A Hero's Bargain

by Forrest, Rayne

  “I’d like that. I have a bit of dnomla lotion. It will take away the dryness of my skin.”

  He motioned for her to rinse her hair. “Your skin is perfect, Saba.”

  She dropped to her knees and dipped her head backwards. The gentle current of the pool carried the suds away. Ryder leaned over her, kissing her breasts. Her desire for him spiked. She made fast work of rinsing her hair. When she straightened up, he handed her another leaf then dipped under the water again. He came up on his knees in front of her. She started to work the lather into his hair.

  His hands snaked up the back of her thighs to pull her closer. His mouth closed over a pebbled nipple with a quick, teasing caress of his tongue. Desire streaked through her on a straight line from his mouth to her most secret places. She would have fallen had he not been holding her firmly.

  “Saba, you are so beautiful.” The strange, sad note in his voice was her undoing.

  He had to stay with her. Or if Tyree sent him away for not killing the errol, she would go with him. She could not be parted from him. She needed him like she needed the air they all breathed.

  It was folly and she knew it. At least, her head knew it. Her heart was speaking a totally different truth to her.

  She was falling in love with this tall, quiet stranger whose eyes hinted at depths she’d not imagined in a man. Maybe she loved him already even though it would likely bring her nothing but heartache.

  Saba didn’t care. Her heart told her she was strong enough to weather whatever storms came her way because of it. Even if he didn’t want her for more than these few days until he was completely healed. The demands of her body overrode her mind and her heart.

  Her body was screaming in need. The need for him to kiss her all over. The need for him to touch her all over. The need to feel him buried inside her again. Her hands shook as she coaxed him to lean back and allow her to rinse the lather from his hair. He closed his eyes as she ran her trembling fingers through his long hair. Finished, she trailed her fingers along his collarbone. He cupped her, slipping a long finger inside her. She clutched his shoulders as her body pulsed into his hand.

  He rose out of the water in a shower of droplets, like some aquatic god in the stories from before the time of Wae. His burning gaze locked with hers as he swept her into his arms, lifting her from the pool and laying her down on the heated stone slab by the fire. His body followed hers down, covering hers. His knees opened hers as his mouth descended.

  She opened herself to her own need, and to his.

  And to hope.

  Chapter 14

  The warm water was wonderfully soothing. A slight, gentle current swirled through the pool keeping the water from getting too cloudy. Ryder’s aching back and shoulder muscles relaxed as Saba lathered his hair. Gods, he wanted to feel those hands washing him all over.

  Her fingers were magical on his scalp, pulling his soul toward a peace he’d feared forgotten in the panic that had gripped him as Death hovered over his bed. He’d come far too close to learning once and for all if the afterlife really existed.

  The experience held a dreamlike quality as if he’d been off somewhere watching himself struggle to survive. Or maybe it was a memory not quite in focus with huge chunks of it missing. All he was sure of was it had happened, none of it had been pleasant, and he didn’t really regret having pieces of it gone from his mind. Except when it came to Saba. He wanted to remember everything about her.

  Somewhere in the unrelenting fog of memory an angel had taken his hand and assured him that he wouldn’t die. Then the angel had stepped between him and Death—and been victorious.

  Ryder ran his hands up the back of her trembling thighs. She’d trembled in his arms not so very long ago. The memory of her beneath him burned worse than the fires of hell he’d walked so close beside. He drew her closer as she lathered his hair, gently suckling one peaked nipple. He held her tighter as her knees almost buckled.

  “Saba, you are so beautiful.” And she was. A fiery water sprite, shiny wet and glowing bright in the reflected firelight. Did they even have stories of such creatures on this world? Would he find tales of both woodland nymphs that had secret forest glens, and great hunters who wheeled through the night skies with faithful companions at their heels?

  She urged him to lean back and dip his hair into the water so she could rinse the suds away. He cupped her bottom and teased at her from behind. Her thighs parted for him. Her fingers trailed sparks across this shoulders.

