Jayne Castle [Jayne Ann Krentz] (21 page)

"Isthat right? Then why is she trying to escape?"

He regarded her thoughtfully. "I don't know. You tell me. Perhaps she has some wild notions of female

freedom."

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Kalena gasped as her bird gave a particularly loud and protesting squawk. She spun around in time to

see the smaller yellow creet being tumbled to the ground by the larger bird. The female landed in a

crouching position and the male quickly jumped on top of her.

Kalena groaned, finally realizing exactly what was happening. "This is embarrassing."

"Then don't watch. I thought you were raised in farm country" Ridge was already walking back toward

his half finished fire.

"I was, but we didn't actually raise animals. My aunt provided for us by practicing her Healer's talents.

I've never seen two creets in quite this sort of situation." Kalena hurriedly turned her back on the mating

pair of birds. "It's a little on the violent side."

"Is that so strange?" Ridge asked quietly. "Sometimes things have been a little violent between us, too.

The emotions between male and female can be powerful."

"We're hardly a pair of birds, Ridge!"

"I'm not sure we're all that different from other animals. They're on the Spectrum with us, aren't they?

Our emotions and reactions might be more complex than theirs, but not totally unrelated."

"There are times when you surprise me with the level of your philosophical training, Fire Whip," Kalena

said a bit grimly as she closed her ears to the triumphant chirps of the male creet.

"Quintel saw to it that I got a decent education." Ridge sounded offhand.

Kalena wondered about that. "He raised you like a son, didn't he?"

"Almost. He taught me manners, the ways of trading and the essentials of Great House politics. But this

business of being a husband I'm having to learn on my own."

"On-the-job training, Ridge?" Kalena made no attempt to keep the smile out of her voice.

"Practice and experience make excellent teachers," he informed her blandly. "And I learn quickly. Are

the birds finished yet?"

Kalena glanced over her shoulder. "Yes, thank the Spectrum. Mine doesn't even look mildly annoyed at

yours."

"Why should she? She knows her role in life. And on the rare occasions when she's tempted to forget,

the male reminds her."

Kalena, spun around, thoroughly annoyed. She opened her mouth to tell Ridge what she thought of him,

and then halted as she realized he was laughing at her. His expression hadn't changed, but there was

genuine humor in his golden eyes. She sighed. "Now who's trying to provoke whom, Ridge?"

He held up one hand as though to ward off her irritation. "I'll admit there are times when I can see the

lure of the sport."

Hearing a loud splash, Kalena turned once more to find the creets blundering happily into the stream.

"My female is trying to duck your male."

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"He'll probably let her get away with it."

"Because he's already had what he wants from her?" Kalena sniffed.

"There's nothing like a pleasant tumble with the female of one's choice to put a male in a good mood and

make him feel indulgent."

"You males are definitely a simpleminded lot, aren't you?" Kalena asked as she stalked over to a

saddlebag and began removing some of the trail rations Ridge had packed for emergencies.

"It's not that we're simpleminded, wife. It's just that we tend to think in a clear, straightforward fashion.

We're not like women, who chase their emotions in a hundred illogical circles before coming to terms

with them."

"Did you come up with that bit of wisdom on your own orlearn it from some male Polarity Advisor?"

"I could hardly have learned it from a female Polarity Advisor. There aren't any." Ridge got to his feet in

a lithe, easy movement. "In any event, it doesn't matter where I learned it. Lately I seemto be getting

firsthand demonstrations of the truths of the old sayings."

"The problem with a man's interpretation of ancient axioms is that because he tends to think in such a

marvelously straightforward manner, he misses all the subtle meaning hidden in them," Kalena explained

sweetly. "In other words, he usually misses the main point altogether."

Ridge gave a shout of laughter and launched himself forward without any warning. "You never give up,

do you?" he marveled.

Kalena was so startled by hearing him laugh outright for the first time that she didn't think to move

quickly enough to escape him. Before she realized what he was about, he had scooped her up in his arms

and was striding toward the stream. The creets lifted their heads curiously to watch the humans at play.

"Ridge, you wouldn't dare."

"I'm not sure," he retorted with mocking seriousness as he came to a halt at the edge of the stream. "We

straightforward thinking types tend to do what we set out to do. It's hard to distract us. But you can try."

Kalena clung to him, strangely fascinated by her discovery of this playful side of his nature. She had the

distinct impression Ridge wasn't very familiar with this element in himself, either. It was as if he were

experimenting with it as he went along. Learning to be a husband."How could I distract you?" she

demanded.

"You could try pleading with me," he suggested helpfully.

"Surely a woman's pleas wouldn't deflect a strong, straightforward thinker such as yourself."

"You never know" He waited, grinning down at her, his eyes alight with anticipation.

"I'm not very good at pleading, but I'm willing to bargain," Kalena told him.

"Ah, this is getting more and more interesting. With what would you bargain, wife?"

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"Don't leer at me like that. I was going to offer to wash your shirts for you." She wrinkled her nose. "It's

about time I did so, don't you think?"

"The smell of the trail offends you?" he asked politely.

"I wouldn't dream of implying that you smell like a male creet. I was simply offering to bargain for my

freedom in exchange for washing your shirts. To tell you the truth, I'm out of clean tunics myself."

"Hmm." He pretended to consider the matter deeply. "I suppose it might be a wise idea for both of us to

bathe. No reason you can't wash our clothes at the same time." He opened his arms.

