by Jaye Shields
Recognition washed over Lennox. He’d made Zahra feel inhuman, but in reality, she was more than human, she was an angel in a sinner’s body. He’d called her selfish and vain when they’d first met, and yet she was the most selfless person he’d ever encountered. The tender woman he’d lain with in bed was only a glimpse of the courageous and giving heart Zahra possessed.
“Are you okay?” Sephina finished closing up his wound.
“I’ve made many mistakes. Would you feel safer in my home outside the village?”
She offered him a wary eye. “I would like to see my sister. But I don’t think we’ll stay.”
“Of course.”
“When we leave my apartment, follow me. You’re new in town. I’ll lead us through the maze of streets so we’ll receive the least amount of attention.”
Lennox followed Sephina through the home, past the sedentary father. When they made it outside, he grabbed her arm. “I should tell you, she’s not in the best of health.”
“Give me one of your blades.” The spritely young woman glared at Lennox, her bright pink hair framing dark amber stones of eyes.
Lennox removed a tiny bejeweled dagger from his satchel, the same one Zahra had been admiring in the market. “A gift, keep it.”
Sephina cradled it and the admiration she directed on the handle sent pride through his veins once more. But in a quick movement, she pointed the blade at his throat. “If you’ve hurt my sister, this blade’s going to cut those stitches back open.”
He smiled at the young woman’s fierce loyalty. “It’s a long walk to my home, there will be plenty of time for explanation. I deserve worse, but I’d hate to see your careful work go to waste.” With that, he began walking through the cobblestone street. Glad to be on his way home, he greatly desired to offer the food to Zahra. He wondered if she was still in his bed asleep.
The thought of seeing her once more stirred his gut with lust. Memories of her smile in his bed left him breathless. She was no longer just a beautiful woman he’d shared the most sensual experience of his life with, Zahra now held his admiration unlike any other. He’d loved his wife, but this feeling for Zahra was new to him. Now he just needed to discover what it meant.
Chapter 9
Zahra woke with the sun hitting her cheeks, unusual since the region experienced days upon days of cloud cover. But she was glad for it and she could already feel her body heating with vitality. Lennox had fulfilled his promise. He had already begun the process of her healing. Unsure of the time, Zahra wondered if she had more time to lie in bed before heading back to the village. Lennox wasn’t home, but she assumed he went to work in the morning market. If that was so, she’d have plenty of time to relax.
Despite the hours of torture Lennox had inflicted upon her, his tender touch had erased nearly all memories of the trauma. The look she’d seen in his eyes revealed much. When he’d entered her, his blue gaze had been wrought with sincerity. He hadn’t looked at her as a succubus, but as a woman. He’d taken his time, ensuring that every moment resulted in her pleasure. Although he had filled her, his care of her body proved that her climax, not his, was the goal. That goal had been attained. Gloriously. A giggle escaped her. The sound caught Zahra by surprise. Her sister Sephina made her laugh constantly, but as of late, her smiles had been few. And yet, recalling her captor’s sensual gaze in bed left her wrought with butterflies.
As if on cue, her stomach grumbled. Damn she was hungry, but getting out of bed wasn’t appealing at all. Spying the dresser across the room, Zahra forced herself to get out of bed and look for something to wear. Sliding open the top drawer, she found his undergarments. The plain shorts made her recall the way Lennox removed his clothing for her. The man had an easy sexuality that could’ve made him an incubus himself.
The second drawer held few options, plain cotton trousers and leathers. She imagined Lennox’s lean body filling the leather pants as he worked to create incredible weapons over a hot fire. She liked the pants, but knew they’d never fit her. Instead, she decided to pull on one of the plain linen shirts and a pair of his boxers. The shorts were light and airy, and fell just above her knees. The shirt was loose and billowed as a breeze swept through the room. Her fingers went to the loose strings to tighten the V at the neck. She never even heard the door open behind her.
“You’ve been stirring up quite some trouble, haven’t you, bitch?”
