Sweet Heart (The Hearts of Sawyers Bend #2) - Ivy Layne Page 0,61

on the bed, but the mattress looked almost brand-new. I couldn't imagine how they got it up there in the first place. Not through the spiral stairs, that was for sure.

There was another trunk against the wall, and what I thought might be an oversized closet in one corner of the room. Wine glasses sat on a table in another corner, an empty bottle between them.

It wasn't the furnishings that drew my attention. It was the view, even more magnificent than I'd expected. The Blue Ridge Mountains spread around us, a rolling blanket of green in every direction, the slowly setting sun spreading shadows and illuminating the treetops, turning the mountains into a kaleidoscope of green.

“So beautiful,” I breathed, mostly to myself.

Royal came up beside me, his arm settling around my shoulder. “It really is. When you see these mountains every day you kind of take them for granted. But seeing them like this, with you…” He turned to face me, his eyes serious. “It reminds me how lucky I am.”

His hand came up to cup my face, the side of his thumb stroking my cheek. I leaned into him, his steady, solemn expression filling an empty place in my heart. Filling it so full it hurt.

“I know what you mean,” I said, my breath so tight in my chest the words barely squeaked out. “I'm feeling pretty lucky, too, right now.”

Royal's eyes crinkled at the edges, chasing off his serious expression. The corner of his mouth quirked up. “Oh, really? Feeling lucky? How lucky?”

“This lucky.” I wound my arms around his neck, tilting my head up and tugging him closer. It felt like a million years since I had his lips on mine. As always, Royal didn't disappoint me.

His kiss started out gentle, his lips caressing mine, teasing them open, though I didn't need the tease. So many kisses and so little of anything else. I wanted Royal. Wanted his kiss, his touch. Wanted everything.

I made a little sound in the back of my throat and the kiss turned hungry, Royal's mouth demanding. My fingers curled, gripping his shirt. Our teeth clashed, tongues tangling, but neither of us pulled back. I arched into him, needing to get closer. More. I wanted more.

I was so lost in Royal's kiss, I almost missed it.

A low thump, like metal hitting wood. Then more—a harsh scrape of metal on metal and the muffled thud of footsteps.

Footsteps.

Royal got his head together before I did. He dropped his arms from around me and nudged me behind him, eyes scouring the room.

It didn't take us long to spot the trapdoor, flush with the floor. I thought we'd left it open. Royal must have agreed because he bolted across the room and yanked on the handle. The trapdoor didn't move.

He stared at it for a long moment before straightening and moving to the windows facing the path back to Heartstone. I joined him just in time to see a tall figure with gilded blond hair disappear into the trees.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Daisy

That fucking son of a bitch. Goddammit.” Royal spun around, eyes searching the room once again.

“What? What happened? Who was that?” Watching Royal pace back and forth, I had the distinct feeling he knew a lot more about whatever was going on than I did.

“It was Bryce. And I'm almost positive he just locked us in here.” Royal went back to the trapdoor and yanked again with no better luck than the first time. “It's supposed to lock from above, not below,” he muttered. “Bastard must have jammed it.”

My hands automatically went to my pockets for my phone. Nothing. This dress didn't have pockets, and even if it had, I'd left my phone in Royal's car. I hadn't planned on taking any calls while at dinner, and I'd figured it was close enough if I needed it. Close, maybe, but it might as well have been on the moon for all the good it would do me now.

“What do we do? What about your phone? Can you call the house?”

Royal pulled his phone from his pocket, scowling at the screen. “No service.” He tried to dial anyway, but the call didn't go through. “Useless,” he grumbled, tossing the phone onto the table.

I watched Royal pace around the room, looking out of the windows as he moved, studying the space for anything he could use to pry open the trapdoor. There wasn't much. And by not much, I mean there wasn't anything. The small room I'd taken for