with
someone who mattered, engage in other activities that were a little
more energetic and a lot more fun.
So it sucked that for me this tent, this
whole world, was my
torture chamber.
On that thought, the flap to the tent
slapped back. I jumped and my determination to get a few things
straight slipped as I watched the Dax bend low and enter the
tent.
I sucked in breath.
He straightened, walked in two steps and
stopped, his dark eyes on me.
Gone was the paint, he hadn’t painted
himself since that night.
But still, he scared the shit out of me. I
forgot how dark he was, how sinister, how savage and how huge . It
couldn’t be said the tent was enormous but it was the biggest tent
I’d ever seen and there was room to move, room to
breathe.
With him standing in it, his forceful energy
invading, his huge, powerful body on display, his brown skin
gleaming in the candlelight, the tent seemed tiny.
Another direct hit to my determination.
He moved toward the foot of the bed and as
he made it there, I threw up a hand and stated firmly, “Stop.”
He stopped. He hadn’t taken his eyes off me
as he moved and he didn’t then, not even to look at my hand.
“You and me,” I went on, pulling up the
courage to speak to him, the first words I’d said to him since that
awful night, I gestured between his big body and my own, “we need
to talk.”
He stared at me.
I pointed between us again then lifted my
hand and flapped my fingers in lame sign language to indicate
talking, “Talk. You and I are going to talk.”
He looked at my hand then back at me but he
didn’t speak nor did his impassive expression change.
All right, moving on.
I pointed to myself. “My name is Circe.”
Nothing.
I leaned in and repeated slowly, “Cir…
ce.”
More nothing.
I pointed to him, “You are King
Lahn. Dax Lahn.” I
pointed to myself. “I am Queen Circe. Dahksahna Circe.”
His hands went to his hips and I tensed but
they just rested there. He still did not speak nor did he tear his
dark brown eyes from mine.
Hmm. I had to assume he got that and sally
forth.
“We,” I gestured between him and myself
again, “have to get a few things straight.” I had no gesture for
that and knew he would have no way of knowing what that meant. Then
I pointed to the bed. “Here and…” I pointed to the flaps of the
tent, “out there, you and I have to sort our shit out.”
His hands moved at his hips, my eyes dropped
there and I saw he had yanked some hide ties loose.
Oh shit.
My body tensed and my eyes flew to his. “You
and me,” more gesturing, “need to find a way to come together.” I
clasped my hands together in front of me.
His hands moved lower down the sides of his
hips and he pulled more ties so his hides loosened at his
waist.
Shit!
“ Okay,” I said softly, scooting back,
“ this is exactly what we have to get straight.”
Another set of ties loosened and his hides
fell to the ground.
He was already ready to take me.
Shit!
I scooted back to the pillows at the head
of the bed and lifted a hand up toward him. “Before we… carry on,
we have to find a way to talk. Understand each other.”
His eyes dropped to where I was kneeling on
the pillows then he turned, stepped free of his hides and calmly
strode around the bed.
Fuck. Fuck. Shit!
He made it nearly to the corner of the bed
at the head, completely casual about his erect nudity, something
which I was not casual about
because the man was huge and this
meant all of
him and I was not liking
where any of this was going.
I scuttled to the foot of the bed and kept
trying. “Please stop, sit and try to listen to me.” I pointed at
him then cupped my hand at my ear and then pointed at myself.
He changed directions and strode back around
the bed.
I scampered to the middle of it, my arm out,
palm up to him. “Please,” I begged on a whisper.
Mistake. Colossal mistake.
His arm snaked out so fast it was a blur.
His fingers wrapped around my wrist and
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