Here She Rules: The Chronicles of Erla: Book 1 (24 page)

His desire skyrocketed as she used her teeth and nails to touch every inch of his flesh as she disrobed him while his hands caressed and stroked her everywhere, whipping them both into a frenzy of lust.
 

He fairly threw her onto the bed then crawled atop her, holding his body up off of hers as her hands roamed and caressed his manhood. He growled low in his throat as her very skilled hands worked over his flesh, taking him from aroused to painfully hard. He attempted to part her legs with his knee. He was half-crazed with need when she deftly flipped him over and mounted him in one fluid motion.
 

Darien’s eyes flew open wide as Cassie lowered herself onto his waiting hardness and they both froze, enjoying the feeling of bliss as he was fully sheathed within her. Before Cassie could move, Darien rolled her over onto her back and thrust into her, making her cry out and sink her teeth into his flesh as he let out a sexy growl of a laugh.

Lips and tongues clashing, their bodies fused, as Cassie gloried in his tawny flesh and well-muscled body. He made love like he did all things—with drive and passion—and she met him thrust for thrust. They had each other in every position they could think of, and they even revisited some before they collapsed. It was many hours later when their flesh finally cooled. Cassie attempted to ease from his bed to return to her own, but Darien caught her hand and pulled her back into his arms.
 

“Stay with me,” he growled, and she curled up against him again, stroking his chest.
 

He could not believe how incredible she was. Other women faded in comparison. The things she had done to him and with him—good gods! Just thinking of it caused his well-sated flesh to stir, and Darien’s mind swirled around ways to keep this woman by his side always as he drifted off to sleep.

XVI

Cassie woke the next morning to gentle snoring, and blinking several times, she tried figure out where she was before realization dawned. She turned her head to see Darien sleeping deeply beside her.
 

Oh God, what have I done?
 

She was utterly mortified.

Easing slowly out of the bed, she scrambled about looking for her clothes. Pulling them on, she picked up her sandals, and slipped out of his room and sprinted silently to her quarters on bare feet.
 

When she opened the door, gliding in and quietly closing the door behind her, she turned to meet the faces of her slaves. They were pale with dark circles under their eyes, and they were obviously exhausted and worried.

“Have you been awake all night?” she exclaimed.

“Mistress, we were concerned. You did not say you would be gone for so long. We waited for you to come home, and when you did not, we searched everywhere we could think of in an effort to find you. Forgive us for being so forward, but it was unlike you to be gone so long,” Mika said, his golden eyes pleading for understanding.

“I’m not angry and I did not intend to be gone all night. I fell asleep. I am sorry you all did not get any sleep, but I’m fine. Why don’t you guys go to bed?” She could tell they were curious regarding her whereabouts, but none of them would dare question her about it, and she wasn’t in a sharing mood.

“Mistress, can we get you something to eat before we retire?” Aidan asked.

“Would you like a bath?” Arn spoke.

“No, no, I can clean myself, and then I intend to train. Thank heavens I didn’t oversleep.” She motioned them towards their bedchamber and headed to get some training clothes.
 

She showered and dressed quickly, and as soon as she had laced up her boots, she grabbed something to eat.
 

Hearing a knock at the front door, she moved to open it. She was shocked to find Darien’s scowling face on the other side.

“You left without telling me!” He barked out.

Cassie felt shock and then the slow burn of anger unfurling in her chest.
 

The nerve of the man!
 

“My Lord, I do not now, nor will I ever require your permission to come and go as I please. Count yourself lucky I stayed all night.”

“And what about last night, My Lady?” he sputtered. He was all at sea with this woman; he honestly didn’t know how to act. She was a paradox, and now he found that he desired her even more now that he had lain with her.

“What about last night, Darien? We had sex. It was nice, and it changes nothing.”

“It was NICE?” he bellowed.
 

Darien was accustomed to women currying his favor and reveling in any intimate connection with him, but this one had just passed one of the most satisfying sexual encounters of his life off as “nice.”

