Rescuing Rapunzel (30 page)

The betrothal was not a small thing, and I had expected him to argue, to refuse… After all, he would lose his prize.

Yet he had not.

Nick pulled the carriage onto a path off the road, and already I could hear the water moving. He pulled to a stop, and helped me down.

“We have to walk from here,” he said. “The trees are too thick to drive the carriage the rest of the way.”

I nodded. Following him, I started to slip on some damp grass, and fell forward, catching myself on a tree trunk.

“Ohh,” I said as I stood.

“Are you all right?” Nick asked.

I rubbed the bark. “I am fine.” Some of it crumbled in my hand. “Oh! Did I break it?”

Nick smiled. “No, look.” He slipped his finger under the edge of a piece and broke it off. “As the trees get larger, the old comes off, and new bark grows in its place.” He handed me the piece.

Feeling the coarse texture on one side, I smiled, then turned it over. “Oh, it is smooth,” I said as I stroked the inside.

“Yes.” He pulled another piece off the tree. “When I was a child, I would put a stick, and maybe a few leaves into the holes, like this one.” He pointed at a tiny hole on the smooth side of the bark. “And I would sail them down the river, see how far they would go.”

I grinned. “Can we do that?”

“Certainly.” He took my hand and we headed further into the woods. The rushing water became louder as we walked, though not so loud that I could not hear his words.

“I used to come down here and fish a lot with Penn and Bryan. We were boys, and we would see what kind of feast we could catch.”

“Did you ever catch a feast?”

“No. This particular spot in the river has very few fish. Up stream, there are more pools where the fish linger. Down here, the water is too fast.”

We came through a break in the trees, and immediately I saw what he meant. Rocks jutted out of the water, some large, some small, so many rocks that the water snaked and sloshed around them, with little pools of white where it crashed against them.

Yet as chaotic as the movement was, I immediately felt peace. I inhaled deeply, just staring at the way the water moved.

“It is so peaceful here,” Nick said, letting go of my hand and moving off to the right, where a patch of green grass grew.

He removed a blanket from the basket and placed it on the ground. The bright white clashed with the soft greens and browns of the ground.

He sat on the blanket. “Have a seat.” He held out his hand to help me sit. Birds chirped in the air and a gentle breeze crept through the woods, making my short hair flutter around my face.

I smiled, brushing the strands away, the hair tickling along my neck as I joined him on the blanket.

Nick sat quite close to me because the blanket was not large enough for both of us. Even with the finger’s width of space between us, it still seemed I could feel Nick’s body touching mine. My skirts spread out, covering part of Nick’s leg, and I tried to tuck them beneath me, but with all the layers the fabrics would not cooperate, and I finally gave up.

“No need to fret about your skirts,” Nick said.

“I was not fretting, I just…”

Nick took my hand. “Please do not worry about being proper. I care not if you abide by propriety.”

I squeezed his hand. “I do not know what I should do. I want to be proper, to be a lady as I am supposed to be, as is expected of me, but at the same time, I want to be free of the rules and choose my own path.”

Nick laced his fingers with mine and caressed the back of my hand with his thumb. “Very seldom do ladies get to choose their own way.”

Tears filled my eyes. “I know.”

“You do get to choose.”

I shook my head. “I do not think so. I am not the proper lady Duchess von Stroebel expects for her daughter, I can already see that. Part of me wishes to fight the rules, yet the other part of me wants to be a good daughter. I wish her to approve of me.”

“You are alive. You have her approval.”

Tears gathered in my eyes, begging to be released, and a couple slipped out the corners. “I could never gain Moth–Gothel’s approval. I was never good enough, and I spent my entire life with her. How can I possibly be good enough for the von Stroebels?”

Nick pulled me closer to him, wrapping his arm around me. His chest was solid and warm, and I curled into him. “You are. You will be. They are probably as flummoxed as you are, for they have never been parents. Together you will find the way.”

“They wish for me to return with them tomorrow.”

“I know.” He ran his finger down my nose. “You should go with them.”

I sniffled against his chest. “And what about you?”

“I want you to do what you must. Walk in the world, feel the moss between your toes.”

I let out a snort of laughter. “I have not done that yet.”

He touched my chin, tipping my head to his. “There is no time like the present.”

“Thank you, Nick. Thank you so much.” Before I registered the movement as improper, I had my arms around his neck and my lips pressed to his. Nick’s arms encircled me, and he leaned back, guiding us to the ground as we kissed.

Kissing his cheek, I straddled him, my skirts like a blanket over our legs, and then looked into his blue eyes.

They were blue as midnight once more. “Anything for my Tressey.” He put his hand behind my head and pulled me down into another, much more intense kiss.

Doubts started sneaking into my mind. How could I reject a betrothal to a man I loved so deeply?

Chapter 44

Nick scratched at Tressey’s door–rather, the door in the secret passage–waiting for her to open it.

He had waited until everyone had retired and, while he did not know all that would happen, he hoped Tressey would welcome him into her arms. At least for a few kisses.

Tomorrow the von Stroebels would be leaving and Tressey with them.

The door cracked open and Tressey stood there in a simple white gown with a smile on her face. She looked tired, of course. They had spent much of the day at the river, stomping in the grass, splashing in the water and kissing. He could not forget that part–he still tasted her on his lips, felt the way her body melted into his, and heard her laughter in his ears.

It had been a perfect day.

The best gift he could give her, he thought–something perfect after a day of such sadness.

He was not ready for it to be over.

He stepped inside. “Tressey,” he whispered, taking her hand.

