A Heart of Ice (Araneae Nation) (3 page)

Or worse, kissing him
back.

Chapter Three

Isolde ran to keep pace with me. There was an annoying hop in her step. “Well.”

I kept marching toward the tailor’s. “Well what?”

“That was unexpected.” She tucked the empty tray under her arm. “He kissed you.”

“I know,” I snapped. “I was there. So was every other person in the courtyard.”

She laughed wickedly. “Does it bother you more that he kissed you or that everyone saw it?”

“If Mother finds out—which she will eventually—she will stick me with a chaperone.”

“Ugh.” Isolde made a face. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

I stomped harder with every step. “Why would he do that?”

“Males are simple creatures,” she confided. “Your comment aroused the wrong end of him.”

“The wrong end?” I choked. “Is there a right one?”

“Small as they might be, some males do have brains.” She tapped her forehead. “He could have engaged you in a discussion of what you fancy instead of deciding trial and error was the way to go.”

“That is a conversation best saved for my future husband.” As if I would put desire into words.

“What has talking ever solved between males and females? We don’t speak the same language.”

That might have been the single finest point in any argument she had ever made.

“He knows who I am.” My fists balled. “How dare he kiss me in so public a place?”

She shrugged. “He’s Theridiidae. They might have different views on casual relationships.”

“We don’t have a relationship
, casual or otherwise.” I pulled up short. “His clan is no excuse.”

“Don’t snap at me.” She stopped to see what caught my eye. “I’m on your side.”

“This isn’t happening.” Through the window of my favorite tailor’s shop, I spied my mother. On her arm draped a swath of pearlescent silk. Across her shoulder rested a length of elegant beaded lace. “Bridal silk.” The world lurched under my feet. “Mother is choosing fabrics for my wedding gown.”

Isolde’s low whistle commiserated with me. She jerked my arm so hard my shoulder popped.

“Hurry before she sees you.” She guided me toward the square where we could hide among our peers. “Why does she get the final say? Can’t your father stop this? Surely he would understand.”

I dropped onto a stone bench and bruised my tailbone. “Leave him out of this.”

“He’s the only one who stands up to your mother,” she pressed. “He will make her see reason.”

“You don’t understand.” I
twirled the ring on my finger. “Father is not himself.”

She sank down next to me. “What do you mean?”

“You remember him as the valiant war hero, the protector of Erania, and he was those things.” I hid the tears stinging the backs of my eyes. “But he was injured during a battle last spring. His mind is…
He
is gone. All that remains is a husk of a male who slightly resembles the father he once was.”

Fat tears made Isolde’s eyes glassy. “I didn’t know.”

“I didn’t want to talk about it.” I clasped her hand. “But I should have told you. I’m sorry.”

“Their life threads?” she asked.

“They’re tied,” I confirmed. “If he dies…Mother will too.”

“May the gods be merciful.” She covered her mouth. “No wonder she wants you married.”

“I’m afraid.” I let her pull me into her arms. “I don’t want to rule. Not yet.”

“He survived this long. There’s no reason to think his health will suddenly decline.” She stroked my hair. “You know how your mother is. She worries. Don’t make more of her timing than there is.”

I sniffled. “I’m sure you’re right.”

Though deep in my heart, dread swelled. Mother did not overreact. She evaluated and prepared.

Isolde hugged me tighter. “I guess this means you have decisions to make.”

“What choices do I have?” I wiped my cheeks dry.

“For one,” she said, “whether you’re going to meet Ennis tonight.”

“No.” That was too easy.

“For another, whether you want to spy on your mother’s dinner guests with me tonight.”

I righted myself. “I don’t feel up for company.”

“Oh, they won’t know we’re there.” She rubbed her hands together. “We’ll use the peepholes.”

Mother’s and my private quarters in the city and in the nest
each possessed secret rooms, doors and tunnels. They were intended for escape routes should Erania’s defenses ever be compromised.

Since we were children, Isolde and I had used them for less honorable purposes.

I let her enthusiasm sweep me away. “Can we see the dining hall from there?”

The peepholes she meant were drilled through the wall into a hallway across the way.