  Lust seized him. Pure, greedy lust. It snaked its way through his belly, demanding he do its bidding, that he seize the life he’d almost lost. He reached for what little control he had to work with at this moment. It wasn’t going to be enough.

  His cock was so hard it hurt. That was a baffling state of affairs considering he’d already gotten off twice in the last few hours. What was in that stuff she made him drink? Ryder cupped her gently then carefully slipped a finger inside her, teasing her. Testing her. She pulsed into his hand, a small needful cry welling out of her.

  Gods, he’d worry about her being sore tomorrow, in the daylight, when they both could think. It would have to be tomorrow. He couldn’t think of anything now but being inside her again.

  He rose up out of the water in a mist of cascading droplets, scooping her into his arms and throwing them both down on the large, flat slab of rock between the pool and the fire pit. She clung to him, a small breathy ‘yes’ on her lips.

  Thank all the gods it was yes. He was in the clutches of something more powerful than any man, or woman. The need to merge and cast his seed, to ensure life, gripped him with an iron fist.

  He opened her thighs with his own, spreading her, laying her open and vulnerable to him. Her arms were around his neck, holding him with fierce strength. As he lowered his mouth to hers, he had no intention of backing away. She arched up to him, meeting him. His rigid manhood slipped across her damp flesh. Her tongue found his, warring and mating in the dance he’d taught her. Her legs rose. He thrust into her welcoming heat.

  Ryder shuddered violently at the intense pleasure of her soft body taking his steel. From the depths of his being he dredged up some small measure of control and flexed his hips to hers. She sighed sweetly into his mouth.

  The urgency rose up within him but he pushed it down. Giving in to it again wouldn’t coax that low, breathy moan out of her. Only his gentleness would make her give that up to him. He rocked into her, an unhurried, arcing push of pelvis to pelvis.

  “Ryder.” His name was a whisper on her lips. He gathered her into his arms and began a slow, easy ride. She went liquid around him and everything outside of her faded, vanishing like the smoke of the small fire, funneled away, unseen.

  She met him thrust for thrust, slowly, then with increasing intensity. Her thighs quivered as they gripped his hips. He nuzzled at her ear.

  “Say it, angel. Tell me.”

  Saba sank her teeth into his shoulder. He jerked into her, surprised at the small, sharp pain. She started nipping her way up his neck. He moved hard into her and was rewarded by her legs shifting up to wrap around his ribs. He still wanted to hear her say the words. He licked her ear. She bucked against him.

  “What do you want, Saba? Tell me.”

  “Don’t stop!”

  His balls tightened. Stopping wasn’t an option. It hadn’t been since the moment he’d plunged into her.

  “I won’t.” And he wouldn’t. He wanted release but he’d not fall without her ever again unless it was at her request and for her pleasure. He lengthened his strokes. She moaned. The sound ripped an echo from him.

  “Saba. What do you need?” He kissed his way down her jaw line then claimed her mouth. She met him eagerly, parting her lips, and letting him plunder. She suddenly clawed at him. Her back arched.

  “Reach for it, angel. Tell me.” He slammed into her. “Tell me.”

  Her body rippled around his shaft. His cock swelled even more, aching to give her its gift.

/>   “Ryder!” The surprise in her voice about undid him. She gasped then stiffened. She was coming. His body answered hers. He gave her all he could, driving into her with bruising force. She met him stroke for stroke.

  Her pleasure ripped through his control. He slammed into her with selfish abandon. But maybe not so selfish.

  “Ryder, don’t stop!” He rose up and slammed into her again. She screamed. His own climax overtook him, hurtling him into dark bliss. He was helpless as it battered him with blow after blow of sweet sensation as her soft flesh welcomed him, yielded all to him. He flooded into her in seemingly endless pulses of devastating pleasure.

  The world around him slowly refocused. The stars dancing behind his eyelids faded. He eased his weight down onto her and buried his face in the softness of her hair. Did that damn nasty brew she forced him to drink have a sexual stimulant in it? If it did, he wanted another cup.

