A Soul for Vengeance (21 page)

He bolted up. “What the hell—”

A woman shushed him a moment before covering his lips with her own. The kiss startled him at first, but with each flick of her tongue, he recognized his intruder. He knew the scent of lilac that clung to her clothes, the callouses on her hands, the softness of her curves. He threaded his hands through her loose curls, dragging her closer and discovering the yards of bare flesh along her legs. Desire clouded his thoughts and choked his throat. “Zara, what are you doing here?”

“I think it’s quite obvious what I’m doing here.” She straddled his lap, her hands tugging his shirt over his head so his chest rubbed against the fine linen of her shift and pebbled bits of flesh in the center of her breasts. She drew his earlobe into her mouth with an exquisite combination of nips and sucks that had him moaning for more. “Unless you want me to stop.”

He reached under her shift to pull her hips forward against the growing ridge that strained against his breeches. “Does that answer your question?”

She chuckled, her voice low and throaty like a purr. “Then why are you still dressed?”

This was one invitation he would be a fool to ignore. He rolled her back onto the mattress and shed his clothes in record time.

But when he settled his weight on her, she stopped him by pressing her finger against his lips. “Just one thing, Kell.”

“And what is that?” he asked, his mouth dry.

“Don’t tell my brother.” Then she chuckled again and wound her fingers through his hair, drawing him toward her.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he whispered before losing himself in her kiss.

Chapter 17

Kell stretched and reached for Zara, but found only an empty spot in the bed. He sat up, wondering if it had all been a delicious dream where he made love to her until they both collapsed in exhaustion. Sunlight streamed through the window, but no trace of her remained other than the pile of his clothes on the floor and an indention in the pillow next to him. He held it to his nose and inhaled the scent of mountain lilacs. Yes, she’d been in his bed.

He just wished she was still there.

He threw on his clothes and dashed toward Bynn’s hut, hoping to find her there. A grin inched onto his face when he remembered her request not to let her brother find out. He’d carry their liaisons with him to the grave so long as she returned to his bed night after night. But when he got there, he only found his friend. “Where’s Zara?”

Bynn didn’t even look up from the letter he was reading. “She left this morning on another one of her raids. Why do you ask?”

“I have a few questions I wanted to ask her.”
Like why she disappeared in the middle of the night
. “When will she be back?”

“She said this would be a local raid. Should be back tonight if all goes well. Personally, I’m glad she’s gone. I wanted to talk to you about her.” He set the letter aside and cracked his knuckles.

Kell’s stomach dropped, and his fingers grew cold. Did Bynn know about last night? He tried to keep his voice calm as he asked, “What about?”

“Her plan.”

He didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath until it whooshed out. This, he could handle. He sat across the table from his friend. “Yes, please tell me more about this mysterious plan of hers.”

“It’s a suicide mission, and Zara’s reckless enough to do it.” He learned forward. “Please, I ask this of you as my best friend and as my future king, do not encourage it. I almost lost my sister once, and I’ll do everything in my power to keep her from harm.”

“And yet you let her go out on these raids.”

“I know she’s capable of something small like that. Plus, I have Parros glued to her side whenever she leaves the camp, so I know she’ll be safe. But her ridiculous plan to bring down the Triumvirate requires her to act alone, and it will cost her life. It’s born of desperation and arrogance. The best thing we can do is talk her out of it and come up with something else so she won’t feel obligated to resort to it.”

Something about Zara’s plan troubled Bynn, but how much? “Even accept assistance from Empress Marist?”

“I’d accept a whole army of Gravaria witches led by Arden if it meant Zara wouldn’t carry out her plan.”

Kell let out a low whistle. Bynn despised everything about magic, and he’d been slow to warm up to Arden. “That bad, huh?”

“Yeah,” his friend said with the solemnness of a man twice his age, “that bad.”

****

Kell stepped out at twilight for a breath of fresh air and spotted Zara entering the camp. After being holed up all day with Bynn and Fermo discussing possible strategies against the Thallians, it would be refreshing to hear Zara’s no-nonsense take on things. But as he climbed down the ladder, Bynn’s plea echoed in his mind. Did he dare ask Zara about her plan?

