I could no longer draw breath. And as if to prove a point that I did not fear him, I reached towards him. Erik stood deathly still as my fingers trailed the edge of his hand before gliding up his arm. I traced a path up to his shoulder. His collarbone. Down his chest.
Erik’s hand wrapped around my wrist, stilling me with my palm pressed to his chest. Over a heart that beat unbelievably fast. “You’re playing with fire, Ariana.”
My skin prickled with awareness. There wasdefinitelydesire in those dark eyes.
So, feelings were reciprocated after all.
The double entendre wasn’t lost on me, and I couldn’t help but feel a surge of warmth flood my body. “I like the heat,” I answered, surprising myself with the boldness of my words.
“You’re making this difficult,” he muttered, his voice coarse. He released my wrist and my hand fell to my side. But neither of us moved away. The air crackled with tension.
“Sometimes I rather enjoy being difficult.”
He exhaled a shallow breath, face tilting towards the moon. “Ariana.” The sound of my name coming from him in that tone did things to me. “I need you to leave.” His attention dipped to my lips, remaining there. Something painfully desperate shone in his eyes when they lifted. “Please go.”
“What if I don’t want to?”
His entire body went rigid, a myriad of emotions playing across his face in the moon light.
“Are there not enough Bavadrin males to entertain you?” he replied sharply, his tone hacking through the charged air like a blunt knife. Erik stepped away, withdrawing. “This is incredibly stupid of you.” It was as if he slapped me with those words. His lips curled, flashing his elongated canines.
“You’re hot and cold,” I said, keeping the hurt out of my voice. “One moment you’re pulling me close, and the next you’re shoving me away. I don’t understand.”
Erik’s jaw clenched. “We live in different worlds. This . . .” he gestured vaguely between us, “it can’t happen.”
This time I was the one adding more physical distance between us as I stepped back. He had me standing before him, feeling rejected and foolish, when he was the first to start blurring the lines. This was not a game I wished to play. “There is something I need to talk to you about, but it isn’t appropriate for tonight. Though it is urgent, so the sooner, the better.”
“What—” He stopped himself, evidently holding himself back from asking for more information, and probably understanding that there may have been a good reason for me not to wish to share more on the night of the white moon. He nodded. “Meet here the day after tomorrow in the afternoon?”
“Will you be able to get home and back so quickly?” I asked, surprised.
He smiled wickedly, lifting a dark brow. “You truly underestimate the stamina of the Lysians. I will be here, along with my brothers.”
I did not let my mind flirt with the wordstamina, he said so pointedly it was most certainly flirtations. The white moon version of Erik played mind games. Not that he likely wanted to. It was wholly clear he was being pulled in various directions and did not have the slightest idea of which path to choose.
“I’ll see you then.” I turned, swinging myself onto Rain, annoyed by this entire encounter. He ignited a fire, stirring desire within the both of us; I felt it, saw it. Then he shoved me away, leaving me confused and embarrassed about this entire thing.
“I see you have been taking good care of Rain,” Erik noted, appraising the horse as if he were making sure she was still healthy. That only angered me more. Of course, the horse was cared for.
“She was abandoned. I’m fairly certain she likes me better than her previous owner, anyway,” I commented, turning her towards home.
His lip twitched. “And who was her previous owner?”
“A Lysian with poor manners,” I replied, no longer looking at him.
Rain sprang forward, moving into a gallop as we began our long trip back. I kept her running full speed until I no longer felt those dark eyes watching me.
42
ERIK
We did not have to wait long before catching sight of Ariana and the others on horseback. It brought me an odd sense of pleasure to see that she still rode Rain and that the horse continued to favor her. The animal did not bond quickly with riders, yet she had formed a steady one with the Bavadrin Leader Superior. It was enough that the horse remained with Ariana instead of following the rest of the Lysians home.
Seeing Ariana on the white night was startling. I could not deny that it was good to be near her. With that defiant look in her eyes, refusing to fear the things she should. Never had I imagined seeing her at the border on a night such as that. Still, she continued to act recklessly bold, even for a conjuror. What if Hedrek had come down from the mountain with a pack of Lysians and attacked her? It was as if that possibility never crossed her mind. The entire time, she just assumed that if she encountered any Lysian it would be me, and even that should not have been a comfort to her. She had grown too comfortable around us.
Ariana did not arrive at the meeting alone. Landin, Edda, and two other Bavadrin men I never noticed before accompanied her. Wolves approached from the distance, keeping a large berth between themselves and the Bavadrins, though it was apparent they followed them.
The Bavadrins all dismounted, joining us on foot.Ariana stood with an air of unintentional allure, her riding leathers hugging her body in ways that made it impossible not to notice every curve. The fitted shirt accentuated her frame, while the pants followed the lines of her legs with maddening precision.
