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The Second book in the Land of Riandus Series Coming Soon |
Beyond the Shadows
By Linda Boulanger
©2015 Linda Boulanger
All rights reserved.
By Linda Boulanger
©2015 Linda Boulanger
All rights reserved.
Chapters 1-3
Chapter 1
He stood in the shadows, watching her watching others, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. She amused him, had for the past four nights with the way she’d worked to keep the other men at bay. To anyone skilled at the game of men and women, it was obvious the lady dressed in shimmering gold had no intention of leaving with any of them. Redahn chuckled to himself. It was obvious she had never met the likes of him.
Running long fingers through his thick, dark hair, Redahn pushed off the wall and walked away from the current conversation without so much as a word of departure to the ladies who’d been boring him for the past half turn of the hour. He heard their murmurs and comments of exasperation, though he wasn’t sure why they’d feel slighted. He’d stopped listening and quit answering some time before. Their drivel and the way they fawned and pawed turned his stomach. Or it would have if he’d cared. They had to know he knew each of them had designs on finding her way into his bed in the hopes of snaring his heart. He would have expected everyone to know by now he had no intent of falling into the clutches of any woman’s arms longer than it took to satisfy his lusty appetite. Still, they tried. Even his family, the people he would have expected to know him best of all, had begun to chirp about him finding a wife.
When the gold clad lady looked up and saw him staring at her, she flinched and looked away. Redahn was sure his scowl wasn’t helping in the least. He’d have to change that, he thought, anxious to see the tactics she’d use to dissuade him when she realized she was his intended target for the night.
“Ladies.” He bowed when he reached the group. They curtsied in near unison.
“Lord Redahn! How nice of you to join us,” one of the ladies giggled out from behind a gloved fist. Redahn had to stifle another laugh when his intended rolled her eyes, thinking no one had noticed. He had, even with the unwelcomed distractions around him. He watched another maiden fan herself in an attempt to bring his attention to her heavily kohled eyes, leaving no doubt she believed them her finest feature. They all tried their own tactics to get him to notice them…except the one he wanted to see trying.
The true object of his interest watched with guarded disgust before quickly masking her disdain for the parade of peacock and hens and turning to him. “My lord, if you’ll excuse me…” She nodded and tried to step beyond the little circle only to find Redahn’s arm blocking her way, the contact sending a shiver of excitement surging through him. The hunter had found his prey. And what a delightful morsel she would be.
“Would you leave so soon after my arrival and deprive me the pleasure of your company?” he practically cooed. “I’ve a feeling you’ll add much to the liveliness of this conversation. I’d like you to stay.”
His eyes roamed down her before returning to lock with the blue orbs that were, again, carefully masked to keep in her true emotions. He hitched a brow at the slight shiver his gaze had elicited and smiled. Did she know he was on to her little games?
Her lips thinned, forehead creased in a sharp V, she took in a deep breath that she expelled quietly before moistening her lips and setting them in a well-rehearsed smile. “Very well, my lord,” she told him then stepped back. The tone of her words dripped with unfelt sincerity that matched the placating smile.
Ah! She is indeed educated in the art of the game, he thought, feeling a rush of excitement at meeting up with a worthy opponent, though he expected her games would be no real match for his. He did, after all, hold the final card and she knew it. Her sole purpose in life was to indulge men like him. He had the power, and that made him smile as he watched her move back toward the wall and turn around. There it was, that momentary slip in her mask when she realized she should have remained beside him and out of his direct line of vision. Yes, she was good. But not as good as him.
“I feel at a disadvantage,” he told the group, his eyes traveling around to the others before settling back on the fair maiden that whetted his appetite more with each passing moment in her presence. He looked her over again, enjoying the tailored fit of the gold dress that shimmered in all the right places, accentuating what lay beneath. “It’s quite obvious you know who I am...” His sentence trailed off, leaving an opening for their tittering. They filled the next few moments with each trying to imprint herself into his mind.
With a chuckle, Redahn watched the gilded lady trying to dispel her unease. She shifted from foot to foot, feigning interest in what each of her companions had to say. When a couple of the ladies moved in, tightening the circle, her breathing sped up. The way her eyes darted about had Redahn’s brows drawing together. Did he make her that nervous? Maybe he’d miscalculated this woman, though he couldn’t accept that his instincts had been that wrong. He watched, expecting her to redeem his sense of judgment by regaining control of herself and the situation just as she’d done time and time again over the past few nights. Instead, she shook her head and began to move toward him.
