The Truth About Lies (An Inheritance Cycle Fanfiction)

Nothing To Forgive

When our meal was finished, I helped him to store away his things. "How long do you have?" he asked.

"No more than a few days," I replied, rifling through my saddlebags.

"Well, neither of us is going anywhere in this storm." I kept my back turned to him, not really sure what I was looking for, only that I did not want to look at him. "Tabatha," he continued, "look at me?" I felt him move closer to me, and my heart hammering in my chest. His hand was on my shoulder, gripping it tightly. And then he was turning me to face him. "Stay with me," he said. "Only for a night, if you must. But stay with me." Through my tears, I nodded slightly. No matter how much heart break this might bring me, I knew that I had to. I might regret it forever if I did not.

***

Apparently, he and Thorn had gotten here a long while before Amera and I did, because he'd already explored half the castle. He showed me some of the more interesting rooms, and the library, which paled in comparison to the one in Ilirea's citadel. After the library, we returned to the Great Hall and retrieved our saddles, hefting them over our shoulders to carry further into the castle. It was not a huge fortress, not compared to the capital, but I soon grew tired of carrying the heavy saddle as we searched for a suitable place to rest. Finally, we found a large set of chambers, which looked like they might have belonged to the master of this castle.

Murtagh set down Thorn's saddle by the door, and I placed Amera's next to it. Then he started a fire in the large hearth on the opposite wall. It quickly warmed the chilly room, which I was glad for. Most of my clothes were still dripping with water, as was my hair. I inched closer to the fire, rubbing my hands together for warmth, and then he turned to look at me.

"Tabatha, your clothes are soaked," he said, concern coloring his voice. "Why did you not tell me?"

"Honestly, I didn't notice," I replied through chattering teeth. "I was so caught up in everything else, I just..."

"Come here," he said, motioning for me to come next to him. "We need to get you out of these clothes, or you'll catch your death."

I laughed at him. "You know as well as anyone that I have faced far worse than a little cold," I admonished him. But I took my cloak off, as he said, and laid it in a chair next to the hearth. Next came my jerkin, and then my tunic, until I was left only in my undershirt and corset. I turned towards him, and saw his eyes had never left me. "You should avert your eyes, sir, to preserve my modesty."

"It's not as though I haven't seen it before," he returned, his voice low and dark. I smirked at him and then gave a little shrug, turning back towards the fire and undoing the laces of my corset. Once that was free, I peeled off my undershirt, which was plastered to my skin from the rain. I threw it on the floor in front of the fire, letting the heat of the flames warm my bare skin. I felt it seep down to my core, and I closed my eyes to revel in the sensation.

Suddenly, I felt Murtagh behind me. His fingers brushed across the skin of my neck as he moved my hair over my shoulder, letting it cascade down my chest. My skin began to tingle where his fingers touched it, and then I felt his lips press against my neck, trailing kisses up to my ear. "You're so beautiful," he whispered, making me shiver.

I chuckled lightly. "I knew that was the only reason you liked me," I teased. He pulled away and then grabbed my shoulder, turning me to face him. The heat began to rise to my face, but his eyes stayed locked on mine.

"I do not like you, Tabatha," he said, leaning in and kissing my jaw. "I love you." I sucked in my breath, latching my hands onto his shoulders. "You are smart." He kissed my jaw again. "You are kind." He switched to the other side. "You are funny." He nibbled on my ear, sending shockwaves through my whole body, and I had to laugh at the tickling sensation. "And you are not afraid to share your opinion. You are headstrong, and you challenge me to be a better man." He brushed his thumb across my cheek, and I opened my eyes to look at him. "Your beauty is just an added benefit." He smirked in that way that sent my heart fluttering, and I couldn't understand how he did this to me.

We had come to the point where speech disappeared into silence, but words could not express what I was feeling right now. And when his lips finally met mine, the world around us melted away. There was only us, and the ever-shrinking space between us. He erased the space quickly, taking me by the hips and pressing my body close against his. It still wasn't close enough. We were on the bed in an instant, my fingers tugging at the hem of his tunic. He tore the shirt over his head, flinging it to the floor and then pressing down on top of me, kissing his way down my neck.

"I don't want to take advantage of the situation. Tell me to stop if this isn't what you want," he murmured against my skin, tickling me with his breath.

"You are not taking advantage," I said, running my fingers through his dark hair as he kissed my abdomen. "I have wanted this for a very long time." I felt as though I was floating outside of my body, and the only thing grounding me to this moment was the touch of his skin against mine. And if this was to be the last time we saw one another, I wanted to make the most of it.