The Spymaster's Protection (32 page)

Beyond the Great Mosque was the largest open air market of
Damascus. Several blocks away stood the Jewish Quarter of the city. They skirted
the market, then the quarter, taking an alternate street to their destination.
Gabrielle was a tiny bit disappointed that she had not gotten a glimpse of the
fabled market that was reputed to sell whatever in the world one could wish
for, though Lucien promised her they would end up going to several of the most
patronized markets before they left. The taverns, bathhouses, and markets were
some of the best places to gather information, he informed her as he tugged on
her hand and brought her up alongside him.

“But today, we are finished traveling. You look exhausted, and
I am hungry, so….” he announced, indicating with a pointed hand that they were
at their journey’s end. “Here is where we will spend the night.”

They had stopped short of entering the Christian Quarter at an
inn which proclaimed itself a haven for good Muslim travelers. It was a
pink-plastered, three-story building with a rooftop patio, wrought iron
windows, and even a couple of rooms with small balconies off of them. Gabrielle
smiled in delight.

They entered through an arched doorway, into a cool tiled
foyer that was blessedly free of a tavern. Gabrielle had no wish to eat while
being ogled by questionable patrons.

The Muslim behind the high counter was dressed in an
immaculately clean white robe and a red turban. He greeted them with warm
hospitality and a friendly smile.

Lucien introduced himself and Gabrielle as husband and wife in
need of a room for one night. Using the names they had adopted for their
disguise, they each signed a ledger, then were greeted by a young boy who had
been called to collect their things and their donkey. A small stable in the
back was used for travelers’ animals, and Lucien gave the boy a few deniers for
his assistance. It was enough to insure the lad’s continued cooperation should
they need it.

Once they’d paid the innkeeper for their room, they were shown
into a communal dining area that was already serving the evening meal.
Food
before rest
, Gabrielle silently mused, amused by Lucien’s priorities.

After the meal, which met all the proper Muslim requirements
without them having to worry about them, they were led up a stone stairway and
shown to a third floor room. Another shorter stairway adjacent to it led to the
roof. As the innkeeper opened the door into the room, Gabrielle was surprised
to find it was one with a balcony.

It was extremely pleasant, with a small sitting room and one
bedroom off of it.

It had to have cost Lucien a fair amount of money. She was
touched by his consideration yet again for her, for she was sure he would not
have sought such expensive accommodations for himself had he been alone.

“Oh, Lucien, this is lovely, but you mustn’t spend your coin
this way just for my convenience,” she exclaimed after the innkeeper departed.

“It is just for one night. It will not break me, and you
deserve to be treated to a few pleasures after spending the last fortnight
sleeping on the hard ground. I daresay you haven’t suffered such difficult
conditions for awhile.”

“There are worst things than sleeping on the ground, and it
was no hardship with you beside me, Lucien.” She gave him a teasing smile. “Or
should I still call you Latif in the privacy of our room?”

“You may call me anything you like in the privacy of this
room,” he teased her as he tugged her into the bedroom. At the large silk
tented bed, he pressed her to sit down on the edge. When she did, he lifted her
feet and swung her legs onto the thick soft mattress. “But first you must get
some rest. Take a nap, for when I return I plan on keeping you awake awhile.”

Gabrielle looked up at him in alarm. “You are going out?”

“I need to contact a couple of men in the Christian Quarter. I
won’t be long.”

“Is it dangerous?”

“No. There is no need to worry. Rest. You look tired.”

He looked so at ease, she relaxed and lay back against the
feather filled pillows. The instant she did, she sighed with pleasure. She
really was tired. A nap would be heaven, especially on this incredibly soft,
clean bed.

“Be careful and return soon,” she murmured as she stared up at
him.

His long head scarf was still tied around his forehead with a
black band, and his black mantle covered his white undertunic and trousers. He
was so handsome, whatever he chose to dress himself in, she thought as she
smiled lovingly up at him.

He leaned over and pressed a lingering kiss to her lips, then
closed her eyes with gentle fingertips. She was drifting off to sleep before he
closed the door to the sitting room, but she held his image in her mind so that
she would dream of him while he was gone.

