Aeromancist - The Beginning (Seven Forbidden Arts 2)

He guided her across the floor to a desk pushed against a window. Without letting go of her hand, he reached with his free hand under the desk and slid open a secret drawer. Inside was a thumb print device, the kind that was used in businesses for identification. When he pressed his thumb on the key, a painting of Saint Teresa hanging on the wall next to the window slid to the side, exposing a small vault that worked with a digital pin. He punched in the four-digit code right in front of her eyes, apparently not worried that she now knew it. The door clicked open. He reached inside, and pulled out a small black box.

“For the time we’re together, I want you to wear this.” He flicked back the lid, revealing a platinum ring with a large, oval diamond.

Wow. It was magnificent.

Wait.

He wanted her to wear a ring?

He removed the ring from its velvet bed, lifted her hand, and slipped it onto the ring finger of her left hand. It fitted suspiciously well. Perfectly, in fact.

Holding up her hand, he said, “There,” looking pleased with himself.

At a loss for words, she spread her fingers and stared at the gemstone that sparkled in the light. No man had ever given her a ring. It shouldn’t have warmed her heart the way it did, but the female in her couldn’t help but love the possessiveness of the act.

“You’re not to take it off under any circumstances until our time together is up,” he said. “Understand?”

Until their time together was up. There it was again, that little splinter under her skin, but this was what they’d agreed to. It was what she wanted, right? It was just sex. She would do well to remember that. But then why give her a ring?

“I don’t understand,” she said.

“When we’re together, you’re mine, remember?”

“Yes, but a ring?”

“Just humor me, Katherine.”

He wanted to play a game of pretending? Make-believe for a month? The ring looked impossibly valuable. “Is it real?”

“Of course.”

“I’d be too scared to lose it.”

“You won’t if you don’t take it off.”

“Not even in the shower?” she asked, badly needing one.

“Water and soap won’t damage it.”

The request was strange, but Lann wasn’t the average man. Could it hurt to play along? A part of her liked the suggested meaning. “Fine, I guess.”

“Good,” he said, the approval in his deep voice sending a shiver down her spine. Suddenly formal, he asked, “Would you like a swim before dinner?” When she frowned, he added, “I need to take care of some business before I can join you in…” he checked his watch, “twenty minutes.”

“I better have a shower first,” she said.

His gaze slipped to her thighs as if he could see the evidence of their lovemaking where it had dried under the shirt. Her cheeks turned hot, but instead of commenting, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed the ring he’d just slipped onto her finger.

“I’ll show you,” he said.

He took her back to her room and showed her a dressing room and a bathroom. The dressing room was stocked with towels, a bathrobe, and matching slippers. Did he entertain female guests here regularly? The thought was unwelcome, but she didn’t have any illusions about the virile man she’d bedded.

“You’ll find the bathroom stocked with cosmetics,” Lann said. “If there’s anything you need, I’ll send for it.” He drew her to him and gave her a peck on the cheek. “Come downstairs when you’re ready. I’ll wait by the pool. We can eat on the deck. Unless you prefer indoors?”

He was all business now, distant, as if he was trying to put space between them.

She forced a smile. “The deck is fine.”

“Good.” After dragging his gaze one last time over her body, he turned and left, closing the bathroom door behind him.

So much for pillow talk.

After a shower, not feeling like wearing her crumpled dress, Kat put on the bathrobe. Lann waited at the same table where they had shared their first dinner. His hair was wet and he’d changed into a linen shirt and pants. He was reading a document, but put the file aside when she approached. His gaze traveled over her, lingering on her cleavage, but then Alfonso appeared as if from thin air to pull out the chair for her.

What Alfonso had to be thinking, seeing her here dressed in a robe. Maybe he’d even heard her screams. Heat rose in her neck as she took her seat. She wasn’t much of an exhibitionist.

Lann waited until Alfonso had left before saying, “He’s been in my service for years.”

Kat looked up to see him studying her.

“What we did was natural, and beautiful,” he continued. “There’s no need to feel embarrassed.”

She cleared her throat. “I have to go home to get my clothes.”