managed to remove him from any meetings with the king, and he doesn’t know what he’s been told.”
“He can’t sign the agreement!” Hollis exclaimed. But the moment she spoke the words, she realized that she was wishing to undermine her own brother-in-law.
“He likely will, Hollis. It seems too late to stop the wheels in motion. And even if there were a way to stop it, Alucia would never agree to any delays. They’ve got what they came for, more than what they came for. Both delegations are preparing to sail. The British prime minister is hosting a final reception this evening for all parties. To try and undo it now would be...a disaster. But it may not be too late to stop what else might be planned.”
Hollis thought of Eliza and Sebastian. Eliza was so proud of her husband—this was a victory for them. This would endear Sebastian to his people. She thought of Marek, who not only had to watch his father be swindled, possibly overthrown, but also had to watch it as he carried such a burdensome secret. She thought of the people of Wesloria and Alucia, who were relying on this peace agreement to bring prosperity.
And she thought of herself. She could feel a quake rumbling in her, a true crack in her foundation. So many things felt as if they were on the verge of exploding in her. She looked at Marek. “Do you have to go now?”
He shook his head. “Not yet. I left word with a footman where I might be reached if Osiander sends for me.”
Hollis couldn’t even bring herself to look at Marek when she asked her next question. “What now?”
He didn’t answer her with words. He sat on the settee beside her again and drew her into his arms, kissed both cheeks, and then her mouth.
Hollis put her hands on his cheeks and forced him to stop. “You’re leaving.”
He looked surprised. “Je. Did you—did you expect different?”
Hollis bit back a sob and shook her head. “I didn’t dare to expect anything. I didn’t dare to dream of anything. But I...” There seemed to be no words to describe what was racing through her heart just then. Despair and resignation. “Everything has happened so fast, and I didn’t expect, but—”
“Hollis, milas,” he murmured, and lowered his head to hers, lingering there a long moment. “This may be the last opportunity we have to be alone together.”
“Oh.” She winced. “That is the saddest thing you’ve said yet.”
“Hollis.” He suddenly dropped down to one knee before her and gathered her hands in his. “This time with you has meant everything to me. You’ve given me more happiness than I have had in many years. Je? I can’t begin to express the depth of...what is the word,” he said, and pressed his forehead to her knees. “Ledan,” he said. “It means...it means perhaps hope. Yes, that’s it. Now I have hope that life is not closed to me. Now I have hope that I can feel things I thought were barred to me.”
“Oh, Marek,” she said sadly, and leaned over his head. “You gave me ledan, too.”
He rose up, and this time, caught her hand and pulled her up with him. “We have this moment, if you want it.”
“I want it.” Her gaze fell to his mouth. “I want it.”
And so it was that she found herself in Marek’s arms again, her hands on his bare chest, her fingers skimming over the hard wall of his abdomen, his chest and nipples. And so it was that she crawled on top of him and slid onto his body. She braced herself against him while he cupped her hips. She allowed herself to leave her thoughts behind and only feel, to remember what it was like to be cherished and adored and maybe even loved.
She remembered what it was like to love someone in return.
He moved her onto her back, and with his gaze locked with hers, he drove her to a climax they could share. Hollis’s cry of pleasure was too loud, but so was Marek’s. She had a fleeting thought of raised eyebrows through the house, but she didn’t care. Let them think what they wanted. Let them all think ill of her and wonder what had happened to her morals. She didn’t care, she didn’t care, she didn’t care.
All she cared about was this moment with this man, of the freedom she’d gained from her grief, of the love she felt burgeoning in her