CHAPTER SIX
It was exactly the same feeling I d had when I d first met Quynh. A recognition, a remembrance, rather than encountering someone for the first time.
As if we had been destined to meet.
My soul calling to his.
There was a difference, though-I knew Quynh was meant to be my sister.
And there was nothing familial about the feelings I was experiencing for this man.
Good evening, he said, bowing slightly. His voice was rich and deep, like the honey in the pasteli I d eaten yesterday.
My mouth gaped open and I couldn t answer. Protocol had been drilled into my head from when I d first started to talk, and now I couldn t have spoken if my very life had depended on it.
Did he feel the same?
Even if he did-what did it matter? Nothing could come of it.
It crushed me that this had finally happened just as I was about to risk my life.
He was tall. Taller than even Demaratus. Broader, too. His indigo-blue tunic was simple, belted at the waist. He wore a darker blue cloak, fastened with a pin over his right shoulder. Which left his right arm exposed, and I could see muscles that spoke of the hard work he must have regularly performed.
He was young. Not a boy, but a man. He was probably only a few years older than me.
His golden-brown skin was darker than that of most men I d met. As if he spent all of his time under the sun. His hair was midnight black, gleaming in the torchlight, and the ends curled slightly, reminding me of my own hair.
I couldn t see the color of his eyes, but his lips were full. Kissable.
And he had a healed scar on the right side of his face, beginning above his dark eyebrow, traveling across his high cheekbone, and ending at his strong jawline.
I wondered who had cut his face and if it would be all right if I stabbed them for it.
Perhaps the scar should have marked him as dangerous, the sort of man who got into knife fights, but it only made his face even more interesting.
He had to be from one of the Pyronean valleys, where the Locrian quarries were situated, as he had on the distinctive amber bead necklace all the people from that region wore.
But I had never seen him at court before. I knew I would have remembered him.
My body s reaction to him was the same as if I were about to fight. My heart raced, my skin tingled in anticipation, my blood pumped hard through my body, my breathing became difficult to manage.
It was hard to keep a clear head.
This must have been the attraction that Quynh had spoken of-this spark, this longing, the desire to be closer to him.
What would it be like to be kissed by a man like him?
He did not seem to be affected in the same way. He wasn t even looking at me, while I drank in every detail about him. His gaze was pointed at the tree s branches and he skirted along the trunk, running his fingers over the bark.
I had heard of this tree and wanted to see it for myself. The last tree in Locris, left as a reminder of all that was lost. He paused and then shifted his gaze back to me, causing my heart to beat even more rapidly. It doesn t bear fruit?
No, I said, relieved that I had regained my voice.
Another admonishment from the goddess.
It was unusual to hear someone speak about her so casually. As if there were no question that she was real and not something to be brushed under a rug and ignored.
He said, And it is why the women of Locris all have long hair. Because it is the only thing that grows here.
Was he asking me or telling me? I couldn t be certain. All my senses were clouded, confused.
Is this your first time at court? I asked, pleased that I was able to form an entire sentence and that my voice didn t shake.
He leaned against the tree trunk, as if he expected me to come closer to him. He crossed his arms against his chest. It is. I had supposed it would be grander. More impressive. It s a bit sad, honestly.
While I probably shouldn t have felt personally insulted by his slight, I was. I said with a twinge of disgust, You re an elitist.
He grinned at me, as if my reaction delighted him. I generally think I m better than most people, yes.
His words were ruining him for me. I should leave before he made things even worse. As entertaining and enlightening as our chat has been, I have other duties to see to.
What happened to your face? he asked, gesturing with his hand.
A bruise must have appeared. I swallowed back a groan. How was I going to explain that to my mother? I wanted to press my hand against my cheek but I was still holding my dagger and the tray. I stopped a man from harming a maid.
Why would you do that? he asked, incredulous.
Why would I stop a man from physically hurting someone smaller and weaker? I asked, just as incredulous.
Yes, you could have been seriously hurt. It seems foolish.
My spine tightened and I stood taller. Should I have waited for someone else to arrive to save her?
Yes, he said, as if that were obvious.
I put a stop to it. With my face, but that seemed like an unnecessary detail at the moment. I saved her and I m more than capable of saving myself.
Are you?
What was he getting at? Yes.
And what do you plan on saving yourself from?
At the moment? This conversation.
Don t go.
I would have had a difficult time explaining why his entreaty softened me. It wasn t spoken as a command or order. I d certainly had plenty of those over the last year.
Instead he said it like he didn t want to be parted from me.
