A Thousand Heartbeats

“How in the world did you get in here?” I asked as Lennox brushed his hair back lazily, a smile on his face.

“I ran away. I may have hastened any attack plans by coming here on my own, but I couldn’t help it.” He turned to look at me, his face inches from mine. “I can’t be anywhere without you.”

“Then don’t,” I breathed.

He reached over, laced his hand deep into my hair, and pulled me into a kiss.

It was as if not a single second had passed between us huddling in a dark cave and us holding each other on the satin blankets across my bed. There were no secrets, no worries, no apologies left unsaid. There was nothing other than the complete and perfect sense of being known.

I shifted so that I was half on top of him, my hair falling down around his face. And after a moment, he stopped kissing me just so he could reach up and brush his calloused fingers along my cheekbone, my hairline, my chin. He touched me like he thought I might break, like this moment might end too soon.

“I can’t believe you’re truly here. I’ve wished it a hundred times.”

He swallowed. “As have I.” There was something sad in his eyes, but it lingered only a moment before his smile returned. “I hear you are regent.”

I propped myself up on my elbow. “The rumors are true.”

He chuckled. “I must say leadership looks good on you; you’re glowing.” He wrapped a lock of my hair around his finger. It seemed to me that this must be a favorite of his. “My Annika, practically queen. Shall I stand and bow?”

He was flirting, toying with me. I knew that. But it brought me quickly back to the truth.

I was going to have to tell him what I’d learned, wasn’t I? Because as deeply as I loved my kingdom, and as much as I was willing to sacrifice for my family, I couldn’t hold on to something when I now knew it didn’t belong to me.

I just . . . I needed tonight.

I shook my head. “Even if it was proper for you to do so, do you think I’d let you out of my arms now?”

He smiled at that, looking so incredibly at ease. He must have been scared, though. He’d left everything he knew, he was in an unfriendly land, and he could be caught at any moment. As if reading my thoughts, his tone grew serious.

“I’m sure by now Palmer has told you what’s happening.”

“Only that I’m in danger, and that it seems someone in the palace is in league with Kawan.”

He nodded. “I am determined to find out who’s at the bottom of this.”

I ran my fingers across his face again. He was so, so beautiful. “Come here.” I stood up, walking him over to the basin in the corner. I poured water over his tired hands, washing them with my own. I got the cloth beside it wet and reached up to wipe away all traces of his long night of riding through the woods. I could feel his eyes on me as I attempted to focus on my task. It was something I could get used to, being this close to him. Hours, days, lifetimes. It would never be enough.

“We’re in another tricky situation,” I told him.

“What’s that?”

I couldn’t meet his eyes, but I was sure he caught my smile. “As regent, I don’t think I can let you leave my sight—seeing as you’re a threat to the safety of my kingdom and all.”

He pressed his lips together in thought. “Quite right. I’m very dangerous. It’s probably best that you personally keep me under close observation.”

“It’s my duty, really. Can’t get out of it.”

“So dedicated. I admire that.”

I stepped back, finally looking up at him. Those eyes really were dangerous. Lennox unhooked his cape and threw it along with his coat over the back of a chair. He walked around, blowing out candles as I climbed into bed, unable to tear my eyes away. He seemed quite at home here in my room, and I would be perfectly content to never see him leave it.

I crawled onto the bed, feeling safer than I had since leaving the cave. I heard Lennox adding wood to the fire, stoking it, and moving the grate to guard it. And my heavy eyelids stirred as he settled in behind me. I felt his heartbeat against my back, the security of his arm around my waist. His nose settled into the nape of my neck, taking in long, deep breaths.

“Lennox?” I whispered.

“Yes?”

“Promise me you’ll be here when I wake up. Don’t disappear.”

He kissed me just behind my ear. “I met you when we were children. I found you when you ran away. I held you through a hurricane. Nothing can separate me from you.”

He sounded so certain that I believed him. And I finally, truly slept.