Page 156 of Fortress of Ambrose
A writer of her own destiny. A girl who knows her power.
The knot winding in my chest unravels with my breath. I dry my slick hands before touching his shoulder.
The music stops, and the suddenness of the quiet hammers in my chest. He rises to meet me, the green in his eyes bright. His face is clean-shaven, and his tuxedo cuts against his body, flawlessly tailored to him.
“You came.” He reaches for me, running the back of his hand gently on my cheek. His fingers curl around my jaw, then they slip behind my head. His touch lingers, and it makes my insides ache. When he pulls me closer to him, his scent sends shivers all over my body.
“It’s been so long.” I close my eyes, remembering the last time he touched me like this for this long. He snaps his fingers, then scoops my hand into his with the other around my waist. Music fills the air, and he sweeps me into the first step of a dance. His lips bow in a sultry smirk, and I melt into him, sliding with him into each step, twisting to the cadence. The next move makes the room spin as we step and turn, step and turn, step, step and turn.
“You’re a natural.”
I’m smiling. He smiles, too. An unbridled one, showing most of his teeth. Creases linger around his eyes.
“You should smile more often.” I don’t think I’ve ever seen him happier.
He spins me out and in, his chest against my back as I wind my body, dancing against him, before the next count. His breath brushes my neck, and his lips graze my collarbone, sending shivers all over my body. When we face each other again, we lace hands and spin. Holding him so close ignites a tenderness in me thatwants him. We turn faster as the music speeds up. He winds me around, more insistent with my hips, pulling and pushing them this way and that. I dance to his tempo, following the urging of his touch. Imagining how this dance would feel if this were all that existed between us.
When the music crescendos, he dips me for the finish. His arm is an anchor at my back. His body hovers over the neckline of my gown. His gaze traces my body, then his tongue plays on his lips. When he brings me up, setting me on my feet, I let go of him to shake off the desire to feel him against me.
“Jordan, we need to talk.”
He waves away the servers.
“I found letters between Adola and Yani. They’ve been talking this entire time.” I point to the stack tied with a ribbon I set on the table.
“I don’t understand.”
“I brought it all for you to see. Yani was the ringleader in stealing the diadem, not Ube.”
His mouth parts as he approaches the stack of mail cautiously. He picks up several letters, flipping through each. He stops occasionally to read some of the letters. With each passing moment, his scowl deepens. When his narrowed gaze widens, something dark moves across his expression.
“She has been feeding information to the Dragunhead.”
He drops the stack on the table and glares. He doesn’t speak, and several minutes pass. The servers are turned away. Jordan stews in silence. My heart hammers. When he finally turns to me, the tenderness in his expression has returned.
“I’m sorry for not listening to you about Yani. It was arrogant to think I could keep her in line.” He scatters the envelopes on the table before stacking them up and turning his back on the stack. “That could have beenyouinstead of Dexler. I’ve never been so scared in my entire life.” He rubs my arms, caressing them. “But I was short with you at the ball. I’m sorry. Can you forgive me?”
“Thank you for that. And yes, I can. But Yani—”
“Please, let me finish.” He takes my hands. “Despite the chaos, I need a night where fear doesn’t rob us of what we’re truly fighting for: each other.” The sweetness of his stare does something to my heart. I would like all this chaos behind us, as well.
“Do you think we could try that, tonight? A reset. A moment for us.”
The letters on the table taunt me. I’ve been consumed by everything but the one thing I want to be consumed with—my love and freedom. If that makes me selfish, then maybe I deserve a moment of selfishness. A night of it. Before I ruin it all, taking his power away from him.
He folds down to hover his mouth above mine. “I’ve prepared for so long to be near you like this, for as long as you like, without fearing our magics will clash. I plannedsevencourses inspired by the most magnificent beaches around the world. One day you will see each of them. Each course has a musical selection. I thought we’d dance for some. But there’s a few I’ll play for you.”
I am dreaming. I must be.“Wewill see them, together.”
“Is that a yes? Tonight is ours?”
My chin rises to meet him as if charmed by a song. My thoughts scramble. And all I can think of is how right the world feels when he is near me. How badly I want to pretend this is all there is. We are all there is. And how every time we find ourselves this close, he always pulls away. Tonight, he burns with insistence.
“There’s so much we need to discuss,” he says. “But when it’s just us, everything is very simple. Simple sounds nice for an evening.”
I smile. “It does.”
He closes the sliver of air between our faces and rubs his lips across mine, deliberately slow. Then he presses our foreheads together. And we exhale, which morphs into a laugh.
