“Thank you. For everything,” Kelsey said.
The gold flowed over Ana and covered her. When the others left, Ana appeared before me, still wearing the flowing green dress, her feet bare. In her hand, she held Nilima’s swatch of silk. I touched my fingertip to the tip of her chin and nudged her face up to look at me. “You did well,” I said. “But why didn’t you appear until Kelsey held Ren’s hand?”
She shrugged. “They seemed unhappy. I wanted to help them bridge the distance.”
“You’re a generous goddess,” I said, smiling, but then my expression became serious when I saw her concern.
“Sohan?” she said.
“Yes, my lady fair?”
“I don’t want to drown in the depths.”
“I wouldn’t think so.”
“Will you…” She sighed softly, the puff of air lifting a strand of her dark hair. I slid it away from her face with my thumb.
“Will I what, Ana?”
“Will you kiss me?”
Chapter 34
Mermaid’s Icy Kiss
Taking her face gently in my hands, I asked, “Did you want to practice?”
Ana nodded and grabbed my shirt, tugging me close.
I pressed my hands over hers, stilling them. “While I appreciate your enthusiasm for the task, kissing is not always a wild, uncontrolled thing. It can be soft and sweet.”
Ana frowned. “I am not a soft woman.”
Shaking my head, I said, “You are a passionate woman. That does not mean you aren’t…soft.” I cupped her cheek with my palm. “I see who you are inside, Ana. Your heart is tender for all the gruff bravado you display to your men. I know that was how you kept them at a distance and I understand why you did so.” I traced the arch of her eyebrow with a finger as I spoke.
She bit her lip. “I do not know what to do or what you want from me, Sohan.”
Considering, I said, “Think of a kiss as appreciating a ripe piece of fruit. Savor it. Take the time to lick the juice from your fingers. Enjoy the taste, the texture. If you gulp it down too quickly, you do not have time to appreciate it.”
“Very well,” she said impatiently. “I will attempt to do as you ask. But if you had kissed me when I first asked you, it would be done by now.”
“Ah, my lady fair,” I said, stroking her neck. “I don’t plan to be done with you for a long, long time.” She opened her mouth to ask another question but I put my fingers over her lips. “Shush. Now, close your eyes.”
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously but did as I instructed.
“Good. Now close your mind to everything. Let your body be still and calm, just as if you were centering yourself before a battle.”
Slowly, I slid one hand around her neck and cupped her arm with my other. Stepping closer, I pressed my nose into her hair and inhaled deeply. I could almost taste the jasmine and rose scent as my lips touched the delicate sweep between her shoulder and her neck. I moved my mouth up her neckline, lightly, not kissing the golden skin but just grazing it with my lips, feeling my way up to the line of her jaw.
Once there, I trailed down the smooth skin, this time planting warm kisses as I passed over every inch. With aching slowness, I found the corner of her mouth and skimmed my hand down her arm to the place at her waist where her hip swelled and pulled her closer, fitting her body against mine. Ana trembled in my arms and tried to reach for me. “Not yet, love,” I murmured against her mouth.
Deliberately, I touched my lips to her silvery eyelids and on the tip of her straight nose. She shivered when I caught her earlobe in my teeth, and then finally, leisurely, I made my way back to her lips. My mouth hovered for an excruciating second and then I gave in to the aching need to kiss her.
The little sound of pleasure she made ignited a fire in me, but I held the fire in check, determined to show her that love didn’t have to hurt. At first, her mouth just pressed firmly against mine, but almost languidly, I coaxed her to explore, to feel, to taste. As she did, I stroked her hair, her back, and her face, learning the angles and planes of her body.
I molded my mouth softly to hers, moving gently, teasing and enticing, both teaching and being taught. Soon I realized that there was a contented hum in my mind and recognized it was Ana linking to me on a subconscious level. Testing out her inner language of pleasure was an exercise in abandon and one I found I couldn’t resist. When my fingertips grazed the insides of her arms or when I wrapped my hands around her waist, tugging her against me, it was like little fireworks going off in her mind.
A need grew in me to catalog each and every place that she enjoyed being touched, and though I had no intentions of exploring that aspect of our special connection wholly at that time, I very much looked forward to the task in the future. The normal tingles I felt when my skin brushed against hers were multiplied tenfold, and there was a sense of rightness in being close to her. Kissing Ana was like coming home. No. It was finding a home.
When she wanted to intensify what was happening between us, I deliberately eased off, breaking the kiss but continuing to stroke her arms. “Why…why do you stop?” she panted. “I wish to continue practicing.”
I smiled. “We will, love. I promise. But this is not exactly the time or place for…um, practicing. Besides, I think it’s best to take this one lesson at a time.” She looked down at our clasped hands. “Is that okay?” I asked, ducking my head to gauge her expression.
“Yes. I suppose.” She paced away. “But such practicing winds my body tighter than the eve before battle.”
Laughing, I said, “It affects me that way too.” I glanced around. “Well, so far so good. It looks like we didn’t create another world tree or melt the temple. Come on, let’s see if there’s a tidal wave coming in.”
“What is a tidal wave?” she asked as we stepped outside the temple.
“It’s a…well, a giant wave that crashes on the beach.”
“Why would we create that?”
“I don’t know. Strange things happen when I kiss you.” Lights were still on in the city and I saw no signs of imminent danger. “Maybe it only happens when we’re fighting,” I said.
“No. We weren’t fighting in the Grove of Dreams. It would seem that magic swells when we embrace.”
“Right.” My gaze dropped to her mouth again and we drew closer. It was as if we were magnets unable to resist the pull of one another. Before I kissed her again, I forcibly stopped myself from moving and murmured thickly, “Shall we continue working on Kadam’s list?”
“Yes. Maybe there’s someone we can fight to take the edge off.”
“Let’s hope so,” I replied, tangling my fingertips with hers. “So, what’s next?”
“Lady Silkworm.”
“Really?” I said, scrubbing a hand through my hair. “Where did you take her after you disappeared?”
Ana shrugged. “She is at our home, weaving and acting as mother to the young children I have rescued.”
“Ah. Strange that I haven’t seen her.”
“She doesn’t like mingling with the soldiers. It makes her nervous. I created her own home behind ours and gave her assistants to help her with her work. I’ll show you.”
Taking my hand, Ana sped us through time back to our mountain home and led me through a passageway hidden behind a long tapestry. I’d always assumed the cloth had been a gift, but now I saw it for what it was. It was Lady Silkworm done in embroidery as she sat looking out a window, sewing. When I studied the cloth where her needle lay, I saw the half-finished image of her young man, the poor fellow who I watched die.
Heading down a hall, I was surprised to see it open into a comfortable sitting room. Women bustled past us, carrying spools of thread, trays of food, or bundles of fabric. Two women chatted amiably while they wove in the corner on large looms while others sat in chairs, knitting thick shawls or tatting delicate laces.
Ana led me up a winding staircase to a thick wooden door and rapped her knuckles against it. The scent of lavender permeated the area.