A Warrior's Perception (21 page)

“
Let me undress ye. Let me bathe ye body,
”
he pleaded softly as he stood.

Andra was melting and she desperately tried to deny him,
“
Nay.
”
Her voice cracked as she whispered the word of defiance to the one man that she did not want to deny.

He stepped from the tub and Andra caught her breath. She reached for his chest and examined the gashes and summed up the damage. She breathed hard as she counted the stitches across his breast, twenty one. She frowned as she counted twelve more on his lower abdomen. She knew the other slices were superficial and wound heal easily. Her eyes came back to the one across his breast, just above his heart. It was deep and jagged. Her hand lingered over his heart.

“
How did this happen? Who?
”
She asked in a low whisper as she gently inspected the carefully placed stitches.

“
Donna matter, my enemy is defeated and the battle is won,
”
he proudly announced as he caught her hand. Water and bubbles dripped from his naked body making his skin shine in the candlelight.

“
Ye could ha'e been killed!
”
She scolded him with her words and eyes as she sternly pushed his hand from hers and bent to inspect his abdomen.

“
I am alive to fight another day,
”
he boasted as he grinned down at her,
“
Alive to come home and find my woman huggin' another man.
”

“
Men!
”
Andra spat as she turned on her heel and inspected his bloody kilt.

“
Come now, I deserve a kiss for my bravery and victory.
”

Andra turned to face him, her expression was grim and collected,
“
What ye need is ye arse kicked for lettin' ye enemy's sword get so near ye heart. How could ye let ye guard down and just where was ye shield?
”
She pointed her finger at him and continued,
“
Ye could ha'e been defeated and fed to the buzzards for such carelessness. Next time ye go to battle, better prepare yeself and come back without wounds to stitch or I will gi'e ye some myself!
”

His hearty laughter filled the cottage and her confusion delighted him. His woman was scolding him for carelessness in battle. She did not cry nor did she pout and faint at his wounds. She scolded and lectured, something even his men and mentors did not dare to do.

“
Why do ye laugh?
”

“
Why do ye scold me like a bairn caught in mischief?
”
He teased her and his smile spread across his face in tremendous delight.

Andra smiled wickedly and held out his kilt as she eased to the door. Kagan chuckled as she broke into a ran and fled the room with his kilt in her hand. He grabbed for her as she giggled and pulled her skirt from his fingers. She passed Flaron in the small cozy kitchen, flashing her prize. He grinned as she left the cottage and ran to the field to hide behind a tree.

She braced her back against the tree and smiled. What was he doing to her? She felt so alive and happy. She peeped around the tree and her jaw dropped as Kagan walked out of the cottage stark naked. The moonlight bathed his body and he walked toward the tree.

Andra took a deep breath and stared at his gorgeous body. He was glorious and her insides tingled and her heart skipped several beats as he neared her tree. He leaned on the other side and chuckled. She held his kilt out and shook it. He took it and slid around behind her. She turned and giggled with delight at his sight. His brow was raised and his arms were crossed.

“
I like lookin' at ye Kagan McKregan.
”
She blushed as the words fell from her thoughts,
“
Ye look like a statue in the moonlight.
”

“
I am very alive and within ye reach. Just reach out and I am yers.
”
His words were soft and his meaning was less than subtle.

“
Touchin' ye would ruin the fantasy,
”
she whispered,
“
Tis the fantasy that I need, na the pain of ye pleasure.
”

Kagan frowned as she took his kilt from his hands and wrapped it around his waist. He took her hands and rubbed them across his shaft,
“
This is real. My desire for ye is real. I can make ye fantasy come true, if ye will trust me.
”

Andra's hands lingered on his powerful long erect shaft and her body screamed in agony as she let her hands fall. Her smile was gone and she shivered under his stare. She wanted him but he was a man of this world and she wanted his love first.

He will never love the likes of me when he has Llana waiting for him.

