Page 61 of Tangled Sails

She nodded. “And that included being together and laughing together, talking about hard things and happy things. I shared my burdens with you and you were honest with me. You listened to me.” She pressed a hand to her heart as if my simple act of listening had been some great gift. “Tavric, the people who came to my tower only wanted to take from me. With the exception of Gregor, they didn’t want to know me. They didn’t want to hear what was on my mind or in my heart. They didn’t care if I was sad, so they never bothered to make me smile. You think you’ve taken from me, and you have, but I was more than willing to give, and you gave me just as much in return. Do you regret giving me so much?”

“I didn’t give anything.”

She took two steps and put her small hands on either side of my neck, forcing me to look at her. “You gave me everything,” she said with a sternness that surprised me. “You asked me not just what I needed, but what I wanted, and then you just…gave it—with no thought of what I could give you in return. You gave me earth and flower and ocean. You taught me to dance. You gave me companionship and kindness.” Moving her hands from my neck, she instead shoved at my chest in frustration. “How can you say that’s nothing when those things are exactly what I’ve craved for years?”

Her words made sense, but I was afraid to really believe them. “I just don’t want to hurt you more.”

She grabbed the front of my shirt. “Then stop pushing me away,” she begged, emotion suddenly choking her voice.

The great iron gate I’d been using to lock away all my inconvenient longing for her broke open, unlocked by her pleading eyes. And as we stood there, so close, breathing each others’ air, I made a decision.

I covered her small hands with mine and tugged them gently from my shirt, then moved them up and around me, reveling in the feel of her fingers resting against the back of my neck.

Her eyes widened a bit, and I appreciated the small gasp of surprise that made her lips pop open.

“Is this better?” I asked as I threaded my own hands around her waist.

She gave a silent and quick nod of her head.

The words I love you clung to my tongue and pushed at the back of my teeth, but I swallowed them down. Not yet, my mind prompted. I wanted so much to confess my feelings, to kiss her, but instead I rested my temple against hers and closed my eyes. “I want you and I need you, but I’m scared I won’t be good for you,” I admitted.

“You are.” She angled her face so that her lips were wonderfully, torturously close to mine. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” The words fanned over my own mouth.

Kissing her suddenly became a necessity. In that moment, it was no longer a choice; it was simply what must be done. So I did. I pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, worried that too much would overwhelm her, but as soon as I pulled back, she chased after me, reclaiming the kiss and pulling me closer.

I kissed her again, slow and sweet, feeling my whole body sigh into her as I let go of my worry and allowed myself to love her. Because that was the truth of the matter—I loved her.

Pulling back again, I skimmed the backs of my fingers down her cheek, swimming in the realization of just how much I loved this woman and everything that meant. I’d known her for so little time, and my head wanted to argue that loving her could not happen so fast, but my heart was sure.

She smiled up at me, clearly content with this new development.

“I missed you,” I confessed in a bare whisper. “It was only a few days, but I couldn’t really breathe without you, my love.” The endearment slipped past my throat without my permission.

She snuggled closer and buried her face in my neck, breathing me in like I’d seen her do with the soil outside.

“Tell me what you’ve been doing these past days. I want to know everything.”

She stiffened and I ran my own words through my head. What had I said?

Chapter eighteen

LYRIELLE

I’d been sewing mourning clothing for his mother. That was what I’d been doing.

I wanted to tell him everything, especially about Harlan and the revelation about his origins. Actually, what I really wanted was to go back to kissing him. I wanted to talk about this new feeling between us and just take a moment to be. I wanted to revel in the fact that he’d called me his love. But all that black fabric I’d been sewing needed to be addressed first. Tavric was drowning under the weight of the throne, and there was one very important thing that I could do to relieve him of that burden.

“I’ll happily tell you about my days, but will you take me to see your father first?”

Confusion pinched his eyes. “Why?”

“Please, Tav?”

My use of his nickname softened him immediately. “Very well.” He took my hand and led me to the door, still in his trousers and shirt. No vest or jacket. It was a stark contrast to the formal costume he’d worn earlier. I greatly preferred him this way.

He didn’t drop my hand as we traversed the hallway. “You can check in on my father. It’s time I did the same anyway. But once you’ve seen him, I want to know everything that is on your mind.” He cut his eyes over to me.

“You can know it all.” I wanted nothing more, but it was time for me to heal Tav’s father.