The Charmer (16 page)

It terrified her.

Keilor planted one hand on the tree behind
her, barely leaving her room to breath. “What would you have, my
Lady?” he breathed against her lips.

“B-back off!” she squeaked, but he didn’t
move an inch, and the fire in his burning gaze didn’t cool one
degree. “J-Jayems!”

Jayems was beside them in an instant. He took
one look at Keilor and seemed to know. He placed a calm hand on his
shoulder. “Keilor, my friend, I need some advice on a certain
matter. Do you think you could spare a moment to confer with
me?”

Keilor moved his head slightly.

“It really is quite urgent. Would you
mind?”

Jasmine held her breath as Keilor slowly
peeled away, allowing Jayems to lead him off. Only when the door
closed behind them did she dare to breath.

“That bitch!” Keilor raged. “She actually
enspelled me!”

Jayems took a deep breath. “She is as shaken
as you are angry—”

Keilor bared his teeth. “I doubt that is
possible.” He shook with fury, and when he looked around his room,
he did not see the dark, heavy furniture or notice the lack of
light. He saw her face, heard her voice calling,
come to me,
and rage spurred him anew. “Send her away,” he told his cousin
harshly, slashing his hand through the air. “Send her back to her
world.”

“That might have been possible, if I hadn’t
promised Rihlia they could have their tournament.”

Keilor’s eyes narrowed. “What
tournament?”

“It was Rihlia’s idea. Jasmine wished to
thank her suitors for their gifts, but since she had no money to
send gifts in return—” He rolled his eyes.

Both men knew that as her lord it was his
duty to pay for her expenses, and he would have rather bought a
hundred foolish gifts than deal with the trouble his wife’s fine
idea would bring. “I immediately arranged for an allowance, but
Rihlia would have none of it. She insisted that ‘Jasmine didn’t
want to cost me any money’.”

He shared a sardonic look with Keilor. Rihlia
had no idea what it would cost to hold a tournament worthy of the
Haunt. Jayems shook his head in disgust. “By the time we left the
others Rhapsody was already planning to hold the tournament as a
prelude to our wedding feast.”

Distracted from his ire, Keilor allowed
himself to sink into his favorite chair. The leather had worn away
on the armrests, but it was still serviceable. He couldn’t be
talked into throwing it out.

Why was it that all the trouble in their
lives of late came in the form of a woman? A woman, he thought
angrily, who’d called the undefeated Lord of the Hunt to heel with
one phrase from her traitorous charmer lips?
Come to me…
He
closed his eyes at the humiliation of it. How could he insure the
safety of what family he had left if the Haunt knew that their
Warleader could be brought to his knees by the voice of a
woman?

“And what is to be the prize in this ‘cost
nothing’ tournament?” Keilor asked bitterly. “A chance to drink
wine from the charmer’s cupped hands? A sash of scarlet embroidered
with her name?”

Jayems laughed without humor. “Nothing so
traditional, my friend.” He paused, knowing he was about to hear an
explosion. “The victor receives a night with Jasmine.”

Keilor was on his feet in an instant.
“
No
.”

“They will be chaperoned, Keilor. By two of
the strongest Haunt I can find,” Jayems assured him.

“I said no!” Keilor shouted. The thought of
another man being allowed so intimate a time with her, even with
others nearby, sickened him. “I will not allow it.”

Jayems’ eyes hardened. “Who speaks to me now,
Keilor? The Master of the Hunt, or the man?”

Stricken, Keilor clenched his fists and
turned his back on him, a thing he had never done.

Jayems continued relentlessly. “You speak to
me this way, and yet you have made no binding claims on the girl.
Why shouldn’t I allow this? She needs a mate with all speed, and to
find one, I must allow her time with any man of her choosing.” He
paused to lend his words weight. “Make your claim or stand aside.
I’ve been patient long enough.”

Keilor’s voice was hoarse with years of pent
up anguish. “I will not be bound by a woman.” Just saying the words
conjured dark memories

Jayems closed his eyes; hurting for the man
he loved like a brother. “That was years ago, Keilor. Jasmine has
nothing to do with it.” He softened his voice. “She’s nothing like
Yesande.”

“Nothing?” Keilor growled. “What was
tonight?”

