The Barbarian Prince (3 page)

"Did you ask any of the others?" inquired Morrigan, when the servant had retreated down the table. She tried to keep the hopeful note out of her tone. "Have any of them said anything about not being with a man before? Or maybe having been with a man?"

"We’ve never discussed it." Nadja shook her head in denial. Morrigan forced smile.

"It’s really not that big of a deal. I hear several of the women have had their virginity replaced. So it can’t be that bad, can it? It hurts for a second, but no more than the series of shots we got on the way here."

"I suppose you’re right, though I hadn’t heard that." Nadja seemed to calm down as she nodded her head. It didn’t last long. Suddenly, she tensed, making Morrigan turn her eyes down the raised dining platform. Nadja’s voice left her with a breathy, "Oh!"

Where there had been silence, music again filled the air. Its low rhythm was as sweet as a warm sun and as gentle as the wind’s caressing kisses. One by one, the prospective brides fell silent. The handsome warriors made their way to stand below the tables under the wondrous gazes of the brides. Their eyes scanned and quickly fixed upon the women of their choice. Morrigan heard Nadja pant nervously, but she had no words to offer the woman. Her eyes had found those of haunting blue.

There were fewer men than before. Morrigan guessed it was because they had decided not to choose a mate. She blinked slowly, noticing again the strangely glowing crystal hanging on the man’s neck. A spark of intensity coursed through her as she looked at it. It was electric fire in her veins, molten. Glancing about, she noticed that all the men had a glowing crystal. She had little time to wonder as her blue-eyed captor began to climb the platform steps to stand before her.

Her head rolled back on her shoulders as she tried to breathe. Why was this handsome stranger looking at her like that--like she was a meal about to be devoured? Why was she suddenly enjoying his perusal?

Morrigan swallowed nervously. Her mouth fell open to accommodate her hastened breath. She waited in eager anticipation, mind numbed to everything around her. The man came closer. Her eyes swept over his naked, glistening chest--so smooth, so strong, so tanned. They moved unabashedly over his thick arms encircled tightly by the band of gold--arms that could crush, arms that could touch and caress and take without having to ask permission.

Then he spoke, his accented voice soft and deep. It was like crushed velvet to the skin, as he uttered simply, "I am Ualan. Come."

Morrigan froze, licking her lips nervously. Her head swam with the potent berry wine. She never actually thought one of them would try to pick her for marriage. Men had never shown exceptional interest before, especially these types of men.

Come. The word held such command, such finality. She forgot her newspaper chip assignment, forgot her editor, her self-appointed mission to find a scandal.

Ualan’s hand rose, as if to touch her. She waited, eager to feel him and yet confused by the urge. Her skin pulled in his direction, tingling with a strange current that seemed to flow from his body into hers. The wine swam violently in her veins like a mystical drug. Suddenly, Morrigan wondered if she shouldn’t have tried a bigger sex droid. Maybe the results would have been different and she wouldn’t be so incredibly drawn to this man before her.

Some of the women around her stood and were led off in various directions. Their movements were drifting and slow. Morrigan felt Nadja get up. She glanced at her. The woman’s blue eyes were glassy and dazed as she was led down the platform. All of a sudden, Morrigan realized she was the only woman left sitting with a man before her. The un-chosen ones glared at her in angry jealousy. Her heart leapt in panic, tempted to let one of them take her place.

Just as she was about to suggest he move to another, Ualan’s head tilted in confusion when she did not immediately obey him. Placing his palms flat on the table, he leaned closer and glanced down at his glowing crystal before looking into Morrigan’s stunned eyes.

Morrigan leaned back. Did he actually try to smell her?

"Come," he whispered again. Though the tone was still soft, it was edged with the hard insistence of a command. His eyes turned liquid, as if he might forcibly pull her at any moment. That was when she realized they were being watched. The music had faded. The married couples had stopped laughing, their frowning faces and serious, over-bright eyes focused curiously on her in expectation and incredulity.

All right, she thought. I’ll bite. Take me to round two.

