Aramaz regarded me with an unreadable expression on his face. “No.” The harsh finality of his response made me pause. Then, his mouth twisted into a grin. “You two should at least share a dance if you plan to leave the feast so soon.”
That vexing arm around my shoulder returned. Curse it, I should have known better than to ever allow such liberties. Now he would do this all the time.
“Have a little fun,” Aramaz exclaimed, beaming at us before lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “It will send a nice message of unity.”
I swallowed the sarcastic comment that I had quite a few ideas about how to show my unity with Baradaz, though none were appropriate for polite company. By the Abyss, was there no limit to my brother’s naivety? He was basically shoving his betrothed and me into each other’s company. His unwavering trust in me brought back the odd unease I had felt before. Leave it to Aramaz to drain all triumphant amusement from this moment by being such a fucking paragon of virtue.
Baradaz offered me her hand with a resigned look. She was as unhappy as I was about the situation. For the first time, I wondered about her true feelings. Did she regret sleeping with me? Was it guilt slowing her steps as we moved into position just as the music picked up once more?
She sank into the curtsy the dance demanded, her gaze fleeing mine while I bowed. It set me on edge, my annoyance deepening when her eyes remained downcast despite our hands touching in the air between us.
“Do you plan to stay silent the entire dance?” I murmured mockingly as we passed each other, switching positions. “You heard the king; we’ve been ordered to have fun.”
At my words, Baradaz finally looked at me. Something wild and desperate flashed in her silvery eyes, yearning to break free. She quickly regained control, her body tense as we circled each other, her face a mask.
“Don’t you dare.”The warning hiss in my mind held all the emotion she kept hidden from the world.
I ignored her, giving her my most insolent smile. My palm met hers, the touch of her skin like a living flame.“Dare what?”
“Don’t you dare do something… scandalous.”
I slid behind her, grasping her wrist for the next twirl. “We should give my brother what he wants,” I remarked. “He expects a little spectacle.”
Her skirts fluttered in a swirl of white and gold, each ripple of fabric catching the light. Around us my shadows awakened in answer—writhing, shifting, eager. It felt as if we were alone on the dancefloor, the onlookers reduced to a sea of faces. Murmurs grew; eyes turned toward us. Already we were drawing attention, the space around us clearing.
“You have to rein it in,” Baradaz cautioned.
I laughed, my gaze fixed on the sparks igniting in the air, mingling with my darker powers.I raised an eyebrow. “Ihave to rein it in?”
She bit her lip, her lights flickering but not extinguishing. Maker, those lips. Did she know how hard it was to fight the impulse to lean down and taste them once more?
This time, when our hands touched, our magic followed, swirling around us in a mesmerizing dance of its own.
“Afraid of what your little worshippers will say?” I asked, each word a calculated provocation. “I’ve seen the statues they carved of you in their temples. They look nothing like you.”
“How do I look, then?” Baradaz fired back, a flash of her magic betraying her annoyance. The rhythm of the drums picked up, our feet racing to follow the beat.
Without warning, I broke the dance, pulling her close—far closer than necessary. Her scent tickled my nose, her hair a brush of silk against my cheek. “Like you’d enjoy it quite a lot if I did something scandalous,” I murmured in her ear, savoring her telling shiver.
A quick turn, ripping her away from me. Baradaz concealed the abruptness of her action with a few graceful steps, her arm intertwining with mine between our faces, the backs of our hands touching. Our magic surged and crackled, sparks raining down around us. The crowd’s agitated whispers rose above the music, but Baradaz had eyes only for me. I wasn’t the only one capable of issuing a challenge.
Let’s give the little queen something to chew on.
My next words in her mind were soft, a caress. A contradiction to the battle of wills our dance had become as we circled each other, the air full of tension.“I dreamed about you.”
“Nightmares?”
“No, the kind of dreams that would make you blush.”
“It is not easy to make me blush,”she retorted, fire reigniting in her gaze. Oh yes, that was it. Another twirl, her back against my body, all that tempting, smooth skin in reach of my fingertips. I wanted to touch her again, taste every inch of her, drown in her warmth.
“I thought about the promise you made the last time we went into the Other together,”I sent to her mind, not hiding any of thedesire I felt for her. We had danced around each other for moons. My patience had come to an end.“I’d love to have those pretty lips wrapped around my cock. You taking me as deep as you can manage until I spill down that graceful throat.”
Her audible intake of breath at the provoking words lifted her chest in that glorious dress. My breeches suddenly felt far too tight.
A sharp response:“We are in public, you impossible man.”
“I know.”I slid one hand around her waist, brazenly skimming the underside of her breast.“Adds a certain thrill, doesn’t it?”
