The Myatheira Chronicles: Volume Two: Beyond the Veil (76 page)

“I can put a shirt on if you prefer…”

“No, you are… fine,” she waved dismissively, moving her hand away from him. Gently she pulled herself up further to meet his gaze. It would be impossible to say anything if she continued to avoid looking him in the eye. “Words fail me,” she frowned. “Let me try something else.”

Before she could change her mind, she leaned forward, eyes closed, counting on her instincts to guide her as she let her lips press against Callum’s. He inhaled sharply, flinching at her advance. At least he didn’t push her away. When she moved back she could see a look of exasperation on Callum’s face. “Okay,” he stated firmly. “I think some words are necessary.”

“Was it not obvious what I’m trying to say?” she asked, her voice trembling noticeably from her overactive nerves.

He stared at her, unmoving, seemingly afraid to blink in fear of what she might do. “Aiva, the last time you kissed me, you claimed to have no idea what you were doing. As I recall, that ended with you loudly accusing me of somehow violating you against your will. Forgive me if your lips tend to send mixed signals.”

A grimace contorted her features at the memory. She deserved that. He had every right to question her. “A lot has changed since that night, Callum. I jumped into the sea and dragged your dying body halfway through a jungle. I think I have a better idea of what I’m doing now than I did then.”

“Then say it, Aiva,” he said quietly. “Why can’t you put it into words? Because I would really like to know what’s going on inside your head.”

This was her moment. It was now or never. Swallowing her pride, she choked back her fear, gazing into Callum’s eyes with every ounce of sincerity she possessed. “I love you, Callum,” she whispered. “I have since before you left me in the gardener’s shed that afternoon.”

“Then why have you pushed me away?”

“Because I was afraid. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.” She felt tears building in her eyes.
Focus
. There was still more to be said before she let herself weep in his arms. “I didn’t realize how I felt until you kissed me. I heard nothing for so long and when you came back, I tried to hate you for leaving. I’ve been so afraid to let you in out of fear that you will leave me again. But I’ve realized if I don’t let you in, then I have already lost you… and that hurts more than I can bear.”

Callum stared downward, breathing heavily as if someone had punched him in the stomach. She longed for him to say something. Anything. She needed to know what he was thinking.

“Can you forgive me, Callum?” she pleaded, wrapping her arms around his shoulders in a desperate embrace. To feel close to him. She could sense that he was hurting but she didn’t know how to make it stop. “Can you kiss me and promise you will never leave me again?”

He was battling himself in the depths of his mind. Oh, how she wished she could get inside his head! She gasped at the sudden movement of his body twisting toward her, taking her in his arms, lips pressed passionately against hers. Her heart raced from the unexpectedness of the motion, giving in to the experience. It was pleasant. There was no fear the way she’d felt with Dacian. No uncertainty like that night in the desert. This was what she wanted. In that moment everything felt right.

Pulling away only enough to get a breath, Callum continued to hold Aiva’s head in his hands, forehead rested against hers, his chest rising and falling with every haggard intake of air. “I could never leave you again,” he whispered. “I have regretted doing so since I climbed into that carriage to leave for my training. You have no idea how much it has eaten away at me inside.”

Overcome with joy, Aiva tugged him to her again. He loved her. He still loved her! Nothing in the world could compare to the happiness she felt. At her side she felt his hand along her waist, drawing her in closer. She gave in to the pull willingly, a shiver coursing through her spine to feel his hand slide over her hip, brushing the bare skin of her leg where the fabric split. This was what she wanted. Confident in her decision, she let her hand lift to the laces on her bodice, fumbling to tear them free.

Callum gasped, overwhelmed by their position, staring down at her hand fearfully. “Aiva,” he breathed. “We shouldn’t.”

“Why?” she asked, challenging him to come up with a single reason why they couldn’t be together. He was her husband. It seemed only right that they lay together, the way they should have done on their wedding night. Not giving him a chance to respond, she kissed him again, drawing him into the heat of the moment. He continued to wage some internal struggle, tearing free once again, requiring more willpower than before.

“Your annulment…”

“Oh, hush,” she said, offended by the statement. He was still convinced that she wanted to end their marriage? How could he possibly think that while sitting there with her in his arms? With a final tug she released the laces of her bodice, lightly letting her fingertips brush along Callum’s cheek. “I never wanted that silly annulment,” she whispered. “And neither did you.”

“How do I know you won’t change your mind again?”

“You are my Prince, Callum. The decision is mine. If I go back on it once the deed is done, there is no one to blame but myself.”

Tenderly she pulled his lips into hers to quiet his unnecessary protests. Whatever fears he had, she knew he didn’t have to worry. It was just a matter of making him see the same. With her hand cupped lightly behind his neck she guided him down on top of her as she lowered onto her back. He made no move to stop her, caught up in her embrace. Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to do the same. She didn’t want to think anymore. And come morning, the concerns they had about their feelings for one another would finally be laid to rest.

Drifting in and out of sleep Aiva listened to the steady beat of Callum’s heart where her head rested atop his chest. Curled at his side she felt his fingertips softly play over the skin of her arm wrapped across his midsection, a gentle touch, as if to reassure her that he was still there. It was a soothing sensation. Every stroke of his hand lulled her into a state of near-sleep, her body fighting to stay awake.

She struggled to open her eyes as she tilted her head upward, smiling dreamily at Callum. He returned the smile, the corners of his mouth faltering slightly. Through her sleep-filled thoughts she could see the uncertainty in his expression. But why? What could he possibly question? She was there with him. What more could he need to ease his mind? “Callum?”

“Yes, Aiva?”

