slave again.”
How Marti wanted to believe him. It surprised her to realize that she did. However, how did one guarantee the safety of another if they didn’t know the circumstances of their incarceration? How could he know when she didn’t? “How can you be so certain?” She hated that her voice sounded so weak and unsure.
“Because I know that we are too many and they will fall. They must fall. The righteous shall always prevail.”
“That sounds a bit fanatical.” She frowned. Did he have the same attitude as those who had held her captive for so long?
“No. It is truth. I do not base my opinion on some mythological ideal, but on truth. What they have done to you and to the others is wrong. Like I said, they will fall and we shall prevail.”
“They have a mighty army and a weapon we don’t understand. What if they can take your abilities the way they took mine and we are all left powerless?”
“Our weapons are mighty and they are endless.” He smiled down at her. “There is nothing so mighty as what is right and there is nothing so endless as a defender’s will to do what is right for those he or she has chosen to protect.”
Leaning down, he easily lifted her into his arms. “I’m not fanatical or crazy.” Smiling, he pressed another kiss against the tip of her nose as he carried her inside. “I merely know that it is wrong to enslave people. It is wrong to force them to one’s will. There is no excuse to explain such actions away—not even if they claimed religion as their excuse. I know of no god who would condone the enslavement or the subjugation of others regardless of their sex or beliefs. If there is such a god, he or she does not deserve my faith.”
Marti almost gasped when her eyes adjusted to the low light of the room. A huge bed sat against one wall. A large pool of steaming water sat in the corner, just begging her to strip off her clothes and sink below its glassy surface. The doorway he’d just entered was more than just a door. It was a long, glass wall facing the ocean. The moon shone through the glass, the glimmering water of the ocean below beckoning her just as surely as the large pool in the corner.
“It’s a beautiful room.”
“My father designed it,” Kyl said with a shrug. “I always thought it a bit ostentatious.”
“No.” Marti shook her head, her eyes wide, as she took in the gleaming wood tables and large, overstuffed chairs situated near the fireplace on the far wall. “It’s perfect.”
She could imagine staying in this room with him. She saw them playing a board game on the table, sitting in front of the fire in those huge chairs and…she felt her face heat—she could see them making love on that huge bed.
Marti stood still and watched him approach. She wanted to lead him to the bed, to strip off her clothes and offer herself to him like the slave she had once been, but she couldn’t.
Sighing, she turned away. Angry. Fisting her hands, she squeezed her eyes closed. How could she have been such a self-reliant, well-adjusted woman only five years ago and now was not? Where had her self-confidence gone?
She bit her lip and reached up to toy with the buttons at her neck. Did she have the courage to remove her clothes and ask him to erase the bad memories, or had the people of Katkari succeeded in making her the coward they always claimed that she was?
With a shake of her head, Marti stepped away from Kyl as her trembling fingers fumbled with the buttons of her blouse. She was strong. She was confident. She put this skimpy, sexy outfit on to turn this man on, didn’t she? Well, damn it, she would somehow find the courage to take it off while he watched. After all, that had been her original plan when she’d put the thing on.
Unsure what he would think as he stood behind her, waiting so patiently for her to come to grips with herself, Marti unbuttoned the blouse. With a shrug, it slipped from her shoulders and fell to the floor at her feet.
How Marti wanted to believe him. It surprised her to realize that she did. However, how did one guarantee the safety of another if they didn’t know the circumstances of their incarceration? How could he know when she didn’t? “How can you be so certain?” She hated that her voice sounded so weak and unsure.
“Because I know that we are too many and they will fall. They must fall. The righteous shall always prevail.”
“That sounds a bit fanatical.” She frowned. Did he have the same attitude as those who had held her captive for so long?
“No. It is truth. I do not base my opinion on some mythological ideal, but on truth. What they have done to you and to the others is wrong. Like I said, they will fall and we shall prevail.”
“They have a mighty army and a weapon we don’t understand. What if they can take your abilities the way they took mine and we are all left powerless?”
“Our weapons are mighty and they are endless.” He smiled down at her. “There is nothing so mighty as what is right and there is nothing so endless as a defender’s will to do what is right for those he or she has chosen to protect.”
Leaning down, he easily lifted her into his arms. “I’m not fanatical or crazy.” Smiling, he pressed another kiss against the tip of her nose as he carried her inside. “I merely know that it is wrong to enslave people. It is wrong to force them to one’s will. There is no excuse to explain such actions away—not even if they claimed religion as their excuse. I know of no god who would condone the enslavement or the subjugation of others regardless of their sex or beliefs. If there is such a god, he or she does not deserve my faith.”
Marti almost gasped when her eyes adjusted to the low light of the room. A huge bed sat against one wall. A large pool of steaming water sat in the corner, just begging her to strip off her clothes and sink below its glassy surface. The doorway he’d just entered was more than just a door. It was a long, glass wall facing the ocean. The moon shone through the glass, the glimmering water of the ocean below beckoning her just as surely as the large pool in the corner.
“It’s a beautiful room.”
“My father designed it,” Kyl said with a shrug. “I always thought it a bit ostentatious.”
“No.” Marti shook her head, her eyes wide, as she took in the gleaming wood tables and large, overstuffed chairs situated near the fireplace on the far wall. “It’s perfect.”
She could imagine staying in this room with him. She saw them playing a board game on the table, sitting in front of the fire in those huge chairs and…she felt her face heat—she could see them making love on that huge bed.
Marti stood still and watched him approach. She wanted to lead him to the bed, to strip off her clothes and offer herself to him like the slave she had once been, but she couldn’t.
Sighing, she turned away. Angry. Fisting her hands, she squeezed her eyes closed. How could she have been such a self-reliant, well-adjusted woman only five years ago and now was not? Where had her self-confidence gone?
She bit her lip and reached up to toy with the buttons at her neck. Did she have the courage to remove her clothes and ask him to erase the bad memories, or had the people of Katkari succeeded in making her the coward they always claimed that she was?
With a shake of her head, Marti stepped away from Kyl as her trembling fingers fumbled with the buttons of her blouse. She was strong. She was confident. She put this skimpy, sexy outfit on to turn this man on, didn’t she? Well, damn it, she would somehow find the courage to take it off while he watched. After all, that had been her original plan when she’d put the thing on.
Unsure what he would think as he stood behind her, waiting so patiently for her to come to grips with herself, Marti unbuttoned the blouse. With a shrug, it slipped from her shoulders and fell to the floor at her feet.
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