This was pleasure! But she had a duty. Not wanting to break the mood, but knowing Rache demanded more than play, Adriana swam to the far edge where she'd spread the furs and covers.
Mark of Windhaw followed.
He stayed close in her wake. When she lowered her feet to the bottom and turned, he was there--warm water beading on his chest, smiling in a way that set her senses awash with desire and confusion.
They stood thigh-deep in water and she'd be made of stone not to want her fill of the sight before her eyes. Clothed in nothing but sunlight and warm water, Mark of Windhaw smiled. And waited, watching her as if she brought his dreams to life. His needs were evident in the heat in his eyes and the cock that stood hard and high, pointing straight at her as if to indicate the target of his desire.
It was the self-same desire that poured through her, bathing her skin with need and her mind with an urgency she barely comprehended. What was it about this man that stirred her so? Never before had she felt this heat within, this longing for his body on hers. The yearning for his cock deep within her, to hold him close and satisfy his need with hers.
It made no sense. Defied all reason and design.
No matter! She'd think later. For once, duty and joy melded. She held out her hand.
He grasped it. Striding the last two steps to the edge, he pulled her close as he planted one foot on the rim and stepped out, carrying her with him.
It was as if she'd flown for a few moments before he set her down and her feet rested on paved rock. They stood a mere arm's length apart. She felt her breasts rise and fall with her frantic breathing. She'd barely wrought any magick but his need was written on his face and proclaimed in his stalwart erection. It seemed the very air about them stirred with desire.
"Sweet Adriana," he murmured as he wrapped a drying cloth around her shoulders. "You offer more than I have ever dreamed possible--beauty beyond compare and the generosity of an angel."
"You are my guest, Mark of Windhaw."
"Lady, nowhere in the realm would I find such hospitality."
Her heart snagged at the truth of that. "I fear," he said, as his hands patted her breasts through the drying cloth, "that I presume too much."
It was too late for hesitation, but as she looked up at his face, she read worry in his eyes. "What concerns you, Mark of Windhaw?"
"You, Sweet Adriana." The back of his hand traced the outline of her cheek. "I fear I take advantage of your generosity. You are a woman here alone, and I know not when I can pass this way again."
Dear Rache! An Astrian with a conscience! "But you are here now, Mark of Windhaw, and now is the time we have." She closed her fingers round his wrist and lifted his hand to her mouth, kissing his knuckles before gently sucking his fingertips. "Our joining will be a sacred offering to Rache, here, by her consecrated springs."
"Sweet Adriana! Your ways here are so different from ours."
Indeed they were! "If you find me uncomely..." Slight chance indeed! His body was ripe with need and his eyes dark with desire.
"Dear heaven! No!"
Enough debate! "Let us offer ourselves to Rache." She pulled the drying linen off her shoulders and dropped it to the ground.
He needed no further persuading. As if throwing off the last of his restraints, he pulled her close and fastened his lips on hers. She let out a little yelp of need, surprise and delight as she opened her mouth to his. She responded with a heat that shocked her. Her mind was fogged by his strength and presence, the wild ardor of his kisses, and the heat of his still-damp body. His strong hands stroked her back and cupped her bottom. His cock was pressed tight and hard against her belly as she molded herself against him. As if she needed any confirmation of his desire!
She could not hold back the smile--or the sigh--as his lips kissed down her neck. Mark of Windhaw had a touch like no other man. Never had she known the wild thrills of pleasure that spiraled through her mind and possessed her body. He paused for breath and murmured, "Sweet lady, you are truly a gift from the Gods!"
Time to offer a gift from the Five Goddesses!
Drawing back a little, she ran her hands over his chest and the still-damp mat of hair, dipping her head to suck each nipple until it stood hard and proud. His groan sang in her ears as she knelt, her hands resting on his strong thighs.
"Dear lady," he said, "why do you kneel to me, it is not..."