“Yes, very nice. You have the makings of an excellent lover.” Cassie was crowing inside; she had finally got his goat and she intended to torture him with it.

She smiled up at him innocently as she pulled her door closed and headed out of the Palace.

“Were we in the same bed? You know as well as I do that it was incredible!” He couldn’t believe the words that were pouring out of his mouth, but he couldn’t seem to stop them either. He pulled her to a stop.

“My God, Darien. Was I your first?” she asked, laughing up at him before she deftly stepped around him and headed across the cavernous passageway towards the steps with Darien jogging in an unwelcome attempt to catch up to her.

“You know damn well you were not my first. I am at a loss to understand how you can dismiss this so easily,” he ground out.
 

Cassie just eased along, munching on a piece of fruit. She could see the frustration and aggravation on his face and crowed inwardly with glee.

Serves him right!
 

When they reached the warriors, Cassie motioned for them to come to attention as Nall joined them. Kara slipped into the front line. Darien was seething with anger, and that emotion was etched on his face for all to see.

“Warriors, I am turning the training over to Lord Darien this morning, so that we may become adept at many different styles,” Cassie announced. The women and men all nodded.

“My Lord,” Cassie bowed to Darien, whose face displayed his dismay and anger in equal measure.
 

She had completely caught him off guard, but undaunted, Darien became all business and led the entire force through a very rigorous training session. Several hours later, they were all sweating and breathless, and Cassie was forced to admit that the Destian King trained very hard. She could easily see how he got his impressive physique.
 

“That was an excellent workout, Your Highness,” she said as they stood together drinking cups of water.
 

Kara agreed and asked some questions regarding specific techniques. Darien—along with Nall—explained some of the tactics they had gone over which were specifically suited to the mountainous terrain which they both occupied.
 

The discussion ran for about half an hour when Cassie suggested to Kara that they take a ride. The men, not to be excluded, readily agreed. Inwardly, Cassie rolled her eyes at her own foolishness in speaking with them so near, but she sucked it up and smiled, calling out for their horses to be brought around.

The groom handed Cassie the reins to her horse and when she moved to mount, she found Darien there waiting to help her into the saddle. Gritting her teeth, she forced a polite smile onto her lips and allowed him to assist her. Darien grinned as he moved to take his own mount.
 

Cassie growled and kicked her horse into a gallop, leaving a perplexed Kara to follow with the men. They soon caught up with her as she slowed to ride through the fields. She was trying to avoid the field slaves, who watched them through their lashes with their heads bowed respectfully.
 

Once they cleared the fields, Darien moved his horse next to hers. He was so close that their legs touched with the animal’s movements. While Kara and Nall talked together of training and Nall’s country, Darien spoke to Cassie in a low, intimate voice.

“Lady Cassandra, I wish to apologize for my lack of discretion earlier. I had no right to raise my voice to you.” The words were humble, but the glint in his eyes was wicked, and Cassie felt her stomach tighten.

“Please, Lord Darien, do not trouble yourself over it. I had no idea that, in Destia, sex was such a sacred thing. Here in Erla, we often have sex with those whom we find attractive with no commitment.” She hoped she sounded convincing because she was not like that; she couldn’t even bring herself to use the Queen’s slaves. Most importantly, she did not want to develop feelings for this man as she had no intention of leaving Erla to become his chattel. Cassie was conscious of the fact that she still wanted him, but the price was too high. She was fairly unhappy about the fact that he seemed to decimate her self-control whenever he was near.

“Lady, let me leave you in no doubt of my regard. We do indeed have casual affairs in Destia, but I must confess to feeling a passion for you which I have never felt for any other woman. You have captured my interest, Lady Cassandra. Make no mistake—I am indeed unused to apologizing to a woman, and I certainly have never confessed my feelings so directly.” His face was very serious, lacking its usual mocking grin.
 