“I… I’m sorry. I need some air.” She stumbled in his direction and pushed hard against him, knocking him out of her way before she rushed from the group, startling them all, even Redahn.
He moved after her with the stealth of the warrior he’d once been, ignoring the pleas from the other maidens for him to remain. He could hear their comments about the fleeing maiden, was surprised by the anger their words kindled inside him, though he chose to continue after her instead of turning back to blast them. The unspoken thoughts he had of what he’d like to say to them were as far from kind as their own words had been about the only woman whose company he currently desired.
Chapter 2
Redahn had to pull up short only three steps out the door to keep from knocking the maiden into the arms of another man. She stood rod-stiff, her hands fisted at her side, breaths coming in ragged, shallow gulps. In a semicircle around her, a small group of tipsy warriors showered her with compliments on her feminine virtues. Their chatter stopped immediately when Redahn’s hands closed over her shoulders and he pulled her against his broad chest.
“Gentlemen.” His dry greeting seemed to sober the men. Several of them stepped back and offered bows.
“Lord Redahn.” The youngest of the warriors rose from his bow, apology etching lines on his young face. “We didn’t realize the maiden was with you.”
Others nodded in agreement, though more than one set of hungry eyes remained on the maiden. Redahn pulled her to his side noticing her trembling when she slipped her arms around his waist.
“Now you do.” He moved forward, forcing them to step to the side to let him and the maiden through.
“Good evening, my lord,” they called in a manner befitting the great grandson of the King. He could feel them watching as he escorted the lady down the path and away from them.
Redahn noticed her shoulders relaxing a little with the fading of their voices, though she still shook. “Are you cold, my lady?” he asked, reaching across her body to rub her arm with his free hand.
“No.” The shaking of her head was louder than her whispered response. She glanced back in the direction of the Great Hall, her blue eyes widening before looking up at him.
Redahn stopped and took her face in his hand. “You wish for me to return you to them? He laughed at her vigorous head shake. “Well then, you must surely know why I followed you out, just as you knew I’d chosen you long before you left the comforts of an overcrowded gathering of male dogs sniffing after willing bitches.”
She sucked in sharply at Redahn’s calculated words. “We’re not all willing, my lord.” She spoke, her lips barely moving. “Some of us have our positions chosen for us.”
He thought about her words for several seconds before nodding, his eyes remaining on her lips. “Fair enough.” His own lips lifting at the corners, he chuckled before dipping his head to brush a light kiss across the thin line of her mouth. She tried to pull back but he held her tight and continued, his voice a husky whisper, “Tonight, I shall be the one to choose for you. And my position of choice is you flat on your back beneath me.” He laughed, enjoying the shocked look that turned quickly to insolence as her hand raised, fingers swiping across her lips. “There’s always a price to be paid when a man rescues a lady from the greedy clutches of would-be, unwanted lovers, is there not? And we will start with a quick lesson. Do not wipe away my kisses.” He didn’t give her time to respond before he closed his mouth tightly over hers, his one hand moving to cup the back of her head, the other pressing firmly against her lower back to keep her against him.
Redahn was frowning when he finally pulled away from the most unpleasant kiss he’d ever experienced. Frustrated when she didn’t look up to see his displeasure, he turned her harshly to continue their journey away from the gathering hall. She didn’t resist, though she remained every bit as rigid at his side as she had during the kiss. What was wrong with this woman? Redahn was used to women turning to thick gelatin in his arms. And what of him? Why should he care?
“What’s your name, Maiden?” The irritation that edged his voice made her jump. A slight squeeze to her arm made her answer.
“Mahryn,” she told him with yet another look back at the nearly out of site hall.
“Relax,” he commanded. “I’m not going to hurt you. At least not much.” He snickered, amused at his own comment. His mirth quickly faded, the scowl returning when her blue eyes finally made contact with his and she blasted him with a scathing glare. He slowed, considered turning back. He certainly didn’t have to put up with a maiden with an attitude.
Something kept him from turning around. As bad as the kiss had been, as unresponsive as she seemed, and no matter her obvious disdain for him, there was something about this woman that entranced him. He’d been unable to shake his thoughts of her ever since he’d spotted her among the maidens several nights before and each night thereafter.
He hadn’t planned to take advantage of his growing interest at first. She was intriguing and pleasant enough to look upon, though she wasn’t the type of woman he usually found himself attracted to. She was smaller and fairer than most, her pale skin a testament that the outdoors was not a place she spent a lot of time. That paleness contrasted with the bronze tones of the broken warrior who felt most at home in the open with the sky his roof and the earth his flooring.