His voice choked off as she took his cock in her mouth. He was as surely muffled as she was. Pleasure took his tongue as hers gave. His hands grasped her head, caressing her hair as he moaned with need and pleasure. She sucked on the smooth round head of his cock and slowly drew him deep into her mouth. A louder groan echoed in her ears, his thighs trembled under her hands as her lips worked up and down on the stem of his cock. He was smooth and hard, and tasted of man and the sacred freshness of Rache's consecrated spring. She felt his need as her tongue lapped up and down his hard flesh before circling the ridge below the head of his cock.
As she drew her mouth back, she flicked her tongue over the sweet warm head of his cock, tasting male nectar. Yes, Mark of Windhaw was ready. She drew back her mouth, resting on her heels as she looked up at him, his chest rising and falling with need, his eyes dark blue pools of desire, and his cock, if humanly possible, standing harder and prouder than ever.
Her own heart raced at the prospect of his cock seated deep inside her. Why this sweet ache between her legs? And this wild yearning to feel his male force within her body? What matter? If need and duty met then obligation became sweet pleasure, and the sight of Mark of Windhaw, aroused male, was pleasure indeed.
She circled his cock with her fingers and stroked it as she kissed first one ball, then the other. His moan was load enough to echo off the stone walls surrounding them.
"Enough, dear love." He pulled away, grasping her hands in his fists. "I would not spill before I give you equal pleasure." He drew her to her feet and led her the short distance to the furs spread on the ground. "Now," he said, a smile of anticipation curling his mouth, "it is my turn to offer homage."
Gently he laid her on her back, tucking the furs under her head, insisting she be comfortable--as if it truly mattered to him. He sat beside her, his eyes caressing her body, his fingers tracing the outline of her breasts and the curve of her hip. His lips brushed her arms and belly and the soft inside of her wrist. It seemed his eager lips covered every inch of her from the rounded flesh of her shoulders, to the smooth skin behind her knees and at the base of her neck. He even kissed each toe, then ran his lips up the side of her leg while she lay back and let the novel but wondrous sensations flood her mind.
Never had her duty to Rache entailed this joy. Never had she dreamed of such delight, and from an Astrian! Sweet Rache, was he the one using magick? Impossible! They scorned the Goddesses' ways. But how could an unbeliever offer such bliss? What matter--it served Rache's purpose.
He paused in his kisses, but only to caress her cunt. Cool air touched her inner flesh as he parted her nether lips. His breath came warm on her tender flesh, one moment before his mouth came down--there--and her brain flashed out. Thought was impossible as her senses drowned in rapture.
He breathed on her flesh to cool her before heating her anew with his lips. His tongue lapped her until she yearned for more and then he kissed with lips soft as thistle down. His beard brushed with a gentle abrasion as his kisses soothed and stirred all at once. When she thought he could offer no greater joy, need built like a strange fire between her legs. He narrowed his tongue and mouth onto her very point of ache and sent her bucking with need. It was as if her entire mind, heart and being were centered on one core of flesh. What was this man that he could do this? He brought such wildness and joy with nothing but his lips.
He latched onto that nub as if drawing life from her, but he was not taking, he was giving. His lips and tongue drove wild need and sweet desire to an intensity that all but scrambled thought. She was only half-aware of her little mewls of plea
sure as the sweet ache grew and flooded her reason. It was as if she were taking flight. Her body tensed, rocking in a strange yet wondrous rhythm as he kept pace with her need.
She wanted to lie here forever, to never move from this spot, to accept his adoration for the rest of her days--to feel this joy, this wildness to enslave him to her. But higher and wilder her body stirred. Her mewls became grunts of delight and cries of joy. Pleasure built on sensation until, with a great flaring of passion, she screamed aloud, shouting Mark's name to the heavens. She was lost in a maelstrom of emotion. Flying on the joy in every muscle and sinew, she collapsed, a shaking trembling heap, as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close until the wild raging of her body calmed.
"Sweet lady," he whispered into her hair. "You are truly magnificent in your ecstasy."
