The Herald's Heart (21 page)

“What?” The sun was sinking, edging toward the shelter of the cliff before yielding sway to the night. Spray from crashing waves spumed upward and sprinkled Larkin’s dress.

“Am I mistaken or has the tide risen?”

Yes, several of the caves that opened onto the cove were nearly covered by water. Only a few were high enough to be barely touched by the rapidly rising tide. He checked—waves lapped at the cave entrance to the keep. Then he ran his gaze over the walls of the cavern in which they stood. The tide line that he’d seen earlier marched around the cavern’s uppermost perimeter.

If they stayed here, they would drown.

“We’d best get back to the keep.”

“Aye, I’ll hold the torch while you go out first.” She took the flambeau as she spoke.

He wanted to argue but feared delaying even a small bit. He squeezed his body through the opening, turned and reached for the torch. Larkin wasn’t there.

“Larkin!”

“I’m right here.” Her voice came from below the level of the opening.

“What are you doing? We must go, now!”

“I found something.”

“The box?”

“Nay. This.” She thrust her arm at him and opened her palm.

“Wax? You found wax?” He took the pale smatterings from her.

“Yes.” Her head appeared in the opening.

“And you risk our lives by delaying to find this because ...?”

“Don’t you see? Someone else is using these caves.”

“That may or may not be true, but right now, we must leave.”

“Right.” She shoved the torch into his grasp and crawled through the opening.

Talon shifted the torch to his far hand and held out his free hand to help her through.

She ignored it. All on her own, she thumped to the ground with a sploosh. She looked down at the sodden hem of her gown. “Oh dear.”

“What?”

Talon had been so concerned with Larkin’s dallying that he’d failed to notice the water already covered his feet. He grabbed her hand and strode in the direction of the new door into the keep.

“Hurry.”

Larkin slogged along behind him as best she could, but the water dragged at her skirts, making swift progress impossible. “Stop a moment.” She pulled her hand from his, forcing him to halt.

“We don’t have time to wait for ...” He turned around to find her lifting her sopping skirts between her legs and tucking the hem into her kirtle. “What are you doing?”

“Ready.” She picked up his hand.

“Aye.” He set off again. Now was definitely not the time to comment on her shapely legs.

They waded down the passage going deeper into the cliff side. The water level sank to ankle depth as they neared the door.

“Thank heaven.” Larkin rested against the wall.

Talon reached for the handle. “Indeed. ’Twill be glad I am to get into the keep.” He pushed, but nothing happened.

He jerked, pulled, and tugged, but the door remained closed. All thought of lost dreams fled before the knowledge that he and Larkin might drown this night.

“So open the door and get us out of here.” Why did he delay?

“It seems to be stuck.” He leaned his shoulder against the oaken planks and shoved. Nothing.

“Talon?”

He backed up a few steps and threw himself at the door with all the force he could muster. The impact jarred him from head to toe; the door rattled but did not budge.

“Your carpenter did too good a job.” She didn’t want to be afraid. This had to be a mistake.

“Nay. The door is barred.”

“How? I saw you lift the bar and put it aside myself.”

“Bars don’t just replace themselves. Someone must have put it back.”

“Who would do that?”

“The guard perhaps.”

Larkin knew better. “Didn’t you tell Cleve we’d be down here?”

“Aye, but he may not have given the information to the men before one of them passed this way.”

Twice someone had tried to kill her. Would Talon now drown because of her? Larkin shivered. “What do we do?”

He took her in his arms, offering her his comfort and body heat. She saw him glance at the water line. “We cannot stay here. The chance that someone will come this way before we drown is too small.”

She set her jaw, put fear aside, and put all the confidence she could muster into the look she gave him. “Then we’ll have to swim the cove. There is a narrow path that climbs the cliff on the other side.”

“Can you swim?” he asked.

“Aye, my ... my father taught me. He considered it essential that we know how to survive in the water. The villagers, even the fishermen, thought him mad.”

Talon nodded. “Then we’d best hurry. Even now we may not be able to walk out of here.”

She nodded; the water had already risen to their shins.

He removed his sword and wedged it into a long shallow niche just below the tideline.

