Fire Pearl (Beyond Ontariese 5) (14 page)

“Your escort seems—”

“Her escort suggests you find someone else to
harass.” Drakkin slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her as
close to his side as possible with the bulk of her skirts between
them. “The lady is with me.”

“Lord Drakkin.” The obnoxious rodent bowed.
“I beg your pardon, sir. Obviously, I didn’t realize you had
claimed her.” He was suddenly all grace and charm. “Does your fire
pearl serve only you? If she is willing—”

“She is not,” Aria snapped.

After one final covetous glance at Aria, the
jerk melted into the crowd.

“I am so sorry, love. I should have realized
this might be a problem.” Drakkin quickly excused himself from the
newest group of acquaintances and pressed his hand against Aria’s
back. “Dance with me. I promise I won’t allow anything else to
divert my attention. I am yours and only yours.”

Aria’s heart fluttered at the claim and she
dipped into a curtsy. “It would be a pleasure, my lord.” He led her
to the dance floor and took her in his arms. Thankfully the dance
was slow and simple. All she had to do was relax within his embrace
and follow his lead.

Couples twirled past, a kaleidoscope of color
and motion. Aria looked into his eyes and the rest of the room
seemed to blur.

“I’m sorry about the distractions. This is
not what I had in mind.”

“You can’t help it if you’re the most popular
man in the room.” And yet he’d chosen to dance with her.
I am
yours and only yours.
The phrase kept echoing through her
heart.

“Second most popular.” He nodded toward
Indric who was surrounded by a tight cluster of people vying for
his attention.

“I’m sure you have him beat in Hautell.”

“Our competitive days are long over. I don’t
envy him the responsibilities.”

“Are you still head of House Hautell?” He’d
said a king ruled for life in San Adrin, but they hadn’t spoken
much about Drakkin’s home. She knew it was a mountainous region
sharing a border with the San Adrin desert, but little else.

“I ruled House Hautell for three hundred and
twenty-seven years when it became obvious that I couldn’t be king
and director of the Symposium. My eldest son was anxious to rule,
so I signed authority over to him and have concentrated on the
Symposium ever since.”

“You’re director of the Symposium?”

He laughed and steered her toward the edge of
the dance floor. “Most people are more impressed by the fact that I
was once king. What is your fascination with the Symposium?” He
snatched two glasses of wine off a waiter’s tray then hurried her
outside onto the terrace.

“It’s hard to explain.” She took one of the
glasses from his outstretched hand and raised it to her lips. The
wine was light and fruity and the cool night wind caressed her
skin. “I was surrounded by deceit and corruption my entire life.
Government officials took bribes, everyone lied. Everyone advanced
their position on the backs of those with less power. But the
Symposium is different. They refuse to be swayed by politics and
provide information to anyone regardless of species, wealth, or
religious affiliation. Information is power, but rather than
hoarding that power for themselves, the Symposium shares it equally
with everyone.”

“You make us sound noble and I’m not sure we
deserve the distinction. Our commitment to neutrality simply keeps
us from being pulled into conflicts that don’t directly affect us.
Rather than choose which disputes are worthy of our support and
which are not, we focus entirely on the preservation and
distribution of information.”

“It’s important work. I don’t care what you
say.”

He laughed. “Sweetheart, I agree with you.”
Pressing his cool hands against her cheeks, he gently kissed her
forehead. “I’m one of three founding members. I’ve dedicated the
past two hundred years to ensuring the integrity of what we
started.”

He lowered his hands to his sides and
awareness pulsed between them warm and electric. She wanted to
guide his hands back to her face and turn the kiss into something
far more intimate. But they’d yet to resolve their problems, or her
problems. She was the one who was terrified of how fast their
relationship had progressed.

“If I ask you a question, will you answer
honestly?”

“Always. And any time you doubt the accuracy
of what I say, I encourage you to access my mind and find out for
yourself. I have nothing to hide from you.”

“I don’t know how.”

