Keeper of the Flame (23 page)

“Brother Hubert is the temple historian and a learned scholar,” Lera explained to Hugh.

“If you have time, I would encourage you both to record your observations of the past days as soon as you can,” Brother Hubert suggested.

“We will,” Lera promised. “As soon as we have time.”

“There is the matter of the assassins to deal with first, I’m afraid,” Hugh reminded them.

“Of course.” Brother Hubert’s tone turned serious as he released Lera’s hand. “You must have had a hard time of it these past days. I will leave you to rest, for I’m certain you will be in demand again all too soon.” He moved toward the door to the outer hallway. “Once this door is barred, it is one of the most secure in the temple. I will also post a full priest outside in the hall. Ask him if you need anything. He will send someone to fetch whatever you want.”

“You have thought of everything,” Lera complimented the man as he turned to leave. “Thank you, Brother Hubert. You are a treasure.”

“Anything for you, my dear.” He smiled once more and left. Hugh bolted the door behind him.

And they were alone.

Hugh leaned back against the barred door, gazing at her, his broad shoulders relaxed for the first time in hours. He had to be exhausted after all he’d done for her that day.

“It’s been one hell of a day.”

“I know. Can you believe it?” Lera sank down onto the couch, glad to finally be at ease. It seemed like forever since she’d been able to relax, when it had only been a day or two. So much had happened in that small amount of time.

Hugh walked over to her and sat at her side, putting his arm around her shoulders and moving her close to his side. She snuggled happily, liking his warmth.

“My brothers will not be pleased that so many know our secret,” he said finally, sighing heavily. It seemed she wasn’t the only one nearly overwhelmed by all that had happened that day. “But if it is the Lady’s will that our true nature is known, then who are we to argue?”

“It did seem like She had many purposes in what She’s done here tonight. Sending an emissary has only been done once before and then it was a human—the first High Priest of this temple was said to have walked out of the flame, speaking for the Lady. But that was hundreds of years ago. Since then, She has spoken through the Keeper twice, but not for a very long time. And that she chose such a form…”

“Miss seems to inspire many of us to do extraordinary things. It will be interesting to hear what Gryffid makes of this.”

“That is the second time you’ve said something that made it sound like the wizard was still alive.” She turned in his arms to look at him. “As did the Lady, now that I recall. What’s that all about?”

“Simple.” Hugh shrugged. “Gryffid is indeed alive and well. Living on Gryphon Isle with an enclave of fair folk and many, many gryphons. My youngest brother spent a few years with him, learning. When he returned, he was no longer the youngest brother.”

“How so?” She was puzzled by his words.

“Time passes differently on his island. Or, it did until recently. It is some kind of complex magic he worked to hide his existence for these many years. He slowed time on the island. Then, when he learned what was transpiring in the outside world from some of his folk who had left the island and returned with news, he reversed the spell. He had his people kidnap my brother Wil—which I am still not pleased about, though we got him back mostly unharmed, just older. While Wil was on the island, time had sped up so that he lived there for years while only weeks passed in our land. Wil disappeared as a youngster and returned a young warrior with excellent knowledge and skills taught him by both the wizard and his warriors.”

“Amazing.” She settled back in his arms. “The gryphons will be shocked at the news. They all revere Gryffid’s memory. He is their maker and they praise his name often. To learn that he’s still alive…” She trailed off as she thought through what that might mean to her charges. “There will be an uproar. Some of them will want to make pilgrimages to meet him, I’m sure. This is going to be big.”

“I don’t know what he’s going to make of the emissary,” Hugh said dryly. Up until I met Miss, I’d never seen a gryphon with a cat face. Are there many like her?”

“A few. They live in the palace. I keep a tower set aside especially for their needs. They are not well accepted by most of the other gryphons, so they’ve been living separate and not flying out with the warrior wings, though they have sharp skills. I’ve been working toward getting them better accepted for a while now, but there’s been resistance in some quarters.”

“There won’t be after those birds get a load of the emissary.”

“How can you tell for sure if the dragons in your land are loyal?” The idea that at least one of the gryphons was plotting her downfall made Lera wonder how the dragons of Draconia proved their loyalty.

“Well, fighting dragons partner with knights who have to be of pure heart, or else they don’t get picked. The knight and dragon are joined mind to mind, heart to heart. If they’re lucky, the two knights partnered with two dragons who are mates, find a woman to share their lives. Once the knights have claimed their wife, the dragons are free to be together and everyone settles down to the business of family life. It would be hard to hide evil intent unless every member of the family was in on it and that’s too horrible to even think about.” He pulled her legs across his lap, snuggling closer. “You’re thinking about the gryphon who is working with Sendra, aren’t you?”

“I can’t believe one of them is working against me. I thought I could trust them all. The fact that this must have been going on for a while now, right under my nose, has me worried.”

“Me as well,” Hugh replied, stroking her arm in a soothing way. “Maybe that’s another part of the reason the Lady came to us. That part about the priests partnering with gryphons sounded very ambitious to me. Particularly when I see this temple and how little contact the priests have with gryphons now. It would take an edict by the Lady to get them to work together. It probably won’t be exactly the same as we have in Draconia, but if the priests are all tested by your flame, then they would act as a check on the gryphons they partner, and vice versa, I suppose.”

“You’re right. I wonder how the gryphons will take the news.”

“A thought for another time.” Hugh stood, lifting her with him in his arms. The man was impressively strong. “I think there’s time for a bath and then bed. We will, no doubt, need our rest for what is to come on the morrow.”

“I like the way you think.” She looped her arms around his neck and tucked her head into the hollow of his shoulder as he moved them both into the large bathing chamber.

