Page 7 of A Taste for the Peculiar

“And if I were looking for a love match?”

“Then our lessons would be very different.” He shouldn’t bother to expand. Avirin has made it clear she won’t be picky about her suitors, yet Pye can’t leave her in the dark. Something flutters in their chest. She should know there is more out there. “With the right person, flirtation feels like…”

When they trail off, she leans toward them. Her eyes are sharp and bright, mind spiraling through thoughts and questions that he’s hungry to know more of. Things he wants to ask her about. Things that entice him far more than the empty vessel she’s training herself to be.

With the right person, it feels like this.

“Asking questions,” Pye murmurs. “Broaching topics of interest, things you’ve noticed he spends time on.” He leans closer with a smile. “Those emerald earrings are lovely, Lady Avirin. Did you pick them out yourself?”

Avirin flushes and touches her ears. “Yes. I prefer —” Then her nose wrinkles, like his compliment was only meant to provide an example. “I see. Would tattoos be appropriate to discuss?”

A laugh escapes him. “I doubt that will be a common topic.”

Avirin stares at the ink peeking out beneath the cuffs of his sleeves. “But an intriguing one.”

Her gloved fingers brush the back of his wrist. His hair stands on end, but he does not move for fear that it will shatter this moment. The sun beats down between the branches, leaving the alcove swelteringly hot.

She slips the tip of her finger beneath the cuff of his sleeve. “What’s this one?”

Pye can’t think. They can hardly breathe. This is the thrill of flirtation: baited looks, gentle touches, frisson in the air. His fingers flex. “Touching a man’s hand like this would cause quite a stir in public.”

An incorrigible warning. He does not want her to pull away. He wants her to know exactly what the rules are, and he wants her to break them, to push past them, to step over the line in the sand.

She meets his eyes, fingers moving to the thin skin of his wrist. “How fortunate I have a teacher who is no stranger to scandal.”

Pye almost shivers. He turns his palm up, the barest motion beneath her hand, but the pad of his thumb teases the hole in her glove.

Her pulse jumps against his fingertips. She does not retract.

He leans closer, a lock of his hair brushing her temple. “Would you like me to scandalize you?”

Her breath cascades over his mouth. She inclines her head the barest inch, bringing their lips nearly together…

His eyes slip shut. Temptation pulls on his mind, his arms, his entire body until he is drifting down a long stream toward the intoxicating promise of her mouth…

“Oh my God!”

Hands close around his shoulders. He’s too dizzy to resist, slumping forward into the warm skin of Avirin’s neck. She fumbles with their weight, pushing them upright until Pye is leaning back against the tree trunk behind them.

When their eyelids finally flutter open, Avirin stands before them. One of her hands clamps over her mouth, and her eyes widen with shock — her black eyes, not brown like before. Now, her pupils have completely swollen until they are two dark wells overtaking the whites of her eyes.

“I’m so sorry,” she stammers.

Pye struggles to sit up straighter.

“I didn’t know — I didn’t think —” She shakes her head and gathers her skirts in her hands. “I have to go.”

“Wait!” Pye’s throat is raw, but he holds up a limp hand. “Please…sit…a moment.”

Avirin’s face swarms with guilt. She does not return to her seat next to him, but she does linger at the edge of the alcove.

Pye takes a steadying breath. “Get…the food…from my basket.”

Hesitantly, Avirin moves back under the overhang. She falls to her knees beside the picnic basket, and when she finds a handful of raspberries, she returns to the bench again. With one glance at his wobbly limbs, she feeds him herself, placing berries on his tongue until he regains his strength.

He stares at her hands, thoughts still muddled. “Your gloves are stained.”

“I don’t care.” She leans closer to get a good look at Pye’s face. “Are you all right?”