The Charmer (15 page)

Instead he moved beside her and offered his
hand. She turned her back on him again, and he sighed. “This could
get dull.”

With an exasperated breath, she spun around
and marched towards the pool. It felt like the longest walk of her
life. The water was waist deep, and she immediately sank down to
her neck. The foaming water made a nice screen. “You’re a real
jerk, you know that?”

He made himself comfortable on a small
boulder beside the pool. “It seems you’ve said that to me
before…near a tree, as I recall.”

She gaped at him, shocked he would bring
that
up. “I’ve probably called you that on more than one
occasion. Difficult to remember them all.”

He gave her a slow, heated smile. “I remember
everything about you.” His voice dropped an octave. “I remember the
fire in your eyes as you first fought me. I’ve never been so
challenged by a woman. You excited me.”

She looked down, unable to meet his eyes, but
he could see the telltale rise and fall of her chest. “I can almost
see the curves of your sweet body, and the way it twisted as you
fought to deny my touch and your own passion.” She shuddered, and a
ghost of a smile touched his lips. “I’ll never forget the fury in
your eyes when I dressed you, denying us our release. I dream of
it.”

She didn’t interrupt.

”I was cruel that night,” he admitted. “To
both of us.” He waited until she chanced a look at him out of the
corner of her eye. “I knew you’d claim yourself forced, that you’d
fight us both until release and after. It was tempting to do it
anyway.”

He reached out and released her hair from her
twist. She stiffened as the mass tumbled softly down her back. His
eyes were glowing golden with proof of his desire. His hand traced
the curve of her ear. “Even now I know you feel it. Your trembling
speaks for itself.”

She pulled away. “I’m not a dog, Keilor. I
don’t do tricks, and I won’t lie down on command.” Her jaw
clenched. “Nor will I be petted by whoever takes it into their head
to play with me.”

He let his hand fall. “You think I play with
you?”

“I’ve seen you with Urseya. Tell me you
haven’t played this game before.” She gave him a hard look.

He was silent too long.

She’d expected as much. “What is it excites
men like you, huh? The thrill of the chase? Some stupid male need
to stalk and conquer?”

His eyes narrowed, but she didn’t care. “Save
it for someone who appreciates it.” Her gaze swept past him and
focused on Rihlia, who stood at the end of the path. “I’ll be right
there,” she called. Without sparing him a glance, she exited the
pool. She passed very close, and unwittingly teased him with the
scent of charmer desire.

His hand shot out to grip her upper thigh,
uncaring of who watched. She jerked to a halt with a gasp.

His gaze traveled slowly to hers. “Tell
Rihlia to leave, Dragonfly. Give me one minute to prove to you this
is one hunter you wish to be caught by.” She trembled, and he knew
she was tempted.

Then her eyes shifted to Rihlia, who stared
at the ground with a fierce blush. She moved away, escaping. As she
did, his fingers slid up and brushed the edge of her curls. Jasmine
gasped and jumped sideways, staring at him in shock.

He winked at her.

“So you love Jayems, huh?”

Rihlia nearly dropped her cup. Jasmine had
been so quiet since they got back from their spa adventure that the
sudden question caught her off guard. Her eyes darted around the
room to make certain her husband was out of earshot. “I...don’t
know what I feel for him.”

Jasmine gave her a knowing look. “I’ve seen
the way you look at him, Ri.”

Rihlia set her cup down carefully. “It’s not
what you think.”

Jasmine waved that away. “I know the
difference. You’re in love. Any day now I expect to see little
Jaymeses running around in nappies.”

Rihlia stiffened and Jasmine’s eyes widened.
“What? You’re not—” she asked suspiciously.

Her friend quickly shook her head. “No,
no...I don’t think so, anyway.”

“You don’t
think
so?” Jasmine
demanded. “Haven’t you been...ah, there’s ways of…” she stumbled to
a stop, aware that she was entering deep waters. She didn’t really
want to know the details of Rihlia’s sex life, not when the partner
was her husband.

“I know that,” Rihlia ground out, defending
herself. “But it’s not always...sometimes there’s just no time
to….” She waved her hand in embarrassment. “He’s a good-looking
man. I’m no saint. Sometimes I just don’t remember.” Jasmine
grinned, and Rihlia said a little testily, “You should talk. What
about you and Keilor?”

