by Zoe Chant
“There is no need.” Jane spoke in the barest whisper. She still hadn’t raised her head. Reiner’s heart physically ached to see her look so small and defeated. “There is nothing to discuss. I will go with my brother. I will go back to Atlantis.”
Reiner put up a hand, slamming his palm into John’s chest as the sea dragon started to step forward. “No. Not unless you can look me in the eye and tell me that’s what you really want.”
“It does not matter what I want.” She shook her head, her long braided hair swinging. “Since I cannot have it.”
John had the expression of a man who’d taken a solemn vow of honesty, and now really, really regretted it. He drew in breath to speak, and Reiner thumped him again. He didn’t want the sea dragon to tell Jane that Reiner was free to be her mate.
Not yet.
“None of us can have everything we want,” he said to Jane. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t have anything. Jane, I saw you dancing just now. You were so free, so magnificent, so joyous. Forget me for a moment. Even if you didn’t have a mate, would you really want to go back to Atlantis? Truly?”
“I…” Jane raised her face at last, and Reiner could have cheered at the fierce light in her blue eyes. “No! I want to stay on land! I want to dance, and walk amidst flowers, and, and eat ice cream!”
“Sister—” John started.
“No, brother!” Jane squared her shoulders, and Reiner gladly stepped back, giving her space to confront her sibling. “You have already said quite enough. It is my turn to speak. You stand there and lecture me about my behavior? You are the one who blundered into this place like a bull walrus in heat. I will not be shamed into meekly submitting to your will! What gives you the right to be my judge and jury? Am I a novice under your command, or an erring child in need of chastisement? No!”
John looked as though a decorative cushion had leaped up and bitten him.
Jane jabbed John in the middle of his chest. “How dare you declare that you know what is best for me, without even giving me a chance to state my own desires? How can you possibly claim to understand my mind? Let alone make decisions for me! When was the last time you asked me about my hopes and fears, my dreams and troubles?”
John stuttered, all his usual composure and eloquence deserting him. “I—I am sorry if I have neglected you. The demands of my duties—”
“Yes, yes.” Jane cut him off with a flip of her hair. “You are very busy, being the Imperial Champion and the celebrated Knight-Poet and all those other grand things. And I am just the Third Dancer, of no renown and even less reputation. But no matter how the rest of the world may view our respective stations, I thought that you, at least, would never look down your nose at me.”
John looked utterly aghast. “I meant to do no such thing! I would never deliberately seek to wound your feelings. If I spoke too harshly, it was only out of fear for your safety. You are my beloved sister! I care about you from the very center of my heart. That is why I am here! Why I came to rescue you!”
“Whether or not you wanted rescuing,” Reiner murmured.
“Well, I do not,” Jane announced, with a defiant tilt of her chin. “Thank you so very much for your overzealous concern, brother, but you may take it and yourself back to the sea. And while you are there, I suggest you soak your head. It seems that the title Imperial Champion has swollen it to the point where I fear your helmet will no longer fit.”
Up until that moment, Reiner had not thought that he could be any more in love with her. He’d been wrong.
John was still opening and closing his mouth like a landed fish. What rejoinder he might have made—if any—Reiner never got the chance to find out.
“Hey, asshole! Get away from her!”
A curvy woman in a glittering cocktail dress bore down on John like a tiara-topped missile. A squadron of equally dressed-to-kill ladies flanked her, with matching expressions of murder. John’s face betrayed a moment of pure primal terror as the pack closed in on him.
“Tallulah!” Jane exclaimed.
“You okay, babe?” The lead woman—Tallulah, Reiner presumed—put an arm around Jane, still glaring all the while at John. “Sorry I didn’t get here faster. When I couldn’t find you, I thought you’d just gone to the Ladies or something. I didn’t realize you were in trouble until I heard that some jerk had crashed the dance floor and made a scene. This is him, right?”