Unable to resist, and unwilling to stay the center of all that attention, Morrigan nodded weakly and stood to follow him. The man’s full lips again tugged with a promising, yet hesitant smile. His eyes calmed in relief and he nodded to her before turning around.

Vaguely, she heard the return of laughter fall over the gathered Qurilixian. She was led down the dining platform steps. The music came back too and couples began to dance around the bonfire pit.

Ualan didn’t touch her, but Morrigan could feel him directing her by an invisible thread. There was magic in the air, binding her to him, seemingly controlling her brain. Yet, she heard music, smelled the wood smoke on the night wind. Her limbs could move where she commanded them, if she commanded them hard enough. The stars glistened, seeming to swim around in her brain, and the moon was so big that it felt as if a spotlight were shining on them from above.

Ualan said nothing as he led her forward over the dirt worn pathways. Pyramid tents passed by her vision in a variety of colors. Her eye strayed along Ualan’s backside, hesitating at the gray fur loincloth hiding his buttocks from view. She swallowed. Her hands began to reach, but were stopped by the silken ties. As she tried again to touch the fur Ualan turned to glance at her, a knowing smile on his firm lips and reflecting from his eyes. Morrigan jolted in embarrassment, shaking out of the spell he cast on her. With a blush, she turned her eyes away.

"Where are we going?" she asked, coming more to her senses.

Ualan stopped and turned around in surprise to hear her speak. Even under the leather mask, she could tell he was handsome. He again glanced down at his crystal, momentary confusion passing over his mesmerizing blue eyes. Moving near a tent, he tilted his head to the side, and said, "Come."

Morrigan hesitated and shook her head, not willing to follow his orders like an insipid female. An unfamiliar sensation pulled inside of her, warring within her limbs. Part of her wanted to obey him, but her logical mind did not let her move forward. This was not part of the plan. This wasn’t part of her assignment. Oh, he was attractive in that accursed loincloth!

Around the campsite she could see the other women ducking into the various tents with hardly a protest. She heard shouts of merriment drifting about on the breeze from the married couples in their own celebration. The fire still burned bright, music still played, encouraging couples to dance in celebration. Morrigan had yet to see the musicians.

The curse of an inquisitive mind overcame her and she had the strangest urge to go exploring. When else would she get such a chance again? Beginning to take a step back from the tent, Morrigan Ualan said in growing distraction, "Go ahead and get started without me. I’ll be there in a minute."

Ualan followed her eyes to the table where the married couples sat enjoying each other’s company. His jaw tensed. His bride was beginning to move away from him.

"Come," he ordered, his tone growing harsh.

"Relax, buddy," Morrigan eased, with no intention of following him ‘back to his room’. That scenario ended the same way on every planet. Give the girl some wine, say ‘me Ualan, you pretty, come’, and wouldn’t you know it, you had yourself the makings of a private orgy and a killer hangover.

No, but thank you just the same, caveman, thought Morrigan with an amused laugh.

"Look, I’m sure you’re a swell guy and all," she began, her tone patronizing as she refused to look back at him. She started to move away.

Morrigan, realizing that she had left her ring on and it was still recording, was about to touch the emerald when she felt a hand on the back of her neck. Closing her eyes at that first warm caress, she nearly collapsed. His callused hand dug into her long hair beneath the veil, pulling her forward. Her knees weakened and she fell into his palm, no longer interested in the campsite when she saw his face hovering close to hers.

It was insanity. He was a stranger. She was in outer space on a primitive planet to do a story. If she was smart she would run away from him. Her legs wouldn’t move. She was stunned by him, captivated. All right, so suddenly she wasn’t very smart.

Ualan held her back from his warrior-toned flesh, but she could feel its warm invitation. She could smell the exotically bestial scent of him--so primal and raw. She licked her lips. Seeing the response in her, Ualan smiled, although he still looked baffled by her hesitance. Or was it something else she saw in his eyes? Fear? No, this God-like creature was too much of a warrior to feel fear. Morrigan could be sure of that. Self-confidence radiated confidently off his very nature.

"Come," he whispered softly to her, pleading, urging her with that one simple word. Leaning forward, he nuzzled his smooth cheek tenderly to hers. The whispering caress sent her heart a-fluttering. With more authority straining his thick accent, he insisted again, "Come."