A spell froze Zahra where she stood. The vile voice and heavy footsteps of the man approaching sent her heart into erratic thumps against her chest. Bane’s hand wrapped around her neck and he whispered in Zahra’s ear. She smelled the yeast of mead on his breath and would have shuddered if a spell hadn’t frozen her in time.
“My men saw to your girl earlier.”
The low, murderous tone made Zahra’s heart clench tight. Inside, she screamed. Her skin burned where Bane’s fingertips gripped her neck, his touch was like poison eating away at her skin. The man revolted her.
“Let’s just say the debt has been repaid.”
At the wizard’s words, Zahra’s fury spiked and her adrenaline shattered the spell. She whipped around and elbowed Bane in the jugular. He choked for air and Zahra felt him try to place the seizing spell on her once more. It slowed her down, but she powered through the enchantment and drove her fist toward the man who’d been terrorizing her sister.
“Where is she?” She screamed at Bane, but he launched toward her, knocking Zahra into the wooden dresser. Pain exploded in her weak body. Two days of withdrawal and not eating had taken its toll. Even without magick, the wizard had an extra one hundred pounds on her.
“I rule this town. Don’t forget that.” Bane’s words were the last thing she heard before pain exploded in her side. Blood seeped from the wound, causing the linen to mold against her skin. She collapsed, but Bane caught her arms and held her against him. “I’m not done with you.”
The door crashed open. Zahra lifted her head and saw Lennox charge into the room. He threw a bundle of swords to the floor, saving only one for his grip. “Release her.”
“This will not go down your way, vagrant.”
Lennox smiled and his slow grin lit up the room. He held her gaze and winked. “It’s Lenny.”
Zahra forgot the pain of her seeping wound. Bane roared behind her and Zahra’s body fell forward under his weight. She hit the floor hard, but Bane sank to his knees beside her. The wizard released a desperate, gurgled croak. As he hit the ground, a dagger in his back, Zahra saw Sephina standing behind him.
“Seph!” Zahra cried out, and her sister rushed into her arms. Zahra clutched her close and ignored the fuzzy outline of the wound in her side. Lennox’s strong presence filled the room behind them.
“No!” A sword rushed past Zahra as Bane drove a blade toward her sister’s back. In a blur of speed, Lennox threw himself in front of the weapon. His sword blocked the blow, but the wizard’s intense strength caused Lennox to tremble. Zahra noticed that his shoulder was already bleeding.
Bane won the match of strength and brought his sword through Lennox’s abdomen. A scream tore through the room and Zahra realized it belonged to her. But as Bane slowly got to his feet, Lennox groaned, pulling the sword from his body. In a swift maneuver, he plunged it through the wizard’s gullet. Zahra watched in awe as Lennox drove the blade in all the way to the hilt until Bane dropped the ground.
“Oh no.” Sephina’s voice was a terrified whisper.
Lennox dropped to the ground. The sound of his knees colliding against the floor boomed in Zahra’s ears. Her heart plummeted at the sound and she realized her world would shatter if he died. She’d glimpsed something beautiful in the haunting stranger and now he was fading.
“Zahra, I need to close your wound. You’re bleeding.” But her sister’s worried voice faded into the background.
“Lennox.” Zahra crawled away from her sister and cupped the blacksmith’s handsome face. His pale linen shirt was now crimson, molded against his chisele
d torso like that of a fallen warrior. His beautiful body lay still. A tear slipped down her cheek. Zahra was overwhelmed by confusion and tragedy. She hardly knew him and yet she felt heartbroken. And she would never have the chance to know him. For he was already gone.
Chapter 10
“My sister said you saved her life.”
Lennox awoke to the scent of cinnamon lingering next to his skin. The warm spicy scent caused him to relax deeper into his bed. The voice speaking to him was familiar, and yet unknown. Subtle pain gnawed at seams in his shoulder and gut, but the sensation of a soft fingertip tracing up his arm made him forget all else.
“You know, I have a confession to make.” The angel’s sensual rasp brought Lennox back to consciousness. “I think I started falling in love with you even before I was sure you weren’t a psychopath.”
