“What’s wrong?”
“I’m fine, just a little sore.” She groaned as she tried to get up again.
“It’s my fault.” He frowned. “I should know well enough you aren’t used to this riding.”
“I’m fine,” she muttered through gritted teeth. She stood, grimacing.
“Enough. You’ll ride with me.” He lifted her onto his saddle and threaded Petal’s leads through Dragon’s tack.
Easing up behind her, he put her across his lap, supporting her with one arm around her back. She nestled against him without argument. She soon drifted off, her hand on his chest.
He held Dragon to a brisk pace until they were through the pass. For Jessalyne’s sake, he hoped they reached a town soon. She deserved a hot bath and a soft bed.
She shifted just as a town appeared on the horizon.
“Are you awake?”
“Mmhmm.”
“There’s a town ahead. Do you see it?”
“No, but I believe you. How much longer before we arrive?”
Ertemis checked the sun’s position. “Probably before lastlight. You’ll have your hot meal and long soak soon enough.”
“How did you know I wanted those things?”
“You said you wanted a hot meal, a bath and to sleep on a feather mattress.”
“I wished for those things but I didn’t say them out loud.”
“You didn’t speak them?” He raised an eyebrow.
“No.” She shook her head.
He muttered under his breath.
She tipped her head. “What did you say?”
“I said you infect my brain. Mindsight has never been one of my stronger gifts.”
She went quiet. “I don’t want you listening to my thoughts.”
“Do tell. Are they full of impurities concerning me?” He teased. Just tell me what they are and I’ll make them come true.
She gave him a wicked look.
“I know,” he sighed. “I’m a beast. Perhaps you should have considered that before you hired me, sweeting.” He winked at her. “Are you feeling better?”
“A little. I’ll be fine tomorrow.”
He patted Dragon’s neck. “We will all be better tomorrow.”
Chapter Eight
They passed through the town’s gate and Jessalyne’s curiosity at the sights and sounds took over. The women wore delicate bell-sleeved gowns, the skirts split down the front to reveal another decorative skirt beneath. She would gladly replace her tattered outfit for one of those beautiful dresses.
She realized the townspeople’s odd looks were not just for Ertemis but for her as well. “Why are they looking at us so?”
“Elysium is somewhere close to Shaldar City, which we steadily approach. These people must see light elves on occasion. With your hair covering the tips of your ears, you pass for one. They stare because an elfess without a large guard of male elves is rare. Not to mention you’re sharing my saddle. They’ll leave us alone. We’re only gossip fodder to them. They wouldn’t dream of bothering us.” He winked. “Little do they know how dangerous you are.”
“It’s still impolite,” she said. “They judge what they don’t understand.”
“You judge them by life in the grove. That’s a high measure to live up to.”
“You’re right.” She stared back at a few, making them turn their heads. “So we’re gossip fodder, are we?”
“Aye,” he sighed.
“Sir!” She called out to a well-dressed gentleman crossing the street.
“Jessalyne,” Ertemis hissed.
The man looked over his shoulder as if searching for someone else. He removed a hat of crumpled brown felt, brushed his hand across his hair and swallowed. Tugging down the points of his vest, he came toward them. “Yes, mistress elf?”
“Where is your best guesthouse located?” Fortunately, the front of her clothes was in better shape than the back.
“Down two streets at the end of the market quarter. The Gilded Rose, my lady.” The man’s gaze darted from Jessalyne to Ertemis to the ground.
She nodded and gave him her best highborn smile. “Thank you, sir.” She turned to Ertemis. “Shall we?”
He grinned and shook his head. “Impetuous wench.”
On the way to the inn, Jessalyne noted several clothiers in the market quarter. The gowns in one of the shop windows deserved a second look before they left in the morning. She’d have to have something new after being dragged.
Ertemis helped her dismount. Jessalyne smiled as they walked into The Gilded Rose. The décor reminded her of Valduuk’s private quarters; lush fabrics, delicately carved woods, thick rugs. She tugged at Ertemis’s sleeve. “Very nice.”
