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  She shuddered at the thought, and again turned her thoughts to her halia. Ranelle was all that mattered now, and Liana knew with certainty that her heart-sister wasn’t there. She was nowhere to be found in Fiorn.

  Liana choked back a sob at the absence of her halia’s lifeforce. Could Ranelle be…dead?

  But wait. Liana’s consciousness grasped a thread of hope. Her essence followed the feeling. Farther away, along the shore…she saw Ranelle fleeing, stumbling over a log on the sand. Her heart-sister was alive!

  Liana frowned when she realized Ranelle’s dress was in shreds, and she might as well have been naked. Her golden skin shimmered in the moonlight, her large, firm breasts bounced as she ran, her mahogany tresses floating behind her in the wind. Ranelle paused to look behind her.

  Then Liana caught the awareness of something—or someone—following her heart-sister. Liana’s skin chilled as she struggled to find out what could be chasing Ranelle.

  Before Liana could determine if the being pursuing Ranelle was evil, a sensation on her backside brought Liana out of her trance.

  She blinked, again seeing through her curtain of hair bits of moonlit ground flashing by as the horse galloped farther from Fiorn. The gag in her mouth remained, but felt as though it had loosened. Her body rocked against the stranger’s…

  And she realized his hand was stroking her naked hips, just below her bound hands.

  He was touching her almost reverently.

  “Zjenni.” The stranger groaned as though he was in mortal pain as his palm caressed her buttocks, sliding over each smooth cheek.

  Liana’s eyes widened and she caught her breath as the man moved his hand. Her core ached with wanting as he fondled her, his palm sliding down her thighs to behind her knees, and back to her hips.

  “Sweet zjenni,” he murmured, his words deep and throaty as his knuckles grazed her backside. “So beautiful. So soft.”

  The timber of his voice set Liana on fire. It was rich and sensual. And when he eased his hand down the crevice of her buttocks, lower and lower yet, she nearly came undone. Her heart pounded hard and fast. She barely noticed the movement of the horse beneath their bodies as the stranger’s fingertips brushed the tangle of curls between her thighs and teased her clit.

  Liana trembled, a moan rising in her throat behind the cloth in her mouth. The man’s woodsy scent surrounded her, fueling her desire for him. In the back of her mind she knew she should fight the erotic sensations, but she was powerless to stop them—and she wanted him too badly.

  She closed her eyes as the stranger’s fingers slid into her slick core, and she grew impossibly wetter yet.

  The man thrust one finger deep inside her. “Gods. You are so tight.” He groaned again as he rammed deep, down to his knuckles and back out again.

  His finger was so big, and she was so small, that Liana would have cried out from the surprise of the sensation if it were not for the binding in her mouth. She moaned as he continued to move his finger in and out, matching the rhythm of the horse’s gallop. Before she realized what she was doing, Liana found herself instinctively rocking against his hand, raising her hips on his thighs, begging without words for more.

  She felt his other arm move, and then the horse’s reins fell across her back. In the next instant, as he continued to thrust his finger inside her, the stranger yanked her gown up higher, above her breasts with his free hand. He then slid his hand beneath her and onto her breast. The contact of his hot palm nearly drove her wild as he kneaded her nipple. Liana couldn’t believe how erotic it felt being stroked and touched as she lay bound across the stranger’s lap.

  “Come for me, zjenni,” he all but growled. “I want to see you climax. I want to feel it.”

  The stranger’s motions intensified, and the sensations within Liana grew. So powerful, so unbelievable. Again the vision filled her mind of his massive body sliding between her thighs and into her moist folds. Their slick, naked skin as they pressed their bodies together, his broad chest rubbing against her nipples. Her legs wrapping around his waist as he thrust his cock inside her, again and again.

  Liana’s muscles tensed, and in the next moment a muffled scream rose behind her gag as an orgasm ripped through her body. Brilliant flashes exploded behind her eyes, blinding her in their intensity. Her breathing grew hard and ragged, a fine sheen of perspiration coating her skin as tremors shook her body.

  “Yes. Yes, zjenni,” he whispered as the spasms continued to grip her.

