by Mills, Shae
Shan began to chuckle. “Well, get used to it,” he poked. “Someday I’ll be in similar training company.” And he turned from her, smiling broadly to himself.
Chelan’s eyes widened and she quit laughing. “I hardly think so,” she gasped.
Shan winked over his shoulder at her. “We’ll see.”
Chelan suddenly leapt at him, launching herself onto his powerful back and throwing her arms around his neck. She knew she could pull him down because he would need his leg for support, and he wouldn’t chance injuring it.
Shan was indeed surprised by her aggressive contact, and he let himself buckle, falling to his side and rolling away from her as her grip loosened. Then he spun around and caught her ankle as she tried to scramble away. He dared not drag her to him on the rough floor, so he reached forward and grabbed her about the waist, turning his squirming prey effortlessly onto her back.
Shan then straddled her, pinning her to stillness, his eyes on fire. “You think I tease?” he grinned.
Chelan licked her lips and suddenly went limp. “Surely you do.”
Shan kept his eyes on hers and drew her arms above her head, incapacitating them both with one hand. Then he reached behind himself and ran his fingers along her satin smooth skin until he found the area over her hip where her outfit hugged her tightly. He grasped the material in his powerful grip and twisted it.
Chelan froze. The last man who had held her in this manner had brutally violated her. But Shan was not Ticees, and he would not take her. Her eyes opened wide as she felt the strong fabric snap apart as though it were paper.
Shan smiled at her shocked expression. “Never dare an Imperial warrior,” he stated, his voice a deep rumble.
Chelan was unable to move, let alone speak. On one hand, she was stunned by what he was doing to her. And on the other, her body was betraying her need, a need that had not been filled for so long. She glanced down his chest and over his strong abdominals, his male fullness fully displayed, his masculine weight heavy upon her bare flesh. His powerful thighs surrounded her, flexing in the most arousing way as he kept his weight light on her. She closed her eyes, and her mouth watered. He was so close. All he needed to do was slide forward, and all that softness would be hers for the taking. God, she wanted him in her mouth so badly she squirmed.
Then her eyes snapped open. She felt him reach back again as he grasped the other side of her sarong, repeating his effortless movements, and she flinched. Then she felt him remove the material from her exposed body, and he flung it far away.
“Now,” he whispered. “You’ll get over your alluring but damnable prudishness one way or the other. This is the hard but fast way,” he commented as he reached down in front of him and grasped the leather part of her sarong between her full breasts. He paused, his hand resting on her chest. He shifted on her slightly, and she dared to look back at him. His organ stirred, and she could tell he was thickening ever so slowly, ever so deliciously. Hell.
Chelan squeezed her eyes shut against the virile being looming over her. Then she jerked as his hand twisted and the material broke. He did not move or speak, and Chelan peered up at him, trying unsuccessfully to catch her breath. But he did not remove her top. Instead he smiled and reached over her for a fur blanket.
“But I know that you would wither up and die right in front of me, so I’ll not press the issue.” And he drew the blanket over her body as he released her hands and slid off of her.
Chelan was completely flustered. “I ought to—” she began.
Shan chuckled. “You ought to what, beat me to death?” he teased.
Chelan finally smiled. “Yes. I ought to at least try.”
Shan laughed heartily and then shook his head at her. “I would welcome your attempt.” He stood and went over to a large pile of her clothing. He retrieved another two-piece sarong and returned to her. “I do apologize for the destruction of your garment, Kayla, but I knew that you had many more, and I could not resist teaching you my lesson.”
Chelan continued to hug the fur to herself as he sat down in front of her and handed her the clothing. Her eyes darted to his maleness, but he was once again completely soft. Chelan grinned to herself. She had a lesson of her own to teach him. She smiled slyly and snatched the sarong from him. Then she moved to her knees in front of him and let the fur drop. Chelan received her desired response immediately as she saw every muscle in his body retract.
