“I laugh,” she countered.
“Not often.” He caressed the length of her spine, making her shiver with heat. “You’re always so very serious.”
“I warned you that I have no sense of humor.”
“I don’t think that’s true. You just have a different way of seeing the world.”
“Strange,” she agreed. “Odd.”
“Delightfully enigmatic.” Pressing his hand into the small of her back, he drew her closer against him. “I’m always wondering what you’re thinking behind those summer-thunderstorm eyes.”
“Probably nothing very interesting.” She couldn’t quite catch her breath, overwhelmed by this closeness to him. Jak’s presence overpowered her thoughts, like a mighty ocean filling every sense. Because she could, she slid her hand behind his neck, stroking the soft skin in the hollow there, as he had with her. His eyelids lowered, a hum of pleasure coming from him.
“What are you thinking now?” he asked.
“I can’t think about anything but you,” she confessed.
“Good. Because I’m the same.” His gaze wandered over her lips. “Can I kiss you?”
She thought she might die if he didn’t. “Yes.”
Though she was ready for it this time, the brush of his lips over hers undid her. The taste, the sensation of him, the heat of his desire all flooded her, and she clung to him like her only salvation in a storm-tossed sea. He kissed her like a drowning man, drinking her in like his last gasp of air, his hands fierce on her kiss. When she dragged her mouth from his, needing breath of her own, he kissed the underside of her jaw, nipping the tender skin lightly. The sensation drilled into her, her bones going liquid, and he dragged his teeth down her throat, holding her in a firm grip as she bowed backward over his arm.
His hot mouth trailed lower, following the skin bared by the daring gown. Reaching the hollow between her breasts, he slowly licked the inside curve of one, then the other. A sound of raw, shuddering need escaped her…
And she was on her feet again, Jak decorously stepping back and putting his hands on his hips. They were both out of breath, and he laughed raggedly.
“Is something wrong?” she asked.
“Too right,” he replied ruefully. “I thought I’d better stop before I went too far.”
“I didn’t want you to stop,” she said before she knew she’d speak the words.
Jak cocked his head, listening very carefully. “Anyone could come upon us out here.”
True. And that wouldn’t be good.
“We can dance some more, if you prefer,” he suggested.
“I think I’ve had enough of the party,” she told him hesitantly. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to be sorry.” He took her hands and enfolded them in his. “That’s who you are. Shall I escort you to your room?”
She didn’t want to be alone in her room either. Perhaps for the first time in her entire life, being alone didn’t sound desirable. “I don’t think I want that either,” she ventured.
Jak studied her face. “Would you come to my room with me?” he asked very carefully. A breath of insecurity leaked from him, part of him braced for disappointment. “It’s all right to say no. I said we’d take things slow, and I meant it. We have all the time in the world.”
But what if they didn’t? They might not have any more than tonight. That tower loomed ever closer. “What about Rhyian?”
Jak grinned in sheer happiness, excitement leaping in him and fueling hers. “He owes me. I told him if the door was bolted to find somewhere else to sleep, and he agreed.”
“You planned this?” She wasn’t sure how to feel about that, though the girls had all seemed to assume something like this might happen.
“A good warrior prepares for all eventualities,” he replied, a bit smug. He adjusted her dress, then offered his arm. “Shall we?”
Feeling as if she were taking an enormous step—like leaping into a deep and bottomless defile—she slipped her hand through the now-familiar crook of his elbow. Inside, the close heat of the ballroom hit her like a wall, the gamut of emotions loosened by wine and exertion pummeling her. “Steady,” Jak murmured. “Close your eyes if it helps.”
“What if someone notices?”
“What do you care? You’re strange and odd.”
“Jak!”
He laughed. “It will only add to your air of mystery, sorceress. Close your eyes. I’ll have us out of here in a moment.”
She did as he suggested, surprised to find it did help. As he had in the dance, Jak led her through the crowd with deft agility, so that she never questioned her footing, or so much as brushed against someone else. Feeling the cooler, fresher air of the hallway on her face, she opened her eyes, finding him grinning at her. “That did work,” she exclaimed. “How did you know it would?”
“A guess,” he admitted. “A trick Mom taught me. When I’m trying to see a long ways or pick out detail, I cover my ears. It helps me to focus. I figure your sensing emotions is like an extra sense. A crush like that can be overwhelming even to those of us with the usual ones, so it makes sense that eliminating at least the sight of all those people lets you concentrate on keeping them out of your head.”
“Very clever,” she conceded.
“As I keep telling you I am,” he replied, turning down another hall and stopping before a closed door. “Still on board with this voyage?”
And here she thought she’d already taken the step. Unable to meet his intent gaze, she stared hard at the door, as if it might hold answers. “I want to, yes, but I don’t know how much I can… That is, I—”
“Stella.” He waited for her to lift her eyes to his. “We can stop anytime. Only as much as you’re enjoying. I mean it.”
Mutely, she nodded. Moving slowly, he opened the door and gestured her in. Stepping inside, she paused in wonder. Candles were lit around the bedchamber, with hothouse roses spilling from vases in florid splendor. The bed was turned down, rose petals scattered over the sheets. She raised a brow at Jak as he finished bolting the door and turned. “Is this part of the eventualities?”
He took in the sensually appointed room, slowly shaking his head. “I’d like to take credit, but I didn’t do this.”
“Zeph,” she said on a sigh, exasperated and moved at the same time.
“Ah. Of course it was.”
“I should tell you…” she started, then hesitated, wondering if she really should.
Jak raised a brow and waited.
“The girls,” Stella continued, figuring herself stuck now, “they made a betting pool, on when I’d lose my virginity to you.”
Jak’s brows rose higher, dark eyes sparkling, though he didn’t crack a smile. “Are we in Zeph’s window tonight?”
“How did you guess?” she asked wryly, and now he laughed.
“Zeph has a nose for these things,” he conceded, “though it might not yet happen. Who has after this?”
“Gen. She picked eight to ten days, Zeph had five to seven, and Lena bet on one to four.”