Lennox finally opened his eyes and it was worth it. Hair the color of raven feathers framed amber eyes more precious than all gemstones and full, smiling lips. He’d never seen her smile. It was breathtaking.
“You and I have a lot of catching up to do.” Her soft voice was full of anticipation, and his gut stirred with need. He’d only gotten a taste of the incredible woman lying beside him. He wanted more. But more than just her body he realized. He craved to discover the same woman that Sephina knew. He was quickly discovering that Zahra was one of a kind.
“You should be careful,” he finally said. “I can become quite the madman when I have a cause.”
“Oh, really?” She searched his eyes, but she wasn’t afraid. Her gaze swirled with golden flecks of anticipation. “What is your cause?”
“Living long enough to find out if I’m in love with the woman I’ve been torturing for two days.”
She smiled, a rosy flush taking her cheeks, but when she looked down at him, she was all siren. “Oh, you’re going to live. As a matter of fact…you look quite healthy to me.”
Her fingers tiptoed across his skin until she found the blanket and tugged it down. Zahra reached for his pants, taking extra care while pulling them down his muscular legs. His chest was bare; his wounds bandaged tightly. Soon, he was naked before Zahra’s eyes.
“My, how times have changed.” Her smile set all others to shame. “Now I’m the one undressing you. I like it.”
Zahra left the bed and strode toward his dresser, her hips swaying like they beckoned to be held. The woman opened one of his drawers; clearly she had made herself intimate with his home while he’d been unconscious.
“Don’t even think about moving.” Her sensual purr would have nailed any man to the bed.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
Zahra returned with some of the same rope he had used to tie her to the table. “I think it’s only fair that I get a turn.”
Lennox’s cock jerked. The thought of her touching his body, even if it was to torture him, was enough to cause him to harden. “I deserve as much.”
She smiled, a slow cat’s grin, and from the way she tied his hands to the bed posts, she was preparing to pounce on him. Zahra moved to his feet, wrapping the thick rope around his ankles and spreading his legs as she secured him to the bedpost. “Don’t think I didn’t notice that you weren’t bluffing when you said you took my nipple clamps. Trust me, if you hadn’t been stabbed in the chest, I’d be adding them to my torture regime right now.” Zahra climbed onto the bed, filling the space between his spread legs. His shaft hardened until it hurt, begging to be touched. “It’s time for a little payback.”
Zahra reached for her shirt and began to lift it over her head, stopping short, just as Lennox spotted the crest of her ample curves. The fabric fell back down, covering the skin over her stomach. His cock twitched in disapproval.
Zahra’s full lips pouted. “Oh, I’m sorry. Were you hoping that was going to come off?”
Her eyes hungrily raked over his body and finally found his eyes as her fingers went to the top button of her loose linen shirt. But there was nothing innocent about the semitransparent fabric, and Lennox’s mouth watered. The top buttons were mercifully undone and more of Zahra’s porcelain skin was revealed. When the V was deep enough, her hands cupped her breasts, squeezing them so that the curves began spilling over the top of the shirt. Lennox groaned at the sight of her ample breasts filling her hands, nearly pushed over the top of the flimsy fabric. She squeezed her nipples as she juggled the curves, making them bounce before his eyes.
“This makes you ache, doesn’t it? You like watching me touch myself.”
Her words were the truth, and Lennox craved to have the soft candies of her nipples in his mouth once more. He wanted to help her in this sensual endeavor of exploring her body.
“Well, not yet, soldier. You have some answering to do first.”
But instead of asking him a question, she lowered herself to his hard cock. Her tongue flicked out and laid a brief strip of moisture on his throbbing head. He moaned at the sight and the feel of her soft tongue on his hard tip. As the tiny trail of saliva dried, he ached for more.
“You said you were married?”
“Not anymore.”
His cock began to go soft. But Zahra’s tongue flicked out and traced a long line of desire up his shaft. It hardened instantly.
“Why?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Zahra’s face fell and she retreated away from his shaft. The disappointment and hurt on her face was more than anything he’d witnessed during her torture.
