The Battle Lord's Lady

by Linda Mooney

  “And what about you?” Atty asked in a voice less hard but still wary. “Where will you go tonight?”

  Madigan smiled through her tears and sniffed. “I have a gentle-hearted physician who’s been waiting a long, long time for me to finally come to my senses.”

  Maybe it was the mention of Liam that finally brought Atty back into her arms, and Madigan finally discovered what he had been trying to tell her these past few days.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Tent

  For only the second time in his life, MaGrath dreaded having to face Yulen and tell him the bad news. Which explained why his face felt like raw leather when the troops wearily made their way back up the rise and began to disperse to find their own fires and bedroll for the coming night.

  Yulen was near the end of the line. He was giving some last-minute instructions to Verris, who nodded before departing. As the Battle Lord approached him, MaGrath could see his eyes sweeping the area, and knew what he was going to ask before he opened his mouth. The pit in his stomach closed over and turned to cold lead.

  “Liam, where’s Atty?” Almost as a second thought, he added, “Where’s Madigan?”

  “Yulen...”

  His tone of voice must have betrayed him. Yulen’s face turned red almost instantly. “Damn you, Liam! Where is she?”

  “Madigan’s gone to look for her.”

  “Gone to look for her?” Without waiting for an answer, Yulen whirled his horse around and forced the animal into a gallop, heading down the road toward the encampment. MaGrath hurried to keep up with the man.

  It was with shock and surprise both men reined up in front of the section set aside for the Battle Lord to find Madigan sitting before his campfire, stirring the freshly-lit tinder with a twig. Not far away Atty’s bay mare stood abandoned.

  Jumping from the saddle while the horse was still in motion, Yulen rushed over and grabbed his mother by the arms.

  “What did you do, Mother? What did you say this time? Where’s Atty?”

  MaGrath stood to the side, watching and knowing that all the anger and fear and heartache he felt was being effectively funneled through the Battle Lord.

  Madigan stared up at her son, lifting a hand to touch his stubbled, blood-streaked cheek. She could see the dark rings under his eyes caused by his worry and lack of sleep. He also looked more gaunt than usual, and she knew she was also the cause of it. Not to mention the ugly, raw abrasion around his neck.

  Had it only been this morning that he’d set out for Bearinger’s dungeons? When was the last time he’d eaten? For that matter, when was the last time he’d gotten a chance to actually rest? And recuperate? And love?

  “Madigan!” he asked again through gritted teeth, and gave her a little shake.

  “She’s in my tent,” Madigan told him softly. “She’s in my tent, waiting for you.”

  The anger seemed to drain out of him. “What? She’s where?”

  “Go to her, Yul. Love her. Love her enough so she’ll never leave, and never think of ever leaving again.”

  Yulen gave her one last confused look, then released her and began to jog in the direction where he knew his mother had ordered her large tent erected for her personal comfort.

  MaGrath watched him leave with wide-eyed disbelief. Glancing back at Madigan, he dismounted and walked over to her, dropping the reins on the ground. “What happened, Maddy? What’s going on? How did you talk Atty into—” He turned again to watch Yulen’s departing figure.

  “Liam?”

  The physician turned back around, and was enveloped in a pair of warm arms and an even warmer kiss. He held her tightly for a moment, then gently disengaged himself from her embrace to give her another confused look. “What the hell is going on?” he asked her.

  “Before I go into the details, I need you to give me a straight answer,” she told him.

  “What’s the question?”

  “Since Yulen and Atty are using my tent tonight, would it be possible for me to spend the night with you? Together?”

  MaGrath nearly stumbled backwards. “Maddy?”

  “I don’t want to wait any longer,” she begged softly, holding out her arms once again, and smiled when he finally came to her.

