Page 53 of Taming the Eagle

Fenella started, as if someone had just jabbed her with a pin. “What?”

“You were made for me, Fenella.” His gaze never left her face. “I wish you’d let meknowyou.”

Fenella stared back at him, horrified.

Aquila’s mouth quirked. “I’m not like other men you’ve known, am I?”

Still reeling from his admission, Fenella shook her head.

“Toutorix is a brute. I can see how he’d destroy your trust.”

Fenella’s heart started to pound like a drum against her ribs. This conversation was getting out of control; it was making her feel light-headed. “Every man close to me has let me down,” she admitted shakily. “My father, my lover … and my husband. My father gave me to Toutorix to pay an old debt.”

“The Wolf wasn’t worthy of you.” The words were spoken quietly, yet they fell like axe blows in the quiet of the tablinum. A moment later, Aquila continued, “You spoke of a lover?”

Fenella silently cursed herself. Emotion bubbled close to the surface tonight. She hadn’t meant to be so open with the Eagle, but her mouth had run away with her. However, she’d gone this far. She might as well tell him the rest.

“His name was Lorcan,” she admitted huskily. “My father was feuding with his kin, so we met in secret for a year. I was on my way to meet him that day you stopped me … in the pinewood.”

Aquila’s gaze widened, understanding rippling across his face. “Ah.”

“I thought we’d run away together … start a new life, away from our families.” The words stuck in her throat, but she plowed on. “But that day, I discovered he was already wedded. He never intended to make me his.” Fenella dropped her gaze to the calix resting upon her lap. She swallowed hard then, for it suddenly felt as if she had a plum in her throat.

She’d said far too much.

A brittle silence settled between them before Aquila eventually broke it. “Lorcan sounds like a man of poor character.”

Her mouth pursed, yet she didn’t reply.

“Look at me, Fenella.”

Reluctantly, she raised her gaze to meet his eye.

Aquila’s features had tightened. She noted that his fingers had clenched around his calix. “If you were mine, I’d treat you like a queen.”

Fenella’s chest constricted, her dizziness intensifying. “Don’t say things like that,” she rasped.

“Why not? It’s what I feel. You wanted honesty, and you have it.”

Fenella’s self-control snapped, and she slammed the calix down on the table next to the couch. Dark liquid sloshed over the rim, yet she paid it no mind. “I’m your slave,” she ground out. “Ialreadybelong to you.”

Rising to her feet, she realized she was shaking.

Aquila put down his wine and stood up, facing her. “Your body does,” he replied, his voice lowering. “But not your heart.”

Fenella’s breathing choked off.

She wanted to throw his admission back at him, yet the rawness in his voice prevented her. His words wrapped themselves around her, drawing her in. And without even realizing what she was doing, she swayed toward him.

Murmuring an oath, Aquila pulled her into his arms, his mouth capturing hers.

It was inevitable really. Ever since that first kiss, the attraction between them couldn’t be denied. It was like a pot of water simmering over a fire. Eventually, it would come to a boil.

A groan escaped Fenella. Reaching up, she gripped his shoulders, anchoring herself on him. He slid one hand around to the back of her neck, holding her fast in his embrace.

The last time Aquila had kissed her, it had been savage. But this embrace was sensual: a leisurely exploration, surprising in its tenderness and restraint. The kiss melted her with its gentleness.

And as she had days earlier, Fenella responded to him. Her tongue dueled with his, her teeth grazing his lips, tasting him, feasting upon him.