The words were barely out of her mouth when she heard loud footsteps coming from around the bend in the walkway. Only boots could make such a racket. It had to be the guards. It sounded like two of them.
“Quick,” she said, reaching for the closest door. “In here.”
Though she knew the castle well, she wasn’t sure what door she’d reached for. There was a library along this corridor, and a few bedrooms of lower-ranking relatives of the Granvillis. Any one of them could have yielded disaster. But for once, she was in luck. The door she’d chosen opened to reveal a very small broom closet.
Monte looked in and didn’t see room for them both. He turned back to tell her, but she wasn’t listening.
“In,” she whispered urgently, and gave him a shove, then came pushing in behind him, closing the door as quietly as she could. But was it quietly enough? Pressed close together, they each held their breath, listening as the boots came closer. And closer. And then stopped, right outside the door.
Pellea looked up at Monte, her eyes huge and anxious. He looked down at her and smiled. It was dark in the closet, but enough light came in around the door to let him make out her features. She was so beautiful and so close against him. He wanted to kiss her. But more important things had cropped up. So he reached around her and took hold of the knob from the inside.
There was a muttering conversation they couldn’t make out, and then one of the guards tried the knob. Monte clamped down on his lower lip, holding the knob with all his might.
“It’s locked,” one of the guards said. “We’ll have to find the concierge and get a key.”
The other guard swore, but they began to drift off, walking slowly this time and chattering among themselves.
Monte relaxed and let go of the knob, letting out a long sigh of relief. When he looked down, she was smiling up at him, and this time he kissed her.
He’d been thinking about this kiss for so long, and now, finally, here it was. Her lips were smooth as silk, warm and inviting, and for just a moment, she opened enough to let his tongue flicker into the heat she held deeper. Then she tried to pull away, but he took her head in his hands and kissed her longer, deeper, and he felt her begin to melt in his arms.
Her body was molded to his and he could feel her heart begin to pound again, just as it had when they’d almost been caught. The excitement lit a flame in him and he pulled her closer, kissed her harder, wanted her all to himself, body and soul.
It was as though he’d forgotten where they were, what was happening around them. But Pellea hadn’t.
“Monte,” she finally managed to gasp, pushing him as hard as she could. “We have to go while we have the chance!”
He knew she was right and he let her pull away, but reluctantly. Still, he’d found out what he needed to know. The magic still lived between them and they could turn it on effortlessly. And, he hoped, a bit later, they would.
But now she opened the door tentatively and looked out. There was no one in the hall. She slipped out and he followed and they hurried to her gate, alert for any hint of anyone else coming their way. But they were lucky. She used a remote to open the gate as they approached. In seconds, they were safely inside.
The moment the gate closed, Monte turned and tried to take her into his arms again, but she backed away, trying hard to glare at him.
“Just stop it,” she told him.
But he was shaking his head. “You can’t marry Leonardo. Not when you can kiss me like that.”
She stared at him for a moment. How could she have let this happen? He knew, he could tell that she was so in love with him, she could hardly contain it. She could protest all she wanted, he wasn’t going to believe her. If she wasn’t very careful, he would realize the precious secret that she was keeping from him, and if that happened, they would both be in terrible trouble.
Feeling overwhelmed, she groaned, her head in her hands. “Why are you torturing me like this?
He put a finger under her chin and forced her head up to meet his gaze. “Maybe a little torture will make you see the light.”
“There’s no light,” she said sadly, her eyes huge with tragedy. “There’s only darkness.”
He’d been about to try to kiss her again, but something in her tone stopped him and he hesitated. Just a few weeks before, their relationship had been light and exciting, a romp despite the dangers they faced. They had made love, but they had also laughed a lot, and teased and played and generally enjoyed each other. Something had changed since then. Was it doubt? Wariness? Or fear?
He wasn’t sure, but it bothered him and it held him off long enough for her to pivot out of his control.
“Gotta go,” she said as she started for the gate, prepared to dash off again.
He took a step after her. “You’re not planning to tell Leonardo I’m here, are you?” he said. His tone was teasing, as though he was confident she had no such plans.
She turned and looked at him, tempted to do or say something that would shake that annoying surety he had. But she resisted that temptation. Instead, she told the truth.
“I’m hoping you won’t be here any longer by the time I get back.”
He appeared surprised. “Where would I go?”
She shook her head. It was obviously no use to try, but she had to make her case quickly and clearly. “Please, Monte,” she said earnestly. “Go back the way you came in. Just do this for me. It will make my life a whole lot easier.”
“Pellea, this is not your problem. I’ll handle it.”
She half laughed at his confidence. “What do you mean, not my problem? That’s exactly what you are. My problem.”
“Relax,” he advised. “I’m just going to work on my objective.”
“Which is?”
“I told you. I’m here to kidnap you and take you back to the continent with me.”
“Oh, get off it. You can’t kidnap me. I’m guarded day and night.”
“Really? Well, where were your wonderful guards when I found my way into your chambers?”
She didn’t have an answer for that one so she changed the subject. “What’s the point? Why would you kidnap me?”
He shrugged. “To show them I can.”
She threw up her hands. “Oh, brother.”
“I want to show the Granvillis that I’ve been here and taken something precious to them.”
Her eyes widened. “You think I’m precious?”
His smile was almost too personal. “I know you are. You’re their most beautiful, desirable woman.”
That gave her pause. Was she supposed to feel flattered by that? Well, she sort of did, but she wouldn’t admit it.
“Gee, thanks. You make me feel like a prize horse.” She shook her head. “So to you, this is just part of some war game?”
The laughter left his gaze. “Oh, no. This is no game. This is deadly serious.”
There was something chilling in the way he said that. She shivered and tried to pretend she hadn’t.
“So you grab me. You throw me over your shoulder and carry me back to your cave. You go ‘nah nah nah’ to the powers that be in Ambria.” She shrugged. “What does that gain you?”
He watched her steadily, making her wonder what he saw. “The purpose is not just to thumb my nose at the Granvillis. The purpose is to cast them into disarray, to make them feel vulnerable and stupid. To throw them off their game. Let