I knew what he was doing. He was wielding his charm and handsomeness like a sword against me, and despite my earlier declaration, I felt helpless against the onslaught.
Maybe I did need someone else to save me.
Why shouldn t I go? I asked.
Because you want me to kiss you and I would be happy to oblige.
What? My limbs were shaking, my heart pounding so loudly I was sure he could hear it.
I couldn t just kiss some stranger in the courtyard of my parents palace. And it was humiliating that he d correctly read my desire for him. I never would have acted upon it. I couldn t. My mother would be shocked, my father furious. This was not how people like me were supposed to behave.
The smart thing to do would be to leave. To walk away and pretend that this had never happened.
I didn t do that.
He sauntered over to me slowly, as if he had all the time in the world. My heart somehow managed to beat even faster, drowning out everything else. He came to a stop in front of me and his warmth washed over me. He reached for my tray and took it, intending to set it down.
My dagger clattered to the ground and his eyes followed the sound. He gave me a half smile while he placed the tray next to my knife. A dagger? Do you have need of a weapon?
I suppose that would depend on what you plan to do.
Another smile. I only plan to do things that you will enjoy. But if you were thinking about stabbing me, just know that you would not be the first woman to do so.
Was that meant to be a warning? I should have taken heed, but I was watching him instead, completely enthralled, unable to flee.
You have been looking at my lips since you first saw me. He murmured the words so softly that I had to lean in slightly to hear them.
I have not, I protested just as quietly, but it was because I didn t think I was capable of raising my voice at the moment. I felt as if I had no control at all over my body.
You want me to kiss you. He said this as a statement of fact and I wanted to protest that I did not because something at the back of my mind that sounded suspiciously like Demaratus s voice was telling me, Stupid girl, this is not how a betrothed princess should behave!
I knew that. But in a week s time I might be dead.
Time to push propriety aside.
If you want me to leave, I will, he said.
I don t even know your name. My voice was breathless, unsteady.
Jason.
I m Lia.
Your heart is beating very quickly, Lia. I can see your pulse in your throat.
Oh, was all I could manage to reply.
He touched the spot with his warm fingertip and I felt that same pulse jump in response.
Jason moved his mouth closer to mine but kept it tantalizingly out of reach and my core tightened in anticipation. You re trembling. Have you ever been kissed before?
My heart reverberated inside my chest like a massive drum. No.
Are you betrothed?
I supposed it was good that one of us was worried about it. I am but won t be for much longer. I probably should have lied, but I found that I didn t want to.
Not to him.
Does your betrothed know that?
I shook my head. Not yet.
His lips somehow came closer without touching me. I would hate to kiss you and ruin you for any other man s kisses.
The absolute arrogance in his statement should have cooled my ardor.
It did not.
If anything, I wanted to find out if he was as adept as he claimed to be.
And I would have happily let Jason ruin me for kissing with any future partners if it meant he would finally press his mouth against mine.
I don t normally kiss women like you. Untouched. Innocent. You never know what their fathers might insist on.
A desperate need for him to continue, to satisfy my curiosity and kiss me, took residence in my stomach, urging me to destroy all his excuses. I won t tell him.
Neither will I. There was a gleam in his eyes, and I wished I knew what color they were in daylight because currently they were inky pools of blackness, drawing me in. You have to say the words, though. That you want me to kiss you.
The Lia from ten minutes ago would have punched him. But the person I was now? What he had reduced me to without even touching me? I briefly wondered where my pride had gone before I said, I want you to kiss me. But I don t know what I m doing.
It s easy. Do what I do. Follow my lead.
The entire world ceased to exist and everything was focused in on this moment-where his mouth finally descended. My eyes fluttered shut and I made a sound when he gently kissed me, his lips seeming to melt into mine. It was strange but not unwelcome. Our mouths were the only place where we touched. I briefly wondered what it would feel like to have those large arms of his wrapped around me.
At first I was overly aware of what I was doing. I paid close attention, trying to be a good student. To do what he was doing, mimicking his movements as his lips shifted and pressed against mine.
But then something changed. Instead of focusing on what he was doing and trying to figure out how I was supposed to respond to it, I began to let go and soon everything felt natural. The kiss was something I was a part of and was enjoying, instead of being tense and anxious about it.
It felt a little like slipping into my bath earlier. I was warm and comfortable and my limbs felt pliant and loose, like I was drifting along in a cozy haze. His kisses were gentle and soft, as if he intended to keep things sweet between us.
While this was nice, it wasn t at all what I d been anticipating. It was not what Quynh had described to me.
