Now that I had a billion lipsticks, I easily found one that matched my dress. I spent a long time with a curling iron twisting my hair into long ringlets that I swept up with jewel-studded combs, leaving a few loose to curl around my ears. I applied makeup and even had time to paint my fingers and toes with red polish to match.
Ren rang the doorbell, trying to be formal. I opened it and gasped softly. My warrior-archangel wore a brilliant white shirt with a gray vest and a red satin tie with a four-in-hand knot that matched my dress. His black tuxedo jacket was thrown casually over his shoulder, and his hair fell appealingly over one eye. He looked like a supermodel that had just stepped off the pages of GQ.
I suddenly felt like a little girl playing dress-up compared to him. I could imagine every girl at the dance wanting to reach up and brush his hair off his forehead.
Ren smiled, and my heart dropped down into my shoes where it flopped like a fish out of water. From behind his back, he brought out a bouquet of two dozen red roses. He stepped inside and put them in a vase of water he’d already prepared.
“Ren! You can’t expect me to go to a dance with you looking like that! You’re bad enough when you dress normal!”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Kelsey.” He reached up and pulled lightly on one of my spiral curls, tucking it delicately behind my ear. “Nobody will even notice me when I’m standing next to you.
You look absolutely lovely. Now can I give you your Valentine’s present?”
“You didn’t need to get me anything else, Ren. Believe me, you are present enough.”
He pulled a jewelry box out of his pocket and opened it for me. Inside was a pair of diamond and ruby drop earrings set in gold starbursts.
I whispered, “They’re beautiful!”
He helped me take them out of the box. I liked the feel of them dangling from my ears and tapping against my face when I turned my head.
I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him. “Thank you. I love them.”
“Why do I see a ‘but’ in your expression?”
“The ‘but’ is that you really don’t need to buy me expensive things. I’m perfectly happy with normal, average things like . . . socks.”
He scoffed, “Socks are hardly a romantic present. This is a special occasion. Don’t spoil my night, Kells. Just tell me that you love me and that you love the earrings.”
I reached up, wrapped my arms around his neck, and smiled at him. “I love you. And . . . I love my earrings.”
His face lit up in an achingly beautiful smile, and my heart flopped around again.
I picked up his gift from the desk and handed it to him.
“It’s pretty lousy when you compare it with earrings and roses. It turns out rich tigers are hard to shop for.”
He tore through the paper, and there was my lame present, a book.
I explained, “It’s called The Count of Monte Cristo. It’s about a man who was falsely accused and put in prison for a long time, and then he escapes and seeks revenge against his accusers. It’s a very good story that made me think of you being in captivity for hundreds of years. I thought we could take a break from Shakespeare and maybe read it together.”
“It’s a perfect gift. Not only are you offering me a new piece of literature, which you know I appreciate, but you’re also offering me hours and hours of reading with you, which is the best gift you could give me.”
With scissors, I clipped a rosebud from the bouquet and tucked it into his lapel. Then we were off to dinner, which had been arranged in a private dining room.
After we were seated and waited on by no less than three personal servers, I whispered, “A normal restaurant would have been perfectly fine for me.”
“A normal restaurant is where hundreds of men are taking their hundreds of dates tonight. It’s not special or private. I wanted to have you all to myself.”
Ren captured my hand and kissed it. “It’s my first Valentine’s date with the girl I love. I wanted to see you sparkle in the candlelight. Speaking of which . . .” He pulled a sheet of paper from the lapel of his jacket and handed it to me.
“What’s this?” I opened it and recognized his handwriting. “You wrote me a poem?”
He grinned. “I did.”
“Will you read it to me?”
He nodded and took the page. He began speaking, and the timbre of his voice warmed me. He read . . .
I lit a candle and watched the flame.
It danced and twisted
Wild and unfettered.
It captured me and flickered in my eyes.
When I passed my hand over it
It stirred.
The flame rose higher, burned hotter.
When I pulled my hand away the heat diminished,
grew fainter, and extinguished.
I stretched out my hand again to savor the burn.
Would it singe and scald? Blister and blaze?
No! It tingled and warmed,
Smoldered and glowed,
Setting me ablaze, body and soul.
It was glimmering, luminous, radiant
The fiery blush of her cheek.
—Ren
He ducked his head as if embarrassed at the beautiful words. I stood up and walked around to his side of the table. I twisted my way onto his lap and put my arms around his neck. “It’s beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful.”
“I’d kiss you, but I’d get lipstick all over you and then what would the waitress say?”
“She can say whatever she wants.”
“I’m fighting a losing battle, aren’t I?”
“Yes. I plan on kissing you . . . a lot, before this night is over.”
“I see. So I might as well get on with it then. Wouldn’t you say?”
“I would definitely say you should.”
We kissed, and I became so oblivious to everything except Ren that I didn’t hear the waitress come back in. My face burned bright red.
Ren laughed quietly. “Don’t worry. I’ll leave her a big tip.”
The waitress approached our table as I awkwardly removed myself from Ren’s lap. To my horror, the bottom half of his face was smeared with red lipstick. I could only imagine what my face looked like. Ren didn’t care at all.