He reached her just as she was removing a small box from her saddlebags. “Another successful raid?”

“Very.” She handed the reins over to the stable boy and tucked the box and a leather case under her arm.

He checked behind her for the usual wagonload of goods. “Where are the spoils?”

“Here,” she replied, pointing to the box, “and here.” She held up the case.

“That’s it?”

“Why don’t you take a look inside?” She tossed the case at him and walked off with the box.

A peek inside showed a stack of papers all bearing the mark of Thallus. This had been a raid for information, not goods. He chased after her. “Anything important here?”

“No idea.” She kept walking. “I didn’t have time to go through them all, but their carrier was surrounded by four guards. I’m sure there’s something useful inside.”

“You make it sound like it wasn’t the goal of your raid.”

“It wasn’t.” She tapped the box. “This was.”

“And what’s inside there?”

“Supplies for my plan.”

A worm of unease crawled along the back of his neck when she mentioned her plan. Even though Bynn had revealed none of the details, he shared his best friend’s hesitation to place Zara in danger. He caught her arm. “May I speak to you in private?”

Her gaze darted around the camp before coming back to him. “What about?”

“Last night.” He led her to a quiet corner where they’d have some semblance of privacy, but still be in enough public view to keep tongues from wagging back to Bynn.

She gave him a faint smile. “What about last night?”

All logical thought fled his mind when he stared at her. Although he’d intended to talk her out of her plan, whatever it was, he found himself asking, “Why did you leave?”

“You mean for the raid this morning?”

“No, I meant before that.”

Her grin widened, and she closed the space between them until her breasts brushed against his chest. “Miss me?”

“Would I be asking otherwise?”

She gave him that same throaty chuckle that had him wanting to drag her back to his bed right then and there. “I told you I didn’t want Bynn to find out. How do you think he’d react if he found me in your bed?”

“He’d probably castrate me.”

This time, her laughter was more lighthearted. “Precisely. Bynn’s a very overprotective big brother, but I’m old enough to make some decisions for myself.”

It took every ounce of self-control not to take her in his arms and run his hands along those tempting curves while his lips enjoyed the sweetness of her kiss. “And why did you sneak into my room last night?”

“I thought that was pretty obvious.” She gave him a sultry glance that caused the blood to rush straight to his groin.

Yes, it had been pretty obvious why she’d been there, from the heat of her touch to the demands of her kiss. Her arousal matched his own, and everything about last night had confirmed what he’d long suspected—they were a good match in bed. He licked his lips. “And should I expect you to join me again tonight?”

“Maybe.”

Her response both teased and vexed him. Walking would be very uncomfortable for the rest of the night if he knew she’d be waiting for him when he came to bed. “Now you’re being cruel.”

“I’d only be cruel if I told you no.” She dragged her nails along his jerkin and bit her bottom lip as she pulled away. “Remember—discretion. If anyone finds out, it’s over.”

He nodded, not trusting his own voice. He wanted Zara as his lover and was willing to abide by her rules.

For now.

The rest of the night dragged on in sweet agony as he listened to Bynn and Fermo argue while Zara sat across the table from him, casting him seductive glances through her lashes when no one else would notice. At last, he announced he’d had enough and was going to bed. He shed his clothes, crawled under the covers, and waited for her to join him. A few minutes after he doused his candle, the same squeak from last night broke the silence, and the same shadow glided across the room.

Zara threw back his cover and wasted no time straddling his hips. Her warm, inviting flesh had him fully aroused within seconds. He tried to roll her onto the mattress like last night, but she shoved him back, pressing her scant weight on top of him. “Tonight, I’m on top,” she whispered before she sent them both over the edge of ecstasy.

Afterwards, she collapsed beside him, her breath coming as hard and quick as his. Once it returned to a calmer rate, she tried to leave his bed. He grabbed and pulled her to him. “Where are you going?”

“Back to my bed before we get caught.”

