He released her and without a backward glance, he left his chambers.
The moment he was out of earshot, the ladies burst into giggles.
"Oh, wow, my lady. He is truly impressive." Lass said it and the rest of them started to howl as the words of truth sank in.
"Eshkar chose him. The star has very good taste." Nasha tried to be prim and failed miserably.
Tish tsked over the chains. "Still in chains, lady? At least they are prettier."
"Yes, and I have more of a range of movement now. Progress is always welcome. So, shall we see our new home? I have only seen the kitchens and dining hall so far." Nasha smirked.
"I think a tour would be welcome. Where is that charming guard you had this morning?" Mithwai blushed a deep violet when Nasha arched a brow.
"I think we might be able to find Tonio if we tried." She went to the door and opened it. On the other side was the guard in question, his hand raised to knock.
"Speak of the devil. Hello, Tonio. We are in need of a tour."
He bowed, "Yes, my lady. Lord Thorn mentioned it. May I have the pleasure of meeting your ladies?"
She laughed, "Of course. This is Tish, Vavi, Lass, Orial, and the lovely, charming and interested, Mithwai."
Mithwai's blush went up a notch and she scowled at Nasha with all of the irritation that she expected from her ladies. If she couldn't tease her companions, whom could she tease?
Tonio looked Mithwai over and bowed low to her while he said, "Pleased to make your acquaintances, ladies."
Her ladies curtsied and replied in kind. Mithwai was still blushing up a storm.
Tonio held the door and they filed into the hallway to begin their tour.
He showed them the publicly accessible library, the dining hall, the indoor gardens and when they got to the kitchens, Nasha took over.
"This is Dorith. She is the one who organized our charming lunch. Maida is a server par excellence and the others are in the back attending to the dishes from the mid-meal."
Dorith didn't know what to do with herself. "My lady. Pardon any offence I may have given."
Nasha smiled. "No offence was given, but I do warn you that I may take to visiting the kitchen in the dark hours. I occasionally need to think and making a batch of bread is very soothing."
"Of course, my lady. Whatever you wish. Lord Kalowell has ordered you to have full run of the keep and so you shall."
She curtsied again and Nasha turned to smile at Maida. The poor woman was trembling with fear. "Don't worry, Maida. I will never hold a conversation amongst equals against you. We are all women, are we not?"
Relief and a peculiar respect filled Maida's eyes. "Indeed, mistress. Thank you."
Nasha's ladies introduced themselves to Dorith, each taking her hand in turn. The housekeeper looked amazed that the elegant women greeted her as an equal, but it was the Fano way.
Tonio asked her quietly while Orial was discussing recipes with Dorith, "Why do you treat her as an equal. You are a lady, she is a commoner."
"Because the only reason I am a lady is that my father had sex with my mother, a poor reason for thinking I am above her in station, isn't it?"
He nodded as the idea ran through him.
"Why do some of you call him Lord Kalowell and others Lord Thorn?"
"It depends on when we entered his service. I grew up in the keep when his father was Lord Kalowell. Lord Thorn was in charge of the guard and defence, so most of the military still call him Lord Thorn while the newer and domestic staff call him Lord Kalowell."
When her ladies were finished swarming around Dorith, they nodded and she turned to Tonio. "Lord Thorn mentioned gardens?"
He grinned and nodded. "This way, ladies. Kalowell has some of the most beautiful gardens on the entire continent."
She inclined her head for him to lead the way. "We will be the judge of that."
Chapter Ten
Nasha had to admit that she was stunned at the beauty of the gardens around her. The flowers were lush and well-tended, fruits were sweet and the open grasses were a thick, soft carpet under her feet.
Her ladies were climbing trees and picking berries, laughing and chattering as they would have at home. It seemed the Fano women were adapting quickly.
Nasha was sitting on a bench and enjoying the afternoon sun on her face when a shadow fell across her face. "General Alsco, how charming to see you again."
