Page 69 of Kept to Kill
‘Isn’t it?’
‘No.’ He rubbed a hand over his face in tiredness. ‘I warned them away from you because I knew that I would not be able to … the truth is I don’t know what I feel. But I must feel nothing. I’m the Commander. I cannot let anything cloud my judgment. I have a duty to my Brothers and to my unit that does not include—’
‘Me?’ she finished for him.
‘That’s not what I said. Don’t twist my words.’
‘I’m not twisting them,’ she said, getting off the bed, ‘but you’re not making any sense. Ever since you found me in that tower, you have been harsh and cruel. I know that you don’t like me, and it seems to me that you wish your Brothers didn’t either.’
‘I’m sorry that I’ve been hard with you,’ he said quietly. ‘I do like you. More than I should.’
His eyes moved over her before he could stop them. He took the box out from under his arm abruptly. ‘This is for you for tomorrow,’ he said, trying to change the subject.
‘What is it?’
‘I doubt you’ll like it, but it’s necessary.’
She looked at it in trepidation. ‘It’s my disguise, isn’t it?’
‘Indeed,’ he said.
‘Let me see,’ she practically ordered.
He opened the box and took the garment out. She gasped, her eyes widening, putting her hand over her mouth.
‘I can’t wear that!’ she exclaimed. ‘Anyone could touch me. Anyone could … and you’ll be able to see all of me through it. It … it’s like spider silk!’
Quin grimaced. ‘It’s what they wear.’ But the excuse seemed hollow in the wake of her shock.
‘There must be another way,’ she said, her words echoing the others’.
Quin exhaled deeply. He couldn’t have this argument again.
‘There is no other way,’ he said, ‘but I am meeting with the other unit tomorrow to see if you can enter the celebration later, after the revelries are starting. You cannot go in with the other courtesans. That much is clear. But there may be another way so as not to draw much attention to you.’
Her eyes did not stray from the garment he held and … he couldn’t help but imagine her wearing it. He watched her shudder. Was she afraid he was going to take his belt to her backside again in anger for making him want her?
‘You need to try it on,’ he said, his eyes moving boldly over her.
‘Try it on?’ she parroted.
‘Yes. It must fit properly or the jig is up before we’ve even begun. Courtesans in Kitore are highly paid for a reason. They pride themselves on their appearances.’
‘How will I know if it fits? I have no idea what it’s meant to look like,’ she said, grimacing at the offending gauze.
‘Try it on. I’ll make sure it looks how it’s meant to.’
Her mouth opened and closed several times. In the end, he turned around, amused at her artless expressions. Though he hoped she could pretend better than that tomorrow.
Tearing the nightgown over her head, she practically ripped the sheer garment from his fingers.
‘It’s so soft,’ she exclaimed a moment later, and he turned to find her running her hands over herself.
When she looked up and found him watching, her eyes widened. The gossamer of the long garment made her glow in the candlelight, the gold threads sparkling, yet that was not what riveted his gaze. It was the silhouette of her body, clearly visible through the silk; her breasts, her dusky nipples, her rounded hips, and the thatch of curls between her thighs.
‘Turn,’ he ordered, wondering if she’d do as he said.
She yelped, only just realizing what he could see. She covered herself with her hands, turning on impulse to shield herself from his gaze rather than because he’d ordered it.
