“You have a farden answer for everything, don’t you?” she gritted out. “Then how did I get here from these far-off places, and better yet, why would I come here—alone?”
“As you say, for trade.”
“And asyousay, women wouldn’t be trusted with such tasks. Are you now allowing that they would—at least in countries you have no dealings with?”
He wouldn’t answer, changing the subject instead. “What meaning has this far-den word you use?”
“It’s used to express mild disgust, which is exactly what I’m feeling right now.” Good thing she wasn’t the feet-stomping type, or there’d be holes in the ground to show for it. She sighed. “All right, let’s stick to things you do know all about—the service I owe you, for instance. I’m beginning to suspect it’s not what I assumed it to be, so why don’t you enlighten me—in detail.”
“There will be many things you will do for me.”
“Such as?”
“This moonrise will you endeavor to work the soreness from my muscles.”
“Ah, poor baby,” she purred with saccharine sweetness. “Did mean old Tedra hurt the big barbarian?”
She was congratulating herself on that dig, which she knew without looking at him he wouldn’t appreciate, when he leaned forward, pressing against her back to reach the harness post in front of her. She watched him tie the reins off there and had the distinct feeling she was in trouble. When his hands were empty, she didn’t know what to expect. A beating came to mind, though she couldn’t imagine how he would manage it on the back of hishataar.But his slipping his hands inside her fur covering and under her arms took her by surprise.
Heat hit her, sucking the breath from her body as those long, masculine fingers moved over and around her breasts, until each sensitive mound was fully imprisoned in a strong hand. That tiny flame that had been fanned earlier now ignited, sending a brushfire of sensation over receptive nerves. Her head fell back onto a hard shoulder, and the pleasurable sound that escaped her throat couldn’t have been stopped had she known it was coming.
The sound did penetrate her mind, however, bringing with it the knowledge that the barbarian was doing it again, casually, unfairly, and no doubt deliberately making her body sing, when he had no intention of playing a duet with her. Her reflex was to stop him and she even made an effort, only to recall her bound wrists. She couldn’t even getherown hands under her covering, much less remove his.
Defenseless. The feeling was so alien, it brought out her fighting instincts. But all he’d left her to fight with was words, and she was afraid that was going to be the norm from now on, rather than the unusual.
“Did I miss something in the translation, warrior? I could have sworn my service was exclusive to place, with no hanky-panky allowed in any other location. Now, I don’t see anything around here that comes even close to resembling a bedchamber. And the last time I looked, thishataarwasn’t a bed. So either cut it out, fella, or you’re in breach of contract.”
“Cleverness is admired in a woman,kerima.”
“Thank you—I think.”
“But your cleverness is wasted on me. Again I must remind you of the words ‘where I sleep.’”
“If that’s your subtle way of telling me you sleep on this riding animal, try again,” she said dryly.
“When time is critical and the distance to travel far, a warrior will indeed sleep on hishataar.This I have done more than once, else would your punishment be delayed.”
Tedra stiffened and tried to pull away from him, but his hands held her firmly in place.Thiswas to be her punishment? Now she knew why he’d been so amused when he told her earlier that she was deserving of punishment for her disrespect, and promised to see to it shortly. The man was diabolical. Who but a barbarian would think to punish a woman by making her want him?
She couldn’t let him get away with it. One or two beatings she could likely handle, but this? Desire was too new to her, and she was finding her reactions to it all involuntary. Such loss of control was unacceptable to a Sec, who must always be on top of any given situation. She wasn’t here as a Sec, but for a woman of pride, the consequences could be just as bad, if not worse.
Gathering every ounce of will she possessed, Tedra concentrated on ignoring the hands that were now gently kneading her breasts. She could feel the warm breeze on her face, the abrasive, shaggy coat of thehataarshe straddled on her inner thighs, even the soft fur of her covering wherever it touched her skin, but not the barbarian’s hands. Her powers of concentration worked, and continued to work—until one of those clever hands discovered the wide-open junction of her legs, and then every sensation she had been ignoring slammed into her at once, and the new ones …
It was like melting, dissolving in hot flames. The finger that slipped inside her was the torch. Stars above, she’d never known such feeling! It stole her breath, took her out-of-mind. She now pressed back against the barbarian, giving him total access to her, willing him not to stop. The pleasure was incredible, deep inside her, spreading, humming for release. But release wasn’t in the scenario. What began as pleasure slowly but surely became an agony of frustration, of nerve-frazzling turbulence that gave not a moment’s respite. She trembled, she groaned, she squirmed all over thathataarand against her tormentor. Soon she’d be literally crying—and begging.
“Noooo!”
“What think you of Sha-Ka’an discipline, woman of Kystran?” the warrior asked her.
The voice had been calmness itself, grating along already raw nerves. “It … stinks!”
“Yet is it effective.”
This wasn’t a question, but a statement. Tedra didn’t care. It took enormous concentration just to hear him through the tumult in her mind. Commenting was even harder.
“Enough, Challen. I—I apologize.”
“That is good, but for what do you apologize?”
