“Exquisite.” She pursed her lips.
“Thanks.” My gaze met hers. “I even ironed it for the occasion, you know.”
A lopsided grin spread across her face. “We are going to have so much fun together my darling Theo.”
I put my hands on her upper arms, lightly kneading the muscle. The expanse of tanned skin between her long gloves and armholes in her sleevelessdress delighted my senses.
She raised an eyebrow. “You have rather cold hands.”
“And you have rather warm arms.”
She shoved me back against the door, lips pouncing onto mine. My breaths quickened as she nibbled my lip, finally pressing her tongue hungrily into my mouth. She clawed her hands from my abs to my chest, then over my shoulders to slide my jacket off. “My apologies.”
“For?” I panted at the sensation. Traces of sweat, mixed with the pine and peppermint of her scent, filled my lungs.
She pressed a forearm against my collarbone, pinning me against the door, her nose just shy of mine as she gazed down at me. “I could not come up with a sufficiently witty retort and decided to—mummf!”
I pressed my mouth against hers, sucking her tongue back into my mouth. “Funny. I couldn’t come up with one either.”
She pulled back, tongue tracing those luscious lips, eyes dancing… eyes that felt larger than usual, and far hungrier in the dim light of her apartment. “You, my darling consort, may just be able to keep up with me.”
“I shall try.”
“But it has been a rather long day, and while dancing may not be as strenuous as fighting for our lives in a deadly wilderness, I would like to bathe.”
I glanced at a wet spot under my arm. “I… suppose Ishould as well.”
“And you will bathe me.”
“Will I?”
She nodded. “It is the traditional responsibility of a consort. Especially in more provincial regions. Unless you prefer those progressive attitudes of Drach-Principalis.”
“I would hate to buck the local mores.”
Sephi flowed into the main room of her apartment, her shimmering green ankle-length dress concealing the strides of her long, elegant legs. Yet the serpentine sway of her hips was, if anything, exaggerated as she glided about the room, lighting a few glow lamps as she did. Was this how she looked on the dance floor? As her partner, I had a different view, and at the moment, I wasn’t sure which was better.
She motioned with her head to follow me into the bedroom. I’d caught only a glimpse of it my first visit: sparsely decorated, though elegant. An expansive bed with a stylized wave motif on the headboard. Nightstands and a wardrobe in simple honey-colored wood, a glow lamp atop each in the form of a fluted glass seashell, light from within in a warm teal. A vining plant with purple leaves atop one of the sills in a ceramic pot like a butterfly. Elegant, yet far less ornate than the ex-hotel decor of the dormitory.
She spun in place, stopping with her back to me, and cast a seductive glance over her shoulder. “Be a dear.”
And?
Stepping closer, I set a hand on each side of her waist, eyelids drooping as I felt the warmth of her hips beneath my palms. She swayed at my touch.
Such lovely curves.
“I welcome your touch, but this isn’t helping me undress.”
Oooh!That’swhat she meant.
I examined the dress’s back, finding a dozen cleverly hidden little buttons running from shoulder level to the small of her back. Despite a whirlwind day, my mind still had energy to race as I fumbled with the little green fabric-covered buttons. We’d been through so much, had grown ever closer, I’d delighted in her company, her clever words, and had savored her every touch. And against all odds, she had mine. And yet the casual way she asked me to undress her… it was too much to handle; my mind threatening to overload and shatter like an overcharged power crystal.
I dropped to my knees to better view the lowest buttons. “So… this is another duty of a consort?”
“There are many responsibilities that come with the position.” She spoke at a bemused lilt. “More than some realize.”
As I fidgeted with the lowest button, it finally popped free to reveal a long V of luscious tanned skin from the small of her back to well-toned shoulders. “It sounds rather like being knighted.” I pressed a quick kiss to bare skin at the small of her back.
