In that moment, I’d let her do just about anything.
Except go silent on me.
“How generous of you,” she retorted.
Liquid heat hit my blood, and fuck, there was nothing teasing about how that felt. “Once you get to know me, you’ll find that I can be quite benevolent.”
Her breath caught. “I have no intention of getting to know you.”
“So, you just make a habit of sneaking into the rooms of young men and seducing them before running off?”
“What?” she gasped. “Seducing men?”
“Isn’t that what you did to me, Princess?” I moved my thumb back and forth over her wrist.
“You’re ridiculous.”
“What I am is intrigued.” And I truly was.
She groaned, pulling at my hold. “Why do you insist on holding me like this?”
“Well, besides what we went over already, which is the whole being partial to my face and my neck thing, you’re also somewhere you’re not supposed to be. I’m doing my job by detaining and questioning you.”
“Do you typically question those on the Rise who you don’t recognize like this?” she asked. “What an odd method of interrogation.”
“Only pretty ladies with shapely, bare legs.” I leaned into her, amused that she thought I didn’t connect her and the Red Pearl with her being the Maiden. “What are you doing up here during a Craven attack?”
“Enjoying a relaxing evening stroll.”
I grinned. “What were you doing up here, Princess?”
“What did it look like I was doing?”
“It looked like you were being incredibly foolish and reckless,” I said.
“Excuse me?” Disbelief filled her voice. “How reckless was I being when I killed Craven and—”
“Am I unaware of a new recruitment policy where half-dressed ladies in cloaks are now needed on the Rise?” I asked. “Are we that desperately in need of protection?”
“Desperate?” The disbelief was gone in that one word. Now, there was anger. “Why would my presence on the Rise signal desperation when, as you’ve seen, I know how to use a bow? Oh, wait. Is it because I happen to have breasts?”
My brows shot up. “I’ve known women with far less beautiful breasts that could cut a man down without so much as blinking an eye, but none of those women are here in Masadonia. And you are incredibly skilled. Not just with an arrow. Who taught you how to fight and use a dagger?”
Silence.
“I’m willing to bet it was the same person who gave you that blade,” I wagered. “Too bad whoever they are didn’t teach you how to evade capture. Well, too bad for you, that is.”
That got a reaction from her.
She brought up her knee, aiming for a rather cherished part of my body.
I blocked the blow before she had me talking several octaves higher. “You’re so incredibly violent.” I paused. “I think I like it.”
“Let me go!” she demanded.
“And be kicked or stabbed?” Sensing she was about to do the former again, I thrust my leg between hers, preventing just that. “We’ve already covered that, Princess. More than once.”
She lifted her hips off the wall, and I thought she was attempting to throw me back. No, I knew what she was trying to do. It was a smart move, actually.
But that wasn’t what she got.
She ended up basically riding my thigh, and I wasn’t complaining. Not at all. Except the arousal thundering through me left me a little off-kilter. It was too damn intense. Too quick. Like if she kept it up, I may do something I hadn’t done since I was a young man and find release in my pants without even being touched.
And, damn, that was…
I didn’t know what that was.
It made the floor of the Rise feel like it was shifting as I lowered my cheek to her hooded head. Rattled by my response and her—everything, I said, “I came back for you that night. Just like I told you I would. I came back for you, and you weren’t there. You promised me, Princess.”
Her inhale was soft. A faint tremor went through her. “I…I couldn’t.”
“Couldn’t?” I let my eyes close for a moment, and that was foolish. She’d likely headbutt me, but I liked that soft breath and those quiet words. “I have a feeling that if there’s something you want badly enough, nothing will stop you.”
She laughed, and it was cold and hard. My eyes opened. “You know nothing,” she said.
I thought she was right about that.
“Maybe.” I let go, but before she moved, I slipped my hand inside her hood and cupped her right cheek. She gasped as I let myself soak in the feel of her warm skin against mine, just for a moment. “Maybe I know more than you realize.”
She was still.
She didn’t pull away.
That pleased me. Immensely. Except she likely didn’t realize that I knew the two versions of her. The curious, responsive young woman with a surprising knack for fighting, and the quiet, submissive Maiden in white. Or she was going to pretend that I didn’t know she was one and the same.
I wouldn’t allow that.
I pressed my cheek to the left side of her hood. “Do you really think I have no idea who you are?”
She tensed against me.
Yep. I was right.
I smiled. “You have nothing to say to that?” I dropped my voice to a whisper. “Penellaphe?”
She exhaled loudly. A moment passed, one she used to sharpen that tongue of hers. “Are you just now figuring that out? If so, I’m concerned about you being one of my personal guards.”
I chuckled. “I knew the moment you removed the veil.” I’d known before then, but she couldn’t know that.
“Why…why didn’t you say something then?”
“To you?” I asked. “Or to the Duke?”
“Either,” she whispered.
“I wanted to see if you’d bring it up. Apparently, you were just going to pretend that you’re not the same girl who frequents the Red Pearl.”
“I don’t frequent the Red Pearl,” she said. “But I hear you do.”
“Have you been asking about me? I’m flattered.”
“I haven’t.”
“I’m not sure if I can believe you. You tell a lot of lies, Princess.”
“Don’t call me that,” she snapped.
“I like it better than what I’m supposed to call you. Maiden.” Fuck if that wasn’t the truth. “You have a name. It’s not that.”
“I didn’t ask for what you liked,” she told me.
“But you did ask why I didn’t tell the Duke about your little explorations,” I countered. “Why would I do that? I’m your guard. If I were to betray you, then you wouldn’t trust me, and that would definitely make my job of keeping you safe much harder.”
Her head tilted slightly. A few more moments passed. “As you can see, I can keep myself safe.”
“I see that.” I drew back, brows furrowed, and then I remembered what Vikter had said.
“Hawke!” Pence called, causing me to stiffen. “Everything okay up there?”
My gaze flicked down, making sure the hood was still in place before I yelled back, “Everything is fine.”