spending the night in the bath.” I laughed, but my words were somewhat true. Or I would have tried to get out and hurt myself more. James didn’t need to worry about me running. I could barely walk. “This is a beautiful castle. Did you really grow up here?”
“I did.”
“That’s cool.”
“Guess what room was mine?”
“Wait. Not this one?”
“Charlotte thought she was being funny by putting you in my old room.”
“Nice room.” I gazed around at it with new eyes. Had a young James really slept here?
“It is. The bathroom is new.”
“Yes, the modernization.”
He smiled. “So tell me, what do you think of my bed?”
“This was your bed too?”
“It was.”
“It’s nice. Big.”
“As far as I know, no one else has ever slept in it. Charlotte and Liam do not have too many guests.”
“And you never brought anyone over?”
He laughed. “I only lived in this room until I was seventeen. And a man does not bring a girl to his bed unless he plans to unite with her.”
“Unite?”
“Like your marriage but stronger. Unbreakable.”
I moved away from that topic as quickly as I could. “But you’ve been with women.”
“I have.”
“Oh. I get it. Just not in your bed.”
“Many men take that rule to mean any bed. I did not, but it is not something I am particularly proud of.” He looked away.
“You care.”
“Huh?”
“You actually believe men should be held to the same standards as women. Amazing. It took meeting a guy from a medieval society to find that.”
“We are not medieval. We choose to live the way we do.”
“Yet you choose to drink in Charleston dive bars?”
“Because I want to be anonymous. Something I can never be here.”
“Is it really that bad?” I rolled onto my side. “Charlotte likes you… and she’s in charge.”
“Yes, but that does not mean the rest of the people agree. They look at me as though they are convinced I will turn evil at any moment.”
“You won’t.” I ran my hand down his arm.
He pushed up his sleeve and placed my hand back down on his bare arm. “You are so quick to trust me now?”
“You do something to me when we’re close.”
“I do something to you?”
“Yes. You pull me in like a magnet or something.”
“Yet you chose to run away.”
“I was scared.”
“Are you scared now? You seem relaxed.”
I ran my fingers up and down his arm. “I’m better. I like being close.”
He smiled. “So do I, and I agree with you about the magnetic pull. I think it’s even stronger for me.”
“Yet I’m the one begging you to sleep next to me.”
“You didn’t beg. I would remember if you did.” He ran his fingers over the blanket covering my arm. I followed his lead, moving the blanket out of the way.
“Ok. I asked nicely with emphasis.”
He laughed again. I enjoyed his laugh, like the rest of him, far too much. “Should I blow out the lantern?”
“I don’t know.”
“You afraid of the dark?”
“Not usually.”
“They cannot hurt you anymore.”
“I know.” I felt a tear slide down my cheek.
He wiped away the tear. “You don’t have to play tough with me.”
“I’ve already admitted to being scared.”
“But this is more than scared.”
I nodded. “It is.”
“I will be right back.” He got off the bed and walked across the room. He pulled back the curtains enough to reveal the moon.
He came back to the bed. “Maybe that will help.” He blew out the lantern and lay back down next to me.
The moon did help. It cast just enough light into the room. “Perfect.” I nuzzled into the blanket.
“Good.”
“Will that light bother you?”
“Not at all. I sleep out under the moon when I can.”
“The moon is brighter here.”
“You noticed that, huh?” He brushed some hair back from my face.
“Amazing how perceptive I am.”
“You ready to try to get some sleep?”
“Yes.” I closed my eyes.
“Sleep well, Ainsley.”
“I like the way you say my name.”
“You do not say mine enough.”
“James.”
He covered me up with the blanket. My eyes were still closed, making the action feel almost intimate. “You should say it more often.”
“Do you have a nickname?”
“No. Do you?”
“Ains.”
“I prefer Ainsley.”
“Me too.”
“Then that is what I will call you.”
“Good night, James.”
“Good night, Ainsley.” He left a feather light kiss on my forehead.
19
JAMES
I could have stayed there forever. Ainsley lay beside me, her head resting on my chest. She looked like an angel with her hair splayed out on the pillow above her. Her even breathing relaxed me, and I had to fight to avoid falling asleep. I didn’t want to leave her by herself, but