by Glenda Diana
His lower body ached with new awareness as the scent of her filled the crackling air around them. The need for feeding ran strong and he used all his powers to hold himself back from that which he wanted and needed most.
She was forbidden. That thought had haunted him for years. But tonight he had gone against all to claim her. He had crossed the tribal zone to reach her and he had taken her to a place that very few knew of. He was not foolish enough to think that they would not be found. He would have to answer for breaking the rules of his own clan and going against all that he had been trained for, in doing so he knew without doubt that it would cost him. He had worked hard to reach the position which he now possessed and he had given it all away with his actions of this night. But such was the price he would pay to be with her.
To him, it did not matter who and what she was or that intermingling between her race and his own was prohibited ... she was his now. He had let her feel his hunger twice and both times she had met it with such passion that it took his breath. He wondered how she would react upon awakening. Would she recall the feel of his love? Would she continue to fight him on this matter? With a sigh, he reached down and picked her up, cradling her against his chest. She was as her grandmother said, "A fiery maiden". Yet, she was also an innocent. Innocent not only to the way of her people and their dealings, but innocent to her existence as well. Holding tightly to her, he carried inside his home and upstairs to the room that had been prepared for her.
Chapter Nineteen
Arysa awoke slowly. Sitting up, she surveyed her surroundings. The room was stark in appearance. Other than the bed in which she lay the only other items in the room were a large wardrobe closet and several chests. The bed, the coverlet, and the window were a rich deep mauve velvet. Pulling the heavy coverlet over her, she lay back against the pillows. What now, she asked herself silently?
First thing on her list was to find what 'He' had done with the cloak she had been wearing. She had nothing to cover herself with. She shook her head and sighed. She didn't even know his name. She knew who he was ... he was one that was forbidden. Her race did not mingle with those of his kind. It was a law that none dared to ignore or disobey ... until now.
The things he told her came to mind. Carefully she went over everything and tried to piece his tale to the grandmother that she knew and loved. The more she thought about it, the more it seemed possible. Had she been so ignorant all these years to what her grandmother was? Or had she been too busy worrying over herself that she never questioned what was before her? If she were to believe him then it made certain things very clear and at the same time very confusing.
Her grandmother had known what he was and still she had let him enter their woods, knowing that it went against their people's law. How had she hidden this major deed from the High Ruler? And she had told this forbidden man all there was ... things that she had never told her own granddaughter. Why?
Tossing back the covers, she made her way over to the wardrobe closet and threw open the doors only to find it empty. Next, she opened the chests and found them equally as empty. Standing in the middle of the room she stared at the two doors. One would undoubtedly lead to the hallway and the other to who knew where. With a heavy sigh she tried the door nearest her. The heavy panel opened and she entered yet another room. She didn't have to ask whose room it was. She could feel where his presence had been ... the scent of him still lingered.
Heavy black and silver drapes encased the massive bed. The coverlet and window were draped in the same material. His room was almost identical to the one she had awakened in except that it was nearly twice the size. Kneeling in front of the nearest chest she opened it and withdrew a crisp black shirt and pulled it on with a smile. The edge of the material fell past her knees. It wasn't much, but at least it covered her nakedness. The black pants were much too long, so she discarded the idea of borrowing them. In the other chest she found a heavy brush and began untangling her long hair. With a sigh of disgust she left his room and headed down the hallway.
As she passed each room she looked inside, but found nobody about. On the next floor she paused, debating whether to search the rooms or not. With a shake of her head, she continued down the stairs.
As with the other floors she was surprised by the fresh scent of mild spices. Everything appeared to be clean and polished as if it had just been freshly scrubbed by an army of maids. Taking her time she ventured through the rooms. In truth, it was a lovely home, but it lacked something. What, though? She turned that question over in her mind as she approached the dining hall. The scent of food was drawing her like a powerful magic. Her hunger intensified and her stomach growled in anticipation.
At the end of the long room sat the head table, but Arysa's complete attention was on the steam rising from a platter in the middle of the table. Her mouth watered at the sight of thick slices of roast meat covered in rich, dark gravy. Boiled potatoes and thick slices of bread were laid out on another platter. Taking a seat she began eating. Everything tasted so wonderful she couldn't pull herself away until at last her stomach felt full.
Pouring a goblet of wine, she took a sip as her gaze moved around the room. The place was a silent as a tomb. A smile stretched across her face at that thought. Her powers moved out from within her and swept through each room of the manor searching for a presence. She came up empty. He had left her alone.
With a heavy sigh of contentment, she pushed the empty plate away and leaned back in the chair. Someone had to have been there recently. The food had been hot. Perhaps if she sat there long enough whoever it was would come back for the empty plates. But reason told her that no matter how long she sat there, no one was going to appear.
