Once Upon a Castle - Jill Gregory [123]
“Oh!” Tressalara gasped as if he were an apparition. Her thoughts had been full of him, and now he was here, as if her longing had conjured him up.
His nearness robbed her of breath. For the first time she acknowledged the strong hold he had over her. She couldn’t even say a word in greeting for fear of giving herself away. He was expecting Trev, a callow youth—not a young woman smitten dumb by her attraction to a man who was almost a total stranger.
Cador was having his own problems and didn’t notice her hesitation. He fought against the overwhelming urge to touch her. But it was imperative that he gain her confidence. If he frightened her now, it would ruin everything. He must keep that thought foremost in his mind, push away the need and longing that could undo all his careful plans.
“I came seeking you. I hear that Kegi has used you ill during my absence.”
Tressalara shrugged and found her voice. As long as they talked of ordinary business, she could keep up the pretense. “There is much work to be done for so large and growing an army. I was glad to contribute my share.”
She started up the incline, and her foot slipped on the mossy ground. Cador shot out a hand to catch her. As his calloused palm closed over hers, she made a small sound of pain.
“What is it?” His voice was rough. “Are you injured?”
“No. It’s nothing.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” Drawing her into a patch of moonglow, he turned her slender hands palm up. Even in the dim light he could see that her skin was raw and blistered, covered with dozens of nicks and cuts and scrapes. All his good intentions flew out the window. Lifting her hands to his lips, he kissed her bruised fingers tenderly.
His mouth was soft and ardent, and the touch of his lips sent her blood racing through her body. Her insides were melting with heat. Tressalara was too confused by her tangled emotions to speak, to even think.
“Forgive me, my lady,” he murmured. “Only a rogue would so misuse a princess.”
His action sent a paralyzing languor through her body. Then his words sank in. Startled and dismayed, she jerked back. Cador kept hold of her hands, which trembled in his. She tried to recover. “What?” she asked shakily. “A princess? You have been at the ale casks, Cador.”
“I am neither drunk nor blind,” he answered. “You are the Princess Tressalara, heiress to the throne. You have nothing to fear from me, lady. I have known your secret from the start and kept it. No one in this camp knows your true identity. Not even Brand. It is safer that way.”
The pretense was over. Tressalara lifted her head defiantly. “You must wonder, then, to find me in such a sorry state.”
The story of her flight from Lector tumbled out. It was a relief to speak of it. In the past week she had almost begun to think that she was Trev, that her previous life had been nothing but a dream. The tears she had denied so long threatened to spill over in earnest. She blinked them away and realized that Cador still held her hand.
Her pride and courage humbled him. He had come to Amelonia seeking only revenge against Lector. But here was a woman—nay, a princess—worthy of his loyalty. And his heart. Without relinquishing her hand, he knelt at her feet and fixed his piercing blue gaze upon her face.
“All I have and all I am I pledge to you, lady. I vow that I will dedicate both my sword and my life to your cause. Will you accept my service?”
Her doubts vanished like morning mist on the river. Tressalara realized they had been just as insubstantial, and her heart overflowed with gratitude. “Gladly.” A smile lurked at the corners of her mouth. “Even though you are the most obstinate, pigheaded, domineering man it has ever been my misfortune to meet!”
He laughed up at her. Something passed between them in that instant. Cador lowered his head and pressed his lips against the back of her hand. A jolt of sensation shot up Tressalara’s arm until it tingled. She felt as if she’d been struck by lightning, and left giddy and confused. She could scarcely meet his eyes.
“Rise, Cador,” she said quickly. “Here I am