28. TWENTY-EIGHT
TWENTY-EIGHT
Mina
The cramped temporary office feels dangerously small as I eat up the sight before me. Darius sheds his suit jacket, leaving a loose black shirt unbuttoned at the top. The glimpse of his chest sends me back to the baths, where I let my hands roam freely over each hard muscle and scar.
The room grows unreasonably warm, and I feel the flush all the way to my toes.
Darius clears off the papers on his desk to make room for us to eat. We chose to forgo the formal dining room for some privacy, allowing us to review our plans for the meeting.
Nothing else.
I swallow a wave of lust, mentally kicking myself. Last night may have woken something between us, but the desire serves no purpose in avenging my family. This confusing attraction is nothing but a distraction from my goals.
Darius pulls out my chair and nods for me to sit. He’s a portrait of perfect manners, but his heated gaze leaves no question about his thoughts.
I take a long drink of water, but it does little to quench my thirst.
“I hear you had a productive day,” he says, taking the seat across from me. He reaches over and tastes a small bite of my stew. “The compliments about how you’ve handled things are beginning to outweigh the complaints about the fact you are handling them.”
“I’m glad to hear people are coming around.”
“More will join them. Once they realize you’re restoring their home, the relief should outweigh any discomfort. I wish the same could be said for Duponte and Baueman.”
“All in due time, like you said,” I reply with confidence. “What about you? I hope you had an equally productive day.”
Irritation bleeds into his tone. “Not as productive as I hoped. Without the results of your census and the assessment, we don’t have a clear picture of where to begin. I’m eager to put an informed plan in motion to set the city up for success long after we leave.”
I reach across the table and touch his hand. He stares at me for a heavy beat, then relaxes his fist, resuming his meal.
“We spoke with everyone, started settling disputes, and Victoria is finalizing the papers for our meeting over dinner with Kailani. This city will be restored successfully. I have no doubt.”
“Should you not be with them? I prefer we both be up to date before the meeting.”
I shake my head, laughing as he leans forward, ready to get up and march us both to the girls right now.
“I’d only be in the way. A true leader knows when to delegate, and I trust their assessments. Victoria alone could run the reconstruction. With the dispute results from today, we have what we need for the meeting.”
Darius does his best to hide his doubt, but he is a man used to a small circle. He handles things alone or delegates to Staefan. My ladies are hardly on his list of trusted helpers. I’m not even sure I am, though I convinced him to give me the task easily enough.
“After a grueling day and a stressful meeting still to come, what would benefit us both most right now is to relax.” We still have forty minutes until the meeting, and our food disappeared with alarming speed.
“Easier said than done,” he says.
I lean forward, determined to distract his micromanaging. “What do you usually do to unwind?”
A laugh escapes before he can stop it. His eyes darken as they rake over my face. “Nothing you’d consent to, Mina.”
Oh. Warm honey settles between my thighs.
I take a sip of water to drown my desire to find out exactly what he has in mind.
“You can’t think of another activity?” I challenge. “Reading, games—”
“Staefan and I do play a game when I need to clear my head. It’s a bit complex, but I have a feeling you’ll pick it up quickly.”
Surely anything those two do together is safe to agree to. Staefan would never risk his beloved wife’s wrath by having an affair. I move our dishes to the cart, making room on the table.
“Challenge accepted then.”
He pulls a flat box from the bottom drawer of the desk. It’s worn and loved, with faded rows of black and white squares on top. He sets the item before us and pulls out a hidden drawer filled with sixteen white pieces and sixteen black pieces, all made of smooth stone.
“Have you played chess before?”
I shake my head, schooling my features to hide my excitement.
I pick up the stone shaped like a horse. Darius quickly explains each piece’s purpose and how to play the game. I nod along dutifully as I set my pieces up to mirror his.
He opens by moving a small round piece forward two spots. I mirror the move. He moves a pointy piece called the bishop diagonally to the left four spaces. I mirror his move again.
“The game won’t get very far if all you do is copy me.”
“My apologies,” I say, my next move deviating from his.
We exchange a few pieces, and I point to the horse-shaped one. “This moves two spaces, then one to either side, correct?”
He nods and knocks down the pawn next to my king with a soft tap. I use my horse to take his pawn. Back and forth, we trade moves and pieces.
Darius’s forehead creases as his eyes roam the board. He narrows them at me.
“You’ve played before,” he accuses. “You lied.” There is no question in his voice.
I place my hand over my heart, feigning hurt. “I did no such thing. I have never played chess before. In Kalisham we call it shoksha, and the pieces aren’t the same. Though learning the minor differences was simpler than I originally thought.” I flash him an innocent grin. “Your move, Darius.”
“It would seem that I keep making the mistake of underestimating you.”
I hide my smirk behind a sip of wine. “You should probably stop doing that.”
Darius breaks into a smile and laughs. “Care to make things more interesting? You are clearly no amateur, though it won’t be enough to beat me.”
What did we just say about underestimating me? “What did you have in mind?”
He rolls a pawn through his rough fingers, and I try not to think about how they felt on my bare skin.
“If I win, you have to let me kiss you for, say…five minutes.”
What? I hide my surprise with a glare. “On the lips only,” I clarify.
A wicked smile confirms his hope that I would miss his open-ended deal. My thighs clench at the thought of his lips elsewhere. Get a grip, body.
He nods in agreement.
“And if I win?” I ask, striking another piece from the board. It falls to the table, breaking the tense silence.
“What do you want?”
If only I knew the answer. My heart and head battle over the possibilities before settling on neutral ground. Logically, I need to know more about the man I married. He is so distant when it comes to his life. For my own safety and plans, I need to break down the wall a bit.
“If I win, you have to share something about yourself for five minutes. And that’s five minutes of you talking.”
His eyebrow quirks up. “Out of an entire empire, you’d waste the bet on getting to know me?”
“You’d waste a bet on a kiss?”
He stalks over to my side of the table, leaning against the desk as he brings my hand to his lips. Notes of cedar wash over me and it takes all my strength not to breathe him in. “As long as it’s you, a kiss is hardly a wasted bet.”
Damn my traitorous heart. It gallops into my stomach, leaving me lightheaded at his words. The warmth of his lips moving to my wrist only worsens my symptoms.
I am a princess of Kalisham. Daughter of Estere, a wise and powerful queen. I do not swoon.
“Do we have a deal?” he says against my skin.
I pull my hand from his grasp and rise to my full height. I study the board, playing out the next several moves. I can win this. “We do.”
Father always said my competitive spirit was an unrelenting wave, and that one day it would drown me. Darius moves his hand between us to maneuver a simple pawn one square forward.
A pawn I overlooked while keeping an eye on his queen and rook. They are the strongest plays for victory and apparently a smoke screen.
“Checkmate, Mina.”