+++

By the time Lucien returned to their lodgings, the moon had
risen over the city. Inside the third floor room, all was quiet and dark.
Through the partially open balcony doors, occasional sounds from the street
below could be heard, but it was a quiet neighborhood, and nothing more ominous
than the muted voices of people passing by could be discerned.

Lucien quietly eased his way into the bedroom. The room was
unlit, except for a single thick candle burning on a bed stand. The sheer
muslin curtains at the iron latticed window billowed softly with the flower
scented night breeze. The silk tent canopy over the bed remained tied back to
the four tall bedposts.

Lucien stripped off his cloak and headscarf silently as he
stood and watched the sleeping woman before him. She must have awakened while
he was gone and bathed because she was lying beneath a sheer muslin drying
cloth that was draped completely over her, from shoulders to toes. Sunk deep
into the invitingly soft feather-filled mattress, she was lying on her back,
one arm flung out beside her unbound hair, wearing nothing but the beautiful
golden skin she had been born with. Her deep even breathing and innocent
expressionless face told him she was deeply asleep.

The nearly transparent drying cloth had molded itself to her
body’s peaks and hollows as her skin had dried, leaving nothing to the
imagination. Despite his exhaustion, Lucien’s manhood stirred to life and heat
seared through his body as it responded to Gabrielle’s beautifully enchanting
image.

Needing to wash the dust from his body, he strode to the basin
and ewer sitting on a small table near the window. After pouring water into the
porcelain bowl, he scooped it onto his bearded face. Gabrielle had left clean
water for him, and the thoughtful gesture was an unexpected surprise. The fact
that it was still slightly warm told him she had not been asleep long.

He pulled his white cotton tunic over his head, then picked up
the sea sponge floating in the large bowl, squeezed out the excess water and
proceeded to cleanse his torso and arms. Tomorrow, they would go the public
baths on their way to Farouk Mansur’s house, he thought as he dried himself off
and turned back toward the bed.

At the edge, he stopped to simply gaze at Gabrielle for
several long moments. She was so heartbreakingly beautiful! Her mass of dark
gold shot curls were arrayed around her face and body like a rich glossy satin
mantle.

He loved touching it, stroking it, and he loved it when she
wore it loose like this. He loved it even more when she dragged it across his
bare skin, teasing and tantalizing him with its incredible softness and
luxuriant thickness. And my God, she always smelled like lemons or gardenias or
orange blossoms or some exotic flower! To lose himself in her opulent scent was
heaven itself!

He was definitely through with being a monk and a Templar. He
could never bear to let her go. She’d stumbled into his life and changed it
forever. From the moment he’d seen her in the desert, holding that toddler in
her arms, he’d been lost. She had restored hope to his disillusioned soul and
brought laughter back into his life, though now he wondered if he had ever
truly laughed before her. He’d begun by wanting to protect her and champion
her, and ended up deeply and irrevocably in love with her.

They had a difficult road ahead of them; many challenges and
dangers yet to face, but he prayed daily that God would grant him the ability
to overcome all of them to be with her, to marry her, to spend a long and happy
life with her. Who knew? They might even be blessed with children someday. He
had taken precautions, but when he was inside of her, it was nearly impossible
to pull away as quickly as he should. She held him so sweetly, so tightly, so
surely.

As he stared at her and contemplated his deep and tender
feelings for her, he could not resist touching her, leaning down to feather
light kisses across her face and shoulders.

+++

Gabrielle was dreaming about being back at the little warm
underground pool she and Lucien had found inside the cavern. Sitting on the
ledge of the hot spring, she was immersed to her shoulders, enjoying the water
lapping at her breasts, tickling her nipples into taut, hard peaks.

With her head arched backwards, she dreamed Lucien was beside
her, kissing her, his lips moving slowly and sensuously over her shoulders to
the hollow above her collarbone, up along her neck, tracing a slow hungry path
to her cheek, then her lips. They parted for him, and he covered her mouth
completely with his, slipping his tongue between her teeth to taste her.