Standing, she made her way through the rooms again. There was an old quality to the manor and yet everything seemed so new and untouched. The breeze blowing through the double doorway in the sitting room called to her and she followed. The garden was cast in the dim glow of the setting sun and the scent of flowers filled the air. Slowly she made her way around the enclosed area. An undercurrent was there that spoke of being alive and energized.
She came upon a spot that looked faintly familiar and paused. Memories of him standing before her in only a loincloth had her cheeks heating. He was a beautiful creature, she thought begrudgingly. Were all male species of his race as handsome? Probably. In the history books of her people, his clan had been portrayed in paints of gold and white and rather puny to look upon ... but he was definitely not puny.
From the aura that radiated from him, she would say that he was a high-ranking officer to his clan. The authority that came forth when he spoke and the commanding way he moved was evidence enough to that fact. So her next question was why would a man like him jeopardize all just to assist her? Even desire was not a strong enough emotion to risk such a fate.
Sitting down upon the grass she let her mind wander over all that he had let her feel during the darkness. It wasn't just desire that made him choose his path. It was something much stronger ... he had let her experience just a fragment of it before she had fallen asleep.
Love.
Though it was a thrilling thought, why would he even take such a risk for her? But she was thinking of him as if he were one of her own kind, where love was shunned and considered a weakness. He came from a society that was in fact opposite of hers. Suddenly that one word took on a whole new meaning for her. The beat of her heart began to gradually increase as her thoughts turned back to four years ago when she had first felt him in her woods.
Could she love one such as he? Deep inside herself she found the answer. Over the past years she had grown accustomed to his shadowy presence in her woods and the feelings that he had stirred within her. If she were honest enough with herself she would admit in a whisper to her heart that he was the reason she ventured out to her spot of solitude. Also came the knowledge that her grandmother knew this as well and had never attempted to stop her ... just as she never prevented him from entering
.
She recalled the humming in her veins as she neared her nightly spot in those sacred woods. The yearnings that threatened to rip her apart and yet made her cry many tears. Could she love him? She laughed softly. She already did. She had loved him for the past four years even though she hadn't known who he was. And now that she did? It didn't matter. A being could not choose to whom their heart would go to. Aye, they could ignore their feelings, but then existing would be miserable and mind-torturing. The 'what ifs" that one suffered during their existence alone were enough to drive the sanest to madness, but to add self inflicted anguish would be more than anyone, sane or insane, could handle.
There were hundreds, thousands of reasons to ignore her heart and yet she discarded them all. Her grandmother had raised her to forge her own path in life. In her schooling she had learned that there had been others that had gone against the High Ruler, but none whose existence lasted long. But she would be the first to do so for her reasoning ... true love.
The feeling of lightness centered in her being and emanated from her. There was one thing left to do before she could begin this new journey. The sun had set and the garden was now draped in semi-darkness. Standing, she closed her eyes and concentraed on what lay outside her self-area, she centered her attention on her inner power, letting it grow up and out of her.
The music within her began growing, filling her with the tune that was hers alone. Her hips began to gently sway to the beat. The black shirt fell from her, leaving her naked to bathe in the approaching moonlight. She raised her hands to the sky, as whispered words fell silently from her lips. She centered her powers around that of her heart, letting her love fill the hole within itself, filling it until it overflowed, then and only then did she let her powers go in search of the one it quested.
This was dangerous and yet she let her powers fly freely. If tuned correctly, she would pull him to her, but it could also call forth attention of one that she did not want. Even knowing this, she continued. She would deal with the repercussions later.
Her heartbeat staggered. She had found him not too far away. With gentle sweeps she moved over him, letting him test her powers. The breath inside her lungs paused at the harsh rejection he offered. Again she probed deep until she found his center. Carefully, she let the filled chasm of her power flow over him ... letting him feel all the emotions that he had created in her.
Though he tried to still her powers, he failed. He was stronger than she was, she knew this and yet he was letting her win this small victory over him. Then she found it ... he did love her. Knowing and defining this love gave her an added strength.
Her probing stopped. She had angered him ... nay, not anger, she had made him furious. She could feel him coming for her. Along with his anger she could detect apprehension and though both these emotions were strong in him, she could still feel his love.
Her dancing became more fevered as he came closer. She fell to her knees and lay upon the ground panting to catch her breath. Her head raised and she brushed her hair from her face. His booted feet were braced apart, his arms crossed over his massive chest and the look of fury etched the handsome plains of his face.
"You little fool!" he rasped out. "Do you not comprehend the danger you have now put us in?"
"I care naught about danger," she whispered. "I had to see you."
"Why?"
"You know why."
That gave him pause. "And what of who I am?"
"I care not."
"Again, I call you a fool."
Arysa slowly stood and moved toward him. "As much of a fool as yourself."
"Aye, fool I am at that," he mumbled.
"You are the one my heart and body sings for. You are my destiny," she whispered, as her hands settled upon his arms. The muscles beneath her palms quivered and then tightened. "You and I will change the rules of both our clans."
