“Of course! We can’t leave a little bird homeless.”
He grinned as he filleted another fish, placing the pieces of pale pink flesh onto a plate he’d pulled out of the kitchen. “You’re a constant enigma, your highness.”
“Am I? You think I shouldn’t care about the bird?”
“Frankly, no. I’m surprised that you do.”
She narrowed her gaze speculatively. “I think there’s a lot about me that would surprise you.”
Something in the seductive tone of her voice had him lifting his gaze back to her face. What he saw there should have been a warning. With hindsight, he would wish he’d heeded it. But his body saw only the marked interest in her features; it was a look of searing intention and he answered it with a flicker of a smile.
“Your brother is very proud of you,” he said, in a lame attempt to remind them both of the reasons they should ignore their bodies’ insistence.
“And I of him,” she agreed.
“So? What’s so surprising about you, princess?”
She lifted her brows.
“You said that a lot about you would surprise me. I’m asking you to expand.”
“You mean beyond the fact I’m so clueless when it comes to men?”
“Your inexperience is understandable. But, believe me, you’re anything but clueless.”
“Why do you say that?” She prompted silkily.
He wiped his hands on the cloth by his side then prowled slowly towards her. He took a seat on the steps, close enough that she could almost touch him.
“Because I think you are completely cognizant of the effect you have on men. Whether they’re servants. Hapless journalists. Or me, here with you now.” His eyes dropped to her lips. They were parted a little on her gasp of surprise. “I think you know exactly what it does to me when you look at me like this. Not having kissed a man doesn’t mean you haven’t had a lot of fun making men want to kiss you.”
“Will,” she said with a shake of her head. “That makes me sound … calculated somehow.”
“Seduction is calculated.” He lifted a thumb and padded it over her lower lip, feeling himself stiffen in instant response. “For example, I know that right now you want me to kiss you.”
Her skin flushed with goosebumps. “How do you know that?”
“Because your pupils are enormous and your cheeks are flushed; the warm breath I can feel on my hand is rushed and urgent. You want me to kiss you. And the fact that I won’t is going to make your blood simmer all day. So that tonight, if I were to ask you to kiss me, it wouldn’t even occur to you to do the smart thing and say no. That’s seduction.”
He was right. Her breath was labored. Her lungs felt as though a thousand tiny fires were burning. She swept her lashes down, so that they formed two perfect black fans against her cheeks. “That’s cruelty,” she corrected, opening her mouth a little and nipped the fleshy pad of his thumb.
He made a noise of complaint. “You’re dancing with fire.”
“I’m burning up,” she whispered slowly.
He swallowed. “You’re
a beautiful woman, Jalilah, but I can’t touch you and you know it.”
“You can’t touch me again?” She prompted, thinking back to the passionate kiss they’d shared only hours earlier.
“Right.” He stood abruptly and ran a hand over his thick blonde hair. “Why don’t you head inside? No sense both of us sitting out in the cold.”
“I’m fine,” she promised, smiling into his eyes.
Will nodded and moved back to the fish. There was only one more to deal with and then they’d be alone together, in a cabin that was crackling with sexual tension and the light of the fire.
He moved slowly, but the whole time he was aware of her eyes on him and his sense of panic deepened. He’d slept with lots of women in his time.