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  Aric bit back a cry as he came, spilling his seed onto the bark of a tree.

  When he had returned to his senses, he realized that relieving his discomfort had done little to alleviate his need. He now wanted Liana more than ever.

  By the gods, this obsession would be the ruin of him.

  After whistling a command to Baethel, telling the stallion to stand guard over Liana, Aric transformed into his nordai form and took to the skies. The wind felt good in his feathers as he spread his wings and glided over the dark forest. He pumped his wings, harder and harder, trying to work out his frustrations.

  He patrolled the moonlit night, searching for any sign that the Sorcerer’s minions had followed them. Searching for signs of Jalen, Renn, and Toen the Overseer.

  Searching for answers to the odd feeling growing in his heart and gripping his soul.

  But the wind refused to give up the answers he sought.

  * * * * *

  “Zjenni.” A husky whisper called Liana from her sleep.

  “No,” she mumbled, not wanting to wake. Wanting to enjoy the dream of being cradled and loved by the dark stranger. Her tresses moved, caressing her shoulders, trailing across her breasts. And in her dream, her hair slid across the arms of the man holding her, stroking him the way he had stroked her.

  “Wake, zjenni,” a low voice murmured, and then firm lips moved along the curve of her ear to its tip.

  Liana startled. Her tresses went still and her eyelids flew open to find that she was indeed in the arms of her dream man, lying next to him on a blanket. The same man who had kidnapped her, and then touched her as no one had ever before. The dark stranger’s woodsy male scent surrounded her as she blinked up at him, and her foggy senses recalled last night.

  A fleeting smile crossed Aric’s face as her gaze met his.

  Aric. She remembered that he had insisted she call him by name when she had begged him to continue pleasuring her. Liana flushed with embarrassment from the tips of her ears to the bottom of her toes at the memory of her wanton demands of this handsome man, and at the thought of his tongue on her nub and in her quim.

  Raising her chin, Liana attempted to pull away from him. “Release me,” she insisted, and was infuriated at how small and afraid her voice sounded.

  Aric grinned as he gently ran one finger down her nose to the end, a deep chuckle rumbling within his massive chest. “So brave for one so tiny.”

  Glaring, Liana tried to draw back, despite the fact there was nowhere for her to go. “Do not touch me.”

  “You did not mind my touch last night.” A wicked glint appeared in his black eyes, and his voice was deep and sensual. “You seemed to enjoy it, if I recall. In fact, I distinctly remember you demanding my attentions.”

  Cheeks burning at the thought, and the memory of his face between her thighs and his tongue licking her clit, Liana tried to muster her dignity. It was not easy while lying flat on her back, in the arms of the man who had tasted her intimately.

  She struggled for a retort, and instead voiced the fear in her heart. “Do you mean to take me to Zanden?”

  A cloud passed over Aric’s features, a dark thunderstorm of anger. “I saved you from the bastard.” His jaw clenched and his eyes flashed. “The irani had come for you.”

  Liana blinked, unable to keep the surprise from her voice. “Who are you, then? Why have you taken me? Why would you want to help me?”

  The man shifted her from his embrace, clasping his large hands around her slender waist and moving her further away from him on the blanket. “As I told you, I am Aric.” In a fluid motion that reminded her of a graceful forest creature, he rose to his feet and scowled down at her. His features hardened, and no longer did he seem gentle or caring. No, his eyes had turned cold and indifferent, like a bird of prey’s. “It is my sworn duty to keep you from Sorcerer Zanden.”

  “Duty?” Liana cocked an eyebrow as she raised herself to a sitting position on the blanket. “And was it your duty to touch me like you did?”

  She could almost swear she saw his cheeks redden as he replied, “A mistake that must not be repeated.”

  Mistake?

  Before she could respond, Aric turned and strode to a smoldering fire within a circle of rocks in the clearing. Flames popped and crackled, and Liana noticed for the first time that what looked like a giant potato was roasting on a spit over the fire. Her stomach rumbled as she caught a whiff of the delicious smell and her mouth watered.