The ends of her hair tickled his arm, reminding him that her thick mane, as unique as the woman herself with its equal parts of dark blond and light brown, had been left down every night. He much preferred to see a woman’s hair pulled up, allowing him to kiss her bare neck before loosening the pins. He relished the feel of silky tresses as they cascaded down over his hands and arms in those first moments of exploration.
She also dressed differently than most, not that the gold silk was rare. More so, the cut of the dress -- the straight, slip-like lines that draped strategically around her small body exuded fine tailoring and skill that accentuating her soft curves well beyond what might be needed for a hungry warrior’s notice.
He wasn’t sure any of it mattered, even though somehow it seemed it should. No, he argued with himself. Using a woman for one’s pleasure required nothing she didn’t possess. He didn’t need her hair to be up, or her to be of a certain height or shape. She didn’t need the delicate buttons running up the back of a dress that he so loved to undo one at a time. The one she wore would come off easily. The thought of his hands entwined in her hair, silky material pooled at her feet, flitted through his mind and he quickened the pace again. He may be a warrior too damaged to regain the battle fields, but he certainly would not allow a woman, especially this one, to make him question what he was doing.
Running a hand through his hair, he turned them off the main path and onto the road leading to Zanak, his family’s home.
Chapter 3
“Are you taking me to Zanak?” Mahryn knew her voice sounded higher than it should, felt certain the man at her side could feel her hand trembling where he’d tucked it into the crook of his arm and covered it with his own.
He chuckled, a deep rumble low in his throat. “Unlike my brother who thwarted propriety and filled his family bed whenever and with whomever he wanted, I must say I never thought it right for a man of my position to return home with a Lady of the Courts.”
She was on the verge of asking why it was a man of his position came to these gatherings in the first place. He could have any woman, anywhere, and yet…
“I enjoy the allure of fresh maidens,” he told her, raising a single dark eyebrow when she looked at him, her own brows rising first. He chuckled again. He seemed to do that a lot. “You were wondering why I bother with the Dremis Gathering when I have no intent to find a wife, were you not?”
Mahryn thought about denying the claim, though she’d never been very good at lying. She didn’t see the point. Instead, she nodded. “Partly, though I was also wondering… Can you not find better maidens elsewhere?”
The ever-present chuckle erupted into a roar of laughter that caused Mahryn to cringe. It seemed a legitimate question to her. “Better maidens,” he repeated her words, patting her hand and leaning his head closer to hers as they walked. “Dremis Maidens are magic, you know,” he whispered.
“Magic!” Her unladylike snort caused yet another chuckle. “I suppose one might try to make claim that the marked ones are, perhaps. Though you’re a younger son, so one might also believe you’ve the smarts to have had no experience there since your head does appear attached still to your neck.” Her eyes flitted to the neckline of his cream colored shirt. She shook her head. “Whatever would possess you to think any woman magical?”
Mahryn found herself distracted when she realized her brows were drawn so tightly that her head had begun to throb behind her temples. Her thinned lips didn’t help the matter any. She ran her free hand across her forehead, then rolled her neck trying to ease some of the tension. When she scrunched her shoulders, the King’s great grandson moved her before him, continuing to direct her forward, his hands coming to rest on either side of her neck. With gentle strokes, he began to knead the muscles as they walked. His fingers moved up just into her hairline, his thumbs continuing their circular motion at the base of her skull. Mahryn wasn’t sure about magic, but his touch felt like pure heaven.
“I’ve never slept with a marked woman,” he whispered, stopping her and pulling her hair aside slightly before leaning down to press a kiss to the side of her neck, “but I’ve had my share of Dremis Maidens and I can tell you it’s a week of blissful magic.” He stood behind her, his mouth exploring the curve of her shoulder.
“Magic,” Mahryn mumbled after several seconds. Low laughter rumbled from Redahn while his hands slid down her arms before moving around to encircle her from behind. A quick squeeze and he was back by her side, grabbing her hand and tugging her onto a new, barely visible path. His motions pulled her from her trance. “Where…” He was moving faster now, the terrain more difficult to maneuver.
“You’re quite the inquisitive one.” He clucked his tongue. “I hope you don’t plan to question my every move this night.”