“What we can’t see, we’ll hear.” She ribbed me. “Come on. You haven’t been naughty in ages.”

Not since a half hour ago when I let Ennis kiss me and survive to spread tales of his conquest.

I eyed her warily. “Your memory is shorter than mine.”

“Pah.” She waved her hand. “Naughty is an action, not a reaction. The kiss doesn’t count.”

“Do you think the suitor she’s so anxious to introduce me to will be there even if I’m not?”

She rolled her shoulders. “He has to eat.”

“Good point.” I took a deep breath and stood. “All right. Let’s do it.”

“We should stop by the kitchen first.” Isolde
patted her abdomen. “We need supplies.”

“How can you still be hungry?” Her
gut was a bottomless pit.

“We’ve been over this before.” She swatted my rear with the tray. “Being in such a frigid clime tricks my body into believing it must store as much food as possible for the unbearably long winter.”

“Uh-huh.” I poked her flat stomach. “I don’t think your plan is working.”

“I have not succeeded yet.” She raised a finger. “Never let it be said it was for lack of trying.”

Shaking my head, I left her stuck in her pose and retraced our steps to the kitchen.

I kept an eye out for Ennis and was uncertain whether I was piqued or relieved not to spot him.

Night came, and I felt not the slightest twinge of remorse at breaking my word to Ennis.

Isolde and I sat on a quilt in a stretch of private tunnel. The peepholes were just over our heads.

She cocked her head. “Do you hear that?”

I took a sip of wine. “Sounds like
laughter.”

Isolde went to her knees and pressed an eye to a cutout. “Well, well.”

“What is it?”

She patted the wall beside her. “See for yourself.”

I moved into position and oriented myself. The dining hall was the long room stretched in front of us. The holes were in the wall at the back of the hall across from a pair of arched side doors.

Not three feet from my eye Mother
stood wearing a sweeping formal gown in shimmering gold with dainty sapphire heels. To her right Padraig, a Theridiidae male who was head of the guards, sipped from a goblet. Beside him, Ennis swirled the rich red liquid in his cup and nodded politely as Mother and Padraig shared stories.

I thumped my forehead against the wall. “What is Ennis doing there?”

“If Padraig is his uncle,” she reasoned, “the maven likely wanted to welcome him properly.”

“You’re right.” I paused, sinking back onto the quilt. “Padraig
is a good friend of Father’s.”

“See? Nothing to worry about.” Isolde went back to her snooping. “It’s not like she heard Ennis had been spotted by the entire clan kissing her young, impressionable and very eligible daughter. Or that she demanded he be brought before her for inspection. Oh. Or punishment. That’s more likely.”

“Not helping, Isolde.”

Her lips curved at the corners.

I strained my ears. “I don’t hear anything now.”

“You can’t from here.” She
waved me down the hall. “There’s a nook there that catches sound.”

To calm her
flailing arms, I relented and followed. When I stepped beside her, the rush of dinner conversation filled my ears. Silverware scraped, a throat cleared, more wine poured.

“…if Reine feels better tomorrow perhaps…”

That was Padraig.

“Ah
, to be young and foolish again…”

I scowled. That was Mother.

“I’m sure Reine is a lovely girl but…”

“But what?” I muttered.

Isolde clamped a hand over my mouth. “Shh.”

The rest of their conversation was as dull as any I had ever sat through. For all our
whispering and skulking about, if we waited for the end of the meal, we might as well have dressed for the dinner.

Deciding I had had enough, I left Isolde to her snooping and gathered my things.

I itched for fresh air, and a walk would do me good. During the brief summer, Erania held decadent night markets. It was so bitterly cold the rest of the year that most outside trade occurred inside the window of those months. That meant long hours, and all sorts of exotic clans visited, bringing their rare produce. Innovative merchandise moved through the stalls.

It was a heady time
of wandering streets teeming with infinite possibility, and wander I did, until I found a promising stall. I lifted a blue scarf to inspect beads sewn onto its hem.

“How much?” a familiar, masculine voice rose past my shoulder.

The vendor startled when he noticed me. “For her, no charge.”

“I can’t take it without paying.” I started to replace it.

