This was where a kitten had become atigress.
“The palace is abuzz with the news of yourfather’s imminent arrival,” she said.
They were the first words she had spoken tohim in ten days and nights.“Yes,” he answered, his wittyconversational skills deserting him.“It is.”
She turned her gaze to his, and Aleksi couldhave happily drowned in the mossy green depths of her eyes.“Hecomes for you.”
Hope, as unsure and shaky as a newborn foal,rose in his chest.“Why do you say that?”
“For him to be only three days away already,he had to leave his palace almost as soon as he received myfather’s missive.”She echoed Aleksi’s earlier thoughts.“At whichpoint all anybody knew was that I was likely kidnapped by the Wolf,and you had gone after me, alone, into the wilds.He has come withenough men to fight for you, not enough to go to war with myfather.He comes for you, to take you back home with him.”
“That may be,” he said, unwilling to give histentative hope.“But I will never go back to being his stableboy.”
She smiled, eclipsing the late autumn sun.“If your father knows you at all, he realized that the day youleft.”
Aleksi chuckled.
“You’ll go back with him once all thisposturing and war threat is over,” she said.
“I have no reason to stay,” he replied, andwhen she did not dispute him, he changed the subject.“You don’tthink the Ox’s threats will come to war?”
“No.”She shook her head.“The Ox has beenoutplayed once again by my father, who has the oaths of ten and sixkings to the Ox’s four.Even the Ox is not that foolhardy.It’salmost certain that he’ll back down and try to save face, and theWolf will live to tell his own twisted tales of our ordeal, makinghimself the hero, no doubt.”
“Too bad,” he grumbled.“I was lookingforward to meeting the worm on the battlefield.”
She gave a rueful laugh.“As if he would everbrave the battlefield, or you, again.”She met his gaze and heldit.“I should’ve let you kill him right off and been done withhim.”
“You had your reasons, and they were good,sound reasons, which is why I went along with the plan to capturehim alive.”
She nodded, and then fixed her piercing greencat eyes on his.“Plans do change, don’t they?”
He wanted to laugh.“They do.”
“And yours?”
“Have changed daily since the day I met you.”And asked you to marry me.
“And what are your plans today?”
“To kiss you until you beg me to take youhome with me.”
Sahar could have turned away.She could’vetold him no.She should have, but she missed his kisses and how hecould make her beg for more of everything he had to offer.Shesmiled into his earth-brown eyes and ran her fingers along hisclean-shaven jaw, wrapping her hand around the back of his neck,and whispered, “Kiss me then, kiss me until you’re begging to stayhere with me.”
He kissed her softly, tenderly, his lipsbrushing hers as lightly as his fingertips played over her breastsuntil he pushed her tunic down over her shoulders, exposing herpebbled nipples to the brisk air and his warm touch.He rose to hisknees, bringing her with him, and pressed the fullness of his mouthagainst hers, slipping the tip of his tongue between her lips as hecupped her breasts in his palms, his thumbs rubbing tantalizingcircles around her nipples as she groaned his name and nipped hislower lip.
He deepened his kisses, filling her mouthwith his slick, probing tongue as his big, strong hands roamed thelength of her back, holding her to him.She could feel the lengthof him rising against the softness of her belly.
She moaned and pressed her pelvis into hishard heat, rubbing and rolling her aching flesh over him, desperatefor the feel of his skin against hers.They both wore leatherriding breeches, and she fumbled for his stays and untied themwithout breaking their kiss.She yanked down on his breeches,freeing his cock, and rubbed her hand up and down the length of hishot, pulsing flesh.
Aleksi groaned into her mouth.“My man-eatingtigress.”
She smiled into his kiss and nipped his chin.He flipped her onto her back and was untying her stays and pullingher breeches to her knees.He bent over her and placed a kiss onone knee, and then the other, slowly making his way up her innerthighs, kiss by kiss, nip by nip, until his mouth hovered over thecenter of her desire and her flesh wept for want of him.
With a sure, cocky grin, he gently blew onher mass of curls, his warm breath teasing her, and she tried toopen her legs, but her breeches stopped her at her knees.Shesquirmed and shimmied and pushed them down with her hands untilthey were down to her ankles, and then he took her by the wristsand pinned her arms over her head, leaving her exposed to his lustygaze.
She thrilled at the raw hunger in his eyes,and raised her head to meet his mouth, her kiss as fierce anddemanding as his.She raised her hips, tapping the tip of his thickerection with her flesh.
“I want you,” she growled.“All of you,inside me now.”