Her touch was exquisite. He closed his eyes and inhaled the fragrance of her.
"It was you who entered my woods several years ago ... just as it was you who kept returning. It was you who took me from my home. You, who let me feel your powers. And it was you who fed the yearnings inside me. You are the nourishment that they crave. You are the only one that can quiet them."
She wanted him to touch her, to hold her, to feel his power yet again. But most of all she wanted him to make love to her with his body and not just his power. Instead he stood before her like a stone statue. Her hands dropped from him as she knelt before him. Her eyes still searched chink that she could wedge beneath. Then she noticed that not all of him was rejecting her. One certain part of him was very much alive and very much in need.
He gritted his teeth when her eyes caressed his hardness. He cursed himself for underestimating her. He had wanted to give her time to adjust to her new surroundings and to become accustomed to everything he had revealed to her. Now it was too late, for he knew without a doubt that he was not the only one to hear or to feel her powers.
When her hand reached out to touch him, he caught her wrist. Her bones felt fragile beneath his strength.
"Make me yours," she whispered.
"Nay, not yet," he growled.
"Aye."
"If I do, are you ready to meet the fate that our actions will bring upon us? Are you ready to forsake all that you know, all that you are? Are you ready to start a war so that we may have our lives together? Are you ready to face termination?"
Arysa carefully thought over his words. She wasn't as naïve as he thought her to be. She knew exactly what the consequence would be for them and she knew that aye, a war would come. A war between them and the one who thought he had claim to her.
"Aye," she answered. "The answer must be the same for you or you would not have brought me here."
He stared down at her. He thought of all the times that he had tried to stay away from her and had failed. He had brought her here to keep her, to claim her and though war would come he would face it and the outcome.
He released his hold on her wrist and smoothed his hand over her soft as silk hair. Gathering it, he pulled her head back so that their eyes met. "Are you sure?"
"Aye," she whispered.
"No regrets?"
"Never."
He knelt in front of her as he released her hair. "Never is a long time."
"I would give all to be with you," she repeated.
"And all is exactly what it will cost," he growled out, before pulling her to him and claiming her mouth. The fire in him raged at his first taste of her. Though he wanted to let it loose ... to let it consume all that it hungered for, he held tight to the reins reminding himself that in truth she was innocent in this area.
"Make me yours."
Her soft plea tore at him. He lowered her to the ground and then sat back so that he could look at all of her. He let his power move over her. She whimpered. He had to taste more of her. His lips played upon her arched neck before moving downward. He cupped her breasts, loving the way their soft, firm plumpness overflowed. Her hard nipples stood erect, begging for his attention. She was like nothing he had ever sampled before. Sweet, dark and savory ... and divine.
His powers were bringing forth her juices, he could smell her sweet aroma. He stared at her woman's core. His first sight of her in the woods of her home had taken his breath. Though he knew it was her people's practice, the smooth hairless mound of her woman's core still had caught him by surprise. He had no complaints. He found the sleek skin to be quite exciting. It also gave him full access to taste more of her.
He could see her wetness shimmering against her nether lips. His hard shaft bucked in reaction. Grasping her legs, he moved them so that they lay over his shoulder, opening her core for him ... he could not wait any longer, he had to taste her, to feed one of the hungers that had been gnawing at him for the past four years. His lips covered her. His tongue teased the hidden jewel making her shiver and moan. Then he began tasting her fully, sucking and feasting on the juices that belonged only to h
im. Her body tensed in preparation and then she was filling him with her abundance and he greedily accepted it all.
Arysa opened her eyes as he lowered her legs. He came to his feet and removed his clothing. She let her gaze move over all of him. Her heart pounded against her ribs at the sight of his fully aroused body. Then he was kneeling between her thighs. He moved over her, his hardness was pressing into her slick sensitive passage. The thin barrier that blocked him gave way with only the slightest ache and then he was fully embedded inside her.
"No going back," he gritted out.
"No ... no going back." Reaching up, she entwined her fingers into the long black hair that hung down around his face. "From this moment on you are mine and I am yours. To live and to love for all of time."
"Best not forget the fight," he grunted, setting his rhythm slow and easy. Later, when she was more experienced, he would let their passions run free, but for now he would ride her gently.
"We will fight side by side."
For a response he gave another grunt. Though she claimed to know what they would face, he knew that she did not understand the full ramifications of what they were doing ... but soon she would.
Her long nails scored his back gently as she met each downward plunge with her upward stroke. Though she had felt his power, what he was making her feel now was nothing in comparison. Her power moved over him, her body moved with him and together they reached the rim of ecstasy's abyss only to rupture into an explosion that shook the world around them.
"We are one from here onward."
Arysa sighed and held tighter to him. "Aye."
"We have chosen our path."
Her hands moved over his face, as her soft gaze melted into his. "Together we will build a life for us, not of our clan, not of our blood, but of our love."