He laughed softly, though he felt bleak, wishing… Oh, he didn’t know what he wished. That they weren’t at odds with each other. If she’d been a simple gardener woman, he might have talked her into returning to his home with him, in abandoning her quest. But she was the only surviving heir to the Garden Kingdom throne. She wouldn’t set aside her duty for him, just as he couldn’t set aside his duty for her.
“Twenty?” she offered with a sad smile.
“If only I could say yes. What a bounty that would be. And I trust you wouldn’t even poison them.”
“You probablyshouldn’ttrust me, you know.”
“I know.” Vorik offered his dashing smile, though he didn’t know how much she could see in the poor lighting without her spectacles. They lay to the side, carefully placed by the stone wall.
“You’re amazing, Vorik,” Syla whispered, her eyes locked on his face. “I wish you were really my ally. I could use an ally right now. Badly.”
Yes, she could. After all she’d endured, she deserved someone standing at her side, driving off her enemies. Vorik regretted that he couldn’t be that for her.
What he needed to do was shift her aside and jog up the slope of the volcano to find the aunt and the bodyguard—and the shielder. He had to fulfill his mission. He had to destroy that artifact.
Instead, he nestled Syla closer, reveling in the feel of her soft bottom against his hard body. He longed to kiss her again, to domorethan kiss her.
Once more, she touched his jaw, her fingernails rasping against the two days’ beard growth there. The light touch sent a fresh flush of heat and arousal through him. Too bad she’d pulled back from his kiss, that she didn’t want to have sex with someone who couldn’t be an ally.
Or did she? She leaned in and ran her tongue along his lower lip.
He froze, his cock hardening, his entire body growing taut with the desire to pull her robe off and deliver on the promise he’d given her before leaping out the tower window. Was she… Did she want…?
Maybe the shielder could wait. Rain had started, and it spattered them when the wind gusted toward the cave mouth. Theweather was dreadful. Surely, even if Fel and Tibby had found the artifact, they would wait until morning to try to move it.
“I’ve never been with someone like you,” Syla whispered, then sucked on his lip as one of her hands found his chest, fingers curling, her nails grazing his bare skin, her thumb brushing across his nipple.
He growled at the jolt of hot pleasure that rushed through him and reached for the knot on her robe again. Her touch was too much. Enemies or not, he needed her. He would have her, and she would scream his name and enjoy every steamy second of their joining. Then… then he would complete his mission.
But her hand moved to catch his. He growled again. Why was she teasing him if she didn’t want him?
She shifted off his lap, and he almost surged after her, wanting to grab her and pin her to the wall, to push her robe up and thrust?—
No. He clenched his fists and closed his eyes. He was honorable, damn it. Whether this mission was or not. He wouldn’t take a woman who didn’t want?—
“Come with me,” Syla whispered.
Vorik opened his eyes. What?
She stood next to him and tilted her head toward the back of the cave where two candles glowed invitingly and the ground was dry. When he met her gaze, her eyes burned with desire. She nodded, then turned, picking her way toward the back of the cave. Her hips swayed, and when she bent to maneuver around a rock, her butt pressing against the material of her robe, he almost groaned at the intensity of his need. She looked over her shoulder with her eyes still full of her desire. Her desire and an invitation.
Vorik rose to his feet, realizing her own passion was as great as his. She knew this was a bad idea, but she wanted him so much that she didn’t care.
He strode toward her. Yes, the shielder could wait until morning. He wanted this. He wantedher.
33
Syla’s heartpounded as she reached the dry area at the back of the cave, a spot squarely between the two candles. She turned to face Vorik, to make sure he didn’t think anything odd of her inviting him into the interior and away from the rain, though, as they’d kissed, it had crossed her mind to straddle him so that he could plunge into her and satisfy her need right there.
Never would she have thought she could feel such an attraction to a man sheknewwas working against her, who was using her for his own means. For his odiousgeneral’smeans.
But Vorik genuinely wanted her. She knew that. And he would probably feel bad about leaving her after sex to go destroy her people’s only means of defending themselves from dragons.
Of course, her plan was tonotlet him do that.
Halfway into the cave, Vorik paused. His fiery gaze was locked upon her, his desire radiating off him, but his nostrils twitched. He’d caught the scent of the candles.
Lesva hadn’t grown suspicious of the scent until she’d yawned, but what if Vorik had encountered the sedative before? Or what ifhe simply found it odd that she’d grabbed such strongly scented candles to bring along?
