Queen of Jastain (14 page)

“I love it. Please thank whoever picked it out.”

He tilted his head, a bright smile lighting his face. “I picked this dress to match your eyes.”

He was flirting. Her heart fluttered and a flush of heat covered her. So he
had
picked it out himself. “It’s lovely, and the necklace is…beautiful.” Dropping her eyes from his intense gaze, she fingered his velvet cape. “So, is that a theme of the party? To wear the same color as your eyes?”

He laughed. “No. I merely thought you would like it, and it's the color of the pool at the falls.”

Her breath hitched, as she remembered the falls. She hadn’t really thought about the color…but apparently he had.

It had only been three days, but she wanted to see it again. “Avant, I would love to go back to the falls.” At the sound of his name on her lips, a heady wave washed over her.

“We will.” His eyes lit with an idea. “Tomorrow, maybe.”

She beamed. “You know what? This is our first real conversation.”

He grinned. “I am enjoying the sound of your voice.”

He was flirting again. His strong arms around her waist and his smooth gait ushered her to paradise. Maybe the musicians could keep on playing? The song could go on, and she could dance with him all night.
Wake up, sleeping beauty. Not your fairytale, remember?
“So what happens, after this dance?”

He narrowed his eyes and a devilish smile stole over his face. “I'm going to kiss you.”

“Kiss me?” Abby knew from his memories it was a perfunctory kiss of tradition, but she suspected Avant just wanted to see her flustered, which, admittedly, she was. The thought of touching him, lips to lips, for any reason caused her stomach to turn flip-flops.

His smug smile irked her. Armed with the boldness of several glasses of wine, maybe she could turn the tables on him for a change. Shifting her gaze sidelong at him, she allowed herself a tight-lipped smile and searched his face for any hint of revelation.

When the song ended, everyone cheered and clapped. Abby pushed her intentions to the back of her mind and hoped to God Avant didn’t read her thoughts. Her heart hammered with anticipation. She was going to get him good.

A tall man in military regalia handed Avant a wreath of grape leaves, which he in turn placed on her head. Then he gracefully bent and pecked her on the lips. But as he pulled away, Abby wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him into a
real
kiss.

Her lips embraced his with exuberance. Her senses heightened in awareness, reaching for a full experience of him. His touch. His smell. His taste. He expelled a sigh into her mouth and seemed too stunned to do anything but kiss her back.

Surprisingly soft and warm, his mouth responded to the light rhythmic pace she set. His lips parted, and the moist expanse engulfed her to breathlessness. His arms encircled her waist and drew her closer. Her breasts brushed against him. Intensity radiated between them. Their bodies buzzed with awareness like a live wire split in two and held in close proximity. A feeling of being, all at once, too close and not nearly close enough warred within her. Their breaths became labored as he deepened the kiss. For a precious stolen moment, she lingered in her fantasy and pretended he belonged to her. But all too soon reality set in. The murmur of the crowd broke the spell and reminded her of where she was.

Reluctantly, Abby slid her arms from around his neck, and placed her palms flat against his chest. His heart thundered beneath her fingers. She pulled from him. A groan escaped his lips. She got the feeling that, had she not pulled away from him, he wouldn't have stopped. Looking into his surprised blue eyes, she bit her lower lip and smiled sheepishly.

The crowd roared with laughter and applause.

The raw desire in his gaze gave way to fury as he yanked her hand and pulled her to the receiving line in front of the dais. Not sure if he was angry that she'd started the kiss or ended it, she couldn’t help but giggle. He'd blushed! She did a mental fist pump.

“What was that?”
He stormed into her mind.

“You said a kiss. I just thought we should give the crowd their money’s worth”
She shrugged her shoulders and almost laughed. She could read him like a book. The Implanting had given her insight into even the slightest nuances of his body language. The slight twitch of his lip and the barely perceptible lifting of his chin told her he was unnerved and despised not being in control.
“How was I supposed to know you'd accept the invitation and stay a while?”

 His eyes narrowed. “I believe there are a great many things you know about me.
Too many.”

