by Nicole René
The healer ordered Namoriee to take care of her lip and eye, and Xavier noticed the slight tremble in Namoriee’s small hand as she spread different kind of pastes on his wife’s face.It was killing Xavier to simply watch as both the tribe healer and Namoriee worked on his wife. He was having trouble keeping his face stoic and keeping a grip on his emotions. He didn’t know how to deal with this feeling of helplessness and rage.
The rustling of herbs and the quiet directions the healer gave Namoriee were the only sounds inside the hut. Tristan, Tyronian and Xavier stayed out of the healer’s way, all three of them staring down at Leawyn’s prone form with the need to seek vengeance.
Finally, the healer stood with a sigh. She looked to Xavier. “The bruises will heal. Her head had a deep cut in the back of it, which I had to sew shut. You will have to administer her medicine to try and fight infection. But she should be fine.”
“Thank you,” Xavier said gruffly, and the healer nodded before taking her leave.
Xavier noticed Namoriee standing off to the side, shifting nervously. She seemed to want to say something but was hesitant to do so. Finally, her spine straightened, a look of determination on her face. The girl finally walked up to Xavier.
“I gave her a s-s-leeping draught. She will need rest in order to heal.” Namoriee paused, faltering slightly, before she continued. “Sh-she does not need more done to her than what she has a-a-already endured. She needs gentle caring for, and it would be wise to r-r-remember that.”
Xavier raised his brow at the slight girl. It was a politely spoken threat.
Namoriee bowed to her chief and scurried out of the room. The three men followed her with their eyes, in shock and grudging respect. It didn’t slip Xavier’s notice how Tyronian’s eyes lingered on her and the door she slipped out of with a different kind of emotion altogether.
“TELL ME AGAIN, Asten,” Leawyn whispered, turning her head slightly to look up at her best friend, who lay beside her. “Tell me again about the fallen warriors and their horses.”
Asten chuckled, shaking his head. He turned his attention away from the stars and down into Leawyn’s blue eyes. “You’ve heard this legend many times. I imagine you know it by heart by now. You tell me!”
Leawyn smiled up at him sweetly. “But I like the way you tell it. I could never tell the tale like you can.”
Asten smirked.“Well, that’s because these aren’t tales, Lea. It’s our history.” Asten heaved a big sigh, pretending to be annoyed. “But very well. I will tell you since you seem to need another history lesson.”
Leawyn smiled and rested her head back on his arm. Her attention turned to the stars. They were both lyingatop the horses’ blankets on the sand as they star-gazed.Once Lea stopped fidgeting and made herself comfortable, he began. “There was once a great warrior who protected all the land, before it was divided into tribes . . .”
He told her how the goddess, Ianna, had tricked and turned her human lover, Saviero, into a great warhorse when he fell in love with a mortal woman. He told her how Saviero, who was then the horse Izayges, many years later saved his entire tribe by giving up his life to fight against an enemy who attacked his village.
“And that is why, any warrior who possess the heart, courage, and strength Saviero showed, will be reborn into that of a great war horse to protect the land, and any who deserve it. Thus began the Samaritan people, who divided and took the names of the war horses that saved them, and whose warriors were protected by their fallen kin, as war horses. The end.”Asten finished, glancing down to Leawyn, whose eyes were closed.
“Thank you for telling me,” Leawyn whispered sleepily. Asten brushed a lock of hair away from her face.
“You’re welcome, Lea. Go to sleep now,” Asten whispered. He moved his hands so one was under her knees and the other under her head. He stood, cradling her against his chest, and started to walk.
“Asten?” Leawyn asked, her voice muffled by both his chest and in sleep.
“Yes, Lea?”
She titled her head up to meet Asten’s hazel gaze. She was always so fascinated with them and how they did not hold just one color in the iris. Sometimes they were a bluish-green, and other times they were a dewy green, with sparks of amber. She took in his face, and the slight beard that started to grow there. He was turning into a man. His eyes bore into hers, and Leawyn felt her heartbeat pick up. Asten was her best friend, her closest confident, but lately, Leawyn found that her heart did weird things in her chest when he smiled at her. Or when she heard his laugh. It scared Leawyn a bit because she knew those reactions were not just in a friendly manner.
