Crystal Moon (22 page)

bury her face in his shoulder. When he held her at arms’ length,

she felt abandoned. Despite the warmth of the water, cold

seeped over her.

How could he want her? She was his enemy’s daughter. If

only she could read his emotions, but aside from a few fleeting

moments of connection, he remained closed to her empathic

talent.

After the warmth of the water, the rock felt cool against

her backside as Kyne seated her at the pool’s edge. Ashamed

of her brazenness, she shut her eyes and wrapped her arms

protectively around her chest.

He placed his fingers beneath her chin and said, “Look at

me, Sianna.”

Reluctantly, afraid of what she might see, she opened her

eyes and met his gaze. She hoped the dim light and moist air hid

the tears trembling in her eyes.

His dark eyes reflected the flickering glow of the lamplight,

but revealed little of his thoughts or feelings.

She started to rise. “I’ll get dressed now.”

His eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Dressed? Whatever for?”

He held her in place with his hands on her thighs. “Have I

frightened you? Don’t be afraid. There will be no pain this

time, I promise. We will take this slow and easy.”

His tender, concerned looked eased the building ache in

her heart.

He slid his hand behind her head and pulled her forward.

“Kiss me.”

Because he asked and did not demand, Sianna’s doubts

and fears melted away. She pressed her trembling mouth to

his.

Molten desire boiled through her—hers or his, she could no

longer discern. With the touch, their emotions melded. In that

moment they became one. She felt the heavy silken weight of

her hair on his one hand, the soft skin of her thigh beneath the

other, along with the smooth, wet flesh of his biceps under her

palms and his hot, slick tongue tangling with hers as they kissed.

Kyne’s emotions and sensations became hers and, by his

body’s ripple of satisfaction, she sensed that hers became his.

Excitement raced through her veins like the bubbles of fermented

wine. This is what she had longed for—the blending of souls,

the becoming as one with another.

And yet they were not one. She still knew nothing of his

thoughts. Only his desires and physical sensations were clear

to her.

For now they were enough. She refused to think beyond

this moment, to the future, the distant morning when he might

again look at her with anger and hatred. She clutched his head

to her breast and gave herself to this instant out of time.

He freed his head from her clasp. With his hands on her

inner thighs, he spread her legs wide apart and moved between

them. Water lapped over the edge of the pool to lave her exposed

flesh. She gasped in startled awe and clenched his hair in her

fists when the liquid fire of his tongue replaced the warm balm

of water. Her back arched and her hips thrust forward to meet

his hot mouth as it closed over her. With every stroke of his

tongue, tension coiled in her belly like a whip ready to crack.

Sweet and salty, her own taste and scent pooled in her

mouth. Like a shower of crystal dust, feelings cascaded over

her skin. Low, animal-like moans echoed in the cavern. She

trembled on the brink, unwilling to pull back, yet afraid to step

off into the unknown. But it wasn’t unknown, she reminded

what little remained of her consciousness. Kyne had shown

her this abyss once before. He would keep her safe. With a

sigh she surrendered to the glory of his assault and let herself

take flight beneath his touch.

Boneless and weak, she sagged forward, resting her chest

on top of his now lifted head.

His low chuckle of masculine satisfaction barely made her

stir. She smiled, wondering who was the conqueror and who

was the conquered.

“You taste like warm honeyed wine, sweet and tangy.”

Heat flushed Sianna’s cheeks at his brash words, but she

felt no true embarrassment. Nothing that passed between them

could be ugly or wrong.

He lifted her upright and tugged her forward into the water

once more. She flowed into his arms like the river flows into

the sea, without hesitation or awareness of where one ends

and the other begins. Her legs wrapped around his hips, and he

slid smoothly into her tight sheath. She pressed her face to his

chest.

“Look at me,” Kyne commanded and nudged her chin up

with his knuckles. “Don’t be shy. Yes,” he said when she gave

him a startled look. “I can sense your emotions. What kind of

unholy bond has been forged between us?” Fear and a fierce

sense of exultation surged from him to her.

Locked in his embrace, his body intimately joined with hers,

she had difficulty forming her words. “I’m unsure. I’ve never

experienced this before.”

His laughter vibrated throughout her body. “That was

obvious this morning, but I wasn’t referring to the joining of our

bodies.”

Stung by his seemingly casual dismissal of their lovemaking,

she stiffened. “Neither was I.”

“I know.” He tightened his hold, allowing her no room to

pull away. “I but teased. How is it I sense your emotions? Feel

what your body feels?” He moved his hips and groaned.

The sensation of him sliding in and out of her drove any

rational thought from her mind. Though her insides quickened

to his motion she went limp in his arms, unable to speak an

answer.

He didn’t ask again. Instead, he backed her against the

smooth stone wall of the pool and began to rock his hips. His

muscles went taut beneath her hands. She knew he held his

need in check while he drove her again to the brink of the

abyss.

This time she didn’t hesitate. She plunged willingly into the

unknown. Moments later he threw back his head with a

triumphant shout and followed her.

Only a damp towel separated his backside from the hard

rock floor of the bathing cavern, but Kyne felt no desire to

move. Like a fragrant silk coverlet, Sianna’s damp hair draped

across his chest. Her head rested on his shoulder, and one leg

nestled deep between his thighs. The brush of her nether hair

teased his hip, while her gentle breath stirred the underside of

his chin. Though well-sated by their hours in the pool, his body

roused to her touch.

Contentment radiated in the air. He could almost reach out

and touch it, but feared to do so. Like a cloud or a dream, if you

gripped it too hard it would dissolve.

And, like a dream, this feeling could not last. Outside the

bathing cavern the world waited.

