by Elissa Daye
Aiden grimaced when her hair touched just under his freshly shaved chin. He had been holding himself back for the past few nights to give her some privacy while allowing her to adjust to his presence. He could smell the slight hint of jasmine in her hair and he ached to reach out and touch it, but they were close to the keep. He had no idea how the people would react to her presence. They were not overly fond of outsiders. He tried not to tense as they reached the outskirts.
Chapter 13
Lysandra was surprised to find that Blackwolf Keep was so much more than a keep; it was the largest castle she had ever seen. There were four high castle walls with four towers standing tall where the walls intersected. She could see Aiden’s men looking down from the turrets above and she agonized with self-consciousness as they stared down at them. She really had no idea how the people of Blackwolf Keep were going to react to Aiden bringing her home with him or even what role he would expect her to play within its walls.
When they entered the castle walls Lysandra was surprised to find that the bailey was bursting with people running actively here and there, completing the daily chores to support the local economy. The bailey was built in a circular shape that fit perfectly against the walls of the keep. She could see the men busy with their training outside the barracks. They were so absorbed in their instructions that they never turned to see their lord who had just returned. The leader was drilling them unmercifully and they stood there unflinching under his tutelage.
Something delicious filled the air and tickled her nostrils, sweet mingled with a taste of spices that made her stomach gurgle loudly in her belly. Aiden chuckled behind her and she shifted in her seat in annoyance. When she looked to the left she found that the doors of the kitchen were swinging open as several ladies exited the warm fires inside, each transporting large dishes in their hands. They must have been notified of Aiden’s return, as they bustled to the main hall.
Aiden stopped the horse in front of the stables and dismounted from behind her. She looked down at him with trepidation showing on her face. She felt hundreds of eyes burning curious holes into her back and her courage faltered. Aiden clucked his tongue at her. “You’re not afraid, are you?”
She could not help the snort of air that left her nose. “Never.” She grabbed the hand he offered her and sucked in a breath when he gathered her safely into his arms. He held her there longer than propriety dictated and she looked nervously away from him.
Aiden tried not to smirk at her shyness. She had clearly not been shy the other night. She had been innocent and that had appealed to him, but she had also had a fire within that tempted him in ways he could not explain. That was part of the reason he had made his bid. It was not something he normally did, but the nights had become restless and he tired of the prowl. From the moment he saw her, he felt as if every inch of him was drawn to her in a way that made him feel almost vulnerable. “They won’t bite.”
Lysandra nodded and pushed away from him, but Aiden captured her mouth in his, making her world start to spin around her. She knew their first encounter had been on an unusual night, but even in the light of the day with a clear head there was something that drew her toward him, something she could not quite explain. Her heart beat furiously in her chest and she struggled to concentrate on the moment, but she felt a pair of eyes on her that would have turned her to stone had they been given the chance.
“Aiden Quinn, what in the world do you think you’re doing?” A haughty foot tapped angrily from the door of the main hall, belonging to a young woman with long black hair and cold blue eyes. She was dressed in a dark purple gown covered in silver embroidery and trimmed with fine white lace. Every inch of her made it clear that she was a lady used to getting everything her heart desired.
“Lady Anna.” Aiden politely addressed the woman, but continued to look back at Lysandra.
Lysandra was like a mouse trapped within a cat’s paw as Anna’s eyes tore her apart piece by agonizing piece. She cleared her throat and looked from Aiden to Lady Anna. There was clearly some kind of relationship between them. Lysandra was not sure if the feelings Lady Anna clearly had for Aiden were returned, for he barely acknowledged her. Did she have the right to care? Should she? It was not as if her role had been clearly defined for her. In fact, there had been no discussion on the matter.
“Who is she, Aiden?” Anna’s voice was bitter with accusations sliding close to the surface.
“She is whatever I want her to be, Lady Anna. It’s really no concern of yours.”