She was afraid feelings of friendship were turning into feelings of her very first crush. Asten’s raised an eyebrow at her silence, which prompted her to finish her sentence.
“I think you’ll be a great war horse.”
Leawyn’s heart skipped again when he smiled down at her gently. His eyes grew serious, and he pulled her closer to him as he dipped his head down towards her.
“You know I’ll do anything for you, Lea, don’t you?”
She furrowed her brow, puzzled. “Yes . . . ?” She wasn’t sure where he was going with this.
“I’ll always protect you. I’d give my life for yours,” Asten said, his voice solemn. “There’s nothing I won’t do for you, because you’re mine, and I’m yours. Right?”
Leawyn nodded slowly. Was this his way of saying he’s starting to feel the same way she did? Her breath hitched when he pulled her closer, their lips mere inches apart. Was he going to kiss her?
“You’re the most important person in my life, Lea. You’re all I have left,” Asten whispered, a weird expression on his face.
He wasn’t making any sense.
“What do you mean?” Leawyn whispered back. She watched as the weird expression disappeared as his face smoothed out, the mischievous sparkle back in his eyes as he smiled down at her.
“Go to sleep, Lea,” he dismissed. His hand urged her head to rest against his chest again. “I’ll wake you when we’re back at your village.”
Having no choice but to comply, Leawyn closed her eyes and tried her best to let the gentle sway of his arms as he carried her back to her village lull her to sleep.
If only her heartbeat would slow down.
LEAWYN WOKE INSIDE her own hut. She blinked her eyes furiously to try and clear the haze of her deep sleep. She winced when she was greeted with a splitting headache and pain all throughout her body.
“Here, drink this.”
Xavier appeared, holding out a cup of bitter-smelling liquid. He held the back of her head gently to support her as he helped her sip the medicine. Leawyn gagged at the horrible taste. When she was done, she lay back down against the pillows with a sigh.
He reached behind him and placed the now empty cup on the ground before turning back around to face her. It was silent as they stared at each other.The silence was broken when Leawyn cupped her face with her hands and cried.She turned her face into the strong chest of her husband as he silently slipped into bed with her and wrapped his arms around her and held her until her sobs turned into silent tears.
“They hurt me,” Leawyn whispered, her voice thick with emotion. “They hurt me because I wouldn’t tell them where I came from.” She lifted her head, looking up at the stony-faced Xavier, who was staring down at her. “They hurt me because I wouldn’t tell them about you.”
Xavier stiffened.
“Each question they asked that I did not answer, they would beat me. It wasn’t until he was about to rape me that I realized something.”
Xavier whipped his head down, fury reflecting in his dark orbs. “What was it?”
Leawyn stared into his eyes, not answering right away. “I should be used to my body being taken,” she finally whispered, tilting her head away from his to stare blankly at the fire that was lit inside their tent to keep them warm from the winter. “You do it all the time.”
Xavier flinched.
&nb
sp; “I realized today—” Her voice hitched. “I realized I didn’t want anyone else inside me . . . I only wanted you.” Leawyn turned her head to look at him. She sat up so she was level with his eyes. “Why?” she asked, a frenzied look on her face. “Why do I want you to be the only one inside me? To hurt me?”
Leawyn choked around a sob, even as she brought her face closer to his. Her lips brushed across his. Once, twice, three times, before Xavier grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away from him, breathing heavily.
“Leawyn—” Xavier started, his tone harsh as he scrambled for control.
“Please!” Leawyn cried, moving forward again to catch his lips again. “Please, Xavier, make me forget.” She spoke against his lips, continuing with her attack. “I can feel him. I feel his body on top of mine.” Leawyn groaned in despair. “I want you. Please, just make me feel something other than this. Make me forget.”
Xavier’s eyes clenched shut. His fingers dug into her shoulders as his arms shook with his restraint.
“You don’t know what you’re asking,” Xavier warned her harshly.
“Yes I do. I need you,” Leawyn whimpered, and Xavier’s control snapped.
