The Silent(19)

His arms hard around her. His lips meeting her own over and over and over. His hand twisted in the thick length of her hair. His massive body, rippling with muscle, between her thighs. She pressed her knees into his sides and he bit her lip.

Leo pulled away from their kiss, but his hands kept Kyra plastered to his chest. “We are going to try this. And it has nothing to do with you needing my magic.”

“What?” She couldn’t pull her eyes from his lips. They were flushed and full. She wanted to bite them and leave a mark.

“I understand everything you told me,” Leo said, “and I’m making the decision to see what we might be together. Do you agree?”

“Yes.”

He nipped her chin. “Don’t try to make decisions for me again, Kyra. I may be inexperienced in some areas, but I’m not a boy.”

She froze. “I didn’t think you were a boy.”

“When you decided that we couldn’t be together because I would never know your true intentions regarding my magic, you treated me like a boy.”

“That’s not what I meant to do, Leo.” She brushed a hand along his temple. “That’s not what I wanted.”

“I know when a woman wants me.” His lips trailed down to her collarbone. “I see her lips flush. I see her eyes get hazy. Your heart”—he tasted the rapid pulse in her neck—“pounds when I’m nearby. It has nothing to do with my magic.”

That depends on what magic you’re talking about. Kyra’s eyes rolled back when she felt him lick the delicate indent between her collarbones. Leo lapped at it, nuzzling kisses into the curve of her neck.

“What are you thinking of right now?” he whispered.

“You.” Her hands twisted in his hair. “Just… you.”

“Do you want me?”

She wanted him like it was a madness. Kyra had never experienced this kind of pleasure before. She couldn’t even speak. She nodded, and Leo pressed his cheek against hers; she loved the rough texture of his stubble against her skin. Every nerve was on fire.

“I want you so much,” he whispered. “But I don’t want to rush.”

“Okay.”

“Have you ever…?”

She felt her cheeks flame. “No. Any kind of contact was too overwhelming.”

“Mine?” His voice was sharp with concern.

She closed her eyes, dipped her head, and ran her lips along the column of muscle in his neck. “Your touch brings me nothing but pleasure.”

“Good.” Leo’s shoulders relaxed. His hands drifted from the small of her back down to the top of her buttocks, caressing her over her thin dress.

Kyra shivered. The sensation was thrilling, but his iron-clad control soothed any nerves that threatened to riot. She felt utterly safe with Leo.

And nearly out of her skin with excitement.

“Do you want to try, Kyra?” Leo kept one hand caressing her bottom and the other reached up to cup her cheek. “I need to hear you, because the minute your brothers hear about this, they’re probably going to try to assassinate me.”

Kyra’s eyes went wide. She tried to pull back, but Leo wouldn’t let her.

“Which is fine,” he added. “I’m not worried about them as long as you are willing.”

She nodded.

“Speak.” He smiled a little. “I need to hear the words.”

“Yes.” She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips. “I want to try.”

“And you’re not going to run away without talking to me?”

She smiled. “No.”

“And you’re going to give me your phone number? The correct one, not a burner? Maybe even share your e-mail address?”

Her face was flaming. She ducked and pressed her face into his neck as he laughed.

“Yes?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Good.” He continued caressing her over her dress. His hands were large and warm. His fingers were teasing. He trailed them over her shoulders where her sundress bared her skin. “This is all new to me too.”

“Oh?” Kyra kept her eyes closed and her head on Leo’s shoulder, luxuriating in his touch. When she sat on his lap, his height wasn’t quite so intimidating. “You seem… far more comfortable doing all this.”

“I’ve been thinking about it”—he leaned back, taking her with him so Kyra was draped over his chest—“for a long time.”

“Waiting for the right Irina?” Kyra asked.

He said nothing, but his mind whispered to her, words so jumbled she couldn’t discern where his thoughts ended and hers began.

Kyra sat up so she could see his expression. His gaze was tender. Painfully open.

“I think I was waiting for you,” he said. His words, like so much of that day, were both thrilling and terrifying. But his smile was sweet and crooked. “I think you’re going to need some time to get used to that idea.”

“Leo—”

“That’s fine,” he said. “I have time.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “And you will too. I promise.”

Kyra’s doubt must have shown in her eyes, because Leo continued.

“So many thoughts going on behind those beautiful eyes. Why won’t you tell me?”

“I don’t want to hurt you. Or dismiss your feelings.”

“But?”

“You don’t know me,” she said. “Not really.”

He paused before he spoke. “You’re partly right. I don’t know many things about you. But I know your heart for your sisters. Your dedication to your family. You intelligence and your talent.” He drew her to his side and settled her in the crook of his arm. “I know that you’re fierce even when you’re afraid. That you protect those who are weaker than you even if it means sacrificing your own desires.”

“You make me sound like a warrior.”

“If there’s one major failing of Irin men,” Leo said, “it’s that we don’t recognize a truth our women have been trying to teach us for centuries: there are many different kinds of war. And many different kinds of warriors.”

“But you’re smarter than the average Irin man, I assume?”

“Oh, far smarter.” He kissed the top of her head. “Which I will be happy to demonstrate in the future.”

She tried to hide her smile but couldn’t. “So generous.”

“Another of my many fine qualities.”

Kyra enjoyed the feeling of Leo’s rumbling laughter in his chest. She also liked feeling tucked under his arm, but she didn’t know what to do with her arms. Leo solved the problem by grabbing her hand and draping her arm across his hard abdomen. She could feel the layer of muscle under his shirt and wondered if Leo would allow her to touch it. She wanted to press her fingers into that muscle to see if it was as hard as it felt. She wanted her mouth on it too. Wanted her lips to feel the line of hair that ran below his belly button. She’d seen him with his shirt off, but now she had the driving urge to feel, to taste, to touch everything.

Then Kyra saw the rather large bulge in Leo’s pants just below his waistband and decided to ask to touch his abdominal muscles at a later time. Secretly, she was excited to see his arousal. For the first time in her life, a man’s desire didn’t feel threatening or impersonal. Leo had said he liked her. Not just her appearance. His soul voice gave her no indication he was lying. If Leo was an honest person, Kyra needed to believe him.

Leo had picked up a book that was sitting in the corner. It was a bird-watching book, though she hadn’t seen many birds in Thailand so far.

“Do you like books?” she asked.

“I do. I like audiobooks especially. When I’m training or driving, I often listen to them.” He craned his neck and saw the stack of books by her bed. “I see you are a reader.”

“Yes.” He hadn’t asked, but she decided to offer some information anyway. “For most of my life—before I learned to block my mind—books were my best friends. I could listen to them and only hear what they wanted to tell me, not another voice behind it.”

Leo’s arm around her tightened, and she wondered if there was something he didn’t like about the story. Perhaps she shouldn’t have offered so much information when he hadn’t asked.

“Yes, I like books,” she said quietly.

“I’m glad you had them,” Leo said. “Tell me something else.”

“Like what?”

“Like everything.”





Prija II





“He went right into her cottage!” Intira was almost jumping up and down. “He is so bold. Are all foreigners so bold?”

Prija raised an eyebrow and examined the loom where Bun Ma was teaching Intira to weave.

“I like him. He’s funny.”

He wasn’t funny. Or that wasn’t why she liked him. Intira was bright and curious. She hungered for new sights, new experiences, new people. She’d been bubbling over with news of the night market for days. She’d been talking about the people and the music. She couldn’t believe how many different-colored dresses there were and how many foreigners. She’d be talking about the Irin scribe for a year if he stayed a day.

Intira stared out the window. “What do you think they’re doing? Should we go over and say hello? He looked mad. But not mad.”