climaxing and she resented Rurik for starting something he didn’t finish.
After the ceremony, music was played and couples took to dancing as
well as drinking. Ari was amazed to see her father amongst the other
nobles, acting more carefree than she’d ever seen him. She didn’t dance,
but instead sat on her throne watching.
“Do you wish to join them?” Rurik asked from her side. His voice was
deceptively soft and she stiffened to hear the niceness of his tone.
Blinking, she looked at him. “Nae. It isn’t done.”
“According to…?”
She opened her mouth to speak, but the truth was, she didn’t know.
It really wasn’t written in law that she couldn’t dance or do any number
of things, it was just traditionally how it was done.
“I propose, my queen…” Rurik began. The title still jarred her slightly,
though she’d been prepared to accept it.
“Yes?” she breathed, unable to form a solid word.
“I propose that it’s time to let a little more blood into the rule,” he
said.
“What do you mean?” Ari wrinkled her brow in confusion, studying
him.
“When my kind was banished, it was thought that women, who had
more control over their passionate blood, should rule for a time. They
have and your family has done a good job of it. But the throne lacks
passion. Perhaps it’s time to let some of the fun back into ruling
Falconia. Our people were never meant to be passionless, Ari. Our
ancestors ran from passion because of what it brought. Perhaps it’s time
to reclaim some of it.”
“So you’re saying…?” she asked, thoroughly intrigued by what he
suggested.
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Michelle M Pillow
“I’m saying, let us join our people and dance. There is no shame in a
queen enjoying her life. Come, let us flush that perfect complexion of
yours and make you break a sweat.”
“I, ah, sweat,” she protested, even as she allowed him to touch her
hand. “I exercise.”
“Dance with me,” he insisted. “Let us start this reign with blood in its
veins.”
Ari was too stunned by the prospect to protest as he pulled her to her
feet. The hall suddenly lost some of its buzz as he led her along the
stairwell that wound down the platform to the floor. She was well aware
of the eyes on her.
“Rurik,” she pulled at her hand, trying to stop him, “a queen
doesn’t…”
“A queen hasn’t in a long time,” he corrected. “Do you really want to
live your ancestors’ lives? Or would you rather live the life of Queen Ari
and her hot-blooded king?”
There was something intimate and accepting to the way he linked
their names together and she would’ve agreed to almost anything at the
moment. He led her down to the hall. The musicians had stopped,
looking unsure.
“Play something lively,” Rurik yelled, as if commanding all those
around him. “The new queen wishes to dance with her people.”
Ari’s stomach tensed and she expected a riot of outrage. Instead, no
one seemed to care that it wasn’t done in the past. They cheered, several
reaching out to pat her on the back in welcome. Rurik grinned, pulling
her close as a lively beat started over the hall. She felt the definition of
his tight muscles against her body, pressing to her breasts, which
suddenly felt heavy and achy against him.
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Talons: Seize the Hunter
Soon she was swept into a whirl of turns and spins. Rurik led her
skipping along the floor in one direction, only to spin her around and
lead her in the other with his chest to her back. She’d seen the dance
performed several times, but had never done it herself—well not any
place where she could be seen and never with a partner.
Rurik was a wonderful dancer, lifting and leading her around the
floor so that it looked as if she’d been dancing for years. Ari laughed,
feeling carefree, reveling in the hard pumping blood in her veins. Rurik
was right. This was exactly the kind of thing her rule needed. Suddenly,
the burden of being in charge lifted and she felt as carefree as a peasant.
“It’s crowded,” Ari said after several songs had passed in lively
dancing. He kept her close, going so far as to lift her feet off the floor to
keep time with the music. “And hot.”
Rurik danced her past a table and grabbed an unused goblet set up
at the end. Slowly, he handed it to her. Ari swallowed the stout liquor,
gulping it down. It wasn’t the same kind she was served as royalty. There
was a heady flavor to it. Rurik took the goblet when she finished and set