Total pages in book: 179
Estimated words: 169943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 850(@200wpm)___ 680(@250wpm)___ 566(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 169943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 850(@200wpm)___ 680(@250wpm)___ 566(@300wpm)
“You know what you need?” I tell him, moving to his side and sliding my hands around his arm. “A nice, hearty meal out and away from everything.”
That makes a smile quirk his hard mouth. “Are you offering to buy me dinner, Aspeth?”
“No, because I don’t have two pennies to rub together.” I grimace. “I spent all of my coin getting here. But it would be nice to go out for a bit, just the two of us. Get to catch our breath and not have five other people breathing down our necks.”
It’s the right thing to say. He pulls me close and nuzzles at my neck, sending shivers up my spine. “Change into regular clothes, hmm? I’ll wash up and meet you at the front of the dorm in a few. I need to speak with Magpie.”
I’m sure that’s not going to help his mood, given that Magpie abandoned us early in the day because she had a “headache.” I’m not sure if it’s alcohol related or secret-plan related, but either way, it’s bound to set Hawk off even more. But I nod and give him a saucy wink, watching as he leaves the room.
It feels wrong to lie to him, but once again, I’m back to not having a choice. I need the other half of that ring, and I absolutely can’t let it fall into Barnabus’s hands. I need to get my father some way to protect our people, and soon, because all the teams scouring the tunnels are bound to find something to help Barnabus wage war on my family’s hold.
The moment he’s gone, I race to Gwenna’s quarters and knock on the door. She opens it a crack and then, after seeing it’s me, lets me inside. The others are in there, except for Magpie. “I can’t stay,” I pant, because stairs are not part of our workout regimen. I rub the stays on my corset as my lungs heave against the confinement. “Taking Hawk out for supper at a tavern somewhere to keep him out of your hair.”
“Good,” Lark says. “We’re meeting with Aunt Magpie and one of her friends later tonight to get the counterfeit pass. After that, we just have to wait until Hawk heads out again.”
“I don’t know if he’s going to,” I say. “He’s intent on sticking close to me due to the moon tomorrow.” Which is both flattering and frustrating.
“Aunt Magpie will figure it out.” Lark is fully confident. “Just keep him occupied tonight while we work on this part of the plan.”
I nod and then hesitate. “You guys won’t go down without me, will you?”
“Never,” Gwenna reassures me. “You’re part of our Five.”
I trust her. The one who has issues trusting is Hawk…and unfortunately, I’m going to give him even more of a reason not to trust me. I hate that, but I’m low on choices. I could ask him to help us, too. To ask him to break guild rules and help us steal from the guild right under their noses…but then I think about his hand and how he already owes the guild far too much as it is. I won’t bring him down with me.
I know what he means when he says he struggles with caring too much.
* * *
I meet my husband at the door to the dorms a short time later, wearing a heavy dress of olive green with embroidered attached sleeves and a matching chemise that peeks out from artful gaps in all the fashionable spots. I always feel pretty in this dress, especially with a matching cloak over it, but I suspect it’s ruined by my spectacles, which magnify my eyes and make me look owlish. Hawk looks pleased at the sight of me, though, and I twirl for his approval. “What do you think?”
“Luscious.”
I’m both mortified and aroused. “You’re not supposed to call me that.”
“It’s true. My mouth waters looking at you, because I know how juicy you are under all those skirts.”
I move forward, pressing my fingers to his mouth to silence him, and all the while my breathing speeds up and need slides through my veins like liquid. “Hush. We’re going out tonight to distract you, not rushing back to our quarters.”
Much as I’d like to. I’m envisioning stripping him naked and rubbing his cock all over my face again, just because I liked the feel of his heated skin against mine, and how powerful and sexy it made me feel to touch him and give him pleasure, and how much it turned me on to do so.
But Gwenna, Lark, and the others need us out of their hair if they’re going to pull this off, and the moment Hawk hears someone leave the dormitory, he’ll be wondering what’s going on.
So I run a hand down my husband’s front. He’s wearing the guild jerkin, fastened shut all the way to his throat, and his trousers are in guild colors as well. He’s not wearing his sash denoting his rank, but that’s the only difference I’m seeing. “I thought we were changing out of guild clothes for the day?”