The Sheik and the Siren (Elemental Series) (8 page)

She started humming
her haunting siren’s song, and though he was still asleep, his body below his waist responded, growing bigger and pushing up against her. She slipped out from under his grasp and positioned herself right above him, brushing her breasts against his chest and leaning over to blow gently into his ear. He swatted the side of his head and almost got her in the process. She giggled again, and started once more to sing. When he stirred restlessly beneath her, she reached down and kissed him on the mouth. His arms came up around her, trapping her once again.

“My siren,” he spoke in his sleep. “I need to take you now.”

“Then go ahead,” she whispered, knowing he thought this all a dream.

But when he reached his mouth upward and closed it over one of her nipples, a
bolt of emotion shot through her.

Then his hands gripped her around the waist and he lifted her slightly before lowering her onto his aroused form.

A wave of desire washed through her, her body coming to life from feeling him inside of her. She moaned in elation as he continued to suckle her at the same time he used his hands to raise and lower her onto his form.

She came to life inside, feeling for the first time the power of the fae. She needed to mate with this man,
as she wanted it more than anything. She moved her hips on her own as he slipped in and out, bringing her closer and closer to her peak. They started the mating dance, and her body vibrated and it tried to take him in on its own. She threw back her head and cried out, doing naught to keep quiet anymore.

Then, with his eyes still closed, he flipped ove
r, taking the role of aggressor. He thrust himself into her over and over again, bringing her to her heightened passion several more times before he spilled his seed and collapsed atop her, breathing heavy to match her breathing as well.

’T
was wonderful, she decided and she needn’t have been afraid of the act of coupling with a man. Now that he’d awakened her sexual desires and the fae part of her had been fulfilled as well as her human needs, she knew she was going to enjoy being with him from now on.

“Ace,” she whispered, trying to move his body off
of her, as he was a tall man, and all those muscles were heavy. She was just a small fae, and not used to being trapped under the body of a warrior. “Ace, get off of me,” she said, squirming, but he had passed out atop her and she had no means of waking a man in a drunken slumber.

So she used her playful fae side to do the only thing she could to make him move. She tickled him under his arm, and with eyes still closed, he started laughing.
She loved the way he sounded when he laughed and made a mental note to try to get him to laugh while he was awake as well.

She tickled him once again, and when he went to touch his armpit, she pushed him slightly and rolled out from under him. Then she jumped from the bed and donned her clothes, wanting to leave before he awoke.

Ace sat upright in the bed, thinking he heard the door shutting in his chamber. He looked around
, but saw nothing. Then he fell back in bed, slapping his arm over his face, remembering the exotic dream he just had about bedding the siren. He expected to find himself hot and bothered, but instead he felt deliciously sated.

He rolled over and pressed his face into the pillow and moaned. Even the damned pillow smelled like her and her essence seemed to linger
all around him. He didn’t know if he’d be able to keep up the charade of not wanting her, but he knew he was going to have to try. If not, he may just push her away, when all he wanted to do was to make his dreams of making love to Ebba a reality.

Chapter 8

Ace had skipped the morning meal, and knew Cook wasn’t going to be happy with him, but he wanted to see Boots and Bear off as the Paradigm once again set sail. He’d instructed them to return again in a day or two since they didn’t want to stay on the island. He hated asking them to keep returning, but he couldn’t leave himself stranded on the island and live so secluded without a means to get back to the mainland. Juturna had also decided to stay for a while and for that he was glad as he thought Ebba really needed to be around another woman.

He now made his way
to the practice yard to work off some frustration before his scheduled meeting with the men.

He had a wea
pon for each of them, selected by him personally that would work the best for their many different needs. He was going to teach each and every one of them how to fight and protect themselves again, even if they didn’t think they could do it.

He’d
found a quintain in the back of the practice yard, and only wished they had horses so they could hit the stuffed leather bag hanging from the crossarm that spun in a full circle after being targeted with a lance. He’d really like to try jousting with his men as this was his specialty. One thing at a time, he told himself. He finished his own workout with his sword, using a bag stuffed with weeds and grass as his target since he had yet to have an opponent.

He’d worked off some frustration after that drea
m he had last night that he wished was a reality instead. He also worked up a sweat, and pulled his tunic off over his head and made his way to an old trough he’d previously filled with seawater. The well was dry, though he’d been told there was a freshwater creek on the other side of the island. He’d have to look for it later, but for now this would have to suffice. He dunked his head into it, and when he emerged and opened his eyes, Ebba was standing in front of him with a large smile spread across her face.

“Ebba, good morning,” he said, running his hands through his hair and squeezing out the excess water.
Droplets ran a path down the front of him and he couldn’t help but notice her eyes fastened to his chest.

