Temperance

by Ella Frank

  Totally taken off guard by her mood and the announcement, Kai blinked over at her as she made her way around to the side of his bed and placed a knee on it.

  “Yep,” she said, her voice still a little too high pitched to sound convincing as she tested the mattress. “This will do just fine.”

  “You want to sleep in here? With me?”

  He knew he sounded like a halfwit but he was just trying to keep up. She’d gone from angry, to scared, and now…he had no clue what this was.

  Shock maybe?

  “Well, makes sense don’t you think? I’m scared and helpless, you’re strong and…” she trailed off and looked down at his weapon. “Have a sword. Plus, you should never make hasty decisions. You know, like killing people.”

  * * *

  Naeve was trying her hardest to hide how scared she really was as she stared over at Kai who was looking at her like she’d lost her mind. Which maybe she had, she wasn’t so sure anymore.

  All she knew was that when she was with him, she could breathe. She wasn’t petrified that someone would hurt her or kill her. Which seemed ludicrous considering he was the one she’d feared the most in the beginning.

  “You don’t wish for me to kill, Marcus?”

  She kept her eyes on him as he studied her, and she wondered if he really intended to kill his second in command, if she gave the word. As much as Marcus intimidated her, and she had no idea what would have happened if she hadn’t gotten away, she wasn’t sure that what he did deserved death.

  Is that what happened here, in this land? Death without trial?

  And did he really do anything, other than threaten her?

  “Naeve?”

  Her name brought her out of her musings and had her looking back at the half dressed man staring her way.

  When she’d first run in here she hadn’t even seen Kai in the room, and when she’d turned around and been faced with all of his nakedness she couldn’t believe her body responded just as it had down in the dining hall.

  She’d immediately wanted him, and that confused and upset her. Instead of acting on those emotions, she’d clung to her anger and bit him, and when he’d pressed her back against the door she’d almost forgotten why she’d been running in the first place.

  Now, as she stood by his bed with her knee on the mattress she really took him in.

  He had burnished bronze skin, which seemed slightly unusual since there seemed very little sun. His shoulder length, dark hair was pushed back behind his ears, and the muscles of his biceps flexed whenever he clenched his fists, or gripped the sword in his hand.

  He had short black hairs over his chest, and they trailed down his sternum and abs in a treasure trail that drew her attention to what looked like black leather pants.

  Standing, as he was half clothed in front of her, Kai looked like some kind of dark prince or maybe a rakish pirate, as he watched her with shrewd eyes.

  “What do you want done with Marcus?”

  She wasn’t sure, because all she could think about was the fact that this man…this strong, dangerous man, was willing to go out there and kill for her.

  That revelation should have horrified her, but instead she found it aroused a much darker side of her—a side that had her aching deep between her thighs.

  She sank her top teeth into her lip and removed her knee from the bed.

  “Nothing.”

  He narrowed his eyes on her, and Naeve felt the stare as if it were a lingering caress.

  “Nothing?”

  She gave a shrug of her shoulder and whispered, “Not right now.”

  Kai finally moved then. He walked over to the table across the room and placed the sword down. He then dragged the chair that was against the wall over to the door and jammed it under the handle, before he grabbed the dagger off the bed and turned back to face her.

  “Then what do you want to do, Naeve?”

  She studied the hands by his sides and then allowed her eyes to feast on all that she could see, and that were plenty. Naeve could see his chest rise and fall, and had a feeling his labored breathing had more to do with the tension vibrating between the two of them, than any kind of anger he’d been feeling. His hands were clenched by his sides and the veins on his arms stood out in stark relief against his flexed forearms and bulging biceps.

  She should have feared him but in that moment all she felt was the swift punch of desire.

  “I want to feel safe.”

  As the words fell from her mouth she realized how true they really were. He gave her a sense of safety, but she herself wanted to feel safe.

  She watched him carefully as he took several steps toward her and when they were only several inches apart he turned the dagger in his hand, just like he had at the dinner table, and passed the blade to her handle first.

  Naeve looked up into Kai’s grey eyes and blinked several times.

  “Take it,” he encouraged, and pushed the hilt closer to her.

  When she reached out and gingerly wrapped her fingers around the leather bound handle, Kai told her in a low, gruff voice, “Sleep with this under your pillow. The next man who touches you that you do not wish, thrust this anywhere between here,” he indicted his navel, “and here,” he pointed to just beneath his breastbone.

  Before she could ask anything, he went on.

  “That’s the softest, most vulnerable part. You won’t hit any bones and you will make a very solid point.”

  She swallowed, trying to take in everything he was telling her while staring at all of his naked skin, and then she turned the sharp, pointed end toward him and asked softly, “What makes you think I won’t use it on you?”

  Kai took a step toward her until the tip pressed into his flesh, and Naeve sucked in a breath. Her first instinct was to drop her hand so she wouldn’t hurt him, but she also knew he was testing her.

  Raising her eyes, she swiped her lip with her tongue. “You should be careful.”

  Kai’s eyes never wavered as he held hers.