He pulled her in for a rough kiss, his tongue pushing into her mouth forcefully as he yanked her up his body and pushed her dress up with one hand. Leawyn met his kiss just as hungrily as she bit his bottom lip with enough force to draw blood. He groaned low in his throat at the pain.
He sat up, his hands under her bottom as he tugged her to him. Leawyn’s nails bit into the skin on his shoulders when he surged upwards, and with a quick thrust he was inside her, filling her to the brim. Leawyn cried out against his lips at the sudden fullness, but she met his thrusts with her own.
Her body jerked as Xavier continued to slam into her. The sounds of their skin slapping together rapidly echoed throughout the room, making her shiver in pleasure.Leawyn moaned, gripping a fist full of his long hair and holding it tightly. Xavier leaned forward and took her breast into his mouth, suckling softly. She groaned low in her throat when his teeth clamped down on the soft flesh. The painful pleasure of the action was shocking.
She used her grip on his hair to yank his mouth up to hers. She then pushed him onto his back, braced her hands on his chest, and started to lift herself above him. She knew her movements were inexperienced, fast, and clumsy with her need to fill the hole inside of her soul he created.
Xavier sat up and spun them around so he was on top of her. He used his grip on one of her thighs to pull her leg up and over his shoulder.
“Xavier!” Leawyn yelped and clawed his back, trying to bring him closer to her.
Xavier faltered slightly with a grunt when Leawyn squeezed herself around him and bit sharply into the juncture of his neck and shoulder.
“Mine,” Xavier growled roughly, nipping her ear. “You’re mine, Leawyn.”
Leawyn couldn’t breathe. She was dying. There was a volcano inside of her that was ready to erupt, but unable to do so. Xavier was thrusting into her at a teeth-clattering pace, the pleasure/pain of his lovemaking brought on a burning need within her that had her writhing beneath him in desperation.
It wasn’t enough. She needed more.
“Xavier!” Leawyn sobbed, holding onto him tightly. “Please!”
“Say you’re mine, Leawyn,” Xavier growled huskily into her ear. His tone thick with pleasure and need. “Tell me you’re mine. Admit it!”
“I’m yours!” Leawyn gasped, tears pooled in her eyes and slid down her cheeks. “I’ve always been yours.”
Hearing the words come out of her mouth made something inside Xavier snap, and with wild abandon he lost himself. Her sharp cries spurred on something primal within him. The groans that slipped out of his mouth were almost an inhuman growl. Xavier let out a hoarse shout when his release rippled through him. He held onto her just as tightly as she was clinging to him as she shattered around him.
Xavier shuddered, unable to control the spasms of his body as he rested his head in the crook of her slender shoulders.Leawyn lay shaking in his arms, her nails still holding him to her tightly.
Their breathing was still ragged when Xavier lifted his head and looked down into her crystal-blue eyes. With a shaking hand, Leawyn pushed his sweaty mane away from his face, her fingers light against his cheek as she leaned up and caught his lips with hers in a soft kiss.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Xavier swallowed against the lump that suddenly found itself in his throat. He managed to nod as he caught a tear with his thumb and wiped it away.
Xavier braced his hands above her head to slide off her but glanced down in surprise when Leawyn clamped her thighs around him and tightened the hold she had on his shoulders.
“Stay,” Leawyn commanded sleepily. “Don’t run. Please, just stay with me.” She peeked open an eye and looked at him, telling him everything he needed to know.
Xavier nodded his head, his voice escaping him. He relaxed his shoulders and moved his body so his full weight wasn’t resting on her. His wife snuggled into his chest, throwing a leg over him and intertwining it with his own.
She drifted off to sleep quickly, but not before she whispered one last order.
“No more running.”
Xavier did not know if the command was for herself, or for him.
Either way, she was his, and he had no plans on ever letting her leave him.
THE LOUD CRACK of lighting followed by the boom of thunder startled Leawyn awake.
She shivered, pulling the thick furs closer against her naked chest as she sat up. Her gold curls tumbled over her shoulders and down her back as she pushed the tousled strands away from face.
She looked around her hut for her husband, frowning when she found he wasn’t there. Wincing slightly at the soreness in her thighs as she stood, Leawyn reached over and grabbed the soft materiel of her robe and wrapped it around herself quickly.
