The tiny room was dark and stuffy, but Marion Basilisque didn’t care. It could have been on fire for all she cared. What she cared about was that Évrad had grabbed her around the waist and pushed her inside, shoving her against a wall and pressing himself against her back as he did so. It was utterly unexpected and utterly thrilling.
She was quite in love with Évrard de Bretel and, when he had suddenly grabbed her hand and dragged her away from their lunch in the salon and dragged her down the hall, searching – desperately, it had appeared – for the smallest, most inconspicuous room, she had no idea what was happened, but couldn’t wait to find out.
She tried to speak, but he shushed her, his breath tickling the nape of her neck and causing her to shiver.
“Wait…” he murmured.
For what?
After a moment, he chuckled quietly. “I’m sorry,” he whispered in her ear. “I just had to get you out of there.”
“Wha- what?” she stumbled to form words.
He pressed his forehead into her hair and sighed.
She held her breath waiting for his answer. He wanted her alone!
“I simply could not listen to Oudine prattle any longer. She chatters on like a chipmunk; although a chipmunk would probably have more interesting things to say. I do not know how you stand to be in her presence as much as you do.”
Marion was confused. Why was he talking about Oudine? What did she have to do with anything? Certainly, their hostess, Oudine de Fhirze, thought she was the center of the world, but Évrad rarely did. If anything, he did his level best to brush her aside at every opportunity.
“Évrad, whatever is going on?” she whispered.
“Oh! Forgive me, Marion.” His voice was gentle. “I must have scared you, grabbing you as I did. That was unkind of me. I saw an opportunity to escape her loathsome presence, so I took it!”
He dropped his hands and stepped back. A wave of disappointment rolled through her. He had not wanted to be alone with her; he simply wanted to get away from Oudine. She should have known.
“Évrad, forgive me.” She cleared her throat, gathered her dignity, and turned around. “But, if you simply wished to be free of Oudine, why did you not leave? Why have you dragged me into this closet like I am a broom?”
She swore she could hear him smile in the darkness.
“You had started to tell me some news of – what is her name – Aurelia? Aurea? From Tiberium. I wanted to rest of the story,” he whispered excitedly.
Silently, she chastised herself for not knowing better. Of course. Gossip. She had begun to tell Évrad about Leonia Emerentius Secunda, the senator’s daughter, but had been interrupted by Oudine raving about foreigners invading and the need for strong D’Angeline rulers. She had gone to yell at a servant and Évrad had taken the chance to pull Marion from the salon.
He took a step forward; his forehead bumped hers. “So, what news? You always tell me the best things, dear.”
Marion ducked her head. His face was too close.
“Um, well, I have heard a few things being said in the Night Court,” she muttered.
Évrad huffed a quiet laugh against her cheek. “Ah, yes, I hear you have been spending much time at the Night Court of late. A special adept there, perhaps?”
Marion bit her lip. She wanted to scream and pound his chest. No, there was no special adept! She went to the Night Court to distract herself from him! And now here he was, quite literally within her grasp. And yet, she had not the courage to reach for him.
She shook her head, causing his lips to brush against her earlobe. She shivered. Pure torture.
“No, um, no one special. Just, uh, as you are aware, a good, um, place for entertainment.”
Through the closed door, they heard Oudine screeching down the hall. “Évrad! Marion! Where are you?! Did you leave?!” She sounded both angry and sad.
Évrad sighed and leaned his cheek against Marion’s temple, continuing their whispered conversation. “Tell me quickly, so we can get back to Her Imperiousness. It will be unpleasant no matter what, but I fear the longer we are gone, the more she will whine.”
“Er, yes. You are probably right,” Marion agreed, desperately distracted by the feel of him against her, the touch of his arm against her shoulder, his leg brushing into her skirts.
She cleared her throat, trying to compose herself. “Um, so, yes, Leonia. Well, her father, in addition to, um, being a senator, is a trader in, um, fine goods. He has been, uh, doing much business with the, um, Cereus Second’s lover, Marco. At least, according to the adepts at, er, Balm House. She, uh, is here with her brother Crescens, I think his name is. He has taken to visiting the Night Court and leaving Leonia in the care of her maids. I, um, have not heard of her visiting – ”
“Ah, so she is not indulging in the D’Angeline culture as her brother is?”
“Not that, um, I have heard.”
“Hmm…interesting. I suppose it is not too late for me to call on her, then,” he whispered wryly.
“Oh, Évrad, do not cause trouble for this poor girl!” Marion’s heart squeezed, as it did every time he spoke of another woman. “Aurea is here to meet the king. She cannot – “
“Why does everyone keep calling her Aurea when her name is Leonia? It is not a proper nickname,” Évrad interrupted. “That bit confuses me.”
“Really? Don’t you speak Tiberian?” Marion was surprised. Évrad was highly educated.
He shook his head and she felt goosebumps on her arms as his nose tickled her hair.
“It’s her hair,” she whispered quickly. “She…she has golden hair – “
“Are you cold, Marion?” he interrupted again.
“What?”
“Are you cold? You have goosebumps on your arms and you keep shivering.”
He started to rub her arms as if to warm her up.
Her mind went blank.
“I wonder what I could find out about this brother at the Night Court…” Évrad was now murmuring not to Marion, but to himself. But he was doing it against her throat. And she was in agony.
She closed her eyes and leaned her head back. Évrad, lost in thoughts of sniffing out gossip, did not notice that she had shifted, or that his face was pressed into her throat as he absently rubbed her arms.
She thought that perhaps this was what the Valerian adepts and the Mandrake patrons felt, the co-mingling of pleasure and pain. For while she stood there in absolute bliss, her heart ached. Évrad was her friend and nothing more, she reminded herself. She would never have the courage to advance their relationship or confess her feelings to him and she was certain that he did not share her feelings.
