Warrior (69 page)

she held her ground. Lowering his

head, he kissed her lips slowly. “I’ve

wanted to do that for months.”

She blushed a bit and nodded,

before speaking softly. “Will you stay

with me tonight?”

When Varian had told her he would

come to her at night, he’d had every

intention of staying with her. He

nodded, thinking her question odd.

Isolde shook her head before

lowering her gaze to her feet. His

eyebrows drew together. Finally, she

lifted her head. All the while, he

watched with amusement in his eyes,

a small smile on his lips.

She licked her lips and placed her

hands on his shoulders, pushing

herself onto her toes to kiss him.

Varian’s strong arms wrapped about

her waist and she was hauled against

his hard frame. Isolde whimpered

softly but locked her arms about his

neck, opening her mouth to him.

A groan tore through Varian as his

tongue settled into the sweetest mouth

he’d ever tasted. Her tongue touched

his cautiously, innocently, and he

tightened his grip on her. Instinctively,

his hips surged against her, and she

whimpered into his mouth.

Remembering that she was an

innocent, a princess, a
lady
, Varian

released her. He had vowed to take

his time with her.

“Why did you release me?”

The question didn’t completely

catch him off-guard, but he wasn’t

quite able to hide the look of surprise

he felt settle over his features.

Isolde blushed and turned away.

When she spoke, he had to lean down

to make out her words.

“Don’t you want me?”

A smile broke out across his lips.

Only an innocent would ask that after

feeling his rigid length against her

belly. Just thinking about her made

him hard, but kissing her, holding her,

made him dangerously close to taking

her where she stood.

“I do,” he replied, pulling her into

him and inhaling the flowery scent of

her hair. “And I will have you…after

we’re wed.”

She immediately spun in his arms,

her eyes searching his before a smile

broke out across her face. “You wish

to marry me?”

Varian nodded, staring into those

shining green eyes, and feeling his

heart warm. “Yes. If you will have

me, Princess?”

Her arms latched around his neck

and she planted another kiss on his

lips. Varian returned it eagerly, sliding

his hands along the gown to cup her

soft rear. She gasped into his mouth as

he began to caress her softly, and she

was soon moaning against him.

Feeling dangerously close to taking

her as he’d dreamt these past months,

Varian pulled away. His hands still

remained on her buttocks. Hers were

around his neck. A smile lit her entire

face before she buried it against his

chest.

Confident in his control once more,

Varian swung Isolde up into his arms,

ignoring her slight squeak as he

headed over to her bed. He pulled

back the covers with one hand and

settled her in.

When he made a move to step away

from her, she reached up and grabbed

his hand. A frown marred her lips and

her eyes seemed to challenge his.

“Where are you going?”

Varian chuckled lightly. “To the

other side of the bed.”

Red infused her cheeks and she

dropped his hand immediately. An

amused smile was on his face as he

moved to the side of the bed and

peeled away his tunic and his boots.

He settled in next to her, pulling her

against his side.

Turning his head, he noticed she

was watching him closely. Before he

could ask her thoughts, she moved

closer and pressed her lips against his.

Varian Mor’an was known for his

control. He even reveled in pushing its

limits, but lying half-naked in a bed

with the woman who’d dominated

one’s fantasies, would try even the

most controlled of men.

He could not be blamed for what he

did next.

***

Isolde felt exceedingly warm as she

kissed Varian. She would soon be

joined to him in marriage, but now,

she wanted to get as close to him as

possible. Suddenly, she was on her

back, pinned beneath a heavy, but

delicious-feeling Varian. A moan

escaped her lips as his knees nudged

her thighs apart and his lips lowered to

hers. He kissed her deeply, robbing

her of her breath, of her sanity, and

driving a pool of warmth to the

juncture of her thighs. Isolde knew

what happened between a man and a

woman. She knew of the pain, but

had heard nothing of this feeling of

want.

Tugging away for air, she gasped as

Varian pushed his hips against her.

Something hard brushed up against

the soft and throbbing center of her

being. A quick tremor passed through

her body, followed by a series of rapid

jolts as he repeated the action. His

mouth latched onto her neck, and he

sucked strongly.

“Varian, something’s happening,”

she whispered, feeling slightly terrified

of whatever it was, but anticipating it

as well.

“Let

it,”

was

the

murmured

response from the man covering her.

His lips left her neck and moved to

capture hers once more. He pushed

himself off of her slightly and began

tugging up the material of her gown.

“Varian,” Isolde murmured, unsure

of whether she was telling him to stop

or urging him on.

Her gown pooled at her waist and

she shrieked when his fingers began to

caress her bare thighs.