Although she’d pulled away, she suddenly devoured his cock, sucking harder than before. She caught him by surprise and he nearly exploded with ecstasy as her full lips surrounded his head and sucked hard, twirling her tongue around his thick shaft. And then as soon as she’d taken him, she released him.
He groaned at the early release. Zahra hadn’t lied, she was torturing him indeed.
“Tell me what brought you to Sprecia and why you sought me.”
He sucked in a breath, his hard on slowly deflating. Pain slowly gathered in his balls. “I was married. I had always wanted a family, and Emmerie was…she was the town angel with long blonde hair and rosy cheeks. I was overcome with joy when, of all the men in town, she chose me.”
A painful flick stabbed at his balls and Lennox hardened. Zahra hissed, “No need to embellish the story. Beautiful human female, I get it.”
“I’m trying to explain.” When she nodded, he went on. “She was just so fragile. When we made love, she was never fully in my arms. She was my wife, but not a lover. Whenever I tried to worship her body, she recoiled.” A furious storm of agony burrowed into his stomach as he recalled. “And yet she gave her body to another man only months after we’d been married.”
“My brother.”
As if sensing his pain, her mouth covered his cock once more, effectively changing the subject. It had gone soft, but it hardened in the wet cove of her mouth. Her tongue massaged it back to life. He grew until she could barely contain the length of him, and she slid up and down his mass with need that floored him. Her golden eyes looked up at Lennox as she went down, comforting him. His head fell back as the erotic massage overwhelmed him. Even with his eyes closed, Zahra’s eyes of fire were burned into his brain.
“I’m sorry, Zahra.” His words escaped as a plea. Could the stunning woman ever forgive him?
She took her lips from his shaft, but placed a soft kiss on his head before meeting his gaze. “I’ll forgive you under one condition. You must forgive my brother.”
“Done.” His ready reply surprised himself. “I realize that what I had with Emmerie wasn’t love. I owe your brother a great deal, for driving me to you. I’m just sorry that our meeting was not the kind of fairytales, like you deserve.”
His words made her smile, which filled him with warmth. He craved to make her smile; it was the sole purpose of his world. This was love.
“You’re stunning, Lennox.”
“I like that.”
“What?”
“The so
und of my name on your lips.”
“You don’t like Lenny?” She chuckled and the stunning sight stirred lust within him.
“Untie me. I need to feel you, I need to touch you.”
She immediately obeyed and freed him from the bonds.
Lennox defied pain and leaned up to pull her back down atop him. His mouth sought hers in a slow kiss. The softness of her lips met his in a slow dance, their tongues gently tasting each other. Their mouths became acquainted in a slow embrace that showed no signs of ending. Lennox ran his fingers through her silken hair and pulled her even closer. Her soft curves pressed into his bare chest. He felt her nipples go hard and he moaned with need.
Zahra reached down and pulled her shirt over her head. She leaned into Lennox and her soft peaks rubbed against his bare flesh. He’d seen her body before, but now he relished the opportunity to worship at it like a temple. Her body put all goddesses to shame. Her dark ebony hair put the mystery of the midnight skies to shame. Her golden gaze made the brightest fires nothing more than embers.
Zahra broke their needy kiss and whispered through a calm smile. “How come every time we make love, one of us is recovering from the verge of death?”
Lennox grinned. “I plan to rectify that.”
At his words, the stunning woman gently straddled his lap and opened her core to him. Never taking her eyes from his, she slid down on top of him, letting his shaft fill her glistening womanhood. They fit each other as if they were crafted to be together by the heavens. She gasped, her eyes rolling back in ecstasy for just a moment before bringing her gaze back to his. Zahra latched on with her thighs as she rode him slowly, letting every inch be fulfilled. The sensation nearly had him seeing stars. The sexual woman before him was a feast for the eyes and the warm exotic scent of her only made him thirsty.
“Ah-ah. I see that look in your eyes.” Zahra chastised him as she slowly continued to grind against him. “You’re injured. Just lay back and relax. This time it’s my turn to bring us both to ecstasy.”
