Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

I eased myself into the dumbwaiter’s cart after night had truly fallen, gingerly testing the cables to ensure that it would support my weight while I worked the ropes from the inside. Cautiously, I worked the pulley system so that the platform lowered.

I counted the openings that slowly moved past as I worked my way down, finally pulling the lever that clamped the brake into place and peering out of the lighted crack in the panel.

The floors had been counted correctly. A sliver of Korth’s profile was barely visible, poring over a dusty tome laid out on his desk. I pressed my ear to the crack, listening to see if any servants were tidying up or if any of Korth’s advisors were speaking. There was no noise; it seemed as though Korth was done for the evening.

Korth thought he was done for the evening, that was. I knocked against the panel so softly that Korth either didn’t hear or dismissed the noise as unimportant.

I knocked again, a little louder. This time, Korth glanced up from his book, looking in the opposite direction at the door to his chamber. “Enter,” he called. I grinned to myself.

Korth waited almost a full minute before shaking his head and returning to his book. I knocked a third time, even louder, and added in a stage whisper, “Korth.” His eyebrows rose at the wall that concealed the dumbwaiter, a puzzled smile quirking his mouth.

“You can’t hide from me,” I continued in a loud whisper.

The wooden chair creaked as Korth got up and approached the panels in the wall. Just before he opened the doors, I flung them apart and popped my head out. “Surprise!”

He jumped ever so slightly and smiled. “Odette, what are you doing here?”

“I figured that since you already walked on grass, you’re a wild man now. How adventurous are you feeling?”

I clambered out of the dumbwaiter and onto the rug. Korth stuck his head into the opening, looking up at the pulleys that stretched up as high as he could see. “What are you doing here?” he repeated.

“I’m coming to steal you away for an adventure,” I told him. “We’re going to that masquerade.”

“We can’t do that.”

“Why not?” I crossed his richly furnished room to where the balcony doors were flung wide to tempt in a breeze. “It’s a perfect night for it.”

“We would be recognized. I would end up talking to my subjects about their problems instead of spending time with you.”

I pulled out two masks I’d fashioned myself before coming down to see him. “The benefit of a masquerade .”

“What if someone came into our rooms and saw that we were missing?”

I pulled some of the pillows off Korth’s enormous bed and shoved them under the downy quilt, patting them into the rough shape of a human. “Such a shame that the crown prince isn’t feeling well tonight and went to bed early.”

“They might check on me.”

“Will they?” After padding across several plush rugs, I turned the key in the door’s lock. As the bolt slid over with a satisfyingly loud clack , I became acutely aware that I had just locked myself into a room with a man. The bed in the center of his chamber suddenly looked much larger, a tangible reminder that we were two very unmarried people, alone and locked in a bedroom together. Korth seemed to share my thoughts.

“We can’t be together without a chaperone. It isn’t appropriate.”

I nodded in mock thoughtfulness. “So you’re telling me that you’d rather comfortably lie in bed with the knowledge that you’re intentionally allowing an unprotected woman, your future wife , to roam the unfamiliar streets of a foreign land without an escort? And I thought you had honor.”

Korth blinked. “Well, when you put it that way…”

“Any more excuses as to why you’re avoiding spending time with your fiancée? I’m starting to think that you don’t like me.”

“I assure you, that isn’t the issue.” Korth’s voice was so sincere that I felt a pang of guilt.

“Oh? Do you like me too much, then?” I held one of the masks up to his face to see how it would appear, wishing my palms would stop sweating.

“Something like that. I don’t know if I trust myself to be alone with you.” With his eyes and forehead concealed behind the mask, his strong jaw and perfectly formed mouth were all I had left to look at.

Keep it together, Dahlia.

“Well, I trust you,” I cooed, coyly batting the mask against his chest. “We’re alone right now and you’ve been a perfect gentleman. I trust that you won’t take advantage of me while we are very, very alone tonight.”

Color rushed into Korth’s cheeks, and he clenched his fists as he drew a deep breath. “There will be other people there, too,” he said in a rush. “If it’s a masquerade.”

“Yes, it’s time to see if you actually can dance or if the rumors are true.”

“What rumors?”

I widened my eyes innocently. “Why, the rumors that you have two left feet.”

“I’m a perfectly capable dancer,” he said, somewhat affronted.