Cassie was speechless for a moment. She could only stare into his eyes where the truth of his words was there for her to see. She smiled vaguely and urged her mount on to hide her own internal struggle.
 

Darien sighed in frustration and he spurred his horse onward after her. He was not sure how he expected her to react, but he had thought to get some response.
 

Cassie didn’t know what to think, and her mind swirled around his words. What did he expect? She only knew she was
not
in love with him; it was only lust she felt.

His presence was so strong, so commanding. He was a primal male—oozing confidence and sexuality. He was the complete opposite of the men she
did
love dearly, and she had desired him in an equally primitive way. She sighed as her horse ran headlong into the lush forest.

At the sound of rushing water, Cassie halted her horse and dismounted. She was a good deal ahead of the others, but she was still in their sight when she pulled back the foliage and looked down at a beautiful clear blue pool fed by a waterfall. She scanned the area, located the path down to the beach, and returning to her horse, she jumped into the saddle and motioned him down the path to the pool as the others followed.
 

Arriving on the beach, Cassie dismounted and left the reins loose, so her horse could drink. Kara, Darien, and Nall arrived and did likewise. Nall came to stand next to her as she gazed at the water. She looked up into his eyes and smiled in return. She was still shaking off the exasperation which the merest contact with Darien seemed to create. Nall was very handsome, and she felt attraction to him, but fortunately, it was nothing like the pull Darien had over her.
 

Just then, the subject of her thoughts walked past her and grinning, he shucked his clothing and walked into the water completely naked. Cassie unwillingly felt a jolt of arousal at the sight of his tight ass as he slowly moved into the water.
 

Suddenly, a very naked Kara ran past and leapt into the water, making Cassie jump in surprise. Kara splashed them both as they stood gaping. She then submerged, laughing and begging them to join in when she came back up. As for Darien, he began a lazy swim towards the waterfall. The sun which was beating down on her shoulders encouraged Cassie to shed her inhibitions and get into the inviting water. She was unbuttoning her leather vest and untying her pants when she looked up into Nall’s face.
 

He stood before her as she was undressing, and his actions mimicked hers. Indigo eyes shimmered with want as he watched her body come completely into view. Cassie’s gaze lowered to where his long, lean fingers were sliding his pants over his narrow hips.
 

Nall was an incredibly sexy man. He was tall with tanned skin and silky white-blond hair. His shoulders were very broad, his waist nipped in, and his legs were long and muscular. He had several scars on his body from battle which only added to his appeal as far as Cassie was concerned.
 

Darien and Nall shared a very similar physique with the only difference being their hair and eye color. Now that she saw Nall naked, they could practically be twins physically; only their coloring and scars differentiated them.

Darien, seeing her interest in Nall, called out for them to join him in the water, successfully drawing her attention away from Nall’s physical attributes. Cassie shucked out of her pants, dropped her vest, and ran into the water, followed closely by Nall.
 

She swam strongly towards the waterfall and then glided lazily, trying desperately to still her raging thoughts and hormones.

Nall’s mind also was churning. The way she watched him as he removed his pants screamed of desire. It confused him that she would treat him like a comrade in arms, but then, out of nowhere, she would burn him with lusty, hot looks. During the past several days, Nall had spent a great deal of time with Kara, and he had grown to respect and admire her. He found her beautiful and stimulating, and he had even lain with her. Even so, neither one of them could claim any lasting emotions other than those of friendship. It was Cassandra who fired his blood. He was ashamed to admit (even to himself) that he had used Kara as a stand-in.

Kara dove under the water and came up behind Cassie, dunking her under. Cassie resurfaced and sputtered before launching a counter attack. The men stayed back initially; they were happy to watch the women’s nude bodies bounce in and out of the water before joining them in their play.
 

Cassie squealed as strong hands grabbed at her waist. She dove under the waterfall, swimming to the other side to escape. Treading water, she looked into the cave behind the cascade where it was damp and cool.