Page 58 of Ballad of Sea and Sky

“What did he say?” Caspian asked, looking down at me and pulling the wet and only semi waterproof seal skin more tightly around me as I shivered.

“He said his name is Rannoch,” I explained, looking up at his face, the edge of relief now cut with panic over the kiss which had definitely been mutual this time. “And we have to return tomorrow to pay the debt I owe him.”

“I thinkweowe the debt,“ Caspian said wryly, lifting my wet hair out of the skin so that my back was wrapped in warm fur. He looked down at me, his jaw tight as if he too were now realizing what we had done and trying to figure out how to deal with it. He sighed, shaking his head and looking up at the sky. “And I think you and I will need to have a talk.”

Chapter 22

Thetrekbacktothe hut was silent, aside from our squelching and stumbling and the occasional curse. I was too wrapped up in a combination of panic and dread and anticipation, the knowledge that we would have to end whatever this was between us before it had even begun sitting like a weight in my gut.

Caspian swore as he opened the door, the scent of acrid smoke burning my nostrils as steam engulfed us. I had forgotten to smother the fire, and it had burned itself out and burned off the contents of the pot, leaving a charred, smoky mess.

“Sorry,” I sighed, trying to wave the smoke and steam out of the hut with my damp sealskin. It was incredibly heavy, and it would likely need a whole day to dry out. I hung it over the back of the rickety chair, crossing my arms over my chest to hide my breasts. The makeshift shirt was soaked, and I was sure everything was visible under the sailcloth.

Caspian didn’t reply, and I turned to see him practically holding himself back in the frame of the door, his knuckles white against the wood. I flushed. The skirt was soaked through too, and everything—everything—was visible. I grabbed a dry seal skin from the bed, throwing it over my shoulders as I shimmied out of the wet things. They would need to dry, and I would just have to bundle up like a seal in the meantime.

I folded myself into the far corner of the bed, tucking my knees up and checking I was completely covered.

Caspian’s hand on the door flexed, the wood creaking beneath his hand.

“Marina,” he said, his voice deeper and huskier than usual. He shook his head, his damp white hair falling about his face. His normal half-bun had come loose, and he looked gloriously feral. “We need to talk.”

“I know,” I said, feeling a rush of wildness sweep through me, as if looking at him brought out something equally dark and wind-kissed in me. “But I don’t want to.”

Caspian groaned, his desires very apparent through the fabric of his trousers. “You have no idea how long I have been fighting the urge to take every part of you and make it mine, Marina,” he said, dropping his head back against the doorframe as if in defeat. My chest swelled at this admission, and heat curled low in my belly at the suggestion in his voice. “But we can’t do this.”

My heart thumped heavily, in warning or protest I wasn’t sure. “I know,” I repeated, letting the sealskin fall away from my shoulders just a tiny bit. I was no expert at seduction, but I wasn’t sure that Caspian needed a lot of seducing at this point. “Why did you kiss me?”

“Which time?” Caspian asked, a wicked, purely male grin curving his lips, momentarily replacing his reticence.

“You feathery ass!” I exclaimed. “Youdorememberkissing me on the beach.”

“I promise you, Marina, that my ass isnotfeathery,“ he replied, his tone both imperious and oddly seductive. “And I do. I chalked it up at the time to relief that we had survived, but clearly there was more to it.”

“You speak as if you don’t know what you feel,” I pointed out, gripping the sealskin tighter before it dipped too low and hitching it a little higher on one side.

“I don’t,” he confessed. “And I do. I know what Iwant,Marina. I’ve been fighting it since the moment you were reckless enough to enter my cell in that blasted stone keep your father calls a palace. The problem is inhavingit.”

His confession was so similar to the thoughts that had been plaguing me, I almost laughed. “That long? Really?”

“That long,” he agreed, giving me a heated look that made warmth and desire curl tight inside me.

“You don’t even really know me,” I pointed out equitably, not sure if I was trying to convince him or myself. “And I don’t know you.”

“It would be a monumentally bad idea to do this,” Caspian agreed, eyes raking over my body as if he could see what lay under the skins.

“Ruinous,” I agreed, my heart beating a little fast as the color of his eyes shifted from amber to burnished gold. “You are my enemy.”

“And you are mine,” Caspian said, the words not carrying quite the meaning he intended as my body thrummed with need. It had been so long since I’d been touched or held or romanced. I couldn’t imagine Vitulus making me feel the way I did right now, all heat and desire and abandon.

Seas, Vitulus.

“And I’m betrothed,” I added, feeling like one of us needed to bring it up. “Very publicly betrothed.”

“And you loathe me,” he rumbled, the statement almost a question.

“My father would never approve.”

“My people would give me hell,” he added, taking a full step into the room and letting the door slam. It was wholly dark, but I could see him perfectly with my heightened eyesight.