“No concern of mine?” Anna walked over to Lysandra and yanked on Lysandra’s arm so hard that it tore her abruptly away from Aiden. “Everything you do is my concern, Aiden. I will not let you dishonor me in front of our people. Where did you get this baggage? She has the stink of a whorehouse on her. Is she your whore, Aiden?”
A growl came from Aiden’s direction and it raised the hair on her neck. She looked curiously over at Aiden to see his mouth sneering viciously at Anna. There was something about this action that did not seem human to her. In fact, it was quite feral and unknown to her. When she looked back at Anna, she saw that she was cowering quietly beside her. Lysandra’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion and she turned to look at Aiden. By the time her eyes made it back to him his face had returned to the calm Aiden that had stood before her just an instant ago. Lysandra wanted to ask him what was going on, but were slaves allowed to question their masters in public?
“Follow me, Lysandra.” Aiden put his hand on her arm and steered her toward the door leading to the main hall.
Lysandra took in the beauty of the hall in appreciative silence. Her home at Elkliss could never compare to the rich, thriving atmosphere displayed inside the main hall of Blackwolf Keep. On each wall hung beautiful tapestries with golden threads that sparkled in the firelight. They were too far away for Lysandra to make out the pictures woven inside them, but the colors were remarkable from where she stood. The floors were well swept and the rushes smelled of sweet grass mixed with rose petals. There were trestle tables stretching from one end of the room to the other that easily supported a large number of the castle’s people. It was clear that the garrison was welcomed easily within its doors as the hall became occupied with a loud, cheerful banter that came so easily to them. Lysandra felt knowing eyes move over her with such intensity that she felt almost naked under its perusal.
“I see you brought the virgin back with you, Aiden.” A bear-sized man was clapping him on the back with paw-sized hands. Merriment was trapped in his blue eyes as they twinkled like stars in the night sky. His hair was longer than Aiden’s and its straight brown strands were gathered neatly together behind his neck with a strip of leather. He had one small scar that ran from the corner of his left eye up to where his hair met his scalp. It was hardly discernible, for it seemed to be a battle scar from long ago. “Though I doubt you can call her virgin anymore.” Rounds of laughter rang out around her and Lysandra shrank like a wilting flower before them.
“Sit.” Aiden gestured to the seat next to him and waited for her to follow his order.
She stood next to him trying to figure out if it were truly wise for her to sit next to him with half of the people of the hall looking at her like a marked woman and the other half shooting invisible daggers. “My lord,” Lysandra interjected, but when she saw the iris of his eyes retract as it flashed a deep orange, she moved like she had been lit on fire. She had never seen a person’s eyes dilate so strangely, almost like the predatory look a bird gave its prey before it devoured it whole.
“Do you have a problem, Garrett?” Aiden looked over at Garrett and raised his left eyebrow.
“Of course not, Aiden. But there will be talk. It’s best to get it out in the open before Terryn’s men spread it through the valley.”
“Get what out in the open and what does this have to do with the leader of the Tiberon Clan?” Anna’s curiosity was piqued.
“Aiden stole this one right underneath his nose. I
thought Terryn was going to have a fit. If looks could kill, Aiden would have been cleaved in two before our eyes.”
“Paid a hefty sum for her too,” another man interjected.
“Well you know how expensive Newyn’s girls can be.” Garrett chuckled loudly at Aiden’s side.
Lysandra choked on the mead she had been trying to swallow and every pair of eyes in the hall was trained on her. She sent a desperate glance over at Aiden, but he seemed to miss the message hidden beneath. It was possible that he simply did not care that his people marked her as his property right before his eyes.
“You bought a whore?” A relieved look passed over Anna’s eyes. “Aiden, I really must insist that this property of yours not be allowed to eat at the same table as proper folk. I’ll have cook find her a place in the servant’s quarters.”
