He turned to the window and stared out into the garden surrounding the palace. The lawn was illuminated by flood lights. Faye was outside, tending to some plants. He let his gaze wander over her body. In her tight jeans and equally tight tank top, her voluptuous curves were even more enticing. Clearly, other men had thought so, too. Just remembering the little she’d told him the night before made his blood boil. He hadn’t dared ask any more questions, knowing his lack of knowledge of the events would have made her suspicious. Instead he’d made love to her again, making sure she knew that he would protect her now.
He knew he should return to the stack of papers—notes from his interrogations of the guards—to see if he could find any inconsistencies in their statements, but the need to take Faye into his arms was greater.
He opened the French doors that led to the wrap-around porch and stepped outside. When he jumped over the railing and landed on the soft grass below, Faye turned to look over her shoulder and smiled.
With long strides, he walked to her.
“Taking a break from your work?” Faye asked.
He pulled her into his arms. “I wish I didn’t have to work at all and could spend the entire night in bed with you.”
“Mmm.” Her lips brushed against his. “But what would your subjects say if they found out how lazy their king was?”
“I wouldn’t call it lazy,” Cain deflected. “After all, I wasn’t planning on sleeping. I would be engaging in plenty of strenuous activity.”
When she laughed, he captured her lips and kissed her, first gently, but when her arms came around his neck and pulled him closer, he tilted his head to the side and slipped his tongue between her parted lips and tasted her.
Faye pulled her head back. “Cain, not here, everybody will be able to see us.”
“I don’t care,” he murmured and tried to draw her back.
“But you do,” she insisted. “You’ve never wanted anybody to see us being intimate with each other.”
“I’ve changed my mind.” He wanted everybody to see that Faye belonged to him.
She gave him a curious look. “Whatever happened to you while you were gone, it seems to have changed your outlook on many things.”
What else had she noticed? “Is that a bad thing?”
“No, no, not at all. It’s just that you used to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, but now . . .”
“Now what?” With his finger under her chin he tilted her head up.
“You seem so much more relaxed, as if all your worries were gone. Which is so odd because being locked up for so long generally causes the opposite.”
He caressed her cheek with his thumb. “Maybe I discovered during that time what’s really important.”
Faye smiled hesitantly. “Tell me what’s important to you now.”
He opened his mouth to answer when a door slamming made him snap his head to the side. Thomas, a concerned look on his face, was rushing out of the palace.
Instantly alert, Cain released Faye. “What’s going on?”
“It’s Eddie!” Thomas answered, already sprinting down the driveway that led away from the palace.
Having recognized the alarmed tone in his voice, Cain ran after him. As he closed in on Thomas, he shouted, “What’s wrong?”
Thomas didn’t even turn his head and continued running toward the end of the driveway. “Eddie needs help.” Then he veered to the right and ran into the forest.
Cain followed, his hand already reaching to his belt where he kept his silver dagger in a sheath. Ever since arriving at the palace it had become his constant companion. He gritted his teeth. If the guards had ignored his orders to give his friends from Scanguards free passage to the palace, some heads would roll tonight. He’d advised them of Eddie’s and Blake’s imminent arrival, not wanting a repeat of how he, Haven, Thomas, and Wesley had been received.
A sound behind him made him whirl his head around.
“Fuck!” Cain cursed when he spotted Faye chasing him. He wanted her nowhere near any danger. “Go back to the palace!”
But she wouldn’t be deterred and kept running his way. “Maybe I can help.”
Not wanting to stop to argue with her, he continued running after Thomas who was now disappearing behind some trees. “Damn it, Faye!” He slowed briefly to give her a chance to catch up with him then accelerated again, and together they followed Thomas into the thicket.
A few minutes more, and Cain could smell the brackish water of the bayou, but it wasn’t the only thing his superior sense of smell picked up. Human blood was in the air. Instantly on alert, he ran faster, his ears picking up sounds now. Grunts, splashing water, branches breaking. Evidence of a fight.