That should give the condescending pig something to think about.
She assumed an innocent expression as he returned. “How did I do?”
“You shot his fig leaf off!”
She opened her eyes wide in feigned surprise. “Really? I was aiming for his head.”
He took the pistol from her hand with a sardonic smile. “You can shoot.”
She tilted her head. “It would appear so.”
“Vixen. You could have told me.”
She shot him a jaunty smile, remembering what he’d said when she’d quizzed him about his ability to speak Spanish. “You never asked.”
He handed her the second pistol. “Bet you can’t do it again.”
“Bet you I can.” Heloise stepped up close and pressed the barrel of the pistol against his chest, directly over his heart. The air between them thickened at the sudden reversal of power. Heloise found it hard to breathe. He was so close she could feel the heat of him all the way to her bones, feel the strength of his chest against hers. With the pistol between them, death between them, she fought a heady sensation of control.
But instead of backing away, as she’d expected, Raven leaned forward and pressed his chest into the barrel, his eyes glittering in challenge. “You won’t shoot me, Hellcat.”
The amusement in his voice, the arrogant certainty, was beyond irritating.
“You think not?”
“I know you’re tempted, but think of the mess. At such point-blank range, you’ll blow a hole in my chest. You’ll be covered in my blood.”
Bile rose in her throat as she envisioned the warm spatter on her face, her hands. And yet a strange hunger curled low in her belly, too, as if blood and desire were somehow intertwined. She frowned at the contradiction. Raven’s gaze flicked down to her lips. Heloise tensed, expecting a kiss, but in a lightning move he grabbed the barrel of the gun and twisted it away to the side, wrenching her wrist. She released the weapon with a cry.
“You’re right,” she said, glaring at him as she rubbed her hand. “Shooting a statue is one thing, but I could never pull the trigger on a human being, however great the provocation,” she added meaningfully. The thought of using the weapon on another person made her nauseous. “I don’t believe aggression is the answer to everything.”
He glowered at her, as if she were a particularly vexing child. “Grow up, Heloise. You can’t fix everything with diplomacy. Sometimes the only thing that works is good, honest violence.” His brows lowered. “If the time ever comes when you need to use this in earnest, you will. You win by whatever means you can contrive. In war there are no rules. If you don’t win, you die. It’s that simple.”
Heloise jerked away from him, uncomfortable with the intensity in his eyes. This was one thing they would never agree on. She started walking back to the palace, and decided to steer the conversation to something less incendiary. “Major Scovell told me something interesting earlier. Did you know that we’re only three miles from Altamira? I had no idea it was so close.”
Raven shook his head. “What’s at Altamira?”
“A series of caves, only recently discovered. I read about them last year in theJournal of Anthropology.”
His lips twitched. “You’ll have to enlighten me. TheJournal of Anthropologyis not a publication I read with great frequency.”
She ignored his gentle teasing. “The walls of the caves are decorated with prehistoric paintings of wild animals. They could be even older than the pyramids.” She gave him her best pleading look, all wrinkled forehead and big eyes. “I would love to see it in person.”
He lowered his brows. “Absolutely not. I’m not your personal tour guide.”
She scowled at his high-handed attitude. “I don’t expectyouto take me. I can take some of the soldiers as an escort.”
“You’re not going anywhere. It’s not safe. There are groups of bandits roaming the hills, all kinds of unsavory characters lurking around. Have you forgotten the attempt on your life?”
“Of course I haven’t. But that was back in England.”
“You’re no safer here.”
She let out a growl of frustration and quickened her pace. “You’re worse than my brothers.”
“Be sensible. I’m sworn to protect you. I can’t do that if I’m not with you.”
Righteous fury warmed her chest. “That’s all I am, isn’t it? An inconvenience. A duty.”