“Seducing him,” Ethenn said through clenched teeth.
She let out a feminine chuckle. “Perhaps I am intending to seduce you.”
He scoffed.
“You think it impossible?” she noted.
“I think it improbable,” he said. “There’s a difference.”
“Mm.” The bed creaked as she rose behind him. “Well, I need you to get over your puritanical Ephrian notions and help me.”
Cautiously, Ethenn began to look over his shoulder. Seeing that she was still fully dressed, he felt safe to turn around. “Help with what?” he asked.
She angled so he could see the back of her dress, lined with buttons. “I can’t reach.”
Ethenn blushed. “You want me to undress you?”
She smirked. “I want you to unbutton my dress,” she said, then mockingly added, “There’s a difference.”
“Oh.”
“Unless, of course,” she added, raising her brow, “you want to undress me.”
Unsure if she was jesting or not, Ethenn shook his head. “Do I just—?” He stepped closer, inspecting the small buttons. He didn’t quite have the confidence to touch her yet, so he merely stared. “Unhook them?”
“That’s usually how you undo buttons, yes.”
Ethenn met her gaze. “Don’t make fun of me,” he said flatly.
Her grin slipped for a second. “I’m not.”
“You just did.”
Taking a deep breath, Ilain shifted to face him. “Ethenn, I’m not making fun of you,” she said. “Though I understand how it might have sounded that way. Believe it or not, I’m rather nervous too. However, I believe getting comfortable together is the best course, as we’ve promised our lives to one another after all. And I can’t get out of this dress by myself. So it’s either having you help me, or I interrupt Isla, Vayden, and Reyana’s last night together to have my sister-in-law spare us this little moment of awkwardness.”
She turned away, her back angling toward him.
A twinge of guilt went through Ethenn. He hadn’t considered the possibility of Ilain feeling nervous. He’d never known her to be anything but unerringly confident. But she was right; if they were going to be together, he had to learn the signs of her true feelings, especially in moments like these.
Cautiously lifting a hand, Ethenn reached for the top button. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I—sometimes, I have a hard time reading people.”
Ilain pulled her hair out of the way, making the work easier for him. “That’s all right,” she said softly. “I’m known for being hard to read.”
Ethenn kept talking to distract himself from the thin line of ivory skin and gauzy chemise revealed by the unhooked buttons. “You always seemed open about your feelings to me,” he said.
“Oh, no,” Ilain said, a hint of humor in her lilting tone. “I’ve always been quite the skilled liar.”
Ethenn grinned wryly as he struggled with the tiny buttons. “You admit to being a liar?”
“The best liars are always honest.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It makes perfect sense if you’re dishonest.” She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Just ask Rafferty.”
“If you’re saying that I’ve gotten myself attached to the female version of Rafferty, then I’m afraid this union is at its end.”
“Nonsense. I’m vastly superior to the female version of Rafferty. For one thing, I have scruples.”