Haunt did not tolerate self-pity. Jayems’
tone became implacable. “Then bind her to
you
. Make her ache
for you
.
Seduce the charmer until she is the one waking in
the night, crying out
your
name. But either way, let this
now be finished.”

Jasmine wandered the halls, long after she
should have been asleep. She never noticed when Keilor took the
place of her guard, wearing the unadorned black uniform of a lower
ranking soldier. Silent, he followed her to the moonlit steps she’d
visited before. He watched as she chose a stair and bent one knee,
her back against the wall. She stared at the moons for a long
time.

“There is only one moon on Earth,” she said
softly, at last. “It is very strange. It’s never really dark here
in these Dark Lands. I think I’m homesick.” She took a ragged
breath, and slowly her head sank down to her knee. “I want to go
home,” she whispered, sounding very young. She sat there for a long
time with her arms wrapped around her knee, shaking, her breathing
shallow and uneven. “I just want to go home.”

Jasmine sat cross-legged on the grass and
waited for one of the villi to come to her. All she had to do was
sit still until one of the tiny giraffe-like creatures decided she
might make a good playmate
—
or so
the morning maid had assured her. No one else had been about, and
Jasmine assumed Rihlia and her mom were off on another shopping
expedition.

She sighed, rubbed a thumb along her knee and
glanced at the villi. Every once in a while one of the black and
tan spotted creatures would eye her. They always went back to
browsing on their long manger of brush.

It would have been nice to see a little more
of the citadel, especially the merchants, but Jasmine never said as
much. Sometimes merchants brought their wares to Rihlia’s room, but
it wasn’t the same. Jasmine hadn’t bought much.

Even if she could have gone to the bazaar,
she didn’t want to. Who could enjoy shopping with every male in the
vicinity gawking at you? Thinking of males naturally brought Keilor
to mind, and she slouched. She hadn’t seen him in two days, and
tomorrow was the day of the tournament. She wondered if he would
avoid the event, and her, altogether, or go just so he could cheer
on the victor.

One of the villi lifted its head and stared
her, then went back to its browse.

Against her vigorous protest, Jayems had
upped the stakes of the tournament, and the entrants now numbered
in the hundreds. Not only were the cadets she’d originally wished
to thank invited, but several men she’d never heard of had also
been asked to join the contest on the second day. The first was
reserved for those who simply wished to prove their skill, though
Jasmine would be awarding the prize.

The little villi that had stared at her took
a step her way. It dropped its head to nibble at the grass as soon
as it saw her looking.

Jasmine looked back at her hands.

She hadn’t liked it when she’d found out the
tournament would be a trial by combat. She didn’t want men getting
bloody over her.

Jayems had lifted a brow and asked what other
kind of tournament there was. When she’d explained she’d been
thinking of games, sports, he’d snorted disdainfully and looked
back at his guest list. That had been the end of it.

Jasmine felt something soft graze her cheek
and looked up to see the little villi. “You are a darling, aren’t
you?” she murmured, and stroked his silky mane. “Would you like to
come home with me?” To her surprise, the little villi reared and
whipped his head back and forth.

Alarmed, she looked to her bodyguards, but
they seemed unconcerned. The rearing turned to crow-hopping and she
scrambled to her knees, prepared to run if the little guy got
really rough. In her rush to get up, her feet slipped on the grass,
twisting her leg. She crashed to the lawn and bit her lip on
impact.

Dazed, she blinked up at the turquoise sky.
Two Haunt faces and an inquisitive villi peered down at her. She
gave them a weak smile. “Let’s just keep this one to ourselves,
shall we?”

Chapter 14

“What happened to you?” Rihlia demanded as
Jasmine limped into dinner that evening. She was late. Everyone was
present, even Keilor, and all conversation came to a halt as they
waited for her answer.

Jasmine gave her a rueful smile as she
lowered herself into a seat, wincing a little as her sore lip
pulled. Feeling mischievous, she lowered her eyes and allowed a
shy, satisfied grin to curl the corners of her mouth. “I found a
new playmate

he likes it a bit rough.”
Stunned silence fell on the room.

“J-jas?” Rihlia finally ventured in
disbelief, “Are you saying some guy hurt you? And you
let
him?”

