Then she remembered the comment she’d made about his apartment. When she glanced at his face, she knew he was remembering it, too.
“A soulless palace of luxury,” he murmured.
She cleared her throat. “Yes, well . . . that wasn’t a very nice thing to say. I’m sorry about that.”
“Don’t be. It’s true. I hired a decorator and told her to make it look professional—which she did.”
“Your terrace feels different. There’s definitely some soul out there.”
“Thanks, but I can’t take credit for that, either. I just kept it the way it was when I moved in.” He cocked his head to the side. “Speaking of soul—didn’t you describe me to Simone as an evil bastard without one?”
This time she refused to be embarrassed. “Indeed I did. Didn’t you once describe me to the VP of sales as a flaky artist with zero grasp on reality?”
A corner of Ian’s mouth twitched. “I may have said something like that.”
She picked up her wineglass and held it towards him. “Truce?”
He clinked his glass against hers. “Truce.”
They started the game soon afterwards, and it didn’t take long for Kate to get into it. She’d played Dungeons & Dragons only a few times, but she’d been an RPG aficionado for years, and the language and conventions of the world were easy to pick up.
Her quest was to rescue a handsome prince from the ruined castle where he was being held captive.
“I thought you’d appreciate the role reversal,” Ian told her.
“How very gender-neutral of you.”
She was surprised at how easily he got into it, too. Ian obviously enjoyed his role as Dungeon Master, using the pseudomedieval terminology of the fantasy world with ease and seeming to take a lot of pleasure in unleashing mayhem on her character.
Before she could enter the castle, she had to fight her way past a few dozen monsters and steal a key from a troll’s lair. Once she conquered those challenges, she stood at the door that led down to the dungeon where the prince was imprisoned.
“I try to open the door.”
“It’s locked.”
“I use the key I stole from the troll.”
Ian rolled one of the dice he used to determine outcomes. “The key works, and the door opens. You find yourself in a small antechamber. It’s pitch black.”
“I light my lantern.”
“You’re already carrying your sword and shield,” he reminded her.
“Right. Okay, I sling my shield over my shoulder but keep my sword out. I use my free hand to hold the lantern.”
“Once the lantern is lit, you see that you’re not alone. Coming towards you across the chamber is a human warrior holding a broadsword. He stops when he sees you. ‘Who are you, fair maiden? What has brought you to this place?’ ”
“I don’t sheathe my sword, but I don’t attack yet.” She let her voice deepen a little to indicate she was now speaking for her character. “I am Red Sonja, a warrior who has come here on business of my own. Who are you?”
“I am Galahad.”
Kate shot a glance at him, but his expression was the neutral one she’d mentally dubbed his Dungeon Master poker face.
“Galahad,” she repeated cautiously. “The name is not unknown to me. I believe you are a warrior of some renown, one who is allied with the forces of good. What quest has brought you here?”
“I am here because of the words of a seer. She told me that if I came to this place I should look upon the fairest lady in all the land, and I had a great desire to do so. And I have not been disappointed.”
Kate dropped her eyes to her character sheet. She held one of the dice in her hand, and now she squeezed it into her palm.
Maybe if she hadn’t had two glasses of wine, she would have maneuvered the game back on track, leaving Galahad behind. But a rare vintage was buzzing through her veins, and she couldn’t stop herself from taking a cautious step into the unknown.
“Fair words are not always matched by noble actions. I am here to rescue a prince from this dark dungeon. Will you aid me on my quest?”
“How did you learn that a prince was imprisoned here?”
“In the kingdom of Anduria I met the king’s wise woman. It was she who bade me seek the king’s son in this place.”
“Did this wise woman wear a moonstone around her neck?”
Her eyes flicked up to his for an instant. “She did.”
“Then your wise woman and my seer are one and the same. There is no prince in these dungeons, my lady. There is only the man you see before you.”
A thousand things prickled her skin—adrenaline, excitement, fear, uncertainty.