He chuckled. “Promises.”
“A man like you, I see how that can put you out of sorts.” She clucked her tongue. “Making them or breaking them?”
He met her gaze. “Both.”
“Do not tell me you are worried you that you cannot keep mine?”
“I’ll take yours to my grave.” Of that he had no doubt. “It’s just... I’ve never made a promise to a woman before.”
A smile, so soft, so understanding formed on her face, Dare wondered if he was even awake and not in a dream. “So I’m your first promise? How frightening.” Yes. How frightening. “And how exciting.”
Exciting? This woman was truly one of a damn kind. “What’s so exciting about stealing my first promise?”
She gave a small, short, laugh. “I cannot pin the exact thing, but I shall tell you when I do. That ismypromise.”
“Then I shall hold you to that promise.”
“Just so you know,” she said slowly, her voice turning solemn, “if the truth of my birth ever comes out, it won’t be your fault unless it came directly from you.”
“It will never come from me,” Dare vowed. He would take that secret not only to his grave, but into the afterlife as well, and even then, he would never spill it.
“Then it will never be your fault. So it’s not a promise that you can break.”
Her eyes glowed at him, like twin suns. Dare almost felt blinded by that look. Saints, how could such a woman exist in the world? How could she put so much trust in him. It was addicting. “You’re tired. Get some more rest.” He glanced at the balcony again. “I should go.”
“I’m not tired,” she protested.
“You can barely keep your eyes open, yet you are not tired?” He arched a brow, amused by her stubbornness.
“I’m notthattired yet.” Leonora snatched the sleeve of his arm. “Don’t go.”
Dare paused. “I can’t stay.”
“Why not? You stayed before.” She patted the spot beside her. “You were lying on my bed right here.”
That had been... a sort of madness he couldn’t explain. “You were asleep. I could ignore my conscience.”
Her lips parted before she demanded, “How could you ignore your conscience then and not now?”
“Simple. You’re awake now, along with those teasing lips. I’d be tempting fate.” Not just fate—every damn thing he could tempt, whether it be wrath, seduction, or ruin itself.
“You cannot tempt fate, for fate cannot be tempted.”
He almost laughed. “What an audacious thing to say.”
“If it’s you, I don’t mind saying it.”
If it’s you . . .
Those words alone were enough to tempt a jaded man like himself. Did she have any idea how easily he could become consumed by them? Did she have any understanding of how dangerous those simple words could be? No. She didn’t. She couldn’t. She was much too innocent. Or she wouldn’t be saying such things to him.
“I thought you might have been lying when you said you didn’t care about my family secret,” she continued quietly, her tone heavy with sleep.
His brows furrowed. “I don’t.”
“Prove it,” she challenged, squirming into a comfortable position for sleep.
Dare had the sense if he didn’t, this little temptress would fight sleep all night. “How?” Dare asked, even though he suspected the answer would be just as dangerous as the woman.
