Alliance Forged (29 page)

Leaving her hand resting on his chest, she tried to sort through the numerous emotions flicking through his aura. The lightness was still there, although it felt slightly forced, as if Varian were fighting to hold on to it. There was a tinge of apprehension mixed with confusion, but the emotion growing stronger by the second was desire. She didn’t want to rush their time together, so she focused on something a little less intense.

“Would you mind wetting your head? I want to wash your hair.”

As Varian ducked beneath the surface of the water, she scooped up a generous handful of soap-sand. He ended up with his back to her, kneeling, resting back on his heels so she could reach. It made combing and rubbing the suds through his hair easier.

“You have three braids on one temple and two on the other.” They were longer than the rest of his hair. Small wooden beads tied off each at the end. “This bead’s round. The one next to it is elongated.”

“They each represent an event in my life.” Varian’s stilted tone indicated reluctance, but he kept talking. “The round one signifies the first time I trapped and slew a wild
Vorc
.”

Kymora fingered a small ribbed one. “And the others?”

“The longer bead signifies the first
Na’Reish
warrior I killed.”

“The one who followed Hesia to your camp?”

“Yes. She made it for me. I also asked her to make the triangular one. That’s her bead, to honor everything she’s done for me in my life. The fourth one indicates I’m a scout.” The last braid had several small beads threaded through it. Varian’s fingers covered hers as she felt them. “Lisella made these for me when I became leader of the
Na’Chi
. They’re all the same shape, but each are the colors of the forest.”

“They’re like a journal of your life.” She rinsed his hair, then lathered up more soap-sand.

Starting at his neck, she ran slick hands over his broad shoulders, moving slowly, following the line of muscles. They weren’t thick, not like some warriors, but they were hard, toned by years of outdoor living. Spreading her fingers, she kneaded them and worked her way down his back. The raised trail of natural body markings guided her down his shoulder blades, over his rib cage, to the top of his hips. Every so often she came across a hard, uneven edge of flesh, perhaps a scar, although she refrained from asking him about them.

“What color are your markings?” She lingered over the larger ones decorating the flesh on either side of his waist. The muscles beneath her fingertips twitched.

“Brown.” It was only one word, but Varian’s voice was both deep and hoarse.

Kymora blinked. Had her touch aroused him so quickly? The idea made her smile. “Dark like the bark of a needle-tree or light like the spots on a
lira
-pelt?”

“Both. Those on my face and going down my back are dark. The ones on the back of my legs are lighter.”

She splashed water over his skin, cleaning the suds from it, then found the markings on his shoulders. “These ones are larger, not as closely grouped together.” She pressed a kiss to the first she found and used her tongue to trace the uneven edge. His skin tasted of heat and citrus. His shoulder jerked. “You know, I’d like to do this to every one of them.”

Varian’s body went tight, much like his voice. “Kymora…” A protest, but one with very little heat.

“If you don’t like something I’m doing, Varian, you’ll have to tell me.”

Moving onto her knees behind him, Kymora curled her arms around his ribs to reach his chest. She brought herself flush up against him and stifled a moan. His back felt like hot steel against the softness of her breasts and belly. The water lapping against them teased her senses.

Her cheek brushed the cool lobe of his ear. “I’m not exactly paying attention to your aura.” All her attention was on the physical plane. She stroked his chest, discovering more solid lines and curves. More heat. More hardness. Inhaling, she savored his scent and the tangy steam. “What I’m touching is distracting me. A lot.”

She dipped her hand in the soap-sand box and spread the granules over his chest. The foam tingled against her skin. Every contour, every texture, every inch of skin impressed itself into a tactile map inside her brain. As her fingertips skimmed over the flat disc of his male nipple, it hardened. The flesh around it raised and prickled into goose bumps.

Varian’s breath hitched. The sound wound its way inside her where it found the heat banked since their kiss and fanned it. “I have no objection to what you’re doing.” That came from between gritted teeth.

“Good.” She rested her chin on his shoulder and let him feel her smile against his skin. “Because your pleasure is mine.”