Her father’s voice filled her head. “You’ve always been too inquisitive for your own good, Mahryn. It’s what got you into trouble in the first place.” The glare he’d leveled at her would have made the boldest warrior cow down and back away. But not Mahryn. Not the second child of the King’s closest confidant. She’d stood her ground as he’d narrowed his blue eyes and pointed a menacing finger in her direction. “Some questions are better left unasked for the good of all involved. See that you remember that.”
He’d told her all that when she’d questioned him yet again about her sister’s death, demanding answers to some of the parts of the equation that simply didn’t add up. Three days later she’d been informed via messenger that there’d been a change of plans, that her arranged marriage proposal – the one she’d sincerely doubted from the beginning – had been rescinded and she would be required to participate in the Gathering of the Dremis Maidens.
Mahryn had squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to still the spinning room.
“Have you a return message for your father, my lady?” The courier who’d boldly read the decree from her father asked when she opened her eyes. His mocking tone and lascivious stare had her fighting the urge to offer him the slap she’d like to present to her father.
She’d been on the verge of telling the man he could tell her father to go to hell, a most unladylike response, she knew. Though that’s when another thought flashed through her mind. She clasped her mouth closed in a tight line and held up a single finger indicating the courier should wait, before she turned away, giving herself a moment to fully contemplate her next move.
She’d been surprised her father hadn’t told her where she could take her petty requests. Instead, he’d agreed. No doubt, she realized now, he’d known a week’s worth of putting off the advances of every man looking for an available maiden was an impossibility. Her eyes bore into the back of the man leading her to her doom, her disdain for her father momentarily transferring itself to this nearer target.
“Where are you taking me?” She demanded, yanking her hand free of his, the sudden motion causing her to stumble. A hand beneath one elbow, the other around her waist was the only thing that kept her from going down. She’d never seen anyone move that quickly – that was her last rational thought before she found herself pulled against the hard planes of his broad chest, his dark eyes first assessing, then penetrating. Kiss me again. Maybe that was actually her last thought – irrational as it was - before his lips pressed to hers, moving over hers until she began to understand the phrase kissed senseless.
Mahryn wondered at what point her limbs began to liquefy, then realized that wasn’t entirely true. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, her hands entwined in the thick strands of his dark hair – hair considered too long, even for the standards of the day. She didn’t care. She liked it, loved the silky feel of it threaded through her fingers. Soft, yet manly, she thought. Just like his scent. He didn’t wear the sandalwood worn by most men, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on what her nose registered as simply strong and masculine without being overbearing.
When his lips left hers and her head lolled back, she somehow knew he’d take advantage of the moment. That knowledge did little to keep at bay the shudder that streaked through her when his warm lips began to caress the tenderness of unexplored flesh.
“You have a sweet spot, my lady,” he mumbled against her neck at that spot just above her collarbone.
Mahryn wasn’t sure what he meant, only that her knees buckled when his tongue dipped into the hollow at that exact spot. She grabbed fistfuls of his shirt, her breath hissing out with the tightening of his arm around her waist. It was another low rumble of internal laughter that pulled her from the moment, causing her body to stiffen. Her arms trembled as she pushed against him.
“Be still, Mahryn. I’m not finished.”
She started to object only to be swept away on another wave of awakened feelings. His mouth moved upward while a finger trailed down her chest toward the hollow between her breasts. She caught his hand in her own, acutely aware that if he didn’t stop, at some point he’d be unable to, that he’d take her right there on the forest floor.
Just like Hahna.
The words came out of nowhere, slamming into her heart. A wave of panic further hindering her ability to breathe, she struggled against this man who was by far stronger than…
Stronger than who?
Flashes of another forest, other men clouded her vision. Redahn’s hands were no longer the ones pawing at her. It wasn’t his lips that seared her skin. She felt herself being sucked into an old nightmare, one where she relived those moments, not even her own – they’d been Hahna’s last.
“Please, don’t do this. Don’t hurt me.” She fought against the one who held her, her voice sounding pathetic and small. Self-loathing pumped bile into her throat and she was afraid if she didn’t get away, what little she had in her stomach was going to wind up all over them.
Him.
Redahn’s voice and gentle shaking of her body brought her back to the moment.
“My lady? Mahryn?” His dark eyes bore into hers as they regained focus. The depth of concern emanating back surprised her. He was stroking her hair which had become damp at the temples. “What happened? Where’d you go?” he questioned further when she didn’t answer. No doubt the confusion that clouded her thoughts showed in her eyes. “It’s okay,” he told her when words still eluded her. “You’re safe now.”
