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Authors: Chris Lange
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guess.”
“As long as you travel with me, I think it’s best to keep your impressions to yourself. Some people wouldn’t appreciate them.”
Far from a threat, his statement sounded like a cautious warning. Whatever he dealt in private, not knowing ensured her safety. Still, she wondered why the tall man in the purple boudoir would give the Lord of the Clans such a big purse. What was he paying him for?
He wouldn’t tell her even if she asked. Actually, she couldn’t enquire about it, given that she wasn’t supposed to have witnessed the transaction. If anything, maybe time would enlighten her.
Not that his having accepted money mattered much to her anyway. She might be young, yet she knew the ways of the world, especially in post-war periods. Something else mattered, though. A little thing she’d enquired about earlier, but never got an answer to.
“Is Coreen your mate?”
He swallowed a bite before clearing his throat. Eyebrows arched in a funny way, he expelled a sigh.
“You won’t let go, will you?”
“I’m curious, that’s all.”
“Yes, I noticed. Well, she was my mate for a while, after I rescued her. Then one day, she stopped coming to my pallet on the grounds that I couldn’t give her what she needed. She married a good warrior the following year. Believe it or not, I still don’t know what she was looking for.”
“Love.”
His sharp glance seemed to burn a hole between her eyes. Regretting her spontaneous reply, she stuffed herself with grapes to avoid his uncomfortable scrutiny, yet she heard his comment.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have the luxury, or the time, for love.”
His cold voice suggested he’d never let himself care for anyone. Heart heavy, she stretched out while he finished off his plate. He didn’t want to love a woman. He just needed to mate with one.
A wave of weariness descended on her as she cast a glance at the large pallet, the place where bodies slept, or coupled.
She didn’t have to be told he had every intention to spend the night there, but what about her? Lying by his side would be a mistake. On the other hand, she didn’t fancy sleeping on the cold floor.
“Don’t trouble yourself, Ariana. I have the perfect solution to your inextricable and dramatic dilemma.”
His knack for sarcasm obviously wasn’t buried very deep, just momentarily misplaced. A fleeting smile playing on his lips, he stared at her with an intensity that made her quiver.
“Tell me something first. Are you a virgin?”
His bluntness took the breath out of her. How did he dare ask such an intimate question? Well, he dared because he was her ruler, and she had to answer him. Willing her cheeks to stay pale, she murmured with difficulty.
“No, my lord.”
He pushed his chair back, walked to the cabinet, and retrieved a blanket. When he reached the bed, he rolled the cover into the shape of a long tube, and laid it in the middle of the pallet, like a barrier.
“Here you go. This will be more than adequate to guard the virginity you no longer have.”
She must have blushed because a silver streak flashed in his eyes. Infused with discomfort, she watched him snuff out the candles and hop onto the bed. He wedged his back against the blanket and closed his eyes.
“Come get some rest, Ariana. We have a long day’s ride ahead of us and, please, stop calling me ‘my lord.’”
He really meant to sleep. Unable to tell if she felt relieved or disappointed, she used the light from the fire to approach the pallet. Loosening the folds of the fabric so she could breathe easier, she then lay down on her side of the blanket.
Tiredness pulled her down. So much so that the images behind her eyes seemed to belong to the realm of dreams, but...
She woke up moaning from pleasure. Her back blazed with heat and her breasts swelled with desire. She touched her side, only to find that the towel and the blanket separating her from the Lord of the Clans had disappeared.
Chapter
“As long as you travel with me, I think it’s best to keep your impressions to yourself. Some people wouldn’t appreciate them.”
Far from a threat, his statement sounded like a cautious warning. Whatever he dealt in private, not knowing ensured her safety. Still, she wondered why the tall man in the purple boudoir would give the Lord of the Clans such a big purse. What was he paying him for?
He wouldn’t tell her even if she asked. Actually, she couldn’t enquire about it, given that she wasn’t supposed to have witnessed the transaction. If anything, maybe time would enlighten her.
Not that his having accepted money mattered much to her anyway. She might be young, yet she knew the ways of the world, especially in post-war periods. Something else mattered, though. A little thing she’d enquired about earlier, but never got an answer to.
“Is Coreen your mate?”
He swallowed a bite before clearing his throat. Eyebrows arched in a funny way, he expelled a sigh.
“You won’t let go, will you?”
“I’m curious, that’s all.”
“Yes, I noticed. Well, she was my mate for a while, after I rescued her. Then one day, she stopped coming to my pallet on the grounds that I couldn’t give her what she needed. She married a good warrior the following year. Believe it or not, I still don’t know what she was looking for.”
“Love.”
His sharp glance seemed to burn a hole between her eyes. Regretting her spontaneous reply, she stuffed herself with grapes to avoid his uncomfortable scrutiny, yet she heard his comment.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have the luxury, or the time, for love.”
His cold voice suggested he’d never let himself care for anyone. Heart heavy, she stretched out while he finished off his plate. He didn’t want to love a woman. He just needed to mate with one.
A wave of weariness descended on her as she cast a glance at the large pallet, the place where bodies slept, or coupled.
She didn’t have to be told he had every intention to spend the night there, but what about her? Lying by his side would be a mistake. On the other hand, she didn’t fancy sleeping on the cold floor.
“Don’t trouble yourself, Ariana. I have the perfect solution to your inextricable and dramatic dilemma.”
His knack for sarcasm obviously wasn’t buried very deep, just momentarily misplaced. A fleeting smile playing on his lips, he stared at her with an intensity that made her quiver.
“Tell me something first. Are you a virgin?”
His bluntness took the breath out of her. How did he dare ask such an intimate question? Well, he dared because he was her ruler, and she had to answer him. Willing her cheeks to stay pale, she murmured with difficulty.
“No, my lord.”
He pushed his chair back, walked to the cabinet, and retrieved a blanket. When he reached the bed, he rolled the cover into the shape of a long tube, and laid it in the middle of the pallet, like a barrier.
“Here you go. This will be more than adequate to guard the virginity you no longer have.”
She must have blushed because a silver streak flashed in his eyes. Infused with discomfort, she watched him snuff out the candles and hop onto the bed. He wedged his back against the blanket and closed his eyes.
“Come get some rest, Ariana. We have a long day’s ride ahead of us and, please, stop calling me ‘my lord.’”
He really meant to sleep. Unable to tell if she felt relieved or disappointed, she used the light from the fire to approach the pallet. Loosening the folds of the fabric so she could breathe easier, she then lay down on her side of the blanket.
Tiredness pulled her down. So much so that the images behind her eyes seemed to belong to the realm of dreams, but...
She woke up moaning from pleasure. Her back blazed with heat and her breasts swelled with desire. She touched her side, only to find that the towel and the blanket separating her from the Lord of the Clans had disappeared.
Chapter
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