I nodded and she reached up around my neck to untie the cord. Her curvaceous body, which was currently enveloped by only a thin summer dress, was suddenly pressed up against me, and my hands naturally went to her waist to steady her. Ana’s warm breath tickled my neck and her floral scent surrounded me. My breath hitched, though I willed myself not to react, and she suddenly froze.
Inch by painful inch, she pulled away, her hands dropping the cord at my neck and slipping down to grip my shoulders. The two of us stood there unmoving, the fringe of her long lashes hiding her eyes. I cleared my throat, about to say something to try to diffuse the tension that shouldn’t have been there, when she looked up. Her green eyes locked onto mine and I couldn’t breathe, let alone form a coherent thought. Every inch of my skin prickled with awareness of her.
“I…I couldn’t take it off,” she said, her words soft.
My mind went in a totally different direction, and she cocked her head as if listening to my thoughts. Immediately, I shielded them and backed away quickly enough to cause her to stumble. “Yeah, I’ll, uh, take care of that myself.” Reaching up, I yanked the cord from my neck and tossed it to her. “Let me know if that works. I’ll wait for you outside.”
When I exited the cave, I ran a hand through my hair. What is wrong with me? I thought. She wasn’t being suggestive. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Sure, Ana had just thrown herself awkwardly at me in the temple, but she didn’t mean anything by it, did she? More than likely, she was just upset.
A thought occurred to me and my blood froze. Or she believed I was upset and she wanted to appease me. I slapped a hand on my forehead. Of course. The sadistic man who’d bought her, the man I’d killed, would have demanded physical affection to appease his anger. It was probably a conditioned response.
My hands tightened into fists. Did she really believe I would use her in such a way? What an idiot I was. I had to rein in my temper around her, otherwise, she’d throw herself at me to appease my masculine needs. Disgusted with myself, I turned to head back into the cave to apologize, when she came out.
“It’s done,” she said, dusting off her hands. “I tried it and it worked. The stone showed me something interesting. I—”
“You don’t need to do that,” I spurted.
Her bow-shaped mouth turned down in a frown. “Do what?” she asked.
“You don’t…you don’t owe me anything, Ana. Favors I mean.”
“Favors?”
I willed the words to come, but they were twisted and jumbled inside me like pieces of a puzzle I couldn’t make fit. I’d do more damage if I didn’t go about this carefully. Kicking my soft boots in the dirt, I attempted to explain. “Ana, I want to apologize.”
“For what?”
“For…for holding you like that. For getting angry.”
She barked a laugh. “You are always angry. Irritated at the very least. This is not new.”
“No, I know. But I’m not going to be. Not anymore. Not now that I know how you react.”
Folding her arms across her chest, she said, “You do not like the way I react?”
“No. I mean, you don’t have to. I don’t expect that. It’s not…it’s not the way a man should treat a woman.”
Ana sighed. “Will you say what you will and cease bumbling about? It wears on my patience to listen to you sawing back and forth about things that make no sense.”
“There. You see?” I said, pointing a finger at her. “That’s what I’m talking about. I’m trying to be understanding here. I don’t think I’m that hard to get along with, but then you have to go and throw things back in my face, and it’s all I can do to be a nice guy.”
“Yes, I know. You are next going to tell me all about how you got along with Kelsey famously.”
“I did get along with Kelsey. She was easy compared to you.”
“Fine! Then if she makes you happy, you should just go back to her time and leave me alone. I don’t need your help and I certainly don’t want you feeling trapped by my side.”
Turning, she headed off through the trees and I scrambled to follow. “Ana, wait. Ana, please stop. I’m sorry. Believe it or not, I was trying to apologize.”
She spun quickly and stalked toward me. Stopping a few inches away from me, her body tense with anger and her jewel-like eyes steely, she said, “Then say what you will, Kishan, and get it over with.”
“First of all, you need to know that I don’t feel trapped. At least, not anymore. I want to be here, helping you. Second, Kelsey, is a part of my past. An important one, yes, but I have accepted that she’s with my brother. She’s happy with him. I won’t interfere with that.”
“And third?” she mumbled quietly. The wrath had gone out of her. She’d deflated like a balloon.
“Third? I don’t like you calling me Kishan. I much prefer Sohan.”
Her lip twitched. “Would you prefer instead Prince Sohan the Great?”
“Don’t get me distracted. I haven’t even gotten to the most important part.”
“And that is?”
I held out my hands. She glanced down, pursed her lips, and finally placed her hands in mine.
“The last point is…no matter how angry I get or how frustrated I am, I would never, ever treat you like the man who abused you.”
She opened her mouth to speak and I shook her hands lightly.
“Let me finish. I don’t expect anything from you, Ana. You don’t have to rub my shoulders, kiss me, or even hug me. In fact, I am perfectly content to serve as your tiger for the rest of my existence. You can consider me a protector, like your brother. I know what you’ve been through and I won’t be the one to cause you more pain. Please believe this, Ana, trust me when I say that I will never, ever lay my hands on you in that way.”
I lowered my head to look into her face, hoping she would see my earnestness. Again, a myriad of emotions played beneath the surface but she kept them hidden from me. Squeezing her hands, I said, “Do you understand, Ana?”
“Yes,” she said, her voice dull and low, “I understand.”
“Good.” I blew out a breath and gave her what I hoped was a brotherly sort of smile. “Now, what’s next on our list? The four houses?”
“No,” she answered distractedly. “Yes.” She shook her head and stepped away. “I mean, can we do it tomorrow? I feel weary.”
Concerned, I touched her shoulder. “Of course, I mean, yes, you’ve been using a great deal of your power. You must be exhausted. We should get some sleep. Do you want to go home?”
“No. Our work here is unfinished. Perhaps we can sleep here?”
“Yeah.” I ran a hand through my hair and turned in a circle, considering. An idea sprang to mind. “I, um, I know a place. Maybe you’d like to try the Grove of Dreams? I slept there once with Kelsey.” I winced right after I said it, knowing it might still be a sore spot, but she just nodded uninterestedly.
I led her to the site and groaned when I remembered that we were creating everything. “Do you trust me to handle this one?” I asked.
She waved a hand and wandered over to pluck some flowers.
“Okay, here goes,” I said, and pulled from the powers of the goddess, accessing it through our connection. Using the earth piece of the amulet, I created the bower, and then, with the scarf, I fashioned a grand hanging bed that was strung between the trees like a large hammock. Flowers and vines grew to fill the gaps in the trees for privacy.
When I was done, she ran a hand over the mattress. “It looks comfortable,” she said. “Perhaps I should create one in my garden.”
“I’d be happy to make one for you.”