The sunken tub was already half full of water, much to her surprise.

“I took the liberty of turning on the tap when I checked the room earlier.” Hugh deposited her on the bench seat in front of the vanity mirror off to one side of the marble-tiled tub. She watched him kneel and dip his hand into the water. A moment later, steam rose from the pool. “Lukewarm, hot or very hot?” he asked, looking back over his shoulder at her. He was the most handsome, magical, magnificent man she had ever known.

And he was all hers. The Lady had said so, miraculous as that seemed now.

Lera smiled at him. “Hot sounds good.”

He stood and disrobed slowly, holding her gaze. The way he moved made her mouth water and the intent in his eyes made her want to rub herself all over him. Now.

But he was moving slowly.

His magnificent chest was revealed as his shirt fell to the floor, then his hands went to his waist and the buckle of the belt that held up those black leather pants he wore so well. She wanted to help, but it was clear from the hot look in his eyes that he wanted her to stay put. From the way her knees felt, she wasn’t sure she could stand even if she wanted to. He made her weak, and oh so strong. A paradox she would spend the rest of her life exploring, however long that proved to be.

He dropped his pants a few feet away from the steaming tub and walked toward her. The evidence of his arousal bobbed invitingly and she couldn’t help but stare. He was a well-built man, in every possible way.

When he reached her, he knelt before her on one knee, taking her by surprise. His hands rose to her shoulders, pushing the sleeves of her gown downward. His fingers moved to work on the lacings that held her bodice and lingered to touch and caress her skin as he bared her from the waist up. He paused then, cupping her breasts as he looked into her eyes.

“I have looked all my life for you, never thinking I would be blessed enough to find you.”

His words touched her deeply, bringing tears of joy to her eyes.

“I feel the same, Hugh. I never thought…”

“I know.” One of his hands moved to cup her cheek, stroking gently as he moved closer. He touched his lips to hers and time seemed to stand still and drift away.

While his mouth conquered hers, his hands were busy releasing the ties that held her skirt. She kicked off her shoes and lifted when he coaxed her, so that her skirt and stockings flowed down her legs to bunch near the floor. His hands stroked after the fabric, flaring warmth wherever he touched.

She lifted her feet out of the pile of fabric, completely bare now as Hugh pushed her thighs apart and settled between them. She was completely open to him.

“Touch me, Hugh,” she whispered as his lips released hers.

“Your wish is my command.” He grinned as his hands swept over her tummy and downward to rub over the insides of her thighs.

They reversed course and moved upward until the palms of his warm hands rested just inside the apex of her thighs and his thumbs teased her folds, spreading and dipping within, sliding in the wet heat he found there. She couldn’t help the sounds that came from her throat as his touch inflamed her senses.

“You like that, don’t you?” The dark rumble of his voice fanned the flames. The whisper of his breath over the sensitive skin of her inner thighs made her squirm on the bench as his thumbs parted her outer lips and delved within. “Yes, I can see you do. What about this?” His words trailed off as his tongue reached out to lick over the tiny nub that yearned for his touch.

She moaned and he swirled his talented tongue around her clit, making her cry out until she climaxed hard and fast against his mouth. He rode her through the storm and she couldn’t get enough of the scandalous sight of his head between her thighs.

When he lifted his head, he was smiling. His green eyes sparkled with humor and deviltry.

“I love the way you respond to me, Lera.” He straightened, patting her curls as if in praise before he stood, picking her up easily in his arms once more.

He walked over to the sunken tub and stepped in, then lowered her gently into the heated water. The temperature was perfect against her skin and her body still thrummed with desire for more of his attention.

His cock was hard against her thigh as he sat with her in the tub. She had never appreciated before how large the tiled wonder was—big enough for two and then some. Of course, she’d never had anyone to share her bath with before Hugh.

She felt boneless after the quick orgasm he’d given her. Relaxed but still up for anything. Judging by the hard rod against her thigh, he was too.

Lera squeaked with delighted surprise when he lifted her up and spread her thighs, seating her on his erection with little further ado. She was ready and the heat of the warm water made it easier to take him. Her back was to him and his hands were slick with the water and a small amount of fragrant bath oil he must’ve added to it before he’d brought her into the room. It made her skin slippery as his hands roamed up her torso, cupping her breasts and playing with her nipples.

She pulsed gently on his hard cock as he teased her delicate buds, the warm oil causing a pleasant tingling sensation on her skin. The fragrance of the oil was wild and exotic.

“I love how you feel around me, Lera. How your tight walls caress me inside and squeeze me when you come.” His words were harsh against her ear as his teeth bit down on her earlobe gently, but with enough force to make her squirm in pleasure.

She couldn’t think straight with him inside her and his hands and the oil making her body seek an even higher peak than she’d already achieved. She began to move on him more forcefully, needing the friction, the feel of his hardness slamming home inside her as she neared the precipice.

“I love the little sounds you make and the way your skin feels against me,” he growled as she increased her pace again. She was close now. Close to something earth shattering. Mind numbing. Life changing.

She grabbed onto his arms, needing to anchor herself to him in any way possible. She held his palms to her breasts and he squeezed, obliging her need for more stimulation. His teeth continued to tease her neck, biting more harshly as deep sounds erupted from his throat. She took that to mean he was as close as she was to coming apart at the seams.

One of her hands reached downward to balance on his thigh and her nails dug in, causing him to growl. The sound was like that of the dragon, only sexier, and it drove her over the edge. She screamed his name as she came, writhing on him and rising out of the water as his hips lifted under her. He came with a shout, uniting them in pleasure.

When it was all over, he slid them down in the water until only their heads rested on the tile rim of the tub. His fingers trailed lightly over her skin under the water.