Page 114 of Lady Knight and the Thief

Mr. and Mrs. Theodas Preceran.

“Torren,” she started, then cleared her throat. It had to be a joke. There was no way they were going to keep up this farce of a relationship for the guise of her protection at the ball.

No way.

“Duchess,” he drawled, and crossed his leg over the other to rest his ankle across his knee.

“Why does this sayMr. and Mrs.Theodas Preceran? I thought the plan was brother and sister?”

His eyebrows raised a fraction. “Does it? Hmm. Odd.”

“Don’t pretend to be clueless,” Cypress said and flopped back on the bench.

“I didn’t have anything to do with it,” Torren claimed, with his hand raised in supplication.

She narrowed her eyes at him. Cypress didn’t believe the act even for a second. “Sure you didn’t.”

“I can’t lie to ye, remember?”

Cypress pushed the tip of her tongue to the sharp point of one of her teeth.

Torren grinned.

Cypress sighed, then said, “Fine.”

“Fine.”

“That’s what I said. Fine. We’re Mr. and Mrs. Theodas Preceran, textile merchants from Brionneque.”

“So it would seem.”

“How long have we been together?”

That hungry smile was back on Torren’s face when he said, “Married under a year. We’re still…” he drifted off for a moment, eyes drifting over her body on the bench across from him. “Enthusiasticallyin love.”

“You’re incorrigible.”

“What, I didn’t say anything.”

“Is this all once again under the guise ofprotectingme?”

“I told you, I had nothing to do with the names, Lass.”

“No, but you sure are happy about tormenting me.”

Torren abruptly leaned forward.

Cypress thought the space was too small for the both of them as his grey eyes bounced from her eyes to her lips and back again. “I torment you, Lass?”

Come on, do something, Cypress begged, though would never voice the desire.

She just wished he would either stop with the act or just grab her and kiss her as he did in the library for just a moment.

Hungrily,passionately. Oh, Cypress ached for that kind of devotion.

Instead of admitting it, though, Cypress merely rolled her eyes and made herself comfortable on the bench, or at least tried to.

No matter which way she oriented her body, she just couldn’t get comfortable for longer than a few moments.