“You are many things, Ciana Visseau,” Sebastian said quietly. A soft emotion glimmered in his hazel eyes, one she’d seen only a few times before. One she hadn’t seen since they’d arrived in Vatha. “But common has never been one of them.”
Her breath caught in her chest. Her lungs constricted, making room for the quickening beat of her heart—for the rushing of her blood through her fingertips and along her skin and into the pit of her stomach.
All the flirting she’d done with Nik and not once had she felt like this.
Gods, she missed it.
“Sebastian,” she whispered, the sound of her voice dangerously close to a plea.
His gaze searched hers—looking for what, she didn’t know. He slowly pushed up from the end of the bed, sliding closer to her. She pulled her legs to the side, wrapping them beneath her.
He was close enough for her to now smell his leather and pine scent. Close enough to feel his warmth through the down comforter, close enough to see his muscles shift beneath his cotton tee.
This was dangerous. They’d agreed; she had a task to do here. One that meant that whatever was brewing between them, they could do nothing about it.
When he tucked a loose, wild curl behind her ear, she forgot why she cared.
“I know you have a job,” he murmured, his fingers toying with her hair. “And I know we agreed to leave this at the border until we’re done.” His hand slid fully into her hair, long fingers wrapping around her head, thumb stroking a path across her cheek. Her body was on fire, the places where he touched her aching, and her heart thundered against her ribs.
“But I don’t want you to forget that while he is a king, you are the one he’s chasing. You’re the bright light that draws every set of eyes in the room. Any man should be blessed beyond measure to spend just five minutes enjoying your company.”
“Any man?” Ciana said, breathless. She fought the urge to fidget her hands. “Even you?”
The path of his thumb across her cheek halted. A pained expression flitted across his handsome face.
“Always me.” His words were barely more than a whisper.
She was nearly boiling. She was so tired of pretending. Of lying. Of deceiving. That was all it was with Nik, fun but fake.
This? This moment, right now? This wasreal. And gods, she fucking wanted it, more than anything.
So, when her impulses told her to lean forward, to feather her eyes closed, to let herself be pulled into him, she didn’t even try to fight them.
His lips brushed hers, just the barest of whispers. She felt his shaky exhale, the way his fingers tightened in her hair, the way he shifted, about to pull her even closer?—
A heavy knock hammered on the door, shattering the moment into pieces.
Sebastian sprung away from her, leaping off the bed with wild eyes and a hand already on the dagger at his belt. Ciana felt hot and unsteady and a little woozy, her hands shaky as she finally let them twist together.
“Lady Visseau?” A male voice called from the other side of the door. “The king wishes to see if you are available for a walk this afternoon.”
Afternoon? Had she really slept the entire day away? She darted her gaze back to Sebastian, who now watched her with that familiar, guarded expression. All evidence of the relaxed, vulnerable man from a moment ago was gone, replaced with the I of the dutiful bodyguard.
Ciana swallowed, her headache returning as a dull pulsing in her skull, even as her chest tightened with a feeling she couldn’t—wouldn’t—name. “Yes,” she called. “I can be ready in an hour.”
By the timeshe’d bathed and dressed, her headache had subsided.
Not completely; it still lingered, just at the front of her head. But it was tolerable now, no longer crippling. She’d even managed to eat a few slices of bread and cheese that Sebastian had brought for her, washing the food down with more glasses of crisp water.
He’d lingered as she’d raced about her rooms. Not watching her, but his presence was there, a buzzing energy tingling in the air that she desperately tried to ignore.
Useless, but she made a solid attempt at it.
Ciana drew in a deep breath, smoothing the pleats of her simple yet flattering dress. She flung open the door, giving the waiting guard a bright smile, tossing her curls over her shoulders.
“I’m ready!” Her voice still felt a little hoarse, but she managed to make her words chirpy enough.
The guard nodded. “This way, please.” He started off down the hall.
