Dawn Of Desire (15 page)

Oriana grasped his hand, but to follow him now would provide only a respite from danger, not a true escape.

Sunlight flowed through the narrow slits in the thick stone walls and sent honeyed beams dancing over the flying folds of Egan’s cloak as he rushed Oriana down the winding steps. His resonant laughter echoed all around them, and when they burst into his corridor, he scooped her up into his arms.

Oriana raised her hands to encircle his neck and laughed with him. “You needn’t carry me. I’m content to accompany you.”

“Aye, that may be, my lady, but how far?” he teased.

It was Oriana who reached out to unlatch his door, but rather than set her on her feet, Egan kicked the door shut, went straight to his bed, and sat down with her cradled upon his lap. He longed to say that it mattered not why she had made a bargain that gave him exactly what he wanted, but even gazing into her warm golden eyes, he remained suspicious of her motives and terrified that she would change her mind.

“You’re a remarkable woman, and you’ve offered me something of great value, but the cost is extremely high.”

Oriana feared he had not accepted her bargain after all and pulled away, but when Egan refused to slacken his hold, she ceased to struggle. “I’m not selling myself to you.”

“Oh, but you are, and the price is my half brother’s life. I just don’t understand why you’re so desperate to save him.”

Oriana rested her forehead against his for a moment. His hair was still damp and his skin scented with soap. “He’s not the one I hope to save,” she explained softly. “It’s not the
knowing
that has convinced me of this, but simply my heart. Please believe me when I say that one day Kieran will be a staunch ally in a time of great need. That’s why he must survive the challenge.”

Egan was reluctant to concede the point, but while she might deny it, he was struck by the hint of prophecy in her heartfelt plea. At the same time, he wondered if she could see into the longings of his own heart, but as yet unwilling to declare himself, he wisely chose not to inquire.

“So I am simply to trust you and spare Kieran’s life now to safeguard my own in the future?” he asked. Before she could reply, he captured her hand and drew her index finger into his mouth to savor her taste. He had slept with many women, but never truly made love to one. Now he wished to take his time and explore every luscious aspect of Oriana’s fair beauty. Unfortunately circumstances made such a lengthy indulgence impossible.

He placed a tender kiss in her palm, and then murmured, “I wish we were still in the forest.”

Oriana thought him very clever for sidestepping her request but was as reluctant as he to waste time in argument. Instead she wove the fingers of her free hand through his glossy hair and was amazed at what a sensual delight the simple gesture brought. For so long, she had deliberately kept her distance to avoid touching him. Now it was difficult to accept the incredible pleasure their closeness brought.

“I’ll tell you in which forest I live and describe exactly where,” she promised. “You could visit me there.”

“Visit?” Egan’s eyes narrowed slightly, but his tone was softly confident, his words a solemn vow. “You’ll not
leave me, Oriana; not when the challenge is finished, not ever. You’ll live with me here, always.”

He had sworn he wanted a wife rather than a mistress, but she dared not even dream of marriage when she would bring nothing to their union save love. His need for powerful allies would eventually force them apart, and she did not want to leave alone. The longing for a child was too sad a desire to voice, however, and again avoiding conflict she leaned close, framed his face with her hands, and kissed him deeply.

While Egan was certain she had never kissed another man, he was astonished by how quickly she had learned to caress his lips and tongue with her own. Her taste was intoxicating, and her soft sighs so seductive that he fell back on the bed with her still clasped in his arms. Then, without loosening his adoring embrace, he rolled over and propped himself on his elbows to capture her beneath him.

Oriana gazed up at him, her expression filled with wonder. A yearning for more of him ached within her, but she was puzzled by how quickly he had become so dear. Despite their constant discord, had her initial appreciation of his wickedly endearing smile simply deepened into sincere affection? Or was love merely a possibility she had welcomed when she had followed him into the fortress?

Giving up the effort to trace the origin of desire when no other option now remained open, she licked her lips to invite another kiss. “I was raised to live in the Otherworld,” she confessed shyly. “But now, I cannot even imagine a life without you.”

