by Chandra Ryan
“It takes some time to get used to military life. Have no fears, I don’t expect you to catch on right away.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Take today to get settled in. You’ll need to see the tailor and the weapons master.” He handed her two slips of reimbursement as he spoke. “I expect you to have a properly fitting uniform and have your weapons ordered before you report to me first thing tomorrow morning. The king has a traitor he would like you to interrogate and I don’t want any other business interrupting that.”
He said the words so nonchalantly that it took a minute for them to make sense. “Everything else can wait. If he has a traitor—”
“It’s my understanding that the conspirator is unresponsive at the present and that you’ve had a pretty rough time getting here. Get your business settled and report first thing in the morning so you can take the oath and get to work.”
“Yes, sir.”
“If you go out this door.” He pointed to a smaller door to his right. “Maria will help you find your quarters and get settled in.”
“Thank you, sir.” She saluted again before retreating. She was grateful for the respite after such a taxing trip, but it seemed somehow anticlimactic.
Chapter Fifteen
She went to the tailor and the weapons master first. Only after her chores were done did she set off to find her new room. Her quarters weren’t much more than they’d been at Keep Drake, but she was happy to have a bed of her own. And even better, there was a bath, soft towels and a clean dressing gown waiting for her. She was definitely getting used to having baths waiting for her whenever she opened a door.
Her dusty uniform was discarded into pile on the floor and she was chin deep in bubbles before she could even take her next breath.
“Mint?”
She had gotten used to the scent of sandalwood clinging to everything around her, but she rather liked the soothing scent the staff had chosen for her. Closing her eyes, she leaned back against the smooth surface and sighed.
Her door being thrown open, however, was enough to make her nearly jump out of the tub. But as Kavin entered the room and shut the door behind him, she found herself relaxing again. “Didn’t feel the need to knock?”
“Didn’t think it was necessary. Besides, I would have kicked myself if you had gotten dressed to answer a door I was perfectly capable of opening myself.”
“Here for the view then?” She quirked an eyebrow and smiled at him daringly.
He chuckled at her words. “I’m here because I heard Bellick gave you the rest of the day to get settled.” He sat down on the edge of her bed.
“Ah, so you’ve come to help me unpack?”
He smiled as he stared at her fingers skimming through the bubbly water. “If that’s what you want.”
Standing, she allowed the water and soap to run off her body. “And if it’s not?”
He picked up a towel and handed it to her. “I’m here to serve, my lady. What is it you desire?”
What did she desire? A life where the king was blissfully unaware of her abilities would be nice. Or, at the very least, one that didn’t involve assassins. She shook her head to dismiss the thoughts. Those were both beyond her control. She should be focusing on things that were within her reach.
Her gaze caught Kavin’s and a week’s worth of pent up desire slammed into her like a wall of summer heat. He was so damned handsome, just looking at him made her weak in the knees.
No, it was more than his good looks.
He was strong and decisive, but still listened when she voiced opinions. True, he had never given in to her just for appeasement’s sake, but she wouldn’t want that anyway. Most importantly, though, when he looked at her, he saw her. Not her blood lines like Ashlyn, not the political advantage her last name would bring him like Devin, just her. Nobody, not even her parents, had ever seen just her.
“Have you decided?” he asked. “Or are you still debating?”
She skimmed the towel over her wet skin, keeping its touch as soft as a caress. And when she came to her breasts, she held Kavin’s gaze as the material made her nipples pebble. The answering rush of heat through their bond told her he enjoyed watching almost as much as she loved being on display for him. “Oh, you know what I desire,” she said, wrapping the towel snugly around her body.
“But hearing it from you would be so much sweeter.” He hadn’t moved, not a muscle. And something told her he wouldn’t. Not until she told him what he wanted to hear.
She sat down next to him on the bed. “I want you, Kavindra Hunter.” She had never used his full name before, but it felt natural as it flowed off her tongue. “Just you.”
She wasn’t sure who initiated the kiss but when the heat of both his desire and hers flowed through her veins it didn’t really matter. The only thing that was important was that she needed him and he needed her.
Pulling away from him, she walked on her knees to the head of the bed and allowed the towel to fall to the mattress, leaving her naked in front of him. “Looks like we get to pick up where we left off at Keep Livingston.”
“Without the whiskey.”
“Thank the gods. I don’t think I’ll ever be tempted by spirits again.”
He stood with a chuckle and pulled his tunic over his head. And, after letting it fall to the floor, he joined her once more on the bed.
She studied him carefully for a moment before running a fingertip lightly down the scar that ran dangerously close to his heart. “It really is amazing that you’ve managed to live as long as you have.”
“You’re one to talk.” His fingers reached out to graze the scar under her ribs.
“Hazard of speaking my mind, I’m afraid.”
“That, my dear, is a fate far more dangerous than the uniform.” Leaning into her, he nibbled on her earlobe. “It’s not easy, having a relationship with the King’s Right.” The warmth of his breath sweeping over her neck made her shiver with desire.
