“Your Highness?” said the guard at the front door.
I slipped my cigarette case from my purse.
“Please,” I whispered. “Don’t tell.”
He smiled. “Certainly not. But don’t go too far. The wolves of the valley always go hunting in the newly fallen snow. They don’t usually attack humans but you never know…if they see a woman on her own… Just don’t go too far, and shout for help if you need it. I’ll be right here. But my lady, allow me to fetch your coat…”
I shook my head. I wanted the cold. I was hungry for it. Perhaps it might clear my mind.
“I’ll be fine. I won’t be a moment. But thank you,” I said, as I stepped outside into the frigid air. I lit my cigarette and paced down the driveway, then back. Back and forth, back and forth, trying to calm my nerves.
It wasn’t working. Not even close.
I lit one clove cigarette off of another and paced further down the drive, past the semi-circle of light cast by the gas lights that flanked the front door. Just as I pivoted on my toe to return to the house, I slipped in the wet snow, flailing until I collided with an oncoming massive man’s frame, sending my cigarette case flying in a high arc. The moonlight flickered off the sterling as it disappeared down a steep bank on the other side of the driveway.
“No!” I whispered, watching it disappear.
I couldn’t see the man, it was too dark and I was too far from the light, but I knew instantly whoever he was, he was huge. Solid like stone. And he smelled delicious. Like some exotic spiced coffee and oiled leather.
“Holy shit,” he boomed as he grabbed me to keep me from falling. “Are you alright?”
“My cigarette case!” I said. “It was a gift!”
I moved through the deeper snow to the edge, looking over, and to my surprise, so did he.
“It’s lost.” I was almost in tears at the thought. “This isn’t fair,” I said, aware that I was whining like a child, but in that moment I felt like a child.
“We’ll find it.” His voice was deep and reassuring. “But it’s too cold for you to be out here like this. I’ll have men search this spot with torches, and if they can’t find it, I’ll search again at first light. You have my word; it will be returned to you.”
“I don’t… I can’t leave without it…”
“You have my word. Now, come inside.”
The deep timbre of his voice somehow got through to me, reassuring me that yes, he would do as he said, and that I could be sure that when this man promised something he would move heaven and earth to make it happen. I let him take me by the arms and move me into the light, where he clasped my hands in his own enormous ones to help warm them up.
That was when I saw his face for the first time. And he was beautiful. A rugged jawline, a careless sexy beard of stubble, intense eyes set under a hard brow which matched the cut angles of the rest of his face.
My thoughts immediately flashed to the fairy-tale princes from stories of my youth that I was too sensible to believe existed.
I knew at once it was Vasile—he had his father’s eyes: dark, burnished gold with flecks of red, framed by dark lashes and sharp cheekbones. But that was where the comparisons ended. This man was heart-stoppingly beautiful. And, apparently, my brother-in-law to be.
“Are you Vasile?”
“I am,” he said, gazing down at me, seemingly as mesmerized with me as I was with him. “You are to be my new sister-in-law, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” I said, barely a whisper.
“Jesus.” He released a disappointed-sounding growl.
I swallowed hard and blinked up at him.
“Are you… are you leaving?” I asked, finally yanking my eyes away from his.
He was dressed simply in a heavy coat and boots, without furs or finery, and he was heading down the driveway away from the main house when I bumped into him. Which meant that he had been here all along, and had simply chosen not to join us for dinner.
Was that rude, or just intriguing? Why had he decided this dinner wasn’t worth his time?
He didn’t look away.
He didn’t even step away.
Instead, he gripped my shoulders firmly and drew me closer to him. Close enough to feel the heat of his body spilling into mine.
Never in my life had I felt so small or delicate.
Never in my life had I felt this sort of wanting.
My desire for him was instant and overpowering, causing my stomach to flutter and my heart to speed.
When I raised my eyes to his again, they were in exactly the same place they’d been before.
Waiting for me. Studying me. Memorizing me.
Wanting me as much as I was wanting him, I told myself.