“
Perhaps ye lover will quench ye thirst,
”
she hoarsely replied as she moved away and turned to the cottage,
“
She awaits ye return and eagerly has her slender legs spread for ye.
”

Kagan growled and grabbed her elbow, swinging her around to face him,
“
Tis ye legs I want to spread.
”

Andra's face twisted in agony as she wondered how many times he had slept with her,
“
Why would ye want me when ye lover can offer ye unequaled pleasure of the flesh? Why do ye tease me with ye godlike body when I am a frog compared to her beauty? Her red lush lips surely will please ye far better than my thick ones e'er could.
”

“
She is ‘na my lover,
”
Kagan lied and quickly decided to rid himself of the nagging woman who always seemed to show up at the worst of times.

“
Why do ye lie? She is beautiful and intelligent.
”
Andra laughed as her tears threatened to break their threshold,
“
She has explained in detail why ye send for her.
”

Kagan gripped her arms tightly and pushed her against the tree,
“
She means nothin' to me. She pales in comparison to ye.
”

Andra closed her eyes and a tear slipped down her cheek,
“
She is perfect and wishes only to please ye. She donna care for the others she has bedded. She may very well be in love with ye and ye use her as a tool to dispose of ye lust.
”

“
My lust grows e'ery time I am near ye and it is'na her I am tryin' to court, it is ye,
”
Kagan gritted as he bent to capture her lips. His brain could not fathom her denial of him. She was his and she would give in on his terms.

Andra twisted from his lips and whispered,
“
I am ...a plain piece of bread compared to Llana's overflowin' banquet.
”
Andra recited Llana's words exactly and Kagan crushed her to the tree with his body.

“
Kiss me!
”
He ordered as she refused to meet his lips,
“
Or I will take it from ye sweet lips.
”

“
Then take it beast,
”
she cried as he caught her mouth and forced her lips apart.

His tongue ravaged her mouth and her arms flew to his neck in surrender. He forced her dress to her waist and pulled her knee to his waist. His hand slid up the inside of her thigh and he reeled in pleasure as his fingers contacted her golden mound of curls. She bit his lip and sucked hard as he grabbed her other knee and lifted her up against the tree. Her back ached as the bark dug into her flesh, but she moaned in pleasure as Kagan's hands cupped her butt and his shaft slid across her womanhood. She arched and grabbed his shoulders as he sucked on her neck and sent her senses into a whirlwind of chaos. Her sanity and logic begged to surface as she drowned in his scent.

“
I want to be inside of ye. Let me,
”
Kagan whispered as he moved his shaft into perfect position,
“
I am going mad with want of ye. Ye ha'e bewitched me and I must claim ye 'fore anyone else does.
”

Andra stiffened and pushed at his chest. Claim her? Fear and pride raced down her spine.

His strong hands held her in place as his shaft pushed through the first folds of her curly mound. Kagan paused as his head met the hot desire of her loins. He groaned as he looked into her face. Fear. She was afraid and he was not able to stop.

“
Ell'andra. It will only hurt briefly,
”
he whispered as he pushed farther into her overwhelming tightness,
“
I need ...
”

Andra screamed at him,
“
Let me go! Stop hurtin' me!
”
She whimpered and dropped her hands to his arms,
“
Please donna take me like this. Kagan, please donna hurt me like he did.
”

Kagan grimaced and let his forehead fall to her shoulder,
“
Ye donna know what ye ask of me. I am a man and can'na restrain myself much longer.
”

“
Kagan?
”
Andra whispered,
“
Please? I donna want this, na like this. I want to be loved by the man that I share my body with.
”

He knew what she wanted from him in that instance. He could not find the words he had never spoken to anyone other than his mother. No woman had ever wiggled their way into his heart and he would be damned if he said those three words to her. He silently vowed that he would make her love him if it was the last thing he ever did. She would fall hopelessly in love with him and surrender every delicate sweet morsel of her body to him and sing his name with undiluted passion when he took her. He would possess her heart and soul.

Kagan pulled back and let her feet fall to the ground, but he still held her pinned to the tree. He heard her sigh of relief and felt her warm hands nervously trail down his arms. His skin burned and begged for more as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. She stilled as Kagan slammed his fist into the tree and gritted his teeth.

“
Llana will take care of ye desires,
”
she gritted as his hand grazed her chin and his fingers slid across her mouth,
“
She will be more than able to take ye massive shaft inside her body, unlike me.
”