Page 51 of Decoy
“As I promised, with nothing occurring to compromise your safety in any way.”
Though this should have been good news, she didn’t seem reassured. She worriedly gnawed her lip. “Did I do anything…embarrassing?”
With the return of her spirit I couldn’t resist my usual mischief. “Not to worry. Save for dreaming of me, you did nothing of the sort.”
She immediately stiffened. “I didn’t dream about you!”
I tilted my head. “Then how do you explain your murmuring my name several times?”
An alluring blush swallowed her cheeks, giving me reason to hope that perhaps I really had been a part of her dreams. “Any dream about you would only have been a bad one.”
My amusement vanished in an instant. Shehadexperienced a nightmare. The thought that it might have been about me disappointed me far more than it should.
My gaze flickered down to our hands, still entwined. Rather than relinquishing it, her grip tightened, as if she subconsciously wanted to keep me near, which gave me hope—I doubted she’d hold the hand of the man who’d truly haunted her dreams.
“Before you accuse me as you’re wont to do, you only have yourself to blame for this compromising position, considering it wasyouwho reached for my hand.”
“I did nothing of the sort!” Yet she remained uncertain. She searched my expression, and at detecting the sincerity she undoubtedly hadn’t wanted to find, her bulging eyes took in our intertwined fingers. “DidI?”
It took every ounce of willpower to carefully extract my hand from hers. I’d riled her enough for one morning, and after last night, I found myself desperate to retain her favor.
I pressed my fingers to my lips. “It’s a secret, yet another scandalous one we share in addition to our kiss.”
“That wasn’t a kiss, it was a game.”
I shrugged in a show of feigned indifference, reluctant to admit just how much her words affected me. “Perhaps next time it won’t be.”
“There won’t be anext time, you odious man.” She took a pillow and threw it at my retreating back as I headed for the window.
“We’ll see.” I slipped through, but even after I’d made it to the roof I lingered, both out of the entertainment I took in listening to her frustrated breaths and muttered curses to my name, and out of fear of straying too far.
Once more she was distracting me from my true mission. No matter how intriguing I found the beguiling temptress, I had a purpose greater than the woman I had no business keeping alive but whom I found myself desperately wanting to protect every moment more I spent in her company.
* * *
Come morning,the castle was in fits from the trail of blood within the princess’s room that had been discovered by the maid bringing Her Highness’s breakfast tray. In my obsession with remaining near her throughout the night I’d forgotten to clear up any evidence of the attack.
I thought about the princess long after we parted ways, not the mysteries still surrounding her that would make my distraction somewhat productive but instead snippets from the night—the moonlight enhancing her peaceful beauty, the feel of her soft fingers curled around my hand, the soft sounds she made as she slept, and most of all how it felt to be needed by the woman slowly spinning the web ensnaring me that I was no longer sure I even wanted to escape.
These persistent longings were surprisingly powerful. After only a few hours I found myself drawn to her again, not to check on her as I tried to convince myself, but to see whether she’d discovered additional clues during our brief separation. With this excuse firmly in hand, I sought her out and found her strolling the gardens with a guard close behind. His presence should have rendered mine unnecessary, yet I wanted to linger all the same.
I lengthened my stride in order to catch up. She tensed at my approach but made no acknowledgement of my arrival, even after I leaned towards her ear. “Have you noticed anything unusual since last night?”
At the sound of my voice she relaxed. “Other than the anomaly that the future Duke of Rosewood feels more compelled to converse with me than murder me?”
The words hit their intended mark, a much-needed reminder of the shadows’ dictates—not to protect her but to be the one to end her life. “Considering our temporary truce, my behavior isn’t so unusual, especially when there’s an intriguing riddle to be solved. Should anyone question it, you have the convenient excuse that you’re only putting up with my presence to seek information from me.”
She stiffened but made no comment as she took a bend in the hedge-lined path that led us farther from the courtiers enjoying the sunlit grounds. I cast the guard dutifully trailing us several subtle glances to ensure he was still there. He remained the perfect image of devotion, his attention never wavering from his charge…but as last night testified when her other guards had abandoned their posts, appearances could be deceiving.
The princess peered at me curiously. “Are you suspicious of the guard?”
It appeared I hadn’t been subtle enough to evade her own careful observation. I deliberated a moment, unsure how much to tell her about what I’d discovered. “Your guards were entirely missing during the events of last night.”
Her steps faltered. “They were?”
I nodded gravely. “Whether it was because they abandoned their posts or their absence was a sign of foul play I remain uncertain, as I haven’t had ample time to investigate. As such, I’m not convinced your current one won’t falter in his duties and simply disappear.”
She glanced back with a mixture of apprehension and expectancy for such an undesirable outcome. When she next met my gaze, I offered her a reassuring smile.