Jane lifted her chin, shooting John an equally withering look. “Yes. This is indeed, as you call him, the jerk. But there is no need for concern. I have made my opinion of his actions clear, in no uncertain terms. He is leaving now.”
“Oh no. Not before I take a strip out of him on your behalf.” Tallulah rounded on John, who took a step back. “You arrogant bastard. You thought you could just waltz in here and take her back, didn’t you? Smooth everything over?”
John cleared his throat with a rather strangled sound. “In all honesty, yes. But I assure you, I have been thoroughly disabused of that notion.”
“Oh, believe me, the pain’s just getting started, asswipe. You messed with the wrong woman this time, and you are going down. See, Jane’s not just going to chew you out and let you go crawling back home. Not if I have anything to say about it. Me and my friends, we think cheaters should get what’s coming to them. So what we’re going to do is take our Jane, and have a few rounds of cocktails, and do a little internet digging. And trust me, we will find your wife.”
John, who’d been slowly shrinking several inches under this tirade, blinked. “My… what?”
“Oh,” Jane said, in a tone of abrupt realization. “Oh dear. Tallulah, that’s not—”
“No, Jane,” Tallulah said firmly. “You think this is his first affair? I bet he had a whole script ready for when you found out about his family. Oh, my wife doesn’t understand me and I only stay for the sake of my son. Hell, he probably came here to tell you that he doesn’t sleep in the same bedroom as her, and he’s going to sign those divorce papers real soon now, honest. And then he’ll go straight home and lie to his wife, too. Just like my ex-husband lied to me.”
John tentatively raised a hand. “If I may, I think there has been a misunderstanding—”
“Shut. Up,” Tallulah snarled, and his mouth closed with an audible click. She turned back to Jane, taking her hands. “I know you’re a nice person, but this isn’t about getting revenge. It’s about sisterhood, and justice. You need to tell this jerk’s wife what he’s been doing behind her back.”
“Yes,” Jane agreed gravely. Secret mischief danced in her eyes. “I will do that. In person. She is a good friend, you see. When I inform her of tonight’s events, I have no doubt that she will be most exasperated with my brother.”
“Your…” Tallulah did a double take, staring from Jane to John and back again. “Wait. This is your brother?”
John made a brief, embarrassed gesture somewhere between a wave of greeting and a military salute.
“Yes.” Jane’s smile broke free, spreading across her face. “Tallulah, may I introduce my brother John. Much as I was enjoying watching you eviscerate him, I fear I must ask you to desist. While he has his faults, he is not guilty of what you accuse.”
“In all fairness, I am occasionally a jerk,” John murmured. He gave his sister a sidelong glance, the corner of his own mouth twitching up. “Or so I am reliably informed.”
Tallulah deflated, righteous fury leaking away. “Oh. Sorry, John. I thought you were the utter asshole who broke Jane’s heart.”
“Actually,” Reiner said, stepping out of the shadows behind John. “That would be me.”
Jane hastily laid a hand on Tallulah’s arm. “Peace, my friend. Your anger is misplaced.”
Tallulah did not look convinced. “But he—”
“Has acted with honor in all ways, and listened to me when others would not,” Jane said, with quiet, stoic dignity. She looked at him—just for a moment—and Reiner’s heart broke at the restrained longing in her eyes
. “He has done nothing wrong.”
“I have.” She filled his senses so thoroughly, they might as well have been the only two people on the planet. Heedless of their audience, he took another step toward her, speaking for her ears alone. “Jane, I’m sorry I didn’t come after you sooner. I am so, so sorry for putting you through this pain, and all over nothing. Yes, I have a son. But his mother is very happily mated to someone else. No other woman has a claim to my life or heart. Only you. If you will have me.”
It was like watching the sun rise. As he spoke, Jane’s eyes shone brighter and brighter. He was blinded by joy—hers, and his own.
Jane took his hand in a firm, possessive grip that shot fire through every part of his body. She beamed around at everyone.
“Please excuse us,” she announced. “It is time that I claimed my mate.”