“And very expensive, no doubt.” There was no one at the desk, so he rang a little crystal bell dangling from an ornate brass stand. Jessalyne laughed when he rolled his eyes at the frippery.
A thin man with spectacles came through a door behind the desk. His eyebrows rose when he saw the pair waiting for him. “Welcome to the Gilded Rose. What might I do for you?”
Ertemis spoke. “We need one night and stable space for two animals.”
“Yes, sir, let me see...” He paged through a leather bound book. “Ah, yes, I have a fine room for you and your...” His brows rose again, punctuating his unspoken question.
“Wife.” Jessalyne grinned. Now that was gossip fodder.
Ertemis narrowed his eyes at her.
“Will you require anything else?” The innkeeper asked.
“Have a hot bath sent up immediately.” Ertemis answered. “Afterwards, we’ll have dinner in our room. Send ale for me and honeyed wine for the lady.” He looked at Jessalyne. “Does that suit you?”
“Do you have any of those little chocolate cakes?” She asked the man behind the desk.
“We do, my lady.”
“Fine. A plate of those and some cinnamon tea,” she added.
“Send breakfast at firstlight,” Ertemis finished.
“Very good, sir.” The proprietor handed them a key and rang for a groom to collect the animals.
Ertemis gave Jessalyne the key and went to get their bags.
The innkeeper busied himself behind the desk, glancing up at her occasionally. “Lovely inn you have,” she commented.
“Thank you, my lady. Have you traveled through our town before?”
“No.” She pursed her lips, giddy with the charade of being an elf. “My lord husband rarely lets me out. He has such a jealous temper. So quick to draw his blade.” The man’s eyes went big and she bit her cheek to quell a giggle.
Ertemis came in, bags slung over one shoulder. “I thought you would have gone up to the room.”
“Not yet.” She gestured toward the innkeeper. “We’ve been chatting.”
Ertemis looked at the man, who blinked furiously. The proprietor nodded, muttered something about his wife calling and scurried back through the door.
“What have you been up to?”
She walked toward the stairs leading to the rooms. “Nothing. Nothing at all,” she called over her shoulder, unable to suppress her laughter this time.
The room met Jessalyne’s expectations, but the bed exceeded them. Never had she seen such a bed. Carved of some pale wood, the bed stood high off the ground, with matching stairs on either side. At each corner, tall posts supported a gossamer silk canopy and silk curtains to close the sides of the bed for privacy.
“Oh,” she sighed. “I’ve never seen anything so lovely.” She ran her hand over the pierced work coverlet. “This bedding is silk.” A delicate pattern of roses and vines edged the linens. “It’s beautiful.”
“It should be considering the coin this room cost.” He threw his cloak across a nearby chair and unbuckled his sword belt. “We could have a week’s lodging at any tavern for the same amount.”
“If the townspeople are going to talk, we might as well give them something worthwhile to talk about.”
He gave her a curi
ous look. “Is that why you told the innkeeper you were my wife?”
She nodded. “I didn’t want him thinking I was some pink skirt.”
He raised his hands. “Jessalyne, you look nothing like a courtesan. With your coloring, they think you’re high born, trust me. And never in all my days have I seen an elfess fallen to that profession.”
A knock sounded at the door.
“I believe your bath has arrived.” Ertemis moved to open the door and two valets came in, carrying a large copper tub between them. A maid followed with the first of two steaming buckets of water.
The parade continued until the tub was full. The maid put a basket of toiletries and towels next to the tub and left.
Ertemis sat on the edge of the bed and removed his breastplate, grinning. “This will be very entertaining.”
“You’re not staying while I bathe.”
“Don’t I get a bath too?”
“You may bath when you return.”
“You would prefer your husband dally with the wenches at the local tavern while you stay here? You do want the townspeople to talk.”
