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“Of course. You wouldn’t know. It’s highly inappropriate for just anyone to ride atop a dragon.”
“Awww, whaat? What a bummer,” she pouted, then grew buoyant once more. “What if I devised some sort of harness attached to a basket, like a hot air balloon? That way I wouldn’t beatopyou, but underneath you.” Again, that sounded dirty, and she couldn’t help but snicker.
When his lips twitched in a repressed almost-smile, she wondered if her teasing was scratching his granite surface. But his response shocked the hell out of her.
“If you want to be under me, all you need to do is ask.”
8
Another brazen smile from the woman who currently had her finger on the trigger of his curiosity. What was she thinking? Did his words offend? Or intrigue? He kept his expression bland, as though he had no interest in the answer.
But something told him she saw right through him—as if he’d grown a peephole on his forehead and she could easily peer right into his mind, pluck out a thought and toy with it.
He watched her move like a sultry temptress around his little refuge. He told himself she drew his gaze because he needed to keep an eye on her, to ensure she didn’t run off and get lost in the garden again, though he knew he was spinning justifications.
There was something mysterious about her that tugged at his intuition, making him take note. Something in the way she moved…the way things moved around her. Like the world was dancing with her.
As she glided across the bridge, the rainbow fish followed her, some of them jumping and splashing about. Unusual behavior. Those fish were most active at night and nearly always scrambled to hide under the water lilies whenever anyone drew near. Perhaps they had noticed the pixies circling several feet above Jessie. More unusual behavior from creatures who generally remained hidden. What was their interest in her?
Solitary creatures such as nobits did not take well to being picked up so readily and carried about. Not that they were in any way dangerous, but it should have shown signs of distress. Instead it had appeared content. Even a witch could not tame creatures so effortlessly…or with more grace. Perhaps there was more to these humans than he’d understood.
He wanted to distrust her motives. And yet, there was something about her that appealed to him far more than any other woman ever had.
During his younger days at the castle, females had pretty much shunned him. “The Orphan Prince,” the children had teased, viewing him as an interloper among their noble ranks. Someone whose elevation had been undeserved. The boys sneered at him with jealousy. The girls held their noses as he walked by, as though he still smelled of farmland. All but the young princes treated him as such, and only when no adults were watching. Until, almost overnight, or so it had seemed at the time, the ladies of the court began to view him as a conquest rather than an outcast.
In his early adulthood, when he’d begun his career as a low-ranking officer, he would catch whispered debates about his features—the word “handsome” was uttered often. “Roguish” as well. He’d never before cared whether or not anyone found him pleasing to look at.
Still didn’t.
Except…now he wondered what Jessie thought of his appearance. He ran his hand over his stubbled jaw. Had the ladies been more agog when he forwent shaving or when he was more kempt? He couldn’t recall. He’d seen no need to mark the distinction.Should have paid more attention.
Another popular topic of speculation among the ladies of court was his prowess in the bedroom. They suggested he might bewild.
They’d have been scandalized to learn how right they were.
But he’d had no interest in enlightening any of them. Not because of any childhood slight on their part. They simply bored him, the delicate and proper, prim and elegant women of court who simpered so sweetly and flattered so easily. If he did take a woman to bed, he was sure not to choose a highborn, lessening the likelihood of scathing gossip in court.
His attraction to Jessie was a growing concern, however. Whenever the wind carried her scent his way, his pulse spiked, and he found himself itching to get closer to her. To thread his fingers through her tawny hair. To grip her by the nape and hold her steady as he ravaged her lips with his. Would she mewl sweetly for him and give herself over? Or would her own aggression emerge?
He clenched his jaw against the explosion of erotic fantasies. She called to something dark in him. These thoughts shook him, and he ordered them out of his mind as promptly as they came. But they returned just as quickly. Especially when she kept sending him those beguiling little smiles, like she knew a secret he’d yet to uncover. Each time she did, he purposefully scowled. A warning to be cautious of her audacious flirting. He’d told her to ingratiate herself, meaning obey his directives, not to play games with him.
He watched as she edged the circumference of the plaza, her hips swaying as if she knew all too well how to tempt a man. The ladies of court swished their hips like that…when they were on the hunt for a mate. And brainless lads would have followed them to their deaths.
His gaze narrowed. Jessie would not dare trifle with him so. Not if she knew how her actions made his hand itch to spank that plump, pert ass of hers. How would she react if he did? How would he stop himself from taking things further?
When she bent to examine a bed of flowers, he stifled a groan.
Wait…were those flowers archingtowardher?
Something wasn’t right here.
When one of those pixies padded across her shoulder without drawing her notice, Orik’s suspicions ignited into a blaze.
* * *
Every time Jessie caught Orik’s intense gaze on her, a little thrill ran through her.Playing with fire,she reminded herself. But she couldn’t seem to keep from fanning the flames. Her body moved for him with a natural femininity that she had never invoked before. It was like some flirtatious demon had taken her over, making her gaze at him coyly, smile at him sweetly.I don’t smile sweetly!I chug beer, slam shots, and laugh as heartily as any of the boys.But he seemed riveted, and with every smile she passed along, his expression grew more intense, more heated…
More exciting.
