“I suppose.” He laughed, then, but it
sounded forced and pained to her ears. “Lads, I charge you with keeping your
eyes on her at all times.”
She couldn’t help the squeak that
escaped. She’d been using the garderobe to change her clothing each day. With
Khul leaving, she’d planned to ban the Blood from the bath too.
“You are welcome to try, Khul’lanna.”
The flat tone of Dharman’s voice told her he could not be swayed. He turned to
Khul and pressed his fist to his heart, reaffirming his dedication and salving
her warrior’s pride for his earlier refusal. “Khul, every morsel that passes
her lips will first be tasted by me. Every step she takes will be shadowed by
nine warriors who shall willingly die to protect a single hair on her head. She
shall not even dip a toe in her bath without Sal and I both knowing of it and
judging the quality and temperature of the water ourselves.”
“At last,” Sal breathed.
The look of wonder and expectation on his face
made her stomach quiver with dread.
Laughing, Rhaekhar shook his head, as
though he feared to hear what the young Blood would say. “What?”
Sal grinned. “Now I shall know what sort
of underclothes you wear beneath your armor.” He lowered his voice, quirking
that damned dimple at her. “I’ve heard tales of some extraordinary things from
your nobles. Have you a pair of crotchless drawers, Khul’lanna?”
“It’s time for our bath now.” Face
blazing, she seized Rhaekhar’s arm and dragged him toward stone archway. Had
they spied on her, even when she’d been in the seamstress’s changing room?
“Privacy, Dharman. You promised.”
“Aye, Khul’lanna.” Dharman slapped Sal
on the back. “Enjoy this night well, for you shall not be alone again.”
“Until we’re safe on the Plains,” she
retorted.
“When you’re safe,” Dharman amended. He
stared at her, but he seemed to see beyond her, his gaze distant as though he
looked at some future wreathed in shadow. “And reunited with Khul.”
Chills raced down her arms. He, too,
seemed sad, the look of compassion and regret in his eyes unequal to a young
man who’d just learned he had the opportunity to see her naked as well as sleep
in her bed.
Each Blood received gifts from Vulkar,
often a sense of foretelling in order to better protect the one he guarded. Did
he see something? Was Khul right to worry about leaving her behind? She wanted
to ask, but hesitated.
Do
I really want to know?
Raising her chin, she turned away,
followed Rhaekhar into the chamber, and shut the door firmly behind her. She
already knew Shadow lay in wait for her. She heard its crooning call of death
each and every time she closed her eyes.
Shannari dal’Dainari ran from nothing
and no one, but she’d rather not know the truth.
* * *
BUILT GENERATIONS AGO OVER A natural hot
spring, the Palace of Shanhasson enjoyed an unlimited supply of hot water.
Inside her private bath, the sunken marble-tiled pool was large enough for all
nine of her Blood to join them, and possibly even Khul’s if needs be. Not that
she’d ever consider the possibility. Dharman and Sal watching her bathe would
be embarrassing enough. She couldn’t comprehend Varne taking a soak with them.
Low benches were built into the walls,
perfect for submersing up to her chin. Mats lined the sides, and steam
thickened in the air. A tray held several bottles of oils and perfumes, but the
amber-colored bottle had been a special purchase she’d made just yesterday.
Benton had brought a most interesting selection of items from Far Illione and
the deserts beyond.
With a quick yank, Rhaekhar removed his
memsha
and stood magnificently nude.
“Are you up for this challenge?”
Muscle, muscle everywhere, and she
planned to lick and bite every inch.
Shannari gave him a smoldering smile and
began removing her armor. She suddenly regretted her adamant request for
privacy. Some of the buckles—
Unobtrusively, Dharman slipped up behind
her and assisted without her request. He lifted the breastplate over her head,
followed by the leather jerkin, but then he stepped away. Impressed that he
wasn’t going to push his advantage, she thought,
Thank you
.
She felt his smile in the bond as he
shut the door.