“It wasn’t me,” she whispered as his hand slid across her shoulder and he pulled her close to his side. She couldn’t help wrapping her arms around his waist as they continued their journey, feeling a certain sense of security she hadn’t felt in a long time … if ever.
Chapter 1
He stood in the shadows, watching her watching others, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. She amused him, had for the past four nights with the way she’d worked to keep the other men at bay. To anyone skilled at the game of men and women, it was obvious the lady dressed in shimmering gold had no intention of leaving with any of them. Redahn chuckled to himself. It was obvious she had never met the likes of him.
Running long fingers through his thick, dark hair, Redahn pushed off the wall and walked away from the current conversation without so much as a word of departure to the ladies who’d been boring him for the past half turn of the hour. He heard their murmurs and comments of exasperation, though he wasn’t sure why they’d feel slighted. He’d stopped listening and quit answering some time before. Their drivel and the way they fawned and pawed turned his stomach. Or it would have if he’d cared. They had to know he knew each of them had designs on finding her way into his bed in the hopes of snaring his heart. He would have expected everyone to know by now he had no intent of falling into the clutches of any woman’s arms longer than it took to satisfy his lusty appetite. Still, they tried. Even his family, the people he would have expected to know him best of all, had begun to chirp about him finding a wife.
When the gold clad lady looked up and saw him staring at her, she flinched and looked away. Redahn was sure his scowl wasn’t helping in the least. He’d have to change that, he thought, anxious to see the tactics she’d use to dissuade him when she realized she was his intended target for the night.
“Ladies.” He bowed when he reached the group. They curtsied in near unison.
“Lord Redahn! How nice of you to join us,” one of the ladies giggled out from behind a gloved fist. Redahn had to stifle another laugh when his intended rolled her eyes, thinking no one had noticed. He had, even with the unwelcomed distractions around him. He watched another maiden fan herself in an attempt to bring his attention to her heavily kohled eyes, leaving no doubt she believed them her finest feature. They all tried their own tactics to get him to notice them…except the one he wanted to see trying.
The true object of his interest watched with guarded disgust before quickly masking her disdain for the parade of peacock and hens and turning to him. “My lord, if you’ll excuse me…” She nodded and tried to step beyond the little circle only to find Redahn’s arm blocking her way, the contact sending a shiver of excitement surging through him. The hunter had found his prey. And what a delightful morsel she would be.
“Would you leave so soon after my arrival and deprive me the pleasure of your company?” he practically cooed. “I’ve a feeling you’ll add much to the liveliness of this conversation. I’d like you to stay.”
His eyes roamed down her before returning to lock with the blue orbs that were, again, carefully masked to keep in her true emotions. He hitched a brow at the slight shiver his gaze had elicited and smiled. Did she know he was on to her little games?
Her lips thinned, forehead creased in a sharp V, she took in a deep breath that she expelled quietly before moistening her lips and setting them in a well-rehearsed smile. “Very well, my lord,” she told him then stepped back. The tone of her words dripped with unfelt sincerity that matched the placating smile.
Ah! She is indeed educated in the art of the game, he thought, feeling a rush of excitement at meeting up with a worthy opponent, though he expected her games would be no real match for his. He did, after all, hold the final card and she knew it. Her sole purpose in life was to indulge men like him. He had the power, and that made him smile as he watched her move back toward the wall and turn around. There it was, that momentary slip in her mask when she realized she should have remained beside him and out of his direct line of vision. Yes, she was good. But not as good as him.
“I feel at a disadvantage,” he told the group, his eyes traveling around to the others before settling back on the fair maiden that whetted his appetite more with each passing moment in her presence. He looked her over again, enjoying the tailored fit of the gold dress that shimmered in all the right places, accentuating what lay beneath. “It’s quite obvious you know who I am...” His sentence trailed off, leaving an opening for their tittering. They filled the next few moments with each trying to imprint herself into his mind.
With a chuckle, Redahn watched the gilded lady trying to dispel her unease. She shifted from foot to foot, feigning interest in what each of her companions had to say. When a couple of the ladies moved in, tightening the circle, her breathing sped up. The way her eyes darted about had Redahn’s brows drawing together. Did he make her that nervous? Maybe he’d miscalculated this woman, though he couldn’t accept that his instincts had been that wrong. He watched, expecting her to redeem his sense of judgment by regaining control of herself and the situation just as she’d done time and time again over the past few nights. Instead, she shook her head and began to move toward him.
“I… I’m sorry. I need some air.” She stumbled in his direction and pushed hard against him, knocking him out of her way before she rushed from the group, startling them all, even Redahn.