His breath was hot on her neck. Her heart pounded and she held her breath. Perhaps if she stood perfectly still, she could hold this moment forever.
“ÉVRAD! MARION!” Oudine’s screeches from down the hall broke Marion’s reverie, causing her to gasp.
Évrad froze.
“We have to get out of here,” he whispered against her skin.
“No!” Marion’s voice was desperate.
“What?”
“What?”
He paused. “You said no. She is going to find us. She is going to start opening doors soon. This is not going to be pretty, Marion.”
“I, um, I, er, well,” she stammered, her mind racing.
The moment was broken. It was over. But neither of them was moving. Marion was still pressed against the wall and Évrad was still rubbing her arms, his mouth at the crook of her neck.
Slowly, ever so slowly, she thought she felt him lean into her. But she wasn’t sure. Well, surely he wasn’t. And Évrad would never…
And then.
Then he pressed his lips to her shoulder in what could only be described as a kiss.
Marion was frozen, her blood roaring in her ears. Even in his drunkest moments, he had never kissed her. Even in his drunkest moments, he held to a line. He had just crossed that line.
He did it again. A feather-light kiss pressed to her shoulder.
She shivered hard.
“Still cold?” he murmured.
“No,” she breathed.
He chuckled. “I didn’t think so.”
“Évrad, please don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Please, please don’t, don’t tease me.” She was practically in tears, her voice full of panic. “Just, just, please don’t. I could not bear – “
He grasped her face in his hands and stroked her cheeks with his thumbs.
“I would never tease you, Marion.”
His lips found hers in the darkness and he pulled her in for a deep, passionate kiss.
For as many times as Marion had dreamed about kissing Évrad, the flesh and blood man still left her breathless and dizzy.
He pulled away and she let out a deep breath that she did not realize she had been holding. He leaned his forehead against hers and sighed contentedly.
“I have been wanting to do that for some time now,” he admitted, wrapping his arms around her waist.
He had?
“I think about kissing you every time we go to Night’s Doorstep.”
He did?
She could not think of a response, so, instead, she kissed him. Lightly at first, brushing her lips over his. She needed to prove to herself that this was real. She couldn’t help but tug his lip between her teeth and then everything changed. It wasn’t passionate or sensuous; it was a kiss of desperation, of need; full of every ounce of longing and heartache. She knit her fingers through his hair and dug her nails into his scalp.
“Please don’t draw blood, love,” he whispered. “At least, not here.”
“Oh! Évrad! I am so sorry!” Marion drew away quickly, taken aback and embarrassed by her own boldness.
“Come back here,” he chuckled, his hands drawing her hips against him. “I only meant to imply that a head injury will be even more awkward to explain to your awful friend. I did not mean to say that you should stop.”
“Oh.”
In response to that, he bit her earlobe.
Marion’s back slammed against the wall as her knees turned to jelly. Évrad chuckled and licked her collarbone, his body pressing into her. Her head spun and she fisted his shirt, holding on for dear life as she gasped for air.
“I would not hold on to that if I were you, my darling.” Évrad placed gentle kisses along her throat. “I do not think I will be wearing it in a moment.”
Her heart was pounding so loudly that she swore the entire household could hear it.
She pressed a hard kiss to his lips. He kissed her back with equal fervor, his breath growing ragged.
From down the hallway came the screeching shouts of Oudine.
“She’s getting closer,” Marion whispered desperately.
“Then we had best move this along.” Évrad reached for the laces on her bodice. “I’ll try not to rip anything..”
~~
Oudine stalked the house, calling for her friends. It had been nearly an hour since she had left them in the salon, only to return and find the room empty. She was furious that they had deserted her. The servants had not seen them leave and Marion’s carriage and Évrad’s horse were still at the estate, so they were somewhere in the house. But what had happened? Where had they run off to? Why had they left her?
“ÉVRAD! MARION! WHERE ARE YOU?! I KNOW YOU BOTH ARE STILL IN THIS HOUSE!” she shouted.
From down another hallway she heard Marion’s cheerful voice.
“Coming Oudine! We’re here!”
She stomped towards Marion’s voice, her face thunderous. Why had they been avoiding her for so long, especially when she was such a good hostess?
Upon seeing them, Oudine’s anger drained and she burst out laughing.
Marion’s hair was a mess and Évrad’s shirt was rumpled.
Oudine gave her friend a sly look. “Oh, I see. I leave you two alone for one moment and he drags you off for a little romp, Marion? Well, I suppose he was bound to get around to you sooner or later.”
Marion and Évrad exchanged a glance.
Évrad began to speak, but Oudine waved a dismissive hand.
“It is all right, Évrad. We both know how you operate. Well, Marion, I hope this got him out of your system. Perhaps, now you can stop mooning over him. I was growing so tired of hearing about it. But, really, it was awfully rude of you two to run off like that and leave me. I was in the middle of a conversation and you just left.”
Oudine had turned and was sauntering back towards the salon where the three had been lunching, not noticing that her friends were not following.
Évrad grinned wickedly at Marion and took her hand. “Oh, Oudine!” he called after her. “I do apologize, but Marion and I will be leaving now.”
Oudine turned and gave him a quizzical look. “Well, whyever would you be doing that? We were not finished with our lunch and Marion and I have plans this afternoon.”
“You must excuse us, but I have just made other plans for Marion this afternoon. You see, she may have gotten me out of her system with one small dalliance, but, well, ” He looked at Marion and his eyes glittered. “I am just going to need more than that.”
For the first time in her life, Oudine was speechless.