Free Nightshade by Shea Godfrey Page A

fish.”
    Jessa stopped near the top of Darrius’s head. She held the high ground in more ways than one. “I don’t recall that.”
    Darrius jolted at the unexpected voice.
    Jessa stepped back as Darrius was on her feet in a heartbeat, spinning about. And then her bare feet slipped on the wet grass.
    “No!” Jessa lunged as Darrius’s legs kicked out and she fell back, but Darrius hit the water with a splash and met the bottom. She slid in the silt and then scrambled to stand. Jessa eased closer in concern, forgetting that she had yet to fasten her veil. Darrius pulled at her breeches, which were slipping from her hips, splashing to the side until her feet found solid ground.
    They stared at one another. Jessa’s vantage point had changed now and her confidence seeped away.
    Darry studied Jessa’s face, seeing for the first time her full beauty. Her cheekbones and chin were sculpted in fine lines and her lips were ample and wide, though the darkness of her eyes stood out above everything. The black curls and braids of her hair fell against her tanned complexion, which was a warm shade of light caramel that made Darry feel like sighing. Jessa’s eyes seemed lit from within. Her nose completed the picture in a perfect manner, a tiny bump upon the bridge just enough to add a touch of delicious character.
    Jessa smiled and met Darry’s silent appraisal.
    “Look at you,” Darry said with a grin. “You’re beautiful.” Then Darry realized what she had said and let out a nervous laugh. “I mean…well, that’s what I meant, actually, yes,” she said, and felt a blush invade her face. “But I thought…” Darry looked down at herself, pulling at her breeches. “I thought you were my sister.”
    Jessa followed Darry’s movements and blushed also. “I am not.”
    “Yes, I see that now, thank you.”
    Jessa held out her hand again. “Come out of there.”
    “Why don’t you come in?”
    “I beg your pardon?”
    Darry considered Jessa’s startled tone and frowned as she tried to remember the rules of etiquette. She was not speaking to just a beautiful woman but to a daughter of royal blood. “Did I just insult you?”
    “Was it proper for you to ask me that?”
    “Was it?”
    “No.”
    “And I’m standing in my breeches.”
    Jessa tried very hard not to look down again, for Darrius’s body was extremely pleasing, all sleek muscles and smooth skin. “Yes,” she replied quietly.
Don’t look down, don’t do it
. But Darrius’s breasts were clinging to her tight shirt just beyond the edge of her focus, the dark nipples on display.
Don’t, Jessa.
“Give me your hand, please,” Jessa said, her blood hot within her veins.
    Darrius obeyed and Jessa pulled her from the water. She let go of Darrius’s hand and waited, confident that Darrius would say something. But Darrius merely pulled at her shirt again, looking somewhat perplexed by the stubborn material.
    “Put this on, my Lady.” Jessa offered the tunic. She would not have thought anything would make Darrius shy.
    Darrius took it in silence and shrugged into the sleeves, flipping her hair to the side then flinging it back. Jessa closed her eyes at the water that dusted her face and the silk of her blue sari.
    “Bloody hell.”
    Jessa laughed. “You’re right, it’s cold.”
    “I’m sorry, Lady Jessa, truly. I didn’t mean to do that.”
    Jessa was still smiling as she held out the trousers with one hand and wiped at a cheek with the other. “It’s only water, Princess.”
    Darrius took her pants back. “I didn’t just ruin that, did I?”
    “I think,” Jessa spoke kindly, surveying her sari as she quickly brushed it with her hands, “that it would not be the first lady’s dress you’ve ruined.” And then she realized how her words must sound. “I mean, you don’t seem well suited to women’s fashions, Princess…I mean, what you wear…”
    “Not what a lady usually wears.”
    Jessa stepped back, trying to compose herself. She