Forbidden Worlds - Box Set (51 page)

Epilogue

Tubes of blue paint lay in a semi-circle on the workbench next to Mara’s latest canvas. An arch of ivory sand divided the cerulean sky from the white-capped waves below, and the whole scene looked more like a photograph than a painting. Bathed in crystalline rays of light, a man with eyes the color of the sky stood at the edge of the surf, his gaze focused on a point in the distance where the faint outline of a woman’s face seemed to melt into a bank of cumulous clouds.

Mara surveyed her work and decided the scene needed something that she couldn’t see from the back of her oceanside bungalow. Maybe during her usual afternoon stroll along the marina, she’d take a few photographs of the seascape to inspire her.

She glanced at the time. It had been two blissful hours of quiet this afternoon and now it was time to take a walk. She covered her canvas with an oilcloth and wiped her hands on the damp rag that hung from a hook on her easel.

Before she woke the dark-haired toddler sleeping on the couch in the sunroom, she’d have to wash the smell of oil paint from her hands.

As she slipped past him on the way to the kitchen, her baby stirred, stretching his bare toes and blinking sleepy eyes at her.

“Mama will be right back, Ty,” she whispered and patted his silky hair as she passed.

When she returned, the boy was fully awake. He grinned and reached up chubby arms to encircle her neck as she bent to lift him off the couch. She took in his powdery scent and the comfort of his sleep-warmed skin as she cradled him against her and rubbed his back.

“Hi!” he said over her shoulder.

“Hi, baby! Ready to go for our walk?” Mara asked.

“No, Mama! See, Daddy?”

Mara laughed. “Yes, Ty. Mama painted Daddy into another of my pictures. Let’s go look.”

She stopped mid-turn. Her heart kicked against her ribs at the sight of the tall, broad-shouldered shape in the doorway that led to the back deck. The man wore jeans and a white shirt, and his eyes were the color of the oceans, the color of Ty’s.

Her knees nearly buckled. He hadn’t changed at all from the image in her fantasy, the image she painted as often as she could, whenever she found a way to put him into the seascape fantasy portraits that paid her rent. He was still beautiful and as perfect as he’d been the day he left her on an Aegean beach and returned to his city beneath the sea to face his punishment.

And his son instantly recognized him.

“Hi!” Ty said, waving at their visitor.

“Hello,” Tiran said, a sparkle of moisture in the corners of his eyes. He stepped over the threshold.

Mara walked forward so he could see the face of the beautiful boy he’d given her. “His name is Ty,” she said, and her voice caught. “I was hoping you’d get to meet him one day.”

“I’ve thought of nothing else for two years.”

“How did you find us?”

Tiran smiled at his son and let the boy clutch his large hand in chubby baby fingers. “Poseidon kept tabs on you for me. As soon as I was free to leave the city, I came here. I can never go back.”

“Then you’ll stay here with us, won’t you?” Tears laced Mara’s hopeful laugh.

“I was hoping you would ask.”

“They won’t come to take you away from us, will they?”

“Not this time.” Tiran caressed her face, and she leaned into his touch. “I’m sorry I couldn’t fulfill your fantasies that day, Mara. I hope I’ll have a chance to make it up to you.”

She laughed and threw her free arm around his neck, catching both of her men in a desperate hug. “You gave me everything I ever wanted—much more than any fantasy.”

THE END

A Short Story

By

Bernadette Gardner

This book was previously published

and has not been significantly revised since that printing.

Chapter 1

Moonlight bathed the meadow in quicksilver and stretched long, inky shadows from the surrounding trees. A faint breeze stirred the leaves at her feet. The thin shift she wore swirled against her legs making her feel light and free.

Renna craved that feeling more than anything. That was why she left the Refuge each night and walked alone through the surrounding hillsides. This was the only time she could sing to herself and dance and feel the air on her body and the wind through her hair.

This was the only time she could undo the tight braids that bound her golden tresses and let the silky strands hang down her back. It was the only time she could remove her shoes and walk barefoot in the dew-soft grass without fear of reproach. No one would look sternly at her and lead her off to one of the Refuge’s chapels to pray for forgiveness of her sins.

Renna had a lot to ask forgiveness for. Each day she prayed with the acolytes and petitioners from early morning until late afternoon. Then she helped prepare evening meal for the priestesses who cared for her. She ate with them in silence, said evening prayers, and retired to her room with the stub of a candle to time her evening ablutions.

When the flame died, she went to sleep.

At least, that’s what she pretended to do.

