Chapter Fifteen #3
“Dacia, I want you to listen to me and listen carefully,” he said. “What I am about to say may mean something to you, or it may not. Only you can be the judge. But I think it is important.”
He sounded serious and she nodded. “Of course, Cassius,” she said. “What is it?”
He gazed up into her magnificent eyes. “Would you say that I am a comely man?”
She nodded without hesitation. “The most handsome man I have ever seen,” she said. “In fact, my maids have been buzzing about it. Evidently, every woman at Edenthorpe thinks the same thing.”
He gave her a look that suggested he was quite pleased and also not surprised, which caused her to chuckle. But he reached up, capturing her chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing her to look at him.
“This is going to sound quite arrogant of me, but it is the truth,” he said.
“They are not alone. When I said I had armies of women following me around, it was the truth. The king has long suspected that he will not die in battle, but trampled by a stampede of women in their haste to get to me. It is, therefore, fair to say that I have seen many, many beautiful women.”
Her smile faded. “And you’ve not yet found a wife in that horde?”
He shook his head, releasing her chin but reclaiming her hand.
“Nay,” he said. “Not to say that there haven’t been a few viable candidates but, in the end, it would be unfair to take a wife because of my position with the king.
I would be with him more than I would ever be with my wife and that is not fair to her. ”
Her smile vanished completely at that point. “That is understandable,” she said. “No one would blame you.”
His big fingers began to caress her soft flesh. “You are the only female who sees it that way,” he said. “I have been sent gifts, expensive gifts, and plied with money and wine from rich women who thought I would drop everything to lay down by their side.”
“But you did not?”
“I did not.”
She cocked her head in a gesture of understanding. “I do not blame you,” she said. “You have a great position that is very important to you. You should not give it up for a woman.”
He cleared his throat softly. “That is where you would be wrong,” he said. “There is a woman I am considering giving it up for.”
She looked at him and he could see the light go out of her eyes. All of the warmth she had in her face was gone, replaced by something cold and sorrowful as much as she tried to hide it.
“I… I am happy for you, then,” she said, averting her gaze and pretending to focus on his shoulder wound.
“I shall do my best to heal you so that you may return to her. Would you like me to send her a missive telling her of your injury? Mayhap she would like to come to Edenthorpe and tend you herself.”
He was back to rolling his eyes. “Christ,” he muttered. “You do not understand, do you?”
“Understand what?”
He fixed on her. “Dacia, what I was trying to tell you, though not so eloquently, was that I have seen many women in my life,” he said.
“Too many women to count, so I know a beautiful woman when I see one. I also know a good heart when I see one, but it is rare to find both a beautiful woman and a good heart together. I’d have better luck looking for a unicorn.
But I have found one such woman, the rarest find of all. I have found you.”
She was still puzzled; he could see it. “But what about the woman you are considering giving everything up for? Surely she is beautiful with a good heart.”
He groaned, putting a hand up to cup her face. “Are you truly so dense?” he said. “You are the woman I am considering giving everything up for, silly wench.”
Dacia stared at him. For a long, uncertain moment, she simply looked at him. Then, she bolted off the bed, bewildered and overwhelmed, and ended up sitting in a chair over against the wall. About as far away from him as she could get. She sat there, staring at him as he gazed back steadily.
“Can you hear me from over there?” he asked, touched and amused by her response.
She nodded stiffly. He chuckled.
“Are you happy sitting over there?” he asked wryly.
Again, she nodded. He tried to shift his body so he could get a better look at her.
“Dacia, this is not helping my pride,” he said. “I have just bared my soul to you. The least you could do is say something. Tell me you feel the same way. Or tell me to go outside and throw myself into the river. Say what you will, but say something.”
Truth be told, Dacia was stunned. She didn’t know what to say. She stared at the man, gorgeous and glistening, bandages over his damaged body, and she could only think of one thing.
It was on her tongue before she could stop it.
“I love you,” she said, barely audible. Then, she slapped her hands over her mouth. “God’s Bones, I cannot believe I said that.”
He laughed, low in his throat. “Did you mean it, lass?”
She hesitated before nodding, so firmly that her hair came out of its braid.
It was waving all around her face. “I do,” she whispered.