Chapter 11
Anticipation tingled in Jane’s fingertips. As her mate—her mate!—led her along the street with firm, confident steps, she stole surreptitious glances down at him, savoring every one. Her hands longed to discover the texture of that incredible spun-gold hair; to uncover the broad sweep of his chest, and trace every inch of that muscled body.
Soon, she promised herself. No barriers remained between them now. Just flimsy clothes, and she intended to deal with those the instant that they reached a private room. Soon.
“Is it much further to your lair?” she asked.
Reiner shook his head, eyes not leaving the light-lined road. “I’m not taking you home. Not yet.”
“Oh,” Jane said, heart sinking. Had she somehow misunderstood him? Did he not want to mate her? He had seemed so clear and forthright, back at the club…
As though sensing her dismay, Reiner stopped. He turned to face her, taking her hands, and her pulse fluttered once again at the dark, feral heat in his eyes.
“No more misunderstandings,” he said, a hungry growl edging his words. “I want to mate with you, Jane. Damn it, I’ve never wanted anything so much in my entire life. Just being this close to you is driving me out of my mind with need. To be perfectly clear, it’s all I can do at the moment not to drag you down the nearest alleyway and claim you here and now.”
Jane moistened her lips. “In the spirit of total honesty, I must confess that I would not object to that. At all.”
Reiner’s eyes flashed gold, reflecting the light from the street lamps. He made a hungry sound, deep in his throat, that made her knees buckle. His powerful arms flexed, pulling her tight against his body. Lighting shot through her as she felt the hard, unmistakable press of his desire.
One of his hands clamped on the back of her neck, hard and possessive. He drew her down with effortless strength—not that she had any interest in resisting. Eagerly, she bent toward his hungry mouth—
With a snarled curse, Reiner twisted aside a moment before their lips met. He leaned his forehead on her shoulder, breathing hard.
“No.” He sounded in physical agony. “Not yet.”
Her pulse was pounding so hard, it felt like the sea roaring in her ears. “Why not? Do your people have some mating ritual that must be performed first?”
“In a way.” Drawing in a ragged breath, he stepped back, though he didn’t relinquish her hand. “I don’t know sea dragon customs, but up here on land we have something called dating.”
“Dating.” Jane rolled the word around on her tongue, delighting in the exotic sound. “And what does this dating involve?”
Reiner smiled a little, crookedly, and Jane had to fight down an overwhelming urge to lunge for his mouth again. “It can be anything, really. Seeing a film or a play, or dressing up and going out dancing, or just walking. Introducing each other to favorite places, or activities, or friends. Just sharing experiences. Getting to know each other.
“That sounds,” Jane breathed, “delightful.”
It certainly struck her as far more interesting that the formal, stately rituals of sea dragon courtship. Except in one particular regard.
Though perhaps…
She eyed Reiner speculatively. “You say that dating can involve a myriad of activities? Whatever the particular couple chooses?”
Reiner nodded. “It doesn’t really matter what you do. The point is to do it together.”
She let her gaze drift downward, making no attempt to conceal the focus of her interest. “So it could, perhaps, if both parties desired it, involve… physical activities?”
Reiner’s smile tilted, becoming sharper, and more feral. His hand slid up her bare arm, and Jane shivered at the touch.
“It can involve whatever you want,” he said, that deep, hungry growl back in his voice. Then he closed his eyes for a second, as though struggling to master himself. “Damn it. After we’ve talked.”
“Then talk,” Jane urged. “Quickly.”
From Reiner’s expression, he was seriously tempted. But he shook his head. He took her hand, placing it once more in the crook of his arm.
“Not here.” He started walking again, drawing her with him. “I don’t want to rush through this. There are some things I need to tell you before we go any further.”
“Such as?”
In the half-light of the street lamps, she caught his mouth twist. “Why your brother hates me, for a start.”
“I find myself caring very little for his opinion,” Jane said, unable to keep a certain tartness from her tone. “I should hope it carries equally negligible weight with you.”