Kalena yelped as she fell into the stream. The creets scampered out of the way. Closing her eyes,

Kalena waited for the shock of the icy water to hit her. To her complete astonishment it was like falling

into a lukewarm bath. Splashing to the surface, she flung wet hair out of her eyes and glared at Ridge.

The skirts of her riding' trousers floated around her legs.

"Lucky for you," she snapped, "that this stream isn't ice cold. Otherwise I might never have forgiven

you."

"I may be a simpleminded male, but I'm not completely stupid." He crouched on the shore, undoing the

laces of his shirt. His golden eyes were still lit with laughter. Ridge was obviously enjoying himself.

Although it was equally obvious that he wasn't accustomed to this kind of play.

"You knew the water was almost warm?"

He nodded, removing his shirt. "We're not that far from Hot And Cold. We'll be there two nights from

now It's a town full of hot springs. Some of the water that flows from there retains it's warmth even this

far away." He wadded the shirt into a small ball and tossed it to her. "Here. Show me some of your

wifely skills, Kalena."

She reached out to catch the shirt, aware that Ridge was continuing to undress so that he could join her

in the stream. A warm flush rose to her cheeks and she quickly lowered her eyes to the shirt. The small

embroidered R was very plain on the left shoulder. It occurred to her that Ridge was going to quickly

wear out the two shirts she had initialed for him. He rarely wore anything else.

Ridge waded into the stream and over to where she stood waist deep in the water. "I have taken much

pleasure in wearing the shirts you gave me," he said gently. "But every time I put one on I am reminded

that I never gave you a wedding gift."

"Yes, you did. You rescued Arrisa and my other friends the night of the tavern brawl," she reminded him

quickly. Studiously, she ignored the gleam of his strong flanks just under the surface of the water.

"Ah, but you restored the balance later that night, remember?" He smiled crookedly.

Kalena kept her eyes on the shirt in her hand. "Well, yes, but—"

He put a blunt, calloused finger on her lips to silence her. "But nothing. I owe you a gift in exchange for

the embroidery work you did on my shirts. Someday I shall even the balance."

Kalena looked up into his intent gaze and saw the lambent warmth that waited for her there. She blinked

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and made an effort to shake off the curling tendrils of emotion that were beginning to swirl in the air

around her. Deliberately, she summoned a lighthearted smile. "I've got news for you, husband. Throwing

me into this stream has only put you much deeper into debt. You won't be able to buy your way back

into my good graces very easily"

"A man can only try," Ridge said with a philosophical shrug.

"This particular man had better try very hard," Kalena informed him. "Or he'll be eating a cold meal

tonight." She began to rinse out the shirt, very conscious of Ridge's nakedness. Her own clothing was a

limp, soggy weight on her body. Soon she would have to remove it.

"You have me completely intimidated now, woman." With a sigh of pleasure Ridge let himself sink under

the surface of the water.

Kalena was glad that night had almost fallen. The darkness would allow her to undress in the water

without revealing too much of herself. She slipped out of her clothes and gave herself up to the pleasure

of the bath. She half expected to find herself having to fend off Ridge's playful antics, or perhaps

something more serious, but he seemed oblivious of her nudity.

Totally oblivious.

When he climbed out of the stream a few minutes later, turned his back on her and went to fetch a towel

from the saddlebags, Kalena realized she actually felt rather disappointed. The female creet chirped from

the shore and Kalena glanced at the bird. "At least you got assaulted by your mate. All I got was dunked

by mine," she muttered.

The bird chirped again as if in commiseration.

At first he thought the dream had awakened him. When Ridge opened his eyes several hours later, highly

charged erotic images were still swirling through his brain. His body was taut with the aftereffects. The

dream had been a very vivid one. In it, he had given in to the urge to make passionate love to Kalena that

he had denied earlier in the evening when he had left the stream. In the dream he had carried Kalena out

of the water, laid her down on the sand and covered her soft, yielding body with his own aroused one.

She had responded to him with a desire that matched his own, welcoming him into her sweet, intoxicating

embrace.

She wasthe one who could quench the flames.

Ridge shook himself free of the seductive images and sat up slowly in his pallet. Something was wrong

out there in the darkness and it had nothing to do with erotic dreams.

He looked across the short expanse of distance to where Kalena lay asleep in her trail pallet and saw

nothing alarming or out of the ordinary. He heard the faint rustling movement from where the creets were

crouched together in sleep and realized it was just such a soft sound that had been responsible for waking

him. Even as he recognized that fact, he heard the unmistakable chirp of alarm from the male.

Ridge was on his feet almost as quickly as the bird.

"Ridge?" Kalena's sleepy question floated through the shadows. "What's wrong?"

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"I'm not sure yet. Stay close to the fire, Kalena."

She didn't argue. He heard her push back the pallet cover, but Ridge didn't turn to glance at her. His full

attention was on the male creet who was chirping angrily. The female squeaked once or twice in alarm.

With the sintar in his hand, Ridge stepped into his boots and moved towards the birds. He had worn his

trousers to bed, having had the unsettling experience of more than once being dragged out of sleep on the

trail to face danger stark naked. He went forward to face whatever was disturbing the creets.

The only thing he felt confident about was that whatever was out there wasn't human. The creets had no

real fear of humans. From the way they were reacting it had to be one of their few natural enemies.

Fangcat, Ridge thought. Or, if his luck had really turned sour, a sinkworm. Let it be a fangcat, he

decided as he headed toward the creets. He had enough on his hands without having to deal with a

sinkworm.

The male creet screeched in fury and challenge just as Ridge cast his silent vote in favor of one of the

big-toothed cats. In the shadows he saw the larger bird thrust the female behind itself with a rough