Recalling how swiftly she had bolted from his embrace in the past, Egan was sorely tempted to peel off her sweetly scented garments and take her as his wife before she had time to regret her choice; but she deserved far more in the way of tender consideration. It was that certainty alone that enabled him to exercise restraint.

“I want to make love to you until you can’t tell night
from day,” he confided, “but the dangers of abandoning ourselves in each other are too great. We must wait until after I’ve won the last challenge.”

Oriana traced the firm outline of his jaw with her fingertips. “You’re very strong. Is making love so very strenuous?”

“The way I want to make love with you, it most certainly is.” He nuzzled her throat to muffle the laughter he could not contain.

Amused rather than insulted, Oriana snuggled against him. She could feel the whole hard length of him pressed against her thigh, and knew while he might not be willing, he was most definitely able. She slipped her hand down between them to stroke him gently.

“Oriana,” Egan scolded, more shocked than angered by the boldness of her touch. He quickly captured her hands and held them pinned above her head in a firm grasp. Her long sleeves lay bunched against her arms, and holding her with one hand, he leaned down to lick the smooth, pale skin of her inner elbow.

“You’ve turned into a demanding vixen, and while I welcome the change, for the time being, you mustn’t tease me.”

Oriana rolled her hips to caress him with her whole body. “I’m not teasing.”

Egan shifted his weight in an unsuccessful attempt to subdue her amorous antics, but she had him throbbing with desire. “You’ve no idea what you’re doing to me,” he moaned.

“I want only to love you,” she insisted in an inviting whisper, “not exhaust you and endanger your life.”

That she would ever wish, or need, to seduce him had seemed an impossibility, but Oriana parted her lips and hungrily welcomed so many deep kisses she swiftly lost count. Egan kept a tight hold on her wrists, but she thought he was weakening until he paused to allow them both a chance to breathe.

Already lost in her, Egan shook his head to clear it. He
stubbornly refused to admit defeat. Instead, he released her and hurriedly got to his feet. “If I don’t live through the challenges with you in my bed, the fault will be entirely yours. But I won today and provided a fine boar for tonight’s feast.”

His passionate kisses had left her slightly dazed, and unable to sit up, she stretched languidly and propped her head on her elbow. “When did you find the time to hunt?”

Her windblown hair tumbling over her shoulders and her kiss-swollen lips were almost more than Egan could bear to admire from afar. Turning away, he removed his cloak and folded it atop one of the large wooden chests lining the walls.

“Kieran wished to fight with spears, but I’ve been in real battle and would have beaten him so easily that I convinced him to hunt boar instead. I made the first kill, so I won the day.”

“Egan, look at me,” Oriana ordered with the snap of her old fire.

Recognizing that imperious tone all too well, Egan turned on his heel, but cautiously kept his distance. “Aye, my lady?”

“On the morrow, do you choose the trial?”

It was still too difficult to gaze her way and think, so he began to pace. “In the time I spent searching the fortress for you this afternoon, I decided to continue the effort to best him, as I did today, in ways that do not require us to turn weapons against each other. Mount Royal is a difficult climb, so I may issue that challenge.”

Greatly intrigued, Oriana felt sufficiently restored to sit up and kneel upon the bed with her hands resting lightly on her knees. “Can you climb it?”

“I have, and once while quite drunk.” He chuckled at the memory, but not at how foolish the adventure had been. “I’ll be sober tomorrow.” He paused so she would fully appreciate his words. “And let’s hope you’ll not leave me completely exhausted either.”

Oriana watched his smile glide into a sly smirk and hoped he meant what she thought he did. “You’ll not insist upon waiting until the end of the challenge? You want to make love to me tonight?”

Egan rested his hands on his hips. “I long to make love to you this very instant, but then neither of us would care to attend tonight’s feast, and I absolutely refuse to provide Kieran with another opportunity to plot against me.”

His intimidating size and strength merely tantalized her now, but her shoulders slumped at the thought of another meal with a lively horde of his relatives. “You are right, of course, but why must I go? I thought only men were invited to feasts.”

“On a ceremonial occasion that’s true, but this is merely a meal with a great many guests, and I want you there with me.” Egan’s expression was as deeply determined as his words. “You must understand that your company, whenever I desire it, is a crucial part of our bargain.”

