Since we didn’t want to ruin the rest of the ren faire for everyone else, Sophia agreed to dispose of the bodies in the barn, as well as the three giants I’d killed in the woods earlier. Finn stayed behind to help her, while Bria drove Owen and me over to Jo-Jo’s salon.
We had to wait until Jo-Jo finished with her latest round of clients, but the dwarf healed Owen and me with her Air magic and sent us on our way. We ended up back at my house late that afternoon.
Owen was in the den, talking on the phone to Stuart Mosley at First Trust bank and trying to figure out just how much money Darrell had stolen and if he could get any of it back. While he hashed things out with Stuart, I went into the kitchen to make dinner.
Last night, I’d brought home some of the faire food that Sophia and I had prepared, and I quickly reheated the pulled chicken in some of Fletcher’s barbecue sauce.
While the chicken was warming up, I microwaved a couple of potatoes until they were almost done, then sliced them in half and scooped out most of the insides. I combined the potato innards with sharp cheddar cheese, sour cream, green onions, and crumbled pieces of crispy applewood-smoked bacon. Then I refilled the potato boats with the mixture, sprinkled them with even more cheese, and slid them into the oven to finish baking.
After everything that had happened today, I wanted some warm comfort food, and barbecue chicken and twice-baked potatoes seemed like a good place to start.
I also sliced, buttered, and toasted some of Sophia’s sourdough rolls in the oven and threw together a green salad filled with cherry tomatoes, carrots, and red onions and topped with a creamy blue-cheese dressing.
I had just finished putting everything on the kitchen table, along with a pitcher of raspberry lemonade, when Owen came in, sat down, and set his phone aside. I sat down with him, and we both tucked into our food.
The sweet and spicy barbecue chicken. Potatoes loaded with cheese and bacon. The warm toasted rolls. The crunchy, crispy salad with its blue-cheese tang. The fruity tartness of the lemonade. It was a delicious combination of flavors, aromas, and textures, and I enjoyed every single bite. Owen did too, judging by the fact that he went back for seconds, just like I did.
We didn’t talk much during the meal, just enjoying the food, each other’s company, and the fact that we had both survived another dangerous situation that we probably shouldn’t have.
“What did Stuart say?” I asked after we’d taken the edge off our hunger.
“He agreed to let me access Darrell’s accounts on Monday so I can recover some of the money he stole.” Owen sighed and set his fork down. “There’s not much left of it, though. Only a few thousand in his checking account. You were right about him spending it all. I’ll have to cover most of the difference out of my own pocket.”
“No, you won’t.”
He frowned. “What? Why not?”
I jerked my head over at one of the kitchen counters. “Because Sophia stopped by while you were talking to Stuart, and she brought you some presents.”
Owen followed my gaze. Celeste’s swords were sitting on the counter, along with the rook pin that Darrell had been wearing on his cloak.
“How is that going to help?” Owen asked.
“The rubies in the swords and the pin are worth quite a bit. We can go to Darrell’s house tomorrow, break in, and loot the rest of his stuff. It shouldn’t be too hard to find some buyers for his collectibles. I’ve already got Finn working on it. He’s pitching it as an estate sale, and he’ll run everything through First Trust. I don’t know that we’ll get all your money back, but we should be able to recover a good chunk of it.”
Some of the tension eased out of Owen’s shoulders, and a smile spread across his face. “Have I told you lately how much I love you?”
“Not nearly enough,” I teased. “You know, a girl does like to hear those things from time to time.”
His smile widened. “Well, I’ll be sure to mention it more often, then. At the very least, every time you save me from ren-faire assassins.”
My heart squeezed tight at how close I’d come to losing him to the Black Rook and Pirate Queen Celeste, but I winked, not wanting to ruin the lighthearted mood. “I’ll hold you to that. And there is something else you could do for me.”
“Name it.”
I stabbed my finger at Celeste’s swords. “Make me a pair of those. Just in case we ever do run into more ren-faire assassins. You never know in Ashland.”
