Part 11 (1/2)
hers. He said nothing as she rose and moved down the porch stairs toward him.
He was not controlled enough to keep from noticing how gracefully she moved. Even the baggy getup she wore didn't disguise the innate elegance of her body. And he was fairly certain she was clueless about the graceful way
she held herself, dignified and strong. As if she'd been born to serve at the feet of kings and queens.
Which, of course, she had.
”I'll go with you,” she said. A command, not a request.
He fought a smile, wondering if she understood she had been born to serve
royalty, not be royalty herself. ”Will you, then?”
It was only when she drew closer that he noticed her expression was still distracted, that she wasn't focused on him as much as her own thoughts. He was surprised to discover he was curious about what she might be thinking.
That bothered him. Entanglements and all that. But not enough to sway him
from prodding her a bit.
”Tough day in healing school?”
That earned him a full-on glare. ”I just want to take a walk, okay?”
Archer stopped and waved an arm in front of him. ”By all means, walk on.
Just tell me in what direction Your Healing Highness desires to go and I will make certain that my lowly presence doesn't cross her path and that danger doesn't befall her.”
That finally seemed to snap her out of whatever state she was in. She stopped and put her hands on her hips. ”Can you just walk and not talk at the same time?”
Maybe it was because she looked so d.a.m.n contained and controlled when he felt anything but. Or maybe it was because he liked to stir things up, and Talia was available for the stirring. Whatever the case, he couldn't resist the urge to crumble her facade. ”I can do a lot of things very quietly.” When she didn't move, much less back down, he stepped closer. ”But experience has taught me it's usually a lot more fun to be... expressive.”
She didn't even blink. ”Can you be... expressive silently?”She didn't respond to him like most women. Normally he found it quite easy to be charming and affable with members of the opposite s.e.x. Never around her, however. He'd told himself it was the situation, the mission. He wasn't here to be charming. But that didn't keep it from being d.a.m.n frustrating. And okay, a little goading. He moved close enough that she was going to have to deal with him, one way or another.
”I can be amazingly silent.” He reached out and lifted the heavy strap of her
overalls, tucking a finger or two beneath the edge. Slowly, as he stared into those translucent gray eyes of hers, he slid the backs of his fingers down along
the edge, stopping a breath away from brus.h.i.+ng the outer swell of her breast with his fingertips. Her eyes darkened. That was the sum total of her response. No pulse ticking away at her temple, no hard swallow, no nostrils flaring. In fact, it was almost as if she'd gone into a trance or something, she was so focused. He found himself impossibly aroused by her control. And wanting to slip his fingers further beneath her overalls to see just how affected she truly was. And she was affected. Because she wasn't pus.h.i.+ng him away. His body hardened slowly and most pleasurably.
She held his gaze steadily, her gaze so intent he could feel it like an actual caress. He moved closer, began leaning in, already imagining what those lips would taste like, when suddenly her eyes went wide and she stumbled away from him looking stricken. Archer glanced behind him, certain there was some immediate threat to her safety. Because no d.a.m.n way was that reaction due to the kiss he'd almost taken from her. At least he couldn't imagine it. She was sheltered out here, but not that sheltered.
His hand went immediately to his hip and he swore-would it have killed Baleweg to give him one simple little gazzer?-even as he turned to find there was nothing behind them. He swung back to her.
Her cheeks were flushed, but the rest of her face was stone white. Her eyes were gla.s.sy, but not with desire. It looked more like shock. And perhaps a little awe.
”What in the h.e.l.l happened?” ”It worked,” she whispered, then covered her mouth. ”Oh, my G.o.d,” she said into her hand, then dropped it and said the words again. ”I did it.” She looked down at the ground, then at some point beyond him. ”Jesus Christ, I actually did it!”
”What? What did you do?”
Then a sudden look of horror crossed her face as she looked at him. ”Oh, my G.o.d. I did it with you!”
”What in the h.e.l.l are you talking about? We didn't do a d.a.m.n thing!” Maybe he'd been wrong and she had been that sheltered. No, no way. He'd seen the look in her eyes, she knew what was what. So what in h.e.l.l had just happened?
There was no doubt he was involved somehow. But how?
”You,” she repeated, looking at him as if he'd just risen from h.e.l.l or sprouted two heads. ”Why in the world did it work with you? I've been trying for a dozen freaking hours with everyone under the sun and it ends up being you?Why?”
He had no idea what in the h.e.l.l she was talking about, but he was pretty certain he was really insulted. ”All I know is one second you're all but daring me to, to... you know d.a.m.n well what you were daring me to do! Then the next you're leaping about like a cat on a hot sidewalk. What's wrong with you?”
The shock left her eyes as suddenly as if a s.h.i.+eld had dropped over them. The gla.s.siness remained, however. She looked straight at him. ”Everything is wrong with me,” she said flatly. Then without another word, she turned and walked back toward the house, leaving him behind without so much as a glance over her shoulder.
Jesus, Joseph, and Elvis, she was a royal pain in the a.r.s.e. ”What about our walk?”
She just waved a hand over her head. ”You go on.”
But he didn't want to go on. Not without her. Dammit, that wasn't what he'd meant to think at all. It was just that he wanted to know what in G.o.d's name had just happened. He'd been a partic.i.p.ant in it, whatever it was, and somehow he'd managed to ruin whatever the h.e.l.l it was she'd done, too.
”Hold up.” He actually had to run after her. ”Gould you wait just a d.a.m.n
minute?”