A Dove's Tale

Chapter 137

"We should probably go somewhere else."

Chevalier didn't reply immediately. He turned a page of his book, and I drew circles on his chest, wondering once again how he could read when we were cuddling like this. I hadn't even tried. My book sat untouched next to us on the sofa, and it would return to the palace without me making any progress in it at all. And I was okay with that. I could sneak in a few minutes of reading much more easily than I could steal a few minutes with Chevalier during our normally busy days. We never got to spend this much time together.

That poisoning attempt had its benefits.

"Are you afraid you won't be able to control yourself much longer?" he asked. I jerked my head off his shoulders to pout at his arrogant smirk.

"Chevalier." I poked his chest and drilled my finger into his jacket. "I was only thinking of you, because, as I recall, you are the one who has difficulty controlling yourself around me."

He closed his book without marking his place and set it aside. With his memory, he didn't need bookmarks.

"Is that a challenge?"

The butterflies skipped a beat with my heart. He leaned back against the sofa, one hand resting lazily on my waist, the other draped across the backrest. Arrogant, smug, and annoyingly handsome. His pose said I could stay on his lap, or I could leave, and he didn't care either way.

Liar.

"You're playing with fire," I told him, struggling to hold my pout. "This is your bedroom. We've pretty well established that bedrooms are danger zones for us."

"I'm not the one who's blushing right now."

"I blush easily."

"Which only proves you can't control yourself."

That smirk and those mischievous crystal blue eyes would be the death of me someday. But not today. Today, I resolved to fight fire with fire and play the game as unfairly as he did, because he was asking for it.

I shrugged. "Fine. If you want a challenge, I'll give you one." I leaned against his shoulder and traced the gold cord that tied the edges of his cloak together from one gold button to the other, lingering on the tiger crest engraved on each one. "But I get to choose the topic of discussion."

I glanced up at his face briefly. Interest flickered in his eyes. "Go ahead."

"Well," I said, shifting closer and noting with pleasure the way his loose fingers at my waist tightened, "you told me yesterday about when you first realized you had feelings for me, and now it's my turn. That won't be a problem for you, will it? Since you're so confident in your ability to resist my charms."

He chuckled and settled his hand on the outside of my thigh. I knew he'd play dirty.

"Actually, I'm going easy on you," I continued, sliding my fingers down his chest to trace each gold fastening of his jacket. "My side isn't as fun as yours was. I was in denial most of the time, and it took a lot for me to admit the truth to myself."

Which meant I'd better enjoy this while I could. There wouldn't be much fun in my accounting after Jack entered the picture, and that episode was a pivotal point in my relationship with Chevalier. There was no avoiding it. So I sighed, and I dragged my teeth across my bottom lip, knowing without looking up that Chevalier was watching me closely. He loved it when I bit my lip. It was an easy way to get him to kiss me when we were alone.

Most of the time.

"Hm, where to start..." I mused, mildly disappointed he resisted that tease. "Well, you made a terrible first impression. You were rude, arrogant, and frightening, and I wouldn't have come back to work the second day if I'd had other options. Better options," I corrected myself, distracted by his hand rubbing my thigh. The flutter of butterflies in my stomach apparently didn't care about the challenge. "And then I realized you were testing and teasing me, and I didn't know what to think of you."