By that time each night, the priestesses and acolytes were all asleep. Their days of chanting, chores, and penance exhausted them so, Renna had little fear anyone would wake and catch her.

Nevertheless, she held her breath every night as she hurried down the stone staircase, through the larder, and out into the herb garden. She always took a breath there because the air was sweet from the flowering plants. Then, free of the confines of the damp granite walls, she ran.

Her long legs carried her faithfully down the sloping pathway to the meadow where, every night, she fell into the grass panting, her shift damp with sweat.

She would lie in the grass and stare up at the moons and regret— but only for a moment— that before dawn, she would have new sins to atone for.

It didn’t stop her, of course. Twenty years at the Refuge, a ward of the Sisters of the Moons, must have earned her some dispensation with the Great Mother. After all, running wasn’t forbidden. Taking one’s shoes off outdoors was not a sin, and reveling in the beauty of the night sky warranted no punishment that she knew of.

So, most of her nocturnal activities were harmless.

But not all.

For five years she’d been running in the meadow at night and she’d never seen him. Never thought to look.

Then, one evening when the moons were full and high in the sky, she’d noticed a shadow at the edge of the clearing beneath the trees.

He moved when she moved. He lurked.

She was frightened at first, but in watching him she discovered a boldness she hadn’t known she possessed.

One evening, by the silvery moonlight, she followed the tall, shadowy figure through the trees and came upon a place she had never known existed.

A pond with a flat surface mirrored the brilliant sky. On the far shore he sat on a rock watching her. That night be became more than a shadow.

Renna saw his masculine form, all sinewy muscle and long legs. His hair was blacker than the sky and his eyes were dark. Around his head he wore a golden circlet that marked him as a disciple of the Sun God.

Renna had been taught by the Sisters that the men who worshiped the Sun God had often warred with the Sisters. She had been told they lived on the far side of the valley and would not dare venture near the Refuge, as an age-old treaty forbade it.

She had wondered, as she stared at him across the calm surface of the pond, if he would do penance for his nightly jaunts, just as she did for hers.

They watched each other across the water until moonset. Then Renna hurried back to her room on legs that were sore from exertion. The Sisters wondered in the morning why she walked so slowly to the breakfast table. They worried that she might be ill.

On the next night when Renna arrived at the pond, he was not perched on his rock. She feared he’d gone already. Perhaps he’d grown bored with their wordless exchange. But when she turned to leave, she found him standing before her.

A strange feeling shot through her at the sight of him up close. His skin glistened with droplets of water and there was humor in his eyes.

He shook his head. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Neither should you.”

He smirked at her quick response. “What brings you out here each night?” he asked.

“At first it was to escape the rules of the Refuge for a while. Now, I come to look for you.”

“It’s the same with me,” he said. “Are you a Priestess?”

“No. A ward. They took me in as a child, and I live their life, but I’m not one of them. Are you a disciple of the Sun God?”

He nodded.

“What is this place? I never knew it was here.”

“This is a sacred pool,” he said. “On certain nights, if you stare into the reflection in the water, you may see visions.”

Renna’s eyes widened. She’d never known someone who saw visions. “What visions have you seen?”

“You.”

Renna gasped. His voice sent shivers down her spine. Beneath her shift, her flesh pebbled at his revelation. She let her cautious glance skim down his body and back up to his handsome face. “You saw me?”

“Many times, even before you found this place. I’ve wondered when I would meet you.”

Renna crossed her arms over her breasts to combat the ache she felt there when he looked at her. “Why would I be in your visions?” She cocked one eyebrow at him and grinned.

“I don’t know. I suppose over time, I will find out.”

Chapter 2

And so it went. Night after night Renna met him by the sacred pond and they talked while the moons raced across the heavens.

She learned his name was Benar, and he had served the Sun God since he was a young boy. She also learned that on the night when the two moons were dark, he would complete his dedication and partake in the Great Rite of the Sun God. Though she begged him, he would tell her nothing about the Rite. He said only that it would change him forever.

Renna shivered at the thought. She liked Benar exactly the way he was. She loved his deep laugh, his long-fingered hands, and the sharp planes of his face. She loved that he told her about myths and legends the Sisters said were forbidden.

Even though it meant more prayer during the day, more penance, Renna continued to meet Benar by the pond and listen while he wove amazing tales of the great people that had once ruled the land. He told her of the small, blue planet their distant ancestors came from, and how lonely they were when they’d first set foot on the barren red soil of their new world.

He knew so much about the world, and Renna knew so little. The Sisters said too much knowledge was dangerous, yet Benar said knowledge was power. She believed Benar. And that meant even more penance.

