“All that superhuman control coming back to haunt you, huh? Well, I’ve got no sympathy for that, babe. Your farden control put me through hell.”
And his lack of it now would do the same if she did not be quiet and let him bring her to need. There was only one sure way to silence a woman without gagging her. This he proceeded to do for as long as his control lasted. It was not long.
The fire grew slowly, but when it arrived it was a conflagration that banished all traces of exhaustion from a sleepless night. And no sooner did she feel the full force of it than the barbarian moved to cover her completely. How had he known she was ready? Who cared. At last she was going to be breached, and by a man she’d known for only one day, though it seemed as if she’d known him forever. That was the incredible part, not that she wanted him so much and had waited so long for this to happen, but that she felt such an affinity toward him. Of course, having despaired of ever finding anyone who would suit her probably accounted for it. Going through so many ups and downs with him in the short time since they had met also would contribute to her feeling of having known him much longer. And none of it mattered next to the wild turmoil he so easily set loose inside her.
He was well positioned between her legs now, had risen up to do so, his full weight supported by his arms. The biceps bulged and glistened with moisture. There was so much of him to touch, and Tedra loved touching him, looking at him. But right now she wanted to feel him deep inside her.
“If you wait much longer, Challen, I’m going to—”
She gasped as his heat entered her. Stars, there was such tightness, such fullness. She knew her body would accommodate him, but she didn’t think she could wait long enough for it to do so. She didn’t think he could either. His great body trembled in restraint, his muscles quivered, sweat broke out all over him. Either he was in as much discomfort as she, or he was putting on another superhuman effort. The effort was wasted. Despite the discomfort of his entry, of knowing there would be greater pain to come, Tedra wanted all of him and she wanted it now.
“Are you waiting for my permission?”
He made a sound between a growl and a moan, and gritted out, “Permission is not needed of a challenge loser.”
“It figures,” was the best she could say at the moment, unable to take exception to anything just now except his restraint. “So why are you holding back?”
She thought he might laugh at that, but he couldn’t quite manage it. “Because you are so small.”
“I’msmall? Maybe I’m normal, and you’re just too big.”
Challen could not believe he was even having this conversation, though he had to admit it was helping to keep him from savagely letting go. “Think you I have known so few women I cannot tell the difference? Long must have been your journey to come here.”
Tedra didn’t know what that had to do with anything, nor did she care just then. “Well, I’m not going to get any bigger, babe, until we start doing this on a regular basis. So if you’re holding back on my account, don’t.”
“Patience is a virtue you would do well to practice, woman.”
“Like you are? Forget that. If you don’t get on with it, I’m going to think you’re punishing me again by making me wait.”
His eyes closed and his forehead dropped to hers. His straining had become worse. “I do not want … to hurt you.”
She was filled with a warm feeling of tenderness for him upon hearing that, but there was no reason for them both to suffer. Her hands went to his face to make him look at her as she explained, “This is a breaching, Challen. Pain is unavoidable for me no matter what you do. I could have fixed it if I’d anticipated … You don’t know what I’m talking about, do you? You will if you’ll just fill me, so come inside, my gentle warrior. Do it now. I promise you I can take it.”
There was no stopping him after hearing that, but he also heard the scream that ripped from her throat as he plunged to the hilt. Never in his life had he drawn such a sound from a woman, but instantly he knew the reason for it, had felt the skin as it was carelessly breached. Breaching—her word. If he had only known its meaning was literal. And now he understood her unusual smallness, not abstinence because of a long journey without a man at her side, but abstinence her whole life. She had been untouched, a woman of her bold looks and words, a woman, not a young girl. It was the one thing he would never have imagined her to be.
“Forgive me,” she said, breaking into his thoughts, her voice not quite steady. “That—that wasn’t as bad as it sounded.”
“Was it not, little liar?”
“No, really, I think it was a mind thing—you know, expecting it to hurt with anormalman, but here you are bigger than big. So my mind would naturally assume it’s going to hurt a bit more with you, and when it started to, the old mind thought, ‘Look out!’ and there you have it, a reaction all out of proportion.”
He almost laughed. The things she said could turn him inside out trying to understand them, but for once he felt he grasped her meaning.
“A mind thing? Women often cry before they have reason, merely in anticipation of a reason.”
“I’m going to let that comparison slide since you got the general idea, but take note there are no tears in my eyes.”
He smiled at her gently. “I did not mean to sting your pride, warrior woman. Your pain was great, and yet you bravely discount it for my sake. You also attempt to take my guilt from me, for which I am grateful. It is I who must ask forgiveness for hurting you. Your—breaching—need not have been so brutal. Had I waited—”
She put a finger to his lips. “I don’t mean any disrespect, babe, but can we put this discussion on hold? If you haven’t noticed, I’m not hurting now. And as much as I like the feel of you inside me, I’d also like to know what comes next, so I’d really appreciate it if you’d get on with it.”
She would appreciate it. A Kan-is-Tran maiden would have spent the rest of the day crying and screaming that she had been torn asunder and must never be touched again. His Kystrani maiden would appreciate it if he would “get on with it.” He did just that.
Chapter Sixteen
Tedra wrapped her arms around her bent legs and laid her cheek on her knees as the soothing motion of the comb gliding through her hair began to put her to sleep. Challen had been at it for nearly a half hour already and gave no sign of wanting to quit.
When he had produced the golden comb after they had finished the evening meal, and ordered her to sit between his spread knees on the fur, she hadn’t objected. Her hair was a mass of tangles by then and she didn’t know the first thing about removing them herself without a styler at hand. Her warrior had made short work of the tangles, only he hadn’t stopped there. She was beginning to think he simply liked to comb women’s hair. That he might be fascinated with her own black locks didn’t occur to her.
