Chapter 30 Aurelie #2
“I’ll take whatever help I can get,” Aurelie said. “Thank you for being here.”
Des and Jasper nodded. Daisy, bless her, smiled.
“Erm, right. I suppose I’m in charge of all this, aren’t I?” Aurelie laughed awkwardly and gestured to the notes scattered
on the floor. “These runes are, I believe, the key to activating the portal. I think my time is best spent trying to interpret
the rest of them, since I have, at this point, at least some familiarity with Elder Vansion.”
The only person who seemed to have any idea what she was talking about was Daisy, who nodded for her to continue. Perhaps
she was simply being encouraging.
“For Jasper and Des, it would be extremely helpful if you’d begin placing the stones into the frame. They are quite heavy
and I’m not sure Daisy or I will be of much use there. Though of course you are welcome to help them,” she added hastily,
nodding to Daisy.
“That’s all right. Is there something else I can help with?”
“We need to affix the metal plates to the stones. I’ve tried out several methods and have found an adhesive that I believe
will work best.”
“Go on,” Des said when she hesitated.
“Well, I tested a gelatin-based glue, but it’s not particularly waterproof.
Not that there will be water involved, necessarily, but one never knows.
I’ve also been experimenting with my slug elixir, though I lack a large supply of slugs, so unfortunately, I will have to put that project on hold.
Something to keep in mind for the future, though.
Then there are the plant-based glues, of course.
Pine pitch, which is waterproof. I’ve done some trials with a certain type of mistletoe.
Oh! And there’s a bacterium which I believe . . .”
Aurelie looked up to find all three guards staring at her.
She cleared her throat. “I believe acacia resin will work best.”
“Acacia resin it is,” Daisy said with a grin.
“Excellent.” She glanced at Des to find him watching her intently, his brow furrowed, his arms still folded across his chest
as though he were deliberately guarding his heart. She remembered the way his muscles had felt beneath her hands, reddened,
and stooped to gather her papers. She’d tied the bow at her throat extra tight today, to make up for her utter lack of control
yesterday. “Very well. I’ll take you all to my workshop and let you get to it, then.”
“Jasper knows the way,” Des said, shooting a pointed look at the other guards. “I’d like to speak with Aurelie for a moment,
if you don’t mind getting started.”
Jasper nodded, but not before Aurelie caught him and Daisy sharing a glance that seemed a little too knowing for her liking.
Des wouldn’t have told them about what happened last night, surely. He hardly communicated in anything other than grunts and
commands. But when Daisy turned on the threshold and winked at Aurelie, she knew they at least had some inkling of what had
transpired.
When the others were gone, Aurelie—her cheeks still burning with embarrassment—picked up the tea tray and headed toward the
kitchen. She could feel Des behind her, his warm, looming presence. He followed silently until she’d placed the tray on the
counter and began to fill the sink with water.
“Aurelie.”
“Hm?”
“Turn around and look at me, please.”
“I’d rather not.”
She thought she heard him chuckle lightly. “Why not?”
“Because you’ll see how flushed I am, and I would hate for you to think it has anything to do with you.”
He made a low noise in his throat. “It has nothing to do with me, then?”
She fiddled with a dishcloth. “Nothing whatsoever.”
When his hand skimmed her waist, she nearly dropped the teacup she was preparing to wash.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
His voice was a murmur tickling her ear. “Nothing whatsoever.”
This time she did drop the teacup. Fortunately, it landed in a sink full of soapy water, but Aurelie gasped anyway. The next
thing she knew, Des had spun her around in his arms, and her soapy hands went to his chest to steady herself.
He must have seen the shock on her face because he started to step back. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”
She gripped his shoulders, pulling him back to her. “Don’t apologize. I just . . . I wasn’t sure what today would be like.”
She bit her lip and dropped her gaze, only to feel his finger under her chin, lifting it.
“I wasn’t either,” he said gently. “I knew I should turn you in. If you were anyone else, I would have . . . I don’t know,
Aurelie. Something happens to me when I’m around you that I can’t explain. I know that doesn’t make any sense.”
“It does,” she insisted. “I feel it, too.”
He lowered his face to hers, still tipping her chin up to him, but stopped when his lips were maddeningly close. “This is
wrong, isn’t it?”
She wanted to say no, but how could she, when she had put Des in an impossible situation? “Maybe.”
“I can’t think straight when I’m with you. I didn’t sleep last night. I paid another guard to take my duty today. You’ve wrecked
me, Aurelie.”
Looking into his silver eyes, once as hard as iron but now soft and vulnerable, she had no choice but to take him at his word.
This strong, focused, purpose-driven man was shirking responsibility, betraying the principles he was bound to uphold. If
this didn’t go as she’d promised, he would despise her for the rest of their lives. She would despise herself, for ruining
him alongside her.
But she could not abandon her uncle for Des, no matter how much she was falling for him. It was cowardly, but she responded
by bringing her mouth to his, hoping to convey her conflicting emotions without words, because they would never be adequate.
Des had always been gentle with her, but she could feel how taut his muscles were, how much restraint it took when he cupped
the nape of her neck, his fingers tangled in her hair. She’d never kissed anyone before, but she knew intrinsically that no
one would ever live up to Des, the way he claimed her mouth with his own, the way his touch had her melting against him.
He tugged on the ribbon at her throat, dragging his lips down her neck until he reached the hollow at the base of it.
She found herself pulling her collar aside to grant him access, suddenly regretting her choice of dress, because he couldn’t touch her as easily as he had last night.
Even worse, she could hardly get to him beneath his leather breastplate, so she settled for his arms, his face, his hair, marveling at how her small hands could bend him to her will.
“We have to stop,” he said between kisses, his breathing ragged as she arched against him. “Please, Aurelie. The portal . . .”
“Can wait a few more minutes. Can’t it?”
He exhaled roughly as she trailed kisses over his jaw. “It’s important.”
“But this is so much more fun.”
He laughed, a genuine, proper laugh that Aurelie felt in her soul. “Believe me, I know. Nothing has ever been this fun in
all of history.”
Now she laughed, forcing herself to pull away. “There will be more of this, won’t there? Once we finish the portal and save
the kingdom?”
He gazed down at her, her face cupped in his hands, his expression almost pained. “If we live? Absolutely.” He kissed her
again, so thoroughly she could barely stand by the time he pulled away.
“All right, I’m going. Just . . .”
She had begun to retie the ribbon at her throat, but she stopped when his voice trailed off. “What is it?”
“Just be careful, all right? You have your dagger?”
She patted her pocket. “Yes.”
“Good. And if you accidentally conjure something, you’ll tell me? You won’t be foolish and try to handle it yourself?”
She smiled at his concern. “I’ve handled plenty of demons myself, Des.”
“I know. But that was before I knew you existed. I’d never have allowed you to put yourself in harm’s way if I’d known.”
She cocked her head. “Allowed me?”
He ran one hand through his hair, clearly frustrated but doing his best to be diplomatic. “Just promise me, Aurelie.”
“All right, Des. I promise.”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Good girl.”
She flushed at his murmured approval as though he were a professor giving her an excellent mark. She despised herself a little
for how much she enjoyed it. “Go, before I change my mind.”
He straightened to his full height and saluted her. “Yes, ma’am.”
To her surprise, Aurelie found she quite liked that, too.