“Here.” Ennis tossed a coin, and the vendor snagged it before it hit his counter. “That ought to cover it.”

The vendor grinned. “Enjoy your night.”

With a sigh, I faced Ennis. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“No.” He took the scarf and looped it behind my neck, under my hair. “I wanted to.”

I earned a nasty burn across my nape when I yanked it free. I held it out to him, but he refused to accept it, so I flung it at him. “Do you always do what you want regardless of how it affects others?”

B
efore a breeze captured it, he plucked it from the air and brought the fabric to his nose, inhaling my scent. He made a hungry sound in his throat. “I have what you might call poor impulse control.”

I eased a step back. “I noticed when you kissed me.”

“Did you notice?” He eased a generous step closer.

I planted my feet. “It’s hard not to notice a stranger’s tongue shoved down my throat.”

One more step put him dangerously close to me. “I can learn tact. Here. Let me practice.”

I let him duck his head, let his lips brush mine. While he took advantage of me, I
used his inattention to my advantage. Twisting my ring, I spun the stone until a stout needle protruded from its center. Then I punched Ennis hard in the stomach, which made his wicked moans taper into ragged gasping.

Another twist tucked away the needle. “My father is Theridiidae, as I’m sure you know. He had this ring made for me on my twelfth birthday
, and it’s his venom setting you on fire from the inside.”

His wheezing intensified. “Was…only…trying…”

“I know what you were only trying to do.” I caught him before he fell. “I experienced it earlier.”

The vendor spotted our distress and relieved me of Ennis. I told the vendor what I had done and what must be done to counteract it. Theridiidae venom was toxic, but not to others of their clan. He would recover in a few days, sooner if he went straight to see the healer, and suffer no long
-term ills.

In the meantime he could contemplate the touching of females who wished not to be touched.

And what those agonizing repercussions might be.

Chapter Four

Days passed in blissful quiet. I resumed my lessons, and Isolde resumed her mischief
-making. It was as if Mother had never made her ultimatum, as if I had never met Ennis, as if the tender feelings and stringent demands were nothing but a nightmare dispersed by the delightfully chilly morning air.

I sat on a
stone bench in my private courtyard. The large gold hoop in my hand gave me fits, but I had a new design in mind, and I was determined to spin the pattern before I forgot what I intended.

After tying an intricate knot, I held it aloft to catch the sun while I inspected my project.

“It’s lovely.”

All my contentment vanished between one breath and the next.

“You are not welcome here, Ennis.” I didn’t bother with pleasantries. “Do show yourself out.”

“I’m well, thank you.” He circled around to face me. “The first day was pure misery, as I’m sure you can imagine. The second was less painful. That day I became convinced I would not die. I might have fared even better on the third day had you come to see whether you had managed to kill me.”

“I know venom theory.” I continued my work. “Your life was never in any danger.”

He sighed once realizing I meant to ignore him. “You have no remorse, do you?”

“Do you regret kissing me?” I kept my tone light and my eyes averted.

“No.”

“Then neither do I regret the necessity of defending my virtue.”

He dropped onto the ben
ch beside me.

I stood and began walking as I worked.

He sprung to his feet and followed. “I can play this game all day.”

“I’m not playing a game.” I glanced up and cut him with my smile.

When I saw him, once I really looked at him, the expression slid off my face.

His skin was sallow. Despite the cool air, his
forehead beaded with sweat. His lips were white.

“Is that icy heart of yours melting?” he teased.

I set down the hoop and leaned it against the bench. “You should sit.”

“Really, female, would you make up your mind?” He huffed. “Up, down, up, down.”

Grasping his arm, I guided him back to his seat. “Do you need a glass of water or cup of tea?”

Flushed as his cheeks were, I bet he was feverish.

“No.” He managed a slow grin that set my pulse skipping. “A kiss, now those heal all wounds.”

I stared down my nose at him. “A kiss landed you here in the first place.”

“No.” He reached into his pocket. “This scarf did.”

“Mmm hmm.”
Clearly, fever had baked his brain.

“I’ve learned my lesson.
” He ripped it from end to end. “I will never buy another one.”

Wind caught the fabric and swirled it out of sight.