And it was. Any reserve she felt about being so bold was absent. The more he responded to what she was doing to him, the more incentive she felt to discover what excited him. She was entirely focused on him, his body, his enjoyment.

She remained still, letting him think about her last words a few moments longer before gliding her hand lower, over his ridged
abdomen. The rasp of his breath elevated; his stomach sucked in at her touch. His desire flared, strong enough that she felt it through her shields. Her heart lurched in response.

“Too fast?” She hesitated, her fingers resting above his navel.

His ribs expanded. “Unexpected.”

“I want to go farther”—her voice dropped to a husky whisper—“and curl my hand around you… touch you….”

“
Lady’s Breath
, Kymora.” Varian shifted in her hold, his curse a grated growl. He gripped her wrists, his long fingers wrapping around them firmly but not tight enough to hurt, as if he was going to stop her. The strength in him vibrated along the length of her arms. Against her cheek, his throat worked as he swallowed. “I have very little control left….”

Fear darkened his aura like a stain. Even without sensing the emotion, she knew he still worried about exposing her to his other half, the part of him he believed to be the darker, evil half. Her heart ached.

“Trust me.” She pressed a kiss to the soft skin of his neck. “Let me do this… for both of us….”

He might outmatch her physically, but she hoped he wouldn’t refuse her. She wanted him to believe in what she’d told him earlier. That she wanted him—all of him—not just what he wanted the world to see.

Kymora held her breath. Would he trust her enough to see to his pleasure?

K
YMORA’S lilting plea wrapped around Varian and tugged hard, yet he kept his grip firmly around her wrists, needing time to think. It was difficult when every nerve in his body was centered on where her hand lay, just over his navel, her fingers stretched wide. Heat coiled in his lower belly and drew into a tight knot until all he could feel was his blood pounding there. Throbbing. Aching.

Needing.

He wanted to continue but balked at the risk to her.

“Varian, please”—the husky softness of her voice seemed to beg and caress his senses at the same time—“just this once, and if you don’t like it, then I won’t touch you again.”

She would keep her promise, of that he had no doubt. Slowly, he released her wrists and gave a jerky nod, unable to voice his consent. His need outweighed his fear. This time.

“Thank you,” she whispered and pressed an open-mouthed kiss to his jaw.

His breath left him in a hiss as her hand slid the remaining
distance and closed around his erection. She held him gently, but her touch burned. In less than a second, he went from hard to harder and breathless.

“I don’t know how you like to be touched….” Her voice wavered. “Would you show me what you like?”

Hunger sizzled through him, from head to toe. Groaning, he let his head fall back onto her shoulder but wrapped his hand around hers.

“Tighter, like this.” The words were guttural. “Slow to begin with…”

The residual soap on her hand made the first smooth stroke feel like a lick of fire. He shuddered.

“Again…” He groaned as her fingers played over him. “Harder this time…”

He thrust forward as he drew her hand back along his length. The friction seared him again.

“Oh…” Her gasp sounded in his ear. “
… Blessed Mother…
”

Varian didn’t have the breath to agree with her. A few more strokes and he let her go. The tight points of her nipples poked into him, an erotic caress that left him dizzy and a little light-headed. Having her pressed against his back, moving with him, feeling what he did, added an intimate element that made the whole situation more intense.

Reaching back with his hands to grip the outside of her thighs, he knew he’d need something to hold on to as she continued to work him, discovering what made his breath catch and what wrenched a groan from deep within. And she succeeded in accomplishing both. More than once.

The light sweat covering her skin smelled of honey and spice. The slap and surging of water against his skin. Her uneven breathing, hot against the damp skin of his neck. Her arousal fed his, an invisible hand that stoked the fire beginning to blaze out of control.

His gaze flooded with crimson so rapidly it left him reeling; the darkness within rose fierce and fast, taking advantage of his weakness.

“
Merciful Mother
, no!” His breath labored hard as he struggled to hold it back, but the fire sweeping through him had him completely at its mercy. He couldn’t find the restraint he needed. Panic slashed through his gut.

