What Fire Dragons Treasure - Cristina Rayne Page 0,28

in a tone she prayed was normal, “Thanks.”

Yeah, the best course of action would be to continue on their little shopping excursion and pretend nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

At all.

So why the hell couldn’t she calm down her racing heart?

CHAPTER ELEVEN

She was blushing again.

Raphek had no idea what had caused that delightful reaction in Amber this time, but it had been happening on and off, sometimes with only a mere glance from him, all afternoon. He really wanted to pause and take in that loveliness at his leisure that had fascinated him since the first time he had witnessed it in front of the fruit stand, but laden down as he was with the afternoon’s purchases as they headed for the lifts, it was unfortunately an inopportune time. Plus, Matty’s scent had begun to exhibit a bit of tiredness, and the last thing he wanted was to cause the poor child a prolonging of his discomfort because of Raphek’s own whims.

Besides, he had already indulged his curiosity about the softness of Amber’s skin earlier when a splash of fruit juice on her chin had given him the perfect excuse, and that had resulted in a maelstrom of scents emanating from her that had made him instantly feel both guilty and then thoughtful.

Arousal.

That sweet smell had been practically screaming at him as had her suddenly racing heartbeat, completely unexpected and startling. His own senses may have even responded in similar fashion to such blatant interest from an attractive female had another scent just beneath that arousal and just as potent not arisen to slap him hard in the nose as though in admonishment.

Anxiety—and a hint of fear.

Yet, she had smiled at him with a calm expression and had continued perusing the food stalls as though her emotions weren’t in turmoil. Raphek had expected her to put a bit of distance between them in an effort to find her mental equilibrium again, but then the surreptitious glances at him had started, mostly when they were walking between merchant stalls. Sometimes, she would blush after a glance, and other times, her scent would spike briefly with arousal.

However, never once did the acrid scent of anxiety fade even a little bit from her scent.

His own worry and guilt about that made him consider his own reactions more closely. Relationships had never been on the forefront of his mind even when he had first come of age. His friends had always teased him about his seeming reticence regarding courting as him simply holding out for his fated mate. No matter how many times he had rolled his eyes at the accusation, the ribbing continued to this day.

Admittedly, Raphek had enjoyed carrying out a bit of teasing of his own when both Airon and Sevek had sworn that fated mates were real, and even more astonishingly, that they had found their fated mates, each claiming one of two human sisters. It was only fair.

How ironic that he now found himself undoubtably attracted to this golden-haired, wounded human woman who blushed so beautifully. His interest wasn’t anything like the all-encompassing need to claim like Airon had described had awakened within him upon meeting Lillian, but it was there. It had been there ever since they had chatted away in his sitting room while they had waited for Matty to awaken. Maybe it was as simple as compatible personalities or even just the fact that he found the way her emotions came alive through her facial expressions more fascinating than he had anything else in a long while.

The only question now was whether or not it was wise to let Amber know that her interest in him had been noticed and was welcome, especially when she seemed troubled by that attraction. From what Raphek understood, human marriages were nowhere near as binding as a Bonding of Fire was for the Rekkan. Amber, herself, had expressed to Briana that it had been her desire to permanently dissolve her marriage to Garrett Johnson from the moment the abuse had started but had been prevented from doing so because of the Terran vermin’s threats. That desire was one of the reasons why Amber had rather adamantly asked the princess to continue using her maiden name “Davis” for both her and Matty while they were within the kingdom.

She need not have worried. As far as Raphek and Elysia South as a whole were concerned, Amber was free to pursue any amorous interests to her heart’s desire as Terran contracts meant