Lysandra placed her cup in front of her and stood up regally before all the eyes in the room. She did not feel like she should be made to sit in front of all the judging eyes around her. She turned to walk from the table, but Aiden jerked her hand so sharply she was jostled back to her seat before she could prevent it.
“I am the master of this keep. If having Lysandra at this table makes you lose your appetite, then I suppose you can go without.” Aiden clenched his teeth and his eyes flashed their warning once more. All the chatter at the table stopped and the eyes that had been fixed on Lysandra were now trained on the food in front of them.
Anna stood up gracefully from her spot at the table and held her head high and aloof in the air. “I’ve lost my appetite.”
Lysandra sat in muted silence as Anna stomped from the room. She picked at the food in front of her, her appetite seemed to have disappeared. She tasted bile in the back of her throat as her stomach was churning wildly inside her.
“Anyone else?” Aiden glanced at the rest of the room only to find that most of the eyes before him were lit with amused smiles. Everyone went back to eating and the hall was covered with laughter of amusing antics in the blink of an eye.
“Eat, Lysandra. I’ll not have you wasting away in front of me.” Aiden picked up a sweet meat and put it to her lips.
She thought about clamping her mouth shut at his command, but the piercing glance he was giving her told her that to defy his command would not end well for her. She opened her mouth slowly and bit the meat he held out in front of her, purposefully grazing his finger defiantly.
Aiden attempted to keep his amusement from showing on his face. He was relieved to see some of the life creeping back into Lysandra’s eyes. He gestured to the plate in front of her. “You have a choice. Eat or I will feed you every little piece on that plate one at a time.”
Lysandra did her best to eat as much as her churning stomach would allow, and the amount she ate finally seemed to appease Aiden. She sat there listening to the friendly banter go back and forth across the hall. It reminded her of Elkliss where the people of her family’s keep gathered around much smaller tables for every meal. A tear gathered in her eye as she reminded herself that she would never see her loving home again. When she saw Aiden’s curious glance she touched her finger to her eye and wiped the stray tear away, knowing that dwelling on the dark ending of her life at Elkliss would only make the guilt of survival take over her. She would not allow that weakness to render her completely useless. Being useless could make her homeless once more, and she certainly did not want to return to Ghelli House. She had seen enough of Newyn’s exotic palace to last her a lifetime.
Chapter 14
When the meal was finished one of the women of Blackwolf ushered her away from the main hall. The night was dark when they crossed the bailey to where the keep stood. The keep was raised on top of the motte made from a mound of dirt painstakingly molded over many years. Its height towered over the rest of the castle, allowing the people nestled safely inside to view any intruders bent on attacking them. The inside wall of Blackwolf Keep had stairs winding up to the top walkway that was constantly being patrolled by the soldiers of Blackwolf.
Lysandra followed behind the woman, who made a point of not addressing her or even looking at her. Lysandra tried not to take it personally as she imagined what her ladies of Elkliss would have thought had her father brought home a woman he had purchased from a man such as Newyn. She would always be the marked woman and, since she did not know in what capacity Aiden would have her serve, she really could not blame the woman in front of her.
They passed through the doorway of the keep, then walked up the stairs leading to the second floor. The woman gestured for her to follow her and Lysandra nodded her head. When she was being ushered into the master’s quarters, Lysandra refused to enter. “I’m not sure I should be here. Won’t Lady Anna be upset with her husband keeping me here?”
The woman burst out laughing and it was the first sound she had made. “Lord Aiden does not have a lady wife. You’ll be safer here.”
Lysandra stole a shy glance at the woman before following her inside. “My name is Lysandra, if you wish to use it.”
The woman suddenly looked at her like she had the plague. “Just because Lord Aiden wants you here, it does not mean you will make friends easily. You’re an outsider.” She beat a hasty exit and Lysandra was left among the silence of the empty room.