  “Oh, gods,” he moaned. Even breathing was taking a lot of energy. She hugged him with her arms and legs. Awareness of the soreness of his ribs returned.

  His ribs could just ache. He wasn’t about to ask her to release him. Ever. Ryder mustered enough energy to kiss his way along her cheek to her lips. She sighed his name into his mouth. His cock actually twitched in response. What spell had she cast on him?

  Not that he was going to complain.

  She caressed down his back and flanks. She sighed again and eased her legs from around him. He shifted his weight onto his elbows and looked at her. Her eyes opened. Saba smiled up at him.

  You must have done that right, old boy.

  Ryder matched her smile. She toyed with a lock of his damp hair.

  “We didn’t get much of a bath.”

  He shook his head. “No, we didn’t. Does that mean you want to hop back into the water?”

  She nodded. “Kiss me again, Ryder.”

  He was more than happy to comply and kissed her, a soft meeting of their lips that held promise and passion, and an understanding of each other that surprised him.

  He kissed her nose then carefully withdrew from her. She stretched like a cat when his weight was off her, rolling onto her stomach. He patted her very attractive rump.

  “I’m going in,” he warned and fell off the edge into the pool. The water sloshed onto the rock. She was more dignified with her reentry, easing into the warm water with barely a splash.

  She handed him an eola leaf and told him to scrub.

  “What? You’re not going to do my back, angel?”

  “Just wash, Ryder. We’ve been here far too long. The smoke from the chimney is visible. Others may be waiting.”

  He’d not thought about that, or much of anything but her, and it was to her that his thoughts went now. He had a few questions while they scrubbed.

  “Tell me the truth, angel. Everyone is going to know we’ve been together. Are you all right with that?”

  “It’s my right to take lovers as I choose. I’ve not agreed to partner with anyone.”

  “Including Tyree?” And including me, should I ask you?

  “Especially Tyree. He is headman of this village. He is responsible for my safety. That is all. He has no say in the company I keep.”

  Ryder winced mentally. She really didn’t know a lot about men when it came to their interest in women. Or a particular woman. Tyree had plenty of interest in her. She surely wasn’t that blind.

  “Angel, he’s going to have plenty to say about me.” Ryder ducked under the water before she could respond. He opened his eyes in the clear water and grabbed her ankle. She was suddenly under the water staring at him with an exasperated expression on her blurred face. They surfaced together sending waves crashing and water splashing along the sides of the pool.

  “We’re clean. We should go.” Her tone said she’d brook no argument from him. He wasn’t about to give her one.

  “We should. I’m about to starve, angel. Are you going to feed me?”

  “Perhaps.” She climbed out of the pool and reached for a piece of the toweling. He hopped out and pulled it from her and started to dry her. She resisted for a moment then gave him one of those little catlike smiles females were capable of.

  Yeah, men were predictable when it came to some things, he had to admit. She turned for him to dry her back. He’d rather have kept on ‘drying’ her breasts but she’d obviously had enough of that—for now.

  “What are my chances of getting a big, thick steak?” His mouth watered just thinking about it. His stomach rumbled. She looked over her shoulder at him, grinning.

  “It’s possible, although the size may not be to your liking. We’ll ask Hezetta if there are any left from the last hunt.”

  “Really? Do you dry the meat from hunts?”

  “No. We bring in snow from the high mountain and place it deep in this cave where it does not melt. The meat is packed there and will keep for many weeks if handled in this manner. Of course, some of the men are kept busy bringing in snow, but because they get the best cuts, they do not mind overmuch. In the warmer months, we hunt small game that can be cooked at once.”

  Ryder nodded. Maybe some day he’d tell her how easy it was to freeze food where he came from. Maybe not. Life here was harder, and the knowledge survival was easier on those far-off points of light in the night sky wouldn’t make it less difficult.

  They finished dressing in silence. His exertions were catching up with him. He weighed how badly he needed a meal against how much he needed sleep. Saba watched him with the eyes of a healer, quietly observant, missing nothing.

