DarykCraving (6 page)

He locked the door and leaned back against it with his eyes
closed. He was in pain again. During his walk of his property, his cock had
behaved, distracted by other business.

Now that he was behind closed doors, his body remembered all
too well how much he wanted Aknada. Emotionally, he felt as if he’d been
dragged through a wringer. When tears had come to his eyes, he’d been
mortified, but at the same time, showing her how he felt seemed natural. At one
time, honesty with Aknada hadn’t come easy. He’d always been afraid to reveal
deeper emotions to her. When she’d come into his arms, he thought he’d die.
Plain and simple, he could die at that moment and feel perfectly happy. His
body, though, wanted more. Heat poured through his veins. He wanted her more
than he’d ever wanted another woman. His body burned with desire. He clenched
his fists and launched away from the door. He tore his sodden clothes off as he
went. He tossed away his cloak. His boots flew to one side of the room, his
trousers in another corner. He yanked his tunic off and dropped it to the
floor. Naked, he stomped to the bathing room and turned on the water shower. He
stood under it, allowing water to trim away the day’s thoughts and worries. Yet
no matter what, he couldn’t remove the memory of Aknada nestled in his arms,
her breasts pressed to him, her hands on his chest. Touching his nipples.

He hissed in a breath and circled his stiff cock with a
solid grip. Maybe this way he could forget the aching, gnawing desire. He
smoothed his fist over the hard flesh. It wasn’t as if he didn’t take pleasure
this way like any man—in fact he’d often thought of Aknada while taking his own
cock in hand.

This time though, he thought he’d lose his mind and sense if
he didn’t do it now. Fast.

He didn’t try to stifle sounds of pure sexual release
issuing from his throat as he imagined Aknada’s pretty lips circling his cock.
Her hand would cup his balls, squeezing them and caressing them lightly as her
wet tongue and mouth wrapped around his length and teased him with stroke after
stroke. Shaking and moaning, he couldn’t resist imagining her pussy. He would
thrust into her warm center. Slick and hot and tight, her body would accept
him. She’d sigh with pleasure. She’d clutch him to her as he tunneled into her.
She’d shiver around him in ecstasy as she came on his cock.

He couldn’t take it anymore.

As lightning lit up the darkened room, pleasure crashed over
him. He growled as his cock released a stream of life force. Ecstasy scalded
him, made him shake and moan with pleasure.

As he washed away evidence of his sexual needs, he vowed
Aknada would someday trust him enough to accept him into her body. His idea
that he would take marriage with her selflessly without sex had vanished. He
wanted her to heal, and he knew the only way would be sex with him. Sex that
banished her memory of lost power, of humiliation and pain. He would erase
those horrible memories with dignity, wanton pleasure and happiness. He would
conquer her fear.

And if he was very, very fortunate, find a way into her
heart.

Chapter Five

Aknada watched refugees straggle into Marc’s encampment the
following day. Rain had retreated to a light drizzle, but dark clouds built
once again to the north.

Flooding started in the Tarrian jungle sometime in the night
as a river overflowed its banks. No one remembered the rains being this bad,
not even the elders. Rain had torn through camps in the desert, turning the
usual dry and sandy ground into a morass of quicksand, even sending a wide flow
of it into the jungle. She’d learned of all this from people as they arrived in
the area.

Xandra came to Aknada’s side. “This is awful.”

Xandra nodded, uncertain how to form what she thought into
reasonable words. “It is. But it is not the first time it has happened nor will
it be the last.”

“How could this be helped? Was there any way to warn
people?”

A soft chuckle of disbelief left Aknada’s throat. “People
have predicted the weather for many years and with great accuracy on Dragonia.
This time, their understanding of it failed. It isn’t possible to always be
correct. In anything.”

Aknada turned her gaze on Xandra when Xandra didn’t speak.
“I’m sorry. Did I say something untoward or offensive?” She smiled wryly. “I’ve
been known to do that.”

Xandra chuckled and squeezed Aknada’s shoulder. “Not at all.
I understand what you mean.” Silence surrounded them for a short time before
she asked, “Where is Marc?”