“I’m here, Varian.” Kymora’s arms tightened around him. “
Mother
, your aura… your pleasure burns me”—her breath caught on a ragged moan—“inside and out.”

He focused on her voice, bucking against her hand.

“So hot, like a branding iron against my skin…”

The friction, the rhythm, the sensory intensity; everything in him grew tight, imploding fast. The molten sensation she was coaxing from him now was more powerful than anything he’d ever experienced before.

“Help me feel it, Varian. Let go.”

As if her words were a command, the heat exploded. He stiffened in shock. A hoarse cry came from his throat. His hips lifted, his body arched. Exquisite pleasure surged, searing every nerve ending as it released. Each wave increased twofold and ripped through him, leaving him writhing. Heart, mind, and soul.

How long he rode the shockwaves, he had no idea, but when he regained some sense of his surroundings, everything around him had reclaimed its rightful color even though it was hazy and blurred. He had to blink to bring it back into focus.

Kymora still held him close, her arms locked around his body, one hand splayed over his hammering heart, her cheek pressed to his back. His lungs worked like a set of bellows. Water splashed against the sides of the pool, a soft accompaniment to the pounding of his heart in his chest.

“
Mother of Light
, that was… I felt you peak.” She kissed his shoulder, sounding as shaken as he was. Reverent. Awed by the moment. “There are no words to describe it…. It was like I was inside you, Varian… so amazing. Just… incredible.”

Her voice centered him, as it had at the moment he’d feared losing control. He had, but not in the way he’d expected. Everything inside him felt shattered, weak, but deep inside there resided a stillness he’d never felt before.

Peace
. A deep, restful peace.

Turning in her hold, Varian pulled her in against him and buried his head in the crook of her neck. “Kymora…” His voice broke, but he didn’t care.

Her strength gave him an anchor. She stroked his hair, her touch so gentle it made his eyes burn.

“I know.” Her lips pressed against his temple. Her courage astounded him. “I know, Varian. I sense it…. I’ll hold you. I won’t let you go.”

Closing his eyes, Varian relaxed with a shuddering sigh. And believed.

“LIGHT Blade…” The voice came from a long way off, as if from the end of a very long tunnel. “Light Blade… you have to wake up….”

This time the voice came with a shaking motion that made the pounding in Arek’s head worse. He groaned and rolled onto his side. An earthy odor filled his nostril as his cheek pressed against something prickly but cool and damp. Hands helped him to sit. His shoulder scraped against a rough, fibrous surface. A tree?

“Come on, Light Blade.” The cajoling voice was edged with tension. “Our time is short…. Can you hear me?”

Arek forced open eyes that wanted to stay shut. Dim light and shadows danced around him. He blinked several times, trying to make sense of what he saw. Was that moonlight or had his head been hit so hard he could no longer see clearly? Gazing upward, a half crescent moon silhouetted branches swaying in the darkness. A breeze rustled the leaves overhead.

“Is he awake?” A feminine voice, soft, filled with fear.

Arek worked his tongue around his dry mouth and tasted the lingering iron tang of blood on his lips. “Where am I?”

The broad-shouldered shadow crouched in front of him turned from surveying the darkened woods. “You’re in the Crag Forest. West of Ostare.”

The last thing he remembered was a
Na’Reish
gloved fist connecting with his head. He frowned, wincing as pain lanced through his head. The image of retreating figures pushed through the ache.

Varian. The others.

Had they escaped?

Arek shivered, and not because of the cool temperature. There’d been another dozen demons converging on the clearing. He’d fallen. Why wasn’t he dead?

“How did I end up here?”

“The
Na’Hord
pursued your patrol. In the confusion, you were left for dead.” The female voice moved closer. Moonlight lit the slender figure of a girl in her midteens. She huddled beside the older man. Their simple garb identified them as crofters. “Yenass and I dragged you away, then we carried you here.”

A spine-chilling howl echoed through the forest.

Arek stiffened and jerked his head in the direction of the sound. The sudden movement blurred his vision. A wave of nausea rolled in his stomach.

Vorc
.

Way too close.

The
Na’Hord
were using the beasts to track them.