Shit.
He was reading her thoughts again. Oh well. What was that saying regarding turnabout and fair play? She couldn’t read his thoughts like he could hear hers, but, thanks to the Implanting, she understood enough. She shot him a glance. He growled under his breath. He was pissed. She also knew what they said about paybacks being hell, and if his glare was any indication, she was in for it.

Avant smiled for the crowd, but his blue eyes kept darting scowls to her between introductions.
He needs to get over himself.
His eyes flickered with emotion that made her pulse race and heated her in private places.

As the villagers filed through the receiving line, he introduced each one. Many spoke of how lovely she looked and how funny they thought the kiss was. After a while, even Avant loosened up and laughed too—until Petra came through. He would hardly look at her, but he glared at Avant, who hung his head in guilt. Abby’s stomach dropped. She hadn’t meant to hurt Petra’s feelings. Surely, he knew it was a joke. He'd been so good to her. She would make it up to him.

The intense redhead and her husband were the last to greet them.

Taking Abby’s hand, the woman's stare penetrated her. “My lady, I am Annova, and I am graced by your presence at our harvest gathering.”

“Thank you. I’m Abigail.” Abby couldn't make eye contact. The woman made her feel like she wasn’t wearing skin.

“My dear, guard the precious Light that's in your heart. Its yield in due season will be far greater than mere fruit.”

Abby's smile wavered. What the crap did that mean?

The exchange was not lost on Avant, and he nodded knowingly to Annova. What had he told this woman about her? That she was this Chosen One? Not that she didn’t trust Avant, but she was as likely the savior of Jastain as Lady Gaga.

Once she and Avant finished with the greetings, he swept an arm around her back and turned her to face him. “Thank you for the dance.” His eyes sparkled with mischief and her heart thumped again. “I must formally end the festivities but I’ll be back at the house later. We can discuss our plans for tomorrow.” He brushed a hair from her face and trailed his hand down her cheek.

Abby's mind spun, whether from his touch or the wine she couldn't be sure.

He bent and brushed her cheek with his lips before he whispered, “Later?”

She stepped away and tried to remain upright. “Okay. See you then.”

He cocked his head and gazed at her with a tenderness she hadn’t ever seen from him before. Her chest welled with so much love that it almost knocked her over.

She floated in a dreamy haze as she left to find her date.

Searching for Petra, she finally found him sitting with shoulders slumped, staring down at his clasped hands. She brought him two drinks as a peace offering. “My handsome Landmaster, which of these drinks is yours?”

“Well, if they’re anything like the others from this evening, neither.” He lifted his gaze to meet hers without moving his head, his long lashes unable to mask his hurt pride.

She smiled. “Wrong. They’re both yours, and so am I for the last dance.” She pumped her eyebrows. He begrudgingly smiled, took the first drink and downed it in a single gulp. Then he drank the other. Having consumed quite a few herself, a reckless feeling invaded her veins. Fortunately, she had a high tolerance for alcohol, but her propensity for trouble while intoxicated was well documented on various social networking sites. Thank God Jastain didn't have the internet.

Shrugging off the thought, she grabbed two more drinks on the way to the dance floor and handed one to her handsome date. They slammed them down and went to dance the last dance. Petra, as good a dancer as Avant, slid her gracefully around and around, laughing and talking.

“So have you enjoyed our festivities, milady?” His words slurred slightly with too much wine, but he’d apparently forgiven her for the earlier indiscretion and now focused completely on her.

She smiled and pulled him along in the dance. “Can we do it again tomorrow?”

“Only if you take care of the chickens.” He bust out in a big, belly laugh.

She shoved him playfully. “Not a chance, stable boy.”

When the dance was over, they staggered to the carriage. Abby breathed in the fresh scent of harvested grapes and peered up to the star-cluttered sky. She smiled, then swayed, and almost fell over. Petra caught her and helped her into the carriage before stumbling in after her.

She yawned and scratched her head as she nestled against the carriage window. Wasn’t she supposed to do something when she got back to the house? “Hey, Landmaster, I had a great time tonight. How ‘bout you?”

Petra’s head lolled with the lurch of the coach. “Yes, milady. I had the time of my life dancing with you this evening.”