In a way, it saddened Renna to learn that there was so much she would never see, so many people and places that were forbidden to her because the Sisters remained apart from the world. Benar told her a time would come when she would see more of the world, but she doubted that would ever happen.

When the breeze grew cold, Renna shivered beneath her shift. Her body was taut with the chill and she quaked with the cold as well as the strange sensation that skittered over her whenever Benar was near. When he saw her huddled into herself for warmth, he put an arm around her shoulders and drew her to him.

Her shivering stopped instantly and she went still. Within her, a strange warmth began to grow. She dropped her head onto Benar’s shoulder and closed her eyes, reveling in the masculine, sun-warmed scent of his skin. She heard him sigh and wondered if he felt the same unnamed longing she did whenever they were together.

* * *

A few nights later as Renna ran through the trees to their meeting place, a sharp branch caught her shift and tore it at the shoulder. Fear gripped her for a moment. The priestesses would wonder how she could damage her nightdress while sleeping. What would she tell them?

She would have to mend it before dawn, but that would mean leaving Benar sooner than usual, and she couldn’t bear that. The nights were too short as it was.

Clutching the torn shift to her breast, she made her way to the pond. Benar met her on the shore as usual. Concern darkened his eyes when he saw her torn dress.

“What happened?” His fingers brushed hers where she held the thin fabric.

“A branch tore it,” she said and let the cloth drop slightly. Beneath the material, a shallow scratch marred her skin. When Benar saw the small wound, he drew in a breath, and his brows knit together.

He ran his thumb over the thin red line of broken skin, and the contact sent a jolt of awareness through Renna. The muscles in her legs tightened, and her nipples came erect.

Benar must have sensed the change in her because he stared curiously for a moment. Then he moved his fingers along her skin and pushed the damaged shift off her shoulder.

The torn edges of the dress fell, exposing Renna’s breast. The pink tip was hard. It ached more than usual. When Benar covered it with his palm, Renna gasped. Her knees felt like warm candle wax. They could barely hold her up. Something deep in the core of her body clenched, waiting.

She looked up at Benar and his eyes were heavy. He held his bottom lip between his teeth.

“Renna...” The sound of her name brought her toward him. She stepped forward and allowed her breast to fill his palm. He took the soft mound and caressed it reverently. The feel of his work-roughened skin on the sensitive tip sent shock waves of pleasure and need through Renna’s body.

She arched her back.

Benar reached down and caught the hem of her shift in his free hand. He raised the fabric over her thigh, her hip, and up to her waist. The feel of it sliding over her bare skin drove her mad. She had never experienced anything like this before.

Some spot inside her, just above the cleft of her thighs, began to tingle and throb. She wanted Benar to touch her there, but she didn’t know how to ask him.

She raised her arms above her head, giving him unspoken permission to remove her shift entirely.

He did and she kept her arms stretched above her head while he ran his fingertips down the soft skin from her wrist to her breast.

He dropped the shift and took both of her breasts in his hands. He rubbed her nipples gently and cupped the swelling mounds as Renna dropped her arms and tilted her head back to give thanks to the Great Mother for this moment.

She cried out a second later when Benar brought his lips down on one pink nipple and drew the hard bud into his mouth. The heat of it traveled directly to that spot that needed attention so badly and the force of it made her weak.

Benar caught her as her knees buckled and slid one arm under her legs. She wrapped her trembling arms around his neck as he scooped her up.

“I should send you back to the Refuge,” Benar growled. His voice was husky in her ear as he carried her to the shelter of the nearby trees and placed her on the dewy grass. He knelt beside her and placed one hand on her stomach just below her ribs.

Renna’s muscles tightened and her body convulsed with the pleasure of his touch. Hot moisture pooled between her legs.

“I won’t go!”

Benar smiled at the force of her protest.

“Touch me, Benar, please!”

Obediently, he rose up and threw off his own shirt. His trousers followed and then he took the golden circlet from his head and placed it on the ground beside them.

Renna stared as his body was revealed. Every part of him was beautiful. His chest and the rippling muscles of his abdomen drew the attention of her hands. She trailed her fingers down the dark arrow of hair that pointed to the thick erection between his legs. Her touch there made him moan.

Renna opened her legs and beckoned him to kneel between them.

“Are you sure of this, Renna?” Benar asked, though he complied readily. He lowered himself onto her and she took his weight gratefully.

She arched her back to bring her slick feminine folds closer to his erection. Her urgent desire grew as she ran her hands along the bulging muscles of his chest.

“I know what to expect. I’m not afraid.”