The grin disappeared. “What about us? I mean,
there is no us. No me and Keilor. I can hardly stand him.”

“That’s not what it looked like earlier. He
might have been the instigator this time, but I’m not the only one
who’s noticed you checking out his assets.” She dipped a slice of
apple in caramel sauce and popped it in her mouth. “Urseya gets
greener by the day.”

Jasmine rolled her eyes. “Can I help it if
the man has a fine rear end?” Her friend snickered, and Jasmine
smiled. It faded fast. “But it doesn’t mean I plan on pursuing
him.” She lifted her face to the afternoon sunlight, enjoying the
warmth. “I’ll leave that to his fan club.”

“Jealous.”

“Smart,” she retorted. “A guy like that
doesn’t need another woman to inflate his ego.” She lifted her
glass and gestured with it. “What I need is a nice, steady guy
who’ll respect me. Someone who wants to get serious. Someone who
doesn’t have half the palace population drooling at his feet.” She
scowled.

“Be fair,” Rihlia chided her. “The only ones
you’ve actually seen chasing him are Urseya and maybe
yourself.”

“I do not chase him! And you have to admit,
the man got that ego somewhere.” Rihlia considered her friend
thoughtfully. “What’s it like? Being a celebrity.” She smiled when
Jasmine made a face. “I’m serious! If half the female population is
chasing Keilor then the male half is chasing you. What’s it
like?”

“A nuisance. It’s fun at first to get all the
gifts and flowers and things, but after a while it starts to feel
like you’re the only one at Christmas who forgot to get everyone a
gift. I feel guilty because I can’t do anything in return.” She
grimaced. “Certainly not what they might like.” She toyed with her
empty cup. “It’s not like I can bake cookies for that many guys,
and I can’t give them anything in return. I don’t have a dollar to
my name.”

Rihlia smiled. “That’s easy. What’s the one
thing all these men have in common?” When Jasmine just gave her a
blank look, she prompted impatiently, “You. They all want you.”

Jasmine shrugged. “So?”

“So I propose we give them what they want.
Not that!” she insisted when Jasmine opened her mouth to object. “A
contest, with the winner receiving a date with you.”

Jasmine bit her lip. “I don’t know…”

“It’s perfect! We’ll just go to Jayems and
ask him to help us set it up.”

Jasmine wavered.

“Ah, come on, Jas, it’ll be fun! Just like
being the prom queen.” Rihlia jumped up to get a paper and a pen.
“Let’s see...we’re going to need…”

Chapter 13

Lady Liselle had six daughters, and all of
them appeared to be in heat.

Jasmine shook her head as Fallon sauntered
past on his way to the buffet table, dripping women. Keilor was
nearly as bad. True, he seemed to be subtly holding the women at
bay, but his aloofness only made them more determined.

They were outside on a lawn, so it would have
been difficult to escape with the excuse that she needed some air.
She pondered what would get her out of this affair. She eyed the
torches. Could she set herself on fire?

“A fruit jelly, Lady Jasmine?”

Jasmine sighed and turned her attention back
to Lady Liselle’s son, the ever-annoying Joffre. With a forced
smile, she answered, “Why not?” When she tried to take it from the
lanky young man, he smiled teasingly and placed the treat at her
lips. Awkward. She bit it in half with one quick, efficient
bite.

He popped the remaining half into his mouth,
savoring the treat. “Mm. Delicious,” he purred in imitation of a
deep, sexy voice. “How do you like it?” he asked, as if he’d really
been talking about candy.

The jelly was delicious, but she answered the
real question. “It’s very nice, but a little too sweet. I think a
little would go a long way.”

Joffre was either a trifle stupid or
foolishly overconfident, for his smile deepened. “The more you
taste, the better you’ll like it.”

Jasmine clamped her teeth and looked away
before she succumbed to the urge to find another jelly and stuff it
up his nose.

A delicate dessert glass was thrust into her
hand and she looked up with surprise at Urseya’s voice saying, “Be
gone, Joffre. You’re annoying the girl.” He opened his mouth to
protest, but a single raised brow from Urseya silenced him. With a
resentful nod to her and a deeper one to Jasmine, he left.

“Pestilence,” Urseya murmured with distaste.
She sipped her wine as she watched him go. “He never did understand
when he was unwanted.” Her eyes shifted to Keilor, and she
grimaced. “Disgusting, isn’t it?”