Owen nodded, and his eyes narrowed, as if he was already mentally designing the weapons. “Two silverstone swords. With long, sharp, plain blades. And some sapphires fitted together in the hilts to form your spider runes.”
I could already see the weapons in my mind, and I knew they would be just as exquisite as the knives Owen had made for me. I grinned. “You certainly know the way to this assassin’s heart.”
For dessert, we had warm oatmeal-cherry crumble topped with vanilla-bean ice cream and drizzled with my homemade chocolate sauce. After we finished, Owen cleared the table while I lit a fire in the den. Then we curled up on the couch together, our arms wrapped around each other, staring into the bright, cheery flames and lost in our own thoughts.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I finally asked. “About Darrell? I know the two of you weren’t all that close, but what he did still had to hurt.”
A betrayal by someone you knew and considered a friend always left a far deeper mark than a random attack by a stranger.
“I liked Darrell. He was always nice, polite, and friendly, and I thought he was good at his job. I just didn’t realize that he was a little too good at it.” Owen grimaced. “I still can’t believe he was plotting behind my back this whole time. And not just to steal money but to kidnap and kill me.”
He fell silent, still staring into the flames. Several seconds passed before he spoke again.
“I guess it just goes to show that you don’t really know some people the way you think you do. Maybe the ren faire should have a new theme next year. Maybe instead of Winter’s Web, the organizers should call it The Ides of Winter.” He let out a low, bitter laugh. “Hey, maybe I’ll even dress up like Julius Caesar next year. After all, I’ve been betrayed, just like he was.”
I kept quiet, sensing there was more he needed to say.
“And I can’t help but feel stupid that I fell into Darrell’s trap. I should have known something weird was going on when I supposedly won the faire tickets.” He shook his head. “And I can’t help but think that I could have done things differently. That if I’d just known how unhappy Darrell was, I could have done something to help him.” His voice dropped. “Instead of killing him.”
I sat up and looked at him. “It is not your fault that Darrell did what he did. People make their own choices, and they are responsible for their own actions and the consequences that come along with them. Darrell could have come to you and told you he’d made a mistake embezzling the money, and you would have helped him. I know you would have, because that’s the kind of good, decent, honorable man you are. But Darrell was arrogant and stupid and greedy, and he decided to take what he wanted no matter how many people he had to hurt. That was his biggest mistake, and it ended up costing him everything.”
Owen nodded, and some of the tension eased out of his body. “How did I ever get so lucky as to have you in my life?”
I grinned. “I could say the same thing about me having you.”
He leaned over and kissed me. The brief brush of his lips against mine sent warmth shooting through my body and ignited a spark of desire deep in my stomach.
I drew back, then grinned again and clasped my hands to my heart. “Oh, my dear, sweet, humble blacksmith!” I cooed in a high, falsetto voice. “Oh, how you make me swoon!”
I put my hand up to my forehead, let out a long, loud, dramatic sigh, and then flopped back against the couch cushions, as though I was a genteel lady overcome with a case of the vapors.
Owen laughed and then bent forward at the waist, as though he was taking a bow. “Why, thank you, fair lady. This humble blacksmith always aims to please his pirate queen assassin.”
I crooked my finger at him. “Then come here and prove it,” I murmured in a low, husky voice.
Owen grinned, leaned forward, and lowered himself on top of me so that we were both stretched out on the couch. I threaded my hands through his silky black hair and pulled his head down to mine. Our lips met, and I swiped my tongue against his. He deepened the kiss, plunging his tongue into my mouth. More sparks exploded in my stomach, and I sighed with happiness, wrapped my arms around his neck, and pulled him closer.
Owen kissed his way across my cheek, then sucked on the side of my neck. I drew in a breath, drawing his rich metallic scent deep into my lungs. He kept kissing my neck, even as his hands slid up my shirt. I wasn’t wearing a bra, and he cupped my breasts, gently tweaking my nipples with his thumbs. Those sparks burned even brighter and coalesced into a liquid heat that flooded my entire body.