She hoped he would be alive to return for it. Then she linked her hand with his and started toward the seaward opening.

By the time they emerged, she had shed her dress and was floating. The torch had long since gone out. Talon dropped it from his hand, then removed his boots, shirt, and braes. She took his hand once more and let the pull of the ebb carry them from the cave.

In a rush, they were in the cove with the seafloor far beneath their feet. His hand tightened on hers. Waves crashed over their heads, and eddies swirled them around, pulling them out to sea.

Larkin floated between him and the shore. She scooped at the water with one hand and saw him do the same. But the sea tugged him ever farther away, and Larkin lost what little headway she had made. If they were to make the shore, they must each swim alone. She did not want to release him and would not, even though she knew it would be their best chance to survive. She turned to speak to Talon just as a swell lifted them up and forced their hands apart. No. She could not lose him now.

Panicked, she turned in the water just in time to see him sink beneath an oncoming wave. What was wrong with him? Why wasn’t he stroking toward the beach? With both hands free, he should be making better progress. The wave crested and carried her landward, but she battled back to the place where she’d lost Talon.

She fought to keep her head above water, searching for some sign of him. She could feel her arms beginning to tire, but she refused to give up. Moments passed; suddenly she saw him shoot up above the waves and sink just as rapidly. Somehow he’d traveled parallel to the shore and was now on her side of the cove, but far from the small shingle of land. Instead, he was dangerously close to where a clutch of huge boulders loomed above the waves. She started toward him. Water obscured her vision. She neared the rocks and felt the strong undercurrents pull at her. She was cold to the bone, weary with the struggle, and near mindless with fear for Talon.

He’d been out of sight for much too long. If he didn’t surface soon, she’d have to presume he drowned. The thought squeezed her heart painfully, and the struggle against the waves became too great. She made a half-hearted effort to head for the beach. The current pushed her closer to the rocks. The sea swirled her around and around. A wave swelled, shoving her straight at a boulder.

Pain slammed through her as she hit the stone with her shoulder and hip. She clawed at the rock face but found no purchase. Her body slipped downward, then jerked to a stop. A hand had reached out from the sky and wrapped around her wrist. She threw her other arm up and clasped the steel-hard arm that held her. She lifted her face and saw Talon peering at her from over the edge of the stone. His mouth moved, but she could hear nothing above the crash of waves.

Slowly he pulled her upward. She did her best to help, bracing her feet against the slick wall of rock to take some of her weight off of his arm. Waves knocked her feet from their tenuous placement and swung her body away from Talon. Water alternately sucked her down or slapped her into the rocks. She felt her hold on him slipping. Please, God, let me live.

She heard a mighty yell. Talon gave a tremendous heave. A wave swelled beneath her. She fairly flew through the air, straight into his arms, with such great force that she knocked him flat.

She lay there atop him and tried to breathe. It wasn’t easy. She hurt everywhere. Every breath brought a fit of coughing. She was freezing. Water sluiced over her, maintaining the chill.

Talon’s arms were locked around her. His chest moved beneath hers, so she knew he lived. For the moment, they had solid rock beneath them. But for how long?

He shifted into a sitting position, and she found herself cradled against his chest. He rose and staggered a few steps to a second rock that thrust higher into the sky. He settled her onto a shelf on the new rock, then climbed to join her. Eventually they climbed together to the topmost portion of the rocks.

They huddled in the small shelter of the stone’s landward side. Spume still showered over them from time to time. With their arms wrapped around each other, Larkin knew they would be safe, as long as the water did not rise above the rocks. Slowly she began to feel warmth from Talon’s body seep into her. She placed her lips near his ear. “I thought I’d lost you.”

“And I thought I’d see you broken on the rocks. What foolishness caused you to turn back from the shore?”

“Your hand slipped from mine. I had to find you. Had to know what happened to you.”

“My hand did not slip.”

“Of course it did.” her gaze widened as comprehension dawned. “You let go? Why?”

“You would swim better with both hands free.”

“But you didn’t swim. You didn’t even try.”

“Aye.”

“Are you daft? Did you want to drown?” she raged at him like the tide storm.