I sped off to fix my face and asked him to order dinner. By the time I returned, the food was waiting. Ren rose to hold out my chair as I sat and leaned over to press his cheek against mine.
I played with my new earrings distractedly. Ren noticed.
“You don’t like them?”
“I think they’re lovely, but I feel really guilty about you spending this kind of money on me. I think you should take them back to the store tomorrow. Maybe they’ll let you just pay a rental fee.”
“We’ll talk about it later. For now, I just want to enjoy seeing you wear them.”
After dinner, we drove to the dance. Ren swept me out on the floor and twirled me around. Holding me close, he never took his eyes off me as he spun me to the music. He was so distractingly handsome that I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him either.
He hummed along to a song called “My Confession.”
Smiling, I admitted, “This song describes how I feel about you. It took a long time for me to confess how I feel about you, even to myself.”
He listened more carefully to the words then smiled. “I’ve known how you felt about me since that kiss before we left Kishkindha. The one you got really mad about.”
“Oh, the one you thought was enlightening?”
“It was enlightening because that’s when I knew. I knew that you felt as strongly about me as I did about you. You can’t kiss a man like that and not be in love with him, Kells.”
I reached up to play with the hair at the nape of his neck. “So that’s why you were so cocky and self-assured after that.”
“Yes. But all that bluster went away after you left.”
His expression became serious. He kissed my fingers, pres
sed my hand to his chest, and said intently, “Promise me you’ll never leave me like that again, Kelsey.”
I looked up into his cobalt blue eyes and said, “I promise. I’ll never leave you again.”
His lips brushed against mine lightly. Suddenly, he smiled mischievously, twirled me away, and then yanked me tightly against his chest. He slid his arm behind my back and lowered me slowly in a circular dip. Snapping me up quickly, we began moving to the tango music, and Ren maneuvered me smoothly along with the Latin rhythm of the song.
I knew people were probably watching us, but at that point, I didn’t care. He was able to sweep through the moves expertly, even though I didn’t know what I was doing. The dance was fiery and passionate, and I was quickly overwhelmed by him and the cadence of the melody. He wrapped me up in a blanket of mental and physical sensations, orchestrating the perfect seduction.
When the song was over, he had to hold me up because my legs had turned to gelatin. He laughed and nuzzled my neck, happy with my reaction.
The song changed back to a normal, slow one. After I had recovered enough from his tantalizing onslaught against my senses to speak, I said, “I thought that kind of dancing only happened in the movies.
Where did you learn to dance like that?”
“My mother taught me several traditional forms of dancing, and then I picked up a lot of moves over the years by watching. Mr. Kadam hooked me up with Nilima, who became my practice partner.”
I frowned. “I don’t really like the idea of you dancing with Nilima. If you want to practice, teach me.”
“Nilima is like a sister to me.”
“Still.”
“Alright, I promise to never dance with another woman.” He smiled. “Though, I still like it when you’re jealous.”
We started slow dancing again, and I put my head on his shoulder, closed my eyes, and just let myself enjoy the feeling of being held by him. The song was only halfway over when I felt him stiffen and saw him look behind me.
“Well . . . well . . . well,” a silky, familiar voice interrupted. “The shoe’s on the other foot this time. I believe this is my dance.”
I spun around. “Kishan? I’m so happy to see you!” I threw my arms around him.
The golden-eyed prince folded me in his arms, pressed his cheek against mine, and said, “I’m happy to see you too, bilauta.”
10
Hired Guns
Kishan pulled back to have a good look at me. “I missed you. Has my idiot brother been treating you well?” In a stage whisper, he asked, “Did you have to use the tiger repellant?”
I laughed. “Ren’s been treating me very well despite my giving him a pretty lame Valentine’s gift.”
“Ah. He doesn’t deserve one anyway. What did he give you?”
I reached up to finger an earring. “These. But, they’re much too extravagant for me.”
Kishan stretched out his hand and touched an earring lightly. His rakish pirate about-to-make-off-with-your-woman-and-what-do-you-think-you’re-gonna-do-about look melted away to a soft smile that turned up the corner of his mouth. He said quietly, “Mother would have approved.”
“Do you mean these belonged to your mother?” I asked Ren, who nodded briefly. “Ren, why didn’t you tell me?”
He responded lightly, “I didn’t want you to feel pressured to wear them if you didn’t like them. They’re a bit out of date now.”
“You should have told me they were your mother’s.” I slipped my arms around his neck and kissed him softly. “Thank you for giving me something so precious to you.”
Ren hugged me close and kissed my cheek.
I heard a dramatic sigh behind us. “Ugh, I think I preferred him whiny and despondent. This is just sickening.”
Ren growled softly, “Who invited you here anyway?”
“You did.”
“Yes, but I didn’t invite you here. How did you find us?”
“We flew into Salem, and I found the invitation for the dance at the house. I thought if there was a party, I should be here. Figures that all the pretty girls would already be taken. Perhaps . . . I can borrow yours.”
Kishan held out a hand, but Ren stepped in front of me and threatened, “Over my dead body.”
