Kai was the one who was now tongue tied. They were both staring at each other, and for the first time, Ava did not look ready to take his head off with a sword. She looked soft, inviting, those hazel eyes rather sweet in the way they gazed at him.
They kept staring at one another in silence, until two drunks arguing nearby made Kai look away fast.
“Aye, I dae think that.” Kai thought it best to move on fast, without Ava paying too much attention to what he had said. “Well, ye’re getting the idea of holding me gaze, so let’s move ontae the next lesson.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“What’s the next lesson?” Ava muttered nervously.
Kai’s confidence wasn’t helping her believe she had done the right thing. He was now moving from one lesson to the next so swiftly, that she was beginning to wonder just how many things he had to teach her. Was he so adept at seduction that it would take days, maybe weeks, to get through all his lessons?
“A soft look,” Kai whispered.
“Soft?” She raised her eyebrows in suspicion. “I’m nae a damsel in distress if that’s what ye want me tae be.”
“That’s nae what I said, Ava.” The corner of his lips lifted in amusement. There was something endearing about that smile, there always had been. It was as though when Kai smiled like that, she knew everything would be all right. “But looking ata man with a touch more vulnerability, even demureness on occasion –”
“Demureness?” she spluttered, horrified at the thought.
“It might just encourage a man nae tae think ye are out tae murder him.”
“I’m nae that bad.” She folded her arms, feeling rather irked that he thought this about her.
“Ava.” His voice deepened as his hand loosened from the tankard and moved to take her arm. Gently, he unfurled her arms and shifted her hand into his grasp. She stared down at what he was doing, confused by it. “Desist with all this nervousness. It’s coming off ye strongly.”
“Oh aye, let me just get rid of it with a flick of me fingers.” Her irony made him smile as he shifted their grasp, holding her hand beneath the table. She stared down at that touch, uncertain if he was doing this as an act of comfort, of friendship, or if he was maintaining a feeling of intimacy between them for the sake of this lesson. Either way, his hand was comforting. It was larger than hers, warm too, so that her palm felt safe encased in his own.
“Now, look me in the eye, not at me hand, Ava.” Following the deeply spoken instruction, she raised her chin and looked at him. “It’s a good start.” He was smiling at her, completely at ease and confident. It was a sharp contrast to the way her stomach was somersaulting, as if a thousand butterflies hadlodged themselves deep in her gut and were fluttering madly in an attempt to escape. “Look at me softly.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“That’s nae soft.”
“Och, I dinnae ken how tae be soft. I’ve been trained in battle.”
“Well, now ye’re being trained in seduction.” His hand suddenly entwined with her own, their fingers lacing together. She was so stunned, she fidgeted on the bench a little. “Lower yer chin a little, so ye’re nae raising a challenging look tae me.”
Slowly, she did as he said.
“Aye, that’s a little better.” He smiled again. “Now when ye look at me, imagine ye dinnae wish ye were sparring with me. Imagine that, fer a change, all ye want tae dae is be in me arms. Safe in me arms, Ava.”
How can he talk so well?
She felt her whole face soften. There was something so endearing about the thought of just being held by Kai, her spine lost its rigidness. She could easily imagine just how safe she would feel embraced by him.
Something happened across the tavern, it seemed. The bright orange candlelight dimmed to something softer, more like a burnt orange effect across the room. Something about that light made Ava lean ever so slightly nearer to Kai.
“See? That’s the look,” he whispered. His head tilted to the side. Her eyes couldn’t stop taking in the structure of his face, the storminess of those eyes, or the movement of his thin lips. “Look at a man like that, Ava, and they’ll be a pup at yer heels.” He looked away.
As if some sort of spell had been broken, Ava sat up straight again. She reset herself on the bench and tried to disentangle her hand from Kai. He slowly let her, then nodded across the tavern.
“Now, try it on another man. That young man ye were looking at earlier is clearly eager fer yer attention again.”
With a huff, Ava looked away. She didn’t like the idea of practicing on other men much. She was startled to see that Kai was indeed right. The auburn-haired young man who had been looking at her earlier from another stable was indeed still sneaking glances her way.
She looked at him, trying to soften her expression, but the thought of being in that man’s arms only discomforted her. She started to feel quite sick at the thought.
“Ye look like ye are plotting his execution.”
