Free Warrior Lover (Draconia Tales) by Karilyn Bentley

friend.
    Keara headed her way and Lily pulled the blanket off her head. “Don’t even think about leaving me here alone.”
    “You have the blanket. No one can see you. Jamie needs me. The men don’t know their way around these woods. What if they get lost?”
    Keara had gone daft. As if she could do a better job of searching for Jamie than the men could. “They won’t get lost. You on the other hand...”
    “Don’t be ridiculous. I grew up around here. Grandmother used to take me to these woods for herbs. I’m going to find Jamie. He needs me.”
    “And I don’t?”
    “You have the blanket. And you’re sitting in the wards. Jamie’s by himself in the woods. What if something happened to him? I can’t leave him alone out there!” Keara gestured to the woods.
    “Are you sure nothing can get to me?”
    “Thoren said nothing non-Draconi can get through those wards. You can’t get out can you?”
    “No.”
    “Then nothing can get in to you. You’re safe. Jamie needs me.”
    “Thoren won’t be happy about it.” Maybe that would persuade her. As Lily’s doubts about the security of the wards didn’t seem to be doing much good.
    Keara sighed. “I know. But I have to. You understand, don’t you?”
    “I understand.” If Enar wandered off, she would go search for him, and she had just met the man. Jamie was Keara’s apprentice, whom she thought of as her child. Of course she’d want to look for him, no matter how dangerous. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll hide under this invisibility blanket.” She pulled the blanket over her head, disappearing from view. “Be safe.”
    “Thanks, love. I won’t be long.”
    Like the men before her, Keara walked through the wards, disappearing into the woods. Although she understood her friend, she disagreed with Keara leaving. Lily knew without a doubt Lord Simon still looked for Keara. Once the lord had an idea or obsession nothing got in his way until he saw it through.
    And despite their social statuses, Keara was his current obsession.
    Oddities were gaining the upper ground in her life.
    Lily leaned back against the tree, feeling the scratch of the bark through the blanket and her tunic. Unlike the wards, she knew the tree existed and it grounded her in the moment. She watched as the sun skipped across the sky like stones thrown across the still waters of a pond. If only she had paints, canvas and an easel, she could escape reality.
    Being by herself gave her time to think about the preceding night’s events. Who was she fooling? Being alone gave her time to think of Enar and the things he’d done to her body. Things she refused to discuss with her best friend. Things that caused a whole host of problems, which she also refused to discuss with Keara.
    For instance, her self-talk about remaining aloof being thrown into the woods when his lips touched hers. Or maybe it was when his hands traced down her side. Or touched her core. Lily shook her head, trying to gather up the pieces of her scattered-to-the-winds barrier and rebuild it around her heart.
    Which was a little hard to do when the reasons for her heart to tumble for him stood in his favor. She definitely liked Enar’s kisses and what his tongue, hands and various body parts made her feel. And he took her away from River’s Run. If only she knew what her new life would be like. He seemed to be hiding something about where he was from.
    And with that realization the mortar between her bricks began to harden.
    His lack of forthcoming presented a problem. If he lied about her new life, then she couldn’t trust him.
    And she wanted to trust him.
    Well, the part of her heart that was clearly having issues with the remain-aloof plan wanted to trust him. The rest of her chinked another metaphorical brick into place.
    Sudden pain shot through her skull, catching her off-guard as she clenched her eyes shut. Lily dropped the blanket, grasping her head with both hands in a vain attempt to stop what felt like