Three Worlds 01 - Seduce Me In Dreams (23 page)

The widening of her eyes as she touched him tattled on her. She hadn‟t done so even once before. He wanted to speak, say something to ease her into the familiarity she was achieving wickedly quick, but he could barely keep his legs under him, never mind form coherent sentences. She was so curious and thorough, and she was going to kill him, he thought madly.

Either that or he was going to come like a rocket right then and there.

Since this wasn‟t at all how he wanted it to go, he fell back on training and knew that it was time to regroup.

He reached out to grasp her by her upper arms as tightly as he dared and dragged her the full distance of his reach away from his maddened body. Surprise lit her eyes, and she had the temerity to pout, damn her, as she was forced to relinquish her task of intimate exploration. It took a very long minute, but he finally was able to find his speech.

“This is not …” He had to stop and clear the growling pitch from his voice so she wouldn‟t mistake arousal for displeasure. “I need to take you somewhere more private than this,”

he explained roughly. “I‟m not about to make love to you in the middle of the most public hall in the temple, Ravenna.”

There it was, he thought with ridiculously instant delight. That hot little blush that was everything innocent about her and everything passionate as well. He was dying to explore these contradictions, and she would never know what this walk toward privacy was going to cost him in sheer levels of torture.

Ravenna couldn‟t understand what had come over her. It was, she sighed to herself, what always came over her when Bronse came into her sight. Responsibility and propriety simply melted away, and the world would narrow only to the two of them. Privacy would become complete, even if it was only in their two minds. At least it felt that way to her. She decided it must be true for him as well.

“Of course,” she murmured, honestly grateful that at least one of them was showing a sense of self-preservation. Living in the temple made it nearly impossible to have any life one could call truly private, but she was used to that. And she suspected that a military lifestyle would have made Bronse just as easily able to dismiss exterior disturbances. However, maintaining as much of an illusion of privacy as possible was essential and, of course, wise.

Bronse reached for her hand and grabbed it tightly by lacing his fingers with hers and pressing their palms snugly together. Then he led her back toward the guest quarters where he and his crew had been situated. She had known all along which room was his, had honestly made a great deal of progress toward it, but as she had reached the crossroads she had panicked.

Now, as he led her inside and released her hand in order to draw the door closed, she tried to remember why she had hesitated. Hearing the slide of the privacy bolt clicking soundly into place, she felt her heart jump with a thrill. How long, she thought in a rush, had she been longing for this moment of being alone with him? It felt like a lifetime, yet it had been no time at all in reality—and out of reality. She suspected that they had been in contact through dreams even longer than she had been recalling it, building a bridge between them. But how and when it all started had not mattered and would never matter. She pressed a hand to her breast, trying to keep her savagely throbbing heart from bursting out of her. She had known him forever. She knew that now. And, one day, so would he. He sensed it deeply, reacted to it strongly, but he hadn‟t accepted the real truth of it because he was rooted in the logical, not the spiritual.

But he was learning.

Feeling more secure in their privacy, Bronse turned from the door and faced her with a ready smile, unaware of the wolfish tilt that the grin acquired when he coupled it with a long, thorough perusal of her. She was flushed and breathless, pressing an elegant hand to the rapid rise and fall of her chest. He smiled a little more broadly, unable to help himself even though it was caddish of him to be tickled by her heightened nerves. This was an extraordinary adventure for her, he realized. Something she had never done before, had never chosen to indulge in for whatever reasons, though he suspected that the most likely of causes would be too much responsibility, not enough time to explore her own needs, and a highly limited selection of men from which to choose. A brother, a cousin, and a youth were her most intimate male acquaintances. There were the servants, but someone who couldn‟t meet her on an intellectual level would never suit a woman like Ravenna.

It had occurred to him that possibly he was a man of infinitely lucky convenience, but that didn‟t suit this woman, either. He pushed away from the door and stepped across to her, his eyes trained steadily on her ravishing face, all of its sweeps and hollows coming together to make her so exquisite. Some might find her coloring simplistic, but he saw richness in her hair and gorgeous glitter in her eyes that could never be plain, or ever be described as merely brown.