He chided himself for succumbing to her feminine charms.

With the finish of their sex—he refused to acknowledge

their joining as lovemaking—the strange bond he had felt with

Sianna evaporated like a morning mist. Perhaps what he felt

was nothing more than the sensations of a man who had long

denied himself the pleasure of a woman’s body. He clung to

the thought and ignored the small voice inside that countered

the idea.

Damping down his growing arousal, he moved her aside.

He needed to rise. There were questions to be asked. Decisions

to be made. By remaining here he only delayed the inevitable.

“Kyne?” she questioned sleepily. Flushed from the cavern’s

moist heat and passion well spent, her cheeks and chest were

rosy. Dark, tangled hair tumbled over her shoulders, blocking

his view of dusty pink nipples.

Guilt prodded him as he rose. What excuse did he have for

taking what she offered when he didn’t know who she truly

was?

“Get dressed,” he ordered.

At his harsh tone, color leeched from her face. With

trembling fingers she snatched up her stained and crumpled

tunic. Clutching the cloth to cover her nakedness, she faced

him with a courage he rarely saw. Even warriors often cringed

when he used this tone.

“You regret what we’ve done.” She spoke the words as a

statement, not a question.

“Do you regret your lies?”

Anger sparked in her eyes. Her chin lifted. “Lies! What

lies? I am my father’s daughter?” Her voice gained volume

with each word. One hand fisted at her waist while the other

clutched her tunic to her chest. The limp fabric hid little of her

charms. The curve of her hip peeking from around the faded

material distracted him.

“Does what we shared mean so little to you?”

“What exactly did we share? Sex.”

Her lips tightened. “It was more than mere sex.”

He rejected her claim.”And how would a virgin know the

difference?”

“I may have been a virgin, but I have eyes and ears. In my

years with the Sisters of Light as a healer I saw and heard

much about what goes on between men and women. Deny it

all you like, but we shared more than just our bodies.”

“Seeing and hearing are far different from experiencing.

You read more into our joining than was there.” Kyne dismissed

his memory of the bonding between them as the fantasies of a

man too long without a woman.

“If you truly believe so, you are denser than the rock

surrounding us. I will waste no more breath arguing with you.”

Though he discounted her words and his own nagging

thoughts, at her show of outrage, Kyne’s annoyance faded. He

smothered a smile. When riled, the little shecal would bare its

teeth. “We will speak of this further, but not here. In my chamber.

I will have the truth from you.”

“You wouldn’t know the truth if it bit you in the ass,” she

muttered and turned her back to him. Sianna quickly pulled the

tunic over her head and secured the cord at her throat.

The soiled fabric clung to her damp skin like guilt clung to

her soul. Though she hid behind bold words, her own weakness

and longing had led her down this path. At any time she could

have cried “no,” and he would have stopped. For a moment of

pleasure she had led Kyne to corrupt his honor. For that he

might never forgive her.

“Kyne, I....”

Warda’s low growl interrupted her.

Unmindful of his nakedness, Kyne pushed her behind him

and grabbed up his sword. “Who goes there?”

“It’s just me, Etam, Rul Cathor.” Eyes downcast, the boy

shuffled nervously into the cavern. “The guard sent me to find

you, but...” he stammered, “I didn’t want to disturb you.”

Kyne glared at the poor lad.

Even in the dim lamplight Sianna could see the boy’s fiery

blush. Heat at what he might have seen flooded her own cheeks.

Kyne yanked up his trousers and strapped on his sword

belt as he questioned the boy. “Did the guard send a message?”

“Yes, Milord.” Etam’s tousled head bobbed.

“And?” Kyne prompted with ill-concealed impatience.

“Je’al has returned. The guard says to bring the healer as

well. Je’al is injured.” Having delivered his message, Etam

bowed and quickly scampered away.

Je’al. A chill of foreboding crept through Sianna. He would

have word from her father. Soon Kyne would know the truth

of her identity, but not from her lips. She had to speak first.

Explain her lie. And find a way to continue to conceal Laila.

Thirteen

Kyne crowded close behind Sianna in the small, dim

chamber. Her backside rubbed against his groin as she bent

over the bed and brushed sweat-soaked hair from Je’al’s bruised

and battered face. Her gentle touch contrasted sharply with

the brutality inflicted by her father.

Half-dead, Je’al groaned when she opened his shirt and

ran her hands over his chest. Dried blood covered his white,

still childish flesh. If he died, Kyne knew the fault lay on his

shoulders. He’d sent a lad to do a man’s job. Kyne’s fingers

closed around the hilt of his sword. Along with his other sins,

DiSanti would pay for this.

“How bad is he?” He forced the question past a throat

tight with anger.

Brow furrowed in concentration, Sianna leaned over the

lad. She carefully wiped away the crusted evidence of her

father’s inhumanity. “Bruises. Cuts. He’s been...tortured.” Her

voice broke, then firmed as she continued. “His ribs are broken,

as well as one arm.”

For a moment Kyne waited and watched.

With each pass of her hand, Je’al’s ragged breathing

seemed to grow easier, while hers grew more labored. A tinge

of color touched his chalky cheeks, and the glaze of death faded

from his eyes. Her shoulders slumped. She turned to Kyne.

“Will he live? Can he speak?”

With one hand against Kyne’s chest, she held him away.

The warmth of her fingers burnt through his shirt. “Do not

badger him. He must rest. His information will wait until

morning.”

“Do you fear what he might say? Will he live to see the

dawn?” Anger made him discount the weariness in her tone,

and he jeered at her concern.

“I seek only his welfare. If you do not trust me to care for

him, I will wake Althea.”

He felt the stab of pain that flashed in her eyes as she