She smiled to herself and looked away. She had seen that response many times before. She eased herself slowly and seductively into her top. She slid her hands over her heavy breasts as she adjusted the top with enrapturing slowness, her nipples hardening instantly. With satisfaction, she saw Shan turn his head away. Standing, she slid into her bottoms and then moved to him, kneeling beside him. She could see that he was hugging his legs tightly, and she smiled broadly. “Could you still train by me?” she quipped in an epicurean whisper.
Shan jumped to his feet and turned away from her. “Okay,” he conceded, his voiced stained. “You win the battle.”
Chelan stood, feeling a bit sorry for him, but only a little bit. She stepped up to his back, her fingers gently brushing his flawless skin. She watched his muscles ripple as her touch feathered down his densely muscled back. “Are you ready?” she asked quietly.
She felt him flinch, and then he chuckled. “That depends on for what.”
Chelan stepped back from him, bubbling with satisfaction. “I thought you said you lacked control only in your weakened state,” she jabbed.
Shan looked at her over his shoulder. “Only I know how much control is required at this moment, Kayla, and though I am no longer weak, you push me beyond my threshold.”
Chelan suddenly looked down. “I’m sorry.”
Shan shook his head. “Don’t be.”
Chelan looked back at him as he ran his hands through his long black hair. Another smile touched her lips. “So, who’s the prude now?”
Shan reeled with uncanny speed, catching her about the waist before she could flee. He twisted in midair, hurling them both into the warm pool. Chelan came up sputtering and he smiled broadly at her. “I am!” he shouted. “Our protocol says nothing about idly displaying sexual arousal when it is not mutually desired.” And with that his hand skimmed the water, forcing a large wave into her face.
Chelan struggled to breathe and to clear the hair from her face. “I already apologized,” she blurted.
Shan hoisted himself from the water. “Apology accepted,” and he bent toward her as he offered her his hand.
Chelan reached for him and he lifted her effortlessly through the air.
“Come on,” he said. “No more idle chatter. Let’s get to it.”
*****
Chelan and Shan worked out throughout the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. He taught her many new exercises, and she assisted him with his leg massages while he worked the muscle.
As evening came upon them, both Chelan and Shan were spent. After a late meal, Shan sat down among his furs and then watched as Chelan slipped her tunic on and returned to her own corner of the cavern. Shan felt his heart sink. He yanked the furs over him as he flopped down in an exasperated heap. He lay on his back and stared up at the cavern ceiling for a long time, wondering if she would ever accept him fully.
Chelan had hesitated about her choice after the warm afternoon nap she had spent with him, but she was too shy to approach him, and he had not asked her to join him. She sagged down into her furs, and she coiled up with her emptiness.
Shan could not shake the deep pit within his stomach and his own feeling of aloneness. Without looking at her, he spoke, his voice dry. “Do you find me unacceptable?”
Chelan instantly felt a wave of misery flood over her, and she turned and looked at him.
“Or do you try to teach me yet another lesson?”
Chelan was rendered speechless, her heart torn. She could only look at him from across the cavern, her body beginning to qui
ver. She watched as he finally turned his back to her and pulled the furs tightly about him, and he was still.
Chelan sat up, her chest constricting. Did he really think she found him distasteful? Chelan hugged herself. Maybe he did. They had been alone together for months now, and she had never opened up to him in any way. It had been out of fear of revealing her past, but now she realized her folly and the effect her aloofness was having on him. She was confused and apprehensive, all tangled up in a complicated ball, but most of all, she felt as desolate as he obviously did.
She stood silently on unsure legs and crept over to him, her body shivering against the night air. She knelt down beside him, almost afraid to touch him. Then she lay down at his back. But he did not respond to her. Chelan remained very still, feeling hurt, and now humiliated.
Finally he spoke to her, his voice cool. “I did not order you here.”
Chelan bolted upright. “I did not come here thinking you had ordered me!” she shouted, her voice wavering. “I had wanted to come long ago. I’ve always wanted to be by your side. You had only to ask,” she cried.
Shan turned quickly, but she was already on her feet, trying to flee through the thickening darkness. “Kayla!” he yelled. Immediately he took after her, catching her by the arms, but she resisted him fiercely.