He sat next to her, so close that she could feel the radiating heat from his thighs. "Lady Nasha, I hear that you have already spread your legs for Thorn."
Ithena began to rise in her, the hostility radiating off Alsco was rousing her protective instincts.
"We attempted to raise my star to the surface." She made a tiny gesture to keep her ladies back.
Tish looked worried and that was a bad thing. She had more sensitivity than any of the others combined and that meant Alsco was broadcasting unpleasant emotions.
Tonio looked conflicted and he suddenly darted back into the keep.
Nasha felt a flutter of disappointment that he abandoned her so easily.
"And were you successful?" He was trailing his fingers on her thigh and leaning toward her.
"Time will tell. I did give it my all though." Her skin was crawling at his touch.
"Would your so-called star rise with a more skilful lover, do you think?" The trail of his fingers turned into a more solid grip and he moved dangerously close to the juncture of her thighs.
A familiar voice struck out with a deep anger. "I think you should remove your hand and yourself from the keep, Alsco."
Thorn was emanating pure fury and a strange aura. Golden light was pulsing from him and a quick glance told her that Eshkar was in complete control.
Ithena rose to match her mate, her temperature rising until the general yelped in pain. With his hand removed from her, she went to stand beside her mate, looking at the male who was turning powder blue under her gaze.
"Nasha invited me to her bed. I swear it, my lord!"
A low growl came from Thorn's throat. "
You lie. It was your hand on her, not hers on you that I saw when you were offering her your services, hashka. My mate's avatar did not invite or entice you in anyway.
"
"I promise, my lord. She started to seduce me on the journey to the keep."
Eshkar laughed. "
She was naked, covered with blood and pinned against me. There was no ounce of seduction in her. She merely wanted escape. You will remove yourself from Kalowell lands immediately. I do not wish to kill you for defying my direct order to leave this woman alone.
"
Ithena placed her hand on Eshkar's arm. He calmed by inches. A half-dozen guards came and escorted Alsco out of the garden.
Eshkar looked down at her, stroking her hair away from her face. "
He was my avatar's oldest companion. They grew up together, but even he was not surprised when Tonio came for help.
"
"She was contemplating strangling him with the chain Thorn placed on her."
He grinned. "
Was she? She is a feisty thing, isn't she?
"
"Once, I saw her rally her men to fight off forest bandits when she was twelve, I knew she was the avatar for me."
She curled her arm in his and they began to walk through the garden. "
This is a very lovely garden.
"
"It is his pride and a source of serenity. He won't admit it to her, but he gardens every chance he gets."
"
She goes into the kitchen and bakes. Oh, she didn't like me saying that.
" Ithena laughed at the irate cursing of Nasha in her mind. "
She is the most independent of my avatars, ever.
"
"He is strong and calm of mind. A great warrior and a better statesman. He was dying on the battlefield when I took him and with the healing I provided, he agreed to become my avatar. He was not too keen on the idea either. I have to admit his words to me are hardly deferential right now."
They passed Nasha's ladies-in-waiting who bowed low at the obvious presence of their star. The ladies kept a good distance from them, allowing them their privacy. How thoughtful.
Ithena smiled. "
You should have heard Nasha cursing me out when I would not rise for you.
"
"You allow her to speak that way to you?"
"I sort of enjoy it. It lets me know that whatever she says it is from the heart. I never have to guess what she is thinking about."
A sober look from golden eyes into her red orbs ceased the momentary frivolity in her.
"Thorn wishes to know how much she really hates the chains."
"She thinks they are rather pretty, but would rather have a choice."
Eshkar nodded. "
Interesting. He wants her people to see her in chains. He believes it will make it easier for them to accept the loss of life involved in the defence of Fano.
"
"It is probable. She has quieted on the matter now."
He cleared his throat. "
When do you think she will let him back into her bed?
"
She laughed again. "
She tricked him. She cannot share his bed, but there is no regulation against him sharing hers. Oh, she didn't like me sharing that information either.
