Besieged Heart (No Ordinary Lovers Collection) (8 page)
Read Besieged Heart (No Ordinary Lovers Collection) Online
Authors: Jennifer Blake
“I had my reasons, none of which are important now.” He paused, said with quiet speculation, “Do you think it will aid my siege?”
“That, I cannot tell,” she said with a small shake of her head. “But I see no reason for such an extreme when the castle and all that’s in it can be yours by a polite request.”
“A request,” he repeated as all expression was suddenly wiped from his face.
“For surrender.” She gathered her courage and met his gaze again, waiting with what composure she had left for his answer.
Rayne’s eyes widened into black pools of doubt. “I don’t believe,” he said softly, “that you mentioned the name of your chosen husband.”
“Why, the great and noble Baron Ewloe. Who else?”
Beyond where they stood, the music of the minstrels began again. The candles in the hall wavered and bowed as at the rush of a strong wind, then burned straight and true once more.
Rayne’s lips parted with a quick breath. With rasping softness, he whispered, “Witch.”
“There is an additional duty that will be required of my future consort,” she said, lifting her chin a fraction. “Will you accept it?”
“I don’t believe I—”
“The office was once suggested to me by a wise man and fine wizard. It is the post of my chamberlain.”
A slow smile curved the chiseled firmness of his lips, rising to gleam in his eyes. “Knight of the royal sleeping chamber?” he said. With lilting promise in the deep, rich timbre of his voice, he went on. “This is a post I accept with all my heart. The duties attendant upon it will be my honor and my glory. They will be performed with strict industry, to the last of my strength, and with love. The last will be unending, my privilege and my purgatory, my reason for remaining earthbound and my last, best hope of heaven. Forever.”
She swallowed on the knot of tears in her throat, joyous tears springing from the knowledge of a final, overwhelming victory. With difficulty, she said, “You find the terms of surrender acceptable then, my wizard?”
“Yours or mine?” His bright gaze held hers as he asked it.
“Either. Both. Or only mine. I love you, Rayne, my very noble wizard.”
He closed the distance between them in a single stride and swept her into his arms. Holding her close against his heart, he said thickly, “And I you, princess mine. But as your official adviser, I believe that further negotiation—protracted, diligent, and lasting far into the night—could be of mutual benefit.”
“Just as you say,” she murmured dutifully, and smiled against the smooth surfaces of his mouth as he took his prize with a kiss.
Books 2 and 3 in the
No Ordinary Lovers
novella collection,
Dream Lover
and
The Warlock’s Daughter
, are available now. Find them and other of Jennifer’s books in the Steel Magnolia Press store at Amazon:
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About the Author
Since publishing her first book at age twenty-seven,
New York Times
bestselling and award-winning author Jennifer Blake has gone on to write over sixty-five historical and contemporary novels in multiple genres. She brings the story-telling power and seductive passion of the South to her stories, reflecting her eighth-generation Louisiana heritage. Jennifer lives with her husband in northern Louisiana.
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Website:
www.JenniferBlake.com
Facebook:
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Twitter: @JenniferBlake01
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Much of Jennifer’s backlist — historical and contemporary — is still available in print and/or digital format.
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