“You are wearing entirely too many clothes,” Owen rumbled, still kneading my breasts.
“I was just thinking the same thing about you,” I murmured back, running my hands down his strong, muscled back.
“Then let’s fix that.”
Owen grabbed me around the waist and sat up, pulling me up along with him. I lifted my arms over my head, and he stripped off my shirt, exposing my bare breasts.
His violet gaze darkened with desire. “Now, that’s more like it.”
He dipped his head to my right breast and gently caught my nipple between his teeth. Then he sucked on it hard before doing the same thing to my other breast. I gasped with pleasure and arched back to give him better access.
Owen kept sucking, licking, and kissing my breasts. That liquid heat in my body burned a little hotter with every sure stroke of his fingers and every sly slide of his tongue. I reached down to get rid of his shirt the way he’d gotten rid of mine, but Owen caught my hand in his and pressed a kiss to my knuckles.
“Not yet,” he murmured. “This blacksmith wants to thoroughly pleasure his lady first.”
He gave me a wicked grin, then laid me back down on the couch and undid my jeans. I lifted my hips, and Owen slid the jeans off me, along with my underwear and socks. I lay there and watched while he got rid of his own clothes, then grabbed a condom from his wallet. I took my little white pills, but we always used extra protection.
The crackling flames bathed Owen in a soft glow, outlining his broad shoulders, his strong biceps, his muscled chest, and his long, hard erection. I let out a low wolf whistle of appreciation.
“Not so humble after all,” I purred.
Owen winked. “Like I said before, I aim to please.”
He got down on his knees beside the couch. He smoothed his hands down my thighs and eased them apart. My breath caught in my throat. I knew what was coming next and just how good it would be.
Owen gave me another wicked grin, then bent forward and put his mouth on me, sucking, licking, and kissing just as he’d done to my breasts. I moaned with pleasure and rocked forward, and he plunged his tongue even deeper inside me.
That liquid heat in my veins flared up into something hotter and far more intense, the pressure and the pleasure built and built, and it wasn’t long before I cried out and exploded.
Owen kept right on sucking, licking, and kissing as the orgasm ripped through me, trying to bring me as much pleasure as possible. Finally, when my body had stilled, he lifted his head and looked at me.
“Is my lady pleased?” he murmured.
“Exceptionally. Now, come here, you,” I growled.
I grabbed his hand and pulled him toward me. Owen laughed and climbed back onto the couch with me. Our mouths locked together, our tongues dueled back and forth, and our caresses became quicker, harder, and more intense.
Eventually, I flipped him over and teased his long, hard length with my tongue and mouth the same way he had teased me, trying to bring him as much pleasure as he had given me, as though this was the first time we’d been together instead of the hundredth. But in some ways, every time with Owen felt like the first time, and I always loved exploring all the hard, muscled planes of his body, from the scar that cut across his chin to his broad shoulders and all the way down his chest.
When Owen was ready, he covered himself with the condom, then picked me up and settled me on his lap. I looked into his eyes, then rocked forward, taking him deep inside me with one smooth motion. We both groaned, and he held on to my hips, urging me on as I surged forward time and time again, taking him deeper and deeper inside me, until we both reached the very peak of our pleasure and plunged over the edge together.
The humble blacksmith and the pirate queen assassin had pleased each other very much indeed.
Afterward, we lay tangled up together on the couch, covered with a soft blanket, basking in the afterglow, as well as the flames still crackling in the fireplace.
Owen drifted off to sleep with his arms wrapped around me. I put my head on his chest and let the strong, steady beat of his heart lull me to sleep as well. My last thought before I slipped into the quiet, soothing blackness was about the ren faire.
Winter’s Web, The Ides of Winter, whatever you wanted to call it. The name didn’t matter, only the fact that Owen and I had survived it the way we always did, just as we would survive all the challenges with Tucker, Mason, and the Circle that were looming on the horizon.
Together.