Jasmine followed her gaze. One of the
daughters placed a manicured hand on Keilor’s shoulder. “Very.”

Urseya eyed her with undisguised curiosity.
“Did you know Keilor is very wealthy?” At Jasmine’s surprise, she
nodded. “His wealth rivals even Jayems‘, and Jayems is not a poor
man.”

“I hadn’t realized,” Jasmine looked down,
uneasy. She didn’t want to know about this part of him. “I never
thought about it.”

Urseya swirled the wine in her glass. “Mmm.
He is also widely famed as the best warrior in the realm. His
prowess and absolute fearlessness on the battlefield are legend.
All of that, combined with his handsome face and prominence among
the lords make him irresistible to women.”

“Hence his large head,” Jasmine returned
tartly, and Urseya smirked. If Urseya was trying to make her feel
bad, she was succeeding. What would a handsome, famous, wealthy
warrior possibly want with someone like her, long term? Not that
she was chasing him, of course. “Why are you telling me this? I
thought…”

“That I was jealous? Of course I was. Until
this afternoon.” She smiled with self-deprecation. “Keilor made it
abundantly clear I was not his choice and never would be. Even my
mother, bless her ambitious soul, got the message.” She looked at
Jasmine appraisingly. “But I think you wish to know why I would
bother with you now. Clan pride, of course.” When Jasmine just
stared at her, she said dryly, “You’re making us look bad, my
dear.”

“And how is that?” she asked, skeptical. She
couldn’t remember doing anything embarrassing today, but maybe that
was the trouble. It was possible her ignorance might have tripped
her up.

Urseya sent a scathing look Joffre’s way.
“Men,” she informed Jasmine. “Galling as it is, the mindless fools
can’t seem to stay away from you. It’s plain you don’t care for
their attentions, yet here I see you, time and again, biting your
tongue to keep from offending them.”

“I was being polite!”

Urseya grinned. “Here is the first thing you
must learn; speak your mind. You are part of the most powerful clan
in the Dark Lands. Cultivate some arrogance and pride. You’ll need
it.” Urseya moved away to speak with one of the daughters not
currently attached to either Fallon or Keilor, leaving Jasmine to
consider her wisdom.

She didn’t know about pride and arrogance,
but perhaps Urseya had a point. She had been biting her tongue, and
it was beginning to gall. Considering her unique position, perhaps
it would be smart of her to be a little harder on would-be suitors.
After all, a walking aphrodisiac would have to use strong measures
to kill the attraction, wouldn’t she?

Noticing Joffre heading her way, she quickly
put her new strategy into motion and moved off in Keilor’s
direction. He couldn’t miss the fact that she was avoiding him.

If nothing else, watching the spectacle over
there ought to provide some entertainment. She chose a spot on the
fringes of Keilor and his harem, and eavesdropped with shameless
interest.

Keilor he hardly spared her a glace. He was
still annoyed with her over her dismissal that afternoon. He’d been
particularly enjoying watching Joffre torment her, though if Urseya
hadn’t intervened when she had, he might have had to step in and
drive the whelp off. Whatever her motive, Urseya had allowed him to
continue pretending to ignore Jasmine. Let the girl learn that she
would rather be the one receiving his attentions, not watching as
others took her place.

Unfortunately for his plan, Liselle’s eldest
daughter, Cara, noticed the charmer right away, and she was not
known to tolerate rivals. “Don’t stand in the corner, Lady Jasmine.
Do come join us.”

Jasmine took one look at Cara and decided
they were unlikely to ever be friends. “Actually, I’m quite
comfortable here,” she answered. She took a bite of her dessert.
“Besides, I wouldn’t like to interrupt your...conversation.” She
glanced at Cara’s hand on Keilor’s arm, and something came over
her. Power flooded her veins, power and possession. It happened so
quickly, she didn’t have time to analyze it.

She lifted a careless shoulder, the power
giving her matchless confidence. “If Keilor wishes for fresh
conversation, he can
come to me.”
Jasmine didn’t know what
made her use that particular tone of voice, or that precise look,
but suddenly she felt like Lady Dracula,
because Keilor came to
her, and she knew he hadn’t planned to
.

She could see it in his eyes, the realization
she had compelled him, and fury that she would dare. But the
foremost, most frightening thing of all was the golden flame of
desire in his eyes, the promise of absolute, unrestrained
passion.