:As long as Sal doesn’t
get to see your underclothes before me.:
Rhaekhar chuckled at whatever look was
on her face.
“Why is everyone so terribly concerned
about my clothing or lack thereof?”
“Because we love you, my heart. You know
those lads would slit their own throats with a smile if you asked.”
“I won’t ask,” she grumbled, slipping
out of the stiff leather pants and her linen—crotched, thank you very
much—underclothes. “Not that or anything else.”
Yet she couldn’t forget the weight of
her young Blood’s body pressed against her. Combined with Rhaekhar’s teasing
and threats that they should sleep with her, watching her at all times, she
couldn’t help that her mind kept wandering back to that forbidden territory.
“I never wanted to…” Her throat ached
and she couldn’t finish the sentence.
“Want them, need them, love them.” He
reached up to take her hand and pull her down the steps into the deliciously
hot water. “You never wanted me either, nor our
na’lanna
Shadowed Blood.
But you do,
my heart, and for that,
I’m more thankful than I can ever say, though I admit that Dharman faces a
challenge he’ll not soon forget.”
She dropped her head against Rhaekhar’s
chest. The baked grains and sweet hay scent of the Plains sent a twisting
hunger through her stomach. “I love you.”
He settled them both on the ledge, and
for awhile, they simply soaked in the heat. “I’m still warrior enough to handle
both you and them.” His voice sounded drowsy, as though the warmth was putting
him to sleep. Definitely not in her plans, at least not yet. “I thought your
Green Land baths very strange after our steamtents, but I enjoy a long soak,
especially when you’re at my side.”
She stirred and stretched her arms over
her head, arching her back in blatant invitation. “Why don’t you lie down on
the edge and let me begin my massage?”
Eyes heavy lidded, he ran his gaze down
her body, but he complied, his mighty arms levering his big body out of the
water. “I thought you wanted to give me such a bath that I would lose control.”
“I am. On your stomach, please.”
Laughing, he stretched out as she
wished, carefully shifting his weight so he didn’t lie completely flat on his
belly. “I can’t fully comply for obvious reasons.”
“Well, let’s see what I can do about
that,” she purred.
Dunking her head beneath the water, she
surged up out of the pool and straddled his lower back.
“
Na’lanna
.”
His voice was rather strained. “I don’t believe this is a very good starting
position. One of us is backwards and it is not you.”
“Patience, my heart. I want to give you
a massage first.”
“I don’t want a massage.” Heat rumbled
through his voice that had nothing to do with anger. “I want you. Preferably
this very moment.”
Selecting the smoky amber vial, she
popped off the cork and sniffed it carefully. Exotic scents washed over her:
roasted sticks nearly burnt, dark, sultry sandalwood, and beneath, a feral musk
that she couldn’t identify.
According to Benton, the desert dwellers
of Keldar threw sticks and seeds onto a stone, let the natural heat of the sun
roast them, and then they tossed the burnt spices into both their tea and oil.
Since their drink of choice was called “Fire Tea,” the oil had captured her
imagination, for obvious reasons.
She poured a small amount into her hands
and rubbed it into her skin, testing it on herself. The oil heated immediately,
releasing a mouth-watering aroma of exotic sandalwood. Whether the oil heated
her skin or her skin heated the oil, she didn’t know, but the spreading fire
was unmistakable. It didn’t hurt, though, so she smoothed her palms from the
small of Rhaekhar’s back up the slabs of muscle to his shoulders. Kneading her
way across his shoulders, she said nothing, waiting to see his reaction.
“Great Vulkar, woman, what is that?”
“Fire Oil,” she replied innocently. She
didn’t know what the Keldari called it. “Doesn’t it smell delicious?”
“Forget how it smells.” He sucked in his
breath and shifted beneath her, his back humping like a horse getting ready to
buck her off. “No wonder it’s called Fire Oil; my flesh is on fire.”
“You don’t like it?”
He shuddered, his big hands fisted in
the soft mat. “If I were inside you, I’d like it much better.”