She opened her eyes. The world still spun around her, but his arms anchored her to reality. "What magick have you wrought?" For truly it had to be magick. Her body still drifted as if on an ocean of pleasure.
"No magick, lady. Just the enchantment of our bodies and the power of our desire."
Heady power indeed! It was scarce believable! But neither could she deny the wild sensations his mouth created...or her body's amazing response. "Must be Astrian magick, Mark of Windhaw, for never in all my days have I dreamed of such power and pleasure. Is it possible ever to replicate such joy?"
"Very possible, lady. As yet we are not done."
Yes. Her body stiffened a little. To draw him in her power, he must enter her with his cock. It seemed a travesty to end this wonder with carnal rutting, but needs must... "Sir, I am yours." And soon he would be Rache's.
CHAPTER FOUR
It was with tenderness that he settled between her legs, his mouth fluttering kisses over her belly until the same strange yearning reawakened deep in her center. She shifted closer. He grasped her hips, lifting them a little, and entered her gently and easily, like water flowing over smooth rocks. As he came deep, she let out a slow sigh of utter pleasure. Minutes earlier she'd thought it impossible to feel more pleasure. How wrong she'd been! This was far beyond the earlier joy. Slowly he stroked within her: a wondrous rhythm of carnal delight. Little sighs and cries accompanied his groans of pleasure as he took her upon another whirlwind of sensation. Faster and harder he moved, her body echoing his. Her hips rocked to the same tempo. It seemed they breathed in unison. Even their hearts beat to the same pulse. She lifted her hips higher still, arching to meet his thrusts. He stiffened as he cried out her name. With a series of wild strokes he came, pouring his strength into her. And as the first warmth reached her core, her body responded, leaping in yet another paroxysm of pleasure that left her once again weak, shaking and sweating with joy.
He loomed over her, taking his weight on his strong arms as he bent low and kissed her. "Sweet Adriana," he said, "you are the Lady Wonder of the warm springs. A haven for a lost traveler and a shelter for wanderers."
He eased his cock out of her, and she felt the loss as never before. Stretched alongside her, he smiled, his eyelids heavy with satiation and his face flushed with satisfaction. "Dear lady, we are now bound. A sharing such as ours comes seldom in a lifetime. I would I could stay here in the forest with you, but duty calls."
And duty called her! Never before had she hesitated. "What was it happened between us?"
"Magick."
"Astrian magick?" If so, he was the first with this power.
"Let us call it the magick of Adriana of the springs, and Mark, the emperor's auditor."
Mention of the emperor brought her back to her task at hand. She must not lie here under the blue sky and lose herself in Mark's body and his wondrous kisses. But neither could she take his mind as she had her other victims. But how could she not? She had her sacred oath.
"Sweet Adriana, what disturbs your peace? A shadow of worry passed behind your eyes."
And over her heart. But... "We both have our appointed roles, Mark of Windhaw. You have the emperor's commission and I have my duties to my Goddess. Both must intrude in this glorious now."
He sighed. "Aye. I must go." His voice sounded heavy, as if laden with unhappiness. "I must find my page. He's but a lad and I sent him on a man's mission. I hope to meet him in Merridale." He turned to her, his eyes bright with tears. "It breaks my heart to leave you, sweetling. But I will return...You have the word of Mark of Windhaw. I cannot say when. I must fulfill my oath to my emperor. There are people whose lives and futures depend on me."
"What will you do in Merridale?" Besides this university of the emperor's.
"I must take reckoning of injustices and claims." He sighed. "It will not be an easy task. There are those who would lie and conceal the truth."
"What might they conceal?"
"Adriana, deep in these woods, you are protected from the hazards and calamities of the world." Little did he know. "During the wars, many ills were wrought. Some appointed officers abused their authority. Word came back slowly to the capital and now the emperor has sent parties to establish the truth."
It was hard to believe, but why would he lie? "And if it is found ills were done?"
"The guilty will be called to account."
"Perhaps..."
He looked offended at that. "You question my word, lady?"