Their voices were mere whispers. From their close proximity, it didn’t seem necessary to speak any louder. With a sigh of content Aiva closed her eyes, taking in the feeling of everything around her. She wished Callum could share her joy. Instead she was becoming more aware of the tenseness in his body. As if he was afraid she would flee from his arms. “Why do you worry?” she asked quietly.

He gave a breath that sounded like a laugh, squeezing Aiva tightly at his side. “I have been afraid to close my eyes in fear I’ll discover this to be nothing more than my imagination. As long as I’m awake, I can feel you here, and I know you’re real and not just a very vivid dream.”

“I assure you I’m real,” Aiva smiled. She stretched her neck to place a loving kiss upon his lips, staring fondly into his eyes. “I wish there was more I could do to ease your mind.”

“My mind is slowly easing,” he replied softly. “I simply wasn’t expecting this. My mind is racing and I can’t keep up with it. There are so many questions I have, but to ask them now would ruin everything and I just want to enjoy holding you a while longer.”

“You say that as if the questions you have will make me change my mind about us.”

“That is exactly the problem,” he turned his gaze toward the ceiling. “If you change your mind about us, I can no longer let you go so easily.”

“I’m not going to change my mind. It took longer than it should have for me to reach the decision I think I knew all along. Rest assured that my mind is made up.” She shook her head, nuzzling closer to Callum to breathe in the scent of his skin. “I can’t imagine life without you. There is no one else I could ever see as my King. Had I been old enough to understand my feelings before you left the first time, I might have ruined us both that day in the gardener’s shed.”

He laughed quietly at the thought, bringing Aiva’s hand up to kiss the back of it. “That certainly would have changed the course of events significantly.” A grin spread across his face. Under the weight of her body Aiva felt Callum start to relax, his face buried in her hair. “Especially if our parents had discovered us. I daresay, my head would have been removed from my shoulders. Though I admit, my memory lingers so much on our friendship from the past that I tend to forget we are married – which has caused me to suffer an occasional fear that such a fate will still befall me if anyone were to discover what we have done.”

Past conversations floated into Aiva’s mind, causing her to laugh at his sudden admission. She had questioned him about his feelings toward their past and present relationship. At the time he claimed to find nothing strange about it at all. “You contradict something you once said,” she chortled, nudging him playfully with her foot under the blankets. “I asked you when we were in Tunir if you found it strange to consider me as a woman instead of the girl you played with as a child. You told me you didn’t.”

“I also said I believed it was easier for me not to find it strange because of the fact that I knew I couldn’t have you. Now that I have, I must admit I have found some of my thoughts rather strange.” He stared forward, lost in his head before suddenly drawn back to reality, glancing down at Aiva with a smile. “For instance,” he chuckled. “While lying here with you in my arms, I was watching you sleep. The first thought to cross my mind was how beautiful you are and how undeserving I am of your affection. Oddly enough, the second thought I had was how Edric would kill me if he knew I touched you. That isn’t a typical thought a husband should have when lying with his wife.”

She blushed to think of Edric. Callum was right. She remembered Edric’s protectiveness when it came to men. He would likely take issue with the mere thought of her and Callum being so close, regardless of their marital status. “Yes, I think it may be best if we not bring this up around my brother,” she agreed, smiling to herself in amusement. “I don’t think he would want to know.”

A commotion in the hallway drew their attention away from one another. Through the door they could hear the sound of someone shouting, footsteps clattering along the floorboards. Sitting up in bed, Callum hugged Aiva tightly against his chest, muscles tensed, brow furrowed in concern. Aiva recognized one of the voices. She had only heard it once, but that single meeting was enough to ingrain the sound to memory.

“Odell,” she whispered, clinging to Callum, frightened. How had he found them? To her knowledge, no one was aware of their location other than the desk clerks. Could Odell have sought them out after their altercation on the beach? He knew Callum’s name. It wouldn’t have been a difficult task.

“We need to get out of here,” Callum stated with a strange sense of calm. Carefully he slipped out from under Aiva’s embrace, gathering their clothing in a hurried sweep of his hands, tossing her dress at her with an insistent nod. “There is no time to bother with the laces of your bodice. Cover yourself with the chemise and we’ll worry about the rest later.”

In a flurry of motion she did as instructed, sliding the thin fabric of her chemise over her head to conceal her body from view. It took Callum only seconds to retrieve his pants, fastening them while grabbing their bag from the end of the bed. With a calculating gaze he looked around the room. His eyes settled on the window with a resolute nod, motioning for Aiva to come to him.

She followed his gaze with a gasp of disbelief. “Are you crazy?” she hissed.

“Compared to the trees in Tunir, a second story window isn’t that intimidating,” Callum shrugged. His hands went to work prying the pane upward, flakes of paint shaken loose under the pressure.

From across the hall a loud crash erupted. The door. Odell and his men had kicked in the door to her room.
How fortuitous I decided to sleep elsewhere…
“Fine,” she breathed, knowing she couldn’t argue. There was no choice. “I suppose I’ve fallen from worse.” Taking Callum’s hand she let him help her onto the ledge. From where she stood, the height looked more daunting than before. She had to do it. There was no other way out of the room without walking into Odell’s hands. And they weren’t prepared to take on an entire group of pirates alone. Her body spun to face Callum in fearful desperation. It wouldn’t be long before Odell realized her room was empty. They would come to Callum’s next. “Can we not climb down together? There’s no time for you to wait for me to reach the bottom.”

Callum glanced over his shoulder, a knowing glint in his eyes. He leaned his head through the window to examine the street below. It was nothing more than a narrow alley. Their rooms were at the back of the building; a convenient location for a time like this. Satisfied with the lack of people in the area he tossed their bag through the opening, letting it plummet to the gravel.