  But the stranger did not stop. As the horse raced through the forest, the man continued teasing the nub between her thighs, and thrusting his fingers inside her core until she climaxed again.

  And yet again.

  Until her body was limp with exhaustion. Until she slid into a deep sleep.

  * * * * *

  When Aric realized Liana had fallen asleep, he reluctantly removed his fingers from between her thighs. He caressed her buttocks with his palm as he drew in a shuddering breath.

  “Ah, zjenni,” he murmured, again uttering the Nordain word that meant most precious. His cock ached so badly to take the maiden that he feared he might spill his seed in his breeches.

  As Baethel entered the D’euan Forest, Aric took his hand from Liana’s breast. He gripped the reins tight in one hand while his other continued to stroke Liana’s hips.

  The dappled stallion would reach the Bewitching Pool with no need for guidance from Aric. Yet he clung to the straps as if they might help him rein in the urge to stop the horse’s flight—and then take the Tanzinite maid on the forest floor.

  Prophecy be damned.

  No! He would not betray his people by mating with a Tanzinite female. It was against everything he had been trained to believe in since the time of his birth. He was Aric L’tiercel, King of the Nordain.

  A man of power.

  And she, the wingless Tanzinite…

  By the gods, what had possessed him to touch her, to bring Liana to climax? When he had viewed her naked buttocks across his lap, it was as though his hand had a will of its own. And once he had caressed her silken skin—he had been lost to the sensation of feeling her intimately. He had recalled the exquisite look of rapture on her face when he had watched her from her window, and he had wanted to see her experience such pleasure again.

  Aric slid his dagger out and carefully cut at the cloth that gagged Liana. He had only put it on her to keep her from alerting the irani of their whereabouts. With one hand he slit the strap binding her wrists, then re-sheathed his dagger. Carefully he massaged her wrists, hoping that he had not bound her hands too tightly. Her skin was so soft, so delicate.

  His hand traveled from her wrists, again to her bare buttocks, and a long, shuddering sigh issued from him. The ache in his cock had only grown more intense, and there was nothing he could do to relieve his need.

  Aric clenched his jaw and forced himself to yank the maid’s clothing down, over her breasts and hips. It was difficult, given her position on his lap, but he managed. The sheer material did little good, as even in the barest of moonlight creeping through the trees, he could still see her fair skin, still see the crevice of her smooth buttocks.

  He could imagine just how sweet the nectar from between her thighs would taste. He closed his eyes, imagining savoring her unique flavor on his tongue.

  Lord Ir.

  Biting back a curse, Aric snapped his eyes open and grabbed Baethel’s reins with both hands. He forced his gaze to the canopy of trees overhead and the patches of night sky visible through the forest. Long ago his keen senses had told him they had managed to escape the irani without detection.

  But what had happened to Jalen and Renn? If any being could find them, it was Toen the Overseer, who traveled most often in the form of a white wolf. On rare occasions the Overseer took other forms, including that of a white raven. Aric expected Toen to arrive soon with news of Renn’s and Jalen’s whereabouts.

  Aric sighed and shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Fo
r now it did no good to be concerned for his brother and his friend. It would take all his focus and will to protect the Tanzinite maid from the Sorcerer.

  To protect Liana from himself.

  And to protect his people from the prophecy.

  Chapter Three

  When Baethel reached a moonlit meadow at the outskirts of the D’euan Forest, Aric bade the horse to stop. If it were not for Baethel’s keen night vision, they never could have traveled as far—the vegetation grew so densely in places that once the sun sank behind the Phoenician Range, a man could not see his hand before his face.

  Aric slid Liana from his lap so that she was hanging facedown over the horse’s withers, and then he managed to dismount without disturbing her sleep. As he lifted her from Baethel’s back, Liana’s sweet scent of jensai blooms enveloped him. Her feminine form was soft and warm in his arms, sending a sharp sensation straight to his groin.

  Twigs snapped and leaves crunched beneath Aric’s boots as he carried her across the clearing to where they would make camp. The meadow was almost bright as day, the silvery light of the moon giving an enchanted glow to their surroundings. In the distance he heard the musical sound of the Everlasting River as it rushed along, swollen with melting snows from the Phoenicians. Just over a rise was the Elvin Bewitching Pool, where Aric would take Liana tomorrow to bathe.