“I do mean it, but I should not have said it like that. No one has ever said such things to me, Cassius, so I have never had any practice on how to respond. I may have impeccable manners, but sometimes my social graces are raw and honest. I should have at least told you how I felt before telling you that I loved you. But… it simply came out. It is the truth.”
He crooked his finger at her, beckoning her to come near. She shook her head, staying planted in the chair. Cassius started to laugh, a joyful and giddy sound.
“So you do not intend to come near me, ever again?”
“Nay.”
He laughed harder, then suddenly put a hand over the wound in his torso as if the movement hurt. “Damnation,” he said. “I think I felt something snap.”
Dacia was off her chair, running over to the bed to check the bandages.
But the moment she drew near, a massive hand shot out and grabbed her.
Before she realized it, she was on the bed, laying half on him.
She was laying over the bandaged left arm and shoulder, but Cassius was so strong that he didn’t need two arms to hold her with.
Just one.
She was trapped.
“When one is trying to catch the elusive Dacia, one must use the right bait,” he murmured, his face very close to hers. “The right bait is evidently a Cassius.”
Dacia tried to pull away, briefly, but she quickly gave up. “You are a trickster, Cassius de Wolfe,” she said, feigned disapproval in her tone. “I shall remember this.”
He pulled her closer, his lips seeking hers. “I hope you do,” he purred. “Tell me again that you love me.”
She could feel his hot breath on her face and it made her feel weak all over. “Why?”
“Because I want to know that I mean something to you.”
“You mean everything to me.”
His mouth slanted over hers hungrily. After the first small kiss before Rhori had arrived, Dacia was more than willing to explore a deeper and more passionate kiss as her emotions swept her away.
She welcomed it, in fact, knowing that Cassius was feeling something more for her than simple friendship.
You are the woman I am considering giving everything up for.
It was too good to believe.
But surely… it was impossible. They had only known each other a matter of days.
But, oh, what days they were! Dacia had never known such monumental days and even though they’d only known each other a short period of time, she felt as if she’d known him forever.
As his hand wound itself in her hair and his lips suckled hers, she felt as if she’d always known him.
As if she had always been meant to be here, in his arms. By his side.
Loving him.
But things were getting heated. He had positioned her so that she was across his body and he was cradling her against him.
She was somewhat trapped by his right arm as his mouth did wicked things to her neck, suckling on a little earlobe and making her gasp.
The moment she opened her mouth, he was on her again, his tongue licking at her, demanding entry.
The thrill of his tongue licking at her, of his lips suckling on her tongue when she finally opened her mouth, was nearly too much for her to bear.
She was starting to feel faint.
“Cassius,” she whispered in between his heated kisses. “You must let me up. Someone might come in and see us.”
He slowed his pace, eventually pulling back to look at her with smoldering eyes. “You are correct, of course,” he said, carefully pushing her up so she could find her feet on the floor. “Forgive me, angel. I could not help myself.”
She wiped his saliva off her mouth, grinning sheepishly. “I seem to have suffered a lack of control myself,” she said. “But… but it was worth it.”
He smiled broadly, reaching out to touch her cheek. “It was,” he agreed softly. “Will you let me court you, then?”
She couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “Was your kiss part of your scheme to coerce me into agreeing?”
“Of course.”
She burst out laughing. “Well, at least you are honest about it,” she said. As she looked at him, her smile faded. “Truly, Cassius, that is all I shall ever ask of you. Honesty.”
“And that is what you shall have,” he murmured. “That… and my heart.”
He said it so sweetly that, this time, she reached out to grasp his hand. “And you shall have mine,” she murmured. “And if you wake up tomorrow and still wish to court me, I will not resist.”
“I must wait until tomorrow?”
She nodded. “Sleep on it,” she said. “Make sure it is what you wish to do, for once you have me, you shall have all of me. I shall never love another, Cass. If I give you my heart, it belongs to you forever. It will not be mine to give again.”
He squeezed her hand, kissing it before releasing it. “Thank you, my lady,” he said quietly. “Then let me sleep now. The sooner I sleep, the sooner I shall awaken and speak with your grandfather.”
“As you wish,” she said. “Would you like something to eat before you do? You’ve not eaten in two days.”