Abby broke into song. She pointed to him as she sang
Time of My Life
in English. Petra chuckled.

The tune
Kiss Me
, a song from her favorite movie, popped into her mind. She didn’t sound too bad, except to those few people who might still be sober. “…so kiss me.”

As she sang the last note, he pulled her to his lips. So accustomed to his feel, she didn’t flinch but simply wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. She parted her lips, and his tongue gently teased between them, stroking hers with great tenderness. The warmth of his mouth comforted, and pleasure swept from the point of contact over her. Soft and slow, he lingered, savoring her as if it were their very first kiss.

She drove her fingers through his silky hair and deepened the kiss. His arms banded around her, cinching her to him. She could feel the strong rhythm of his heart. His familiar lips and the feel of his long hair….Long hair?
Chad doesn't have long hair
. Her eyes flew open. “Oh my God! Petra, I’m so sorry.” She put her hand to her mouth and blinked, trying to focus through the haze of lust and drunkenness.

“I beg your pardon, but I kissed you, Abby.” The wine gave him a cocky confidence and his topaz eyes sparkled.

Definitely not Chad.
“Yes, but I kissed you back thinking you were someone else.”

He frowned and dropped his head.

“Oh, honey, no…I didn’t mistake you for Avant, if that’s what you think. It’s that…you look so much like my boyfriend back home. In fact, you two could be twins.”

“Oh,
that
makes me feel so much better.” He rolled his eyes. “You have…a
boyfriend
?” He wrinkled his forehead.

“Well, I guess technically, he’s my ex-boyfriend. He was my…” She used her fingers to form little quotey things. “
lover
. At least, that’s what Avant called him.”

“A lover?”

She tried not to wince at his disapproving tone.

“And Avant knows this?”

He still looked a little confused or maybe he was just drunk. “You mean does Avant know that my boyfriend—ex-boyfriend—looks like you? No, he doesn’t know that.”

He slapped his leg. “I knew it! I told Avant you felt something when you first saw me, but he denied it. You know, he actually told me to stay away from you.” Petra swayed in his seat and pointed his index finger at me. “I’ve never seen Avant so…agitated. I think he was jealous, because you had a strong reaction to me.”

Avant was jealous? Chad…umm…
Petra
must've been mistaken. Abby’s head whirled like the carriage wheels, and she still felt Chad's kiss on her lips. “You look so much like him, but your personality is completely different. He's shy, and you’re…not.”

Abby heaved her shoulders and adopted her most motherly tone. “I’m sorry I kissed you, but we’ve had a little too much to drink, and it absolutely can’t happen again, okay?”

Petra locked in her gaze. She swallowed hard. His eyes filled with passion. “All right…
for now
, but I reserve the right to renegotiate later.”

“Fair enough.” She held out her hand for him to shake. Instead, he pulled it to his lips and kissed her palm. His sweet warmth washed over her. Why couldn't she be with this guy again?

The carriage pulled into the manor drive. Petra jumped out then helped her down. “You were by far the loveliest woman at the festival, and as I predicted, no one even noticed me.”

Abby rolled her eyes and staggered at the dizziness it caused. Was he seriously that dense? “Right. No one except that gaggle of girls who followed behind you all night, hoping that I would fall off the planet and you would ask one of them to dance.” Abby leaned over and kissed his cheek.

She said goodnight and stumbled upstairs to her room. Thank goodness a candle was lit for her. She didn’t want to burn the house down trying to light one. Her hands fumbled to unlace the dress, and it fell to the floor. She pulled on her nightgown, undid the French braid, and picked up a brush. It was so relaxing to brush her hair even though it would give her the frizzies in the morning.

Another song popped into her head as she remembered her dance with Avant…and his kiss. She grabbed her pillow and twirled around the room, singing
I Could Have Danced All Night
.

There was a knock on her door.

She giggled and jumped on her bed. “Yes.”

Avant slowly opened the door and looked inside. “I thought we were going to meet about tomorrow’s itinerary.” Was that a pouty look on his face?
Hmm…

“You’re right! I knew I was forgetting something. Well, c’mon in and take a load off.”