“You are not my husband.” She scowled at him. Why must he be so difficult at times?
“You told the innkeeper I was. Now, you either shame yourself or deal with the consequences of your falsehood.”
He pulled his boots off and settled back on the bed, arms folded behind his head.
Jessalyne clenched her fists. “Very well. I’m tired and sore and I don’t have the energy for this. You may stay but you will not watch!”
“How do you intend to stop me?”
She looked around the room. There had to be something...she went to her pack and dug though it.
“The water’s getting cold,” he called to her.
“Aha!” She pulled a linen square from her bag.
“I fail to see how that will help.”
“Failing to see is exactly the point. I am going to blindfold you. Then you may stay.”
Shaking his head, he sat up as she came toward him. “I can’t believe I’m letting you to do this to me.” He spread his knees and she moved between them.
“Very kind of you,” she said sarcastically. Brushing his hair back over his shoulders, she wondered if he could sense her body’s response to being so close to him. Best get the blindfold on him quickly.
“You know, everything you’re trying to hide I saw quite clearly when I pulled you from the pool by the cave.”
“Hush!”
* * *
He put his hands around her slender waist and listened as her heart beat a little faster. Like sun-warmed seedberries, the delicate scent of desire drifted into his senses. She fought it, but she wanted him. His hands slid up her ribcage, settling beneath the curve of her breasts. Her soft warmth seeped into his skin, tightening the muscles in his thighs.
She finished tying the sash and stepped out of his embrace. “Can you see?”
“I can see exactly what you looked like as the sun sparkled through the water, your hair swirling around your shoulders, the fullness of your—”
“Enough! Can you see through the blindfold?” She clamped her hand over his mouth and he kissed it, causing her to pull it away.
“Nay. Most unfortunate, considering you’re about to bathe in front of me.” He did his best to sound dejected, and stretched back on the bed, allowing his senses to take over.
She waved a hand in front of his face.
Never in his life had suppressing his tongue been so difficult. He wanted to tell her the blindfold couldn’t stop him from sensing the movement of her hand and wouldn’t stop him from imagining her in the tub.
He settled onto the bed, listening to Jessalyne turn. The muffled drop of fabric told him she’d undressed. Heat traveled down his spine at the thought. The basket of toiletries scraped across the floor. Dulcet tones of moving water reached his ears as she stepped into the tub.
Her soft gasp revealed he’d been right. The water had cooled. Air moved as she waved her hand. The room warmed slightly. She’d used her magic to reheat the water. Water sloshed. “Ohhh...this feels so good.”
“I’m sure it does.” She went still. He could feel her staring at him. “Did you forget about me?”
“No.”
He listened to the soft splashes and imagined her bare, wet body only steps away. The aching need to touch her resurfaced, lancing through him like sharpened steel. He moaned softly, mad with distraction.
“Did you say something?”
“Nay.” Did she have any idea the torture she put him through? He should have left.
Water splattered and something skittered across the floor. The soap. Ertemis heard it spin to a stop on the other side of the bed. “Lose something?”
“Yes. My soap.”
“Tell me where it is and I’ll fetch it for you.”
“No, I’ll get it.” Water sloshed as she started to get out.
“Jessalyne, I’m blindfolded and you’re in the bath. Don’t be silly, you’ll get everything wet. I told you I can’t see.”
“All right. It’s on the other side of the bed.”
Ertemis got up and made a show of feeling for his surroundings, arms out, feet shuffling. “Here?”
“No, further toward the wall, over the other way...there, yes, that’s it.”
He snatched the soap and walked directly to the tub.
“What are you doing?”
He knelt behind her. “So many questions. If I must be sightless, perhaps you should be soundless, lelaya.” He pulled his shirt off and threw it back toward the bed. “Lean forward.”
A gentle sloshing said she complied. He dipped the soap into the water and lathered her back.
She flinched at his touch then relaxed as his fingers massaged in slow sudsy circles. “Ohhh...,” she sighed.
