In response, I took off my cloak. It fell to the cavern floor in a heap as I lifted my hands to my wet stays and pulled one of the laces, then another. The layers around my waist loosened as I worked as quickly as possible. The sodden fabric stuck to my body, and I plucked it away from my skin as I shimmied out of it.
A few minutes later, a rustling of fabric hit the ground as a cool breeze rushed down my spine. I shivered but didn’t stop to think as I stepped out of the fabric now pooling at my feet.
“I’m ready to talk,” I said in a low voice as I picked up long locks of sunset-red hair and arranged them over my front.
After all, I was at leastattemptingto preserve what little modesty I had remaining.
“Good, then—” Xander pushed himself to his feet and turned around, his words dropping off as he stared at me.
His golden eyes flashed and I could have sworn I saw a burst of green go across his eyes before they returned to their regular shade. He clenched his jaw, a vein ticking in his neck as he stared at me.
Xander drew closer to me, one step, and then two, until there was nothing but a few inches between my face and his own. I sucked in a deep breath as I held his gaze. Heat was emanating off him in waves, and I had to fight to remain still.
“Aileana,” he whispered hoarsely as he lowered his lips. They hovered just above mine and I stared at him. His nostrils flared as his eyes darkened to a burnished gold. His breathing was ragged as he asked, “Why are your clothes on the ground?”
Holding his gaze, I blinked my eyelashes slowly. His fists were clenched at his sides as he waited for a response. I swallowed, taking my time. Eventually, I replied, “I took them off.”
His jaw ticked even further. “I can see that.Whyare you standing before me in nothing but a…” he coughed, his face reddening, “very white, very wet shift?”
I licked my lips, and I could have sworn he groaned.
“My clothes are still soaked from when you tried to kill me. If I keep them on, I risk getting sick.” I continued to stare at him, raising a brow. “Do you have a problem with that? I’d rather not catch a cold, wouldn’t you agree?”
Xander sighed, the sound somehow managing to be both long-suffering and entirelymaleat the same time. He ground his jaw, speaking through clenched teeth, “This isnotwhat I meant, and you know it.”
I gasped and threw my hand to my chest. My palm landed on Nonna’s necklace, which I clutched as I took a step forward. We were so close that I could smell the rain berry on Xander’s breath.
“Did I know it?” I whispered. Tilting my head, I fluttered my lashes. “I was just obeying your orders,husband. Isn’t that what a good Ithenmyrian female does?”
The air itself seemed to crackle between us as we stared at each other for a very long moment. My heart raced as my skin felt too tight for my frame.
“You and I both know you aren’t agoodIthenmyrian female,” he murmured as he lifted a hand.
I watched in horrified fascination as he picked up a lock of damp red hair and rubbed it between his fingers. “No,” he said, more to himself than anything else. “You are definitely not a good female.”
“Maybe I am trying to become one,” I said softly. I couldn’t remove my eyes from his hands. The way he touched me was so at odds with the venom in his voice, it was as though he was at war with himself.
He tilted his head, still holding my hair as he hissed, “Liar.”
I sucked in a deep breath as my nostrils flared. “That’s twice now you’ve called me a liar, Xander.”
“If the shoe fits, wear it,” he muttered. “I find it hard to believe that a female who carries around multiple knives with her and doesn’t hesitate to threaten stabbing someone is ‘trying’ to be good.”
“Goddess, you are so horrible,” I huffed as I took a step back. A tug on my hair reminded me he was still holding onto me, and I stopped moving. “Why do you insist on saying things like that?”
“Why do you insist on being so aggravating?”
“Let go of my hair,” I ordered.
Instantly, he dropped it like it was on fire. A look of shock passed over his face, as though he suddenly remembered who I was. Who he was. What he was doing.
Xander stumbled backward, nearly falling over his tiny fire, before collapsing on the ground with a sigh. He dropped my gaze as he lowered his face into his hands and took a series of long breaths.
I stood there, unmoving, as I waited for him. The dripping of my wet hair on the stone floor was the only sound in the cavern for a very long moment.
Eventually, Xander looked back up.
His gaze was hard once more, his face steely as he gestured to a large rock across the fire. “Sit. I think it’s time we talked.”