Aknada kept her voice steady. “He took some men into the
jungle. They’re checking for people who may be hurt and need shelter.”

Xandra slanted her a suspicious look. “Marc is an interesting
man. When I first met him, I thought maybe he was a true rogue. Not a rogue in
disguise like Rayder.”

“His past is dubious. He’s hidden behind the mask of rogue
to help other people. He prefers if people don’t know he’s a good man. It’s
safer if they think he is made of hard metal.”

“Isn’t he?” Xandra asked.

“It depends on what he is doing. In battle he is formidable.
He’s a man with many edges and angles. But I suppose you like him the way he
is.”

Xandra’s expression held mischief. “Yes. You’re right. You’re
worried about Marc though.”

“Of course. Just as you’re worried about Rayder.”

Xandra took her hands and squeezed them. “They’ll both be
all right.”

“How do you know?”

Xandra sighed. “I have to believe it or I wouldn’t think of
anything else all day. I’d be useless.” After a moment she released her
friend’s hands. “I am surprised you didn’t go with Marc.”

“I’m more useful here.” She didn’t admit that she feared
venturing into the jungle. That since she’d left Pian’s camp, she’d feared
things more than she should.

Xandra turned her attention to the hoards of people who came
toward the complex. Before he’d left, he’d organized men to protect the
outskirts of the property. Arcos stood at the side, watching everything and
everyone.

“Why didn’t Arcos go with Marc?” Xandra asked.

“Because Marc decided he wanted Arcos to watch over the
property.”

Xandra frowned. “How does he talk to dragons anyway?”

Aknada had wondered too. “I don’t know. I should ask him.”
She rubbed her temples as a headache started. “Three years have changed him.
And me. There is so much to learn.”

“You will come back to each other again. You’ve known each
other since you were children. That must mean a considerable amount to you
both.”

“It does.” In her heart, Aknada acknowledged the truth.

“Do not worry.” Xandra scanned the skies, which had started
to darken once more. “Of course, there is plenty to worry about with the
weather. That should take most of our thoughts. Come. I think it’s going to get
very busy in here soon.”

As Xandra predicted, it became intense. The compound filled
to capacity. Aknada and Xandra rushed to the compound cellar, which luckily
hadn’t flooded—it had been built to withstand horrendous weather. Marc had told
them about the extra stores of food, bedding and blankets. With the help of
several other women and men, they loaded supplies on rolling carts, pushed them
to the end of the massive storage area, then the stronger men carried supplies
up the stairs. It was hard work, and Aknada liked it. She felt useful, and she
didn’t miss her time with the caravan so much when she had good work to
accomplish.

Over three hundred people crowded the compound, and although
that many people had been in the building before, never had they needed so much
help. Thank the god food stores could keep up with demand. Aknada quickly
learned Marc had prepared for disaster at least on a small scale. The single
healer in the building showed Aknada and Xandra more of her methods. The great
hall overflowed with those in need. Few people treated her differently, which
she hadn’t expected. She’d become so used to being treated strangely because
she was a female Daryk One that she expected it. Part of her hesitated whenever
someone smiled or thanked her for a kindness. Could they mean it?

She stopped in the middle of the great hall, among the mass
of people, and reflected.

Xandra came up beside her. “You are smiling.”

Aknada instantly lost the smile. “Is that bad? I realize we
have a problem on our hands here, but…”

“I don’t see a problem. I see a lot of people well cared
for. Or at least as well as they can be. You seem pensive. Is anything wrong?”

Aknada continued to survey the room filled with women, men
and children. “People treated me differently in the past. Differently than they
do now.”

“Differently?”

“I was scorned in the past. Treated as filth by many. I can
see now that I made it easy for people to hate me.” She sighed, closed her
eyes, and when she opened them, Marc stood nearby. Water dripped from his hair,
down his face. He’d found a towel and worked to dry himself.

“How could you make it easy for people to scorn you?” he
asked.

Aknada’s heart swelled with happiness seeing him healthy and
safe. “By believing what they said about me. By giving them the power.” She
stepped forward. “Are you all right?”