“Close your eyes.” He passed his hand in
front of her face, guiding her lids down with the sweep of his
fingers. “Now find our link. I’ve opened it from this end, so you
should be able to sense me.”

It was like a light glowing at the end of a
long, dark tunnel. He was available to her, but he remained within
the confines of his own mind.

“Move closer then ask your question.”

Reinforcing her courage with a deep breath,
she eased along their link and touched his mind. Light exploded
around her, blinding and powerful. She gasped and started to pull
back, but his arm slipped around her waist and anchored her in
place.

“Don’t be afraid. I will never cause you
harm.”

She could sense, not just sincerity, but a
burning resolve. He would protect her with his life. There was no
denying his dedication, but that didn’t excuse some of the things
he’d done. “If I was safe within Cinarra’s house and here at the
palace, why did you create the temporal bubble?”

“I wasn’t taking any chances. We had not yet
identified your pursuers or learned the scope of their abilities.”
He touched her shoulder with his free hand and his voice deepened
as he added, “I was also worried that you would try to escape
before I’d convinced you the danger was real.”

She sensed only calm truth and a smoldering
need to protect her. His tactics might have been high-handed, but
he really was determined to prevent anyone or anything from harming
her.

Releasing her breath in a shaky sigh, she
opened her eyes and looked into his. “Thank you.”

Drakkin moved closer to Aria, shifting his
hand to the railing behind her. He wanted to caress her face and
explore the slender column of her neck, so temptingly displayed by
her hairstyle. “Have you given our situation any thought?”

She laughed, her gaze moving to some spot
beyond him. “I’ve done nothing but think about our situation.”

He was supposed to let her choose when she
was ready for this conversation, but he was going mad waiting for
her to make up her mind. He wanted her in his arms, his bed, his
life and he was ready to do whatever it took to make that
happen.

Her body swayed to the lilting rhythm of the
music and longing glowed within her lavender eyes. He took the
wineglass from her hand and set it beside his on the railing. “We
didn’t finish our dance.”

She moved into his arms and he led her about
the terrace in a compact waltz. Her skirts brushed against his
legs, a frustrating barrier separating him from his mate. He wanted
her naked, arms and legs tangled with his.

“I don’t want to lose you,” she
whispered.

He stopped dancing, but his hand remained at
her waist. Tilting her chin up with his other hand, he whispered
back, “Impossible.”

Her lips pressed into a tight line before she
finally looked at him. “Does it have to be one or the other? Can’t
you sever the link and then continue on from where we were before
this happened.”

Indric’s suggestion hovered at the back of
his mind, an insidious temptation. It would be so easy to minimize
the link without actually dislodging it. She would never know the
difference. And then when she’d had time to accept—

No. He would not lie to her. “And where were
we before this happened?”

“I was falling in love with you.” Unshed
tears made her eyes shimmer and her lips began to tremble.

He wrapped both arms around her, crushing her
skirts in an effort to feel her body next to his. “I will try, but
you need to understand that it will be painful and it’s likely to
happen again. You are my mate and it is an instinctive need to bond
with you. I will have to fight it every time I touch you.”

She sighed and eased back then looked up at
him again. “We were together less than a week. How can you possibly
know I’m your anything?”

Predatory need rippled through him. He moved
is hands to her upper arms and searched her gaze. “What do you feel
when you’re in my arms.”

“We have an emotional connection. I don’t
pretend I don’t want you. But it seems irrational to make a
lifetime commitment after we’ve known each other a few short
days.”

“As with Indric, my first wife was not my
mate. I married her out of obligation and remained true to her
because I made a vow. After she died, I swore I would never again
marry unless I felt the elemental pull of my mate. I know the
difference. I’ve experienced both and you are my mate.”

Shrugging off his light grasp, she returned
to the railing and picked up her wineglass. “What I feel for you is
completely different than what I felt for Faujer, but I suspect
that would be true with any honorable man.” She drained the wine in
two long pulls and set the glass down so suddenly it teetered and
fell.

