Page 121 of An Empress of Air & Chaos

“Cally picked it for me. The dress, I mean,” she said humbly as she processed Torin’s words. “And they are only staring because I am dancing with you.”

“Are you trying to pay me a compliment or an insult?” His voice sounded light and crisp and she couldn’t get the smell of frozen berries and pine out from her nose. “I can never tell these days.”

“Take it however you want,” she scoffed with a smile.

He paused momentarily and then said, “They are definitely looking at you. Wondering if cutting in to ask you to dance would be worth the risk to their lives.”

Emara let out a small giggle. She felt the same smile form on Torin’s face. He spun her out and pulled her back in, crushing her body against his.

“Let’s give them something to watch, shall we?” He moved the hand that rested on her lower back around to her hip, caressing her bare skin. He ran one long finger up and down the diamond strapping that held the dress together at her side as his face grew closer to hers.

She held her breath for a long moment.

He spun her around as he moved his feet quickly, leading her in and out of a seductive dance. She, too, moved her feet to the tempo that had picked up pace. Running a hand down her back, so close to the curve of her buttocks, he said, “If I know my brother, he will be over here in three, two…”

A cough came from the right of them. “Excuse me for cutting in…”

Her head tilted to the side to see Gideon standing before them. Her pulse didn’t know whether to quicken or stop completely.

“One,” Torin whispered, pulling back and creating a space between them.

Before allowing Gideon to take his place, he lowered his mouth to her hand and brushed his lips against her skin. “Have a good night, Angel.”

She couldn’t find the words to speak as she watched him disappear into the crowd. The tingle from his kiss ran up her arm and into her chest. Gideon lifted his brows to wait and see if she would allow him to dance with her.

Emara gathered herself before she held out a ballroom dance pose and Gideon moved into the structure, placing his hand in hers. He slid his arm around her waist, and she took a deep breath in and exhaled, noticeably placing her hand as far away from his wound as possible.

Finally, she could breathe…

“You seem to be enjoying yourself.”

“Gideon, I didn’t mean to snap at you earlier.” She paused. “Well, I did but it came out harsher than anticipated.”

“You had every right to.” He lowered his head. “I just wish I could show you how I feel.”

She pulled back and looked at him, “You can show me how you feel, Gideon.” Emara kept her features stern. “You can also tell me…”

“I have told you. You know how I feel about you.”

“I am not talking about what you said the other night. I am talking about what happened this morning. Talk to me!” She gripped his hands tighter.

“That’s easier said than done when you are bound to a duty that no one else will understand unless they are bound to it. I meant what I said.” He looked into her eyes, every part of his face sincere. “It took me all I had to stop this morning. I wanted to be with you like that. But now is not the right time.”

She nodded, understanding that she had to trust him. Now was not the right time to have a disagreement, either. Not in the middle of the uplift. They would speak about this in-depth when the time was right.

His voice was soft and deep with meaning as he asked, “Where do we go from here?”

She chewed her lower lip. “I am not going to answer that question right now because I am not sure.” Emara dipped her chin. “I will sleep on it.”

“When you say sleep on it, will you be sleeping beside me while you sleep on it?” Gideon’s lip twitched at the side.

“We shall see how the night evolves.” She grinned.

She was still hurt from this morning, but whatever reason Gideon had—that he couldn’t share—she had to respect that it was his duty. She just had to trust him.

He twirled her under his arm and she laughed, feeling coy.

“You look breathtaking tonight.” He gripped her hand tighter. “It almost hurts to look at you.” He smiled, his beautiful green eyes finally sparkling again.

---