Darkness Embraced by Winter Pennington Page A

it.
    No, I thought, you don’t.

Chapter Ten
     
    As strange as it may sound, I was loathe to wash the scent of our lovemaking from my skin. The idea of walking before the entire court and smelling of her claim upon me sent a little thrill through me. In the end, I was reluctant to be so brash and baiting. I wore a wine-colored dress that cinched at the waist. The sleeves were long and wide, but not so much that they would get in the way. It was something comfortable that I could move freely in.
    There was a knock on the door and I stood from my perch in front of the vanity table.
    Epiphany.
    I sighed and took the fox blade from the dresser, since Cuinn made it clear I had to.
    It’s only Vasco .
    I was close enough to the door that I could smell the crisp scent of his cologne.
    Caution before folly.
    I rolled my eyes, opening the door.
    Vasco strode into the room and I closed the door behind him, laying the fox blade back on the dresser.
    When I turned around, I got an eyeful of his attire. He looked like a white and silver wrapped present.
    “Damn.” I stared at him for several moments. “Is it Christmas already?”
    The pants he wore were very tight. The only darkness was his hair and the black leather boots that hit just below his knees. There was a slight heel to the boots, making his legs look longer. The silver thread was still twined in his hair, but the braids had been pulled back, held captive in a low clasp.
    Vasco grinned at me.
    “Don’t even start,” I said and motioned with a hand at his outfit. “That was worth a stare or two.”
    He laughed one of his low, rumbling laughs. “Even from a woman that loves women?”
    “If those pants were any tighter, Vasco, you’d be a woman.”
    He gave me a serious look. “Sì.” He wiggled his hips. “They are a little tight.”
    I crossed my arms over my chest and caught my bottom lip between my teeth. I shook my head at him.
    He gave a quick grin and returned to seriousness. “We do not have very long to talk. I am to escort you before the Elders.”
    I nodded, already guessing as much. “Are you going to tell me about the upcoming challenge?”
    He spread his arms out. “That is why I am here.”
    I went back to the vanity table, watching his reflection in the mirror. He sat on my bed.
    His nostrils flared and he turned toward the pillows like a hound on a scent trail.
    “Vasco,” I said before he could pick the sheet up and hold it to his face.
    His hand hovered. “Who did you sleep with last night, colombina?”
    “That’s none of your concern.”
    He started grinning again.
    I pointed the brush at him like a weapon. “Stop it, Vasco.”
    He was still grinning when he picked the sheet up and inhaled loud enough that I could’ve heard him without the supernatural hearing.
    As quickly as the grin had appeared, it vanished. He dropped the sheet to the bed with a look of shock and horror.
    I folded my hands in my lap with a sigh as Vasco leapt to his feet and started cursing in a slew of Italian. Although I couldn’t understand what he was saying, I understood what he was feeling. He was afraid, not just for me, but for Renata too.
    I managed to catch the word, “Foolish,” and then that too was sucked in and drowned out by another long line of fast and indecipherable Italian.
    “Great,” I said. “That’s nice, Vasco. Can you repeat that? In English, please?”
    He froze. Apparently, he hadn’t realized he’d been speaking Italian.
    After a moment, he blinked. “What have you done? What have you both done? You heard what she said last night!”
    Impatiently, I started pulling the curls of my hair back, tying it off with a long black ribbon.
    “I heard a lot more than you did, Vasco.”
    He sat back on the bed heavily. “What is done is done.”
    “It is,” I said. “Now tell me about the next challenge.”
    “Signore dei Sogni. Lord of Dreams.”
    “Sognare?” I asked, remembering the Elder’s name. Sognare had never been, in my