  * * * *

  The tent with its dark purple and gold curtains and panels sat like an amethyst jewel just off the road, amid a small cathedral of tall pines. Yulen’s father had ordered it made for whenever he was expected to go on some of his shorter excursions outside the compound, and Madigan was allowed to accompany him. Yulen could recall many trips away from Alta Novis when, as a young boy, he had slept inside on his mother’s soft pillows. For her to have sent Atty to use it was a circumstance he couldn’t begin to fathom, even if he wanted to.

  Ducking inside the doorway, he noticed the rectangular interior was already brightly lit with oil lamps. He pulled the ties behind him, effectively closing the front flap and ensuring their privacy.

  To his left a sheer gauze curtain blocked off a portion of the room. A figure in shadow moved behind it. Slowly he lifted the drape and stopped; his breath caught in his throat.

  Atty stood with her back to him. She was completely unclothed and standing in a wide washbasin. She’d braided her freshly-washed hair and pinned it to the top of her head. Yulen stared at her glistening wet skin as she bathed herself, using a big sponge to squeeze warm, soapy water over herself.

  His eyes drank in her form, her beauty, every dip in her vibrant body, until he caught sight of the streaks of dried blood still clinging to the lower insides of her legs. As another flush of heat warmed his face, Atty froze, suddenly realizing she was no longer alone. Yulen smiled, in spite of himself.

  “I can’t believe I’ve finally managed to sneak up on you without your being aware of me first,” he laughed softly.

  She turned around to face him and gave him a tender smile. “I was daydreaming.”

  “It must have been some daydream,” he teased. His eyes followed a rivulet of water as it poured down her breast and around a pale pink nipple before it dripped onto the rug on the floor.

  She nodded, noticing where his gaze was directed. “It was...or it will be.”

  Her admission was like a bolt of heat fusing itself to the pit of his stomach. Without knowing it, Yulen glanced over to where she’d set out pillows and bedding, and he realized they were finally getting their night. Their first real night. Together.

  Their first time for actual lovemaking.

  Quickly Yulen shed his clothes and went over to join her, reaching for the sponge. But before he could take it from her, his arms encircled her body instead and pressed her tightly against him. Atty’s arms wrapped around his neck as his lips hungered for hers, and Yulen felt the warm water cascading down his back as she squeezed it dry behind him.

  “Atrilan,” he breathed into her mouth.

  “Tonight, Yul?” she asked in a small voice.

  He pulled away just enough to look into her face. It wasn’t difficult to see the black and purple bruising, or the redness of past tears around her eyes. “Are you...healed enough?” he asked tentatively.

  She slowly nodded her head, her eyes gazing into his lovingly with the memories of how he could make her feel, and how he’d made her feel in the past. If what he promised was anything like those moments, it didn’t matter if she was healed. She knew nothing would stop them tonight from having their first time, their first real time, as lovers in every sense of the word.

  “Love me, Yul. Make love to me,” she murmured, making her need for him clearly understood as she tenderly wiped away the bloodstains from his face.

  “Answer one question first,” he smiled into her eyes. “Be my wife?”

  “Be my husband?” she responded, unaware of the low moan coming from her throat as his lips found her neck and his hands pressed the juncture of her thighs against his growing erection.

  He lifted her into his arms. He was no longer willing to wait or play the little
love games. They were both inflamed with a passion that roared in their heads and spread tendrils of fire through every nerve in their bodies.

  Lying her across the bedding, he stopped long enough to run a hand up along one shapely leg, over her belly where he teased the silken valley of midnight-colored curls in her lap, across her ribs, and around a perfect breast.

  Atty shivered from his touch. “Yul...”

  This was not a cold, infested dungeon. They were on satin covers, surrounded by pillows made of soft linen and cotton. And they were starving for each other.

  He found her lifting her knees for him as he approached her. Crawling past the temples of her thighs, Yul pressed his hands to her lower abdomen and slowly ran his fingers up her body as he stretched over her. When his thumbs finally found the underside of her throat, he brought his mouth down over hers, and he slid most of his hardness into her depths with one slow, smooth stroke. She was incredibly tight, but now she was deliciously wet, and more than ready for him.

