The smirk she’d only just warned herself of was staring at her when he lifted his gaze to hers. A crooked smirk that rested on his lips as he bit the end of the pipe in the corner of his mouth. “Perhaps you should think about that before wearing something as distracting as this dress,” he uttered.
“Your being distracted by body parts has more to do with you than me,” she said back to him.
He straightened up and shoved one hand in his pocket. “You’re not wrong,” he agreed. “A man’s lust should be checked at the door and not allowed free roam on his features at the expense of a strong woman not in need of saving.”
“Says the one who can’t keep his gaze off something that isn’t his,” she mocked.
He held out the pipe to her again, tongue darting out over his lips, the smirk not leaving his eyes. She took the pipe with a perturbed twist of her lips.
“I think this dress says a lot about the both of us,” he continued.
She pulled a deep inhale again and exhaled into the wind. “I am probably going to regret this, but do explain, Hunter.”
He pushed off the wall and took a few slow steps around her. “You, in that you’re confident enough to wear this for yourself and only yourself. It makes you feel empowered, in charge, like you could take on the world, which you certainly should. No other could pull this dress off. Your sister certainly couldn’t… And me, in that—”
“You’re a pig?” she interjected, handing him back the pipe.
He huffed amusedly and pushed the stray hairs that had fallen out of his ponytail back off his forehead. “Me in that I realize I’ve been in the woods far too long if I’m being distracted simply by the sight of a beautiful woman in a dress.”
She raised a brow at him. “What’s wrong, Venari?” she mocked. “Do the Hunter girls’ attire not bring you to your knees?”
“I’ve not let a woman bring me to my knees in a long while,” he mused.
“Don’t—” she interjected before he could say anything.
He met her eyes in a sideways stare off that she stood her ground on until only the noise of Ash’s voice behind them caught her ears a few moments later.
“Am I interrupting?” Ash asked.
“Not at all,” Draven replied, still not breaking his gaze with her.
“I was just telling the Venari King what a pig he is,” Aydra informed Ash.
Ash glared at Draven as he stood his ground at the entrance of the hall. “Care to take a walk out of here, Venari?” he dared.
Draven chuckled under his breath and leaned his head down, his nose brushing against Aydra’s ear. “You know where I’ll be if you’d rather see a king on his knees before you than this lonely captain.” His words tickled her ear, and she felt her jaw clench.
“I’ll enjoy killing you one day,” she uttered as she met his eyes again.
“And I’ll enjoy watching you burn,” he mused back.
The fire blazed in his gaze once more as he left her side. He clapped Ash on his shoulder and pressed the pipe between his lips. “Enjoy your night, Ash,” Draven mocked upon passing the Dreamer.
Aydra stared at Draven as his shadowed figure disappeared into the darkness once more. Ash crossed the space between them and then reached for her hand. “My Queen,” he said upon kissing her knuckles. “Shall we retire for the evening?”
Her lips twisted upwards just slightly. “We shall.”
CHAPTER THREE
AYDRA WATCHED THE torches on the beach for some of the night. Wherever this Infi creature was, it was hiding very well, or perhaps smart enough to make itself scarce at the sight of Belwarks patrolling the surf.
“Idiots,” Aydra muttered about them.
The arms that wrapped around her a few moments later didn’t startle her. Ash pressed his lips to her neck beneath her ear and nuzzled her skin. “Come back to bed,” he urged her. “Your men can handle finding the creature.”
The swim of the black herb she’d smoked was still pulsing through her veins. Her head sighed back into his embrace as his hands began to wander. She hadn’t found her end with him so quickly in a very long time. Ash could be a blunder, treating her as though she would break at times. But that night, she didn’t know if perhaps he’d learned new tricks or if it was the herb that made her so sensitive. Whatever the cause, she wouldn’t deny herself the pleasure of it a few times more.
Ash left her bed a couple of hours before the sunrise. Aydra felt more satisfied than she had in a long time, probably since the last she and Lex had together enjoyed the company of one of the Honest trader men to come through. The torches were still lit on the beach, and she could see that the Belwarks had clustered together towards the entrance wall. Aydra’s jaw tightened at the display, and she grabbed for her riding clothes.
Lex was still asleep when Aydra knocked on her door a half hour later. After a few knocks, Aydra simply burst in, finding Lex laying between the two Dreamers that had accompanied the Ambassador of Scindo Creek.
“Well, well,” Aydra said, arms crossing over her chest at the end of the bed. “I suppose one daughter wasn’t enough?”
A small smile rose on Lex’s face and she stirred just so. “It is not sunrise, my Queen,” she managed, sitting up and rubbing her face. “Did you—” she paused in her speech, and her brows narrowed at the sight of the clothing Aydra had on. “Did something happen?”
Aydra nodded towards the window. “Rhaif’s men are useless. We’re taking over the search.”
Lex’s grin widened. “Why we ever send them to do our job is beyond me,” she mused.
“Agreed.” Aydra turned on her heel then
