Part 17 (1/2)

Archer fought a grin. How did she do that? She had him hot under the collar one moment, and hot under the belt the next. ”And you were just apologizing to me about the care and maintenance of my pet.”

”Well, I take it back. He's probably fine despite you. And I no longer wonder why he spends his time out here in the wild. I was driven to do the very same after only two days of your hovering.”

”Hovering?” He moved closer. ”Hovering, is it?” He noticed her pupils shoot wide, the center of the storm taking control. Control of him. He lowered his mouth. ”If there is any hovering to happen, it's here. My mouth above yours,”

he murmured. ”What do you say to that?”

He felt the fine tremor of awareness s.h.i.+ver through her. ”I say go ahead. But it won't change anything.”

Now he pulled his head back. ”Change anything?””When I said I wasn't prepared to make the payment you demanded, I didn't mean this.” She actually threw back her shoulders as if about to enter the fray. ”I meant that I'm not so sure I will go back with you. To your time. That is the payment I was referring to. Not... not this.”

”Oh.” He should feel like a cloddering fool, but she was in his arms and that drove all other thoughts from his mind. ”And what of... this?””I... it won't change things, either.”His eyes widened. ”You still think I mean to seduce you into going?”

She looked at him. ”It hasn't crossed your mind?”

He couldn't help grinning. She just begged him to tweak that defiance of hers.

”Would it work?”

”Whatever decision I end up making, I'll make alone.”

”What if I told you that my wanting to kiss you has nothing whatever to do with my mission for the queen? And everything to do with finding out if your lips taste as good this time as they did the first time.

She blew out a very shaky breath. ”I'd say you're really good at this seduction stuff and maybe I'd better step back and call it a day. I don't think I'm tough enough to play these games with you and come out unscathed.”

”I think you're made of far tougher stuff than you credit yourself with.”

”And I think you'd say just about anything right now to keep me from running.”

”Is that right? So sure of your allure, are you?”

Surprisingly, that goaded a smile from her, a rather bold one. She pressed

lightly against him, but it was enough. ”Unless that's a fold-up walking stick

in your pocket... yes.”He almost swallowed his own tongue in shock. ”Well, then.” And that was the best he could do.

She smiled and extricated herself from his grasp. ”Maybe we should just keep things between us all business. Putting s.e.xual involvement into the mix, even as light as this is, complicates everything.”

Light? She thought his involvement a light thing? He couldn't think about the implications of why that shouldn't sting his pride because she'd started to turn away, and he knew he couldn't let her. ”And you have so much experience with the mixing of business and pleasure, do you?”

She looked over her shoulder. ”Enough to know I'm out of my league here.

And not afraid to admit it. Just so you know, that was not a red flag meant to encourage the bull. I'm serious. Let's just let this one go.”

”This,” he repeated. ”You mean this?” Without touching her he stepped up to

her and lowered his mouth over hers. He expected a stinging slap, or a jerking away... was maybe even hoping for them. Then he could take the rejection, lick his wounds, and respect her wishes. But he got neither. Instead he got what, just perhaps, he'd really been wanting to find.

Her mouth softened under his, and he heard a moan. That it was his own only threw him off stride for a moment. She s.h.i.+fted, or maybe he did, but in the next instant they were tangled with one another, limbs and lips both. It was Ringer's incessant barking and running in circles around them that pulled him to the surface.

”Why did you do that?” she asked a bit breathlessly.

”I wanted to make sure this was just a light little thing that was easily dismissed. As you said it was. No worries, right?”

”Oh. Well. Right.” She pulled away and jumped off the rock, then s.n.a.t.c.hed

her walking stick from a nearby tree and hit the path at a not-so-steady stride.

Ringer, the traitor, jogged along at her side.

”Talia.”

He wasn't sure she'd stop. But she did.