Rital of Proof (27 page)

She might have made the decision except that it was taken out of her hands.

His hands framed her face. As he gazed down at her, his fingers delved in her hair, cupping the back of her head. He continued to caress her hair as the current of the water carried the leaf downstream with gentle tolling motions. Jorlan's entire body slid against her in a smooth yet slightly abrading manner. In addition, he did not move within her, but remained barely inside. The rocking motion of the jinto shifted his internal position ever so slightly; the small induced movements were incredibly erotic.

Behind his dark head, Green noticed the entwined branches of the plants overhead. They reminded her of their sheensui bed at home. Soon their fastening bed would grow together, symbolically representing how a woman and man come together into one after they fasten.

She wondered if they would ever be like that: fusing and joining, growing yet blending together...

"What are you thinking?" he asked softly. He bent his head, letting his lips tease the edge of her bottom lip. Even in this he was already being overly bold. He did not hesitate to ask her her thoughts.

"Why should I be thinking of anything? Cannot a Marquelle simply lie back and enjoy the feel of nature and her name-bearer?" She purposefully prodded him with the strangeness of what he was doing. He did not rise to the bait.

"In that order?" he drawled suggestively, playing his hand perfectly.

"Mmm."
He is a clever torque.
She reached up and languidly ran her fingers through his hair, exactly as he was doing to her. Her fingers laced behind his corded neck, letting the satiny fall of his hair glide through her hands.

Jorlan watched her evenly.

"You have an objection, name-bearer?"

"No," he surprised her by saying.

"And why is that?" She stretched against him, letting him feel her motion up and down his body.

His pupils hazed slightly and dilated. The tactile sensation had affected him more than she anticipated. For a moment he almost became lost in the vision of it.
How much of a Sensitive is he?
she wondered.
How can he be so deeply affected by such a simple stroke?

Green continued to observe him as the pleasure flowed through his senses. His breath, warm and sweet, licked at her lips.
Like the initial wind before an arc storm...

When he finally spoke, his voice was so low she almost didn't hear him above the lapping water. "I have no objection, Green, because I have come to know that I am one with this connection."

Her mouth parted in a combination of wonder at the beauty of his words and consternation at his meaning. It so closely reflected what she had just been thinking. Did he mean the two of them or his connection to something
else?

She started to ask for clarification, but Jorlan used the opportunity to kiss her thoroughly, sinking his tongue fully into her mouth. Again, the action was unfashionably bold. And yet, it was unbelievably exciting!

Green knew from experience it wouldn't be long before he went wild.

Sometimes he gave himself over to every touch and movement. When that happened, he always prolonged each sensation—for both of them. It was curious, but Green noticed that, often as not, she became wild right along with him.

"It is not just about sensitivity," he murmured, his breath warm inside her, "It is more than that."

"How did you know what I was thinking?" She played with his mouth, loving the taste of him. "I just did."

She paused. Looking up, she met his earnest gaze with doubt. "What does that mean, Jorlan, that you 'just did'?"

He gave her a look of disbelief. "I am not a mind reader; what are
you
thinking. Green?" He smiled slightly.

"It's just that you've done that on several occasions now—with a higher frequency than is to be expected. In fact, it is almost uncanny."

"Ah." He nibbled her upper lip, delicately suckling on it.

Green nipped his lower lip sharply.

He gave her a patient look. "What is it, my name-giver?"

"Define ‘
ah
’."

He shrugged. "We have become... in tune. That
is
all. Much like the seasons and the jinto."

"What does the jinto have to do with us?" She watched him intently.

"Nothing... and everything. This jinto leaf we are lying on comes from a plant that is countless millennia old. It was here before any of us humans came to Forus. I wonder what secrets of its five hundred million years of species memory are within the solid stalks and veins of its life."

It was a fanciful thought. She viewed him askance.

"If one could 'hear' its unique voice. Green, what stories would it tell, do you think?"

"Hear... as in actually hearing a voice?" She swallowed.

His azure eyes pierced her. "No. Hear as in 'viewing.' "

"I'm not sure I understand exactly what you mean by viewing."

"It is not important." He looked down, veiling himself once more.

Her hand cupped his cheek to gently raise his face to hers. "I think it might very well be of extreme importance."

He shrugged. "Perhaps the vision is simply the essence of life seen as a continuity, a progression through time that is ever changing yet ever the same. Perhaps it speaks of forever and only a moment in time."

"That's extraordinarily thought provoking, Jorlan. Do you have a poet's soul hidden within your depths?" She stroked his cheek. "Tell me, do
you
'view' this way?"

He almost answered her, then at the last moment, his lashes shielded his eyes from her. "Who can say what we intuit from our imaginations?"

It was more than imagination. She knew it. He simply didn't trust her enough to confide in her. It hurt, but she understood his reasons. He was opening up to her sexually, with his passion. In time, he would in this, too. She had the wisdom to wait.

She arched her back and kissed him deeply. "Yes, my blaze-dragon, who can say?"

He gave her a subtle smile. "You are very wise for such a young name-giver. Green."

"Oh, really! And you are calling me young?" She gave him a sideways look.

He chuckled. "Yes. In essence. At times, you remind me of a child, so—"

"A child!" She started laughing. "I am a She-Lord! I preside over the laws of this land; the welfare of countless people rests on me; I run huge estates; I—"

He placed his fingertip against her lips. "I did not finish. It is your constant wonder and delight even in the smallest of things that makes me say this. Where we are right now is proof of it. Who else in the House of She-Lords would glide down a river naked on a jinto leaf—with or without her name-bearer?"

