53

I can feel myself blushing. “Maybe I just wanted to feel pretty.”

“Uh huh,” she says, unconvinced. Her expression turns gentle, sisterly. “Look, I know what it’s like. You think I haven’t been sold to a dozen masters before? You’re only as safe as your master’s favor extends. I understand the need to secure yourself. And I want to help you, because if he’s happy with you, we’re all safe.”

I don’t know what to say to that. “Thank you?”

Yulenna just smiles. “This is the best moment of your life. You have the favor of the gods. Use it. Enjoy it. Get everything you can out of it.”

She thinks this is the best moment in my life? Seriously? I open my mouth to protest, because the world I came from is so much better than this one, when a servant rushes through the door. “The lord of storms is coming,” she says, breathless. The other servants in the room scramble to get out, and Vitar rises from the cot with a yawn, moving toward the door to take his post.

Yulenna studies me for a moment, then puts a hand to the back of my neck and pulls me against her in a kiss. Her mouth works against mine, her lips shockingly soft, and then she bites my lower lip and slicks her tongue over it before releasing me.

I just gape at her.

“There,” she says, pleased. “Now you look like you’re ready to fuck. He’ll like that.” She winks at me, gathers her skirts, and follows the other servants out of the room.

I stand there, alone, my mouth throbbing from her kiss. I can’t believe she just kissed me. How weird. Her mouth was a startling contrast to Aron’s, too. I think I like his better, though. I touch my lips, wondering if I look as distracted as I feel. It takes me a moment to shake myself out of it, and then I move back to the reclining couch just as Aron enters. I pick up my goblet of wine and hold it as I try to look sexy.

He storms into the room, tossing off his cloak and throwing it down on the bed. “Idiots,” he mutters under his breath. “An entire keep full of fools.”

“Hi there,” I say, and manage to take a tiny sip of wine. “How was your day, dear?”

Aron pauses in his tirade, mid-removal of his sword belt, and looks over at me. He’s wearing one of the long, fur-lined tunics that these people favor and it covers him practically from head to toe. His big thighs are encased in fur-lined leggings and he looks like a mountain man, ready to take on the snowy peaks surrounding Novoro. Kind of hilarious, given that I’m dressed in something that would bring zero warmth. I guess the ladies of Novoro don’t leave home much.

He slowly approaches me, his gaze locked on my body. My nipples prick under the fabric and I carefully set down the goblet of wine again and rest my arm on my hips. I’m half reclined on the couch and pillows, propped up on my side so I can show off my body. And he’s looking, all right. He’s looking real, real hard.

“New dress?” he finally says.

I smooth the fabric over my thigh. “Thought I’d wear something pretty since I’m going to be sitting around here until we leave.” Remembering Yulenna’s advice, I lick my kiss-swollen lips.

His gaze flicks there and lingers for a moment, then drops back to my nearly bared body. He’s seen me naked before, but this is different. Things are slowly changing between us, and we’re both utterly aware of it. “Is this because of our conversation last night?”

“Maybe I just wanted to enjoy a nice day of pampering?” I keep my voice light.

Aron snorts and strips off his tunic, holding it out to me. “You can be pampered in something like this just as easily.”

I ignore it. “So you don’t like my dress?” I slide a hand up to my breast, almost touching my nipple, and love that his eyes follow me. The air’s getting heavy, and I can practically feel it crackling with the force of his internal “storm.” For some reason, I find that sexy as hell.

“You will not wear this?”

“Nope.”

He shrugs and turns toward the door, pulling out his knife.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“To remove the men’s eyes so they don’t look upon you.”

I yelp and scramble for the tunic he tossed to the floor. “Aron, don’t you fucking dare!” I snag the tunic and hold it to my chest. “Just wait, okay?”

He turns around slowly as I hurry over to him in bare feet, his expression impossible to read. “If you will not cover your body, I’ll make sure they can’t see it.”

“I’m getting dressed, you son of a bitch,” I mutter, pulling the tunic over my head. When I slide it onto my shoulders, it hangs over me like an oversized sleeping bag. “Heaven forbid a girl want to look sexy,” I mutter, and then to my astonishment, his lips twitch.

That asshole. He’s teasing!

I reach out and smack his arm. “You jerk! You scared the shit out of me!”

“Did I?” His smile grows wider. “That wasn’t your goal, then? To entice me in a jealous rage to blind the others?”

“No, you ass.” I give his arm another little swat. “Maybe I just wanted you to enjoy looking at me. Dick.”

He grabs my free swinging braid and wraps it around his hand, dragging me forward. It tugs gently on my hair, but he knows his strength and he’s utterly careful. “Faith, I always enjoy looking at you. It does not matter if you’re covered in mud and wearing a monk’s clothing, or wearing nothing but suds from your bath. I always enjoy looking.” His voice is a silky, low caress that makes heat pool between my thighs. “Which is why I don’t like the thought of others doing so.”

“You being a jealous dick should not turn me on,” I tell him, breathless. I’m fascinated by the nearness of his hard mouth, the way he’s pulled me so close that I can feel the heat and electricity coming off of him in waves.

“I’m not jealous.”

“Then you weren’t going to cut out Markos’s eyes?”

“He doesn’t look at you. Now Solat and Vitar…”

“No,” I say, smacking his bare chest lightly again. I want to put my hands all over that chest, but he’s made it clear where I stand with him. Still…this is flirting, isn’t it? And it’s making my heart race with excitement even though he says we can’t be anything. “No eyeball removal.”

“Their cocks, then.”

“No.”

“Then you’ll wear my tunic and stop showing off what’s mine?” He arches that arrogant brow at me.

I sputter. “Yours?”

He pulls me closer to him, until our mouths are almost touching. “Aren’t you mine, Faith? We’re connected in every single way.”

“Not every way,” I point out, and touch a finger to the ab line just above his belly button. I’m shocked at how quickly we’re progressing. It’s like the Novoran party broke something open between us. Before it was just sniping and a bit of casual flirting. Now? Now it seems to be a lot more. I trail my fingers up the muscled ridges of his belly.

His eyes flare with possessive heat and electricity crackles between us.

“Faith.”

I love the way he says my name. “Yes?”

“You are not going to dinner tonight.”

That…wasn’t what I expected to hear him say. “Huh?”

Aron’s gaze moves over me in a heated caress. “I don’t want them looking at you. Thinking about having you. I want you up here and safe and mine alone.”

For some reason, that makes me feel…good. I don’t want to go down, either. “But you’ll still come to bed with me?”

He nods.

“And you won’t let them put some lady-candy on your lap just because you’re the lord of storms?” And I reach up and twine my fingers in his long, silky hair, holding him against me like he holds me against him.

“They will not dare, precisely because I am the lord of storms.” But he’s smiling.

“Good.” He doesn’t release my hair, so I don’t release his. Aron’s mouth is so close, I could close the distance and kiss him…but I won’t. So I just ask, “How much longer are we staying?”