Stretching out on top of him, she rubbed
her breasts against his back, spreading the oil into her skin. Deliberately,
she moaned, tormenting him with her own sounds of desire. It did feel like fire
spread across her skin. The scent burrowed deeper in her body, twisting and
stirring her hunger. She gripped his shoulder in her jaws and slowly sank her
teeth into the heavy muscle until he growled and moved beneath her, his hands
sliding back to tug at her ankles and calves.
Her lips and tongue heated with the oil,
buzzing and tingling as she rubbed her mouth across the broad expanse of his
back. “You smell good enough to eat.”
Wriggling lower on his thighs, she
licked a path down his spine, smoothing her palms up and down his flanks. She
bit him again, hard enough he groaned so loudly the Blood must surely hear it.
“Remember our challenge. You’re not going to lose control, are you?”
“That depends.” Panting, he raised his
head enough to glare at her over his shoulder. Sweat dripped into his eyes, and
his hair was dark and heavy with steam. “Are you finally going to mark my
arse?”
She’d marked Gregar’s ass years ago on
the night of their claiming, and Rhaekhar had long regretted that he’d lost
that competition, even though he wore many other marks on his throat and chest.
“That was my general intention.”
He buried his face in his forearm and
cursed, muttering beneath his breath so she couldn’t make out his words. She
took that as permission. But first…
She poured more oil into her hands and
kneaded it into both cheeks and down his hamstrings. Lady above, she’d never
seen a finer warrior. Hot velvet skin stretched tight over sculpted granite, he
was a complex mixture of explosive power and incredible gentleness. Although
there was nothing gentle about his hoarse growl when she reached under his
raised hip to wrap her oiled hand around him.
“I’m going…” He arched his back, lifting
his rump so he could thrust in her hand. “To pour…that cursed oil…all over
you…while I hold you down…and let your Blood…lick it off.”
Lady, he might as well have doused her
head to toe in the sizzling oil. Immediately, her mind pictured it: Rhaekhar
lying at her head, pinning her arms against him, while auburn and golden brown
heads moved eagerly down her body.
Using his own challenge words, she
retorted, “You’re welcome to try.”
She struck, biting deep, gripping his
cheek in a punishing bite until blood filled her mouth. Rich with strength,
spiced with love, his blood stoked a fire in her that had nothing to do with
Keldari oil.
Whatever he meant to say was lost on a
roar.
He rolled over so hard she tumbled off
to the side and nearly spilled the oil. “Come here.”
“The challenge.” She couldn’t seem to
catch her breath. “Do I win?”
He slammed his arms down to the mat,
fists at his side. Eyes blazing, he ground out, “Continue.”
“Are you sure?”
He shot her a dark look. “Be wary with
that oil,
na’lanna
. When I come
inside you, it’ll spread like wildfire on your tender flesh, too.”
Holding his gaze, she tipped the vial
over his chest. “I’m counting on it.”
Oil drizzled across his powerful
pectorals and puddled in the washboard hollows of his abdomen. A tremor shook
his body but he didn’t make another sound.
His bond was another matter entirely.
Vulkar’s Mountain bubbled and smoldered inside him, molten lava building
pressure with each drop of oil and stroke of her hand.
Keeping her eyes locked on his, she
slowly lowered her mouth to his stomach. Swirling her fingertips in the oil,
she traced her fingers lightly over each crest and hollow. Her lips felt
swollen, burning with oil, her tongue and throat catching fire. The oil tasted
strongly of roasted spices. Mixed with the texture of his skin and his own
unique scent, she couldn’t stop licking, biting, rubbing her mouth harder
against him.
She felt starved, her need building as
fiercely as his. His blood sizzled in her stomach, stoking that fire until it
was all she could do not to leave bleeding bites everyplace her mouth roamed.
The oil had awakened a beast in her that was very, very hungry for flesh and
blood.
Worried, she sat back on her heels,
chest heaving. Her shadowed lust for blood could seriously harm him.
I didn’t bargain on wanting to eat him
alive.