Everythingabout him was so painstakingly controlled.
He didn’t used to be, remember? He used to be much more relaxed, so much...happier.
Yet there was nothing of the man he’d once been in his face. The duties of kingship had stripped it all away, taking that happiness with it.
Her heart ached with a sudden, painful realisation. She’d never thought much about him as a man. He’d always been a fantasy figure, a template on which she could hang her own longings and desires.
But he wasn’t a template. He wasn’t even a king—that was only a title. First and foremost, he was a man, and a complicated one at that.
She stared up into his level amber gaze. ‘It’s not about timing. You changed your mind very suddenly that night and then you left me alone for an entire week. You didn’t even respond to the messages I sent you.’
The expression on his face was set, and he radiated tension like the fire behind him radiated warmth, yet in his eyes were flames hotter than those in the grate.
She could feel herself begin to catch fire too, though she resisted the pull. This was too important, like the key to solving an equation she’d been studying and hadn’t found a solution to yet.
‘Turn around, little one,’ Cassius ordered, his voice very deep, his gaze turning from smoky amber into brilliant, burning gold. ‘The time for talking is over.’
Her whole body tightened with the need to obey him but she knew, if she did, if she let this moment pass, it would set a precedent for their marriage that would be difficult to depart from.
He’d told her he didn’t see her as a child any more, but even so he was still treating her like one. He was the one in charge, telling her what to do, where to go, that this was how it should be, and she’d accepted it. And not simply because he was her king, but because she’d so badly wanted his approval.
He’d taken control, but only because she’d let him.
And you’ll always be a child to him as long as you keep doing so.
Determination hardened inside her. If she continued to fall in with his wishes, to accept it every time he said no, then things would never change between them. He would continue to view her as his child bride, and their marriage would simply be an endless set of orders she obeyed, while he got to dictate everything.
Well, that ended tonight.
‘The time for talking is not over.’ Inara lifted her chin. ‘If you want me, Cassius, you need to tell me the truth.’
The flames in his eyes glowed brighter. ‘Are you trying to bargain with your king?’
His voice was calm, yet there was an edge to it, a note of warning that sent a small electric thrill through her, excitement gathering in her throat.
The growing intensity in him was making it harder to resist, but this mattered. She couldn’t let it go.
‘Maybe,’ she said, her breathing getting faster.
‘You can’t bargain with me, little one.’ His hands settled on her shoulders and gripped her gently but firmly, the heat of his touch stealing all the breath from her lungs. Then he turned her round so she faced the fire once more, with him at her back. ‘Kings take what they want. And they don’t accept bargains.’
Anticipation coiled low inside her, bringing with it a nagging, insistent ache. Tension crackled in the air around them, not the same tension that seemed to be holding him back, but something else. Something hot and electric. She’d felt it that night in the study, when he’d teased her, flirted with her, and she’d challenged him. He’d liked that then and she was sure he liked it now.
Maybe that was the key to unlocking him. Maybe she should take this further, play this game and see where it led. Maybe she’d get the truth out of him, and some power and respect for herself.
‘They don’t?’ She hoped she sounded more in control than she felt. ‘Surely if it was in this king’s interest he might?’
‘In my interest, hmm?’ His thumbs stroked over her bare shoulders, searing her skin, sending delicious chills through her. ‘And what have you got to bargain with?’
Inara closed her eyes, every sense focused on the man at her back and, despite the fact that he towered over her, all hard, masculine strength and power, she’d never felt so safe.
Yet at the same time she knew she was also in danger. Danger of the most exciting kind.
‘Tell me why you sent me away,’ she said huskily, ‘and I’ll let you do anything you want to me. Anything at all. You won’t need to ask. You can just take.’
Cassius stilled. Her skin beneath his fingers was soft, and very, very warm, and he felt like a starving beast he was so hungry.
He took a breath, then another, trying to focus on what she’d just said, because she couldn’t mean it. She couldn’t. She was small and delicate and very innocent. Too innocent. She couldn’t mean what he thought she meant.