  Confusion swirled through Liana as she watched Aric crouch down to rustle through a saddlebag. Muscles rippled along his powerful arms as he withdrew several items, unwrapped and laid them onto a piece of cloth. A loaf of bread, a wheel of cheese and dried figs.

  She forced her gaze away from Aric and studied her surroundings. They were in the middle of a dense wood, a part of a forest so thick that the morning sunlight barely made it through the canopy above. No longer did she smell the ocean or the filth of the village. Instead she breathed in the crisp scent of pine, the rich smell of loam and the unmistakable perfume of jensai blooms. In the distance she heard a river’s roar as it rushed through the forest.

  In her almost twenty years, it was the first time she had ever been away from Fiorn, the only home she had ever known.

  A black feather on the blanket caught her attention, and she ran her finger along its soft length as her thoughts turned to Ranelle and Tierra. Liana wondered how her friends fared, and her belly twisted at the thought of either of them being captured by Zanden’s minions.

  Liana toyed with the black feather as she debated on whether or not to try to find her friends with her essence again, but Aric grunted, drawing her gaze back to him. His black hair brushed his shoulders as he slid the roasted vegetable from the spit, onto the cloth beside the other food. His jaws were stubbled, making him seem even more untamed.

  Her heart pounded faster as she thought about his hands upon her flesh. Vividly she recalled his sucking her nipples, and then the feel of his stubble scraping the inside of her thighs as he licked her clit. To her dismay, her nipples hardened and she felt a sharp ache below.

  Aric turned back to her, carrying an assortment of food. Liana dropped the feather and quickly crossed her arms over her breasts, attempting to hide the evidence of her desire for him—but she was too late. She saw his throat work as he swallowed and stared at her arms that now hid her swollen nipples. His gaze dropped to her lap, and she flushed anew as she realized that through the sheer garment he could easily see the triangle of hair between her thighs.

  After what seemed an eternity, Aric seemed to regain his composure. He reached her in a couple of strides. “Eat,” he commanded as he set the food on the blanket beside her.

  Certainly a man accustomed to giving orders, she thought as she glared at him. Well, she was not one to easily take orders, which was something he would soon learn. However, considering she had not eaten for hours, she decided to ignore the flare of irritation and eat her breakfast.

  They ate in silence. The only sounds around them were the rush of a river in the distance, chattering squirrels and raven cries. She was so ravenous that even the dry traveler’s bread tasted delicious. The potato was roasted to perfection, and the cheese and dried figs rounded out the meal nicely.

  He slid a dagger from a sheath at his side and sliced another hunk of cheese from the wheel. On his weapon, a blood red ruby glittered in the sunlight.

  Where had she seen a dagger like the one he had? More than likely she had noticed him wearing the weapon in the tavern, but was too rattled by his watching her to have paid much attention to it.

  She wondered why he had not cooked a fowl instead of a vegetable, or added dried venison to their breakfast as was common in Fiorn. Considering she did not believe in eating any of the gods’ creatures, She was pleased that he had not added such awful fare to their meal.

  While she chewed her food, she tried to concentrate on her meal and avoid his lustful expression as he stared at her b
ody. She felt naked in the sheer garment, and wished she had her cloak, or that she was wearing one of the woolen shifts she preferred to don when not working. She had always hated the transparent fabric of the costume Nira had forced Liana, Ranelle and Tierra to wear whenever they worked at the tavern. And Liana hated the way men had ogled her body as she told fortunes.

  Yet…truth be told, Liana did not really mind Aric’s stare. She realized that she almost welcomed it. Then it occurred to her that the sensation made her feel powerful.

  And she wondered what she might do with that power.

  She raised her eyes from her bread and watched as Aric took a swig of water and then passed the flask to her. As she put her lips to the opening, her gaze locked with his. The cool water slid over her tongue, and she remembered how he had kissed her last night, the feel of his mouth on hers, and the elemental taste of him.