“Then prove it. Come with me.” I gripped the front of his doublet and tugged him toward the dumbwaiter.

“We’re going in that? But it’s for transporting laundry and supplies. Why don’t we just take the stairs?”

“Because that would be no fun at all. If we’re going to sneak out, we need to have the fear that we’ll be caught. It’s much more exciting this way.”

Korth poked his head in to examine the dumbwaiter’s mechanics. “Will it hold both of us?”

“Only if someone very muscular manages the pulleys,” I said with a flirtatious grin. “Just how strong are you?”

He stared at me and swallowed. “Physically, I can manage it. But if you keep looking at me like that, I’m not sure.”

“Maybe I don’t want you to resist me.” I barely whispered it, my fingers still clutched around the folds of Korth’s doublet. Godfrey’s absence had never been more welcome. The memory of our brief moment of solitude in the library’s hidden alcove snuck in to interrupt my thoughts, and I found it impossible to pull away from Korth.

Korth closed his eyes and pulled in a deep breath through his nose. “Show me how this works.”

My eyes fell to settle on Korth’s lips pressed tightly together, and it felt like all the oxygen had been sucked out of the room. “Show you how what works?”

His eyes shot open to find me studying his mouth. “The dumbwaiter’s pulley system. How am I supposed to make the platform lower?”

Pink tinged my cheeks. “Of course.” As I turned to inspect the system, I heard Korth release a long stream of air.

It was easy to teach Korth how to use the pulley system, but wedging ourselves into the dumbwaiter put us so close that our legs pressed together. The difficulty was keeping my eyes off Korth’s arms as he slowly eased us down to the lower levels. Each muscle in his chest, shoulders, and arms became significantly more prominent, and the veins on his forearms stood out. How I longed to run my fingers along them.

When the dumbwaiter finally thudded down on the bottommost level, neither Korth nor I made any motion to exit immediately. Slowly, he released the rope and pulled the brake lever, clenching his fingers around it long after the clamps locked into place.

“You don’t need to use the lever when we’re at the bottom,” I told him softly.

“I just need to hold on to something for a minute,” he responded, still clenching the brake lever as if his life depended on it. His eyes smoldered in the dim light of the dumbwaiter’s empty shaft.

The air in the small, enclosed dumbwaiter cart warmed with unnatural speed, and the humidity reached such an intensity that sweat pooled in my palms, as if determined to match the forbidden steam ensnaring my thoughts.

“Do those doors open from the inside?” Korth asked, not even bothering to glance at the worn panel to my right.

“Probably.”

I didn’t make any move to show him how the panel worked. A masquerade didn’t seem as attractive an option as being locked in this tiny, overheated dumbwaiter with Korth. The sharp image from my dream, of Korth bending down to press his lips against mine, roared back to life and nearly propelled me into acting on the impulse of discovering what such an action would feel like in reality.

“You’re sweating,” he said, reaching his thumb over to wipe my forehead free of the droplets collecting. Once the pad of his thumb reached my hairline, he paused and fiddled with the strands of my blonde hair, coiling it around his finger before releasing it. Every breath increased the heat and humidity of our close quarters, but leaving would be impossible. My body felt rooted to the spot, soaking in the sensation of Korth so close to me. He smelled like sandalwood and leather, which screamed masculinity and intoxicated me with the aroma.

Shoals , I was going to get myself into major trouble if I allowed the thoughts in my head to run amok much longer. I was supposed to get Korth to fall in love with me, so it was only natural to feel attraction on my end too. A lot of attraction, given how incredible Korth was. I wouldn’t be a woman if I didn’t see how handsome and honorable he was. This was a man who would be willing to sacrifice for his partner rather than selfishly demand more and more while giving nothing in return.

The dimple to the side of his mouth drew my eyes. Part of getting someone to fall in love with me was physical affection. I should be applauded for going to such efforts…but how long would I continue to delude myself that the mission was my sole reason for wanting Korth to show more affection? I was supposed to make Korth fall in love with me; I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with him .

After several long beats, Korth leaned over to push the paneled doors ajar, opening our isolated box to the cool breeze rushing in from the kitchen’s lowest level. The air’s chill nip whisked away the inappropriate thoughts as my true purpose slunk back into my mind.

“Ladies first,” Korth said with a strained smile, gesturing at the empty corridor.