He had no words in which to tell her. He was terribly in earnest. Hammers were pounding in his temples. His face was twitching. The darkness choked him.
He drooped closer. His lips brushed her furs. She sat breathless. His lips crept higher and touched her hair.
“No, please.” Her voice was shaky and childish. “Not now. I—I don’t feel like it.”
He drew back. Though she had denied him, their hands clung together. Hers lay motionless, like the beating heart of a spent bird that has lost the strength to save itself. The power that he knew he had over her at that moment made him feel like a ruffian who had lain in ambush and taken her unaware.
“Shall I let it go?” he whispered.
For answer the slim fingers nestled closer.
“Meester Deek, you were never in love before, were you?”
“Never.”
“Very wonderful. I thought not. You don’t act like it.”
“And you, Princess?”