A Kiss of Fire (A Kiss of Magic #2)(6)

Before she knew what was happening, he was leading her down the terrace steps and onto a white gravel footpath. Ariana looked back toward the ballroom, hoping someone would come to stop her. Call out to her. Demand her attention. But drat it all, the one time she wanted interference there was none to be had.

They left the din of the ballroom behind.

He kept his gait slow and easy. Meandering even, if such a thing like that were possible for the man. Raja Sin was many things, but indolent was not one of them. He kept his hand over hers, preventing her from dropping it away. The shirt he wore was thin and loose fitting, and she could feel the heat of him through it. She could feel the power of the muscles her fingers were unconsciously gripping. She loosened her grasp as if it might encourage him to let go.

She popped her fan open and fanned herself by turns slowly and more rapidly. She felt as though she was burning up. Strange, since she had control over all things fire and heat. But while she could heat things up, she could not cool them down. That had to happen naturally. But the point was she shouldn’t feel the heat. She was impervious to it.

Except around this man. Every time she saw him she was overwhelmed by this sense of heat.

She shot him a look out of the corner of her eyes, trying to judge his motivations for bringing her out there. He seemed easy and relaxed, lacking in any direct motive. He was just one leader of a country walking with another leader of a country. Simple yes?

Only there was nothing simple about this man. Nothing at all. Oh, she liked to think he was a shallow pool, one dimensional and lacking in complexity, but she was just kidding herself. He was no mere barbarian easy to dismiss. He was shrewd and cunning. There was likely purpose to everything he did. Including taking her for a walk in her own gardens.

“It’s a lovely night for a ball,” he said.

What? Was he really going to talk about the weather with her?

“Yes. It’s unseasonably warm.”

“It will be cold enough soon enough. There have already been dustings of snow in the upper mountain country of my home.”

They really were talking about the weather. It seemed almost…normal. Only, it was boring. She’d had this conversation a dozen times already tonight. She felt somehow…disappointed in him.

“Soon the lakes will freeze and the children will be ice sliding.”

That made her smile. She had done that as a child. But her days for ice sliding had been too few and too short. She had had to grow up very quickly in her father’s house.

“I remember ice sliding,” she said. “I think it’s sad that adults don’t do it. We’ve lost something in that I think.”

“You can still go ice sliding any time you want. You own a country. You can do anything your heart desires.”

“You know that isn’t so. Everything I do comes under scrutiny. I couldn’t be seen doing something so childish. It would make me seem…”

“Less? Young? You are not less and you are not young. Not childish in any event. But you are young in that you have many of your best autumns ahead of you yet. There is nothing wrong with having a little fun. You pride yourselves on your civilization but I do not think you realize what you have lost in the achievement.”

“We’ve lost barbarism. Poverty. Starvation. Civilization has brought us many wonderful things. We thrive because of it.”

“And you think we are barbarians because we do not dress properly and we do not bow when we greet someone?”

She gasped a softly indrawn breath. “I never said you were barbarians!”

“No. But you think it.”

“How do you presume to know my mind?” she snapped, drawing to a halt on the path. She would have snatched her hand away, but he held it firmly in place.

“Am I wrong?” he asked.

She flushed. She had called him a barbarian more than once aloud, never mind what her thoughts had been.

“I wouldn’t tell you if I did. That wouldn’t make for very good diplomacy.”

“Walk,” he commanded her, pulling her along again. She had no choice but to follow him. She was tempted to drag her feet, but she wouldn’t act like a spoiled child. “It is all right that you think we are barbaric. To us you are uptight and obnoxious. We each have our racial prejudices.”

“Well…I prefer to think I can rise above mine.”

“And have you had much success with that?” he asked.

She didn’t answer and that in and of itself was an answer. He chuckled softly as he led her into the hedgerows. After a moment she realized they were completely out of sight of the ballroom. Anxiety tickled at her senses.

“There is something about all your many layers of clothes and civilization and manners,” he said to her, pulling her to a stop and turning to face her. He stepped closer to her, reached out and picked up one of the curls trailing down her chest and brought it to his nose. He drew in his breath, obviously taking in her scent. “It makes us want to peel it all away.”

This time she did jerk her hand free of him. She took an awkward step back.

“Don’t do that!” she barked.

“Do what?” he asked. Clearly he knew what had bothered her. His amused eyes said it all.

“You know exactly what!” She stepped back again when he stepped forward. He reached out and caught her by her arms and pulled her up tight against his body. She gasped at the contact, all of that hard masculine body pressing up against hers. She squirmed.