Free Love's Magic by Traci E. Hall

this farce of a wedding, and I can leave you at Falcon Keep. God knows, I’ll not stay there! You can take as many lovers as you like after I’m gone.”
    “What? Why are you saying these things?”
    His energy depleted as fast as it had spiked, and he raked his hand through his hair. “Stop crying, your tears will get you nothing. I will sleep in front of the door. No one will come in.”
    She dried her eyes, but refused to adjust her gown. Her shoulders were proudly set. “My heart is breaking for you. Can you not trust me?”
    “You’ve already lied to me once!”
    “I didn’t lie, exactly. I saved your life.”
    Cold spread through his body. “And I’ve saved yours. We shall see who made the better bargain.”
    One small gasp escaped before she covered her mouth with her fingertips. “You can be cruel. Is that where the darkness comes from?”
    “I’ll not talk more about it. Sleep, and in the morning we will pretend this never happened.”
    “I am not tired,” she said stubbornly.
    Nicholas exhaled, then picked a pastry from the platter. The idea of taking a bite made his stomach turn. He didn’t want to hurt her, and he would, if she stayed with him. “I don’t want you to come with me.” She would ruin everything. She made him want to live, and he had to be prepared to die. It was not his first choice, but a man needed to look at all the options.
    “You are not leaving me behind, Nicholas.”
    He saw that she was serious, and he remembered that she had a stake in this game, too. He’d saved her from being burned as a witch, but the baron still held the lives of her brothers. “No wagons, then. I am in a hurry.”
    “No wagons?” She bit her lip. “One wagon. I will take my book of recipes, and my kitchen plate. And my clothing, simple as it is.”
    “We will have no cause for anything fancy,” he yielded.
    “And here I thought you would take me to see the king,” she retorted in a voice dripping with sarcasm.
    His temper faded a little more at her show of spirit.
    “Lucky for you, sir, that I’ve never desired to go to court. My plain gowns serve me well.”
    Nicholas had noticed that she wore little in the way of adornment, other than the bells on her shoes. Since the wedding had been the only occasion needed for something more stylish, and since he was wearing her father’s tunics because he had no clothes of his own, he hadn’t felt in a position to judge. “One wagon.”
    She smiled. “Thank you. Nicholas, about that kiss …”
    Closing his eyes, Nicholas knew he would remember both kisses for the rest of his life. They’d been so good he dare not have another. “We are getting an annulment.” He opened his eyes, walked in front of her, and made certain she was listening. “We will follow through on the plan, and we will each get what we want.”
    “My brothers will not be freed until I have a baby.” She looked up at him with trust. How could she? She was blindly placing faith in him, and he didn’t deserve it.
    “Don’t worry.”
    “That is easy for you to say, you are hiding something. You can trust me, Nicholas.”
    He heard the plea for an olive branch in her tone, but he couldn’t give it. If she betrayed him, it would mean his death. His death had a purpose if his soul was ever to be his again.
    “Can we try to be friends, at the very least?”
    Sighing, Nicholas shook his head. “Caring for you is dangerous to me.”
    He was surprised when she laughed out loud. “Really? You are not the only one who is risking everything.”
    “I want to believe,” Nicholas cleared his throat but the lump remained. “But there is nothing. Get some sleep, Celestia.”
    “I will keep your secrets.”
    His stomach tightened at her breathy promise. Another woman had made lying promises, and he couldn’t take the chance. Celestia solemnly pulled back the coverlet on the bed. “There is no need to sleep on the floor. I understand that you do not want me.”
    Not want her?