Battle Prize by Stephanie James

head to brush a light, tantalizing little kiss against her nose.
    Rani shivered and found herself stepping back a pace. Her awareness of him was making her feel nervous and tense. "Under the circumstances that's not the most diplomatic thing you could have said."
    He arched one brow in mocking interest. "No? But then, I didn't say which of us I considered as the spoils, did I? Come into my parlor, little fly, and have a glass of cognac. Now that you're this far, I'm willing to declare a truce."
    With one hand planted at the small of her back he guided her through the living room with its tranquil and sophisticated Oriental-inspired design. The furniture was low and modern and quietly masculine. Low ebony tables and chairs were upholstered in austere, exotic patterns. A pair of Asian bronze lions guarded the fireplace, and a beautifully painted coromandel screen stood in one corner. There was a set of antique swords mounted over the low couch, and the bookcases along one wall were filled with books on military history. The floor-to-ceiling windows opened on the garden, which was softly illuminated. The room was rather like its master, Rani thought : restrained, fascinating and not easily classified.
    He seated her amid the dark cushions of the couch and went to a teak cabinet to pour cognac into snifters. She watched him, trying to read the nuances of his movements, sense the direction of his thoughts. Her own simmering excitement was ringed with a strange ambivalence, and for a moment, as he poured the cognac, she attempted to analyze it.
    The yearning in her was a tangible force, but it was tempered with the restraints imposed by years of caution and self-protection. It was as if this man might somehow be asking too much of her too soon. Rani wanted time to understand this new element in her life. There was no denying the power of the emotions rippling between them, but that very factor made her tense and wary. She had told herself for so long that she wanted serenity and calm in a relationship, yet here she was becoming involved in one that was just the opposite. She needed time.
    There was so much they did not yet know about each other, Rani reminded herself. Much still stood between them. It would be wiser not to allow the seduction of the night to influence her.
    He turned away from the teak cabinet, a balloon glass in each hand, and across the room their eyes collided and locked. He thinks he has me, Rani realized abruptly, swallowing a wave of nervousness that sprang to life from nowhere. He thinks all he has to do now is reach out and take my hand and lead me off to bed. Was that the way it was? Was that the way she wanted it?
    Without a word he closed the distance between them, handing her one of the glasses. But instead of sitting down beside her, he remained standing, sipping from the cognac snifter in a small salute, his eyes poring over her intently. Then he swung around and paced to the window and stood for a long moment staring out into the shadowy garden. The tension began to heighten in Rani's body as she waited for the next move.
    This was ridiculous! She was a thirty-two-year-old woman who was fully capable of diplomatically guiding such man-woman scenes. What was the matter with her tonight? Why was she allowing this man to shake her composure? If she didn't want the drama to go any further, all she had to do was rise, excuse herself politely and drive home! Yet, there she sat, like a captive Sabine waiting for her new master to enjoy her at his leisure. Rani took another sip of the aromatic cognac, mentally stiffening her resolve. Yes, she was going to have to get control of this situation while she could still do so.
    But before she could find the words to gently but firmly bring a close to the evening, Gage spoke quietly, his broad back still to her as he gazed into the garden.
    "There's something we should have out in the open, Rani."
    Startled, her eyes narrowed slightly as she stared at the dark mass