just three brothers. One elder and two younger.”
His breath caught as she closed her eyes and smiled. “To have siblings. It’s something I’ve always wanted.” She opened her eyes and looked at him while she flicked her braid over her shoulder. “Do you love your brothers?”
“Verra much. We’d die for each other.”
She ran her finger around the rim of the cup. “Your village and your family sound almost like a dream. Do you never fight?”
Lucian chuckled, recalling the many—and various—arguments. “Loudly and frequently. It’s what brothers do.”
“How much longer will you search before you return to this heavenly place of yours?”
Lucian watched her closely. He knew he had to earn her trust, it was the only thing keeping him on his own side of the table. “I have another cycle of seasons before I must return.”
“What will happen if you don’t find this woman?”
“That's not an option I can even consider,” he answered before he sipped the tea.
He lowered his gaze to her hands. One held the mug, and the other lay near his hand. He reached over and covered her hand with his. Her gaze snapped to his, but she didn't pull away.
“You’ve nothing holding you here. Come. Return with me to my home,” he urged.
“Why?” she asked, her brows knotted. “I don't even know you. What about the woman you seek?”
Everything, Lucian's family and the kingdom itself, hinged on his next words.
“I found her.”