Chapter 2
S able
I try to be silent as I follow Uther up the winding staircase.
Silence is a tall order, especially when the man I’m stalking—er, following—flashes muscled thighs as he marches up ahead of me.
The curse of a traditional black kilt. The strong legs are out there on display every day, his movements giving the barest hint at the soft hairs on his thick legs.
Every sighting of Uther’s knees turns my insides to jelly.
Captain Uther Nancarrow is perfect in every way. And what do I do with perfection? I must create. I need to dress him. I swear, I’m not trying to be creepy, but tailor’s measuring tape does give a girl an excuse to get good and close.
And now I’m face to face with the queen’s chief security officer, who pins me against the damp, ancient stones.
Oh dear. I didn’t think this through. I didn’t think any of this through.
I can hardly breathe. And not because Uther’s forearm, from elbow to wrist, presses against the length of my collarbone. The air catches in my throat in reaction to how absolutely lethal this man is up close.
I’ve admired him from a distance for so long.
Ever since I was promoted to the job as official stylist for the palace, I’ve been utterly fascinated by the tall, dark, silent man and the way he attends to the queen’s every need with care and unwavering devotion.
It’s like watching someone sweetly hover around a beloved grandmother.
He fascinates me because, for one thing, not even the queen’s own children fuss over their mother this way.
Likewise, Queen Hilde’s attitude towards her children resembles that of a captain steering a ship full of undisciplined sailors who need constant reminders of duties and decorum.
But with Uther, she’s different.
I don’t know what it is about him, but watching him with her does something to me.
The way he fetches her handbag, walks next to her, pulls out chairs, holds doors, and keeps the citizens from taking too much out of her.
It makes me wish I was the queen for one day, if only to feel that blanket of protection around me.
What is that like?
“Sable,” he grinds out. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m…”
My stronger self urges me to gather my senses: Speak, Sable. You know exactly why you came here. You’re not intimidated by anyone.
“I’m just trying to get your measurements. I-I knew you’d be here.”
Uther’s nostrils flair. My nipples tighten.
“This is a restricted site.”
“So you’ve said,” I say softly.
“I’m supposed to be sweeping the area for security breaches.”
“I know that, too. And, in turn, why won’t you let me do my job? What I need requires so little of your time.” It feels good to challenge him. I’m slightly braver than I was a second ago.
Uther’s eyes widen as if he can’t believe what he’s hearing. “Why don’t I let you do your job? Madame. You cannot be serious. You have done nothing but interfere with my duties for weeks. You send email after email to my office. You make appointments without checking with my staff…”
I huff, pushing against his hold on me that might as well be a steel girder. “Because you don’t respond to my questions, so I had to be more proactive.”
“You follow me around the palace, follow me to all the queen’s appointments, staring at me, watching me, trying to break me down…”
“Break you down?” Now I’m confused.
“I’ve seen the way you look at me. I know what you think of me and my shabby, old-fashioned uniform.
I know I didn’t grow up with money and connections to the palace.
I know when I open my mouth, I sound exactly like I came from.
I’m a simple man with simple needs, and I don’t need to fit in with the aristocracy, if it’s all the same to you. ”
I let out the breath I’m holding as I process all of this.
“Sir. The conclusions you jump to are truly breathtaking. I don’t care where you’re from.”
“Your snobbery says otherwise.”
“My…snobbery?”
“I’ve seen the way you look down your nose at me.”
I can’t control the bewildered laugh that escapes me. “That’s a mean feat, considering I’m barely eye level with your chest.”
“You know what I meant.”
“I really do not, Captain.”
“You taunt me. You pester me. You spend every waking hour attempting to get a rise out of me, up to the point of stalking me at a sacred site and forging a letter from the queen!”
Oh. That.
Maybe this is wrong of me, but I feel oddly satisfied that I’ve rankled this man so thoroughly. Well, I learned how to act out for attention the honest way: from childhood trauma.
“The queen sent that letter yesterday. That’s why I’m here today, to finish the job, so I can get started on the new guard uniforms.”
“Quit. Lying.”
The standoff feels like an eternity, though it lasts scarcely more than a few seconds. “Fine! It was me who sent the letter.”
“Do you have any idea the consequences for impersonating a monarch?”
“Actually, I don’t. Because in no way is it possible that a law exists about something so preposterous.”
Am I mistaken, or does a smile pull at his lip?
“I can have you in front of a judge by lunchtime,” Uther seethes.
I circle my fingers around the girth of his tensed forearm and tug feebly. “You can let me go. I’m not a physical threat, you know.”
“You are a threat in every way possible.”
The wrinkles around his deadly cobalt eyes would be devastating if only I could get him to really smile at me. Those hands could have their way with me, ruining me for anyone else. His hard, flat mouth could destroy me seven different ways. And he sees me as a threat?
“You say that I taunt you. Pester you. That I spent my waking hours trying to think of ways to provoke you. It’s quite the opposite, sir.
You spend an inordinate amount of time and energy avoiding me.
It’s you doing that. I’m simply carrying out palace duties, the same as you.
And if I’m not wrong…” I pause to study the gentle bags under his fierce gaze.
“…I’d say you’re lying awake at night obsessed by how much I annoy you. ”