Page 47 of Clash of Storms
"If I'd thought you serious about the proposition, I'd have been under your skirts in no time." His lip curled. "But you weren't, were you? No. You were trying to distract me from my pursuit of the princess. Thank you, Malin, for revealing your real intentions. And your allegiance."
"My allegiance was always to the princess. I never made any pretense about that."
"No, but I was under the impression you agreed it was wiser to bring her back to court."
Her fingers itched. She glared at him, and some little devil whispered in her ear,"Drop the cloak."
Encouraged by his clear derision, Malin let the cloak slip from her shoulder, and bit her lip.
It was meant to be seductive, and yet she froze halfway, dismally aware of her own shortcomings.He's the Blackfrost. Women have thrown themselves at him for years. What would he want witha drekling who barely needs to wear a corset?
And yet....
The sharpness of his features intensified as he saw the flash of her shoulder, his fingers tensing around the log in his hands. She had the feeling he was two seconds away from casting it aside and striding toward her.
Something warmed within her, unfurling like the bud of a rose given just a hint of warmth. Enough to encourage it to bloom.
She'd always been small and overlooked. The sharp line of her clavicle jutted out sharply, and her breasts were mere palmfuls.Sticks, her stepbrothers had teased her, as a child.
Sirius carefully set the log aside and purred, "Don't stop on my account."
The spell was broken.
Malin knelt and grabbed her dress, throwing it at him. The wet wool slapped against his chest, and he snatched it and then froze.
"I'm not doing this for your enjoyment," she said, her heart beating far too fast in her chest.Goodness. What had she been thinking?"Could you hang that up to dry for me?"
Sirius slowly brought her gown to his face, a sharp glitter of something dangerous filling his face. Something stronger than attraction; rough-edged shadows of pure hunger that stole her breath. Another shiver ran through her, as she saw him breathe in deeply. Could he smell her scent on the gown?
What was he doing?
What was he thinking?
"Is there any particular reason you're trying to torture me?" His voice was almost a growl.
"Is there any particular reason you're hovering over me like a bloody mated male?" she demanded, trying to haul herself out of the suddenly treacherous waters she found herself within.
Every muscle in his body locked."What?"
"I understand why you saved my life today. You promised to protect me. I don't know why though." It frustrated her. "It's not going to endear you to Árdís, who despises you, and.... You deliberately disobeyed your father, who wanted me dead, and instead you've dragged me across these moors and made some foolish decisions today that might have cost you your life."
None of this made any sense.
"Why?" she demanded. "Why are you acting so strangely? Why did you hesitate today when the others attacked? You're adrekimale.Drekimales can't walk away from a battle challenge to save their souls! It's some innate flaw in your makeup, and yet you did."
She stared at him, seeing the moment he'd lowered his arms, halting the shift in midstream, which was a phenomenal amount of effort in itself.
"I told you—I couldn't guarantee your safety. The shift takes a second or two to reorient, and they were flying too far apart for me to strike at both of them indrekiform. You were—" Sirius choked on the words, his eyes darting anywhere but at her. "I couldn't let them hurt you."
He'd said something like that earlier. "I can't do that."
Not,I won't.
None of the day's events made any sense.
But they were starting to.
Ifshe looked at this through unimpassioned eyes. If she considered everything he'd done in the past few days, everything he'd said, and not from a point of hatred, but one of understanding. She wasdrekiin her bones. Sheknewthis culture. Sheknewthese males.
