“You didn’t hear my question earlier?”
Gods! Her senses were on overload.
His body surrounded her. His scent infused every breath she took. His deep voice rumbled in her ear. She could even feel the vibrations as the sound traveled through his chest and into her back.
Rui didn’t know what to do with all this newawareness.
“Ask me again,” she said matter-of-factly, hoping that her voice betrayed none of the confounding cocktail of feelings she felt.
“Where are you from? I have never witnessed a fighting style like yours. It is most impressive.”
“The East,” she replied obliquely.
“I have been to the East. I have fought the Angles, Saxons and Jutes. I have even met the Norse and the Swedes. You do not look like any of them.”
“Farther east,” she said.
He was silent for a while at that, probably thinking she was purposely not answering his question. Which wouldn’t be an inaccurate assumption.
“Have you come to these isles for the King’s tournament? Or was the timing serendipitous?”
“Something like that,” she answered without answering.
He released a deep breath.
She wouldn’t have felt it if she hadn’t been plastered against him. But she did. She was causing the man frustration.
The “normal” Rui wouldn’t have cared. This pheromone-snorting,female-awakened Rui winced at being so awkward and off-putting.
So, before he could shut down all conversation, she blurted, “Where are you from?”
“I was born in these isles,” he replied easily, far more comfortably than she had.
“North and east from here, in a place called Cair Ebrauc.”
“What is it like? Do you still live there?”
Rui didn’t know where the sudden curiosity was coming from. It was usually like pulling teeth for her to find questions to ask, and only when she felt obliged to be polite. But right now, with this man, she was sincerely intrigued.
She wanted to know him.
“When the Romans ruled, it was a military outpost of some stature. Being on the coast, it had enough trade with the northern tribes across the sea to sustain a good amount of commerce. But since the Angles came, it has suffered much strife. Those who had the means to build better lives, did so elsewhere.”
“Like you?”
He was quiet for a few beats before replying, as if he was gathering his thoughts or deliberating what he should or should not tell her.
It occurred to Rui that she’d quickly delved into personal questions, and she was seeking truthful, real responses, not the polite, meaningless ones. He likely sensed it too, for his posture was somewhat tenser behind her.
“I remained as long as I could to help fight off the Angles. By the time the battles had waned, there wasn’t much left of Ebrauc Fortress or the surrounding villages. So, yes, I left to find my fortunes elsewhere.”
“What about family?”
Part of Rui looked down on herself aghast, like the ghost of her conscience floating above her body. She was digging ever deeper into the man’s private history.
On so many levels, this simply wasn’t done. With a stranger, no less. And certainly not done byher.
The other part of Rui, the one that controlled her tongue and voice, apparently, was thirsty to learn more. She told herself it was research in her hunt for the Jewel of Dreams. But she knew very well that was a lie.