“Varian, we—” His lips devoured

hers again, and all she could do was

hold on to him, and trust that he

would do nothing to hurt her.

His fingers fluttered across her

intimate region and she would have

clamped her thighs together if his hips

were not nestled there. A fierce blush

stole over her body as she felt his

fingers slide against her, parting the

folds and touching her in a place that

wept for it.

***

Somewhere

between

mounting

Isolde and finding her wet to his

touch, Varian’s control miraculously

returned. He remembered that she

was an innocent, that he wanted to

take her after they were joined before

Gods and King, that he could wait.

His shaft was saying otherwise, but

Varian was always one to think with

the head on his shoulders first.

He saturated a finger with her

essence and moved it to the little bud

that would bring her pleasure. As soon

as he began to circle, she arched into

him, clutching at his bare back, driving

him on. She was so responsive that he

almost lost it once more. It would be

so easy to undo his breeches and

plunge into her. It would offer him the

release he’d sought for months, as

he’d been unable to touch another

without imaging her beneath him.

“Varian!” she cried out, tugging her

lips from his and turning her face to

the side. The pleasure that floated

through her body was unlike anything

she’d ever felt before. She didn’t

know whether she wanted him to stop

or continue, it was so intense. He

continued, flicking his finger against

that part of her that gave her such

pleasure, and kissing at her shoulder

blade.

“Oh

sweet—s-s-something’s

happening. I don’t know—”

“Just let it happen, Isolde. Let it

come.” His hand positioned her face

for another kiss as the other continued

its magic on her body.

She suddenly cried out against him,

her body tensing as she began to

convulse. Varian released her lips and

watched her, memorizing how she

looked when she came for him.

He rolled off of her and breathed

deep, contemplating returning to his

room to take care of that throbbing

part of him needing release. He was

inclined to do just that when Isolde

tossed an arm across his chest,

snuggled close, and kissed his bicep.

Against his better judgment, Varian

placed an arm about her body and

pulled her to him. He tried to focus on

anything but that aching part of his

anatomy, hoping it would go down so

he could get some much needed rest.

Chapter 18

Lydia immediately noticed the

change between Vulcan and Jaisyn.

She would observe him as he glared at

his wife across the table in the Great

Hall, would relish the anger and

hatred that seemed to seep from him.

She had seen Vulcan angry a number

of times but never to a woman, and

never to this extent. Only a few days

had passed since she’d told both

Jaisyn and Vulcan about Bael, but for

all the change in attitudes, it could

have months, even years.

Jaisyn, on the other hand, seemed

crushed, if not completely broken.

The formerly headstrong queen was

but a shadow to this new character. If

she were any other person, Lydia

might have felt an ounce of respect for

any woman who bravely lifted her

head in the face of Vulcan’s wrath,

but she wasn’t.

She was his wife, the woman

carrying his child, the child that could

possibly ruin all plans that Lydia had

set in motion. No, Jaisyn would get

none of her sympathy. As long as she

lived, she was a threat to everything

Lydia wanted. She was but a step

away from completely carrying out

her plan. Surveying Jaisyn and Vulcan

once more, she began to think of the

appropriate time to do so.

***

“Why are you here?”

Vulcan felt her presence before he

heard her enter the room. Standing

before the blazing hearth, he wore

only dark breeches that clung to his

legs. He’d been thinking of her, of

how he would handle this situation

with his wife, when she entered. In an

instant, his anger surged. He could

almost picture her standing between

the doorway that separated the two

chambers,

her

eyes

wide

and

seemingly innocent. His broad back

was to her, and he imagined her

easing into his room, her bed gown

flowing behind her as her curls

bounced with each step.

“Vulcan?”

It was a soft plea, and Vulcan

almost cursed himself for the rapid

fluttering of his heart. Dear Gods, but

he had to be rid of her. Soon. Even

after she’d betrayed him, only Rika

knew how many times and how many

ways, he still craved her. He had told

her before he had no intention of

breaking their marriage but he had not

known as he did now. He had not

known

she

was

an

unfaithful

strumpet, a lying witch, who was

probably carrying another man’s

bastard in her belly. A bastard he

would have raised as his own, loved as

his own, had he not learned of her

treachery.

That was her hold on him, to make

him blind to things directly before his

eyes. It was a hold he would soon cast

off, a hold he despised with the same

vigor as he did his wife.

***

Jaisyn had not know what she’d

hoped for when she entered his

chambers, for she could not lie and

tell him that nothing had happened

between herself and Bael. She could

not bring herself to believe that she

would give herself to Bael, especially

as she loved her husband, but in truth,

she did not know. After returning to

her chambers, her body had felt

different. It hadn’t been the change

she experienced after being with

Vulcan, the warmth, the slight