Once we were in his room, Kiran took the pouch from me and set it on the table beside the bed.

            “What were you thinking?” His expression was hard. “This is my plan, I run the show. I say when we bet, and when we back out.”

            I glared at him, folding my arms over my chest. “You play like a woman, or a scared child. It’s called gambling for a reason. You take risks, Lightfoot…”

            He was across the room in two strides, slamming me back against the wall. His hands were on my shoulders, his grip so tight it was bruising.

            “Do you think I don’t know about risks?”

            I was startled to see that his cheeks were flushed with anger and he was breathing hard, chest rising and falling like he’d been running. “Do you think I don’t know what I’m getting into? My life has been nothing but risks. And now my life depends on this. On this plan. Do you understand me?”

            I blinked, eyes watering. Kiran opened his mouth like he was going to say something else, hesitated and then backed away from me. “I’m sorry.”

            I rubbed my shoulder and scowled at him. “That’s just it, I don’t understand. You haven’t told me anything. How do you expect me to…”

            “Just go along with what I’m doing,” Kiran said gruffly. “We stick to the plan.”

            My temper flared again. “You’re being too cautious. At this rate it’s going to take too long…”

            Kiran interrupted me, eyes flashing. “Do you know what your problem has always been, Cassandra? In the entire time I watched you, you did one thing over and over.”

            My mouth was hanging open now, and I started to protest that he didn’t know me, but he continued.

            “You overplay your hand. You’re confidence is good, in a way. But you’re too greedy. You’re addicted to the rush, so you don’t pull back when you should.”

            I was still sputtering, and now I trailed off, unsure what to say in retaliation. What could I say? Irritation made me scowl at him, because I didn’t like that he was right. I’d always lived on the edge, running from city to city. And it was always because I was running away from someone. Someone who’d figured out my luck wasn’t just luck.

            It had always been that way. I couldn’t seem to help it.

            Kiran’s voice was calm again. He smiled at me, which only made me more irritated. How could he go from stormy to calm in an instant? How could he mask his emotions so well?

            He turned away from me, moving to the bookshelf. “We follow my lead from now on. The next place we go to won’t be as shabby. And I won’t tolerate behavior like your little fit back there.”

            I narrowed my eyes at his back, wishing for something to throw at him. The memory of his “subtle” threat about the iron collar came back in that instant, and I felt like launching myself at him and kicking him repeatedly.

            He was still talking, but now my eyes were drawn to the bedside table. The leather pouch was just sitting there, unprotected.

Kiran had his back to me, still staring at the bookshelf as he talked. “We pick up some new clothing, I teach you a little bit more about etiquette and all that fun stuff, and then we can get on with the plan. And getting your gold.”

                He turned to look at me, and I snapped my gaze back to his face. He hadn’t seen me looking, had he? Defensiveness washed over me. It was my money anyways. I’d won it. Why did we have to spend it on clothing for his little scam? I could use the silver…

                I kept my face straight. “Yes, my gold.”

                Kiran gave me a lop-sided smirk and turned away, fingertips skimming over the books on the shelf. “Ms. Manners here should be able to teach you the basics. You’re still going to be a gambling lady, which isn’t quite polite society, but we need to at least pretend you come from a rich background…”

                There was an ugly little statue at the end of the bookshelf nearest to me, a gargoyle bookend. I glanced over at Kiran and slowly reached over to the bedside table, swiping the pouch as quietly as I could, pocketing it. There was a faint clink that made my shoulders tense, but Kiran didn’t look up from the book he was holding.

His dark head was bent over the pages, fingers skimming down the words, lips moving as he read. A lock of hair had fallen over his eyes. Part of me felt a deep regret as my fingers wrapped around the statue. In any other circumstance I would have been shoving him against the wall, running my fingers through his silky hair…

            If he wasn’t such a donkey’s ass…

                But I wasn’t about to bed him, I was about to clonk him over the head and take his money…no, my money. Not his.

                “All the common stuff…”

            I moved, launching myself through the air, shooting out one hand to grip his shoulder, whipping the rock sideways at his temple.

            Kiran moved under my hand, rotating sideways faster than I’d thought possible. The momentum and the weight of the stone statue sent me straight into the bookshelf, and I pulled back on time to keep from hitting my face on it, my right shoulder slamming into the shelf painfully.

            Something gripped my wrist tightly, cracking my arm against the wall, sending pain shooting up my elbow. The statue slipped from my numb fingers and hit the carpet with a dull thunk.

            I pivoted in Kiran’s grip, throwing myself sideways, trying to slide out from between his arms, bringing my hand up at the same time. The heel of my hand clipped his chin, sending him stumbling backwards with a grunt.