  “So should you. Take the blade, little rabbit. Sleep with it, and in the morning we’ll find a smaller one to hide on your person.”

  She dropped her eyes to the knife again and looked at the bronzed skin it was testing, then she moved it a little lower to touch the ties of his pants. She could feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins, and as she stood there in front of Kai wielding a weapon that could no doubt hurt him, she found herself wanting to expend it in the most carnal way of all.

  With the threat now at bay she only had one thing in mind as she ordered, “Take off your pants.”

  The silence in the room was palpable and then she heard her name, “Naeve?”

  Lifting her face, she saw him studying her, trying to work out her angle. So she told him.

  “If you’re going to sleep beside me, I want to make sure that you don’t have a weapon on your person.”

  She thought she saw the side of his mouth twitch, but otherwise he kept his serious expression. He raised his hands palms up to her, and she gave a quick nod as he reached down and unfastened the ties of his pants.

  She watched with rapt attention as the ties came free and the leather parted below his navel. He slid his thumbs to the sides of the pants and then pushed them down over his hips so they fell to his feet where he stepped out of them, kicking them aside. And when every inch of him came into view, Naeve almost swallowed her tongue.

  Kai naked was a thing of beauty.

  His skin was that same tanned tone from his head all the way down his brawny torso to his lean hips and strong muscular thighs, which were dusted with the same dark colored hair as his head.

  This time as she licked her lips, it had nothing to do with nerves and everything to do with the insatiable hunger growing inside her.

  She let her eyes track back up to the very hard and erect cock, that was declaring quite obviously that what they were doing was turning him on just as much as it was her. When she managed to drag her eyes away from h
im, she looked up to see him with a brow quirked.

  “Seen enough?”

  She had quite obviously seen everything she needed to, but she was enjoying her visual inspection far too much to end it just yet. So with a quick wave of her knife, she said in a voice she barely recognized, “I think you need to turn around.”

  “Oh you do, do you?”

  Naeve said nothing, but nodded.

  “And why would I need to turn around?”

  His question was full of arrogance, and considering he was standing in front of her naked, it was a testament to how confident he was.

  Feeling brave for some unknown reason, Naeve took a step forward and felt a small smile tug at her lips.

  “I’m the one with the knife, Kai. Now turn around.”

  With a slight incline of his head, Kai turned away from her arms spread wide, and presented her with his broad back and tight round ass.

  She had a feeling he was merely humoring her, but as Naeve took that final step to him she tossed the blade on the bed they stood beside. She reached out and traced the scar that started in the middle of his back and curved under his shoulder blade, ending against his ribs under his arm.

  She heard him inhale and that was when she whispered against his skin, “I don’t see any weapons.”

  With her other hand she ran her fingers down his side to the curve of his ass and saw his shoulders stiffen.

  “Yes,” he agreed. “But you’re overlooking one thing.”

  Naeve felt her lips curve at his husky voice and dared to ask, “And what’s that?”

  Quicker than she thought possible, Kai turned and took one of her wrists in his hand and wrapped his other arm around her waist. He hauled her in flush against his naked, aroused body, and walked her back toward the bed.

  Naeve could feel her inner muscles tighten in response as he lay her across the mattress and came down over her, planting his hands on either side of her head, pinning her to the bed.

  “You overlooked me. I don’t need a weapon to hurt you. I could kill you with my bare hands,” he rasped, but reached for the dagger she’d lain on the bed and pulled it close, letting her know she had the option.

  Naeve’s breasts rose and fell with her misguided arousal, and Kai pushed his hips between her thighs brushing his hard cock against her covered mound.

  “But I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “What do you want?” she panted, knowing she was beyond the point of resisting him.

  She wanted him. All, of him. Yes it was terrifying that he held her life in his hands, but at the same time it was oddly exciting.

  Kai reached down and gathered her dress in his hand, and as he pulled it up her thighs she arched her hips so he could lift it to her waist.

  She reached up to wrap her arms around his neck, and he moaned as he lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers in a fierce kiss.

  Then he raised his head and told her, “I want to know what it feels like to sink deep inside of you.”

  * * *

  Kai could feel his heart thundering inside his chest, and when he was about to take her lips once more, she let go of his neck and began to struggle slightly.

  Misunderstanding, Kai moved off of her and stood thinking she wished to escape, but when she whimpered and reached for him she whispered, “No. Don’t stop.”

  “But you were—”

  “Trying to undo my zipper,” she informed with a slight laugh, as she angled up on her elbows and her face flushed. He frowned at her and then looked to the knife on the bed.

  “Do you trust me?”

  She too looked at the blade and nodded.

  “Move back on the bed,” he told her, and wasn’t sure she’d comply. When she scooted away from the edge though he felt his cock pound in response.

  He placed his knee on the mattress and climbed over her, grabbing the knife as he went. Straddling her legs, he reached for the hem of her skirt and gripped it in one hand, before slicing it from the bottom and making a slit all the way up to her thighs.