Reiner laughed. It sounded startled, and a little rusty, as though it wasn’t something he let himself do very often. Jane made a private vow to change that.
“John Doe can curse my name to his dying breath for all I care. Which is just as well, since he probably will.” The laughter faded from his face, leaving him solemn once more. His fingers tightened on hers. “There is only one person’s opinion that matters to me.”
“I hope I have made my feelings on the matter quite clear.” Deliberately, Jane leaned into him, pressing her curves against his side, and was rewarded with another guttural, growling curse. “But if you require further demonstration…”
“Have mercy, woman!” With a pained expression, Reiner adjusted his trousers, which were utterly failing to disguise the sizeable bulge beneath. “This is going to take a lot longer if I have to keep stopping to face the wall and think very hard about icebergs.”
Jane giggled and relented. “Very well. But only because I too wish to bring this journey to a swift conclusion. For that matter, where are we going?”
Reiner flashed her a sidelong, secretive glance. “Are you hungry?”
“Famished,” Jane said with feeling. “Eager as I am to ravish you, I must admit that I would indeed prefer to eat first. A proper mating requires stamina, and I do not wish to disappoint you.”
“You could never do that.”
Reiner’s deep voice shivered all the way down to her toes. He said the words with such conviction, she found herself wanting to believe them herself.
She swallowed, her voice catching on sudden tears. “You should not say such things. I… I have been a disappointment to many people. I am not what a sea dragon should be.”
Reiner stopped again, turning her to face him. His eyes were fierce in the dark, filled with fire. She was caught by them, stripped bare, utterly seen.
“You are,” he said, in those growling tones that shook away all doubt. “You are exactly who you should be.”
“Your mate?” she whispered.
Reiner shook his head. His hand came up, tracing the curve of her cheek, and her breath caught. He leaned in so close that when he next spoke, his lips almost brushed hers.
“Yourself,” he murmured, and kissed her.
This, this was what she’d longed for, all those lonely nights. And it was better than dreams.
Reiner’s lips moved against hers; gentle, but not in the slightest bit hesitant. Jane melted against him, closing her eyes to better savor the sweetness of it. She could feel the h
unger in him, knotting his muscles, yet he kissed her with slow, lingering thoroughness.
It was as much a promise as a kiss. A promise that this was just the first kiss of many; that there was no need to rush. He was hers, and she was his, and they had all the time in the world.
By the time he finally released her lips, only his arms around her kept her on her feet. She sagged against him, breathless, her head spinning.
Reiner’s eyebrows drew down in concern. “We really need to get you some food. You look like you’re about to faint.”
“Not,” Jane managed, “from hunger.”
His eyes gleamed with distinctly masculine satisfaction. “Good.”
With heroic effort, Jane located her knees and forced them to straighten once more. “Much as I would like to continue this discussion, I fear that if we do so, you will have to carry me the rest of the way to wherever we are going.”
“Now there’s a tempting thought.” Reiner put his hands on her shoulders, turning her around. “But sadly, we’re already here.”
Jane found herself blinking at warm, bright light spilling from an open doorway across the street. Striped awnings shaded wide windows. Gold letters adorned the glass, spelling out...
She gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. Too overcome to speak, she whipped round to stare at Reiner. It had to be a coincidence. She’d mentioned it, true, but only as a chance remark, flung at her brother in the heat of anger. Surely Reiner couldn’t have been paying that close attention…?
His deep, throaty chuckle rumbled through his chest. And with a thrill, she knew that he had been listening to her. Every single word.
“Come on,” he said, steering her toward the welcoming door. “Let me buy you an ice cream.”
Chapter 12
Jane’s reaction was everything that he’d hoped.
Her eyes went round the moment they walked into the tiny, cozy cafe. Her soft, indrawn breath was sweeter than any ice cream, and utterly addictive. At the back of his mind, Reiner immediately began planning more places to take her, just so that he could hear that little sound of pure, astonished delight again.