She felt his large, calloused hand slide from her ankle to her
knee. His long strong fingers caressed the sensitive skin behind her kneecap.
Then they were gliding slowly up her leg, leaving a trail of fire from her knee
to her hip, creeping inside her thigh, moving ever closer to the burning center
of her.

He continued to kiss her as his other hand moved from her
face, over her bare shoulder, down her arm, then up again to cover her breast.
His fingers fit themselves to her, cupping the heavy weight of one breast,
measuring its size and shape. With a gasp, she felt the rough pad of his thumb
rub maddening circles around the ultra-sensitive tip.

She strained upwards, into the hand at her breast and the one
between her legs, driven to near desperation. Coiling her arms around his thick
strong neck, she tried to pull him closer. She wanted his weight on top of her.
She moaned shamelessly, appalled at her wanton behavior, her greedy desires.

Rich deep male laughter answered her needy whimpers. Her eyes
snapped open. Lucien was standing over her. She smiled drowsily at him and
murmured his name.

His eyes were fixed on her lips as they formed his name. His
head immediately dipped again to hers as he growled a passionate response and
kissed her with unleashed abandon. The hand he had cupped around her breast
slid to the flat plane of her smooth belly. His finger traced the indented
shape of her navel, outlining the rim with slow concentration.

The damp muslin sheet was now bunched around her waist. Lucien
yanked it away, then lifted his head to feast visually on all her naked beauty.
This time his mouth dropped to her breast, and one long finger eased into the
dark thatch of curls that covered the luscious folds beneath them. Like always,
she was wet and ready for him.

Lucien groaned aloud.

Gabrielle shuddered and pulled on him more strongly. “Lucien,
please,” she pleaded.

He accommodated her by crawling over her to kneel between her
legs.

But he was still wearing his loose legged trousers, and she
made a tiny sound of frustration as her fingers went to the drawstring at his
waist and tugged, then pulled. Finally, he aided her by untying the knot free.
Immediately, she pushed his pants off his narrow hips.

He laughed again, amused by her eagerness. For a woman who had
never enjoyed coupling with her husband, she showed remarkable enthusiasm. He
was just arrogant enough to believe that it was his patience and skill that had
made her this way. Enjoying the result of his instruction, he shivered as she
reached for his swollen cock and curled her fingers firmly around it, squeezing
and stroking him until he thought he would go mad.

When he could bear no more without spilling his seed in her
delicate hand, he shifted and penetrated her slowly, watching himself as he
entered her. Lifting his head, he saw that she was also looking at the place
where their bodies joined.

Her hair was wildly disarrayed around her, tangled beneath her
back and shoulders. Her eyes were a shimmering dark blue, slumberous and hot.
Her lips were swollen and slightly parted. She licked them as she stared back
at him. The tip of her little pink tongue captured his attention fully.

He leaned over her to kiss her as he buried himself to the
hilt inside of her tight sheath, stretching her, grinding his pelvis against
hers. The friction was like striking lightning. He called out her name in a
husky aroused growl. He could feel her climax beginning, her inner muscles
preparing to tighten around his shaft.

He raised himself up onto his arms and levered himself off of
her, maintaining contact only with his hips. He was so hard, he didn’t think he
could last long, but he wanted to wait for her, so he swiveled and drove up
against her several times.

Rubbing against her ignited a firestorm within her. She cried
out and grabbed his buttocks, digging her nails into his skin like a cat. He
reveled in the momentary sting. It told him of her arousal and her passion for
him.

He began moving faster, slamming into her. The thick feather
mattress absorbed his surging thrusts. He plunged into her with such urgent
need, he prayed he wasn’t hurting her. But he couldn’t stop. He wanted her too
much. He gave no thought to pulling out of her as she shattered beneath him,
crying out, overtaken by her own need.

The muscles of her pelvis tightened around him like a fist,
sucking everything out of him with an explosion of pleasure so intense, he
thought he might actually pass out for a second. The faint light of the candle
dimmed as he threw back his head and growled loudly, his teeth and jaw clenched
as his engorged cock spilled forth its hot rush of seed within her.