  Hezetta had pulled a heavy curtain across the entrance to her hut, ensuring her privacy from anyone who might be leaving the bathing chamber. Saba called to her softly and she appeared, her dark eyes sparkling with mischief. Ryder hoped she didn’t say anything to embarrass Saba.

  Saba inquired about meat and Hezetta opened a small crock and pulled out two small partially thawed chunks of meat. She wrapped them quickly and handed them to Saba.

  “I was going to prepare these tomorrow. You take them. I’ll go get more.” Her hands closed over Saba’s. She looked Ryder up and down and shook her head.

  Just what she meant by that he didn’t know and wasn’t going to ask. He held out his hands for the bundle Saba was holding. She hesitated but gave it to him.

  Saba thanked Hezetta for the meat and for graciously allowing them time in the pool. Ryder shivered as they stepped out into the cooler night air. He shifted the bundle and draped his arm around Saba, pulling her closer to keep her warm.

  The central yard of the village was quiet. Some small animal trundled across the open expanse unconcerned over their approach. Its attitude suggested it was a pet, well accustomed to people. Saba ignored it, so Ryder felt safe in following her lead.

  A few huts were already dark inside. A few more windows showed only the flickering light of the hearth or maybe a candle. Only a handful of people sat outside their doors enjoying the evening and chatting with neighbors.

  That these were a peaceful people showed everywhere Ryder looked. They’d saved his life, and then welcomed him. What was so different about the errol that the creature had not been welcomed? He had to find the answer to that question before he could formulate a plan to deal with the creature.

  He’d worry on that bone tomorrow. Tonight, he needed something to eat and then sleep. That he’d sleep in Saba’s bed, holding her, wasn’t in doubt.

  They reached her hut and he stepped ahead of her to open her door. She smiled slightly and walked past him. He moved to follow her inside, pausing just long enough to meet Tyree’s gaze across the village yard before closing the door for the night.

  Chapter 15

  Years of having patients sleeping in front of her fireplace had trained Saba to sleep lightly. She was surprised when she woke at dawn and realized she’d slept through the night without waking once. Perhaps being nestled warmly in Ryder’s strong arms all night made the difference.

  By some sort of unspoken
agreement they had settled together in the center of the bed. He’d turned her to face away from him then fitted his larger frame around hers. Then he’d draped his arm over her and cupped her breast, not with intent, but as if that was where his hand belonged. His breath warmed the back of her neck as he kissed her there and told her to sleep. It must not have taken her long to obey him.

  Saba stretched cautiously, not wanting to wake him. He slept on, his breathing deep and steady. She was pleased he didn’t wake. Sleep was what he needed most to regain his strength. Slipping from the bed, she filled her kettle as quietly as possible and set it on the hearth to warm.

  Coals still smoldered in the fireplace, warm enough so she’d have no trouble rekindling the flames. She placed a few pieces of wood in a careful arrangement, and they immediately began to burn. That accomplished she pondered what to fix them for the morning meal. He would need more than a piece of fruit and a few bits of cheese.

  The water in the kettle was almost boiling. She prepared ynoteb tea. She’d had a cup with dinner last night, which should be sufficient for her needs, but the brew had a pleasant, minty flavor. And being honest, she didn’t mind a little extra insurance.

  Ryder had watched silently as she’d prepared the tea last evening. When she’d only prepared enough for herself, he’d questioned her softly, nodding in what she took to be agreement with her wishes. It wasn’t until he nodded that she realized she’d been holding her breath.

  Not all the men of the village were accepting of a woman’s use of the ynoteb. She didn’t hold those individuals in very high esteem. It was the women who paid the price of their egos with unwanted pregnancies and the pain of childbirth.

  She wasn’t too pleased with herself that she had allowed worry over what he might say to affect her, either. She generally considered herself more independent in her thinking.

  Saba poured the steaming water over the tealeaves and set the kettle back on the coals. A small rustling noise behind her made her turn. Her gaze met with Ryder’s. He patted the bed beside him. “You can bring your tea over here, angel.”