“Nay.” He clutched her close. “But I wanted you to live.”

“So you let me go. This I understand. But why not try to save yourself?”

“I don’t know how to swim.”

He’d gone with her into the maelstrom, knowing that he had no skill to get himself out. Water splashed into her open mouth. She sputtered, then laughed and laughed some more.

Talon held her secure until the fit subsided.

“You foolish, foolish, dear, brave man.” She kissed him.

He kissed her back. The warmth that had begun between their bodies became a fire that not even the seas could douse.

“Talon.” Larkin’s voice caressed his name when they finally stopped for air.

“Yes?”

“Love me. Please.”

“Here? Now?”

“Yes.”

“’Tis not safe.”

“Aye. But if the seas wash us from this rock to die, I would drown in your arms first.”

He smiled at her. “I will give you that drowning, sweet Larkin, but wait until the tide ebbs and we reach the shore. I want you in my arms with all my being, but I want you safe more.”

She smiled back at him and arched a brow. “’Twill be difficult, but I will wait.”

“Good. Now rest while you can, for you will need every bit of energy when I get you to the shore.” He settled her within the shelter of his arms and fixed his gaze on the slow rise of the water against the boulders.

• • •

With the moon waning and dawn a gray hint on the horizon, Talon roused Larkin. Together they clambered down from the rocks and slogged ashore. As she emerged from the sea, Talon stood frozen in wonder at the beauty of her water-sparkled body. Desire pierced him, and he grew hard despite the chill waves.

“Larkin?” Her name nearly strangled in his throat. “Are you sure you don’t prefer to wait until we get back to the keep?” Why was he giving her a chance to back out? What happened to his determination to claim her at every opportunity?

She walked the few steps back to him and took his hand. “I am certain. Now I see a nice dry spot sheltered by those boulders over there. They probably still hold heat from yesterday’s sun. We can have privacy and warmth. I will wait no longer.”

Talon swallowed and trailed behind her, watching the sway of her hips and the tantalizing cleft of her buttocks. He was much too warm already. “You do not have to do this.”

“But I want to. Please, you promised me.” She pulled him down to the sand and lay back.

He could no more resist her gentle pleading than he could cease to breathe on his own. But he would see to her comfort. He lifted her to her knees, then he lay down.

“What are you doing?”

“I’ll not take you where the sand can scrape your delicate skin, but I will give myself to you for the taking.”

“How?”

“Touch me as you wish I would touch you. The rest will come.”

“All right.” She stretched out along the length of his body. Her slender frame barely covered him from shoulder to shin, but his toes tingled with heat, and he swore the sea-spray would turn to steam if it touched him.

She ran her fingers up and down his arms and over his chest, then up his throat and to his mouth. She lingered there, testing the texture of his lips. The light caress tortured him so, he captured a finger between his teeth and suckled the tip. Her eyes widened as he demonstrated what he knew she wanted, what they both knew would be the ultimate conclusion of their play. Her cheeks flushed, and she ducked her head. Her lips grazed his nipple, and his body jerked. Blood rushed to his groin. He felt his erection pulse against her softness. “God in heaven, Larkin, you’ll kill me with such tenderness.”

“I pray it is so.” She smiled up at him.

He could feed on that smile for a hundred years and never go hungry. Yet a hunger for more grew in him with each passing moment. He was ravenous for her smiles, her laughter, and her passion. He threaded his fingers through her hair and lowered her mouth to his. He wanted it all, everything that Larkin had and more. He wished he could return the gift tenfold. How he could be more than he was, he did not know, but to please Larkin, he would find a way.

He slid one hand down, soothing slow lazy circles across her back until her buttocks filled his palm. He pressed her into him and heard her gasp of pleasure as his body stroked hers. She squirmed against him. Her tongue darted into his mouth and swept a sweet trail of desire and urgency. Her hands fluttered to his waist where she pressed and lifted herself upright so she sat astride his body. The brief press of her womanhood against his cock was the most pleasurable pain he’d ever felt. Her fingers trembled over the skin at his hips. In a trice, she wrapped her palm around him. He no longer felt the cold sea spray, only the gentle fire of her exploring grip.