Rae felt a rush of unexpected pleasure. She’d wondered if she’d ever be capable of that kind of joy again, but there it was. Tamerit gave it to her as if it were the easiest thing in the world.
What began as a kiss quickly evolved into more.
Suddenly, desperate to eliminate any space between them, Rae stumbled forward, knocking over several baskets of fruit in the process, until she had Tam’s back pressed up against the stone wall. Rae’s mouth roved over Tam’s neck and collarbone, while the weaver began pulling at Rae’s tunic, trying to remove it.
“Someone might see,” Rae protested, weakly.
“They all left. There’s no one here,” Tam replied, breathless, her lips at Rae’s ear, her tongue darting, searching.
Rae allowed Tam to unbuckle her belt and slip off the tunic, casting it to the floor. Tam’s own tunic had fallen off one shoulder, sending Rae into a frenzy of desire. Standing there in nothing but her loincloth, Rae kissed the weaver’s smooth, copper skin—but froze as Tam’s fingers touched the scars on her back.
“Don’t,” she said. She’d removed the bandages the day before, although she’d kept the arrow wound she’d sustained from the ambush wrapped. After taking them off, she’d managed to get a glimpse of her back in an old bronze mirror. It looked…bad.
“Don’t,” she repeated quietly.
Tam cocked her head. “Let me see.” Her voice was the coo of a mourning dove.
Rae took a step back, flushing. “It’s horrible.”
The weaver reached for her hand and held it firmly. “Let me be the judge of that.”
With a shuddering breath, Rae turned. Folding her arms over her breasts, she winced as Tam’s gentle touch traced the lines of scarring where the nomarch’s flail had torn into her flesh. Rae listened for a response—a gasp of horror, a cluck of pity—but Tam was silent.
After a moment, Rae felt the weaver’s lips on her skin, feather-soft, anointing each scar with a kiss.
She recoiled. “What are you doing?”
Tam said, “Don’t you see? These scars—they’re evidence ofyour courage. They inspired a rebellion. I’m sorry they cause you pain, but you shouldn’t be ashamed of them. You shouldn’t be ashamed of anything.”
Rae turned back around and gathered the weaver into her arms. When she spoke, her voice was husky. “Baki said that son of a dog gave me fifty lashes, did you know that? He counted.” Rae brushed a coil of hair away from Tam’s face and gazed deeply into her eyes. “I would take a hundred more, for you.”
The weaver’s brow furrowed, a dozen emotions crossing her face. “Rae,” she whispered, and then leaned in until their lips met once again.
They were entwined together when a voice called from outside the door. “Ay? Is that you? I wanted to ask—”
Rae and Tam flew apart. Rae dove for her clothes on the floor, but it was too late.
Omari stood in the doorway, staring at them in open-mouthed shock as Rae held the tunic over her bare chest.
“I-I thought you’d left,” Rae stammered, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. “I didn’t know… We were just…”
Omari put up his hands to silence her and shook his head. “I’ll come back later.” His expression was unreadable, and before Rae could stop him, he’d turned on his heel and was gone.
With a deep sigh, Rae leaned against the stone wall and gently slid to the floor, her head in her hands. “That isnothow I intended for him to find out about us.”
Tam sat down next to her, plucking a couple figs from a basket and popping one in her mouth. She shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. It’s not like you were going to tell him.”
“I was! At the right time!” Rae retorted.
Tam rolled her eyes. “Sure you were. What are you so worried about? You said there was no spark between you. That you two are simply friends. So, what is it? Do you think he won’t look atyou the same way now that he knows you prefer the company of women?”
Rae buried her knuckles in her eyes until she saw stars. “No…Yes… I don’t know. When we were kids, we swore never to keep secrets from each other—and this seems like a big secret.”
Tam snuggled up next to her, the soft roundness of her body so comforting that Rae had little choice but to relax. “You’re allowed to have a private life,” she said. “Besides, I’d wager there are things Omari keeps from you too.”
Rae nodded.
Tam kissed her on the cheek and helped her pull the tunic back over her head. “Come on. No more fun for today. We’ve got a lot of work to do to prepare for tomorrow!”
