Guilt pricked her like a pin.
“Oh, Gideon! I’m so sorry …” Rising from the love seat, Rune grabbed the wool shawl hanging off the back of her dresser chair. She felt shaky. Light-headed. “Clumsy me. Let me clean you up …”
He backed away from her, arms raised. “It’s fine. Please—don’t ruin your shawl.” He unbuttoned the jacket, shrugged it off, and held it out to inspect the damage.
“I’ll call for Lizbeth. Maybe if she soaks it—”
“What is going on here?” a voice exclaimed from the doorway.
Rune spun to find Verity entering the room, pearls gleaming from her neck and wrists. She looked windblown and out of breath, as if she’d heard Rune’s startled cry and, expecting the worst, ran to her bedroom.
At the sight of Gideon, Verity abruptly halted, staring like she’d caught them in the middle of something scandalous. Her heart-shaped mouth formed a shocked O.
“This appears to be my cue to leave,” said Gideon. Folding his soggy jacket over one arm, he caught Rune’s eye. “I’ll see myself out, Miss Winters. Good night.”
Before she could answer, he trod past a still-gaping Verity and disappeared into the hall.
When he was out of earshot, Verity hissed, “Are you out of your mind?”
She’d gone dark as a thundercloud.
“That”—Verity’s index finger sliced the air in the direction Gideon had gone—“was not the plan. Gideon Sharpe is not on your list!”
Rune crept to the door and peered out, watching the Blood Guard captain’s form recede down the hall. She was warm all over, her body humming with the memory of their close encounter. When Gideon was good and truly gone, she said, “That’s because he’s never shown interest.”
Verity went quiet. “Has he shown interest?”
Rune’s skin buzzed where Gideon had reached for her chin. She could still hear the hunger in him as he murmured her name.
Maybe?
Either that, or he was a cold, calculating master of seduction.
“I don’t know.” Rune closed the door and turned to her friend. “But he showed up tonight and gave me this.” She tugged the silk rose from her hair, wincing as several strands came with it, and held it out for Verity to see. “Suddenly, none of the names on your list were good enough. I had to improvise.”
Verity’s mouth thinned to a hard line. She took the flower as if it were a living rose, full of thorns. “Something’s amiss here,” she said. “Gideon Sharpe doesn’t court girls like Rune Winters.”
Ouch.
For some reason, that stung.
“Gee, thanks, Verity.”
Verity glanced up. “Oh, Rune. I didn’t mean it like that.”
Rune brushed off the comment. “Maybe he needs a rich wife. Maybe he gambles too much and is neck-deep in debt.”
“Or maybe he’s playing you,” said Verity.
Rune looked away, thinking of the enchanted wine, of the way his tracing hands knew exactly how to disarm her. He was experienced in a way Rune wasn’t. That had been clear.
Verity’s right. I’m in way over my head.
Gideon had turned the tables on her tonight. First, with the wine. Then, on the love seat. And finally, by refusing to give up Blood Guard secrets despite passionate distraction. None of her tricks had worked on him. Courting him, therefore, would mean enduring a high level of danger, but for how much reward?
Sighing, Rune walked over to the bed and fell backward, letting the duvet catch her in its downy softness. Closing her tired eyes, she said, “It seemed like the perfect opportunity.”
“It’s too much of a risk.” Verity sat down on the bed and took Rune’s hand, gripping it tight. Quietly, she said, “I don’t want to lose you, too.”
Rune heard what her friend didn’t say: I lost my sisters. You’re all I have left.
It was true for them both. Rune and Verity had lost the people who mattered most and only had each other now. And Alex.
The bed’s promise of blissful tranquility called to Rune. She’d ridden hard through terrible weather to get to Seraphine. Every bone in her body ached for rest. The longer she lay here, the more likely it was to drag her under.
“Promise me you’ll reject him and choose someone safer,” said Verity.
Rune knew she should heed her friend’s wise advice. It only made sense to pursue someone easier and less dangerous than Gideon Shape. But if Gideon already suspected her, wasn’t courting him the best way to put those suspicions to rest?