“I wasn’t expecting you to be celibate the entire ten years.” An uncomfortable expression crossed his face. “I was just hoping that perhaps, if you did take lovers between now and then, that you wouldn’t be parading them past me and that they would be flings. I was also prepared for the possibility that you might find someone else to strike up a relationship with, which in a way would have been a relief.”
“By Magorah.” I shook my head, not at all knowing what to make of this. “Do you think this is just some kind of game of chess, Iannis? That you can move the pieces around, and if things fall into place properly I’ll swoon into your arms at the right moment when you’re ready for it? You’ve lived longer than I can even fathom. Haven’t you figured out by now that life doesn’t work like that?”
“It is precisely because I am so long-lived that I think in such terms,” Iannis pointed out. “Ten years isn’t so long to wait. I often think in terms of decades, if not centuries.”
“This is just too much.” Agitated, I pushed to my feet and began pacing. “I don’t know how this could ever work. You and I are so ridiculously different.”
“You are half-mage yourself,” Iannis pointed out softly. Somehow he was in front of me, and he took my hands as I stopped short in front of him. “And though the world considers me a full-blooded mage, I am not.”
“Yeah, but the part of you that isn’t mage is even more ancient and alien.” I bit my lip as I looked into his face. The feel of his hands wrapped around mine sent a current of warmth through me, and I wanted so badly to soften. “Honestly, I don’t know why we’re having this conversation, Iannis. Unless you’re willing to break your rule about waiting ten years before you can touch me, this is never going to work.”
Iannis frowned. “We could get married,” he suggested. “The Mages Guild wouldn’t like it, but there wouldn’t be anything they could do about it.”
“Marriage?” I gasped, wondering just how much crazier this conversation was going to get. “You and I haven’t known each other that long, and marriage is an eternal commitment. Are you going to tell me that you love me and want to be with me forever and ever?”
“I believe I’ve proven on more than one occasion that I care for you,” Iannis said tightly, hurt flickering in the depths of his violet eyes.
I sighed, then reached up and touched his face. “I believe that, but caring for me isn’t the same as love.” I searched his gaze, wondering if I might see something in them that would convince me that emotion actually did exist in Iannis, but his eyes were shuttered now and I couldn’t read him. “Who’s to say that you and I won’t get sick of each other in a hundred years, and then what? We’re stuck together for life. I’m not going to give up my independence just so you won’t have to suffer embarrassment if someone catches us together.” I dropped my hand and turned away.
“I am not thinking merely of my embarrassment, Sunaya,” Iannis pointed out quietly. “Your safety would also be at stake if we became lovers and were found out.”
“I get that, but…” I raked a hand through my hair, trying to figure out how to explain my feelings. “This might seem strange to you, but shifter relationships are very physical. I can’t marry someone that I’ve never made love to. I just can’t.”
“Are you saying that if I took you to bed that you’d marry me?” Interest lit Iannis’s eyes.
Another thrill rippled through me, and I ignored the little voice that shouted “Yes!” in my head. “Can’t make any promises, but we’d be moving in the right direction.” My body simmered with need just thinking about it, and I fought the urge to wet my freshly-painted lips with my tongue. I remembered all too well how his body looked and felt beneath those robes, and with all those years of experience behind him, I couldn’t help but think he would be a fantastic lover.
Iannis was silent for a long moment. “I will have to consider it,” he said finally.
“Alright.” I shrugged and turned back to the mirror, as if the decision he was pondering was no big deal. “But just remember, you’ve only got a week.”
“Perhaps.” He was suddenly behind me, and a thrill zipped through my nerves as his fingers slid beneath my chin and tilted my face upward. “But there are some things I can do in the meantime.”
He lowered his face to mine, and my breath hitched. “You’re going to get lipstick all over your face,” I warned breathlessly.