  And perhaps she would tell him of Jalen’s and Renn’s whereabouts using her Seer’s skills and the magic of the pool.

  Just the thought of seeing Liana naked as she washed her fair skin was enough to set Aric’s teeth on edge. He would have to leave her to bathe on her own.

  He shook his head. No, if Liana still feared him, she might flee into the forest, and who knew what dangers might be waiting for her. Or, despite his precautions, they may have been followed by one of the Sorcerer’s minions.

  Aric released a sigh of longing as he settled Liana on a bed of thick pine needles and leaves. He tucked a strand of hair behind her delicately pointed ear, and could not help but smile at the contented look upon her face as she slept. A woman sated by multiple orgasms, she would probably rest well through the night.

  He, on the other hand, was less likely to find such peaceful oblivion.

  Aric forced himself to walk away from Liana to the horse. He removed Baethel’s halter and saddlebags, brushed the stallion’s dappled gray coat until it shined, and then left the horse to graze.

  After Aric gathered dry firewood and built a fire within a ring of stones, he withdrew a blanket from the saddlebags. His gut clenched, concern gnawing at him, as he wondered where Jalen and Renn could be. Since Aric’s parents’ deaths, and the loss of their brother and younger sister, Aric and Renn had no family save each other. And Jalen had become like a brother to them both, too.

  Hopefully Toen had located the men and the three would arrive soon. No matter his fierce loyalty to his people. No matter his determination to avoid the pleasures he knew he would find within Liana’s welcoming warmth. Aric L’tiercel, King of the Nordain, actually feared remaining alone in the Tanzinite maid’s presence longer than required.

  She might be forbidden, but she was a temptation he was afraid even he could not resist.

  But resist he would.

  The future of his people depended upon it.

  Aric laid the blanket in the clearing, and then carefully moved Liana onto it. As he settled her onto her back, her lips parted and a slight moan eased through.

  Mesmerized, Aric watched as Liana shifted, her arm sliding from her belly to her side, her sheer clothing pulling taut across her breasts. He watched her nipples bead, as though she was aware of his perusal, and he didn’t know whether to curse or thank the gods for this moonlit night.

  All reason left him as he stared at her hardened nipples.

  Just one taste.

  As long as he did not mate with Liana, he rationalized, his people were safe from the prophecy.

  Yes. He would just taste her.

  He leaned forward and licked one peak through the thin fabric, and it grew even tauter yet. Before he realized what he was doing, Aric had moved his mouth to her other nipple, licking and sucking.

  Liana moaned and arched her back, but he could tell she still slept. Perhaps dreaming of him filling her. Need grew within Aric, fast and furious, and it was all he could do to hold himself back. His cock was so hard he felt sure he could bore a hole through a plank with it.

  Several planks.

  Half out of his mind with lust, Aric yanked Liana’s gown up over her breasts and then groaned at the sight of her naked body. How beautiful she was. Her alabaster skin glowed in the moonlight, her nipples hard and begging for his mouth. Her silvery-white hair shimmered and almost seemed to move, like a glistening waterfall.

  Still fully clothed, Aric pressed Liana’s legs apart and knelt between her bare thighs. Lord Ir, but he ached to enter her, to fuck her until she screamed with her climax.

  Aric leaned over Liana, bracing one hand on the blanket beside her. Barely breathing, he traced the tip of his finger down her cheek. Gods, but her skin was so soft. He continued, over her parted lips, over the gown bunched above her breasts, to one nipple. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he stroked her delicate skin. He cupped her perfect globe, flicking the pearl tip with his thumb, and groaned in agony.

  Why could she not be a Nordain maiden? Why did she have to be a Tanzinite and the one woman he was not allowed to possess?

  Liana moaned again, and Aric felt a gentle movement across the hand he had braced on the blanket. He glanced down at her hair.

  And saw that it was moving. Caressing him.

  Stunned, Aric watched as her tresses slid across his skin. Was it his imagination? Was it a breeze causing her hair to move? Yet he felt no wind.

