If he hadn’t been holding onto me, I might have fallen to the floor. His words left me dazed. So much so that I forgot to speak in my thoughts. “Oh. Really?”
You’re adorable when you’re flustered.
Queens aren’t adorable.
You aren’t a queen yet, Dove. You’re just my reluctant princess. Now, go turn down Willard. Tell him four husbands are more than you can handle. But do it politely, please. Make a concession or two.
Quinn pulled open a door handle I hadn’t even noticed because I’d been so trapped by his damn irresistible eyes. He opened the door and released my arm in the same moment.
Don’t you have to come in? I cocked my head.
Just stay near the wall so poor Willard gets the illusion of privacy. I think he might be about to piss himself. An image of Willard in bright red breeches with a wet spot over his crotch popped into my head. Willard reached his hands together to cover it and his lips popped into a little surprised circle.
I bit my lip and shook my head, but my eyes danced with mirth. You’re awful, I told Quinn.
I know.
Willard was already in the room and he stepped forward to bow and kiss my hand. He was wearing bright red breeches. I had to swallow a smile. Quinn was on point.
“Your Highness, thank you so much for taking the time to see me. My mother was so pleased when you agreed to this meeting the other day,” he mumbled, coming forward as Quinn pulled the door shut behind me.
I noticed his hair was thinning as he bowed over my hand. Not that thinning hair mattered in arranged marriages. But, my mother had seemed to happen to find handsome men for me. I’d never thought too much of it, busy as I’d been planning my escape. But, for a second I wondered how many other candidates she’d turned down. I was sure Lady Agatha had approached her. Willard was the lady’s only child. She’d never been able to carry to term again. This couldn’t be Willard’s first attempt to attain knighthood. So … why now?
“Lord Willard, we’ve known each other since childhood.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” he squeaked. He looked to his left, away from me. A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. And he breathed through his mouth.
I blinked, reminding myself to keep my face neutral. “Your family is very important to this kingdom. You’re very important.”
“Thank you,” he gritted his teeth together, and his face turned an odd blotchy red.
Was he embarrassed by a compliment? I wouldn’t have been surprised if Quinn’s prediction about the piss came true. I tried to take a surreptitious step back. “Your mother has suggested you be added to my contingent of personal knights.”
“Yes,” Willard wheezed.
“This suggests your family has needs of a very delicate nature, that you’d like the crown’s help, but perhaps … you feel those needs won’t be met by someone who is only your monarch. Are your lands in danger?”
I said be polite!
I ignored Quinn and focused on Willard’s uncomfortable fidgeting. His eyes flashed to mine only briefly. Defiance and a bit of anger seemed to flicker there, though his nervousness quickly outpaced other emotions.
“Willard. I’ve been married four years and have obligations to my current knights. They have been kind enough to wait for me as I tried to put the country’s needs before our own. I cannot accept you into my contingent—”
Willard gulped and wiped his forehead with a handkerchief.
I took his hand and continued, “But I would like to offer you something else. Something that will allow you to trust me. I’ll offer a mage oath.”
Willard gasped.
Inside my head, Quinn swore. I said turn him down gently, not offer the kingdom’s secrets on a sarding platter!
Good thing I haven’t been to any briefings yet to learn those secrets, I replied. I’m four years behind on confidential information.
A picture of a dog and her suckling pups popped into my head.
I hope you mean clever bitch, I shot to Quinn.
Was that dog doing tricks? He sent a new image of a dog with glowing red eyes.
Ass.
Never said I don’t like evil bitches.
I focused back on the paunchy man in front of me. Willard pulled out his handkerchief again and patted the rolls in his neck. I think the kerchief might have stuck inside one of the rolls for a moment. I averted my eyes and waited for his response.