What Oriana understood was that she had offered the bargain without any conditions, but obviously he had at least this one. Knowing him, she expected he would make up whatever stipulation chanced to please him. She let her tangled curls fall over her eyes to hide her dismay but could not stifle an anxious sigh.

“It will take me a while to comb out my hair and dress, but my appearance is scarcely the problem. What worries me is that I can’t recall the names of your kin, or how closely they are related.”

Readily appreciating just how little she would enjoy the evening, Egan came near to take her hands and lifted her off the bed. “No one will expect you to remember all the names. I’ll simply introduce everyone again and mention whether they are cousin or uncle. If anything, people will regard me as forgetful rather than you.”

Doubting they would be so charitable, Oriana looked down at her feet, caught a glimpse of the toes of his
mother’s shoes, and feared she might miss the one person it was imperative to remember. If Adelaine had been murdered to create an opening for Ula to become Cadell’s wife, then surely many in Ula’s family knew of the deed, and they would undoubtedly protect the dark secret with their lives.

This was still not the time to burden Egan with her suspicions, and she chose to confide another logical, if entirely imaginary, reason for any nervousness she would surely display. “I’m so fearful that I’ll say or do the wrong thing, and then you’re the one who’ll be punished.”

Egan studied her expression a long moment, but while convinced she was being forthright, he had to scoff. “Yet with little hesitation, you demanded that I slay Duncan,” he chided. “Where was such charming concern for me then, my dearest?”

Deeply ashamed to have once valued her own life more highly than his, Oriana remembered their original bargain all too well. Sincerely contrite, she spoke in an anguished whisper. “I am so very sorry. It was unforgivable of me.”

Touched, Egan raised her chin with his fingertips. “Nonetheless, I will forgive you, if you’ll forgive me for allowing Duncan to limp away with his life.” He kissed her gently, then ran his hands up and down her arms in a warmly encouraging caress.

Oriana enjoyed his embrace, but she suddenly felt dizzy, as if a jealous god had again grabbed for her. She had to slip her arms around his waist and cling to him for support. Damn the Otherworld! She would not leave Egan until she absolutely had to go.

Alarmed by the strength of her embrace, he smoothed her hair away from her face. “Oriana, are you ill?”

“Merely light-headed,” she lied. “Perhaps because I can’t seem to eat here.”

Egan immediately blamed himself for not taking better care of her and guided her back to his bed. “Sit down.
I’ll fetch your brush and untangle your curls. Then while you dress, I’ll bring some bread and cheese to take the edge off your hunger. At tonight’s feast, I’ll be awarded the champion’s portion of the boar, and you’ll share it with me.”

“Aye, my lord, as you wish,” Oriana promised, but when he leaned down to kiss her, she lost what little interest she’d had in food.

Once dressed and fortified with bread and cheese, Oriana took Egan’s arm as they left his chamber. “This morning, Albyn guessed who I really am. Did he tell you?”

“No, he lacked the time.”

“That’s our problem too, isn’t it?” Oriana teased.

Egan patted her hand. “We’ll eat quickly and see that the wine is poured freely. With the promise of another challenge, everyone will be as eager as we are to get to bed early.”

Oriana regarded him with mock dismay. “Oh, I doubt that, my lord.”

That she could now be so hungry for his loving filled him with wonder; he began to worry that she might expect more than he could possibly provide. He had not once worried about disappointing any other woman, but none had been as dear to him as Oriana. Believing such a delicate subject was best left until they could investigate it fully, he gave her an enthusiastic kiss and again led the way down the stairs.

When they reached the great hall, Oriana coiled her arm tightly around Egan’s to draw upon his strength. She focused her attention upon remembering names, but at the same time, she took care not to look at anyone directly and arouse suspicion about her unusual eyes.

She was still horribly uncomfortable to be the object of so much curiosity, but then she had never anticipated spending so many hours surrounded by mortals who despised her. Sustained by Egan’s presence, she was able to
affect a confidence she did not feel, but she was surprised to receive many welcoming smiles among the puzzled frowns.