Ennis held out his hand. “Friends again?”

I clasped his hand with a sigh. “
Were we ever?”

Before I understood his intent, he brought my hand to his lips and sucked my ring finger into his mouth. I gasped, half-expecting the sting of his teeth and doubly confused when I felt his tongue.

“What are you—?” I was too shocked to move. “That’s my hand.”

The hot glide of his tongue over my knuckles melted my knees. With my sense in tatters, I made one final attempt to extricate myself from his mouth. This time he released me with a suctioned
pop
.

Ennis spat into his palm
, and heat stung my cheeks.

Hadn’t I done the same when he kissed me? Wiped my mouth and…and… “You bastard.”

He flashed his open hand and the ring sitting upon it. “I assure you I am quite legitimate.”

“Give it to me.” I held out my hand. “Now.”

“How about we trade?” He slid it halfway down his pinky finger.

I hissed at him. “How about you give me what is mine or I call the guards?”

“You could have called the guards at any time. That you haven’t tells me you aren’t as opposed to being in my company as you would have me believe, as you may have even convinced yourself.”

My
hand balled and dropped to my side. “What sort of trade do you have in mind?”

“I want the tour you promised me.” He admired the ring. “Then I will return this.”

“That’s all?” I clarified, “A tour? No…kissing? No inappropriate behavior?”

“You have my word that I will follow your lead in matters of inappropriateness.”

As easily as he agreed, I was made suspicious.

“See that you do,” seemed the only thing left to say until I recalled
, “You dined with Mother.”

He took his time answering. “I did.”

Strange how tight he clamped his lips. “Is Padraig the uncle you mentioned?”

“He is.”

Thinking I might find some use for him, I hedged, “Were you the only guests invited?”

“You would have to ask Uncle,” he said at last. “He told me I would dine with him, so I did.”

I crossed my arms. “What would you have done if our plans hadn’t been cancelled that night?”

“What would you have done?” He studied me. “I was under the impression you were expected.”

“Mother said…” I shut my mouth. “She was made aware I would not be attending.”

“I sense there is tension between you.”

I scoffed. “Let your mother wake you one day with a demand that you marry. Then we’ll talk.”

“What makes you think I’ve escaped such a demand?” He rubbed his jaw. “Arranged marriages are not reserved solely for nobility. Even commoners engage in such trade to better their lots in life.”

“True,” I agreed. “But I would hope that if you were betrothed to another, you would not behave as you have toward me. It will shame your future wife, your uncle and you to act in such a manner.”

Ennis stood with his face so close to mine his breath tickled my cheeks. “What about you?”

I willed myself steady when I wanted to turn and bolt. “What about me?”

“If you are as good as betrothed—” he cupped my cheek, “—what must your behavior imply?”

“That I do not wish to be married,” I said softly.

His thumb stroked my cheek. “
You find the prospect of marriage so repulsive?”

“It is the prospect of giving myself to someone I don’t know that I find repugnant.”

His gaze lowered. “If you knew the male, would it be so untenable then?”

Considering I had no such luck, I shrugged. “I suppose it would depend on the male.”

As if I had said what he wished to hear, Ennis slid his hands down my neck to my shoulders.

“I will see you tonight.” He made it an order.

I glanced at my shoulder, at the ring glinting on his finger. “What choice do I have?”

He winked. “You may find you have more choices than you realized.”

Whistling an unfamiliar tune, he left me to my weaving.

Moonlight illuminated the city, making it easy to spot Ennis standing among the statues erected near the city’s heart. He saw me too, and the warmth of his smile leached the cold from the night air.

“You came after all.” He sounded surprised.

I held out my hand. “The ring?”

“Forgive me for calling your honor into question, but I would rather wait until the tour ended.”

Expecting his response, I sighed and tucked my hands into my skirt’s pockets. “As you wish.”

Flashing a magnanimous smile, he clasped his hands together. “Where do we start?”

I gestured toward the great iron doors that led from the city into the nest. “At the beginning.”

Ennis was as good as his word. He kept a respectful distance behind me while I guided him on a tour through my home. His questions were polite, almost rehearsed. His manners beyond reproach.

