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“Ginkgo were Araki’s favourite when we were children. He used to pick their leaves and weave them into grass crowns.” He continued before I could tell him it was Araki’s choice.
“You two knew each other as children?” I tried to imagine Araki as a child. Was he stern as he was now or easy and laidback?
“We did.” He pushed away from the wall, his eyes lightning as Nadine approached. “If you’ll excuse me, Cousin Reilyn, I believe my wife wishes to have a dance.”
“Go. I’m fine entertaining myself.” Again, I leaned against the wall as Klaus and Nadine hurried onto the floor. They began dancing together. Not the formal dances from the first ball I’d been to here, but rather the common people's free, flowing, and joyous dancing. I spotted Mhrandir, and her companion had begun to dance in a group with several other women and men. As more people entered the ballroom to dance, I slipped back out to the laden tables. Everyone ate from every table now. Iwondered what sort of precautions against poison Araki had taken but didn’t dwell on it. No doubt there were protection spells in place.
I overheard conversations here and there as I moved through the crowd. No sign of the Nightshade, but from what I did hear, I soon concluded that Araki wasn’t as hated as he seemed to believe or as much as I had been told. The night wore on, and a group of young people my age asked me to join a fire circle. It was a special dance where we all held hands and danced in circles mimicking the stones around a fire. I danced with them, then moved from one circle to the next. As the night continued, people started to slip away. I saw Klaus and Nadine leaving, arms wrapped around one another. I started to follow, but I quickly turned around when Klaus’s hand moved down her back to grope her butt over her skirt.
Mhrandir was nowhere to be found either. Neither was Araki. I saw the Banbridge sisters and left the party without wanting them to confront me. Guards stood at the staircase leading to the third floor and let me through without a word. I paused when I spotted him in the dimly lit hallway. Araki leaned against the door of my room. He’d discarded the jerkin, his tunic unlaced at the front, and pulled loose from his trousers. He’d discarded his boots and let his hair down. It fell in waves around his face, more silver than grey in flickering torchlight. He looked ruggedly handsome.
“Reilyn! Do you enjoy rose wine? What is Bonfyr’s celebration without getting drunk?” He held up a glass bottle, flashing a wolfish grin.
I approached, my stomach twisting. “I’m not drunk.”
“Then you should drink.” He offered the bottle toward me as I came closer. I took it but didn’t drink it. He seemed a bit drunk, yet his gaze remained keenly on me.
“So, you’re not avoiding me anymore, are you?” I asked.
“Not avoiding you.” Araki chuckled.
“What are you doing here? You should be out there, enjoying the festivities.”
“If you’re not there, there’s not much to enjoy, is there?” His eyes flashed as they roamed my body. My skin tingled. That wasn’t anger. It was lust darkening his eyes. I could feel it pulsing through our bond. I stepped closer, feeling a flow of energy between us. The magic pulsed, increasing with each heartbeat. I could feel his magic seeping through the air toward me.
“Araki,” I said softly, my heart fluttering.
He closed his fingers around the bottle of rose wine, brushing mine. “I haven’t had that much to drink. Only a glass.”
“Of rose wine. Which is more powerful than your average fruit wines,” I countered. “What sort of roses was it made with? Wild roses? Climbing roses?”
Araki took the bottle and set it on the floor. “Rosehips. And it’s not that strong of a wine.”
“And…” My throat felt awfully dry. I felt hot from the way he was just looking at me. “Why are you so determined to convince me you’re not drunk?”
“So you know that this isn’t just because of the alcohol,” He put his hands on my waist, turning our bodies, so I was against the wall, his body close to mine. “I have never seenanyone as beautiful as you, Reilyn. A temptation to my very being. I want…”
My breath hitched as more of his desire trickled into my body. Now I knew what that last kiss had meant. I wanted it, too. This man was the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen. And more than that… the more I spent time with him, the more I saw him interact with others, the more I felt… things. The more I doubted my mission. His hands slid up my waist. Heat sparked in my skin, even with the barrier of clothing between us. His eyes were intense on mine, asking, demanding, and waiting all at once.
“You want?” I pressed, needing him to continue.
A slow seductive smile crept over Araki’s face as his hands moved to the corset bodice. I held my breath, watching his hands slide up my body. He tugged the ribbons from where they were tucked into the modesty panel. “The first time I saw you, I wanted to take that dress you wore off your body. I’d hoped you weren’t the Assassin… because if you weren’t, then it meant your interest in me was genuine.”
I bit my lip, knowing what he was getting at. I’d let him kiss me, bed me, even with the union spell connecting us for weeks.
“You want to know if I want you to touch me the way you want to touch me. You want to be certain it’s not just the spell, your desire affecting me,” I whispered.
Araki stopped, eyes widening slightly.
Despite how nervous I was, I smiled at him. “It seems like when you’re drunk. You can’t shut down our connection quite so much… it also seems to help me fully understand what’s yours and what’s mine.”
Araki pressed his hands to either side of me on the wall, pressing even closer to me. He purred darkly, his breath caressing my face, “Does it?”
My eyes dropped to his tempting mouth. I wanted to feel his lips on mine again. I lightly brushed my lips against his, “Mmmh. Yours tastes like rosehip wine,” teasing, “When I first saw you, I thought… such a shame, that you had to be the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. If you were anyone else, I would let you remove my clothes.”
“And now?” He stared into my soul, feeling his chest rise heavily.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, offering a playful smile. “Do you hear me protesting?”