"
Chuckling contentedly, she turned with him to return to the keep
.
Nasha was in a slow simmer of irritation but not generally furious. After years of living in her body, Ithena knew the difference.
"When will her people arrive?"
"By the end of the week. Thorn has sent off wagons and scouts to bring them here, but if she would sign a note to her people that allows them to come to us without worrying, it would be a good thing."
"She will do it. Take her to paper and pen and she will draft it immediately. Do you have housing arranged?"
"He does. He created a separate village two years ago when he began negotiations with Lord Fano. Their fields are ready for the growing season and supplies have been set aside for them to last them through the first two years."
"She is crying."
"Why?"
"It is what she wanted for her people. She wants them to live good, productive lives. Each member of her keep is known to her and as precious as true family. I had to blank most of her mind during the battle. She could not stand to see her men cut down."
"Ah, Thorn understands. It also explains why she fought when he caught you."
Ithena laughed again. "
No, that was all her. I ducked out of sight the moment you were within fifty yards.
"
"Feisty indeed."
"
I think she will be a good mother. You simply need to tell your avatar that there are other places than his bedchamber for sex. Wow, she really didn't like that one.
" Ithena was so busy laughing at her that she let her control slip away.
"Eshkar, if you so much as hint to Thorn of what she just said, I will…I don't know what."
Thorn's blue gaze focussed on her face. "Too late. I heard everything. She calms him quite well."
"She does. So you are going to pretend you didn't hear anything?"
His smile was pure masculine smugness. "For now, I will let you know when I change my mind."
With a sigh, she left him and returned to her ladies. With Tonio hovering nearby, they made their way back into the keep and Nasha asked for a pen and paper. She had a declaration to write.
Chapter Eleven
After she penned and signed six copies of her declaration to let her people know that they had a new place to live and provisions and lodgings were waiting for them, she completed the tour.
The warriors practicing in the courtyard was a favourite of her ladies, so Nasha left them watching the men engage in mock battles, their bronzed blue bodies gleaming in the sun.
Nasha returned to the dark halls of the keep and tried to yelp in surprise as a hand covered her mouth and pulled her into an alcove.
The scent of the hand over her mouth started a surge of lust as she realized that it was Thorn holding her. His dark whisper in her ear sent shivers through her. "I have changed my mind."
He released her mouth and cupped her breasts through her gown, pinching her nipples through the cloth as his lips kissed and nibbled at her neck. He released her breast to raise her skirt to her hips as he bent her forward to cling to a small chair in the curtained alcove.
His hand left her body and she heard his own clothing rustling as he freed himself. The first blunt probe of his cock against her made her flinch, but he backed off, slid two fingers into her and spread the moisture that was flowing from her and then he returned to try again.
This time, the flared head rubbed in her moisture first and then slid into her by inches. For balance, she spread her feet and lowered her hands to the seat of the chair, opening herself to him as best she could.
He thrust slowly until he was firmly seated and then started to pull her back onto him with a heavy beat. The harsh slap of their bodies made a noise that had heat flaring in her skin from head to toe. The perverse thrill of having an active hallway outside the alcove and the idea that they could be discovered at any moment sent her spiralling toward a release that she ruthlessly muffled by biting her lip.
His groan was executed through clenched teeth and his body shook as jets of semen emptied into her channel. She whimpered softly as he pulled out of her and smoothed her skirt back into place. He adjusted his own clothing after that and she was still leaning forward on the chair, her muscles locked as strong aftershocks pulsed inside her.
Thorn helped her rise and turned her to face him, rubbing her back as he leaned forward for a leisurely kiss. "I look forward to our next encounter, dinner is in an hour."
He left her in the alcove with a wink and a caress on her buttocks.
Nasha's heat was starting to bloom. There was no doubt. Every time Thorn was near, her body readied for sex. It would have been embarrassing if it wasn't so much fun.