Rebel's Honor(35)

Lukan brought his whip crashing down against the closest tree. His horse  spooked, almost tumbling him from the saddle. That's why he rarely  resorted to violence. It invariably went wrong for him.

When he brought it under control, he shouted to Axel's retreating form,  "I may have to put up with you controlling every other aspect of my  life, but it'll be a cold day in hell before I let you play with Lynx.  She's mine, and I intend on marrying her."

Axel laughed at him.

Hatred burning in his chest, he set off after Axel toward the palace and  Lynx. He had not gone more than a few paces when his cousin reeled his  horse around.

"Now what?" Lukan demanded.

"I have a stag to kill."

Before Lukan could reply, Axel kicked his horse into a fast trot,  following the stag's blood spoor. Lukan closed his eyes and clenched his  jaw. Axel had played him. Again. The challenge over Lynx had been  nothing more than a ruse to lure him back to the palace so Axel could  claim his trophy.

Or was it?

His cousin's sense of honor was a curious thing. Leaving an animal dying  in the forest was unacceptable to Axel, but stealing Lukan's betrothed  if it served him? The Axel he knew and loathed wouldn't bat an eyelid  about that.

Lukan hesitated, torn between his two prizes.

Moments later, he spurred his horse on toward the palace.

As doubtful as he was about his marriage to Lynx, he wouldn't stand back and let Axel win. Not this time.

Making her want him as much as he wanted her was a greater trophy than another pair of antlers hanging on his wall.





Chapter 23





Count Felix had arranged a masked ball to celebrate Lukan's betrothal to Lynx.

As usual, Lukan was late.

This time, however, his tardiness was unintentional. Lukan needed to see  Lynx tonight if he was to claim her as his prize. Unfortunately, the  ride back to the palace took much longer than he'd anticipated.

Hair still damp from his shower, he raced down the passage toward the  ballroom. He caught his reflection in a large gilded mirror and stopped  short. His waistcoat and breeches looked disheveled. He pulled them  straight, then noticed his knee-high boots lacked their usual high-gloss  finish. He hopped on one foot, trying to polish the one boot against  the other.

His valet had been loath to let him leave the apartment, but he'd  overruled the man. Although Lukan was undecided about the curse, he'd  crawl naked through barbed wire before he suffered the humiliation of  Axel claiming Lynx. If Axel had ridden off to take care of the stag, it  was likely he hadn't yet returned, but Lukan wasn't taking any chances.                       
       
           



       

He changed feet, giving his other boot a cursory polish, and then took a  deep, calming breath before slipping a dragon mask over his head. After  a last look in the mirror, he strode into the lobby adjacent to the  ballroom.

It was time to turn all his charm on Lynx.

She was waiting for him; Tao and Kestrel, too. Hardly surprising, as the  ball couldn't start without him. Irritation sparked off them as they  paced the floor. He would have to rectify that. His eyes slid over them,  taking in Tao's raptor mask and the dramatic fanned peacock tail  covering Kestrel's face, finally stopping at Lynx.

Her lithesome body had been given curves by her shimmering black corset  and bustle. He relished the illusion, knowing she would be just as  beautiful naked. Visions of her bare legs wrapped around him set his  blood racing. He swallowed hard and focused on the rest of her. Black  gloves wreathed her arms, and her hair was piled untidily onto her head.  Blond tendrils curled down the side of her mask, making him want to  reach up and pull her hairpins out, one by one.

And her mask? It was perfect. Black. Understated. A panther's face, which magnified the brilliance of her blue eyes.

She's like some feline goddess, he thought, half-bemused, half-amazed. A  cocktail of emotions, some old, others new, surged through his body:  passion, longing, hunger, even adoration that anyone could be so  beautiful, so aloof. She's a temptress, sent here to drive me insane  with lust.