  She gasped from under him, and he threw the weapon to the floor and grabbed both sides of the material before he tore it all the way to the neckline, and spread the material apart.

  His eyes took in every bare inch he’d revealed, and as the cool air hit her naked breasts her nipples hardened, begging for him to suck.

  She was still wearing that tiny piece of material she’d had on earlier, and as he reached down between her thighs and pushed his fingers against her, she moaned and arched her back off the bed.

  “Ahh,” she sighed as her eyes slid closed, and Kai gripped his cock in his fist as she continued to move her hips against his fingers.

  She was beautiful. A work of art, and when she reached for her breasts and cupped them, Kai wanted to worship her for hours.

  But first, he thought, these need to go.

  Removing his hand, he slipped his fingers into the stretchy material at her waist and drew the tiny scrap from her body. As he moved away from her, she bent her legs until they were off, and then slowly widened them as he crawled back between them.

  Kai leaned down over her and caught her moan between his lips as his cock brushed her bare mound.

  “Gods Naeve. I’ve never seen anything like you,” he groaned, and grit his teeth as her legs came up to wrap around his waist.

  “Kai,” she cried out as he rocked forward, rubbing himself against the wet heat of her.

  “You feel…” as his words trailed off, Naeve slid her hands into his hair pushing it back from his face and when their eyes met, her lips parted on a soft sigh.

  “I feel what?”

  Kai leaned down and let his tongue trace along her lip. When she rose up from the bed and pulled his head down to suck his tongue into her mouth, his hips thrust forward and she let out a throaty moan.

  “You feel hot against my skin. Like we’ll catch fire if we’re not careful.”

  He could tell from the look in her eyes that she felt it too, and when she angled her hips up again, her eyes fluttered closed and she wet those sweet lips.

  “I want…” she panted.

  He lowered his head and flicked his tongue over her nipple, sucking it until she tightened her thighs and practically crawled up his body, trying desperately to get closer.

  “I need you,” she confessed, and this time slid a hand down his back to cup his ass, urging him to her as she strained against his entire body.

  Kai placed a hand on either side of her head and as he looked down at all the blonde hair surrounding her, he wondered how it was that this beauty, this otherworldly miracle, was happening to him.

  * * *

  Naeve stared up at the man hovering over her. He was looking at her as though she was a mystery, and really, she supposed in a way she was. Just as he was a mystery to her.

  But there’d be time to think about that later. Not now, not while her body was on the ragged edge of exploding in a mind-bending orgasm.

  It seemed as though Kai had an innate ability to bring her to the very edge of her sanity. One look, one touch, and it was as though there were a fire coursing through her veins, and from the words he’d said earlier it was obvious he felt the same.

  She could feel his hard cock rubbing against her aching core, and every time he moved over her, she thought he would rear back and slide that thick length inside her. But no. It seemed as if Kai was content on discovering this first time around, while she wanted to get to the, thrusting inside me part.

  She moved the hand she still had on his head to his other ass cheek and squeezed, pulling him as close as she could possibly get him.

  When his hair fell forward surrounding them both, Naeve found words she’d never once uttered, swirling through her mind. Words she figured were now there due to the way he was tormenting her with his cock, and driving her crazy with desire.

  So when she opened her mouth and demanded, “Fuck me.” She couldn’t believe they’d actually come from her.


  Kai stilled above her, and she saw a dark almost savage smile touch his lips.

  “Fuck you?” he asked. “Is that what you want, little rabbit?”

  She could feel her pulse beating triple time in her chest, neck, and down between her aching thighs, as she rubbed herself against him.

  “Yes,” she moaned, and then locked eyes with him feeling a new, darker part of herself take over.

  She dug her nails into his skin, and repeated much more confidently, “Fuck me.”

  Kai reached down between them, and when he ran his fingers between her wet lips, she bucked up against them as if they were a livewire.

  She knew she was soaked, she could feel the way her body was weeping for him as he circled her clit and then slid his fingers down to push inside. She clamped her teeth into her lip to hold back a scream, and all the while Kai’s stormy eyes held hers.

  His mouth was hovering over her own and when he pulled his fingers free of her body, Naeve leaned up and kissed him, pushing her tongue deep inside his mouth to tangle with his own. Leaving one hand on his ass she brought the other in between them and finally wrapped her fingers around his thick, cock.

  He wrenched his mouth free, groaning as she squeezed and ran her fist up his length. She reveled the sound coming from him, and when he looked down at her she thought he was the most magnificent man she’d ever seen.

  He looked furious but Naeve knew better, she held the proof in her hand.

  As he snarled at her, baring his teeth, she felt powerful, enjoying her sensual torment of him and little more than she knew she should.

  “Ready to stop teasing me now?” she taunted.

  He reached between them and grabbed her hand, then took her other and pinned them both to the mattress by her head.

  She felt a thrill race through her in finally pushing him over the edge, and when he lowered his mouth to hers and crushed their lips together in a brutal kiss, she bit back a scream as the head of his cock finally pushed against her wet opening.