Kishan pushed up the sleeves of his sweater. “Anytime, bro. Let’s see what you’ve got, Mr. Romance.”
Intervention time. In my sweetest voice, I said, “Kishan, we’re kind of in the middle of a date and, though I’m very happy to see you, I wonder if you’d mind heading home for now? As you can see, it’s not so much a party as it is a couple’s thing. We won’t be gone long, and there’s sandwich stuff and a giant plate of cookies back home. Do you mind? Please?”
“Fine. I’ll go. But only because you’re asking.”
Ren retorted, “And you’re asking for it.”
Kishan flicked Ren on the ear and mocked, “That’s right. And we’ll see if you can bring it to me later. Bye, Kelsey.”
I had a very strong feeling that my hand on his arm was the only thing holding Ren back from going after his brother. He watched until Kishan was out of sight, but even afterward, he couldn’t seem to relax.
I tried to pull his attention back to me.
“Ren.”
“He takes too many liberties. Maybe it was a mistake to ask him here.”
“Do you trust him?”
“It depends. I trust him with most things. Except—”
“Except?”
“Except you.”
“Oh. Well, you don’t have to trust him with me. You just have to trust me.”
He scoffed, “Kells—”
“I’m serious.” I put my hands on the sides of his face so he would look at me. “I want you to understand something. Perhaps Yesubai chose him, but I chose you. You are the one I want. Not Kishan.”
I sighed. “I feel kind of sorry for Kishan, actually. He lost the person that he loved. That’s why we should make the most of our time. You never know when someone you love will be taken from you.”
He held me close for a minute and pressed his cheek to mine as we slow danced, knowing that I was no longer talking about Kishan.
“That won’t happen to us. I won’t leave you. I’m immortal, remember?”
I smiled halfheartedly. “That’s not what I meant.”
“I know what you meant.” He teased. “But I had to fight off three men to win your affection, and I don’t want to have to take on my brother too.”
I laughed. “You’re exaggerating, Tarzan. You didn’t really have to fight off anyone, well, except Li. You had my heart all along anyway, and you probably knew it.”
“Me knowing it and you knowing it are two different things. I was a lonely tiger for too long. I deserve to be happy with the woman I love. And I won’t let anyone take her from me, least of all Kishan.”
I gave him a look. He sighed and twirled me around. “I’ll try to be more patient with Kishan, but he knows how to push all my buttons. It’s extremely difficult to control myself around him, especially when he flirts with you.”
“Please try. For my sake?”
“For your sake, I’d undergo excruciating torture, but I can’t tolerate him flirting with you.”
“I love you. I’ll tell him to knock it off. But, try not to beat each other up while he’s in town, okay? No tiger fights. Don’t forget you need him here, remember?”
“Fine, but if he continues to throw himself at your feet, all bets are off.”
After a moment, I said softly, “You didn’t say it back . . . that you love me too.”
“Kelsey, ‘I am constant as the northern star, of whose true-fix’d and resting quality there is no fellow in the firmament.’”
“Caesar died, you know.”
“I was hoping you didn’t know that one.”
“I know them all, Shakespeare.”
“Okay, then I’ll just say I love you. There is nothing in this world more important to me than you. I’m only con
tent when you’re near. My whole purpose is to be what you need me to be. It’s not poetry, but it’s from my heart. Will that do?”
I smiled lopsidedly. “I think so.”
We didn’t stay at the dance much longer because Ren’s mood had changed despite my teasing, kisses, and pronouncements of love. He danced with me, but his mind was elsewhere, and when I told him I’d like to head home, he didn’t protest.
When we pulled up the drive, I noticed that the lights were on in my house. Before we went in, Ren enfolded me in a soft embrace and kissed me tenderly.
He put his forehead against mine and said, “This is not exactly the ending to our romantic date that I had planned.”
“You still have another hour.” I grinned and put my arms around his neck. “What did you have in mind?”
He laughed softly. “Actually, I was planning to ad lib the rest, but that’s not going to happen with Kishan around.”
Ren kissed me again, and we heard a muffled comment too faint to understand. He ripped his lips away from mine and growled quietly, muttered something in Hindi, and opened the door with a scowl.
Kishan was watching television while scarfing down an incredible amount of snacks. Six different bags of pretzels, popcorn, cookies, chips, and assorted other goodies were strewn about the coffee table, all half-eaten.
“Just sickening,” Kishan groused. “Couldn’t you guys have finished kissing at the dance so I didn’t have to hear it?”
Ren helped me out of my coat with an irritated growl, before I headed upstairs. He said he’d be up as soon as he got Kishan settled in. The settled in part sounded ominous to me, but I nodded, hopeful that they would at least attempt to be civil to each other.
I was just slipping my pajama top over my head when I heard Ren bellow, “You ate all of my peanut . . . butter . . . cookies?”
I shook my head. Two tigers living this close to one another is going to be a major headache.
Not hearing Kishan’s reply, I decided to let them work it out for themselves. I carefully nestled the ruby earrings in my ribbon box for safekeeping and wondered about Ren and Kishan’s mother. I scrubbed off the makeup and pulled the jeweled combs out of my hair, letting the soft curls cascade down my back.
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