Unsaid Promises

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 20

The room was elegantly decorated, the firelight glinting off the gilt trim and reflecting in the oval mirror placed over the dressing table. The heavy brocade curtains were pushed open to emit the view of the starry night and a light breeze floated in through the balcony doors that had been left hanging open. The moon traced a path across the floor, coating the tasteful rug and snaking its way up the bed to illuminate the two figures entwined among the blankets.

Voices echoed along the corridors outside the room while drunken laughter wafted up from the gardens and ponds below as revellers stumbled across the courtyards to their rooms or towards the main hall where the Lord and Lady of Queenscove entertained their new daughter-in-law's foreign guests. The scent of jasmine and orchids perfumed the air, having seeped into the clothes of the lovers on the bed during their appearance at the wedding earlier in the evening.

Unlike other events the two had attended in the preceding months, they had remained at this one until the early hours of the morning instead of sneaking off. Drinking, eating and celebrating, they had danced and chatted and flirted discreetly under the oblivious eyes of their friends and colleagues until the bride and groom had retired to the bridal chamber. There had been several dances and glasses of wine after that moment before both had signalled each other from opposite ends of the room and placed their empty goblets in the hands of trained pages before bowing their graciousness to the hosts and fleeing to the privacy of the chamber in the west wing.

Over and over, as Dom struggled to pull apart the laces of her corset and she fumbled with the elegant braiding that crossed over the chest of his uniform, Kel told him how much she loved the fact that he knew every passageway in the castle. Since their arrival at his uncle's dukedom, Dom had managed to ferret his way into her room each night with no one the wiser. Although people noticed his absence from his own rooms, his reputation had the staff and nobility gossiping about which maid had caught his attention this time. Kel didn't care as his hands wrapped around her waist and his lips met hers in a burst of fire and desperation. The wedding forgotten, Kel succumbed to his desires as they equalled hers.

Hours later, as the voices around them receded and guests stumbled to their beds just as the morning staff rose to begin cooking for the day, Kel ran a finger down Dom's cheek and causing him to smile while his eyes remained shut. With her head resting in her hand that was propped on his chest, she shivered as his fingers blindly traced designs on her back.

"Do wonder what it will be like for us?" she asked quietly, watching his face.

"What do you mean?" he inquired, his eyes cracking open to search hers, his hand pushing hair away from her face.

"Will we marry? Will we receive the kind of honours that Neal and Yuki have or will we be shunned and gossiped about? Will you wait and retire or will one of us die in the field before our friends even know? Will someone find me crying over your grave and wonder how they missed it?" Dom held a finger to her lips to quiet the stream of frantic questions.

"Those are a lot of what ifs, Love. How about this one? What if I am madly in love with you and when the time is right and we can legally do so, I will offer you my heart in front of the Goddess's priestess and anyone we care about?" he saw her eyes widen and then the smile press against his finger that he had yet to remove.

"Sometimes, I wonder if we should tell Neal," she confessed, resting her head over his heart and listening to its steady rhythm as her finger combed her hair. "Each time I almost let it slip, I think of all the freedom we have and I stop myself."

"Me too," he told her, his motions stopping as she lifted her head and tossed her hair back.

"Do you think we made the right choice? I know it's selfish, and lying but I would still choose it again and again if given the choice," she whispered, her dark eyes pools of black in the pale light of dawn.

"We chose our path, Kel," he said softly, "there will be consequences but everything does. Did we make the right choice? It was right for us and in this situation, we are all that matters. So, yes, I would choose it over and over again as well."

Nodding, she dropped a lingering kiss on his lips. Letting his hands slide up the sides of her body until they cupped her face, he returned the affection, pouring his love into the motion as her hands slipped from his shoulders and pressed against the mattress of the bed the Lady of Queenscove had given her for the duration of her stay. Rolling so that he lay on top of her, Dom's hands roamed as they followed the familiar contours of her body.

"What will you tell Neal when he asks which of his mother's house servants found you in her bed?" Kel asked in a teasing voice that held no jealousy but only amusement.

"That only one person holds my heart and she is far more enchanting than a kitchen maid," Dom murmured against her collar bone as she arched in pleasure.

"My heart is all yours," she assured him, meeting his eyes.

"You've had mine for years," he told her, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Words ended as actions took over, both parties pushing thought of consequences and secrets and lies to the back of their minds and focusing on the precious moments remaining before returning the charade they had constructed.

AN: So it's finished. Completed. The final chapters took awhile but for those who remained patient, thanks for hanging on for them. I had a lot of fun writing this story, the ending just got sidetracked by school and original pieces on FP. It may be awhile before I post anything on this account because I think the next time I do, I'll write most of it ahead of time. If you're looking for anything, Savannah O'Ryan, my editing genius for spellcheck, has some wicked pieces going right now (The Definition of Us and Between You & Me). If you want to see what I've been up to, check out my fiction press account. Thanks for all your support.

-Jez