Page 90 of Dance of Stars and Ashes

“Yes, you did. When did the dreams start happening?”

“Okay, fine, but I didn’t know if you were real then.”

“Fine,” he said, and she rolled her eyes.

“Anyway, we got to know one another, and I thought we were heading towards something special, but he hadn’t told me about Amrita and what his future meant.”

Rabin blinked. “He didn’t tell you any of that? He just… lead you on?”

Zarya narrowed her gaze. “I really don’t think you’re one to be criticizing anyone in this context.”

His nostrils flared, but he didn’t respond, clearly conceding her point.

“When I found out, that changed things for me. It’s not that I didn’t have feelings for him, but I had no desire to be a part of a relationship that had to be hidden. So, I told him as much, and that was that.”

“That was that?” Rabin asked.

“Sort of,” she said. “He was still interested in pursuing things and has said so several times, but when you found us, I’d just told him it was over for good.”

Rabin sighed.

“So, if you’re looking to mend fences, pursuing something with me might not be the way to go about it.”

“Hmm,” he said as his gaze swept over her, a hungry look in his eyes.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

This time, she was rewarded with a smug smile.

“I was thinking about what happened last night.”

She pressed her lips together. “Well, don’t. That was… nothing.”

“You’re the one who brought it up.”

“Because I was trying to explain…” she trailed off at his grin. He was clearly riling her up. “Stop it.”

“I can still taste you,” he said in a low voice that carried softly over the space between them. “And, fuck, the way it felt to have my fingers inside you. I’ll carry that to the end of my days.”

She pretended she hadn’t heard him, flicking her reins and doing her best not to react. Was it possible to die from this curl of desire that was squeezing around her heart?

“I can’t wait to get you alone again and feel you come on my cock, Spitfire.”

That got her attention.

“Will you shut up?” she said. “Someone is going to hear you.”

“So?”

“So, that isn’t going to happen,” she said, though she was already sure this was a losing battle. Why was she pretending?

“Yes, it is,” he said with such certainty that she either wanted to smack him or hold out for eternity just to prove him wrong. But who would she be punishing then?

She shifted her gaze away when her attention caught on a tree she was sure she recognized. She looked around, seeing the boggy lake where she used to lie in wait, hunting for naga.

Prickly, uncomfortable heat flushed up her neck at the realization.

Her breath started to come in tight knots that wedged in her throat.