It made me at once suspicious.

Rounding a corner, I checked to ensure we were alone. “What are you doing?”

“What?” He blinked wide, innocent eyes.

“We’re alone, in a deserted nest, with barely a light burning, and you haven’t tried anything.”

He raised his eyebrows. “
Is that an invitation?”

“No. It most certainly
is not.” I jabbed his chest with my finger. “You’re up to something.”

“No.” Ennis playfully
ruffled the fabric of my skirt. “But I could be.”

“Ah ha.” Smug, I was victorious. “I knew you had ulterior motives in coming here tonight.”

“You’re right.” He moved his hand to my hip. “I do.”

The warmth of his touch muddled my thoughts. “Are you going to kiss me again?”

His grip tightened. “Do you want me to?”

I opened my mouth to laugh in his face.

No sound emerged.

He drew me closer. “It’s a simple yes
-or-no question.”

I braced my hand against his chest. “I don’t want to…”

At once he released me. “That was all you had to say.”

“I didn’t mean—” I fisted his shirt. “I don’t want to like you more than I already do.”

His grin was sinful. “You like me.”

“That is a very bad thing.” I shook him. Or tried to. He didn’t budge. “This can’t happen.”

“What can’t happen?”

“
Us
.”

He held my gaze. “This is because you must marry another?”

I bit my lip and nodded.

“What if I don’t want to go to my bride—” he whispered, “—a virgin?”

If not for his help, I would have fallen flat on my arse. “You are not a virgin.”

He scowled. “How would you know?”

He had me there. “Are you?”

“No,” he admitted. “I was trying to bond with you over shared interests.”

I thought of Isolde and projected her brashness. “How do you know I’m a virgin?”

A muscle in his cheek flexed. “Are you?”

“No,” I lied.

“You’re lying.”

“I am not.” I anchored my hands on my hips. “I am a—”

Ennis pinned me against the wall with his hand above my right breast. The glint in his eyes was murderous. Our treaty forgotten, he pressed his body into m
e. Rolling his hips against mine, he let a growl rumble through his chest. He bent his head, kissing the side of my neck before fangs pricked that tender skin. I grabbed his shoulders, and I meant to shove him away, I did, but I drew him nearer.

“That’s it,” he said against my throat. “Let me show you how good it could be between us.”

While one arm looped around my waist, he used his other hand to ruck my skirt up in the front.

Damn Isolde and her tall tales, I should have been mortified. Not curious. Certainly not aroused.

Flipping through the mental list of things he might consider doing to me, I was impatient.

With my heart knocking against my ribs, I realized I was ready.
Ennis tugged at the waist of my drawers, sliding his warm hand down my abdomen.

I clutched his wrist. “Ennis.”

“Tell me to stop.” His wide palm rested below my navel. “I will.” 

With an effort
born of trust, I released his hand.

“Good girl,” he murmured.

All the while his hand drifted lower, he kept his eyes locked with mine. When his fingers parted me, a flush spread through my entire body. His wicked thumb circled that most sensitive part of me. I grasped his wrist and sank my fingernails into his skin. He paused, searching my face for direction.

“Don’t stop,” I panted.

If he did, I would die.

Ennis took
his time educating me about the pleasure his skilled hands could wring from my body. The lesson was a lengthy one, taught over and over until my legs were shaking and the only word I knew was his name. It was not lost on me that his clever fingers had not entered me. He was a horrid tease.

“Please.” I slumped against his shoulder.

“Please what?” He nuzzled me.

I worked a hand between our bodies and found his erection. “Finish this.”

A shudder worked through Ennis. “Not now. Not like this.”

“There are rooms we could use.” Mine was down this tunnel—somewhere
. I couldn’t think.

His salty-sweet lips brushed mine. “So eager.”

I bit his bottom lip. “I like to try new things.”

“Mmm hmm.”

“Don’t act so smug.” I tightened my grip. “It’s obvious I’m inexperienced.”

Surely with experience I would cease trembling and shaking in his arms.

“I would like to keep you that way.” He rocked into my hand. “Gods, Reine.”

Taking cues from his body as I had watched him do with mine, I began stroking his length.