“Really? Is that what we’re having? And here I thought it was a little tryst.” She moved slightly to one side just as he tried to kiss her shoulder so it would be out of reach to him and smiled mischievously.
He chuckled softly and shook his head. “I don’t do anything little.”
“No, you don’t.” It was one of the many reasons she loved him. She froze as the thought hit her. Yes, she had always loved him. But not like this. She’d loved him as a childhood crush and as a dear friend, but this was more than she had ever believed possible. With the games of power and manipulation she’d been born into, he was the only person she could trust with not only her past but also her future.
“It’s okay, Sara. I wouldn’t be here if you felt any less or if I felt any differently.”
She nodded as she realized he had picked up on her feelings through their bond. Lying down, she pulled him on top of her and wrapped her arms around his neck. She relished his warmth and strength as she pressed her body against his. “Show me.”
“Gladly.” He kissed her deeply as his hand cupped one of her breasts. Gasping, her back arched toward him but something cold and hard dug painfully into her inner thigh as she moved. “Wait.”
“What’s wrong?” he asked, pulling away from her.
She laughed softly as she found the hilts at his waist. Pulling the daggers out of their sheaths gracefully, she held them up saying, “I don’t think you’ll need these.”
He smiled as he looked down at her holding his weapons. “I don’t know. You look dangerous to me.”
“You’ll just have to take your chances.”
He took a moment, as if weighing his options before nodding. “Definitely worth the risk.”
“Definitely.” She rolled over to put the weapons on her night table before turning her attention back to him. But he, apparently, had other ideas as he pinned her wrists above her head with one hand and started making himself familiar with her body with the other.
As he brushed her abdomen lightly
with his fingertips, the warmth of his gift enveloped her as it had the morning he had healed her in his tent. But this time instead of healing, it sharpened her already heightened senses.
“You’re using your gift.” She hoped to achieve an accusatory tone, but the words came out in a husky whisper instead.
“Damned straight.”
He cupped her breast with the palm of his hand and he ran his thumb over her taut nipple. And sucking in a sharp breath, she tried to pull away from the intense sensation but then quickly surrendered to it. So much so that she didn’t even notice he had freed her hands until they were intertwined in his hair as he kissed the sensitive skin on the side of her neck.
Apparently not satisfied with just her neck, he began kissing his way down her body. Each languid stroke of his tongue or nip of his teeth added to the tight coil of desire in the base of her stomach. Stopping at her breasts, he kissed one then the other before flicking his tongue over her nipple, circling it several times, before continuing over her ribs, working his way down to her navel.
“Kavin.” She writhed against him, the sensations too intense to bear any longer. “This isn’t fair.”
“Someone once told me that life isn’t overly concerned with fairness.”
The quote made her smile. “They sound very wise.”
Rolling over, she pushed him to his back and then started a trail of kisses of her own. She may not have his gift, but she had seen enough of his dreams to have a pretty good idea of what would drive him to the brink. She had always been brazen and uninhibited in his fantasies and that’s exactly what she was going to be in his bed.
When she got to the ridged muscles of his abdomen, she unbuckled the empty sheaths and threw them to the floor. His breeches were next. Untying the cord that held them, her fingers slipped under the waistband and gently caressed the skin it hid.
Hearing his gasp of pleasure, she chuckled lightly as she slowly started to remove the last barrier between them.
“Sara…”
She looked up at her name. Seeing his hands clenched tightly around the blankets, she smiled before returning to the task of undressing him. She began pulling the garment over his hips but stopped at the inked archer.
“Always a Hunter,” she whispered against the skin as she kissed the tattoo gently. Hearing another gasp, she traced the mark lightly with the tip of her tongue. His skin was warm and smooth under her tongue and tasted slightly salty. It was the taste she had craved so badly over the past week.
Sliding the breeches the rest of the way off, she tossed them to the floor. She straddled his upper thighs and took a second to admire his muscular frame as her fingers explored the flat planes of his abdomen. Then, leaning over, she kissed his navel.
She looked up at him, but instead of sitting up, she leaned closer to him, brushing his erection with her breast. With a groan, he buried his fingers in her hair.
She loved how their gray depths danced with silver. Then, holding his gaze captive, she ran a finger down the length of his erection experimentally. But as his desire rushed through her, another idea hit her.
“You can feel what I feel?”
His eyes were hooded as he looked at her. “Yes.”
Gods she wanted him so badly, every inch of her hurt with the craving. But she wanted him to need her as badly as she needed him. Sitting up, she cupped one of her breasts and began caressing her nipple with her thumb. Sighing, she threw her head back as an explosion of emotion tore through her like fire racing through her veins. “Can you feel that?”
“Gods, yes.”
He groaned as her other hand cupped her neglected breast and began to caress the sensitive skin.
When she moved one hand from her breast to glide down her abdomen is search of the apex of her desire, however, he was done with the game. In a breath, she was on her back again, his weight pinning her down.
