DarykCraving

by Denise A. Agnew

  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.”

  “Did you like it when I said you were beautiful?”

  “I adored it.”

  He grinned then sobered significantly. “I was very young, too. I didn’t know how to tell you what I meant.” His eyes reflected seriousness. He wasn’t playing games with her. “In my heart you were special. I hurt for you when other people treated you with disrespect. If I’d been half the man I should have been, I would have taken you in my arms and declared my feelings. I didn’t, and I’ll regret that the rest of my life.”

  The finality of his words shocked her. “No.” She shifted until she sat near him. She clasped his shoulder. “You didn’t fail me. Please never think that. Pian taught me a philosophy that I truly believe. It was something I never thought about until I met him.” She hesitated only a moment, and when she saw the receptive light in his eyes, she continued. “Pian said that the more positive energy people show, the more positive life treats them. Like begets like. If you are a whiny, grumpy, disagreeable person who only sees the horrible things in life, that is what you get back. When I came to his camp, I was all of that and more. I hated everything in our world.”

  “Of course you weren’t seeing life in a good light after what happened to you. It’s understandable.”

  “Exactly. But as time went on, I decided to try Pian’s philosophy. It started to work for me. When Xandra was brought to Pian’s caravan, I realized I hadn’t let go of all my pain. I was hiding and afraid to go back to living. I feared everything when I wasn’t in Pian’s caravan. Until I came back to this compound, I half expected the people here to treat me with the same ugliness of the past. When the caravan was attacked, I forgot everything Pian taught me. Being here and remembering the good things about my life here…”

  “Yes?” His eyes widened a bit, curiosity and his full attention obvious.

  “I remembered what I had with you. What I might still have with you and everyone else here if I let it. When I ask for respect, I get it. It’s only when I believe I don’t deserve it and when I treat others as if they’ll harm me first…that’s when people treat me poorly.”

  Marc nodded, understanding clea
r in his expression. A wave of warmth touched her. “You are right. I’ve seen that at work many times. But I only realized it two years ago, after you were already gone. If I’d have known, I would have told you before you were kidnapped. You might have understood.”

  “Would I? It would mean I’m mostly responsible for how people treat me. That isn’t an easy pill to swallow, Marc. People do not want to believe they are largely responsible for what happens to them.”

  Marc nodded. “I know. It isn’t a concept many will follow. But we do not need to worry if anyone else follows it. We only need worry about us. If we do, perhaps our lives will be filled with everything we desire and more.”

  Her eyes teared up, but this time she felt happiness and love for him fill her.

  Love.

  By the god Draconus, she had always loved him. Would always love him.

  It took everything inside her to speak her next words. “Can I touch you again?”

  “You can touch me anytime.” He smiled, and his eyes filled with hunger. This time she welcomed the hunger. It gave her the strength to do what she wanted.

  “Take off your towel,” she said.

  Chapter Six

  Marc’s jaw dropped, and Aknada smiled. He hadn’t expected this, and she liked throwing him off balance. It gave her a little power, wicked as it was.

  Without a word, he closed his mouth, stood and dropped the towel. It pooled around his ankles.

  She stared at his body for a long time, glorying in his strength and beauty. With her love came new awareness. She didn’t care how long it took—someday she would make love with him. She’d find the strength to open her body to him.

  “Sit down,” she said.

  He did, sprawling with his legs widely parted, arms akimbo. His eyes glittered with animal intent, and instead of frightening her, arousal blossomed. She squirmed, loving the sudden feeling as liquid desire heated between her legs. Her nipples beaded, hard points against her towel.

  His cock rose quickly under her unrelenting gaze. She hadn’t even touched him, but apparently it was enough that she admired him. Keeping her towels secured, she knelt on the rug before him. She moved between his thighs, and that’s when she saw his fists clench. Power flowed through her. He was holding on to his control by a thread. She knew he wanted to touch her, make love to her. But she trusted him. He wouldn’t do anything she didn’t want, and for the first time in what seemed forever, she felt completely safe.