The Battle Lord Saga 02 - Her Battle Lord's Desire (14 page)

“But not without massive casualties. Thank heavens we’ll never have to find out if that’s

the truth,” Yulen breathed.

“If you hadn’t agreed to help us, Wallis would still be on starvation watch,” Bertrand also

commented. “We owe you a tremendous debt.”

“You owe me nothing,” Yulen spoke sincerely. “You gave me back my Atrilan. The debt

has been paid. I didn’t agree to help you because of your situation. Let’s make that very clear.

Everything I do for Wallis, I do in Atty’s name.”

Nodding, Fortune turned to return to his horse, with Bertrand right beside him. Looking

down at his wife, Yulen was met by her clear gaze. It was an open, honest look, and one filled

with more than a trace of love.

Not a day would go by when he wouldn’t discover something new or different about her,

he realized. And since her public declaration of her feelings for him last night, Yulen had felt an

ever-increasing sense of pride and affection for his wife. Was it possible to love someone more

every day? Was it possible to care so much for another person that life no longer held any

meaning if she wasn’t there?

He thought he’d learned the truth to such thoughts when he had believed she was dead.

The agony he had endured had been worse than any torture man could devise. It had been a wet

rot that had begun in the heart and spread slowly, oozing over every nerve and muscle in his body,

eating him alive from the inside out, until there was nothing left. He didn’t know how much

longer he would have survived if Atty hadn’t returned to him when she did.

It was a moot issue now, anyway. As long as she loved him, he didn’t care who knew or

what they thought about them. With her in his life,
as
his life, day would always follow night, and nights would always find her in his arms. And they would endure. Together, never apart. Never

again.

Bending over, he kissed her tenderly, then walked her to where her horse was grazing by

the side of the road. As he watched her mount, he remembered he’d promised her he would try to

make every day of their lives together a gift. A gift of love and acceptance, of mutual discovery,

and of shared beauty. All of that would begin again once he learned to trust her enough to wait

for her, to wait until she was ready to accept him back into their bed. When
she
was ready.

Whatever it was that was holding her back, he had to show how much he loved her by

being patient. No more entreaties, he vowed to himself. No more moments of forceful

possession.

“I love you,” he whispered up to her as he handed her the reins.

She gave him a tired but glowing smile. “I believe you,” she whispered back.

It was turning out to be a beautiful fall day.

It was late afternoon when the forces from Alta Novis reached the cut-off from the main

road that would lead them to Wallis. Yulen had the men pull into a closed circle to begin

preparations for the guard of honor. Because of the lack of time given them initially to prepare a

full pageantry, it wouldn’t take long this time for them to get ready. Nevertheless, Yulen knew

that what they would bring into Wallis would more than suffice. A guard of honor was meant to

impress, and he was damned if he wasn’t going to present Atty to her people, and especially to the

Council of Elders, in style. He just hoped that some day he would be able to do it again with all

the bells and whistles attached.

Because of the lateness of the day, he had a small area cordoned off with blankets from

the tent so Atty could be afforded some privacy to change and get ready. As he and Mastin

checked on the details of the caravan, Fortune and Bertrand remained on their horses, watching

the spectacle unfold before them.

At first they had decided to go ahead to Wallis to let them know of their arrival. But the

events of the past few days had changed their minds. Fortune smiled, thinking of the look on the

Council’s faces when they got a look at the woman they fully expected to be dead, if not a shell of

her former self. More than that, he wanted to see his wife’s face when she saw for the first time

in almost half a year the girl she’d fought to save. She had known, Fortune admitted to himself.

Tory had known all along what the power of love could do. He smiled again to himself. It was

going to be a joyous homecoming.

* * * *

Yulen pushed aside the blanket and walked into the tiny interior where Atty was trying to

get the last of the buttons fastened on her gown. It was immediately clear to him that she was not

having much success, and he chuckled. At the sound of his laughter, she whirled around, a lock

of hair escaping the knot at the back of her head to cascade over one bared shoulder. Seeing her

husband in full dress armor, she gasped lightly. “Holy crap!”

Yulen chuckled again and reached out to turn her back around before helping her with the

last of the small pearl buttons. She glanced over her shoulder to see him grinning. “I didn’t know

you had that,” she admitted.

“Then you didn’t snoop very well,” he teased. “It’s kept in the closet of the bedroom.”

“I snooped. I didn’t see it.”

“Do you remember a large leather case on the floor in the very back?”

“Is
that
what was in it?” She wriggled her hips to adjust the flow of the skirt. “Damn

thing was too heavy when I tried to move it. I just didn’t check it out any further.”

Finished, he gave her a playful swat on the rear. “Done. Let me see you.”

Atty turned around as she smoothed out the material, then glanced up to see how he

would react to her first real fancy dress. She wasn’t expecting the look of raw desire that filled

his eyes before spreading over his face.

“Oh, God, Atrilan. I had no idea,” he breathed softly. He stepped forward, leaning over,

and kissed her, holding her face between his hands. Atty gave in to his kiss, not resisting the

urgent hunger behind his mouth. When he finally released her, her eyes were bright, her skin a

fresh pink color.

Yulen let his eyes take in the sight of her. Madigan had been right. The light blue velvet

material had been the perfect choice. The long sleeves were elegant, as was the fitted waistline.

The slightly gathered skirt that flowed down to the ground curved gently over her hips and

buttocks. But it was the neckline that gave him pause. The bust was low, leaving her shoulders

bare, and giving up for view the upper swells of her breasts. What would be presented was a

mature Atrilan, the huntress made a woman, with a woman’s body and a woman’s sexuality.

