Page 6 of Obsidian Prince

"Why?" She tilted her head to one side. She understood her value as an ally, but she did not see why a Fae prince or a US Army Colonel would enjoy the company of a socially inept spider seer.

"You say exactly what you mean. Everything out of your mouth is the absolute unvarnished truth. I'm not used to that. It's ... refreshing."

"I like you, too."

"Why?" His lips quirked in that genuine smile as he turned the tables on her.

"My father was lion-kin. Andrew Periclum was an unworthy king of lions. Simon of Nemea would have cheered to see him get blown into bits. I wanted to cheer, too. He hurt my friends."

She tilted her head to the other side. There was a lot more to it than that. She wasn't certain when her opinion of the prince had shifted. The kiss hadn't hurt. It was very nice. But there was more. "I was raised to respect men of honor. You keep your word. You honor your obligations, even when it isn't easy or pleasant. You protect my best friend, Pete, even though you worry he might treat you as an enemy if he knew what you were. You made Siobhan a court guardian to make her happy, even though other seelie Fae have treated you badly. And you look good with your shirt off."

He barked a startled, genuine laugh.

Liliana thought about what she said that might be funny. "I shouldn't have said that last part out loud."

"I'm not offended, Liliana." The way he said her name was a caress, filled with the genuine smile he refused to show. He set his gun down on the little table by the door next to the bowl that held his wallet, phone, and keys, and stepped close to her.

He didn't call her Madam Anna like her customers did, nor Lilly like her friends did. He made his own unique category that included only himself, neither friend nor client.

Both of his huge hands pushed her hair back from her face. He put his thumb under her chin to gently coax her face up.

Liliana looked at him with her human eyes, seeing the handsome surface, beginning to know the complex layered soul that lay beneath, even without her third vision to help. His eyes were not pure shining blue like Pete, her favorite wolf-kin. The deep brown in his eyes mixed with flecks of gold and streaks of black held far more fascination for her. They were complex eyes that could change with the light or the time of day, or the mood of the man behind them. "You put the gun down."

"You made your decision."

Liliana nodded slightly without dislodging his hands from her face. She liked them there. "I will fight for you."

He bent down, his eyes starting to close.

"I have already decided. You don't have to kiss me again to convince me."

"But I want to kiss you again."

"If you kiss me, I will look into you," she warned him. "I always look when kissing. I like to see into people when they kiss me, so I can see their feelings and share their pleasure. I stopped kissing you before because I didn't like some of your reasons for kissing me."

He stopped, body curved down to reach her much shorter stature. The subtle smile disappeared. "I told you to stay out of my head." His touch on her face was no longer gentle.

"I apologize for not asking permission first, but I did not expect you to kiss me. You surprised me."

"Apology accepted. You won't do it again." His hard voice made it sound like an order.

But Liliana did not like kissing when she couldn’t properly see the person doing it. "I give you my word,” she swore precisely, “that I will never look into your mind without your permission, except when we are kissing."

His jaws tightened. He stood to his full height, his hands dropping away from her face and hair. "Then I think we're done here."

Liliana nodded. "I will go home now."

His reaction to her warning was what she expected from him. She should not feel disappointed.

But she did.

She wanted him to kiss her again. She just wanted him to do it for the right reasons.

The spider seer sighed and left.

Her decision was made. That was what she came for, wasn't it?

Chapter3

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