"Not your word." That was true enough. "But can the truth be discovered after all these years?"
"Why not? Memories are long when hurt occurs."
Very true. Could she truly believe him? But if this were true, she needed him auditing in Merridale, not wandering naked and lost in the forest. What to do? "Will you just go to Merridale, sir?"
"I will go wherever needed in this quadrant. Once I have my page and a fresh horse, I can hire another recorder."
How far could she trust him? Her heart wanted to accept his word and beg for justice for her people, but her head insisted she owed him to Rache. "Have you heard of Endholm, Mark of Windhaw?"
"No, lady, should I have?"
Now to pick her words with care. "There was talk, some years back, of slain villagers and burned cottages."
His eyes went almost black with anger. "You are sure? What did you hear?"
"That after the attack none were left alive."
"What about children? The women?"
She shook her head. After all these years, the remembered horror tightened her throat and tears stung behind her eyelids.
"It shall be investigated. You have my word. If wrong was done, those responsible will answer before the emperor."
What now? Mark of Windhaw had to ride away. But she dared not let him go with knowledge of her sanctuary. She should follow her course, take his mind and abandon him in the woods. But then the debt for her family's death--and who knew how many others--would go uncollected. Mark of Windhaw had the power to call the guilty to account.
"Sweet Adriana." He kissed her cheek. "With a heavy heart, I must leave you, but you have my word I will return."
That could never be. What now? She had to let him go...but ensure he never returned. With the others she'd taken all memories but of her so that they wandered lost and fevered, ever searching for what they'd never find. Why not reverse the power? Take from him all memory of her, so he could then ride on and dispense justice, but never return. Her heart skipped a beat at that, but it was her only choice. It would deliver justice and leave Mark a whole man.
This called for a change in plans. "For the joy you have given me, let me prepare a last refreshment."
"Ever gracious, sweet Adriana."
Ever torn! "'Tis little enough, Mark of Windhaw, for what we shared." She sensed he was tempted to tarry, as much as her body yearned for more caress. It was late, but she could use that to her advantage. "Let me brew you an infusion to help throw off fatigue as you ride." As she spoke, she rested her hand on his forehead and willed sleep on him.
She lay beside him longer than she should have, but lingering was so bittersweet. Never before had she faced this quand
ary. The others who had come had taken her with the coarseness and haste she'd expected. It had been no stretch to see them as the wreakers of havoc. She had had no hesitation leaving them to wander, unable to injure another female.
Had ever another priestess faced this dilemma? Should she put her oath and mission ahead of her wish for retribution? Was not that same retribution her sworn task?
Mark had to leave her a whole man, with mind enough to exercise his commission and the emperor's desire for justice. But he could not go with knowledge of her haven.
But...if he left with no memory of her and his time in the shrine...? It would be as if he'd never wandered her way in the mist. But she would always know the Astrian who'd treated her with honor and respect and sought justice for the oppressed.
Mind made up, she pulled on her shift and gown and tightened her girdle, pausing only to cover Mark with a spare fur. She returned to her cave, then climbed the escarpment above the cool spring. Mark of Windhaw's mount responded to her call. How could she resist her magick? She'd honed her skills under fine mentors. Eadyyl and Eadwyn had loved her as mothers. How would they look upon her decision? Was it the right one? No time to even pray for guidance. Mark's horse approached. Time to ready his departure.
Back down on the ground, Adriana gathered herbs from her stores and hot water from the source and left the herbs to steep.
She carried the saddlebags and his cloak out into the sunshine. With the halter in hand she awaited the horse's approach. The beast was none too happy to accept the bit after her freedom, but she must face her duty as Adriana must now face hers.
Mark's saddle and leathers she set on a rock by the stream while she walked around the beast, weaving a spell of surefootedness. She dreaded Mark falling injured as his companion had, as the way from here to Merridale was rough in places. Mount protected, she left the animal to graze on the soft turf while she set another spell of protection about Mark's cloak.
PARADOX II Page 4
