His heart stopped for a good two beats, then he sucked in a shaky breath, earning a curious look from the woman of the hour. It was thefirsttime she’d ever said his name like that. She’d called him Akkas, when she wanted to chop his head off, but not Kas, never Kas.
“Yes?” He hoped his voice sounded calmer than he felt.
“Could you help me button up my dress?” The little vixen padded out of the bathing chamber and made straight for him. “I don’t want to mess up my hair, or I’d do it myself.”
He nodded mutely, entranced by the way she’d twisted and pinned her locks up on top of her head. His eyes followed the thin velvet lines of the bronze ribbon she’d wound through her already enchanting strands.
Perhaps declining servants hadn’t been the worst idea. He recognized the sentiment was terribly selfish but thought so anyway.
As Nes approached, one shoulder of her gown slipped off. His hand almost flew out to stop her before she fixed it and spun to bare her back to him. The gown fell open to just above her bottom and he studied her creamy skin, the dip between her shoulder blades, the bumps of her spine beneath her nearly-sheer shift— It got so bad that he had to call on his magic to shove a breath down his frozen throat.
Kas wiped his clammy hands on his jacket and swallowed loudly before beginning the trying task of fastening up Nesrina’s dress when what he wanted to do was push it right off and turn her around to face him.
“Done,” he announced, some time later, hands shaking and trousers tight.
“Belt, please,” she added.
Kas chuckled in defeat before sliding his hands around her waist in an attempt to locate the damned bronze ribbons. “Leneteki, kalalitani,”he grumbled under his breath. “A little help here?” She had no idea what she did to him, did she?
“Sorry,” she yelped before handing him the two ends of the ribbon that, it turned out, she’d been clutching in her hands the entire time.
He growled as he tied a bow like a lady’s maid. Maybe heshouldhave taken the innkeeper up on the offer of help.No.He liked this too much. Butnexttime they traveled together, he’d ask if she’d like a servant. It was the right thing to do.
“All right, now give me a twirl,” he commanded through a smile.
She obliged, looking magnificent as always.
KasentereddinnerwithMiss Kiappa at his side. He’d been tempted to offer his arm, yet again, but had no desire for her to accuse him of infantilizing her by constantly escorting her from place to place. Plus, he was so tall, and she was so short, it couldn’t have been comfortable for her. He held off—that time. He hovered though, unable to help himself, overcome with a desire to touch her, to be as close to her as possible.Like that.Her forearm brushed his thigh in the crush of the crowd.
From across the room, his brother-in-law’s voice boomed out, calling Kas over to converse. It didn’t seem like Ehmet had been watching for him to arrive, more like Kas couldn’t be missed when he did walk in, with his head poking high above the rest.
“Was that the king?” Nes asked, looking up at him.
He nodded.
Hot fingers grabbed his, latching on, entwining herself with him. “Lead the way. Don’t lose me.”
Her simple gesture sent a wave of warmth coursing up his arm to bloom in his chest. He was well and truly lost to this woman, and she hardly considered him a friend. “Not if I can help it.”
Ehmet was positioned at the front of the enormous public hall, atop an unassuming dais where a podium stood, awaiting him and his annual plenary address. The king didn’t bother with thrones or even a fine chair. He stood, back against the wall, in a casual but powerful stance as he surveyed the conglomeration of subjects flitting about on the hardwood floors.
A ball of ice dropped into Kas’s stomach, squelching the warmth that grew when Nesrina took his hand. There, standing a few feet to Ehmet’s right, was the pesky, pale-haired Rihan Sarma.
A glance down and to his left assured Kas that Nes still hadn’t noticed the soldier through the throng of dinner guests. For a second, he considered veering right, directing her out a side door, and whisking her away for the night. Ehmet must have seen something in Kas’s expression, for the king’s big voice boomed again, beckoning him over for a second time.
Shit.
There wasn’t much he could do, so Kas did what was manageable, artfully sliding to Miss Kiappa’s opposite side and taking hold of her left hand instead. She now walked on his right, and he would stand between her and the guard... her former paramour.
When they stopped before the king and company, Kas reluctantly let Nesrina go. She might pull away when she spotted Sarma, and he didn’t think he’d be able to handle the sensation. So, he beat her to the punch.
During their brief conversation, Ehmet mentioned the Domossan visit went well and asked Kas and Nesrina not to mention seeing him to the twins.
“I miss them dearly,” Ehmet admitted in a not-so-rare show of emotion. “Don’t want them to feel like they missed out on a visit.” He sighed.
Beside him, Nesrina bobbed her head before her eyes flicked to the idiotic baby-faced soldier.
His brother-in-law went on to speak about the family’s upcoming trip to Summer Cottage. Kas was fairly certain Ehmet extended an invite to Nesrina, on behalf of Hevva. He’d have to follow up on that later as he’d been half-listening, eyes darting betweenhisdistraction-turned-sole-focus and her hopefully-former distraction. He couldn’t stop watching to see if they looked at one another.
