To Seduce An Assassin (The Omaja Series Book 2)(39)

He smiled. “Yes.”

“I think that is a rare thing.”

“I do too.” He caught himself mesmerized by her face and looked down at his plate.

“Do you believe people should marry for love?”

How did we get on the topic of love? Damn it. He finished off his second goblet of wine and poured another before answering. “To be honest, I haven’t given the topic of marriage much thought.”

“You haven’t?” She frowned, causing her lower lip to pout a little.

Tejeshwar help him, he wanted to lean across the corner of the table and lick that lip with the tip of his tongue. “Well…no.”

“Don’t you want to marry someday?”

Marry? Of course. But how could he explain to her that it probably wasn’t in the cards for him to do so?

“Yavi,” she chided, “surely you aren’t planning to die an old bachelor.”

He had to deflect this line of questioning, and fast. He faked a chuckle. “No, of course not. I’ve just been too busy learning to be an emperor to give much thought to marriage.”

“Well, I think about marriage all the time.” She ate another bite of Talún. “Bless Zehu, this recipe is good! I see why it was your favorite of your mother’s.”

He decided to shift the focus to her thoughts on marriage, not his. “Do you believe people should marry for love?”

“Yes, no question.”

“Many young women would disagree with you. They would hope for a husband with wealth.”

“I was raised on a farm, and I’ve never been accustomed to wealth. I don’t need a lot of servants or fancy dresses and jewels to be happy.”

He chuckled, sincerely this time. “Neither do I, and I’m the emperor of Nandala.”

“No need of dresses and jewels, you say?”

He grinned. “Nope. None at all.” He ate a mouthful of Talún, realizing he was starting to feel the wine just a bit.

“That’s good, because to make a dress big enough for you would require a hefty amount of fabric.” She giggled and sipped her wine.

He glanced down at himself. “Could you imagine fitting this body into a corset?”

“No,” she laughed, shaking her head. “Nor would a corset do you much good—your body is hard as a rock. I doubt it can be squeezed much.”

You’re right about me being hard as a rock, but I can still be squeezed, he joked to himself. He couldn’t resist asking, “How do you know my body is hard, Miss Stovy?”

“I felt it last night through your shirt, when you hugged me.”

He took another swig of Fahrshir and cut another slice of Talún. Stop this, Yavi. You’re flirting and having too much fun. It can only lead to regret. “Be quiet,” he murmured aloud to his conscience as he laid the slice on his plate.

“Quiet?”

He darted a glance at her face, then pretended to be teasing her. “Yes, be quiet, Miss Stovy. You’re complimenting me too much.”

“It’s not a compliment; it’s the truth. I know what muscles feel like.”

“Oh, you do?” He raised an eyebrow in mock disdain.

She laughed. “My brother has them too. Well, I guess both brothers do at this point, since Rafe has grown so much.”

He noticed her wine was getting low. “Would like more Fahrshir?”

“Yes, please. It tastes wonderful with the Talún, just as you said it would.”

He poured her another goblet, then picked up the Talún platter. “More Talún to go with it?”

“Yes, a small slice. I’m saving room for dessert.”

“What did our talented chef prepare for dessert, pray tell?” He served her a piece of Talún, then turned his attention back to finishing his third slice.

“Baked egg-and-cream custard with nutmeg on top. It’s one of my specialties. You’ll think you’ve died and gone to heaven when you taste it.”

Indeed. Or gone straight to hell, at this rate. “Yavi in Yahvi,” he mused.

“Yavi in Yavi? What does that mean?”

“Yavi in heaven. My name means ‘heaven’ in Old Nandalan.”

“Oh. That’s interesting.”

“Yes, although the concept hasn’t really played out in my life, I’m afraid.”

“There is still time,” she assured him confidently.

“Perhaps.”

“What does Yajna’s name mean? Does it also have a meaning?”

“Yes. It means worship.”

She smiled. “Well, I know one person who worships him.”

He feigned a defensive tone. “No I don’t!”

She laughed heartily. Yavi knew he should stop joking and enjoying her company so much, sober up, and claim he was tired and needed to go to bed soon.

Instead, he kept eating, drinking, and laughing with her, squelching all the old, familiar voices of protest.





Eight


It was late when they finished off their custards, and just as his dinner companion had predicted, Yavi thought he’d died and gone to heaven when he tasted her dessert’s creamy sweetness. He had also finished off an entire bottle of Fahrshir with relatively little help from her, and was maintaining very thin control over his lustful thoughts. He wanted to carry her upstairs, unhook her too-tight bodice, and fill his hands and mouth with her lovely breasts.