She fought to keep a straight face as she
toyed with her chopsticks. “I decided to take a walk on the wild
side.” She swallowed to force down her laughter. No doubt Rihlia
would pick up on the odd note in her voice at any second and demand
in on the joke. To her surprise, it wasn’t her friend who
questioned her.

“Who was it?” Keilor demanded.

Jasmine’s eyes flew up, startled into looking
at him. Other than noting his presence, she’d intended to ignore
the ill-tempered brute. Without thinking, she answered, “I left him
in my room.”

Keilor was on his feet and to the door before
she’d finished saying, “my.” Jasmine gaped at the empty doorway. It
took her a moment, but she grinned. It became a giggle. The giggle
became a full borne laugh the minute Rihlia demanded with
suspicion, “What are you up to, Jasmine?”

Jasmine threw her a wicked grin. “My new
playmate—” she snickered, “—is a villi.”

Jasmine wasn’t the only one snickering when
Keilor returned several minutes later. He threw her a lethal glance
as he took his seat between Rhapsody and Portae.

“How is the little villi, Keilor?” Fallon
asked with amusement. “Jasmine’s been telling us all about her new
companion, Casanova.”

Keilor’s stare was not amused. “A foolish
name for a villi.” He took a vicious bite of meat.

“Do you think? I considered calling him Brad
Pitt, but now he’s happily married, it didn’t seem quite right.”
She smiled slyly at Rihlia. “Besides, he hasn’t been nearly as hot
since he cut his hair.” She glanced flirtatiously Keilor, just to
annoy him. “Lost that bad boy look.” Something hot leapt in his
eyes, and she hastily averted her own. Her stomach clenched with
excitement. He was jealous!

“What’s got you in such a spirited mood this
evening?” Fallon inquired, letting his appreciative gaze linger. “I
don’t think I’ve ever seen you quite so radiant.”

Jasmine waited until Keilor took a sip of his
wine and then quipped, “I’m in love with one of my bodyguards?” One
cue, her victim choked and coughed fit to bring up a lung. “No?”
she inquired, raising a brow at his glare.

She smiled sweetly at Fallon. “Actually, I’m
just happy to have a pet of my own. “
Wiley
—” she didn’t even
need to look to feel the heat of Keilor’s stare, “—always had one,
and that was fine when we lived in the same place, but now...I find
I’m really enjoying it, and Casanova is so sweet.” She batted her
eyes at Fallon. “Sometimes a woman just needs someone to cuddle
with on a lonely night.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Jasmine saw
Jayems lean back in his chair with an expression of fascination.
Rihlia just peered at her as if she’d suddenly transformed into an
alien. The rest of the woman remained breathlessly still, waiting
for her drama to unfold.

Keilor she ignored.

Fallon’s response was everything she could
have hoped for. His smile was slow and infinitely sexy. “You might
have said as much.”

Jasmine very deliberately folded her napkin
and stood up. Addressing the table at large, she said, “I really
can’t wait to introduce you all to Casanova. Would you mind
escorting me to go and get him, Fallon?”

His eyes slid over to gage Keilor’s reaction.
Fallon rose with a roguish smile. “Anything you desire, sweet
Jasmine.” He extended his arm, and Jasmine linked hers through
it.

The door had barely closed behind the pair
when Urseya grinned wickedly and asked, “Do you think they’ll be
back?”

“You should have a care,” Fallon advised,
slanting her a shrewd look. “Teasing Keilor can be a dangerous
pastime unless you’re able to deal with the consequences.”

She shrugged. “What can he do? He can’t beat
me. I think Jayems would be annoyed at that.”

He shook his head, chuckling dryly. “I doubt
very much that
beating
you is what he’s contemplating at the
moment. Or is that what you had in mind?” She said nothing, and
they walked in companionable silence until they reached her door.
As she moved to open it, she suddenly found herself pinned between
it and Fallon’s strong arms. He placed a finger on her lips,
stilling her protest. “He’s watching,” he said softly.

Jasmine’s breath quickened with the thought
of Keilor hiding in the shadows. It could only mean one thing.

Fallon laughed. “Mm,” he whispered against
her ear, making her shiver with the vibration. “You like that idea.
But perhaps...” He placed a small kiss just in front of her ear,
and then another, making her eyes go wide, “...perhaps I could make
just a small suggestion.”