She tried to wrench free of him. “You do not have to seek my company at night simply because I am the only one around, or because you pity me! I will survive. I have for years, and I will continue to long after you have left me.” And then reflexively, she slumped into him, her emotions far too complicated to sort through.
Shan pressed her to him, holding her tightly until her soft tremors began to subside. He stroked her hair and rocked her gently. “I do not seek your company, Kayla, because there is no one else, or because I pity you. I seek your company because I care for you and because you have done so much for me. I desire your warmth, and in return I offer you mine. I did not ask you to come to me before because I did not wish to pressure you or to make you uncomfortable in your own home. I know that you are not one of my people, and your ways are different. I was merely waiting for you to come to me.” Shan nuzzled in under her hair as he held her close, his voice a whisper. “I did not mean to hurt you, Kayla. Nothing would please me more than to have you sleep by my side.” Shan held his breath and waited. Finally he felt her arms surround his waist, and he closed his eyes in relief.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered faintly.
Shan scooped her up and cradled her as he walked back to his furs. He laid her gently down in the center of his blanket and smiled at her. He slipped down beside her and drew the furs over them.
Chelan nestled down into the crook of his arm and looked up at him, his features beginning to fade with the evening light. His azure eyes glowed, and she stared into their warmth. “Thank you,” she whispered, and she saw him smile. She smiled back and pressed into him, laying her cheek on his chest, his powerful arms surrounding her.
Shan closed his eyes. At last, the small beauty was next to him. His hands pressed into her firm back, and he found himself wishing that he could strip her of her tunic right here, right now, but that would come.
She was very still, her soft breath on his chest tugging at his heart and his loins. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled. He loved her sweet, feminine scent, and in fact, he was beginning to love everything about her. Shan took a deep breath as he looked into the darkness of the cavern. Leaving her was not going to be as easy as he had originally thought.
Chapter 24
Chelan awoke late, a residual warmth permeating through her from Shan’s night-long embrace. She rolled onto her back, and suddenly she sat up, her eyes wide. She looked around the cavern, her heart thumping, her breath ragged.
Chelan threw back the furs and stood. He was nowhere to be seen, and her stomach instantly tightened. She grabbed a fistful of her long, tussled hair and closed her eyes. “No,” she uttered through clenched teeth.
Chelan clutched at her tunic as she took in several quick breaths. “He can’t be gone,” she reassured herself out loud. She opened her eyes and ran to the cavern entrance, but she saw no sign of him. Her knees felt weak, and her stomach knotted.
Then Chelan thought of his uniform, and she bolted to the side wall, and peeling the skin from her knees as she fell to the ground. His uniform was gone, and so was his shroud. Chelan hunched forward, and she hugged herself as she rocked, her face contorted with pain. “No!” she cried, and she was on her feet again, running through a blur of tears. She slid to a halt by a rock pile where she had kept his knives and guns, but they were gone also.
Chelan was distraught, her agony unbearable. She staggered to her feet, ignoring the sheets of blood coating her shins from her battered knees. Her body convulsed as she flew up to the cavern entrance. She could barely see or breathe, overwrought with so many emotions that she was hysterical. She clawed her way up to the rock-ice interface, and the cold bit into her exposed flesh, but she no longer felt a thing.
“How could you just leave me?” she cried, and she slumped down, bashing hard onto her open wounds. Chelan rolled onto her side and curled into a compressed ball of unrelenting pain. She felt eviscerated, utterly bereft. She cried until she could cry no more. She was going numb from the cold, but she didn’t care. He was gone, and she was alone again. But what was most devastating was that he had not even said good-bye.
*****
Shan clambered back up from the lower tunnel and crawled into the main cavern. He straightened as he brushed himself off and then removed his shroud. The tunnel had seemed endless, opening into tiny caves here and there, but it had eventually become too dark even for his eyes, and he was forced to turn back. That was going to be his first of many exploration adventures as he worked to get his strength and endurance back.