Like a piece was missing.
He pulled back, as if he sensed my inner turmoil.
I was the one who spoke first. Do that again. But this time, do it right. I know that there s more than that.
His jaw clenched, his brow furrowed, his eyes darkened. You want me to show you more? His voice was raspy and tight, which was inexplicably thrilling.
Yes.
He raised his hands to my face, cupping it. His eyes stared into mine for several heartbeats and the intensity there was hypnotic. I wasn t sure that I could have resisted, even if I wanted to.
And I did not want to resist.
Then . . . he devoured me. There was no other word for the frenzied passion of his kisses, the desperate way that he moved his mouth against mine. He showed me exactly what I had been missing out on.
I understood that he had been holding back in his first attempt, the same way my regiment had pulled their punches for an entire year. This was not at all like climbing into a warm bath.
It was like being tossed into an active volcano, where molten heat coursed its way through me, licking along my veins, turning me into a mindless body filled with an aching need that I somehow knew only Jason could fulfill.
He pulled back suddenly and his thumb tugged at my bottom lip. Part your lips for me, he said.
I did as he instructed and his tongue invaded my mouth. A bolt of shock slammed into me until he stroked his tongue along mine and my knees buckled. His hands tightened around my waist and he lifted me up, holding me against him. He picked me up as if I weighed no more than a feather.
His size and strength should have scared me, but I found them intoxicating.
He began to tease me with his tongue. He ran it softly across my lips, then back into my mouth, stoking the inferno he had set to life inside me. Everywhere he touched me with his mouth and his tongue sizzled, as if he d marked me his. Branded me permanently.
No wonder Quynh liked this so much!
You should not let strange men kiss you this way. His words were broken against my lips. He seemed surprised by my reaction. As if he had been prepared for a slap or a protest, and not my enthusiastic participation.
I slid down his body, able to stand on my own feet again. And you should not let strange women-
He swallowed my retort with his mouth. His hands were everywhere-in my hair, holding my neck, at my waist to pull me closer. I could only briefly register his constantly moving touch, too caught up in what we were doing with our kiss.
I finally understood what was happening between us. It was swordplay with an entirely different type of weapon. A type of combat that would end not in pain, but in a pleasure I hadn t even imagined possible. Press forward, retreat, keeping my footing, engaging my hands, plunging into battle.
And I knew how to fight.
I gave as good as I got, matching him stroke for stroke, taste for taste, touch for touch, kiss for kiss.
You taste like honey, I murmured against his mouth.
Jason smiled. You taste sweeter than honey.
I put my hands on his broad shoulders and maneuvered him to the tree. When his back made contact, he smiled again. I m meant to be leading you, not the other way around.
I ve always been a quick study, I said, leaning up to fuse our mouths together again.
He groaned low in his throat at my action, his body a hot, strong line against mine as I pressed into him, and I realized that at some point he had changed from an arrogant, smug braggart to something else.
Something I d turned him into.
He was no longer in control or instructing me, no longer amused by me or the things I was saying. No, he unraveled against me, bit by bit. His breathing was ragged; his heart thundered in his chest. He shuddered against me.
Jason was not unaffected.
I had only a moment to glory in the victorious feeling this gave me, as if I d somehow won this battle, when his mouth went wild against mine. Now I was the one moaning against his lips and his onslaught.
Exquisite sensations racked my body, like an icy fire that raced up and down my veins. I was burning and freezing at the same time, which both confused and exhilarated me.
I had often wondered what it would be like to wield magic, and I couldn t imagine that it was much different from this-the magic two people could create just by kissing. It was almost otherworldly.
And whenever I thought there couldn t possibly be more passion, more intensity, more desire, that the kiss could not be any deeper, wilder, or hotter, he repeatedly proved me wrong. He transported me to a dizzying height that made my mind go hazy, unable to think about anything other than his kiss and touch.
I d never fainted before, but it started to feel like a real possibility.
I had an overwhelming need to be closer to him. My hand was in his silken hair and I traced it down his face to rest on his neck. His skin was so warm, so alive, so soft but strong at the same time. I wanted access to more of him. To rip apart every barrier between us.
He pulled back and smiled at my whining nonverbal protest. There is no need to rush, he said and I wanted to heartily disagree.
But then he distracted me by pressing soft kisses along my jaw, down the side of my exposed throat. This was new and interesting and delightful. I leaned my head back to give him better access and sighed. I could feel his smile against my skin.
His voice was rough and deep. I would have come here a long time ago if I had known that all Locrian women were so welcoming to Ilionian men.