  “Please… ” Liana murmured, drawing his attention back to her face.

  Her eyes were closed, and he knew she still dreamed. But then her eyelids fluttered, and opened, and her gaze locked with his.

  And he became lost in those depths, the color of the Mairi Sea.

  “Who…” Her voice wavered. She sucked in her breath, causing her breasts to rise. “Who are you?”

  “Aric,” he whispered and then captured her mouth with his.

  He kissed her, a long, slow, and sensual kiss. At first Liana was hesitant, but then seemed to become as lost in the sensation as he. He moved his lips over hers, then eased his tongue inside her mouth, reveling in the sweet taste of her. His cock pressed against his breeches, and he lowered himself between her thighs, rubbing his hardness along her naked mound.

  Liana fisted her hands in his tunic, clinging to him while he kissed her, as though she feared drowning. Tentatively her tongue met his, and then her kiss grew bolder as she followed his lead, thrusting that sweet tongue inside his mouth.

  Her hair continued to move, caressing him, and he wondered how it might feel if he were to lay naked with Liana. To have her hair sliding across his bare chest as she climbed on top of him and rode him hard and fast.

  “No,” he muttered against her lips. “Mustn’t…”

  Yet he couldn’t control himself. It was as though he was intoxicated by Liana, drunk beyond reason.

  “You taste of heaven,” he murmured as he eased lower, lapping at the salty skin between her breasts.

  She thrust her hands into his hair, gripping him as he suckled each nipple. “Don’t stop—” she begged when he removed his mouth from her breasts.

  Aric slid his tongue down Liana’s belly toward the soft triangle of sea foam curls. Her woman’s scent made his cock harder yet. “Say my name,” he demanded.

  “Don’t stop…Aric.” Liana buried her hands in his hair and pulled his face down between her thighs. “Do not stop!”

  He smiled as he settled between her legs. “My pleasure, sweet one.” He gripped her thighs with his hands, spreading her wider, and placed his mouth on her clit and sucked.

  “I—oh, my gods,” she cried, and then bucked her hip
s as he licked her excited nub and slid a finger inside her. She was so hot, so wet and so ready for him. He could imagine how good it would feel to be inside her, how it would feel to take her again and again.

  And he cursed fate that it was not to be.

  Aric lapped at her clit while he thrust his finger in and out of her tight core, mimicking the movement he would like to be making with his rock-hard cock. Yes, he had been right. She tasted like the nectar of the gods must taste. And the scent of her arousal was heaven indeed.

  “Come for me again, zjenni,” he murmured against her luscious folds. “Come for me.”

  Liana arched her back, clenched her hands tighter in his hair and clamped her legs hard around him. In the next instant her body corded, and she screamed and thrashed as she came.

  When the last tremor faded from her orgasm, Aric rose so that he was again above her, his hands at either side of her slender body.

  Gods, she was beautiful. He swallowed hard as he watched Liana. His arms trembled from the force he exerted in holding himself back from unlacing his breeches and taking her.

  Liana’s breathing came shallow as she stared up at Aric, her breasts rising and falling. With one hand he eased her clothing down, covering her nakedness.

  Tracing his finger along Liana’s pert nose, Aric murmured, “Sleep, zjenni.”

  “But—” Liana started, a puzzled expression upon her face.

  Aric placed his fingers on her lips and almost groaned at the thought of that generous mouth on his cock, sucking him dry.

  Liana continued to stare up at him, until a long, shuddering sigh took hold of her. A few moments later her eyelids fluttered shut and then Aric eased from between her legs. He covered her with a light blanket from his saddlebags, and then sat beside her, watching and waiting until he was positive she had fallen asleep.

  With a muffled curse, he got to his feet, turned his back on Liana and walked to the edge of the meadow. He unlaced his breaches, releasing his throbbing cock. Tipping his head back, Aric closed his eyes and stroked his cock, imagining that he was plunging into Liana’s hot depths, fucking her mercilessly. Ramming into her hard and fast as she watched him thrust, hearing her scream with pleasure when her orgasm wracked her body.