He moved after her with the stealth of the warrior he’d once been, ignoring the pleas from the other maidens for him to remain. He could hear their comments about the fleeing maiden, was surprised by the anger their words kindled inside him, though he chose to continue after her instead of turning back to blast them. The unspoken thoughts he had of what he’d like to say to them were as far from kind as their own words had been about the only woman whose company he currently desired.
Chapter 2
Redahn had to pull up short only three steps out the door to keep from knocking the maiden into the arms of another man. She stood rod-stiff, her hands fisted at her side, breaths coming in ragged, shallow gulps. In a semicircle around her, a small group of tipsy warriors showered her with compliments on her feminine virtues. Their chatter stopped immediately when Redahn’s hands closed over her shoulders and he pulled her against his broad chest.
“Gentlemen.” His dry greeting seemed to sober the men. Several of them stepped back and offered bows.
“Lord Redahn.” The youngest of the warriors rose from his bow, apology etching lines on his young face. “We didn’t realize the maiden was with you.”
Others nodded in agreement, though more than one set of hungry eyes remained on the maiden. Redahn pulled her to his side noticing her trembling when she slipped her arms around his waist.
“Now you do.” He moved forward, forcing them to step to the side to let him and the maiden through.
“Good evening, my lord,” they called in a manner befitting the great grandson of the King. He could feel them watching as he escorted the lady down the path and away from them.
Redahn noticed her shoulders relaxing a little with the fading of their voices, though she still shook. “Are you cold, my lady?” he asked, reaching across her body to rub her arm with his free hand.
“No.” The shaking of her head was louder than her whispered response. She glanced back in the direction of the Great Hall, her blue eyes widening before looking up at him.
Redahn stopped and took her face in his hand. “You wish for me to return you to them? He laughed at her vigorous head shake. “Well then, you must surely know why I followed you out, just as you knew I’d chosen you long before you left the comforts of an overcrowded gathering of male dogs sniffing after willing bitches.”
She sucked in sharply at Redahn’s calculated words. “We’re not all willing, my lord.” She spoke, her lips barely moving. “Some of us have our positions chosen for us.”
He thought about her words for several seconds before nodding, his eyes remaining on her lips. “Fair enough.” His own lips lifting at the corners, he chuckled before dipping his head to brush a light kiss across the thin line of her mouth. She tried to pull back but he held her tight and continued, his voice a husky whisper, “Tonight, I shall be the one to choose for you. And my position of choice is you flat on your back beneath me.” He laughed, enjoying the shocked look that turned quickly to insolence as her hand raised, fingers swiping across her lips. “There’s always a price to be paid when a man rescues a lady from the greedy clutches of would-be, unwanted lovers, is there not? And we will start with a quick lesson. Do not wipe away my kisses.” He didn’t give her time to respond before he closed his mouth tightly over hers, his one hand moving to cup the back of her head, the other pressing firmly against her lower back to keep her against him.
Redahn was frowning when he finally pulled away from the most unpleasant kiss he’d ever experienced. Frustrated when she didn’t look up to see his displeasure, he turned her harshly to continue their journey away from the gathering hall. She didn’t resist, though she remained every bit as rigid at his side as she had during the kiss. What was wrong with this woman? Redahn was used to women turning to thick gelatin in his arms. And what of him? Why should he care?
“What’s your name, Maiden?” The irritation that edged his voice made her jump. A slight squeeze to her arm made her answer.
“Mahryn,” she told him with yet another look back at the nearly out of site hall.
“Relax,” he commanded. “I’m not going to hurt you. At least not much.” He snickered, amused at his own comment. His mirth quickly faded, the scowl returning when her blue eyes finally made contact with his and she blasted him with a scathing glare. He slowed, considered turning back. He certainly didn’t have to put up with a maiden with an attitude.
Something kept him from turning around. As bad as the kiss had been, as unresponsive as she seemed, and no matter her obvious disdain for him, there was something about this woman that entranced him. He’d been unable to shake his thoughts of her ever since he’d spotted her among the maidens several nights before and each night thereafter.
He hadn’t planned to take advantage of his growing interest at first. She was intriguing and pleasant enough to look upon, though she wasn’t the type of woman he usually found himself attracted to. She was smaller and fairer than most, her pale skin a testament that the outdoors was not a place she spent a lot of time. That paleness contrasted with the bronze tones of the broken warrior who felt most at home in the open with the sky his roof and the earth his flooring.
