Page 25 of To Love

And there it was. The gauntlet had been thrown.

Elara did not pretend to misunderstand. If they would continue to work together, it may be better to discuss that which hung over them. Only a fool would deny the ardor between them.

“Both, it would seem.”

“As one skilled in political maneuvering, how do you suggest it best to separate the two when not doing so could have serious consequences?”

“By reminding oneself of those consequences, weighing them against the benefits.”

“A few moments of pleasure versus losing our standing here. If I am sent home, the possibility of achieving knighthood is all but eliminated.”

“If I am sent home with the current court intact,” she countered, “it could put my father, and myself, at great risk.”

“So ’tis settled. We ignore”—he waved a hand between them—“this . . . for the consequences are too grave to consider.”

“As well as the moral implications for both you as a man of chivalry and me as an unmarried woman,” she reminded him.

“Indeed.” He smiled. “As you often say.”

“Do I?” she asked, taking a sip of wine.

“Aye.”

A few moments of passion.

Elara had an inclination it would be much more than that between them, not that it mattered. She and Alden could never be.

“I am glad that we’ve acknowledged . . .” She waved a hand, similar to Alden. “This.”

“As am I,” Alden said. “And since we are doing so, I would also acknowledge that I’ve never met a woman as beautiful, and compelling, as you.”

Elara’s pulse raced. “Thank you for the compliment,” she said, knowing she should stop there, but something about Alden made her more reckless than usual. “I am equally impressed by your visage and intelligence. I’ve yet to learn a single ill trait of yours.”

There it was again, that jaw. Elara wished she could trace it with her fingertips.

“I’ve many,” he said. “But one you’d likely not care for if we were together.”

Intrigued, Elara had to ask. “Tell me.”

His eyes hardened in a way she’d never seen them do before. “If you were mine, Elara, you would be no one else’s. I can be overly . . .” His chin rose. “Possessive.”

Sucking in a breath, Elara tried to imagine what it would be like to have Alden possess her. As someone who considered herself free from the constraints often placed on women by society, that was certainly not a trait she admired.

And yet . . .

“I think,” she managed, forgetting already the consequences they’d discussed, “we should reconvene tomorrow.”

Chapter

Eleven

“How long has it been since we’ve all eaten a meal together?”

Lady Evelina, Gareth’s wife, asked the question as Alden sat. He was the last of them to the table, which included all four of his friends and Gareth and Roland’s wives.

“Too long,” Roland said, reaching for the pitcher of ale. “You should really dine in the hall more often,” he said to his wife, Amalia.

“There is a reason Lady Elara takes her meals in her own chamber, and why Evelina and I have followed suit.” Amalia nodded to the table next to them.