Drakkin snatched the glass out of the air and
set it on the railing. She was not nearly as calm as she was
pretending. He’d closed his end of the link as soon as she finished
using it as a lie detector. Until she accepted that they were
mates, it wasn’t fair to access her emotions. And he always
shielded his empathic receptors when he was dealing with a crowd.
He was at the mercy of what she was ready to reveal.

“You had never known tenderness. I understand
that. Are you willing to put your theory to the test?”

Her delicate brows drew together and she
nervously smoothed her skirts. “What do you have in mind?”

“I want you to kiss an ‘honorable man’ and
see if he stirs the same emotions in you that I do.”

“Any honorable man or do you have someone
specific in mind?” Color blossomed across her cheeks, but he wasn’t
sure what emotion inspired the blush.

“There is only one man I would trust with
this experiment.”

“The man you ‘trust above all others’?”

“Exactly. Most women find Indric attractive.
I think he would be perfect for this test.”

She rubbed her upper arm, looking decidedly
uncomfortable, but she said, “All right.”

He reached out to Indric telepathically and
asked if he could sneak away for a moment or two.

When the prince regent arrived a few minutes
later, he looked flushed and rather harried. “I can’t stay long,”
Indric warned. “What’s going on?”

“I want you to kiss Aria as you would a lover
with whom you are passionately involved.”

Indric chuckled and looked at Aria, amusement
brightening his gaze. “Any particular reason you want me to kiss
your mate?”

“He’s trying to prove to me that he is my
mate,” Aria explained.

“I see. I have no problem kissing any
beautiful woman as long as she is willing.” He took a step toward
her and flashed a debonair smile. “Would you like me to kiss you,
fire pearl?”

“It would be a far better means of comparison
than I currently possess.”

Indric laughed and caught her around the
wrist, drawing her slowly toward him. “Then in the name of
science…” One arm circled her trim middle and he cupped her chin
with his other hand.

Drakkin held his breath as their lips meshed
and slid. His fists clenched when he caught a glimpse of Indric’s
tongue teasing its way into her mouth. She made a throaty noise but
he wasn’t sure if it was alarm or arousal.

Damn it.
Enough
!

Indric’s only response was a telepathic
chuckle and to reposition his head so his mouth fit more closely
over Aria’s. She allowed the kiss for a moment longer then suddenly
broke away.

“Thank you.” She sounded breathless and
flustered. “That was very—helpful.”

Indric looked at Drakkin and winked. “I think
she has her answer.” Then he slipped back into the ballroom and
disappeared into the crowd.

Noll dar Joon stood beside a towering palm
tree, gazing up at the palace illuminated in the distance. Much of
Bilarri was stunningly beautiful. The San Adrin desert, however,
was a desolate wasteland of wind and sand. Why would anyone
intentionally live in such an inhospitable environment?

It had taken her far too long to pinpoint the
location of Drakkin’s temporal hideaway. She’d known it was on
Bilarri, but she’d wrongly presumed Lord Drakkin would stay close
to his home in Hautell. And even after she realized her mistake,
she was frustrated by her inability to act. She wasn’t able to
manipulate time. The ability was extremely rare. Her primary gift
was physic sensitivity. She was a Farseer with nearly unlimited
range, which made her an invaluable tracker. But once her target
was located, she generally relied on others to complete the
mission.

She’d updated Quentin twice, indicating her
progress, but neglecting to mention that she’d abandoned Faujer
back on Earth. The Rodyte didn’t need to know she’d allowed her
anger to get the better of her. She didn’t regret wiping Faujer’s
memory. He was a selfish bastard who’d deserved what she’d given
him. However, her rash action created a problem for her now.

How could she complete her mission if she
couldn’t reach her target? She’d sensed Drakkin emerge from the
temporal bubble several days ago, but Aria hadn’t been with him.
Shocked that he would leave his new plaything unguarded, Noll had
frantically searched the city for of any sign of Aria. All her
search revealed was several properties so densely shielded that she
had no access. Suspicious, but certainly not helpful.