“Thank you,” she murmured, her body aching to press against him. She resisted the temptation. It was completely inappropriate that she should want him. That she should crave his touch. She stepped into the dress and pulled it over her hips, skimming the fabric higher, until she could hook it across her shoulders.
“Would you mind?” She asked quietly, turning her back to Tamir so that he could help her with the zip. It began low on her back and slid right to the base of her neck.
“Of course,” he murmured throatily, his voice husky with feeling. His fingers were slow, dragging the zip higher with one hand, while his other held her hip and stroked her side.
She didn’t know if he was experiencing a similar internal battle to her own. Her own wants and needs were in a constant battle with how she should be feeling.
She tried to ignore the flutter of butterflies in her stomach, but they were too pervasive. His fingers reached her neck, and slowly Olivia spun to face him.
Their eyes locked, and a silent understanding seemed to pass between them. Olivia wasn’t sure what it was, but she felt reassured by something in his expression. “Tamir,” she whispered, putting one of her hands down on his own, where it sat on her hip. “Please let me explain. About Jack.”
His eyes flashed with a torrent of emotion. He shook his head silently. “It is not the time.”
“When will be?” She demanded uncertainly. Another thought occurred to her, causing her to frown. “And where is Jack? What happened to him?”
“Nothing,” Tamir responded, his voice devoid of emotion. “He has been left to go free. No consequences for him.”
“Good.” She nodded. “Thank you.”
Tamir stepped away from her without losing eye contact. “What is he to you, that you would so willingly sacrifice your own freedom to protect his?”
“It wasn’t his freedom but his life that I was protecting, remember?”
“Ah, yes, of course. And you would be willing to do anything to save him.”
Olivia bit down on her lip, as she shook her head from side to side. Her blonde hair moved with her, reminding him of sunshine on water. “Not quite anything.”
He laughed. “Where do you draw the distinction, then?” He reached for the pale piece of transparent fabric and ran it through his hands.
“I don’t understand?” She asked quietly.
“What would you not do, to save his life? You have come to a foreign country with me, a man you hardly know. You are essentially my prisoner, Olivia, for the time being at least. So what would you consider too far? What would you not be willing to do to save your co-criminal?”
She ignored the desire to squeeze her eyes shut. Instead, she pierced him with her silent pride. “I will never love you. I will never even like you. I will never give you the satisfaction of letting you upset me.” She stepped forward, so that they were almost touching. “I won’t attempt to deny that you have my body. You command it, and it is yours whenever you want it. But that’s not me. Not really. You’ll never have me.”
It was with the greatest effort imaginable that Tamir didn’t react. He wasn’t even sure how her calmly delivered explanation made him feel. Angry. Displeased. And determined to prove her wrong.
His lips were a slash in his face. “Put this on, Olivia. You will need to wear it from now on, unless we are alone.”
He lifted the piece of fabric over her head, draping it halfway back from her crown and then looping it around her neck. Olivia lifted her fingers on instinct, to touch the fabric.
“It’s so soft,” she murmured, turning to look in the mirror opposite.
“Yes. It’s a special type of Talidarian silk, called Meftila.”
“Meftila?” She repeated, knowing she had heard the term before, but unable to instantly recall any details.
“Meftila is produced in small quantities, and only in the mountains to the East. It is very rare, and very valuable.”
“It feels almost like water,” she observed.
“Yes, it is naturally cool. Royal women used to wear it during pregnancy, to maintain a degree of comfort.”
She slanted him a disapproving look. “And so much for the rest of the population, hmm?”
He shrugged. “It is as it has always been.”