“And you would?” she teased, but beneath her court mask, she was growing irritated.
“I have given you everything you have ever asked for,” he said as he twirled her.
She came back to face him and placed a hand on his chest as they moved to the next steps of the dance. “But I have asked you for nothing.”
He strode past her and walked in a circle, then came face to face with her again. “Then you cannot blame me for not giving you more things or blame me for your stubborn self-sufficiency.”
Stubborn.
“Better to be stubborn and self-sufficient than have my life subject to the whims of those around me,” she snapped. The sharp reply left her lips before she had time to think.
“There she is.”
“Who?”
He smiled. “The Elizabeth Ashcroft that no one else gets to see.”
“I have nothing to say to that,” she said, feeling affronted.
She glanced at his eyes and was surprised to see they were green again. She didn’t know what it meant when they were green. She looked at them, wondering again what caused his eyes to change colour around her, or if it was some kind of spell.
The music slowed to a romantic song written for lovers. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, and their feet drifted to the music.
She fought to keep herself tense, but as they continued to turn to the music, she relaxed and melted into his arms. His body was warm and comfortable against her.
After a time, he spoke again. “I would try more, you know. To make you happy if there is something in particular that you wanted.”
“And what if I don’t know what I want?” she said, looking up at him, half joking.
“I don’t know what I want either,” he admitted. “I don’t know if I want one woman, or to chase a hundred, or to spend all my days alone. All I know is that this … this I like.” His hand on her waist tightened, his grip possessive.
“Honesty becomes you,” she said tartly.
He grimaced. “Your virtues have been rubbing off on me. Soon, I’ll be nothing but a preachy, good-for-nothing angel.”
They swayed, with her head coming to rest on his shoulder. He laced his fingers through hers and held her hand while they drifted on the ballroom floor. She didn’t think it was fair of him to hold her so tenderly, not after he had just called her stubborn.
“You only want me because I haven’t given you my heart yet,” she cautioned. “I almost like the distance between us. The secrets we keep. Because if we go too far down this road, I fear it will end poorly.” The closest to honesty she had come.
“No, I want you because I have glimpsed your soul, and it has intrigued me beyond all reckoning.”
“You’re a lousy liar,” she said softly.
He brought her head to rest against his shoulder and held her with a tenderness that cracked her heart. They swayed on the spot, and he was quiet for a long moment. “I think often of the day that demon came to steal you from my lands. He wasn’t my friend, but he was a demon I knew and respected, and now I’m happy he’s dead. I don’t know what I want, but I feel that if I lost you, I would not be the same.”
Elizabeth said nothing; she didn’t want to poke holes in his logic. She felt herself emotionally distancing, not wanting to say how little she believed him. He didn’t know her at all, and frankly, she was angry he thought he did.
Elizabeth created walls in her mind, securing them against infiltration and attack, waiting for him to strike, waiting for some small sign he was just saying this to try and mess with her head, but no assault on her mind came.
She brooded as they danced, her thoughts occupied. It was all lovely to hear, but his words meant nothing.
His eyes searched hers, looking for some answer buried there.
“I just told you I want to keep you safe, always, and you are always on my mind. And that sharp tongue had nothing to say. Tell me why I feel like I amlosing you,” he said, pausing. “Every time I feel like we connect, our minds and bodies and souls, I feel you slip further away.”
She was silent for a long moment.
Deciding on bluntness, she said, “I found out you change my thoughts to make it more pleasurable when you feed from me.”