  Atty gasped. She clutched his arms, and he guided her hands down to his buttocks. Pulling out slightly, he watched her face to see her reaction. It was so soon after that moment in the cell. He worried about hurting her.

  He felt her pressing down upon his backside, and he gently slipped back into her an inch at a time, filling her as much as she could take. Expanding and spreading her untried muscles. This time she groaned with pleasure. “More?” he murmured.

  “More!”

  Again he withdrew, and again he found the center of her heat. And again. And again. Over and over, repeatedly slow and deep, until she was trembling and her skin was covered with a fine sheen of perspiration. Her thighs were glued to his from the moisture.

  “Yul...oh, God...”

  “What, my beloved Atrilan?”

  “Can we...do this all night?”

  Yulen chuckled as his fingers ran down the softness of her back. “This is only the beginning, my love. Just wait.”

  She slowly lifted her head and gazed at him with passion-filled eyes. “Wait?”

  Giving her a seductive smile, Yulen sat back on his heels and pulled her towards him, lifting her up off the bedding. He grabbed several of the pillows tossed to the side, and built a small rise behind her. Now when he lay her back against them, she was at a slight incline, giving him the freedom to use his hands without having to worry about his weight crushing her.

  “Tell me if I hurt you,” he whispered before plunging suddenly into her.

  Her whole body rose off the pillows as she convulsed and cried out softly.

  “Atrilan?”

  She smiled at him, tears filling her eyes. “I never imagined it could feel...like this.” She swallowed hard, then shivered.

  Yulen pressed his face into her hair and breathed in its scent. His hands followed the curve of her back until her hips rested in his palms. Holding her firmly, he began to make ardent love to her, guiding her over him as much as guiding himself into her with longer, faster, and deeper strokes. There would be no more holding back, no more denying them their final moment of fulfillment.

  Atty opened herself more to him, reached for him, and lifted herself toward him. She closed her eyes and her mind to everything except for the center of their universe between her legs where he worshiped her.

  He was gentle but demanding, passionately taking her into his arms before launching them both over the precipice, and the exquisite pain of release exploded within them. Fire within fire. Pleasure and pain blended into one. Atty cried out, but this time her voice was echoed with his as their bodies tumbled and trembled in the aftermath. Her first climax as a woman. The first of many, he swore. He owed her so much.

  Breathing heavily, Yulen continued to take her, plunging deep as his strokes took her from the valley back to the top of the trees, where she choked on her second orgasm. He wanted to go on. He wanted to make love to her all night, but the stress of the past few days had taken their toll on his body. And on hers. She would be raw and in severe pain if they didn’t cease. He dragged huge draughts of air into his lungs as he trailed his lips over her sweaty skin, tasting and drinking her in like life-giving water. Her fingers were tangled in his hair, and every so often she’d press his face closer against her when he’d find a sensitive spot.

  Encircling her waist with his arm, he pulled her off the hillock of pillows and into the valley of bedding with him. As their weariness and languidness overtook them, and their mutual warmth protected them, Yulen could feel himself sinking at last into restful, healing sleep.

  In his last moment of consciousness, he heard her breathe a feathery sigh into his ear.

  “Yes.”

  The answer to his question.

  Darkness overtook him as he smiled.

  Chapter Forty

  Morning

  There was a long warmth along one side. On her other, an even warmer sensation, but one that was firmer. More muscular. And it moved.

  Her mind was fuzzy from inadequate sleep. A calloused hand gently skimmed the surface of her skin, sending lightly erotic sensations throughout the rest of her body. Atty stretched slightly, then shuddered. She felt her legs being lifted and her thighs spread. The silken coverlet was slid over her breasts to reveal them to the cool night.

  His hand moved between her legs and began to slowly spread a slickness downward...below... intimately massaging, pressing, teasing, and working his fingers between the folds of her lower lips until they found their way into her. Sliding into her inner warmth to heighten her arousal. The scent of perfume drifted up to her, and she knew she was being warmed with oils. She could also smell him and his unique masculinity. His strength and his love for her was almost a tangible cloud which descended over her like a fog.