  She wanted to taste him again.

  All of him.

  He clenched his fist and hardened his jaw, looking as though he had been able to read her most intimate thoughts. After she had pushed the cork into the flask and set it on the blanket, he grasped her by her upper arms, bringing her up with him to stand.

  “We shall go to the pool and you shall bathe now,” he said in that commanding tone that irked her to no end.

  Liana scowled up at him. “You have no right to order me to do anything.”

  “You will do as I say.” Before she realized what he was doing, Aric grabbed her around the waist and threw her over one powerful shoulder as though she was nothing more than a child. Over his other shoulder he slung his saddlebag that he had snatched from beside the horse.

  Furious, Liana pounded his back with her fists. “Let me down!”

  Aric chuckled and settled his hand upon her buttocks as he strode through the forest. Squirrels chattered and blackbirds cried out, but the sounds faded as Liana became intensely aware of the heat of his palm radiating through her thin gown.

  Gods, she wanted him to touch her again. She wanted more than his hand caressing her, and his mouth between her thighs.

  She wanted him inside her.

  When they reached a hidden pool, Aric carefully set Liana down on a crumbling set of stone stairs. For a moment she forgot to be angry with him. She drew in a deep breath and gazed about her, enchanted by the magic of the place. It was too beautiful for words.

  Massive oaks and pines stood sentinel around a glistening sapphire pool. Sunshine swirled through the canopy of trees, dust motes dancing within the shafts of light.

  Giant jensai blooms grew in clusters, their emerald vines twisting around the trees. Liana had never seen such enormous jensai—easily as large as a man’s head, when the norm was the size of her palm. Even their crimson color was more vivid and their scent sweeter than normal. It was heady, intoxicating. And like all jensai, certainly too potent and dangerous to touch.

  Liana’s gaze returned to the pool. She longed to slip into the waters and cleanse the smoke from her hair so that she might fully feel all there was to enjoy in this charmed place.

  She looked up at him. “Where are we?”

  He shrugged. “At the Elvin Bewitching Pool.”

  With a gasp, she widened her eyes. “I thought stories of the pool were but Elvin tales.”

  A smile quirked the corner of Aric’s mouth. “It is as real and as magical as the tales say.”

  “I can feel it.” Even though her senses were muted, her tresses vibrated as they soaked in the otherworldly air.

  “Now get into the pool and bathe,” he commanded, folding his arms across his chest.

  That feeling of power rose within her. Despite her own desire to cleanse herself, she raised her chin and shook her head. “I will not.”

  He growled, and in the next moment Liana yelped as he yanked her gown over her head, leaving her naked before him. She started to cover herself, but instead she decided that if he was going to play rough, she would, too.

  She straightened, holding her shoulders back, keeping her hands at her sides. His growl turned into a groan as he stared at her breasts. The heat of his gaze caused her nipples to harden, and it was all she could do to hold back a moan.

  “You will get into the pool and bathe,” he demanded again, but his voice was rough and it wavered. “Before I take you there myself.”

  A delicious feeling of wickedness overcame her and she had to restrain a smile. “I answer to no man.”

  Aric pulled his tunic over his head and then began untying his breeches. “You will answer to me.”

  Chapter Four

  Aric dropped his sheathed dagger onto the shore beside his tunic. He stripped off his boots and breeches, tossing them aside in his haste, but he never took his eyes off Liana.

  He was strong. He was King of the Nordain. He could fight the temptation to bury himself in this beautiful naked woman.

  Liana clenched her small fists and glared at Aric defiantly.

  Yes. He definitely had to teach the maid a lesson.

  She yelped as Aric swept her in his arms, and he tried not to groan from the pleasure of feeling her skin against his.

  “Let me go!” she shouted as he slowly strode down the ancient steps.

  “You will learn to obey me,” he growled, and then tossed her toward the center of the chilly pool.

