Free Rital of Proof by Dara Joy Page B

what he was going to say, what he had seen. The same thing she had. Him, in her bed...
    "I saw you lying across my bed. Your skin was lit by flamelight, your hair was spread across the pillows. It caught flames of light. Your eyes were closed as if you were dreaming or thinking of something or someone... Something caught your attention and you rose up on your elbow and looked my—" He stopped, as if sensing some danger.
    She watched him speculatively. His description of his vision was not just like hers—it was an exact reflection of hers. What does it mean?
    His words interrupted her thoughts. "It appears as if a storm is coming." His aqua eyes scanned the horizon.
    He glanced down at her. "Shall I tell
Billings to have a room prepared for you for the evening? I would not want you to be caught in an arc storm on your journey home."
    "Thank you, Jorlan, but I shall be fine. There are plenty of places to take shelter on the way."
    "There are no places to take shelter between here and your estate. It is all open land."
    "It doesn't look like an arc storm to me. In any case, I never said I was going directly home." At his angry, resentful look, she turned and headed to the coops to retrieve her mount.
    It was only the slight hurt in his eyes that made her add, "I have a business appointment in Town. Unfortunately. I expect I'll be tied up late into the night going over dreary account ledgers."
    "I'm sure you'll be up very late doing that, Marquelle," he replied cynically.
    A small smile graced her mouth. Jealousy was an excellent mood for a brash, independent male who wanted no name-giver. Perhaps she should point that out to him?
    "Your untoward concern is touching, Jorlan, but you may sleep easy tonight knowing that I am in the arms of my ledgers and nothing else."
    His azure eyes narrowed dangerously. "What makes you think I care, Marquelle?"
    "I had a vision." Her soft laughter trailed after her as she left.
    Come-outs were not the only ones who could be mischief-makers. With the right incentive, a seasoned Marquelle could easily develop a yen for it.
    Her progress to the coops was reflected in his pale eyes.
    Whatever lay beneath their contained, hidden depths remained a mystery.

Chapter Four
    Although the arc storm never came that night, it did arrive several nights later.
    Green's business in
Capitol
Town
had taken longer than she had estimated. Since she had been tied up on her western properties these past months, the accounts were behind and had to be brought up-to-date. Instead of one night of dreary ledgers, she had dealt with four nights of tedious accounts.
    The one bright spot was that she and her solicitor had finally put the books to right.
    The strange part was that she had been in town all that time and had not once gone to see River. In fact, she had not been with the lusty pleasurer for several months. Since she had met Jorlan, she did not seem to have the desire to visit him. Her brow furrowed.
    The rain began to pelt her and Kibbee as the Kloo plodded its way through the muddy roads of the country. She was headed back to her estate, not wanting to spend another night in town. Her thoughts wandered to Jorlan as she tried to get her mind off of the cold drenching she was getting.
    Tomorrow, she would see him again; maybe offer to show him her estate. His eyes were really the most unusual color...
    A rumble sounded above and Kibbee shied on the path.
    Green tightened her hold on the reins and patted her mount's side. "There, girl. Guess we didn't see that arc-er coming, did we? If you can put some wind to it, I believe there is a tavern not too far down the road. We can take shelter there. They have a nice warm Kloo coop."
    At the magic words "warm" and "coop," Kibbee expanded her vents and with an inhaled gust of intake significantly increased her speed.
    Green smiled, shaking her head. There was nothing Kibbee liked more than a warm bed of soft tilla leaves. Coops usually provided nice tilla beds for the