When he neared her, he reached to stroke her face, along the line of her jaw from her chin to the soft, sensitive spot just before her ear. The way she was looking at him, her eyes so wide and her breath so wild, told him she could plainly see the hunger in his expression. Afraid she was going to hyperventilate, he smiled again and leaned forward to place a simple, gentle kiss on her burning cheek.

“Shh,” he soothed her softly. “Listen to me, Ravenna,” he murmured as he pushed her hair back to expose her ear. “I want you to listen and know something that‟s very important to me.”

He had her full attention, her gears shifting from a frightened and overexcited little bird to an attentive mother hen, so that her breathing slowed down as he pulled away to meet her eyes.

“Most of my crew came from very difficult backgrounds,” he said quietly, touching her cheek briefly before letting his hand fall away to catch hers in his grasp. “No details, but needless to say they bear the scars and, though they have all risen above it, it shaped what they are … who they became.”

“This is true of all of us,” she said, her head tilting, curiosity evident in her eyes. He smiled, knowing she was trying to figure out this choice of topic and the seeming shift in his mood.

“Mmm,” he agreed. “Don‟t you want to know how I grew up? What influenced my life?”

He raised her fingertips to his lips, rubbing them softly, placing occasional slow kisses on the pads as he spoke.

“O—Of course,” she breathed, a shiver shuddering up her arm and through her body. He acted as if he didn‟t notice it. “I would like to know anything about you.”

“Ah, but this is of very specific importance,” he assured her, turning her palm to his toying lips. “I came from a family that is secure, simple, hardworking, and very independent thinking. My parents have been married for … umm …” He paused as if counting, but he was just drawing her in, and he felt her leaning closer with her interest. “I‟m pretty sure it‟s been forty-four years now. And though I don‟t have a dozen brothers and sisters like my friend Lasher does, my father had six brothers, and that gave me more uncles than I knew what to do with.” He watched her smile, her topaz eyes laughing. He slowly touched his tongue to the center of her palm. This time the shiver was accompanied by a sharp indrawn breath that accented the tremor‟s path across her nipples, hardening them into delectable points beneath that thin, brightly colored silk.

“I mention this because each of my uncles had a hand in raising me. They ranged greatly in age, so some were married and some were not. Consequently, I got a lot of experience in how a man should treat a woman long before I even realized I was supposed to like girls.” His eyes twinkled with mischief, and she laughed at him. “I was fixated on being a soldier from a young age, so that actually took a little longer than was usual.”

“One might find that hard to believe,” she mused, her tone absolutely sarcastic despite its delicacy.

“One might think so,” he said with a dramatic sigh, his lips moving to the sensitive interior of her wrist, “but alas it was true. I was a late bloomer.”

“Well, you are clearly in full bloom now,” she noted with that sexy breathlessness in her voice that drove him wild.

He chuckled at her wit. “And thus we come to the point.”

“Ah, there‟s a point.” She laughed.

“Yes. The point is, my father and my uncles were the most honorable, respectful men I have ever and will ever know. There is no higher standard, in my opinion. And it was a standard I was molded into meeting. Especially when it came to the treatment and care of women. And don‟t you know that when they all settled down, which they all eventually did, they all remained married to the same woman. This, in my society, is a rare and remarkable thing.”

“The villagers trade mates very often,” she said with a frown. “They commit, and then have relations with others against their vows to the gods. Children are born confused about their families. The most violent of their crimes are crimes of passion and vengeance. I can appreciate the value in what you speak.”

“Good. I‟m glad.” He kissed the inside of her elbow, and then stepped closer to bypass her sleeve and touch his mouth to her round shoulder where it peeked out of her neckline.