Unable to help himself, he traced one soft curve in her décolleté. A trail of gooseflesh followed in

the wake of his fingertips.

“Do you like it?” Atty asked, smiling. His touch was like fire on her skin.

“You are...not the girl I married,” he grinned with difficulty. Seeing her like this, with the

secrets of her lusty nature securely concealed yet, at the same time, hinted at by what was allowed

to be revealed, he was unable to stop his own body from reacting to her. Thank goodness the

heavy ceremonial armor would conceal any visible signs of his response to touching her, holding

her, and kissing her, and not being able to do anything other than that. His body was battling

frustration and an erection with neither side giving in.

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” she laughed lightly. She pulled at the knot at the

nape of her neck, releasing her hair. It flowed over her bare shoulders like a small cape, ending

just below her elbows. Hair the color of the sky on a perfect fall day.

Morning glory hair.

“Most definitely a good thing,” he assured her huskily before stepping back. If he didn’t

put at least some distance between them, there was the good chance he would pin her to the

blanket-covered ground and take her before she could put up a fight.

He reached down to pick up the small box sitting on top of her pile of discarded clothing.

Opening it, he lifted out the silver circlet with its sapphire stone. Carefully he placed it on her

forehead, checking to make sure it was securely set in place. “Do me a favor, my love? The

entire time we’re in Wallis, I want you to wear this. Will you do that for me?”

Atty smiled tenderly and impulsively kissed the inside of his wrist that was bared beside

her face. The spear of electricity that race through his veins had a direct effect on his lower

anatomy. Frozen in shock for the moment, Yulen wondered how he was going to walk out of the

curtained hideaway, much less pull himself into a saddle.

“I would be honored to wear it, just as I am proud to be presented as your wife,” she

murmured.

Yulen started, then laughed nervously. “You know, you have a point there. This
is
the

first time I’ve presented you as my wife.” Their presence in Alta Novis had long been such an

accepted thing, that the initial moments of awkwardness at their first formal presentation as

husband and wife to the citizens of the compound had never been an issue. The first time he

remembered waking up and leaning out their bedroom window, and hearing the far sentry call out

“Battle Lady about!” with the same nonchalant tone as when he himself was being announced had

been a moment that had been a surprising yet comfortable adjustment.

Once the people of his compound finally accepted Atty for who she was, and for what she

meant to their Battle Lord, the days that followed had allowed him and Atty the freedom to let

their love grow as they began to discover and learn about each other.

Wallis and its people had never been privy to that. They knew nothing of the Battle Lord

the man or the husband, except for that one day when he’d gone back to their compound, alone

and unarmed, hoping to see the body of his wife because he’d believed she was dead. And before

that...

Yulen shut the past out of his mind. They were being given a fresh start and a new

beginning in the place Atty had known all her life as home. Her people would see her in a new

light, with a future that promised to be even brighter. And he would be there beside her,

presenting her with pride and love and a genuine sense of curiosity. While they were here, he

wanted to learn all he could about this enigmatic, beautiful, incredibly brave woman he’d married,

and what better time would there be to find it out?

“Time to set them on their ears,” he told her in a conspiratorial tone of voice. Atty

giggled nervously. Yulen caught her hand and looked at her in surprise. “I don’t believe it.

You’re nervous?”

She nodded. “I don’t think I’ve had this many flutterings in my stomach since you took

my virginity down in Collaunt’s cell,” she admitted honestly.

Yulen stared at her. Sometimes her bluntness was refreshing, sometimes it was

unexpectedly brutal, but it was always pure Atty. He would have her no other way “Come. We

need to be on our way.”

Taking her hand, he led her out from the temporary shelter and over to where her horse

had been readied. He kept his eyes on her, on her reactions, and on the obvious surprise and

delight that was revealed in her expression as she began to notice the details being erected.

The small bay mare had been brushed and now stood waiting, draped in a full coat made

to resemble the half-blue, half-red banner of Alta Novis. Atty turned her head to see Yulen’s

stallion nearby, also groomed and similarly dressed.

“I’m going to place you side-saddle,” he told her. “Once we enter the gates, just follow

my lead and stay next to me the whole way. Got it?”

“Got it. Anything else I need to know?”

“Yeah. Know I’m getting a big kick out of this,” he grinned. Giving her waist a squeeze,

he lifted her effortlessly up into her saddle.

By the time she’d settled herself to where she wouldn’t fear sliding off, Atty looked up to

see the blankets had been removed from the trees, and the men were beginning to move out. She

froze and turned around as she noticed the transformation that had occurred while she was getting

dressed.

Every man was wearing his battle armor, shined to a mirror polish. Every horse wore an

abbreviated version of Alta Novis’s colors across their flanks. Atty’s eyes went back to her

husband. He did not wear his battle armor, but another set that was emblazoned with scrollwork

and ornamentation across the chest, shoulders, and stomach. It was also almost pure gold. With

his reddish blond coloring and the definitive scar down the right side of his face, he was an

impressive, almost frightening and formidable figure.

Atty moved up next to him as he pulled on his armored gloves. “You’re completely

oblivious, aren’t you?” he smiled as he asked her.

“What am I oblivious to?”

He pulled on the other glove. “The reaction of the men.” Giving her a wink, he grabbed

his reins. “Procession out!” he called.

Atty automatically gave the mare a nudge forward, but from the corner of her eye she

caught sight of the soldiers as they fell into formation beside and behind them. It wasn’t until

Mastin took his place directly behind the Battle Lord, passing through her field of vision, that she

finally got a small hint of what Yulen meant. “Why are they staring at me like that?” she hissed at