She looked around her in an effort to chase away the loneliness that had suddenly crept up her spine. There was a fire already burning on the back wall. A plush chair sat close to it and a brown fur rug covered the floor. She moved her eyes further across the room and saw the dark brown four-poster bed standing next to a long, shuttered window. The headboard was carved intricately with animals of the forest, with the primary image being that of two wolves howling under a carving of a round moon. The bed covers were a dark burgundy satin with a beautiful fleur-de-lis pattern woven delicately into with darker strands. Lysandra walked over to the bed and placed her hand on the soft satin that whispered underneath her hand as it slid over it. Would Aiden want her here in this bed? He had not touched her since the first night; maybe he was no longer interested in such pursuits.
Lysandra moved back to the fire and sat in the chair beside it. She was tired, but she did not feel right about climbing into the master’s bed even if the judging eyes of Blackwolf assumed that was where she belonged. Aiden had not given her a clear definition of what he required of her. She would not fill in the blanks that had been left between them. She sat staring at the fire until each flame merged into one. Her eyelids drifted shut and her body relaxed into the cushions of the seat.
That is how Aiden found her when he finally entered the room. The fire had burned so low that only its sparking embers remained. He swore guiltily as he felt the cold of her skin. He picked her up hurriedly, noting how light she was in his arms as he moved her sleeping body from the chair to his bed. Her nose nuzzled into his neck as her body reacted to the warmth his body was offering her. He held her closer than he had dared to for days, still trying to comprehend the pull she had over him.
When he moved the covers back to place her safely on the bed Lysandra’s arms reached up behind his neck and she snuggled closer to him on reflex. Aiden grinned in the darkness. She was seeking the comfort she would shun during the light of the day. There was something about this movement that brought peace to the high strung nerves he’d carried with him all day. Aiden knew that Lysandra thought she would just be a slave within his keep, but he had not actually figured out what he would do with her. The only thought he had given to her had been when he would take his fill of her again. He was not sure that tonight would be the best time, but the smell of jasmine scorched his nostrils and it beckoned him deeper than he wanted to admit.
Aiden laid her on the bed and started to remove the dress she was still wearing from her travels. It was dusty and worn, in pretty much the same shape it had been when he had demanded she wear it. He could not help but let his hands explore the vision before him.
Lysandra stirred beneath his gentle ministrations. She felt as
if she were floating on a cloud when the first draft of cold touched her bare skin. She murmured in her sleep in protest, but soon her body was covered in delicious warmth. She sighed in contentment as the warmth filled her, and her dreams turned to gentle feathers of light moving up and down her body. When she felt hot breath move up and down her neck she moved toward it. Her dreams turned into her night of passion with Aiden. The hands and lips seemed so real to her in that moment that she murmured aloud. She felt her body tremble in the darkness and woke slowly to the liquid fire that Aiden was building within her. It took her a moment to separate fantasy from life. She saw that Aiden was actually there with her, his hands cupping her breasts firmly, and a dangerously seductive light lit up his eyes.
“Aiden.” The ethereal plea that came from her throat did not even sound like her own voice.
“Lysandra,” he whispered into her.
She raised her hand and reached for any tangible part of him, settling for the arms that gripped her protectively. He was building a flame within her that was vaguely familiar, but without the tainted wine stirring the emotions within her this burning was more real, more dangerous, more awakening. She raised her arms and pulled his tunic over his shoulders. It fell carelessly to the floor as her hands reached to undo the ties that held breeches firmly against his hips. He moved away, pulled the leggings from his legs, and kicked them across the floor. He inched closer to the bed like a languid panther stalking its prey.
Aiden slipped a finger inside her to find she was unmistakably wet for him. He advanced above her and entered her swiftly. The pent up energy inside him drove his wild energy into her. Being near her without touching her was more control than he had ever shown in his entire adult life and his resolve was now shaken. He could have slowed down to make sure that she was satisfied, but the restlessness inside him needed to be released. The beast inside clawed its way to the top, making it impossible to tame the flames running through him.