Page 153 of Tiger's Dream
After they left, I blew out a breath and shook my head.Are they kidding me? They must be pretty confident in their skills to make promises like that to a woman. Melting ice caps? Sanctifying the dawn? Unbelievable. After making sure we were alone, I knelt down next to Ana and touched the kamandal to her lips, trickling some of the mermaid’s elixir into her mouth.
Catching a bead that slowly slid down the side of her mouth, I lifted my finger and touched it to her bottom lip, making sure she got the advantage of every drop. Then, not being able to help myself, I ran my thumb across the soft flesh. What couldIoffer a girl like Ana? Not poetry like Ren or fantastic promises like the two clowns who just left. I opened my hands and considered them. They were big hands. Strong, but calloused and scarred by weapons and fighting.
I wasn’t gifted in matters of business or finance. Wealth and the accumulation of it didn’t matter to me. I was a soldier. A fighter. A hunter. I wasn’t the type to fawn over a girl with flowery words or romantic gestures. Of course, I’d make an effort to please, but I was what I was at heart. Even if I tried to change, I wasn’t certain it would stick. Could she love me for just me?
Ten minutes passed, and just as I was wondering if the elixir was going to work, Ana moved, stretching in a way I tried to ignore, especially when I noticed again her barely there clothing. She tucked her fist under her cheek and rolled on her side, her long lashes sweeping over her cheeks in dark half-moons. Then she began snoring softly. It made me smile.
“Ana?” I said, shaking her slightly. “Ana, it’s time to wake up.” She was obviously still groggy, but she stirred enough to recognize where she was if not who she was with.
“No!” She slapped at my hands and kicked as she struggled to get away from me.
“Ana,” I said, trying to wake her. “It’s me.”
“Stop. I won’t. You can’t force me. Never again.” Alarmed, she jerked away from me, scrambling backward, and then turning to run. Her limbs were still weak, and she stumbled back against the wall and sunk down into a heap, covering her head with her arms and crying. “Please,” she begged. “Please leave me alone.”
“Shh, shh, shh, Ana,” I said, moving slowly to her side. I didn’t touch her but held my hands out where she could see them. “They’re not here right now. It’s just you and me.” I sat down next to her, stretching out my legs. “Sohan?” she asked, her eyes still cloudy with whatever they’d given her.
“Yes, I’m here.”
She reached out and grabbed my arm, shaking it. “But you…you left me.”
“I shouldn’t have.”
“You wanted a…a break.” Weakly, she clawed her way closer.
“Do you want me to hold you?” I asked, wishing I knew her mind. When she nodded, I pulled her onto my lap and tucked her head against my neck. “I made a mistake, Ana. Can you forgive me?”
“Maybe.”
I ran my hand over her back to soothe her but quickly remembered it was bare when my fingers slid across the silken skin that teased me between locks of hair. I stopped moving then and just held her close, giving her time to wake up.
“Sohan?” she said, her voice still thick with whatever they’d given her.
“Mm hmm?” I replied, trying to ignore the feathery feeling of her lips and eyelashes tickling my neck.
“Have I told you I like how you smell?”
“What?” I laughed, my eyebrows drawing together.
“Yes. You smell like grass and trees and something…something warm like amber.”
“That’s, um…nice,” I replied.
She sighed deeply, her warm breath fanning out over my neck. “I find it very pleasing,” Ana said languidly. “Also, I like your eyes. I never know what color they’re going to be. I’ve decided it depends on your mood. When you’re angry, they’re brown as a mink’s coat. Sometimes they’re cinnamon or mahogany.” She touched the tip of my nose and giggled drunkenly. “But my favorite is when they’re a tawny sort of topaz. They sparkle then and I know it’s because you’re happy. I’ve only seen it a few times but I remember each one.”
I opened my mouth to reply, though I didn’t exactly know what to say, when the door burst open. The two brothers stormed into the room. Lifting Ana in my arms, I stood, preparing to shift us far away from the diamond temple.
“She’s gone!” one accused. “I told you we should take turns watching her.”
At first I was confused. I knew they couldn’t see me but they should be able to still see Ana. She’d look like a floating body to them. I looked down where she lay in my arms, and I found her staring at my face, her eyes a bit clearer. Gently, she cupped my cheek and I realized her body was blurred in time with mine. Whether she’d done that on her own or if it had just occurred by our proximity to one another, I didn’t know. I raised my brows, and she shook her head slightly, pushing against my chest so I’d set her down.
She twisted her fingers and I felt the fibers of the scarf envelop me. It changed me into a being that looked a lot like them but taller and much bigger. Long blond hair hung down my back and my arms and legs were bare and the skin gold. When she was satisfied with my appearance, she phased us back in their time.
“I am here, my lords,” she announced. “You have asked me to choose a mate and I have. My choice is my counterpart, my equal. He has come to fetch me and has roused me from the sleep you inflicted upon me in my mortal form.” She laid her hand against my bare chest and I placed mine on top.
Ana whispered using the power of the scarf. Threads wrapped around her, and it fashioned her a dress that sparkled with the light of a hundred stars. Stepping closer, she wrapped her arms around my waist, and I draped one across her shoulders, a sign of protection and possession.
The two men, who marveled at her power, sputtered in protest. “But…but you are Lawala born again.”