“You are looking handsome this morning,” she told him.

“And you are looking very smiley,” he said. “Was there something that changed your dour disposition since yesterday?”

“Nay,” she said, trying to sound nonchalant, but Ace knew she was hiding something. “I guess I just had a good night’s sleep. How about you? Did you sleep well?”

“I don’t know,” he grumbled, walking over and bending down to arrange the array of weapons on the ground that he’d brought from his ship. “I was well in my cups and don’t remember much.”

“What? So . . . you didn’t have any . . . interesting dreams?”

He looked up to her, wondering just what she meant by that. He’d had the best dream of his life, and it involved her, but he couldn’t tell her. After all, he was supposed to be ignoring her so she’d want him.

Then the horrid thought struck him that mayhap she was reading his mind again. He pushed all the thoughts of his erotic dream from his head and tried to think about Cook’s disgusting meal last night instead. It worked. His stomach wrenched and all traces of arousal diminished. He got to his feet and smiled.

“I had horrible dreams last night.”

“You did?”
She seemed surprised, then a scowl crossed her face.

“Aye. I just kept dreaming about Cook’s attempt at what he called food. I don’t think I even slept a wink.”

“Oh, I think you slept a lot sounder than you realize.” She walked over to him and laid her hands atop his chest. “Sometimes our dreams become a reality,” she said in a sultry voice. Then she ran her fingers downward, stopping just above his waist.

He wanted to gather her in his embrace and throw her to the earth and rip her clothing off right now. But Juturna’s words kept echoing in his head. And the pounding
in his brain from too much ale last night didn’t help matters any, either.

“Well, that’s one dream that I don’t ever want to become a reality.” He took her hands
in his and dropped them and walked the other way.

“What do you mean by that, you cur?”
She hurried up right behind him. She sounded angry for some reason. Hell, he’d never be able to figure out women. Or not this one, at least.

“Cook’s gruel,” he said. “I don’t ever want to eat it again.”

“Oh, that’s what you meant.” Relief seemed to wash over her face.

“Why? What did you think I meant? We were talking about my dream weren’t we?”

“I thought so, but I’m not sure any more.”

Then she reached for him again, and her mouth came just up to his lips. He felt the draw – the attraction between them, and was about to bend down and kiss her when Juturna and men walked up behind him.

He pulled away suddenly, leaving her standing there with her eyes closed and her lips pursed. Then he grabbed his tunic and threw it over his head so as not to tempt her more.

“Good morning,” said Juturna, walking up with a hunk of bread in her hand. “Ace, we missed you at the meal, but Cook sent this for you to eat so you wouldn’t starve.”

He took one look at the bread that was flat and looked harder than the hardtack of the ship. He had no doubt he’d break a tooth on it, so waved his hand in dismissal.

“No
, thank you,” he said, “I have a practice to conduct. Ladies, you are welcome to stay and watch, but please don’t get in the way.”

As he walked away he heard Juturna talking to Ebba.

“What’s the matter with him?” Juturna asked. “Didn’t get a good sleep? He seems frustrated.”

“He’s not the only one,” he heard Ebba reply.

And when he turned to look at them, Ebba had grabbed the hard bread and was gnawing at it like a rat trying to chew through the ship’s rigging.

“All right, men,” said Ace, gathering them around him. “Today we’re going to have a practice session with weapons.”

“We can’t fight,” said one man from the back of the group.

“We’re missing fingers and limbs if you haven’t noticed,” grumbled
Sir John.

“That makes no difference. We will work with what you have and relearn how to defend ourselves and our castle.” He looked up to see Cook lurking in the shadows. “Cook, come join us please, and you would be learning to fight today as well.”

“He’s blind,” Willis reminded him. “He can’t fight.”

“He most certainly can. Cook, come forward.”

The man made his way to the front of the crowd, using his stick to tap the earth in his path. Ace picked up a spear from the ground and replaced the man’s stick with the spear.

“Feel the blade on the end so you know how sharp it is and how far from your face as well.”

Cook rubbed his hand done the pole and then picked it up in two hands.

“
Spears can be used as a weapon, or simply to fish or hunt wild boar,” Ace told the men. “When one is a squire they are trained with the spear and told to concentrate on distance and accuracy.”

“Well, how am I going to be able to do that?” asked Cook, “I can’t see.”

“I am going to teach you all today to use the weapons in any way possible. Cook, you may not be able to throw it and aim, but you can use it as a defense to keep attackers far from you. In this manner, you can stop them before they even get to you. All right, let’s get started. Use the spear and try to hit me with it,” Ace instructed.

“What?” he asked.
“Nay, I couldn’t do that.”

