Page 135 of North Queen
She nodded, trying to act normal. “I’ll… be here.” She cursed herself. Where else would she be?
He nodded back. That seemed the end of his message, but he didn’t move to leave. His eyes shifted down to her hands again.
“Do you… want some honey?” She cursed herself again.Stupid.Of course he didn’t want honey. She bit her lip to keep from cringing. Gods help her.
He didn’t answer, and it only made it worse. But then he stepped closer. His eyes said he wantedsomething. She swallowed but didn’t move.
Slowly, he reached out and took her hand with the honey-dipped finger. She froze. Her breath stopped, and her pulse thrummed heavily in her ears. His eyes melded into hers as he brought her finger up and wrapped his lips around it.
His mouth was cool against the flame of her skin. The flick of his tongue, the graze of his teeth, sent prickles rippling across her body. Every hair stood on end. It was so brazen of him. And of her to let him. It was shameful, even though it wasn’t shame she felt.
She should stop him.
But she didn’t want to. So she didn’t.
Finally, he drew her finger from his mouth—slow, tortuous—and lowered her hand, releasing it.
Norah stood breathless.
The corner of his mouth turned up ever so slightly. “I’ll see you tomorrow, North Queen.”
She could only nod.
He turned and left, and she closed the door behind him, leaning back against it. Her heart still thundered. She could still feel his mouth, his tongue. The thoughts sent heat pooling to her stomach. This man. She didn’t know what to do about him, didn’t know what to think.
He knew no boundaries, no restraint. Alexander would never—
Alexander—she pushed him from her mind. She couldn’t think about Alexander right now.
She needed air. A walk. Something. She couldn’t wait for Vitalia to get back with the dresses. She pulled a green front-laced gown from the side dressing room and shuffled it on. Grabbing her cloak, she slipped on her shoes and then swept out of the chamber and down the hall.
Her guard picked up behind her, and she fastened her cloak around her shoulders as she walked.
“Do you plan to go outside, North Queen?” a guard asked from behind.Sonal. With Vitalia’s help, she was learning to tell the guards apart. She didn’t like Sonal. He wasn’t accommodating like Kiran, and she didn’t like the way he called her North Queen.
She kept walking.
“You’ve only two guards,” came his voice again.
“Then you’d better find two more before I reach the door.” She walked quickly, hoping to avoid anyone who might stop her, like the lord commander, or the captain. As she reached the entry hall, two more guards fell instep behind her.
That wasn’t as difficult as she’d expected.
“Where are you going?” Sonal asked.
She didn’t answer, giving the guard a taste of their own medicine. But the corners of her mouth drew up. She knew exactly where she was going. The mare.
Outside, the air was chilly, and she pulled the hood of her cloak up but inhaled deeply. It felt good to get out of the castle—to set her mind on something other than Mikael and the morning’s happening. The brief thought again brought a heat to her lower stomach, and she pushed it away.
The castle grounds were expansive, easily double the size of her castle in Mercia, and beautiful. The main courtyard had three fountains and a wide cobblestone path for daily markets and activities. Meticulously kept hedges surrounded the outer edges, and the long side garden that Kiran showed her before held even more topiaries. She lengthened her stride toward the stable.
The inside of the stable was almost as grand as the inside of the castle, with stacked stone lifting the ceiling high to let in the light and beautiful dark-wood stalls lining both sides. Most of the stalls were empty and large enough to fit at least three horses. Then she reached one that was occupied and realized perhaps they weren’t—she’d forgotten how massive the destriers were.
A knicker sounded from an end stall, and she immediately knew it was the mare. She smiled and hurried toward it. When she reached it, she looked through the top bars, and her smile widened. The mare tossed her head and let out a squeal, as if just as happy to see her.
The stall doors were split in half, with most top doors open for the horses to hang their heads out, but the mare’s was closed. Norah reached for the latch.
A gravelly voice, foreign and angry, called out from her right.
