Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 99206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 496(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 496(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
Actions, she decided, would say more than words. She stood on her toes and slowly brushed her lips across his. She traced his lips with her wet tongue and kissed him again. She nipped at his lower lips and kissed him again.
In an instant he pulled her to him, her paper and charcoal falling out of her hand and her arms rushing around his neck. They locked in a fiery kiss, their surroundings ignored, their need a force of raging desire that made them prisoners of passion.
His mouth moved down to claim her neck, and she turned her head, giving him free rein. She gave him mere seconds to enjoy, then returned to claim more kisses from him, hungry for the taste of him.
He stopped her, cupping her face in his hands. “This is not the place for this. I want to kiss you in the sunlight, where I can see the beauty of your face, not in the dark recesses of a room that knew only suffering.”
He retrieved her drawings from the ground, handed them to her, and lifted the torch from the sconce. “Let us find a place of light—my solar.”
Magnus followed Reena from the room, her lips alive with the taste of him and aching to taste more. It seemed the more she kissed him, the more she wanted to kiss him. And she did not even attempt to dissuade or reason with herself.
Was this nonsensical feeling love?
Or was it foolishness?
Either way she was in trouble, for at the moment she did not care—another effect of love, or foolishness?
And what of the consequences when they entered his solar?
What did he expect from her? What did she expect from herself? Was she ready to face the consequences of her actions? Did she not remember her own intentions? She wished to love and be loved when she chose to share intimacy with a man. No mention of love had passed between them. It was pure passion, nothing more. Is this what she wished for?
Her pace slowed as reality cooled her emotions, and she realized there was more for her to give thought to before she shared any intimacy with him.
Magnus eased a hand to her waist, guiding her up the stairwell and feeling her tension build with each slow step she took. He sought to ease her concern. “You will be able to draw me in the light.”
Her step faltered slightly, though his strong hand kept her firmly in place.
“I am eager to draw you.” She heard her own relief. Why, then, did disappointment nip at her senses?
He opened the door to his solar and guided her with a firm hand inside. An overcast sky prevented any sunlight from entering through the windows, and the roaring fire in the hearth was the only source of light, leaving shadows to lurk in the corners.
“We will need much more light in here if I am to draw you,” Reena said.
“Light no candles,” came a raspy, menacing voice from the shadows.
Reena jumped, and Magnus was quick to shove her behind him. His hand went to the hilt of the knife tucked in its leather sheath. “Show yourself.”
“Send the woman away.”
Reena’s hand rested on Magnus’s back, and she could feel his muscles tighten at the stern command. He was accustomed to issuing orders, not receiving them.
“I say for the last time, show yourself or suffer the consequences.”
A chill ran through Reena. Magnus left no doubt that he was in command. Was she prepared to watch two men battle? And what if Magnus was wounded? She suddenly was ready to defend, not herself but Magnus.
“I remain here.”
The strength of her voice radiated throughout the room, and Reena could have sworn she heard the intruder laugh.
Magnus moved his hand off his knife. “Come out of the shadows.”
Reena stepped to the side, peeking out from behind Magnus, relieved that he seemed to know the intruder.
A laugh, a shuffle of movement, and from the shadows emerged another shadow. A man draped entirely in black. At first glance one might think him a priest, with his hood pulled down over his head so that no portion of his face was visible. But on a second look it was not a cleric’s robe he wore.
In an instant Reena realized who stood before them, and she tensed. Whispered tales were told of him, though no identity or name was known. He was simply called the Dark One.
Chapter 17
“A drink?” Magnus offered, no tension evident in his voice, his body at ease as he moved away to fill three tankards of ale from the pitcher that was kept full on the small table near the window.
It appeared as though Magnus was acquainted with the Dark One. While relieved, Reena remained where she stood, staring at the cloaked figure, her heart beating rapidly and her hands itching to draw his ominous shape. She dared not look too closely, for it was whispered that whoever looked upon his face perished from fright. He blended with the shadows so skillfully that he could be present in a room without anyone’s knowledge. And with that skill he was able to accomplish remarkable feats, appearing and disappearing without a trace and taking with him whoever he chose.