“Because this is my point,” he said softly, brushing over her collarbone briefly before touching a kiss to her cheek and then whispering into her ear. “To the best of my knowledge, I have never knowingly and with malice mistreated a woman. Every fiber of my being abhors the idea of it. I have no need of cruelty and deception to bolster my own ego. What I need is the beauty of a woman who trusts me. I need to know she feels respected and treasured because that
is
what soothes my ego. I relish every smile, every laugh, every sigh, every soft, husky little moan.”

Bronse nibbled at the sensitive line of her neck, his tongue touching hot and wet to her pulse, flicking gently up toward her ear until he got his soft, husky little moan.

Her hands came up to cling to his upper arms and she shuddered once more, only this time he felt it with his entire body. His composure was rocked, a renewed surge of desire rushing through him, sending a painful upwelling of blood to an already taut erection. Bronse gritted his teeth quietly. It was not her fault that he had been walking around in an aroused state for all the hours since that kiss in the forest. Well, okay, so it
was
her fault. But he wouldn‟t rush her or skip over a single nicety just because his body couldn‟t stop screaming demands at him.

“Is this … your point?” she whispered against his cheek.

One day, he would know her well enough to make a naughty joke of that question. One involving a strategic shift of his hips. For the moment, the gentleman took rein.

“My point is, don‟t be afraid of me, beauty. Neither of us knows where this will take us, but I will treat you like the precious creature I feel you are until we figure it out, and after as well. I won‟t hurt you. If you‟re afraid, tell me so and I will help you become unafraid. If you are overwhelmed, tell me so and I will stop. Nothing will ever happen between us that I feel you do not want to happen with the whole of your heart,” he said in a fierce, rumbling tone. “I
demand
that, Ravenna. I won‟t be satisfied if you compromise your needs and desires for the sake of mine.

“You are my need and desire,” he told her heatedly, drawing her flush against his obviously aching body. She released one of those little gasps that had more delight than shock to it, and her eyes lit with golden fire. “Heaven help me, you have power over me like nothing I have ever known! I can‟t think or see straight, and I may not notice subtle signs of fear or distress in my passion for you. I need you to promise me you will tell me …” He swallowed hard as he realized that he was shaking hard enough to send the vibration through her. “Don‟t let me give you any reason to think badly of me. Promise me you‟ll tell me what you need.”

She reached up to touch his lips with soft, stroking fingers, her eyes lifting slowly to his, smoky sensuality lacing her irises. “I promise, I will always tell you what I want. And I will never think badly of you. I know your soul, Bronse Chapel. You‟re a good and honorable man.”

“I try,” he murmured with a smile that quickly turned into a trap for her fingertips. He drew her two fingers into his mouth for a brief suckle and a teasing flick of his tongue. He could tell by her expression and her rosy cheeks that she was thinking decidedly naughty thoughts about the possible applications of his eager mouth. He released her and swooped down on the already well-kissed lips that had been taunting him with their pouting fullness all of this time. He was amazed by his own restraint thus far, and mentally thanked each of his uncles by name, because more than anything he didn‟t want to screw this up.

Ravenna had been very surprised when Bronse didn‟t just pick up where they had left off in the corridor the minute the door was secured. Then she had been a little confused and possibly a tiny bit insecure about whether he still wanted her. Her relief and gratitude were profound when she finally realized what he was trying to do. She knew he was right for her, but she never guessed it would be such a fine attunement. He seemed to read her as though he had an instruction manual on her. He sensed her fear, her anxiety mostly, and even secured her confidence that she could always share her doubts with him, while wiping away that smidge of insecurity when he confessed how affected by her he really was.

Oh, and it showed! His kiss was something wild and voracious. She might still be learning the basics, but she could feel that intensity with mind-blowing certainty. His hands were bracketing her waist, clutching her soft sides as he held her fully and snugly against his hard body. The muscles beneath her hands as she clung to his arms were like solid stone, although she fathomed that stone didn‟t twitch with excitement the way he tended to. Especially as she swept her touch along his arms and shoulders and the back of his neck. There, his hair was short and crisp and she loved the feel of it under her fingers. Before she knew it, she was holding him firmly to a zealously reciprocated chain of kisses that robbed them both of sense and breath.