Shan looked to his furs, but Kayla was gone. Instantly his heart stopped, and his eyes made one desperate sweep of the cavern. He sprinted to the rocks that had hidden his weapons, and he saw them in disarray. He looked over to where his shroud and uniform had lain and he approached the area cautiously. He knelt down and touched the drops of blood, and suddenly his stomach turned.
He leapt to his feet, clutching his lazgun instinctively. “Kayla!” he shouted. He listened, but there was no response.
“Kayla!” he yelled as he ran to the cavern entrance. Shan tried to catch his breath in an attempt to still the threatening panic. He dashed up the cavern tunnel and stopped abruptly at the sight of the crumpled figure before him. “Oh, Kayla,” he moaned. “Kayla,” he cried as he dropped to his knees beside her, his arms outstretched helplessly as he looked at her bleeding wounds.
Chelan responded slowly at first, her body sluggish, her mind tethered in her past. Then she looked up at him through clouded eyes. “I … I thought you had left me,” she uttered, her speech slurring.
“Shit,” Shan muttered, realizing that she was too cold to move and was quite possibly hypothermic. He scooped her into his arms and hugged her tightly as he tucked her inside his shroud. “Oh, Kayla,” he moaned as he buried his face into her hair.
Chelan finally blinked back to reality, and she forced her stiff arms around his neck. She felt disoriented, her body unresponsive. He opened his jacket, baring his skin to her. He clenched her tighter, cocooning about her, imparting his heat to her.
Finally her body began to shiver, and feeling began to return. With clarity descending, she scrambled into him, struggling to get as close to him as possible. “I thought you had left me,” she gasped. “Just like all the others.”
Shan was distraught at the pain he had inadvertently caused her, and he rocked her gently. “No, Kayla,” he soothed. “I would not leave without telling you first. I would never do that to you.”
Chelan went limp with emotional exhaustion, and she slumped into his lap like a rag doll. Shan stood and carried her back down into the cavern. He laid her down gently onto his furs, but she would not
release him. Shan had to reach for her arms and force them from his neck. He held her hands tightly. “It’s okay, Kayla. I’m not going away.”
He watched her quiver for a few moments more, and then he saw her take a deep breath. He spread a blanket over her and then moved to get a pelt. Tenderly, he wiped away her blood and then looked closely at her injuries. They were mostly deep flesh wounds, but they needed to be cleaned, and some rock fragments had to be removed. He reached for the all-too-familiar antiseptic and dabbed each knee, removing debris when he had to.
She remained very still the whole time, and Shan knew that her eyes were riveted to him. She was not going to let him out of her sight.
Chelan watched him closely lest he vanish. He looked so handsome in his uniform, so familiar, and her heart bled. What was she going to do when he did leave her? She closed her eyes against the torturous reality. It was only going to be a matter of time.
Shan moved up beside her, reaching around her and tucking the furs over her to warm her. Then he shook his head at her as he looked down into her fawn-like eyes. “You could have frozen up there.”
Chelan swallowed. “With you gone …” she paused, “I would have died anyway.”
Shan leaned over her and stroked her soft cheek. Then the words she had spoken at the interface slammed into his head, and his heart twisted. “You’ve been left before?”
Chelan immediately stilled as she remembered all the vivid details surrounding Korba’s brutal departure, the images assaulting her weakened mind as though it had just happened yesterday. Then Fremma … then Dar …
Shan slipped down beside her. Reaching for her, he surrounded her with his arms. He looked into her heavy eyes. “Whoever he was,” he whispered, “he was a damn fool.”
Chelan said nothing. There was nothing she could say.
Shan watched her as another round of shivering consumed her. Sitting up straight, he removed his shroud, jacket, and gloves, and then moved under the blankets with her. She immediately turned to him and burrowed into his body, burying her face his neck. Shan closed his eyes. He would not disappear again without telling her. Obviously she had been abandoned here, and his blood ran cool at the revelation. Had someone dumped her here, hoping she would die? Shan hugged her closer and closed his eyes. No, that was impossible. Who would try to dispatch of such a beautiful creature, and why? No one was that cold, and he knew there was much more to her story than her simple existence here.