Page 7 of The Thief’s Lord (Catkin Trilogy #3)

My words jerked him to attention instantly.

His chin rose, and a flash green of fury greeted me.

Erlin gritted his teeth. His ears flicked back, and his fists uselessly jerked against the irons that held him.

My hands rose to his thin shoulders. A subconscious effort to ease his fears.

Honestly, Gareth. How stupid must you be?

I told myself. My hand dropped to my side, and I stifled the urge to sigh.

“Now?” asked Erlin softly. “I’ve not yet broken my fast-”

“Neither have I,” I said. “We’ll be eating a very quick breakfast. And then we’ll be gone.”

As promised, we broke our morning fast with a quick hearty meal of eggs, bacon, grilled potatoes, beans, and freshly brewed coffee.

Kaleigh and the horde of nieces and nephews that had descended, showed up to once again keep Erlin company before Uncle Gareth swooped him off to parts unknown.

At first, Erlin attempted to remain aloof, but, flanked on both sides by Bella and Little Harold, Erlin found himself caught up in conversation.

As Bella shared her stories about falling off her mare during horse-riding lessons, a shadow of a smile flitted across Erlin’s face.

It was as if a shy sun had peaked out from behind clouds.

And if Erlin’s smiles are spare these days, it is undoubtedly in part due to you , I thought.

You’ve put his life in danger, and now you are ripping him away from the few joys afforded him in captivity.

On the other hand, a more hard-headed part of myself pointed out: If he simply confessed and told me everything I needed to know, he wouldn’t have to be here either.

Feeling torn, I finished breakfast and emerged from the manor to find everything prepared for me as I had requested the night before.

Two horses were saddled and geared up for a long stay in the woods, complete with blankets, tinderboxes, baskets of food, and hunting gear.

After I helped Erlin up onto the mare my stable lads had chosen for him, I mounted my charger, hefted Erlin’s reins, and guided his mare alongside me.

Erlin’s hands now rested on his saddle’s pommel.

He stared straight ahead, lips forming a thin line of silent disapproval.

He wasn’t happy. Not at first, at any rate.

However, as we neared the half-hour mark of our ride, there was a marked thawing in his expression.

Warm sunlight threw dappled shadows over our heads as we moseyed through the last apple orchard.

Beyond the creaking wood gate, the darker shadows of one of the marsh’s smaller woods beckoned.

Erlin relaxed visibly, enjoying the sound of the shifting boughs overhead, the cheerful trill of a robin, and the babbling chatter of the stream we followed.

The sun had risen overhead when we finally arrived at the small clearing where my private hunting cabin stood on the edge of the forest, close by the marsh.

From this chosen vantage point, I would often enjoy hunting a brace of pheasants or wading the shallows of the marsh to hunt for fish newly arrived from the nearby bay.

A solitary place, for some, but for me this cabin was one of my many sanctuaries.

I hopped off my charger and made my way over to Erlin.

Reaching for his waist, I helped him slide down the side of the mare.

For a second, he stood there, hands planted on my chest, staring up at me.

Pinned as he was against his horse, Erlin ought to have been frightened by the way I entrapped him.

Instead, he smiled sunnily up at me—a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

My heart squeezed painfully at the sight.

“Are you scared, Little Mouse?” I asked huskily.

“No,” he quickly shot back and then raised his chin. “Should I be?”

“No.”

Erlin stared at his pale fingers that now tangled in the rough edge of my hunting jacket and simple white cotton shirt beneath.

I had eased several of the buttons open during our ride since I had started to feel rather hot beneath the spring sun.

Erlin’s red ears flicked back and then forth inquisitively, and the edge of his lips curled up a little.

“It’d take a bit to scare me.”

A challenge then. I grinned down at him and then reached up to mess his already unruly curls.

“I bet.”

He pouted and swished his tail angrily.

“Are you making mockery of me?” he asked.

“Not at all,” I replied serenely, easing back, enjoying how his fingers lingered on my chest for just a second longer than they ought. “I promised to keep you safe, Little Mouse, and I shall.”

“Can you keep me safe from yourself?”

I leaned forward, trapped his narrow chin with my fingers and forced his gaze to meet mine. Fear and anger both sparked fire within those wide green eyes. I leaned forward, forcing him to crowd back against the mare. My arm bracketed him in as I leaned forward to whisper in his ear.

“I’ll keep you safe from myself… and yourself included, Little Mouse.”

Little Mouse stiffened. A sharp intake of breath revealed his tension. We were so close, practically sharing the same breath. I could feel the shivers that ran through his body, the slight bump of his pert nose against mine.

“You understand…” Erlin’s breath hitched. “…wh-why I won’t believe that.”

“I’ll prove it—beyond words—with my deeds,” I vowed.

“You have already endangered me,” he shot back.

His chest heaved against mine. His heat drove me crazy, but I focused on the moment, knowing that I had been given an opportunity to clear the air, to get under his skin, to get him talking.

“Endangered you?” I countered. “How?”

“This…”

His shackled hands wormed their way up between us. I ignored them. He jerked back, trying to release himself from my fingers, but I refused to release his chin, forcing him to stare up at me.

“You keep me prisoner,” he said through gritted teeth. “Whether I hold my tongue or not, I am a dead tom.”

“You seem to be breathing fairly well to me,” I quipped, “for the dead.”

“Dammit—You know that’s not what I mean! Out there, no one crosses the Night Blades. Once they th-think…”

He stuttered to a stop, eyes wide as he realized his slip. I could have teased him for his mistake, but I said nothing. Little Mouse was raw, open… and disadvantaged. It would be cruel to mock him. Instead, I settled for a knowing nod.

“I guessed that.” I sighed. “A Night Blade. I was looking to speak with one. I was rather hoping you would be amenable to an offer.”

“You offer sanctuary to a Blade?” he asked in shock. His gaze searched my own, seeking any sign of deceit.

“I offer safety and protection to any who seek justice, who seek the light, who seek second chances,” I said softly.

“That includes you, Little Mouse. How long have you lived in the dark, bonded by your oaths? What does the future hold for you but eventual betrayal? I offer something else—another chance at living freely beneath the sun.”

“I-I happen to like the night.” My captive’s lips trembled as he forced those words out, but judging by the silver edge at the corners of his eyes, he regretted his own words even as he said them.

“As do I,” I murmured. “For so long, I have walked in the shadows. For king and country. I never feared, nor did I harbor regret, and yet… Is it not a lonely world at times?”

Little Mouse inhaled sharply. Tears shone then in his eyes.

He understood me. On some level, we both spoke the same language.

My thumb released his chin to trace a line across his cheek, tenderly.

I ought not harbor such thoughts. I had told myself that these emotions, these desires, I could and would control.

Yet, the look he now sent me was tender. There was understanding—and acceptance.

As if reading my mind, his fingers dug into my jacket. His head tilted, and his dark red eyelashes fluttered down to focus on my own lips. Little Mouse’s tongue darted out, running along his now plump moist bottom lip.

“Gareth, I…” He whispered huskily.

An invitation. My hands rose to cup his face, to run back and bury themselves in his thick red mop of hair as my lips descended on his.

As my lips dominated his, I braced his slender frame against me.

Deepening the kiss, I offered a silent promise, a glimpse into something that might lie between us.

With a groan, he swayed into my arms. The throaty moan sent shivers down to my cock, but I kept desire on a tight leash.

Instead, my tongue swept forward to tease his own.

Little Mouse , I pleaded with each soft kiss, let me in.