He smiled, moving her hair over her shoulder. The warm velvet of her skin set his body aflame. Pressing along the bow of her spine, he ran his thumbs below the water line, stopping above the lush rounding of her backside.
“Maybe you shouldn’t—”
“Don’t like the way it feels?”
“It feels wonderful, but—”
“Shhh...it’s been a long day, sweeting. Let me take care of you.”
She bent farther forward, giving him access to more of her back. His calloused fingers drew gasps of pleasure from her, filling him with satisfaction.
Her pulse quickened, and her scent filled his nose. Images flooded his head; waking up to her sleepy form curled around him, the tilt of her head when she asked him a question. What was she doing to him? It occurred to him that without the blindfold, the sight of her wet body would probably finish him.
Releasing the soap, he cupped water in his hands and rinsed her back. His lips grazed the side of her neck and she bent her head to his kisses. Whispering her name against her skin, he felt her shudder.
Keeping one hand on her shoulder, he slipped the other below the water’s surface, splaying his fingers over her the curve of her belly. What she would look like ripe with his child? Stunned, he shook the image from his head and pulled her tight against the back of the tub. Water sloshed onto his trousers.
Inhaling sharply, she grabbed his wrist. “I can’t...”
“I just want to touch you. You’re as soft as rose petals. I promise, my hand will go no lower, sweeting.”
Feathering kisses on her neck, he moved higher, nipping her earlobe between his teeth. She moaned and reached for him, weaving her fingers into his hair to draw his lips harder against her flesh.
“Ohhh, Ertemis...”
Encouraged by her whispering his name, he slid his hand higher, grazing the underside of her breast. She was softer than rose petals, softer than any woman he’d touched before; deliciously, decadently, velvety soft. And she wanted him. The thought was almost his undoing.
She tipped her head back. “I shouldn’t do this...”
“Don’t you like my kisses, lelaya?”
/>
“I think I like them too much.”
He found her trembling lips and was reminded of her innocence but she met his kiss with a hunger that begged to be sated. He kissed her hard, and she moaned.
His hand swept up to cup her breast, the fullness spilling over his fingers. She arched, pressing further into his hands. Desire overwhelmed him. He felt powerless to control himself.
The pad of his thumb brushed a tender bud and she recoiled, a tremor running through her. She pulled out of his embrace. Water spilled over the tub sides. “I can’t,” she whispered. “I can’t do this”.
Ertemis knelt at the end of the tub. His empty hands ached to feel her silk again. “Please, I need you.” He dropped his head, stunned by the raw urgency coursing through him. Never had a woman made him beg.
He heard her rapid breathing, the staccato rhythm of her heart. He was too filled with his own desire to read her feelings but her silence sounded like refusal. Maybe she didn’t want him after all. “You can’t cast your spell over me, then leave me unsated. I am not a toy to be played with.”
Wet footstep squeaked across the floor. “I wasn’t toying with you. And I certainly didn’t mean to upset you. I just can’t do this. I’m sorry.”
He stood and ripped the blindfold off. “If you deny you want me, you’re lying.” She had wrapped herself in a towel.
“I’m sorry.” She gripped the towel so hard her knuckles were white.
“Sorry?” Rejection overwhelmed his aching need. Furious for pushing her, he stood, clenching his fists at his sides. He should have taken things slower. He growled a curse, unable to temper the pain of her refusal. He was such a fool.
Her gaze fixed on the bulge in his trousers. Her eyes widened. “Does that hurt?”
He stared at her in disbelief. “Your ignorance does not amuse me.” Jaw set, he grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head before tugging his boots on. He sensed her fear. He needed to leave before he frightened her further.
“Ertemis, please...”
He grabbed his sword belt. “I know I’m low born, but this is the first time you’ve truly made me feel it. You needn’t worry about me touching you again.”
Her eyes glittered angrily. She clutched the bath sheet around her.
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