She bit her lip. "You think it foolish?"

"No. I think it
inspired."
He brushed the back of his fingers against her cheek. "You fascinate me. Green. You always have."

She blinked at him, stunned. "Is that how you describe your reaction to our fastening night? Utter fascination? You blackened the eye of every male Tamryn servant!"

He laughed huskily.

"You are the most difficult name-bearer that a woman could ever—"

He silenced her with his mouth. Hot, steaming sensual kisses that stole her breath. And he kept on giving them.

"You seek difficulty in a man," he whispered between fevered presses of his mouth.

"How do you come to that conclusion?" She moaned, responding to his silken touches.

"Look who's on top," he drawled.

At her outraged expression, he grinned broadly. "But you know what. Green? I think I prefer your choice. I like how you react to it." His mouth covered hers again. Strong. Capturing. Demanding.

Over them, in the branches, blanocks soughed their predusk chorus. The vibrational notes they produced were unlike the sounds of any creature on Forus. They would modulate their strange songs, peaking in and out of resonance with varying cadences. None of their instruments could duplicate it, although many tried. The lush call to dusk always struck a deep chord in humans, arousing in them a sense of tranquility, well-being, and connection.

Many of the Slice purposely tried to woo blanocks to their gardens for that reason. Although, like many of Forus's native residents, they went where they willed. Blanocks showed up in some gardens, yet not in others—no matter what the treat laid out before them.

Green had always enjoyed watching the blanocks at the Reynard estate. For some reason, they loved to flock there.

Green's brow furrowed. Come to think of it, just a few days ago, two were newly spotted on Tamryn property.

"I love blanock song." She sighed happily at the pure notes.

Jorlan smiled softly. "I know you do."

"Avatar said a few have been seen by the house. I hope they stay."

"I've seen them. They are already nesting in the Dreamtree next to the balcony of our bedchamber."

"Really?"

"Yes." He dipped his head and fastened his lips to her collarbone, delicately suckling the skin. The moist, warm drawing action sent tingles to her bare toes.

"Mmm, that's lovely... "

"The blanocks or what I am doing?" He rubbed his chin back and forth over the curve of her shoulder.

"Both."
Could anything be as lovely as this?
she wondered. The bobbing of the leaf, the gurgling water, the blanocks, the light cooling breeze, and the feel of Jorlan—inside and out. Surely this was a perfect moment.

"I am partial to your waist chain... " Jorlan's hand stroked down her body, skimming over the thin waistlet she had donned that morning. A tiny gold disc, called a T9-disc, dangled from the lock.

"The T9-disc holds the combination code to the secured, protected records of

"It certainly makes a declaration to me." His fingertips slipped under the chain and smoothly toyed with it.

For some reason. Green's skin became extra sensitive under that chain. She wondered suddenly what Jorlan's lips would feel like if they played with the chain the same way.

He met her eyes with complete understanding of her provocative thought. His lips widened into a slow, wicked smile. Then his free hand threaded through her hair, twining it around his wrist so that, when he rested his forearm next to her head, she was effectively pinned down. Soon his mouth played at her ear. "What do you wish for... ?" he breathed softly, covering the left side of her chest with his palm. "In here."

She covered his hand with her own. He could feel the rapid tattoo pulsing against his fingertips. Beating wildly to blanock song and to him.

The azure eyes flamed. Jorlan made that special sound in his throat. The sound that always resonated through her—
such incredible passion!

Green lost her breath at the sheer sensuality of his spirit.

Jorlan scooped some of the cool river water into his palms, letting it stream through his fingers. The liquid cascaded over her breasts. Water pooled between the mounds, running in rivulets over the creamy skin. He watched the last rays of the sinking sun glimmer on the clear moisture, watched the firm peaks harden further as the first breeze of twilight lilted over her slightly chilled skin. And she felt so warm inside!

He bent his dark head, ever so slowly, opening his lips over the red bud so she could feel the warmth of his breath in contrast to the cool water. Ever so slowly, he drew the small bud into his mouth. Ever so slowly, he sipped on the sweet peak.

Green sighed, wantonly lifting into his embrace, closer to the exquisite clasp and tug of his firm lips. He prolonged each palpation of his tongue, of his lips. The extracting, seeking motions designed to wring every last bit of pleasure.

Then he flowed over her like the water that carried them away. Smooth. Sleek. Sensual. His mouth meandered in steam trails. Laving her navel, swirling the perimeter. Drawing.

Green had always been especially tender in that spot. Her eyes drifted shut no matter how hard she tried to continue watching him, no matter how hard she tried not to let the stimulation he was giving her overcome her. He caught her waistlet chain with his teeth, tugging on the links, which he used to roughly pull her closer to him.

Green moaned loudly at the exotic combination of the gentle and the primitive.

Jorlan tossed back his hair and stared at her with narrowed, steamy aqua eyes. "Perhaps you are mine after all."

It was a look she had never seen on any man before. She swallowed.

The fire in his eyes reflected something profound igniting within him. His breathing altered, becoming deeper, stronger.

Spellbound, she watched him come over her. He rested on both forearms, still pinning her down as he came forward to gaze down at her. There was something in his face... some inner acknowledgment...