He heard Dawn before he saw her. He knew her footfalls, though they had changed some since she belonged to him. They had always been a flurry of quick bursts, as if she was in a hurry or fearful of someone following after her. Lately, however, her steps had slowed, as if she finally felt safe.
He stretched his arm out, offering his hand. She rounded the table and laced her fingers with his. He tugged her down on his lap and kissed her, savoring the taste. He got greedy for more and explored her warm, soft neck, nipping in between kisses.
He felt her sigh deep in her chest like the contented purr of a cat. He wanted to make her purr some more, but not here. “Come upstairs with me,” he whispered in her ear.
Her shoulders slumped and she frowned, showing her disappointment.
“What is wrong?”
She gestured slowly, her frown deepening.
“Do not worry over Torr and Wintra? All will work well for them.”
Dawn raised her brow, shrugged and tapped his chest.
“How do I know? Simple. Fate brought them together, since they are perfect for each other. And fate will let nothing stand in their way, besides fate has me to help her.”
She gave him a questionable look.
“Are you questioning my ability to make sure fate gets her way?”
She nodded and gestured.
“You think I keep secrets from you?” he asked as if stricken by her query.
She nodded again and jabbed him in the chest.
He laughed and grabbed his chest. “You wound me, woman.”
She tapped his chest several times, tapped his mouth repeatedly, and shook her finger at him.
He laughed again. “I better tell you or else?”
She gave a curt bob of her head and folded her arms across her chest.
“Determined are you?”
Her chin went up to show just how much.
Her smile vanished as his eyes took on a predatory glare before he lowered his lips to her exposed neck and began to nibble at her soft skin.
She reluctantly pushed him away and scurried off his lap, then stamped her foot as her hands went to rest at her hips.
Even though he scowled, he could not keep the humor out of his voice. “Are you challenging me?”
She bobbed her head.
He stretched as he stood and watching his muscles strain against his shirt and seeing passion smolder in his dark eyes turned her legs weak.
Cree snatched her up in his arms before she could stop him, not that he thought she would. He saw at the exact moment desire hit her and he had every intention of satisfying her need, and his own.
“I will hear no more protests. We will finish this discussion upstairs,” he said and took the stairs two at a time.
~~~
Wintra watched Kellmara pace in front of the hearth in Cree’s solar. He had directed her to sit after they had entered, saying they had much to discuss, but he had yet to start the discussion. He just kept pacing while his brow creased in thought. As she continued to watch him, she wondered if that was how she looked when she drifted off into her musings.
Had she inherited the trait from her father? Her father. Was Kellmara truly her father? She had believed that she and Cree had shared the same father for so long that it was difficult to think otherwise. To her, her father was dead. Would she be able to accept this man as her da?
Kellmara finally stopped pacing and looked at Wintra. “I want what is best for you.”
“How do you know what is best for me when you do not know me?”
“I would like to rectify that.”
“How? By taking my husband, the man I love, away from me?” Wintra asked as if she could not believe her own words.
“I was told you loved someone else.”
She sighed, her shoulders slumping. “Owen. I rue the day I met him.”
“I am learning that he is not who he claims to be.”
“He is a selfish, heartless man.”
“He had convinced me otherwise,” Kellmara said annoyed. “I should have known better, but I was so overjoyed with the news that I had a daughter that I was not as cautious as I should have been. And when Owen had sent news that he had gotten you out of the abbey and was on the way home with you, I thought he was a man of his word, for he had done what he had promised.”
“And what promise was that?”
“He promised to bring you home to me, and he would have if Torr had not interfered.”
“You mean my husband.”
“A husband chosen for you by the King,” Kellmara reminded.
“How did you come to know that?”
“I had petitioned the King to claim you as my daughter. He informed me that he had wed you to Torr by proxy. I then petitioned him to annul the marriage since you were my daughter and for whatever reason he had married you to someone, to now claim it invalid.” He shook his head. “But he placated me and sent me on this useless mission, knowing Cree would have his way.”