“I … I will have to ask—”
He was going to ask his mother. Adrenaline flooded me. I couldn’t let him do that. Lady Agatha would be furious. We’d end up with a rift between the crown and one of our major nobles. I had to get Willard to agree. Sweeten the pot, as the whores would have said. Or ‘Make the offer irresistible, so they can’t see the consequences for the glittering gold beneath their eyes.’ Those were Mother’s words. I moved until Willard met my eyes. “Truth for truth, Willard. You and I. No mothers involved. We can go before the palace mage and have him bind us. Right now. And after you reveal whatever truth you need my help with, I promise, I’ll do whatever I can to help seek a solution. And I promise to be discreet. No one else need know.”
The breath whooshed out of Willard. “Oh, thank God.” He squeezed my fingers and dragged me into a full body hug. That was when I could finally smell the stench of his nervous sweat. “Thank you for saying no,” he whispered.
“Um … any time?”
He chuckled and released me. “I do apologize, Your Highness. I meant, thank you for finding an alternative.”
I shrugged and smiled. “Well, our tutors did always call me a little genius.” The term they’d actually used was gnat.
But Willard coughed out a polite laugh.
I held out my hand so Willard could escort me to the mage’s tower. “Shall we? I hope you don’t mind, but one of my husbands will probably escort us to the tower … they’ve been a bit attached since I’ve returned.”
Willard took my arm and for the first time since I’d known him, puffed his chest. He pulled open the door and led me into the hall. “Well, now, seeing as they married the class genius, they should be.”
I genuinely laughed. I think it was the first joke I’d ever heard from Willard.
Quinn pulled himself away from the stone wall he’d been leaning against. He let Willard continue to escort me, giving the man a respectful nod. Willard doddled along with a grin, content to show his family’s solidarity with the royal family via a public stroll through the palace.
Quinn flanked my other side, obviously staring me up and down despite the other nobles hovering nearby. Dove. I didn’t know you were a genius. I’d love to pick your brain later. His gaze landed on my ass.
His naughty implication sent a rush from my nipples to my mound. Who says my brain is open for business?
The catch in your breath and the look in your eye, he countered.
I shot him a naughty grin, elation bubbling in my stomach. This was what I’d always hoped marriage would be. Banter and inside secrets. And laughter. But then I wondered … was it a trick? Was Quinn toying with me? Was he going to turn angry like the others? Get me close only to push me away? Show me what it had been like for him? Being abandoned?
Quinn’s fingers brushed mine. No tricks, Dove. I promise.
I stared up into his grey eyes. Really?
Really.
My knees went weak. My heart went haywire. And my feet gave out. I tripped on the edge of a rug. “Oh!” I nearly pulled Willard over with me. Luckily, Quinn grabbed me and yanked. Willard’s weight on my other arm nearly ripped me in half until Quinn reached over and helped Willard to his feet too.
I turned to the pudgy man, whose waistcoat had rolled up over his middle. “I’m so sorry, Lord Willard. I wasn’t watching where I was going. It was completely my fault.”
Willard only smiled as he struggled to straighten his waistcoat. “Perhaps your knight should escort you, Your Highness. Since you can’t seem to take your eyes off him.”
I blushed scarlet, particularly as two noble ladies nearby craned their necks to listen to our conversation. Quinn just grinned and tugged me closer until I fit under the crook of his arm.
“Sorry, Lord Willard, I can’t help it. He’s been rather obsessed with me.”
If only you knew. Quinn jerked his head toward a stairwell and the three of us began to climb.
Quinn and I quickly outpaced the portly Willard and when we had rounded yet another bend ahead of him, Quinn pulled me roughly against him. His hand traced down my back, and then he squeezed my ass.
“Whoa!”
Shhh. Quinn grinned, running his hands back and forth over my hips. He glanced over my shoulder and must have seen the top of Willard’s head, because he led me into another sprint up the stairs. The next time he stopped, I was breathless.
You’re insa—
Hush. He grabbed my face in both hands and bent until our eyes were level. His eyes … my chest got an airy, restless feeling. Like the wind was dancing between my ribs. I clung to him. I think I’m hallucinating again.
He smiled, his eyes simply flickering back and forth between mine as if he were drinking in every fluttering, girlish beat of my heart.
Can you feel what I feel?
Do you feel like you’re flying?
I nodded.