Page 102 of Dance of Stars and Ashes

“Zarya—”

“No, I’m not done yet.”

She counted a third finger.

“You stole my book like a child and refused to return it.”

The corner of his mouth tipped up. “But I had to know what was happening inside that head.”

“Fourth. You sliced open my leg when we were sparring.”

He snorted. “I’m not apologizing for that. You drew blood first. I thought you were a warrior.”

“Is this you being sorry?” she asked, and he gave her a knowing smile. She would never have respected him at all if he’d gone easy on her.

“Don’t pretend you didn’t give as good as you got.”

“Fourth—”

“You already did number four,” he said, moving closer, crushing her against the railing and his hard chest and his infuriating hips. “Five.”

Her nostrils flared in irritation.

“Five,” she spat. “You touched me and then abandoned me in the forest.”

He opened his mouth, but she didn’t let him finish.

“Six. You claimed you felt nothing in that forest, and you are a fucking liar. You made me feel like a fool!”

His hand slid off the rail and clamped around her hip. A sharp jolt of heat speared between her thighs, making her nostrils flare. She was only dimly aware of the busy street churning in the distance. Right now, it felt like they were the only two people in the world.

“Zarya,” Rabin said. “I’m sorry. I am the fool. When I arrived in Dharati, I wasn’t expecting to find you at the palace. Then, I saw you in the vicinity of my father, and I jumped to so many conclusions that I regret.”

He took her hand, lifting it to his mouth before pressing his lips against it.

“Let me make it up to you. Let’s start over. I will never give you a reason to doubt me again. I swear it.”

He dropped her hand, once again caging her in his arms. Hard lines met soft curves, and it was driving her to the edge of madness.

“Please,” he said, and there was so much sincerity buried in that single syllable that she finally felt the seams of her resolve weakening.

“I’m not very experienced with this,” she said and then winced. She hadn’t meant to say that. But if she were being honest, some of her hesitation hadn’t only been about her anger with him.

He pulled back with a confused look. “Is that what this has been about?”

“When I told you the other night that I’d done that loads of times, I might have been lying. I mean, I’ve had sex in the most basic terms, but it wasn’t very memorable, and it was only that. None of the… flourishes, if you will.”

She was speaking a mile a minute now, feeling her face heat with embarrassment.

“You and Vik didn’t—” He stopped, cutting off the thought as Zarya shook her head.

“No! We just kissed a few times.”

Relief crossed his expression to be replaced with a dark look. “I admit I’m thrilled I don’t have to compete with my little brother. Or that I have to kill him for touching you.”

She let out a wry laugh and shook her head, knowing she was probably about to regret her next words.

“There was no contest. There never was,” she admitted as a smug grin crept to his face. “From the moment I stepped into that forest…”