The ends of her hair tickled his arm, reminding him that her thick mane, as unique as the woman herself with its equal parts of dark blond and light brown, had been left down every night. He much preferred to see a woman’s hair pulled up, allowing him to kiss her bare neck before loosening the pins. He relished the feel of silky tresses as they cascaded down over his hands and arms in those first moments of exploration.
She also dressed differently than most, not that the gold silk was rare. More so, the cut of the dress -- the straight, slip-like lines that draped strategically around her small body exuded fine tailoring and skill that accentuating her soft curves well beyond what might be needed for a hungry warrior’s notice.
He wasn’t sure any of it mattered, even though somehow it seemed it should. No, he argued with himself. Using a woman for one’s pleasure required nothing she didn’t possess. He didn’t need her hair to be up, or her to be of a certain height or shape. She didn’t need the delicate buttons running up the back of a dress that he so loved to undo one at a time. The one she wore would come off easily. The thought of his hands entwined in her hair, silky material pooled at her feet, flitted through his mind and he quickened the pace again. He may be a warrior too damaged to regain the battle fields, but he certainly would not allow a woman, especially this one, to make him question what he was doing.
Running a hand through his hair, he turned them off the main path and onto the road leading to Zanak, his family’s home.
Chapter 3
“Are you taking me to Zanak?” Mahryn knew her voice sounded higher than it should, felt certain the man at her side could feel her hand trembling where he’d tucked it into the crook of his arm and covered it with his own.
He chuckled, a deep rumble low in his throat. “Unlike my brother who thwarted propriety and filled his family bed whenever and with whomever he wanted, I must say I never thought it right for a man of my position to return home with a Lady of the Courts.”
She was on the verge of asking why it was a man of his position came to these gatherings in the first place. He could have any woman, anywhere, and yet…
“I enjoy the allure of fresh maidens,” he told her, raising a single dark eyebrow when she looked at him, her own brows rising first. He chuckled again. He seemed to do that a lot. “You were wondering why I bother with the Dremis Gathering when I have no intent to find a wife, were you not?”
Mahryn thought about denying the claim, though she’d never been very good at lying. She didn’t see the point. Instead, she nodded. “Partly, though I was also wondering… Can you not find better maidens elsewhere?”
The ever-present chuckle erupted into a roar of laughter that caused Mahryn to cringe. It seemed a legitimate question to her. “Better maidens,” he repeated her words, patting her hand and leaning his head closer to hers as they walked. “Dremis Maidens are magic, you know,” he whispered.
“Magic!” Her unladylike snort caused yet another chuckle. “I suppose one might try to make claim that the marked ones are, perhaps. Though you’re a younger son, so one might also believe you’ve the smarts to have had no experience there since your head does appear attached still to your neck.” Her eyes flitted to the neckline of his cream colored shirt. She shook her head. “Whatever would possess you to think any woman magical?”
Mahryn found herself distracted when she realized her brows were drawn so tightly that her head had begun to throb behind her temples. Her thinned lips didn’t help the matter any. She ran her free hand across her forehead, then rolled her neck trying to ease some of the tension. When she scrunched her shoulders, the King’s great grandson moved her before him, continuing to direct her forward, his hands coming to rest on either side of her neck. With gentle strokes, he began to knead the muscles as they walked. His fingers moved up just into her hairline, his thumbs continuing their circular motion at the base of her skull. Mahryn wasn’t sure about magic, but his touch felt like pure heaven.
“I’ve never slept with a marked woman,” he whispered, stopping her and pulling her hair aside slightly before leaning down to press a kiss to the side of her neck, “but I’ve had my share of Dremis Maidens and I can tell you it’s a week of blissful magic.” He stood behind her, his mouth exploring the curve of her shoulder.
“Magic,” Mahryn mumbled after several seconds. Low laughter rumbled from Redahn while his hands slid down her arms before moving around to encircle her from behind. A quick squeeze and he was back by her side, grabbing her hand and tugging her onto a new, barely visible path. His motions pulled her from her trance. “Where…” He was moving faster now, the terrain more difficult to maneuver.
“You’re quite the inquisitive one.” He clucked his tongue. “I hope you don’t plan to question my every move this night.”
Her father’s voice filled her head. “You’ve always been too inquisitive for your own good, Mahryn. It’s what got you into trouble in the first place.” The glare he’d leveled at her would have made the boldest warrior cow down and back away. But not Mahryn. Not the second child of the King’s closest confidant. She’d stood her ground as he’d narrowed his blue eyes and pointed a menacing finger in her direction. “Some questions are better left unasked for the good of all involved. See that you remember that.”
