A Kiss of Fire (A Kiss of Magic #2)(96)
“It would take him far longer to drum up an army than it will take for me to win you to my side.”
This remark sobered her. She frowned. “You should not have come all the same.”
“Are you not happy to see me then? I thought you missed me.”
“Oh I missed you terribly,” she breathed, combing loving fingers through his hair. “And it eases my heart to see you here beside me. But I would not have you or your people endangered because of me.”
“They would be in danger without you, for their ruler would die of a broken heart and that would leave them in the hands of my treacherous brother and his overbred line.”
“You cannot die of a broken heart,” she said. “And you would not allow your feelings to get in the way of your rule.”
“Wouldn’t I? Look at all I have done just to follow my heart. Look at all the risks I have taken just for the chance to have you. I am not at my best as a ruler when it comes to being denied you.”
This was a very sobering thought to the ruler inside of Ariana. “No one should come between you and your people.”
This made him frown and he sat up away from her, running a hand through the hair her fingers had so recently mussed. He looked away from her as his jaw tightened.
“Does this mean you will put your people above your desire for me yet again?”
“I cannot ignore the needs of my people,” she said. “However…in this case…I will follow my heart.”
“Even if it leads you back to Kilt?”
“Even then,” she whispered, sitting up and reaching for him. She wrapped her arms around his brawny shoulders and hugged him to herself. “There is a solution to this. I simply need to make Mason and Jutsin aware of my feelings on the matter. But I had hoped to give them time to get used to the idea of you paying me court first.”
“Very well. I will give you the time you need. But I am warning you, Ariana. I will not leave without you.”
She should be offended by his highhanded remark, but she was not. Instead she found herself thrilled by it. He was determined to fight for her, whatever the cost to himself or his country. There was something incredibly flattering in that. And it spoke of his devotion to her. To them.
“I love you,” she said softly against his ear. She was trying to reassure him. “I don’t want you to go without me.”
His breath caught and he looked at her.
“Are you saying…you’ll give all of this up and come be with me? That you think you can be happy doing so?”
“I am saying we will find a solution that allows me to be with you. What it is I don’t know yet. But we will figure it out.”
He reached for the back of her head and pulled her in to kiss her wildly. He dragged her across his lap, cradling her in his arms as he continued to kiss her as deeply as he dared.
This time, when he took her, it was with determined purpose and attention to the very tiniest detail. He marked her, spoiled her for any other man. She couldn’t imagine ever wanting anyone else this strongly. She couldn’t imagine ever being in anyone else’s arms ever again.
He was hers, she was his. And now, nothing could keep them apart.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Sin was living in the same building as Ariana, staying in the diplomats’ quarters at the opposite end of the capitol building. But he may as well have been living in Ariana’s quarters, for he slept there every night, in her bed, after making love to her as thoroughly as he possibly could. If there were any lingering effects of his injuries, she certainly could not find them.
The public sentiment over their courtship was strangely mixed. Ariana had thought they would be dead set against it, practically revolting in the streets, but Mason handled the press adroitly, making certain all news reported in the gossip papers reflected a feeling of intrigue and excitement over the match. It was no easy task, since Sin had been responsible for the war that had taken so many Saren lives. Of course there were those who spit on anything having to do with the Kiltians or Kilt, but time would heal the worst of the wounds inflicted. To Sin’s surprise Ariana stuck to her guns when faced with any negativity from her people. Instead of trying to please them, for a change she pleased herself first and then dealt with the fallout from it afterward.
They made their courtship quite public. She refused to hide with him behind capitol building walls. She brought him out to see every corner of her city. They ate publicly. They walked the slushy streets together. They were not foolish however. There was always a contingent of guards with them and Lindo attended them and kept his mind open to any possible threats.
It was two weeks later when she called Mason and Jutsin into one of the meeting rooms, Sin and Lindo standing to one side of the room as she had Mason and Jutsin take seats. She did not sit herself. She was too anxious.
“I need your help,” she said, clasping and unclasping her fingers nervously.
“We will always do anything to help you,” Jutsin said amicably.
“I wish to live in Kilt with Sin, and I need a way to resolve that with my role as a leader for the people.”
She had expected an explosive response, though she had hoped they had adjusted to the possibility of just such an outcome after these weeks of seeing her and Sin together. They had made no secret of their feelings for one another. One only need look at them together and they would realize what their feelings were.