“And what if I want you to stay?”

She trailed her fingers up his thigh, reviving his desire. “Want to go again?”

“You make it awfully hard to say no.” He rolled over on top of her, but didn’t make love to her again right away. Instead, he brushed the hair back from her face, soaking in her beauty under the moonlight. “I’d be content if I could just hold you the rest of the night.”

His confession rattled him. How did she carve out a place in his heart so quickly? He could’ve sworn his experience with Arden had left him jaded when it came to love, hesitant to risk feeling something deeper for another woman ever again. And yet he sat on the verge of falling headfirst in love with a woman who was so wrong for him and yet so right.

She smiled at him and curled his hair around her fingers. “You could. I’m yours for now, but I need to be back in my own bed before dawn.”

“Then I intend to savor every moment I have with you.” Starting with kissing her until they were both breathless.

Chapter 18

Zara added the latest pouch of kokalla power into the stockpile she’d been gathering over the last few months. It was more than enough to keep a hundred people under Thallian control for almost a year, but she still wasn’t sure if it was enough for her plan.

A knock sounded at her door. She slammed the trunk closed and shoved it under her bed just as Kell came in.

He paused, his smile half-formed. “What’s that?”

She draped her blanket over the bed to conceal the trunk. “Nothing that concerns you.”

“Is that any way to reply to a prince?”

She wiped her palms on the blanket. Even though she’d shared her body with him, she still wasn’t ready to discuss her plan. If he reacted the same way her brother did, would he forbid her to carry it out and slap her with treason if she did? Or worse, would it ruin their relationship? “What are you doing here?”

The corners of his mouth tilted down. “I saw you were back, and I wanted to let you know how much I missed you.”

“You missed me?” She forced a laugh, breaking up some of the tension that had coiled around her chest, and rose from the floor.

“Very much.” His voice turned on that sensual hum that made her skin tingle with anticipation. “Should I show you?”

He didn’t wait for a response. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her and covered her mouth with a slow, decadent kiss that erased miles of fatigue from her latest raid. She let her body fall against his, savoring the warmth of his hands as they ran along her back toward her hips and pressed her even closer to him. Yes, he’d missed her body—that much was obvious. But did he miss her?

“Satisfied?” he asked when he finally ended the kiss.

“No.” She was left flushed, breathless and still wanting more, despite the warning bells that went off in her mind that she was being reckless with both her reputation and her heart. It went against every practical bone in her body. But then, Kell tended to do that to her. She managed to pull herself together, though, and step back. “But I can wait until later.”

“What’s wrong with right now?” His glaze slid to the bed behind her. “We have the room all to ourselves.”

She laughed again, this time out of pure amusement. No matter how serious Kell appeared in front of her brother and other leaders like Fermo, he was still a charming rogue at heart. “Maybe now, but Bianca could come bursting in at any moment. Besides, I smell like horses and mud.”

“That’s just your clothes. It won’t matter once you’re out of them.”

“You’re not helping matters.” She gave him a playful smack. “If we get caught, that means no more visits to your bed at night.”

“And what if I want us to get caught together?” His question contained none of the lighthearted banter from before. Instead, it was somber enough to drive away the warm glow that had recently infused her flesh.

“Think about the consequences, Kell. We’re already having a hard enough time getting all of our leaders to act together. If Bynn found out, it would only drive a wedge between you two. Please, for the sake of the rebellion, let’s keep our—”

She halted, not quite sure what to call their relationship anymore. What had started out as just a few nights of passion was turning into something more. Every night, her body hummed with pleasure after he made love to her. Every night, she fell asleep listening to his voice after hours of pillow talk. And every night, she found it harder and harder to leave his arms before the dawn. Perhaps deep down inside, she wanted to be caught on the foolish hope she could spend the rest of her life in his arms.

But fate wasn’t that kind. He’d need a wife who could give him an heir to continue his royal line. She couldn’t. Her eyes stung from the unfairness of it all, but she buried her grief and finished what she was saying without her voice betraying her. “Let’s keep our activities secret.”