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The way her hair lit up like a candle… did it mean something? She said that had never happened before.

Gods, he cursed under his breath.I should have left it to one time with no promises. But even that thought made him almost sick. He didn’t want to leave it with no promises at all. He wanted all the promises, and that scared him.

“You look glum.” Fennan slid into the seat across from him. “Is it about the wedding?”

He drank more wine. “No. I’m not upset about her marrying Hel.” Surprisingly, he wasn’t. At one time he’d have been mad with jealousy, and sure there were some lingering feelings about her, but they were strangely platonic. The thought of even kissing her felt wrong, as if something deep inside him rejected the very idea of it.

“Alright.” Fennan drummed his fingers on the glass mug in his hand. “Something else you want to talk about?”

“Not really.” He watched Katana dancing with Leif, and the way she smiled up at him had his cheeks burning. Her laugh pierced his chest, sent a tingle down from the nape of his neck to his lower belly.

Fennan turned and followed his gaze. “Ah, Katana. What is going on there? I see all the longing looks, you know. I think everyone can see them.”

Thane leaned back, gazed locked onto her. He couldn’t look away even if he wanted to. Her blonde hair tumbled down her back, almost reaching her plump cheeks. That gold dress hugged them too, not hiding a damn thing. “Nothing.”

“You don’t need to lie to me.”

“There’s nothing to lie about. We slept together and that was that. The end.”

Fennan cocked a brow. “You slept with her? Thane, that’s… she’s Valeen’s sister.”

“I know.”

“I didn’t expect that from you.”

“Why is that?” Thane brought the wine glass to his mouth, peering over the lip of it as Leif dipped her. He didn’t like how low his hand was on her back. A few more inches and it would be inappropriate. A few more inches and he’d be out of this seat and across the room.

He let out a sharp breath and rubbed his temple. He shouldn’t want her this much. She wasn’t his. They weren’t betrothed or committed.

“Well, I’ve slept with a handful of maidens in my day, and that was that, but that’s not you, sire. And I know you all think I’ve gone through half the courtiers but it’s not true. I flirt, sure, but I rarely take maidens to bed. It complicates things.”

“Yeah,” Thane agreed. “It does.” Sleeping with Katana hadn’t put out the fire of desire like he thought it would. If anything, it burned hotter.

“How about instead of staring at her, you go cut in?” Fennan said. “I’ll go ask Piper.”

Thane finished his glass of wine. “Good. You should.” Although he liked Ronan, he would rather see Fennan and Piper together. His best friend’s happiness was important to him, and he didn’t want to lose Piper. If she married Ronan, she’d leave them.

Before he even considered what he would say, he was standing beside Leif and Katana as the song ended. He simply took her hand and pulled her along with him as the next melody began.

They easily fell into step as if they’d been dancing together all their lives, as if she anticipated his moves.

Why wouldn’t she look up at him?

They’d circled around the floor two times before she finally said, “Leif is a surprisingly good dancer.”

“I noticed.”

She lifted her chin. Her lavender eyes sparkled with mystery. “I noticed you noticing.”

“I didn’t like his hand placement. It was bordering inappropriate.”

She tried to hold back her smile by pressing her lips together. “Yours is rather low.”

He slid his hand down until he was full-on cupping her right cheek.

“Now who is inappropriate?”

“It’s not when we’re…” Friends who happened to know carnal knowledge of each other? Maker above, he couldn’t even fool himself with that one. They were more than friends but less than a commitment.