Playing her part, she bit her bottom lip and looked up at him through her lashes. “Pardon, m’lord. I didn’t mean to mistake you for a running path.

Striking amber irises surrounded by thick black lashes peeked from the eyes of the mask. A ripple rolled through the power inside her, like this man had reached in and touched a finger to the still surface of her a’mi. Her mind went blank as desire rolled through her, taking her breath.

“If all runners were as beautiful as you, I’d be willing to be the path more often,” he said, his voice low and husky.

Ignoring the feelings he elicited in her, she barely kept from rolling her eyes. Expose a little cleavage or the hint of a curvy figure and men were all the same, the sight of a woman’s face being totally unnecessary to judge beauty. Even had she not been wearing the mask, she knew there was nothing beautiful about her. Too tall and mouthy, she preferred dressing like a Diomerean nobleman rather than the noblewoman she was. Never mind the scar that bisected the left side of her face.

“Thank you, m’lord,” she said, tone dry. She smiled and batted her lashes up at him.

His low chuckle sent a shiver down her spine as he stepped back and bowed. "Dance with me."

Playing along to get what she'd come for, she nodded. He rose back to his full height, his striking eyes crinkled at the corners as if he smiled under the mask. She resisted the urge to pull her hand from his, forcing herself to continue as if she were truly just another young woman intent on enjoying the lax rules of the festival. He reached the dance floor and turned to sweep her into his arms.

Their gazes locked. He pulled her body against his from chest to hip, his hand pressed firmly against the small of her back.

She smiled sweetly and dropped her gaze, then muttered through clenched teeth. "Ease off."

He loosened his hold, giving her a bit of space, then dipped his head to whisper in her ear. “Acting the coy miss isn’t one of your gifts."

His lips grazed her ear, causing an arrow of desire to arc through her body.

 
She tilted her head, their cheeks only a breath apart, and whispered back. “Insincere flattery is obviously one of yours.”

Unable to resist the swell of muscle under her palms, she caressed his chest as she pulled away, chin lifted. Her smile slipped and her conscious spoke up in reprimand. You’re acting like Father. Her stomach flipped, threatening to eject her morning meal. A man whore who couldn't resist a pretty face, her father had five daughters with five different mothers. Refusing to allow herself to be anything like him, she jerked her hands from the masked man's chest as if she’d been burned.

He trapped her gaze in his. “Is it not said that flattery makes friends and truth makes enemies?”

Nadia scowled and shoved her a’mi deep.

“Then I’d rather be enemies," she said, then stepped back as the song ended.
She held her hand out in the traditional greeting of her people, rather than the shoulder clasping Thunoans used. She didn't worry about it helping anyone identify her. There were people from various nations here today, the celebration of Asha a popular event.

His smoldering gaze held a challenge as he slid his palm against hers. His thumb caressed the back of her hand, making her shiver, before he finally pulled his hand back toward his chest, the parchment she’d slipped him tucked between his fingers. The greeting ended with their palms over their hearts.

Nadia ignored the heat pooling in her stomach. “The gods keep you, m’lord.”

“Asha’s blessing on you, lady,” he said.

She told herself she clenched her fist because the greeting demanded it, not to hold on to the feel of his skin against hers. Tearing her gaze away, she strode to a nearby vendor’s stall.

She smiled at the merchant as she perused his selection of meat pies. Pointing to a small, stuffed pastry, she handed him her coin and glanced over her shoulder. Heated eyes studied her.

Her thighs clenched. She frowned and struggled to wrestle back control of her traitorous body. The man tilted his head in a shallow nod, then turned and disappeared into the crowd.