  Eyes wide with shock, she screamed, and then in the next moment she vanished beneath the crystal water. She resurfaced, sputtering and cursing. “You son of an irani!”

  Aric covered his mouth with one hand, trying to hold back a grin at the sight of her enraged pixie face.

  Splashing, she struggled to stand and then moved closer to him, where the water was to her waist. Her skin pebbled with gooseflesh and her nipples hardened from the cold water. “No, an irani is too good for you.” Her pale tresses hung in wet ropes around her face. She clenched her jaw, her eyes spitting fury. “You are no better than the dung of that hateful beast!”

  Aric couldn’t help a chuckle. Mirth rose within him until he was laughing so hard that his sides ached.

  “You—you—” She marched up to him, her hands clenched.

  The thought of her tiny fists attempting to hurt him, made him laugh all the harder.

  And then she flattened her palms against his chest and shoved with all her might.

  Caught unawares, Aric stumbled back in the water. One foot slipped on a moss-covered stone—he lost his balance and toppled over.

  He flailed, and the next thing he knew he was beneath the icy surface, his nose and mouth filling with water. He sprang to his feet, coughing and choking, ready to teach the Tanzinite maid another lesson—

  Only to see her giggling.

  Her sea green eyes were bright with laughter, making her beyond beautiful. All he wanted to do then was kiss her.

  One kiss.

  “Come here, woman,” he demanded.

  She shook her head, a smile still on her lips. “No.”

  In one long stride he reached her. He grabbed her, pinning her arms to her sides. Her laughter died and her pupils dilated as he pulled her soft form against his muscled body. His cock hardened despite the water’s chill, and he pressed it tight to her belly.

  She gasped and her lips parted, and he couldn’t restrain himself any longer. He swooped down, taking possession of her mouth. Slowly he moved his lips over hers, then slid his tongue into the warm recesses. Liana moaned into his mouth, her tongue gently mating with his, until the kiss became frantic, their mutual need building and building.

  “Sweet zjenni,” he murmured as sensations whirled through him. The taste of her, the feel of her nipples against his chest, her womanly scent mixed with the heady perfume of the jensai…it was too much.

  Just as Aric broke the kiss and grasped Liana around the waist to raise her up, ready to drive his cock into her—he came to his senses.

  He froze, for a moment unable to move, fearing that he would take her and damn the consequences.

  Gods, no.
r />   His people. How could he forget them? How could he betray them?

  “No,” he roared and pushed her away from him, toward the center of the pool. She stumbled back in the water and stared up at him, her features etched with confusion—and hurt.

  In that instant he could see the pain and humiliation in her expression. After being abandoned by her own people, after a lifetime of being scorned and maligned, she thought that he, too, was rejecting her.

  She raised her chin and crossed her arms over her chest, and turned her back on him.

  His heart twisted and he moved so close that there was but a hair’s breadth between them. “Zjenni,” he murmured.

  “Leave.” The word sounded low and sorrowful coming from her lips, and he heard the ache in her voice as she continued, “I will bathe as you wish. Just leave me be.”

  “It is not as you think.” He placed his hands on her small shoulders and his gut clenched when he felt her flinch. “Do you think I do not want you?” He pressed his throbbing erection against her buttocks and groaned. “I want you more than any woman I have ever known.”

  Liana sniffed, and he feared she was crying. “Why then did you push me away?”

  “I—” He paused, unsure of how much to tell her. “It is not to be.”

  “Because of who I am.” Her voice was mocking. “The Tanzinite woman who was discarded by her own kind for her imperfections.”

  “No, zjenni.” He grasped her shoulders and spun her around. Her eyes widened as he held her tight against him. “I watched you in Fiorn for far longer than you know. I have seen all that you are.” His eyes held hers as he tried to make her understand. “You are grace and beauty. You are kind, generous and loving. You are perfect. You are everything I have ever wanted in a mate.”

  His heart ached as he realized the truth in his own words. “But I cannot have you because of who I am.”