            If I could get to the door….

            Turning, I threw myself for the open doorway. No iron was blocking my way this time. I’d get out onto the streets and…

            My shins smacked into something as I turned to run, and I pitched forward with a shriek, crashing to the floor and smashing both knees so hard my eyes began to water.

            Strong hands grabbed my hips, flipping me over, slamming me onto the floor so hard the air left my lungs. I squeezed my eyes shut, gasping, feeling something heavy settle over my hips. Something was pinning my shoulders to the floor. The leather pouch in my pocket clinked as Kiran shifted on top of me.

            Finally, when I could breathe again, I opened my eyes to see his face inches away from mine. His blue eyes were wide and glittering with anger. His dark hair was tousled, and his chest was heaving as he tried to catch his breath.

            “Why do you always have to…”

            It was stupid, and impulsive, but there was something growing alongside the irritation and panic, something that bloomed hot and insistent in my chest now and wouldn’t let go of me. Kiran’s eyes went even wider when I reached up and grabbed his silk shirt in both fists. He flinched back, obviously expecting more violence.

            Instead I pulled him down on top me, bringing his face closer, bring his lips to my lips. His mouth was hot on mine, and at first he was resistant, his body stiff with shock. Seconds later he seemed to melt. I could feel his hands on my face, in my hair, stroking down the length of my body.

            The kiss grew deeper, more intense. He pressed the length of his body into mine, sending tingling little shocks all through me. An intense need was curling in the pit of my stomach now. My hands strayed over his chest, feeling every inch of his muscular torso, skimming over the shirt and up under it, straying down to his belt…

            “Hold on…”

            He pulled away suddenly, disheveled and panting, eyes darting around the room. He looked confused, panicked even. Kiran looked down at himself, examining his hands. “Did you...are you doing something to me? Something…”

            My mouth fell open when I realized he was checking himself for fairy dust. “You think I magicked you?”

            “Bargains with fairies…”

            “That wasn’t a bargain, you idiot.” I stood up, straightening the ridiculous dress I was wearing. The fire in my belly had died to embers now, slowly being replaced by growing irritation. “I’m not a real fairy, you should know that by now.”

            He was still looking at his hands, and I felt suddenly irrationally upset about the whole thing. “If I’m going to do something to you, I’ll stab you, or hit you over the head. Not magick my way into your pants.” I shoved my hand into my pocket and snatched the coin pouch out, slamming it down onto the bedside table. “Here, take your stupid silver for your stupid plan.”

            I turned, stomping my way towards the door, and Kiran shot to his feet, following me. “Wait, where are you…”

            “I’m going to my room,” I snapped at him over my shoulder. “Don’t call me until morning.”

            The sound of the door slamming echoed in the empty room, and I felt the vibrations go up my arm. Somehow I’d thought slamming the door shut in his face would have been more satisfying, but in order to do so I’d grabbed the iron doorknob for a few seconds, and now my hands were burning.

            God, I’m so stupid.

       In a way, I knew my anger was irrational. It stood to reason that a master thief would be a suspicious  person. Hell, I was one myself. You didn’t get by on the streets by trusting everyone you met. But still, I couldn’t shake the slow burning anger, and as I lay in bed staring up at the roof I knew it would be ages before I would fall asleep.

            I felt like a fool. I’d practically thrown myself at him, giving into an impulse I should have resisted. And why had I given the silver back like that? I should have kept it, the door was wide open and Kiran was still shell-shocked and confused, I could have run out the door.

            But then he would think I’d planned it that way. That’s really what had stopped me. If I’d run out just then, Kiran would have thought I’d kissed him like that just to distract him and get away. But I hadn’t…I’d kissed him because I wanted to. I still wanted to…

            “Damnit!” I turned over and punched the pillow beside me, feeling my eyes burn. I was such an idiot. Now was not the time to give into physical attraction. I still had to decide if I was in this plan for the long run, or if I was going to bail later on. Now…now I’d complicated things.

            There was still a physical ache in my gut. My fingertips tingled, and it might have been from touching the iron, but I imagined I could still feel Kiran’s smooth skin under my hands. But there was no use thinking that way, was there? He didn’t trust me.

            Stay for the gold, I told myself. That was an incentive. The amount of silver I’d been about to steal, I would have gone through it in a manner of weeks. But gold…enough gold to set me up for life.

            And if there’s a moment to bail that I can’t resist…well, we’ll just wait and see.

            I shut my eyes, resolving that whatever happened, I wasn’t leaving without my money.