He’d told her all that when she’d questioned him yet again about her sister’s death, demanding answers to some of the parts of the equation that simply didn’t add up. Three days later she’d been informed via messenger that there’d been a change of plans, that her arranged marriage proposal – the one she’d sincerely doubted from the beginning – had been rescinded and she would be required to participate in the Gathering of the Dremis Maidens.
Mahryn had squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to still the spinning room.
“Have you a return message for your father, my lady?” The courier who’d boldly read the decree from her father asked when she opened her eyes. His mocking tone and lascivious stare had her fighting the urge to offer him the slap she’d like to present to her father.
She’d been on the verge of telling the man he could tell her father to go to hell, a most unladylike response, she knew. Though that’s when another thought flashed through her mind. She clasped her mouth closed in a tight line and held up a single finger indicating the courier should wait, before she turned away, giving herself a moment to fully contemplate her next move.
She’d been surprised her father hadn’t told her where she could take her petty requests. Instead, he’d agreed. No doubt, she realized now, he’d known a week’s worth of putting off the advances of every man looking for an available maiden was an impossibility. Her eyes bore into the back of the man leading her to her doom, her disdain for her father momentarily transferring itself to this nearer target.
“Where are you taking me?” She demanded, yanking her hand free of his, the sudden motion causing her to stumble. A hand beneath one elbow, the other around her waist was the only thing that kept her from going down. She’d never seen anyone move that quickly – that was her last rational thought before she found herself pulled against the hard planes of his broad chest, his dark eyes first assessing, then penetrating. Kiss me again. Maybe that was actually her last thought – irrational as it was - before his lips pressed to hers, moving over hers until she began to understand the phrase kissed senseless.
Mahryn wondered at what point her limbs began to liquefy, then realized that wasn’t entirely true. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, her hands entwined in the thick strands of his dark hair – hair considered too long, even for the standards of the day. She didn’t care. She liked it, loved the silky feel of it threaded through her fingers. Soft, yet manly, she thought. Just like his scent. He didn’t wear the sandalwood worn by most men, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on what her nose registered as simply strong and masculine without being overbearing.
When his lips left hers and her head lolled back, she somehow knew he’d take advantage of the moment. That knowledge did little to keep at bay the shudder that streaked through her when his warm lips began to caress the tenderness of unexplored flesh.
“You have a sweet spot, my lady,” he mumbled against her neck at that spot just above her collarbone.
Mahryn wasn’t sure what he meant, only that her knees buckled when his tongue dipped into the hollow at that exact spot. She grabbed fistfuls of his shirt, her breath hissing out with the tightening of his arm around her waist. It was another low rumble of internal laughter that pulled her from the moment, causing her body to stiffen. Her arms trembled as she pushed against him.
“Be still, Mahryn. I’m not finished.”
She started to object only to be swept away on another wave of awakened feelings. His mouth moved upward while a finger trailed down her chest toward the hollow between her breasts. She caught his hand in her own, acutely aware that if he didn’t stop, at some point he’d be unable to, that he’d take her right there on the forest floor.
Just like Hahna.
The words came out of nowhere, slamming into her heart. A wave of panic further hindering her ability to breathe, she struggled against this man who was by far stronger than…
Stronger than who?
Flashes of another forest, other men clouded her vision. Redahn’s hands were no longer the ones pawing at her. It wasn’t his lips that seared her skin. She felt herself being sucked into an old nightmare, one where she relived those moments, not even her own – they’d been Hahna’s last.
“Please, don’t do this. Don’t hurt me.” She fought against the one who held her, her voice sounding pathetic and small. Self-loathing pumped bile into her throat and she was afraid if she didn’t get away, what little she had in her stomach was going to wind up all over them.
Him.
Redahn’s voice and gentle shaking of her body brought her back to the moment.
“My lady? Mahryn?” His dark eyes bore into hers as they regained focus. The depth of concern emanating back surprised her. He was stroking her hair which had become damp at the temples. “What happened? Where’d you go?” he questioned further when she didn’t answer. No doubt the confusion that clouded her thoughts showed in her eyes. “It’s okay,” he told her when words still eluded her. “You’re safe now.”
“It wasn’t me,” she whispered as his hand slid across her shoulder and he pulled her close to his side. She couldn’t help wrapping her arms around his waist as they continued their journey, feeling a certain sense of security she hadn’t felt in a long time … if ever.
