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Rothbart came up behind her. “Are you sure?”
“This area is less trampled than the others.” Odette straightened. “She definitely made it past the gate. So there’s a good chance she got away with the portal beans.”
The rain began to pour. Rothbart took the lantern from her and squinted into the mud, trying to confirm her words. Setting their source of light in the grass, he ran a hand over his face.
“You better not be lying to me.”
She shook her head, the icy drops piercing her skin. This man. “A thank you will suffice.”
Hatred sparked in his expression. “What makes you think I owe you anything?”
The water clung to him, soaking into his robes. The light from the lantern cast an illuminating glow that highlighted his face.
Odette shrugged. “I could have left you raging by the pond.”
A low growl rumbled up from him. His gaze traveled over her, a heat mixing with the anger. She glanced down at her dress. The rain soaked through it, causing it to cling to her body, showing off her form. The wind blew her skirts between her legs and she fought a shiver, noting that her peaked breasts were apparent through the thin fabric. She cast a defiant glance at Rothbart.
He stepped up to her till there was hardly any space between them and glared down at her. “Until I say so, you are indebted to me, understand?” His voice came harsh and commanding.
His warmth rolled over her in a wave. She took in the strong clench of his jaw, the rage in his gaze, and she recalled the muscles in his broad chest and abdomen that lay under his layers of clothing. A searing moved through her veins. She wanted to feel his powerful body against hers. Her chilled, wet skin ached for it. Ached for him.
Her body pulsed with its own heat, causing her mouth to go dry.
“Well, then”—she tried to swallow, to hide her response to his proximity—“I guess you can find your sister on your own.”
She moved to step away, but he caught her arms and came even closer, shoving his chest against hers. Odette stiffened and thought of a hundred different ways to take him out.
Except she didn’t want to.
Not to mention, opportunity had just presented itself. They stood like that, his face inches from hers.
His grip on her upper arms tightened. “I don’t need you.”
She shoved harder against him, her face turned up, so close his breaths blasted her. Water pooled on his skin and ran down his cheek, over his neck, and into his robes. It gathered on his lashes and dripped from his nose, highlighting every damn attractive part of him. The hardness of his chest pressed into her breasts, and she had the urge to rub them against him, to see what he would do.
She shifted to test it. “Are you certain about that?” Her hand snuck into the pocket of his robes as she rubbed against him in the other direction.
His breaths became ragged and his eyes fell to her lips. She wanted him to taste her. Hell, she wanted to tastehim.
The muscles in his jaw twitched. “I will bring you to your knees.” He spoke through gritted teeth. “I’ll make you beg.”
Shit. Energy spiked through her at his words, the pounding in her chest dropping between her legs. She glared back at him. Her fingers in his pocket curled around a bean and she lifted it.
“I’d like to see you try.” Her tone came out a mixture of challenging and husky.
The fury in his expression melded with the desire and part of her thought he’d drop her to the ground and take her right there. Her heart roared in her ears and she couldn’t stop rubbing against him, her swan pendant resting just above the neckline of her dress, giving a slight tug on her neck.
The pulsing between her legs had given way to an unquenchable needing.
She wanted him.
She wanted him now.
He groaned.
Then his gaze fell to the swan pendant, and the fire in his eyes went out. His lip curled.
He shoved her away from him. Reaching into his robes, he pulled out a bean, and a portal opened behind her so that by the time she quit stumbling she’d gone through it. The night surrounding the pond was clear and dry. Stars twinkled above and the old gazebo watched in silence.
