“Because I’m your apprentice!” I cried, throwing my hands up in the air. Not knowing what else to do, I tugged the chain I’d given to Iannis over my head and held it out to him. “We agreed to wear these, don’t you remember? So that we could always find each other in case one of us was in trouble?”
The stone flared to life, and Iannis recoiled as if struck. “Get that away from me!” he cried, throwing his hands up as if to shield himself. A burst of magic emanated from his hands, and a hard gust of wind hit me, sending me flying backward. I sailed several feet through the air before landing hard on my butt with a yelp.
“By Magorah!” I shouted, struggling up into a sitting position. “What the hell was that for?”
“Halyma told me that the stone on that necklace was black magic, and it was preventing us from being together.” Iannis scowled at the serapha charm, which was still clutched in my fist. “She said the pain in my chest would go away if I took it off, so I did. Why do you have it?”
“Because I was using it to track you down!” I snapped as I got back up to my feet. “Halyma is a liar, Iannis. She’s using her shaman powers to trick you into believing that you’re her lover, and that you belong here when you really don’t. She didn’t want you wearing the necklace because she didn’t want me to find you.”
Something flared in Iannis’s eyes for a moment, and then that same shadow I’d seen earlier clouded his irises again. “Halyma is my sharalla. She wouldn’t want to hurt me.”
“She’s selfish,” I insisted. “Come here and let me prove it to you.”
“No!” The shadow in his eyes darkened, and Iannis retreated to the other side of the stream. “You are the one who is trying to trick me.”
I ground my teeth together, frustrated beyond belief with this game of cat and mouse. I wanted to jump into the water and wrestle the necklace over Iannis’s head, but I knew he’d just hit me with his magic. Even if his brain seemed to be addled, he was still the Chief Mage, and there was no way I’d win that fight.
Then do not fight, a cool voice whispered in my head, one I’d heard before. Sometimes it is better to use honey instead of flame.
I sucked in another breath as another idea came to me, one that made me hot all over and incredibly nervous at the same time. It was risky, but probably the best shot I had at getting past Iannis’s defenses. And right now, breaking the spell on him was more important than my pride.
“Are you giving up, then?” Iannis demanded as I took a step back from the edge of the stream and slipped the chain back around my neck. I could have sworn I saw something like disappointment in his eyes, but his jaw was set and his glare didn’t waver.
“Well it’s too bad you’re not willing to listen to me,” I said as I slid my pack from my back and dropped it on the ground near Iannis’s buckskins. “But since I came all the way up here, I don’t see why this whole trip has to be a whole waste. That stream looks pretty inviting, and I intend to have myself a bath.”
“W-what?” Iannis’s eyes widened as I tossed my jacket to the ground. By Magorah, but had I really just heard the unflappable Chief Mage stammer? “You can’t use the stream while I’m here.”
“Why not?” I asked innocently as I tugged my shirt off over my head. I stretched my arms overhead for a moment, giving Iannis a good view of my nearly bare torso, then allowed the shirt to flutter to the ground. “Is that some kind of Coazi law?”
“No, but Halyma would be furious…” Iannis momentarily lost his train of thought as I unhooked my bra from the front, letting my breasts spill from their confines. Hunger gleamed in his violet eyes, fanning the flames that were already spreading through my lower belly. He cleared his throat as I tossed the bra away. “She wouldn’t want me to bathe with another woman, and might well hurt you in her displeasure.”
At least he didn’t want me to be harmed. Maybe this wasn’t so hopeless after all.
“Who said anything about you bathing with me?” I undid my belt buckle, then slowly shimmied out of my pants and underwear all at once. My breasts swayed along with the movement, and I nearly grinned at the look of raw longing in Iannis’s eyes. Damn, but why hadn’t I done this sooner? “We’re just sharing the same stream.” I stepped out of my pants and toed them away as if my blood wasn’t pumping with fear and excitement, as if my breath weren’t coming short at the thought of entering the water with Iannis wearing nothing but my skin.
“I should leave,” Iannis said, but he made no move as I stepped into the water. His violet eyes burned a trail of fire across my naked body as I slowly waded in, and though the cool water lapped at my skin, the fire inside me only built as I closed the distance between us. He was so close now, within arm’s-length, and I held my breath as I approached. Part of me was afraid that this was just a dream, that in a few moments I would wake up and the glorious naked man before me would be gone.
But when my fingertips alighted on his chest, it didn’t vanish into nothingness. The smooth, cream-colored flesh was real, as were the hard muscles that lay beneath the skin. A sharp, indrawn breath caused his chest to rise, and the crisp, dark hairs teased my skin as I flattened my hands against his chest. His heartbeat pumped hard against my palm, and I caught the flutter of his pulse at the base of his throat as I drew my gaze upward to his sternly handsome face.