She immediately stepped into his embrace, wrapping her arms around him. “Nick,” she said, her head against his chest.

He placed a kiss on the top of her head. “I missed you.”

She giggled. “It has only been a few hours.”

“Nevertheless.”

She brought her head up, meeting his gaze. He ran his finger down her cheek, caressing her skin. She let out a breath, her eyes closing as his fingers slid over her mouth. Ever so slightly, she brought her lips together to kiss to his fingertips. He touched her bottom lip, and she kissed him again.

“You are so lovely,” he said, and this time, captured her lips with his. He did not let his passions control him, wanting to savor the moment. Tonight might very well be the last time he had with her for a great while. He slowly kissed her, opening her like a flower ready to bloom.

His Tressey wanted to bloom, he could feel it in her kiss. Her entire body hummed with anticipation. The kiss grew deeper and she slid her hands into his hair, groaning as he pulled her tight against his body.

Nick finally broke the kiss, needing a moment, because the sheer power of it had started to overtake him.

“I did not know if you would come,” Tressey said.

“Why would I not?” Nick replied.

She shrugged. “Today was quite eventful. Tomorrow will be full. I thought maybe…”

“Tonight is my last night with you.” He kissed her forehead. “I wish to savor every moment.”

Tressey smiled at him. “I want to as well.” He took her hands and led her to the small settee in her main parlor, dropping into it and pulling her onto his lap. She landed with a groan, giggling.

He held her in his lap, wrapping one arm around her neck, the other across her waist. The gown, while decent as propriety required, was also incredibly soft and glided over her skin as he held her.

Brushing his nose against hers, he said “So, how was your day?”

She laughed, tipping her head back to reveal the lovely arch of her throat. “You have been with me most of the day.” She stroked his cheek. “You know how my day went.”

He caught her palm and placed a kiss on the center of it. “Humor me. How was your evening?”

She smiled. “Well, I had a bath.”

“A bath,” he said, stroking her arm. “So you are clean and shiny and soft?”

She let out a sigh. “Yes.”

“Shall we test that?” he asked, bringing his fingers up to caress her shoulder and neck.

“Yes, please,” she replied, her head rocking to the side.

He touched her chin, and tipped her head down to his.

He kissed her on the lips, intending at first just to brush them, but wound up deepening it much faster when she wrapped her arms around his neck. He groaned, shifting her so that she pressed against him in all the right ways.

He caressed the edge of her breast with his fingertips while nibbling her ear. Tressey let out a squeal as he moved lower, tasting the soft skin of her throat. The lingering scent of roses teased his senses.

His restraint started to weaken.

Trying to regain some control, he tickled her sides, making her laugh, and tumbled off the settee with her, landing on the floor with a thump.

There was a knock at the door.

“My lady, do you need assistance?” called one of the guards outside.

Nick grinned, trying very hard to keep himself from laughing too loudly. Tressey pushed herself off the floor and stood just as the latch released on the door.

“Thank you, I am fine,” she said, walking toward the door. Fortunately, the settee’s position blocked the guards from seeing Nick on the floor. He hoped.

She took a few more steps toward the guard who had poked his head inside. “I could not sleep and I was pacing, and I stumbled, falling on the floor. Just a little accident, you see. Nothing to be concerned about.”

Nick looked through the legs of the couch, seeing nothing but her feet and the partially open door.

“If you are certain, my lady,” the guard said.

“Good night. It is getting late…” She shoved the door shut, and locked it. She spun around, her eyes wide. “Do you think they suspect anything?”

Nick stood. “If they did not, then they are not good guards.” He took her hands. “You, my lady, are a terrible liar.”

She blushed all the way down her neck, looking away from him. “I never claimed to be good at lying.”

He kissed her on the lips. “Hopefully you never need to.”

“I hope not,” she replied.

“Perhaps we should move somewhere more discreet,” Nick said, leading her to the bedroom and throwing the door shut. Tressey giggled as he threw the inner lock as well, but when he turned, her face was red again.

For a moment, they just stared at one another.

Nick was not sure what to do, and then Tressey spun and darted for the bed.

“Running away?” he said with a grin, and took off after her. He landed on the bed and pinned her beneath him.

Tressey smiled at him. “Now that you have me, what are you going to do to me?” Glancing at his mouth, she sucked her lip into her mouth, a bit of a smile on her face.

The heat that rushed through Nick overwhelmed him. He barely had a moment to think as he captured her lips with his. Tressey’s hips pressed into his, her legs opening as wide as her gown would allow, and he slipped into that heavenly cradle, setting his entire body aflame. He could not help but pause and bask in her beauty.

The flicker of the firelight danced over her face, making her glow. The light seemed to slide through her shift and make the white fabric almost transparent, defining every one of her curves for him.

He smiled, for his Tressey was exquisite. Under her shift, he could decipher her shape–hips, full and smooth, waist, small and dainty and chest, round and ready. Her beauty startled him.

“Nick,” she whispered, her voice hoarse. The sound went straight to his groin.

Touching her neck, he raised himself just enough to put a kiss on her throat, and she let out a most delicious little mew that only encouraged him to continue. Every part of him screamed for immediate release, to take her like an animal, to have her in the most primal way, but he refused to allow it. He wanted to make sure she was not terrified of his touch, of the feel of him against her.

He explored her waist and caressed her hips. Sliding over the curve where hip met leg, he smiled. The soft angle of skin was one of his favorite parts of the female anatomy. On her, it felt more perfect than he had even imagined, the angle exactly the right size, as though it had been made for his hand.