“Are you sure?” His eyes were the magnificent shade of liquid silver and his voice was deep with desire.
“More so than I’ve ever been of anything.”
“Do you trust me?”
“With more than my life.” The answer was easy for her to say. It was the absolute truth.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she arched her back toward him in silent plea. He kissed her passionately as he entered her. She rose to meet him, but the wave of unexpected pain that accompanied him made her gasp and her muscles tense involuntarily.
“Dear gods, Sara.” He ran his fingers over her hip, the warmth of his gift enveloping her again, and the pain disappeared. “Why didn’t you tell me you had never…”
She tensed, but this time with apprehension. “I didn’t think it would make a difference.”
“It seems the better I get to know you, the less I understand you,” he said, shaking his head softly. “It makes a difference.” He leaned over to kiss her breast gently, his tongue flickering lightly over her nipple as he moved inside her again—this time more gently. She expected to feel pain, but there was none.
“Better?” He kissed her again as he asked the question.
Closing her eyes against the overwhelming sensation, she found she could only nod in answer.
“Good. We can go as slow as you need.”
But she didn’t need slow, nor did she want it. Not with the pain a distant memory and her blood singing with desire. Rocking her hips to meet his next thrust, she dug her nails into his back. “More.” She didn’t know what she needed, but the plea sounded right as it left her lips.
Needing little encouragement, Kavin thrust into her fully and her body accepted his greedily. She was chasing something but it was just out of reach. He pushed back from her a little and the loss of his warmth made her cry out in protest. But his fingers slid between her thighs, searching out the sensitive bud of nerves hidden there. When he ran a calloused thumb over it, she stopped caring about anything but the chase.
She stared into his eyes as he moved in the perfect rhythm—hard and fast. And, with his thumb circling her, she radiated with pleasure. Her only thoughts were of him: his strength, his warmth, his body inside hers. And then all thoughts failed her. Crying out with pleasure, she clung to him tightly as the world shattered around her.
He wasn’t far behind. Stretching out on top of her once more, he shared a passionate kiss with her just before his body went rigid and he called out her name.
So much hunger and passion, she felt heady with it as she relived her own release through their bond. The pleasure of the moment was intense almost to the point of pain yet had her entire body craving more.
“I love you.” He whispered the words as he kissed her again.
“Damned straight.”
He smiled down at her for a moment before rolling off of her to lie next to her on the bed. She missed his weight and warmth, but relished the feel of his calloused fingertips as they caressed her thigh.
“You are the most brazen virgin I’ve ever met.”
Her face warmed as she remembered how she had acted just moments ago. “You’ve given me a lot to think about over the past week.”
He chuckled softly as she snuggled into the wall of his chest and drifted into a contented sleep of beaches and warm sand.
The sand and sun started to slip away all too soon, though.
“Sara.”
Someone was nudging her shoulder but she didn’t want to wake up. She was warm and contented for the first time in weeks. Hell, for the first time in years.
“Sara.”
The voice did sound inviting, though. Rolling over, she opened her eyes to find Kavin staring back at her. It took a few minutes for the memories to come flooding back, but even when they did she didn’t feel any shame. This is exactly where she wanted to be.
“You have to get ready.”
“Get ready?”
“You promised Alexandra you would sit with her at banquet.”
She stretched leisurely, hoping her naked body snuggled up against his would put oth
er ideas into his mind.
“You have to go.”
His word choice made her stop suddenly. “Not we? Just me?”
“You promised. I did not.”
“Oh.” He was right. He hadn’t said anything about going to the feast that evening whereas she had made a promise.
“But if you would like me to escort you…”
A smile broke on her face as relief filled her. “It would be nice not to have to do this alone.”
“As long as I’m breathing, you’ll never have to do anything alone again.”
“Thank you.”
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him lightly. But with their bodies pressed tightly together and her mouth on his, it didn’t take long for her to feel his response to her. “Are you sure we can’t stay in bed a little longer?” She rubbed her hips against him causing him to groan softly in the back of his throat.
“I fear I may never leave my bed again with you in it.”
“But this isn’t your bed.”
His smile took on a ruthless light as he stared down at her. “Make no mistake. Any bed that holds you is mine and no other’s.”
His defiant, unapologetic possessiveness sent a shiver of delight down her back. She was his.
Now if only he was hers.
She pushed the thought away as quickly as she had it. He had warned her that he’d always belong to the king. If she wanted any chance with him at all, she would have to share and hope the king was willing to do the same.
He kissed her thoroughly, clearing all thoughts of sharing him from her mind—for the time being, at least. “If you don’t get out of my bed this instant, though, you’ll be risking offending my sister. And that’s a fate worse than death.”
“Really, worse than death?” She quirked an eyebrow at him in question.
“Worse than some deaths, surely.”
She laughed, but resigned herself to the inevitability of getting out of the warm bed. “You win.”
“Was there ever any doubt?”
His words sent a wave of defiance through her. Tracing his hip with a fingertip, she found her way to his growing erection and wrapped her fingers around it.