“I am. I don’t want you to be punished. The Sisters will not be pleased to learn you have given your body to a disciple of the Sun God.”

“They will never know.” Renna’s voice rose. She ached so badly for Benar that the thought of stopping now and drawing away from him made her eyes burn with tears.

“They may find out one day...”

“Benar! Please!” Renna raised her hips, impatiently bringing the soft curls between her legs into contact with the tip of Benar’s cock. His eyes widened.

She spread her legs farther and slid her eager hands to his hips. She guided the tip of him to her opening, and waited, writhing eagerly beneath him. “Make me yours, Benar. I need you.”

Benar took her mouth in a kiss that left them both breathless. He swallowed the gasp of surprise that left her lips when he nudged the silky tip of his erection inside her.

“I’ve wanted this since I first saw you,” he whispered. She moaned softly as his hot shaft penetrated her, pushing slowly against her aching inner muscles.

Renna drew in a shuddering breath and held it. Benar sensed her hesitation and stilled. “I don’t want to hurt you, Renna...but—”

“Please, Benar! I want this.” She clenched her eyes shut tight against the sudden stab of pain when Benar thrust deeply into her body and broke the barrier within. As he moved within her in gentle strokes, the discomfort faded rapidly, and Renna found herself arching to take him in farther. She wrapped her legs around him as the sweet sensation of his deeper thrusts drew her muscles taut.

“Oh...oh...” She made small, wondrous sounds each time he pulled out and plunged back in. Her voice rose in pitch as the most usual feeling began to build in the flesh that sheathed him.

The aching emptiness grew more and more intense as Renna moved. All she could think of was pulling him in deeper until he finally touched the spot within her that had been waiting for him for so long.

Benar’s movements quickened and she stared into his eyes. They were so dark, and held limitless love for her. He brought his mouth down over hers and plunged his tongue past her hungry lips in a movement that mimicked their lovemaking.

He whispered to her, “Renna, you’re mine. You’ll always be mine.”

The words brought the ache to a shuddering peak and she cried out for him, begging him to fill the emptiness inside her.

He did just that. The explosion of his climax rocked their sweat-slicked bodies and sent Renna over the edge of reason. Tears spilled down her cheeks as her body took fulfillment from his. She felt the muscles deep within her pull and tighten around the hot shaft inside her.

They came together and then lay spent in the cool grass stroking each other with trembling fingers.

“Renna,” Benar whispered her name reverently. His voice was like a caress. “My beautiful Renna.”

“Benar, I don’t want to go back to the Refuge.” The words slipped out and hung in the still air. She began to shiver. The confession frightened her as much as it exhilarated her. “I want to stay with you.”

He rose on one arm and looked down at her. His eyes roamed her face and when his gaze fell on her lips, he kissed her.

“You must go back for now. There is no other place for you.”

“What about the Temple of the Sun God? You told me there are women there.”

“Yes. We have female disciples, but if you were one of them, we could not meet like this anymore. We could not even speak to each other.”

Renna felt the tears again. This time they weren’t tears of release but frustration. Her life up until this point had been a useless routine. She lived as the Sisters did, but she was not one of them. It was time she found a purpose of her own and ceased spending her days praying for forgiveness when her only sin was wanting a life.

In Benar’s arms she’d found something. If all she ever did from this moment on was be with him, her life would have new meaning.

“You told me, Benar,” she began quietly, “that you saw me in your visions. If that is so, then it must be because I have a purpose in your life.”

“You’re right, my love. Don’t cry.” Benar stroked her hair and gathered her against his chest. Wrapped in his arms, with his strong heart beating next to hers, she felt complete. She no longer needed to search for freedom. “We’ll find a way, Renna, but tonight, you have to go back.”

Benar kissed her again and gently drew her to her feet. He found her discarded shift and examined the tear as he helped her slip the thin dress over her head.

“I will sew it before daybreak,” she told him. “If I don’t have time, I’ll tell the Sisters that it ripped some other way.”

Benar nodded, but his attention was elsewhere. His hands had settled on her hips and he drew her body toward him for another deep kiss.

Later, when Renna finally stumbled through the trees toward the Refuge, her legs were weak. Her lips were swollen from his kisses and her breasts were tender from his touch. She still ached, but in a different way. The memory of Benar inside her brought a hot flush to her cheeks and a shy smile to her lips.

If not for his insistence that she go home, she would have turned and raced back into his arms. She wanted him so fiercely she could hardly breathe.

Somehow she managed to drag her tired body up to her room. There, she changed into a day dress and sat at the small table to work on mending her shift by the first gray light of dawn.