Morrigan’s hands lifted, this time able to touch his waist. She wanted to go with him. Who would ever find out? What could be more perfect? Tomorrow she would be gone and he would stay here. There would be no complications, no heartbreak. Only, would he expect her to marry him? It wasn’t as if he loved her. Surely, he wouldn’t be too disappointed when he discovered she was gone. He could always find someone else at the next festival.

Ualan’s skin was on fire, blazing with an animalistic heat. His finger rubbed over the pulse at the base of her neck. Morrigan trembled at the warm stroke. She waited for his kiss--sure she would die if she didn’t feel his mouth on hers. It didn’t come.

The tall warrior pulled back, looking deeply into her eyes. Then, glancing around the campsite as if looking to see if anyone noticed them, he drew her forward, pulling gently at her neck to make her walk. Once her legs began to move, following him inside, she could not stop them.

* * * *

"My lord, the brides have all entered the tents."

King Llyr looked up from where he nuzzled his wife’s throat. The royal couple shared a soft smile. His eyes glistened in pleasure. The night was warm, his wife’s body soft and all of their sons had been blessed this glorious night with wives. They couldn’t have been happier.

"Thank you, Mirox," answered Queen Mede for her husband. When they were alone, she whispered in parental concern, "It will be a long night for our sons, but an even longer night for us."

"They are good men, strong and true," said the King. Though he would never admit it, he too was both nervous and excited for his sons. This was a big night for them, perhaps one of the biggest. "I am sure they will all be blessed with good fortune and we, my Queen, will be blessed with many grandsons."

"I hope you’re right, my love, I hope you’re right," murmured the Queen, content to let her husband pull her back into his embrace. There was nothing they could do but wait until morning.

Chapter Three

Morrigan’s fingers itched to pull the mask from Ualan’s features, to better study his face. With a body like his, he could have been scarred ugly and the girls would still have come running. He walked backwards into the tent, taking her with him lest she try to pull away again.

Leaving her standing alone in the middle of the tent, Ualan went to draw the front flap closed. Morrigan shivered. She wasn’t such a fool as to pretend she didn’t know what he wanted from her, looking at her with his come-hither eyes and touching her with his caressing hand. She had never really gotten this far on a date before, and this had to be the shortest date in recorded history.

The tent was very large with fur rugs laid out to cushion the dirt floor. Torches were set near the walls. A large bed, covered in satin and silk, was in the direct middle. Silk hung from the top of the tent, hazy as a dream, to surround the corners of the bed.

Around the edges of the tent, at the three pyramid corners, were three very different arrangements, all blatantly erotic and hard to ignore. In the first corner sat a giant basin full of steaming water, surrounded by silk gauze curtains, and an array of bottles. The tub was large enough to fit both of them easily.

The second corner held a throne-like chair, leather binding straps, iron shackles, and an assortment of whips. Morrigan shivered afresh. She had to turn away quickly, too embarrassed to be caught showing too much interest in the set up.

In the last corner, there was a relatively safe table of food and wine.

"Choose," Ualan breathed near her ear. Goosebumps tickled her flesh. Morrigan jumped, not realizing he had come so close to where she stood. She blinked, her head whipping around to study his face. The mask hid him from view, but it could not hide the lust in his eyes or the command in his words as he waited for her to act. Ualan reeked of potent sexuality.

"Ah, yeah," began Morrigan, biting her lip. Thinking that the last table was the least threatening, she began to move towards the food. A tray of chocolates, with nut toppings, was delicately arranged into a pyramid of temptation. There was fresh fruit, looking like strawberries, but deeper in color and much larger, with a brown cream sauce.

Morrigan ignored the sweets, grabbing a goblet of wine instead. She drank it in two gulps, sputtering it out in a mighty blast when she felt a hand graze lightly over her bare shoulder.

Ualan slowly picked up a chocolate and held it out for her to taste. She tried to take it with her fingers, but he gracefully eased past her hand and stuck it in her mouth. He watched in puzzlement, as she jerked away from him and shuffled nervously around the table out of his reach.