Crossing the room, she pooled her hands before dipping them into the now cold water and splashed it against her face, gasping slightly at the temperature—it was colder than she expected.
Another boom of thunder made her jump.
“The storm must be getting worse,” Leawyn murmured.
As if to prove her point, the small window across from her decided to burst open, letting in huge gusts of wind and rain. Leawyn shrieked and raced across the room to try to slam it shut. “Damn!” Leawyn cursed when it wouldn’t budge. No matter how hard she forced it closed, the wind kept blowing it back.
Suddenly a tan, muscled arm shot out over her shoulder, and with Xavier’s help she managed to close it. Leawyn quickly latched it shut again, sighing in relief when it did so easily.
She wiped the water off her face, shaking her hands out as she looked down at herself. She was soaking wet, her robe clinging to her figure, the wet strands of her hair stuck to her lips and cheek. She glanced up at her husband, noticing he too was wet, and though he still looked formidable, Leawyn had never seen him look so . . . normal.
A soft giggle escaped her lips.
Xavier glanced down at Leawyn.
“Sorry,” Leawyn mumbled, biting her lip to stifle her laughter.
When Xavier merely raised a scarred eyebrow at her, Leawyn let another giggle slip. Soon it was full-blown peals of laughter.
“I’m sorry!” she gasped around her laughter. “It’s just . . . you look so,” she waved her dainty hand, vaguely encompassing his person, “so drowned!”
Xavier’s lip twitched, fighting a smirk. “You don’t look much better.”
She looked down at herself, laughing as she shook her head. “No, I suppose not.”
Leawyn was still giggling quietly, but sobered when Xavier’s fingers gently took one of her wet strands and pushed it over her shoulder.
She caught his hand, pausing its soft stroke of her cheek. Bravely, Leawyn stepped away from him. Keeping her hold on his hand, she slowly moved them backwards, stopping when she reached their b
ed.
With a slightly shaking hand, she caressed his hard abdominals for a moment before putting more pressure on them until he sat down.Xavier stared up at her warily, unused to this new Leawyn.His eyes darkened when she took a deep breath and untied the knot to her robe and lowered her arms so it pooled to the floor at her feet, leaving her bare to him.Keeping eye contact, Leawyn straddled his lap, resting her hands on his shoulders and dipping her head so her lips were level with his.
Xavier’s hand shot up, grasping her jaw, effectively stopping her lips from touching his.
“Why are you doing this?” he growled, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Never have you asked for my touch, yet now you are, two nights in a row.” When his question was not met right away, he squeezed her jaw harder.
Leawyn closed her eyes against the pain, gripping his hand with hers.
“Xavier . . .” Leawyn pleaded softly.
“Why?” Xavier growled, making Leawyn wince. “Tell me!”
“Because I’m tired of feeling empty!” Leawyn cried out, glaring at him defiantly as her eyes glistened with unshed tears of sorrow and pain.
Xavier stilled, his grip going slack. Leawyn jerked her head away from him, and he quickly grabbed a fistful of her hair at the nape of her neck to still her.
“Do you want me?” Xavier asked, voice low.
Leawyn closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath. On her exhale, she opened her eyes. “I shouldn’t, but . . . yes,” she whispered. “I want you.”
Xavier used the grip he had on her hair and tugged downward, making her head tilt back and exposing her neck. He brushed his lips against her silky skin, his tongue tasting her. Leawyn’s breath hiccupped, shuddering when his breath cooled her heated skin.
“How?” Xavier’s tongue flicked against her throat again. “Slowly? You want me to—” Xavier’s lip trailed up to the underside of her ear. “Make love to you?” His eyes matched his mocking tone when he pulled away to meet hers.
“No,” Leawyn whispered, reaching up and watching her fingers as she traced one of the scars on his face. “No,” she said again, her head giving a small shake as she brushed her thumb against his lips, pausing to meet his eyes once again. “I imagine you’re not capable of love.” She pushed his face away roughly. Xavier narrowed his eyes as they flashed darkly. He smirked for the briefest second before his lips grew still.