  A pair of lips found her left breast, teeth teasing her nipple until it stood erect and sensitive. Atty moaned as the fingers worked their familiar magic with her. Gently, she grabbed the wrist and pulled it away. “No,” she barely whispered, keeping her eyes closed. “You. Only you...”

  The firm warmth shifted, moved over her, and when his hardness began to penetrate her oiled body, a fireball of indescribable heat engulfed her senses. Atty felt her reason and sanity flee as he began to move inside of her, as his body tried to merge into hers and their hearts tried to meld.

  She knew he had used the oils to help desensitize her, to help her adjust to the newness of having him inside her. God, she was hurting, but what he was doing to her was more than worth the pain she knew she would have to endure later. As she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and jutted her hips upward, she quickly found herself matching his stroke with her acceptance. His lips burned against her neck, and his breath was ragged in her ear.

  Their hearts quickened, to become a pace matching their bodies’ rhythm beat for beat. When she felt Yulen’s muscles begin to bunch, before her mind could comprehend the power and passion of his hot release inside her, her body arched of its own volition. Her skin reached flashpoint, her mind turned into ash, and she became a brilliant spark that could become a raging forest fire at the next touch of his glowing embers.

  She was spent and hurting, but she wasn’t sated, and in his embrace she lifted her lips to his.

  “Good morning, my beloved,” he breathed over her. He could feel her quivering. Her hips rotated under his, grinding and lifting slightly under his weight. He chuckled and captured her mouth again, until the overwhelming depth of his kiss stopped her movements, and she sank back into the pillows. “Atrilan?”

  “More,” she begged throatily. She started pressing hot, wet kisses over his face, pulling his head down by his hair so she could reach his forehead, temples, cheeks, and eyes.

  Releasing her, Yulen cupped her face in his palms and held her firmly until she finally opened her eyes. The look on his face reflected his identical hunger, but there was also a wistfulness in his eyes as well.

  “I would give anything to be able to remain here all day, tasting you. Loving you. But I h
ave nearly a hundred men waiting for me, and a duty to lead them. Please help me to be strong enough to get up from here and tend to that duty.”

  “I want you inside of me,” she whispered with a smile. She traced the scarred seam running down the side of his face with a tip of her finger.

  He kissed her softly, caressing her lips with his. “Tonight. I promise. By then the swelling should be down.”

  Carefully, he rolled off of her and got to his feet. Tendons cracked as he stretched, trying to get his aching muscles to obey. All the lanterns had extinguished themselves during the night, except for one last one, which cast its fading golden glow over his body—the wide shoulders, the slim hips, the long legs. Atty watched him move over to the basin to wash his face, and her body tingled as it remembered his. “What time is it?” she asked softly.

  “Time to be getting on the road.”

  “You sure we can’t stay here a little while longer, and make love for another couple of hours, then catch up with the rest later?” she asked, trying to make it sound like she was teasing, although she knew he would sense her seriousness. She got her answer by the way he tilted his head at her. “It was just an idea,” she grumbled.

  “And a very good idea, my love. Unfortunately, though, not in this case. I’ll try to make it up to you this evening,” he smiled.

  “Okay. But I’m holding you to that promise.”

  Over by the door flap, someone had unobtrusively placed a fresh set of clothing for them both. Picking up the bundle, he walked back over to where she lay amid the pile of pillows and placed hers next to her feet. He began pulling on his pants. “I’m leaving Verris and Karv here to resettle the compound. I need Mastin back with us at Alta Novis.” He tugged the fresh tunic over his head and looked down at her as he straightened the material at his waist. “Better hurry, my love. It may take the soldiers an hour to put this tent up, but they can break it down and pack it on the wagon in less than ten minutes, and I’m sure they’re anxious to be gone at first light.”