Page 26 of A Storm Rises

He stepped back, releasing her arm, but the link lingered like an invisible thread between them. “I would like that…very much…” He swallowed hard in the electrified silence and bowed his head, as if forcing himself to contain the intensity of the moment. “But…I do not know how to dance and would not want to embarrass you.”

Now that was unexpected. A touch of sympathy for the Sublander gathered inside of her. Had she been reading him all wrong? She closed the gap between them. “I can show you.” With a finger, she lifted his chin. “It is easy. I will help you.”

The music switched from an upbeat tune to a soft ballad.

She held out her royal hand. He looked down, as if considering his next move, and then took her hand with a surprisingly gentle touch. A flutter of wings swirled in her stomach, her heart racing as she led him to the middle area with the other dancers.

“Your left hand holds my right, like this.” She held her right arm up and hand open, and he wrapped his fingers around hers. With that position secured, she went on. “Your right hand will stay on my back, guiding me through the dance while my left one rests on your shoulder.” They stayed still in the dancing position, eyes locked, desire building, before moving in the same circular pattern as the other guests.

His steps were fluid, his movements graceful like he had danced at royal functions his entire lowborn life. She quirked a brow. “Are you sure this is your first time?”

He scanned the crowd and then returned his attention to her. “I am sure.”

“You are a natural, then.” Their eyes remained fixed, his with an unsettling intensity. Did he have another expression? Not that she minded that one too much. It belonged to her, and she wanted it.

He cleared his throat. “This is most decidedly not natural for me.”

“This is not entirely natural for me either.” She gazed into those steely gray eyes. Like a strong magnet, they would never lose their pull. She should look away and prevent him from becoming anything more than a Sublander and last place finisher. But right then, she did not want to. Her mind, body, and spirit said the same thing. Keep looking. Never turn away.

“You dance as if it is natural for you.”

She forced her attention back to their steps. “I have been to many of these things, but I much prefer my feet in the grass, face in the sun, and being outdoors in the forest hunting, practicing archery…”

“Or riding your Enbarr?”

She smiled. “Or that.” He remembered. His thought process matched hers. They were of one mind for the moment.

The Enbarr stopped them from ending one another. It forced them to lower their weapons. What would the creature think if it knew they were dancing together? Something told her it would surely be pleased. But the Enbarr had no idea who Mateo was and what Avalynn must do—a task she could neither ignore nor forget.

The music continued, and she needed her deal done before the song ended and another began. There was no better time than the present. “Tomorrow will be my first time competing in the hunt.”

His brow twitched slightly, as if concerned by her sudden change of conversation. “Mine as well.” He moistened his lips. “But you already know that.”

She angled her head upward and stared at his barely open mouth and slightly parted, wet lips. Did he notice her gloss? Did he smell the sweet nectar and desire a taste? A charged pause hung in the air between them; an unspoken invitation lingered. She needed to focus on her mission. Their kiss could never exist. She cleared her throat. Her plan was all that mattered. “I wonder, Mateo, if we should somehow work together.”

His brows bunched in the middle. He paused his steps before falling back into a steady rhythm. “Why would we do that?”

Why? Sun, Moon, and Stars. She actually needed a reason? She stepped closer and lowered her voice. “Because the other provinces are…how shall I say it…not worthy.”

“How so?”

“It is nothing that needs explaining.” They were unworthy compared to her. Her statement was true. But she could not tell him that.

His hand remained on her waist. When he spun her, he touched her all the way around, sending tingles everywhere. When they faced each other again, he agreed to her proposition. “Fine. How do you propose we work together?”

“Good question.” His defenses had dropped. He fell for it. “I am not sure. But I propose we stay together and look for ways to help one another.”

He stepped closer, leaned in, and whispered, “If working together means I win, then that is acceptable.”

Of course, the Sublander would say that. “We shall see.” She needed to play along.

Words fell away as the dance took them. The rhythm ebbed and flowed between them, each movement as intimate and perfect as the rise and fall of waves. No one else found space in her mind. It belonged to Mateo. He flooded her senses like a gentle ocean breeze. Those intense eyes, that long, sleek hair, his lean and muscular frame. The perfect blend of spice and vanilla and sandalwood that made her head spin. Best of all, his firm yet gentle touch. She would let him touch her all over if she could.

The ballroom faded as she drifted closer to Mateo. The timeless gap between them disappeared. His eyes searched her face before finally drifting to her chest, roaming her curves with longing and desire. Should she move back? Or stay in this endlessly pleasing pose forever, letting him have her with his eyes?

The enduring ballad ended. Another song began, but they remained as they were, eyes locked. A symphony of emotions swirled within her—desire, anticipation, and vulnerability. Feelings she had never experienced before, and most certainly did not expect. Especially from a Sublander.

She ignored the hand that tapped her shoulder. The tapping continued, softer at first and then harder. The words finally sunk in. “Princess, may I have the next dance?”

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