Dragon Soul(27)

"On the contrary, there's no reason. Not a valid one. Not for theft." I  took a deep breath. "Well, at least you're honest about the way you've  been using me."

"What? No!" He took me by the arms, his eyes clouded now. "Sophea, what  we had last night is nothing to do with this-with the ring. What we did  was about us, no one else, and I'm more sorry than I can say if I gave  you the impression that you were a stepping stone on the way to Mrs. P. I  would never use you like that."

"But you just admitted that you want to steal from Mrs. P."

His lips thinned. "Not for my own gain. Not for money, or satisfaction,  or hell, even by my own free will. There's a situation, and I'm more or  less obligated to help fix it."

"Obligated like being blackmailed?" I asked.

Pain flashed in his eyes for a few seconds. "You could say that."

I searched his face for signs he was lying, but there was nothing in it  but sincerity. And something heated that left me feeling restless and  needy. Although I didn't condone his plan to steal from Mrs. P, it made  much more sense that he was being forced into doing so. I wondered idly  what he'd done that was so bad it could be used to force him into his  present acts, but decided that was a discussion for another time. "Now I  feel like I should apologize," I said, my emotions tangled into a giant  ball of confusion.

"Don't. You have nothing to apologize for." He rubbed a hand over his  face. "I seem to have messed things up without being aware of it. What  can I do to make it right with you?"

"Well, the biggest thing is to stop trying to steal Mrs. P's jewelry." I  touched the side of his face. He still looked tired, but there was  something in his eyes, a layer of pain that I knew I had a part in, that  made me forgive him. "I am sorry for thinking you were the sort of man  who'd use me. I should have known better."

"It was entirely reasonable to think so," he said, pulling my hand up to  kiss my knuckles. "If I promise you that I won't take anything from  Mrs. P without her permission, will that return your faith in me?"

I felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from me and realized with a  start the true depth of emotions that were tied in with Rowan. This  wasn't just a case of me needing to have a good time with a man …  it was  something more profound. And while it was true my emotions were tangled  together, they were emotions that had lain dormant for the last few  years, emotions I was happy to feel again.

Trust you to fall for the first pretty face you've seen since Jian died,  I said to myself, the name of my deceased husband generally dousing any  feelings of attraction for another man, but for the first time since  his death, it didn't leave me feeling as if I'd had a bucket of water  dumped on me. "Yes, it would help if you stopped being a cat burglar.  For one, I don't think it's very honorable, and for another, it's bound  to end badly, and I don't want to see you end badly. I want you to end  good. Er …  well."

"Thank you," he said with another one of those little bows that thrilled me to my toes.

"And as for not telling us about our room …  I don't know whether to  scream at you, hit you over the head with something heavy, or ask the  captain to throw you overboard. Why didn't you tell me that someone  destroyed our things?"

"I had no way to contact you. I did what I could by ensuring someone  from the hotel would find out what happened before you got back, and  left it at that."

"But you would have stolen Mrs. P's jewelry if her things hadn't  obviously already been gone through?" I pointed out, then shook my head.  "Never mind, it's a moot point now. Not only have you just sworn not to  steal anything from her, whatever she had is gone."         

     



 

His eyes glittered with humor. "For the record, it was just one item,  and it wasn't hers to begin with. She has done exactly what I tried to  do-taken it from someone else."

"Oh, is that the story now?"

"It's the truth." He slid a look at Gabriel, who was chatting with May  and Mrs. P, then suddenly grasped my wrist and left the deck, taking me  with him.

"Hey!" I protested, digging in my heels when we got to the top of the  stairs that led to lower decks. "What do you think you're doing?"

"We need to have a talk. A private talk. My cabin is on the floor below us."

"I can't leave Mrs. P alone. The underwear models-not that I even know  if I can trust them-they're down in the cabin, and she's all alone.  Someone will try to hurt her. Or steal her jewelry." I put a lot of  emphasis on the last sentence, but he seemed to ignore it.

"Gabriel and May will stick with her."

"That's just what I'm worried about," I said, snatching my hand out of  his. "Someone trashed our room, and who's to say it wasn't them?"

"I highly doubt if it was."

"But you don't know for certain."

"No," he said slowly. "But I trust them. They may not seem like people  who have our own interest at heart, but I don't believe they will betray  our trust."

The implication was obvious-he had trust where I had none.

"Are they the ones who are blackmailing you?" I asked, wanting to  comfort him, and seduce him, and yell at him, all at the same time.

"No. Not them directly. It's really all of the dragons collectively who are forcing my hand."

He looked miserable, utterly miserable, and my heart begged me to wrap my arms around him and keep the world from him.

"Isn't there any other way around whatever's going on?" I asked,  fighting my need to fling myself onto him. "Some way that doesn't  involve stealing?"

"Trust me when I say that if there was any way on this earth I could  avoid the situation, I would do so. But my hands are tied. And I've been  assured that it's a necessary act, one needed to save not just  dragonkin, but mortals, as well."

My reservations crumbled under the stark anguish in his face and voice. I  threw caution to the wind, knowing I might be making the biggest  mistake of my life, but believing every word Rowan spoke despite it all.  I threw myself against him, kissing every bit of his face that I could  reach. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I blamed you when you're just a victim  of-"

He stopped me talking then, but only because his tongue was busy  persuading mine to go visiting in his mouth. It obliged, and we remained  locked in a steamy kiss until a passing waiter coughed discreetly  before edging past us.

"Wow," I said, gazing up at him, my mind trying desperately to get a grip on itself.

His eyes widened, then a little smile flirted with his lips. "You're on fire."

"I know I am. I told you that you're a heck of a kisser."

"No, I meant literally."

I looked down at where he pointed. A small ring of fire encircled my feet. "Eek! Where did that come from?"

"You." He gave me a heated look that made me want to rip off all his  clothes and cover him in something lickable, like chocolate. "You are a  mate, remember?"

"Kick-ass mate," I corrected automatically, wondering how much chocolate the ship had on board.

"That goes without saying."

"I still can't get over this whole making fire thing." I gazed up at  him, and wondered how I could broach the subject of sexy times in the  near future.

Rowan made a face, then admitted, "I don't think I'm going to be able to  last until later." His voice was husky in a way that made me shiver  with desire just hearing it. "I don't suppose you would like to-"

"Yes," I said, taking his hand and starting down the stairs. "Right now. Sooner, in fact."

He chuckled as he trotted behind me. "I'm glad to know you are just as  impatient as I am. I haven't been able to stop thinking about  you-oomph."

He bumped into me when a sudden, horrible thought made me stop midway  down the stairs. I turned to face him, a horrible suspicion in mind.  "Just one minute. You may trust May and Gabriel, but I don't, and I'm  the one who was hired to help out Mrs. P. Although she may be a bit  scatty and frustrating as sin sometimes, she's still a pretty nice old  lady, and she did let me come on this cruise when she didn't have to, so  I'm going to do my job the very best I can."         

     



 

"She's told you more than once that she expects you-us-to protect her. I  wouldn't be assigning to her quite so many altruistic motives as you  seem to be wont."

"You're trying to distract me-"

He lifted his hand as if he was taking an oath. "I have no ulterior  motives in getting you into my bed other than licking every square inch  of you. Twice."

Goose bumps rippled down my back at both the look in his eyes and mental  image of his words. But I had to think of Mrs. P, so I pushed aside my  own need. I brushed past him retracing my steps to the top deck. "That  doesn't mean I trust those two stalkers up there."