“Go ahead.”

The man moved the staff forward but Ace had already moved out of the way and was standing right next to him.

“I’m over here,” he said, making the man jump, and the rest of the men laughed.

“If you cannot depend on your eyes, than you need to use your other senses to tell where your enemy is.”

“What do you mean?” asked Cook.

“Try to stay downwind and you can smell your opponent.”

“Aye, we all smell pretty bad,” came a voice from the back of the crowd and they all laughed again.

“Seriously,” said Ace. “You can also hear them breathing or twigs snapping beneath their feet. If nothing else, you can just feel their presence.”

“I don’t think I can do it.” He tried to hand it back to him.

“Just try it,” Ace said, shoving the weapon back into his hand. “See if you can tell where I am.”

Ace purposely walked upwind of the man and then stepped on a few twigs as he approached him from the back. Cook turned around quickly, almost taking Ace’s eye out with the weapon and the rest of the men jumped out of the way.

“Good work,” he said, grabbing the spear before the man caused any damage. They didn’t need any more casualties on the island. “Now I want you to go practice with the man next to you while I work with Willis, Barnabus and Sir John.”

Cook and the ma
n next to him each grabbed a spear and moved out of the way. The three men Ace had named came forward next. Ace surveyed the situation. Then he bent over and picked up a bow and quiver of arrows.

“Barnabus, have you ever used a bow before?”

“Nay,” he answered. “I’ve always been a swordsman. But missing two fingers on each hand, I can no longer even grip a sword. Besides, I am missing an eye also and it is hard to see my opponent standing right next to me.

“You use a bow and arrows from a distance,” he told him. “One eye doesn’t matter when you are standing far from your target. Now, w
ho here knows how to use a bow and arrows?” asked Ace.

Several of the men nodded and called out.

“You, in the back,” said Ace. “The big man with the scar on your face. What is your name?”

“Sir Elliot,” the man replied.

“Well, Sir Elliot, from now on I am going to call you Moose.” The men laughed at this, but Sir Elliot nodded his head in approval.

“Moose,” he repeated. “Aye, I like that.”

“You and the other archer take some bows and arrows and Barnabus to the other side of the island for target practice. And when you’re finished, Moose, I want to see you wield a sword as well. You’re a big man and look to be very strong, so you would be valuable with more weapons than just one.”

“Aye, Lord Ace,” the man said, standing straighter and with a wide smile.

“I don’t know about this,” said Barnabus, looking at the bow and arrows.

“You
can do it,” Ace urged him. “You may be missing fingers but you can still grip a bow and notch an arrow, now get going.”

“What about me?” asked Wil
lis, hobbling forward on his peg leg.

“Do you know how to use a knife?” he asked.

“Of course I do. Though I wasn’t a soldier, I can still hold my own in a battle. And I’m one of the best hunters here.”

“Good. Then whittle yourself a new leg that is not as clu
msy. Juturna will you see to your wound and help you secure your new leg.”

“Of course, my lord,
I would be happy to help,” Juturna said, coming forward.

“And you two
,” Ace pointed to some of the men, collect some throwing daggers and join Willis in practice. “One doesn’t always have to be head to head with his opponent, but can also get him from a distance, just like with the bow and arrows.”

“And what of me, my lord?” asked
Sir John. “I was once leader of these men and captain of the guard.”

“Then you shall be again. You will lead these men in practice and bring them up to par.”

“But my sword arm is gone, my lord, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“Then use your left arm instead. You may be broken, but you are not dead
, nor are you defeated.”

Ace
chose a sword from the ground, the most ornate and expensive of them all and handed it to the man hilt first.

“That’s a sword meant for a ruler of a castle or perhaps a king. Mayhap you should take it.”

“Nay. I have my sword and I fancy it,” explained Ace. “This would be yours from now on, Captain of the Guard. Now, the rest of you men, grab a sword and follow me. I’m going to train you personally to defend not only yourself but also the ladies of Castle Varusa.”

He looked over to Ebba, and she opened her eyes in surprise.
“I don’t need protecting,” she spat. “I am quite capable of taking care of myself.”

“Fine,” he said with a slight nod. “Then mayhap you can try taking care of others for a change. These men will all need new clothes. You will find fabric and the necessary tools
to construct them in my chamber.”

“I don’t sew!” She seemed appalled at the idea. He really didn’t want to order her to do anything but to warm his bed, but he had to ignore her and act like he didn’t want her, just like the old seer told him.

“Then Juturna would teach you, as I know she has skill with a needle and thread, as I’ve seen her handiwork on many a wounded man.”

He turned and walked away then, ignoring her and putting his attention on his men instead.