He quirked a smile. “I am fine. You look tired.”

“I am.” She sighed. “Nothing a little sleep won’t fix.”

“Xandra.” Marc kissed her on the cheek. “You should rest.
Rayder will kill me if I let you get too worn out.”

Xandra placed a protective hand over her belly. “I’m sure
all will be well, and so is the babe. But I will leave you two alone and take
your advice. I’ll go upstairs and rest before dinner.” She left.

Marc stepped toward Aknada, and she didn’t move when he came
closer. She didn’t have the desire to back away, and that gratified her.

“Have you eaten today?” he asked.

“Not since breakfast.”

“Then let us go to my rooms. I have food there.”

She shook her head. “There’s so much to do here.”

“There is. But it’s almost evening. You need rest.”

Once he said the words, she recognized her body’s needs. Her
stomach growled, her eyes felt gritty, her body ached.

“All right.” She followed him with a docility she didn’t
like. Part of her rebelled against him dictating her actions. On the other
hand, she understood his intentions. He wasn’t bullying or requiring but
stating his concern for what she needed.

“All these people,” she said suddenly. “At least there is
enough food in the cellar for several days of this rain. I hope it ends soon.”

He slung the towel over his shoulder. “It probably will.”

As if the rain heard his declaration and took offense,
thunder rolled. People groaned, tired of the storm.

He reached out, as if he wanted to touch her. He stopped.
For that moment, she wanted him to touch her, needed the comfort. They locked
gazes.

“Enough.” She shook her head. “I didn’t mean to whine. It’s
not like me.”

“We’re all reacting to this the best way we can. You are not
whining…simply stating a fact.”

They left for his rooms. When they reached his chambers, and
he’d closed his doors behind them, he didn’t hesitate to strip. He tossed his
battle gear to the side in haphazard manner that made her smile. He tossed his
tunic over a chair to dry. He started to undo his trousers and when the top
button of his trousers opened, her gaze fixated there.

His gaze flew up to hers. “Sorry.”

She smiled. “It’s all right.”

Amazingly, it was.

He escaped to the bathing room. When he emerged scant
moments later, a towel hung around his waist. She sucked in a breath, once more
bowled over by his masculine energy.

“Feel free to use my bathing room,” he said.

Did she dare? They were here and perhaps she’d touch him
again. Despite her tiredness, she wanted it. She needed to feel him against
her. The fact she yearned for it rather than abhorred the idea of a male touch
gave her hope. Perhaps this slow initiation had started to work.

Once in the bathing room, she closed the door and stripped.
She stepped into the shower and pulled the cord that allowed water to flow in a
strong jet over her body. She used his bathing cream to soap her hair and body.
After rinsing, she felt refreshed and not as tired. She towel dried her hair so
that it didn’t drip. She left the room with the towel around her and looped
another one around her shoulders. When she stepped into the room, Marc lounged
on a couch against one wall. She’d always thought the long couch decadent, with
its fine blue, green and gold coverings. It had been in the family a very long
time. Any other man might have appeared feminine on the furniture, but not
Marc. His drying blond hair lay in a tangle about his shoulders, his arms were
propped on the back of the couch and his legs were spread apart. She darted a
glance at his towel.

No. Don’t look there.

“Feel better?” he asked.

“Much.”

“Tell me something. You said that people treated you
differently, but that you made it easy for them. What did you mean?”

His sudden drop into the subject took her off guard. She
wandered to the couch and sat on it. There was still a lot of room between
them. “Today people treated me like they did at Pian’s camp. They were
appreciative for my help and kind. Some of them even smiled at me.”

“That surprises you?”

“You remember what people were like with me before.”

He leaned forward and clasped his hands between his legs. “I
remember.”

“When people treated me as abnormal, I believed it.”

“You were only a child.”

“But when I became an adult, I still believed everything
other people said about me.”

Marc scoffed. “You didn’t believe me. I told you over and over
how beautiful you were.”

“You teased me at the same time. I didn’t know what to
believe.”