The thought burrowed into his heart, where it condensed into a heavy weight that threatened to make the floor cave in. “Are you sure you’re ready? Have you… sampled enough of life to quell your curiosity?”
Her cheeks turned a delightful shade of pink, and her gaze swept toward her shoes. “There is one thing I’m curious about.”
“Oh?”
She looked both ways, cheeks blazing.
“This way.” He gestured to a door that led outside to the balcony. They stepped into the cool night air, and he tugged her out of view of the ballroom, behind a marble pillar and against the outer wall of the palace. “There’s no one out here.”
“Because it’s freezing!” She shivered and hugged herself.
He stepped closer, extending his wings and wrapping them around her. “Better?”
Close now, within his shelter, those violet eyes turned stormy. “Better.”
“So, what is it you’re curious about?”
Her eyes flicked away from his. “What you did to me in the tent, it seemed… one-sided… Like there should be more.”
Heat rose with other more interesting parts of his body as he remembered that morning. “You’re right. There is more. Much more.”
“Tell me.” And just like that, the bashful scribe was gone, and the twinkling eyes and impish grin of the woman he’d first kissed on the beach were back.
“Well…” How to say this without scaring her away? “What I did to you, usually a woman would… reciprocate.”
Her lips parted. “I was supposed to do the same to you?”
“No. You don’t have to. There’s no obligation between lovers.” Now it was his turn to look away, his inner dragon chuffing for her touch.
“But you left the tent so quickly.”
“I didn’t want to show you more than you were ready for. I wasn’t sure how much you wanted to… sample.”
She sighed. “With you, Colin, I find every bite I take just leads me to want another.”
“Maybe that means you need a steady diet.” He leaned forward. Her mouth was so close her chin tipped up within the shelter of his wings. He stopped when she shook her head, a tear forming in the corner of her eye.
“That’s exactly why I have to go.” She backed up, breaking from his wings and heading for the door, her skin forming goose bumps in the cold.
“Leena…”
She patted the bag at her hip. “I’ve got to get inside. It’s my job to record this big announcement for posterity.”
“You’re a good scribe.”
She nodded.
“What about your idea to search for the grave using the year the scroll was created?”
“It will be the first thing I suggest to my replacement to pursue.”
“I’d prefer you. You’re familiar with the history.”
“It will not be me.” She smiled and sighed. “If you’ll excuse me—”
“Was it my dancing?” He flashed her a crooked grin.
For a moment, she blinked at him. “I am sorry about that. The snail venom has an inebriating effect.”