He shook his head, knowing logic and reason, the lodestars of his life,  had no place among his feelings for Lynx. Here he stood, looking at the  woman who might deliver a son who would slit his throat while he slept,  and he didn't care. That she was capable of training her son to lead an  army against him was also not in question. Thorn was no idiot; he would  not have trained her to take over his raiders if she couldn't command  men on a battlefield. None of that information was enough to stop the  hardening in his groin.

Struggling to control his wayward breathing, Lukan stopped at her side. "A panther. Do you purr as well as claw?"

"Only time will tell." Lynx turned to face him, and he wished to see her  expression. But then, the mask wasn't such a bad idea because she  couldn't see the hunger for her on his face, either.

He reached for her hand and led her toward the ballroom. "There'll be a  receiving line," he explained, using the silky voice he reserved for  female conquests. "Count Felix will have dragged in all our nearest and  dearest, the people with whom you'll mix on a daily basis."

"So in Chenaya, you have a masked ball on the night you're supposed to meet people?" Lynx shook her head. "That's novel."

He happened to agree. "That's Felix for you. It's all a power play, his  way of proving he knows everyone, regardless of how they try to hide  from him."

Lynx made a grating sound in her throat. "He takes some getting used to,  that uncle of yours. The words living dead spring to mind."

Lukan laughed. "He has chronic sinusitis. Apparently, he was quite  sickly as a child." He glanced at her to check if she was still  listening. She appeared to be, so he added, "It's done nothing to  improve his temper. But it's your back you need worry about, so don't  get on the wrong side of him."

"I'll bear it in mind," Lynx muttered, so low Lukan had to lean in to hear her.

He paused at the open set of doors. "You ready for this?"

"As I'll ever be. At least the room looks inviting."

The gilded room was brilliant with candlelight and flaming torches. A  long line of flamboyantly attired guests, faces hidden behind exotic,  absurd, or beautiful masks, waited on their pleasure. Minstrels gathered  on a stand at one end of the room. At the other, a motley-clad  collection of fire-eaters, jugglers, acrobats, and clowns, some leading  dancing bears, stood ready to entertain. The heady scent of jasmine,  musk, and neroli permeated the air from incense burners along the walls.

Lukan smiled, understanding how Lynx, who'd lived all her life in a  tent, found it overwhelming. Anticipation, more than excitement, trilled  through him. Her naivety was to his advantage. If he played his dice  right, by the end of the night, Princess Lynx of Norin would be his to  tumble. His smile broadened into a grin when Lynx tugged on his arm.

"I want to dance."

He squeezed her hand. "All in good time. The night is still young." But he stepped with her into the hall.

The buzz of conversation stilled as he led her to where Count Felix  waited at the head of the line. His uncle creaked a small bow and then  waved to the beautiful people. Understanding the imperious gesture,  Lukan took Lynx's arm and walked her past the bowing high-born while  Felix called out names and titles Lukan knew she'd never remember or  connect to their owners.                       
       
           



       

Lynx greeted Lev and his friends when Felix introduced them, raising  Lukan's eyebrows that she had started making contacts already. She  stopped him at her uncle, Bear. The emissary wore the tiniest possible  mask over his eyes.

Felix didn't give her a chance to do more than exchange a brief hello before he hustled them on to the next in line.

It was a cue Lukan decided to follow. The less she had to do with her  fellow Norin, the better. Maybe distance would help tame her.

Thankfully, Axel wasn't in the line, but that didn't mean he hadn't  returned to the palace. His cousin bowed to no one but the emperor.

Only after the last introduction did Felix signal to the minstrels. A  hunchback with a pointy beard chanted a haunting dirge. Other dwarfs  accompanied him with zithers, lutes, and pan flutes, so beloved by  Chenayan musicians.

Before now, Lukan had never given much thought to their music. It was  something that just happened when he wanted to dance. Still, it must  have sounded enthralling to Lynx because she stood riveted and  wide-eyed. He imagined her gaping behind her mask. Clearly, the music  they listened to in Norin was very different than this. He ringed her  upper arm above her glove with his hand. Her flesh was warm, the muscle  firm under her skin. He liked it. A lot.