Chapter 41: Cenric

Chapter

Forty-One

CENRIC

Even after walking through the camp and ensuring all is well, the heat in my veins hasn't abated. If anything, it burns hotter, fiercer.

The shouts had come from the night watch as they called out to each other. Part of me resents them for interrupting us, while another part is grateful.

I had no right to touch Everly. No right to do what I did to her.

She deserves better.

I return to my tent and find it empty. Disappointment crashes over me like a tidal wave, even though I know it's better this way.

If Everly were here, I would want to take her in my arms, claim her lips, and make her mine in every way possible.

But I can't. I won't .

She's an outsider, and our laws forbid her from being any more than a brief dalliance. Everly deserves more than that.

She deserves marriage. A husband.

I hurry out of my tent, moving swiftly through the camp, past the smoldering remains of fires and the night guards.

The lake comes into view, its surface a mirror of the starry sky above. Without hesitation, I strip off my clothes and wade into the icy water. The cold shock steals my breath, but I welcome it.

I dive beneath the surface, letting the frigid water envelop me completely. My lungs burn, but I stay under, pushing myself to the limit. When I finally come up for air, gasping for breath, her face still lingers in my thoughts.

Cursing, I swim further out, my muscles working against the current. The physical exertion helps, but not enough. I still feel the ghost of her touch on my skin. Still taste her on my lips.

How can one woman have such a hold on me? I've known her my whole life, yet she's become this irresistible force I can't escape.

The logical part of my brain screams at me to forget her, to focus on my duty to my people. But my traitorous body wants nothing more than to run to her tent and take her in my arms again.

But I won't do that to her.