She gasped, and his body brushed hers. They were still then, only an inch of space between their mouths. He could claim her like this. Make her his wife in truth rather than just in name. He could lower his head and claim her mouth now. Taste her. Consume her.
She wanted him.
She was… She was enticing him.
He let out a hard breath and pushed away from her.
“I think you’ve proven your point. You are certainly an excellent teacher.”
“You’re an excellent student,” she said, her voice sounding scratchy.
She seemed undone enough that he had to wonder if it was as calculated as he had let himself believe for a moment.
But the truth was, it didn’t matter what the truth was. The truth was, he was better off believing that she was a potential adversary, rather than simply believing she was a woman caught up in the moment as he was a man wrapped up in it as well.
“What else do we need to go over?”
“Probably manners.”
She moved away from him. He had to hold back a growl.
“Are my manners lacking?”
“They could be a little bit more polished.”
“Perhaps you simply don’t understand my culture.”
“I believe that you have a distinct culture here, don’t mistake me. I just also believe that you personally have been out of society for enough time that you probably need a little bit of help. It isn’t just about your culture now, it’s about global relations anyway.”
“I probably had excellent manners at one time. Pity that it’s lost along with everything else.”
She turned toward the bookcase and touched a blue spine, then looked at him. “You really don’t remember anything?”
“No. Nothing.”
He didn’t feel inclined to elaborate. So he wouldn’t.
“Did people have a lot of questions for you when you…when you appeared?”
“No,” he said. “I’ve barely talked to anyone who isn’t part of my…”
“Your personal military attaché?”
“That’s one way of putting it.”
“People will have questions for you. They’re going to want to hear your story. Eventually, all of the people in your country are going to want to hear your story. And why wouldn’t they? I was reading up on the history of your country. You’re part of the history of this country. And people are going to want to know everything.”
“They don’t need to know everything.”
“Well, maybe you can figure out something to tell them. About how you lived, about how you saved them. You’re so difficult sometimes.”
“I wasn’t aware that entertainment was in the job description.”
“But you know that it is. Because people want to feel like they know and understand their leaders. I’m sorry if it seems silly to you, but it is true. One of the reasons my father is able to get away with being so slimy behind the scenes is that he is so charismatic when he’s on stage. He’s a man who understands that he has an audience. And that the audience has to be played too. Understandably, your country has been in survival mode. And so things have been different for you. But somehow, all those years ago, your relatively happy, harmonious country was overthrown. And the horrendous dictator that led the charge was supported by your people at first. People blame their problems on the government. That’s just the way it is. Even if the government didn’t cause them. Their anger and their desperation allowed them to walk right into authoritarianism.”
“Are you implying that charisma on my part might prevent that from happening again, or rather that a monosyllabic answer might send us tumbling back into the Dark Ages?”
“Yes. Yes, I am saying that. People want to feel a connection from you. I know that you care. I know that you lived, to spite everyone. Despite everything. That you survived for thesepeople. They should know it too. They should understand how much you do care.”
