Calm Before The Storm: Crimes Against The Crown book 1

Avoidance

I'm not sure what would have happened had we not already been assembled in the Hall of Thrones. Would I have been brought into the private chambers of the King and Queen? Would Emory have come to find me? I would have liked to think so. Emory knew me better than I knew myself. He would have brought me to my rooms or maybe even his.

No. I think not. It would have been the library. Once I thought on it, I knew that's where he would have taken me. He wouldn't want the place where we made love and joy to be tainted by this. He would want me to feel safe, protected and secure. It would be somewhere familiar without an audience. He would have brought me to the library.

But that was not how things played out.

I had wondered how things could change in an instant the night of the blizzard. I had considered it, hiding in the service station. It had astonished me how I'd gone from hating Emory, thinking him a self-indulgent ass, to loving him. I would give that man everything I have. Not only would I give him my virginity but my heart and soul, everything I am.

Things had changed between us in a manner of seconds. Had I reminded myself how fast that can happen maybe I would have been more prepared? Maybe I could have foresaw it coming and been able to brace myself. Maybe it would have helped. Maybe it wouldn't. There are a lot of maybes.

My memories returning should have been a warning. I should have heeded the implications. I knew change was coming but I wouldn't acknowledge it and had chosen to ignore the obvious. I wasn't ready to face the truth and had blindly turned away from what we all knew was coming. That was a mistake.

Or was it. I was happy, so so happy. What was wrong with wanting to stay that way? I wouldn't face reality, wouldn't give it substance. Would recognizing that Colette was an imposter have made it easier? Had I forced myself to live in reality instead of the fantasy world we created things might have been different. Does it make a difference, seeing the sword coming or is it better not knowing what's about to hit? Would it have mattered? A storm was brewing and I had been too busy playing in the sun to see the clouds.

Emory woke me up the day of parliament. Before Emory, I was not one to wake before the sun. After Emory, in his bed in the dark hour before the day grew bright he would warm my skin with kisses and hands. There would be no going back to sleep for either of us. Sometimes I would watch him get dressed only to undress him again, on those days he would be late.

No, this day started out perfect. The last of our perfect mornings. Emory pulled me to him in my sleep, his chest against my back. He kissed my neck and fondled my breast till I began to wake. I pressed my buttocks against his groin; his erection was hard between my thighs. I felt his hand slide down my torso and into the junction of my hips. There he teased and stroked me till I was trembling, then he shifted his hip and entered me. We rocked ourselves until we were both spent and sated while his room lightened and the birds began to sing.

The fire was burning low. Spring was in full bloom and we needed the fire less and less. Emory grabbed the blanket and threw it off of us before I was able to stop him. I squealed at the sudden shock, reaching for the blankets to pull them back over cursing him as he laughed. The blankets were out of my reach but Emory rolled over me so his body heat eased the sudden chill.

He kissed me making it too warm for covers. There was still crispness in the air that made it hard to get out of the bed but it also felt good on my Emory inflamed skin.

He rolled one more time and was up on his feet in a manner I found graceful and irritating. My handsome mountain cat. It galled me a little only because there was no I way I could do that without tripping and falling on my face.