“Want me to scrub your back?” he asked quietly, startling her into a shriek.
She jerked around and slapped his naked chest with the soap. “Will you please stop doing that?”
His eyes darkened as he stared at her tightening nipples, following the trail of bubbles down her front.
“By the Light, you’re beautiful,” he said, his voice thick. Oh, he was getting to her. He really was. She hardened the heart that throbbed at his nearness.
“I don’t know why this is happening, Alandra.” He lifted her hand, staring at the magical shades of Light and Dark pulsing in sync, an identical match to the energy covering his own frame. “But it’s nothing to fear. My Light will never hurt you. On this I swear.”
Her heart melted though she tried to remain annoyed.
“I can’t explain it, but I want you again.” His voice sounded strained as he stared, helplessly fascinated, into her eyes. “I can’t stop wanting you. You’ve bewitched me, and I don’t even know the first thing about you.”
She scowled, bothered by his honesty. It’s not as if they were complete strangers. By Shadow’s Bend, she’d watched him for over a year. “You know I’ve protected you.” She batted his large hands from her shoulders, not wanting to be appeased and wishing she didn’t desire him so much. “You know I’m from Aelle, and that I could have left you and your brothers to ‘Sin Garu and Oxcen weeks ago.”
He nodded, reaching and drawing her against him. She lost her breath as his chest rubbed against her breasts, stirring new longings she should have been too tired to feel. Yet he did no more than hold her, providing comfort when she needed it, and she finally conceded defeat, sliding bonelessly into his embrace. She’d never felt so safe, so cherished, and though she knew he presented more a threat to her well-being than any Dark Lord or Aellein warrior, she succumbed to his touch.
“Shh, love. It will all work out.” He massaged shampoo into her hair, releasing knots of tension in her body with a soapy massage. “Just leave it all to me,” he murmured, making her body sing as he brought her to climax with strong, sinful hands. But he made no move to ease his own needs, proving himself a devoted, unselfish lover.
They rinsed and dried off together, and he wrapped her in his robe that dragged along the floor when she walked. She felt as if she could sleep for a week, completely eased by his tender treatment and by the uncanny way he had of making her body hum.
She saw him stifle a smile and sighed. How could she fault him for anything when he acted like this? So caring, so protective, so…oh! He watched her knowingly, the gleam of satisfaction in his silvery eyes a dead giveaway.
“You underhanded Light Bringer!” She glared, suppressing the ridiculous urge to commend him on his craftiness.
“What?” He tried to look bewildered, but a small spark in his eyes told her he knew he’d been found out. She should have been annoyed that he tried to control her with sex, yet unwanted pleasure lit. Aerolus was every inch her match.
“You know.” Woo her with kindness, with flattery. Distract her with pleasure, and she’ll be as pliable as a dish rag, she could almost hear him thinking. It was ingenious really, something an Aellei would have done, and she felt her heart take a suspicious tumble over the cliff she’d been steadfast in her refusal to crest.
Losing herself in his gaze, she wanted to curse, to confess, to make love with him all over again. “Hell,” she mumbled under her breath. She flushed and ignored his raised brow. “Forget it. We’ve more pressing matters to deal with.”
“I suppose,” he said on a sigh and sat on the bed, the simple towel around his waist driving her to distraction. “Why don’t you tell me about your dreams?”
Alandra’s eyes widened, and Aerolus fought not to smirk. Bonding with her had brought them together, not only physically, but mentally and spiritually as well. He’d been in her dreams earlier, an observer watching the fascinating world of the Aellei, and the Dark Lord insidiously worming his way towards their queen.
Whoever the Dark Lord was, he brought another dimension into Tanselm’s battle with the Netharat, a precarious playing field growing more and more crowded as unknown foes were flushed from other worlds.
Aerolus stared at Alandra, sidetracked from thought at her utter loveliness. The Light only enhanced her soul, pure at its core, yet surrounded by adversity and a devious strength.
As Trudy Warner, she’d tricked him and Arim. But she could never pass for a mortal in Seattle without a glamour. She was as comely as her kin, though far less conniving. Oh, he knew she could lie and deceive like the best of them, but there was no real evil within her. She liked her fun, but had no inclination to unduly harm anyone not deserving it.
Staring at him suspiciously, she frowned. “What’s going on in that mazelike mind of yours?”
Interesting that she pegged him as the trickster, her paranoia stemming from her own quirky morality. He still felt unsteady after she’d accused him of being an underhanded Light Bringer. How could she so easily read him? Even his brothers, with whom he’d lived for thirty-four years, couldn’t predict his actions, at least not without using the gift of clairvoyance. Her uncanny ability to read him simultaneously stunned and pleased him.
He’d thought hard on Arim’s words and knew the key to handling Alandra was to always have the upper hand, or at least, be perceived as having it. He had been sincere in the shower, offering compassion and comfort, despite his cock’s ache to part her thighs and plunge in.
Her confusion after they’d made love had torn at him, and he’d reacted naturally, wanting to soothe and reassure his affai. Pretending it was all a game made her feel safe. Games and competition were familiar to Alandra, and by playing by her rules, it was as if she still controlled their relationship. Light forbid he actually confess what he was starting to feel about her.
Though come to think of it, when she’d perceived his intent—way sooner than he would have expected—she’d groused but hadn’t been angry. Instead, she’d seemed almost impressed. There had been a gleam of emotion he hadn’t seen before in her face, a hint of what he thought might be growing affection. Trust Alandra to make life complicated.
But just the thought that she might care deeply for him blew life into his tired body, and much as he wanted to lose himself in her magic again, in her sultry scent begging for loving, he knew he needed answers only she could give. He just hoped he’d be able to recognise the truth when she said it.
“I want to know about you, Alandra.” He stared up at her, disconcerting her with his stare. He wanted to smile when she kept glancing at his erection, poorly concealed by his towel. “Tell me more about the Aellei. And tell me about the queen and her new lover.”
Alandra blinked, focusing on his face. “I only know what I dreamt, and I’m not entirely sure how that happened. I’m not exactly clairvoyant.”
He cleared his throat and spoke softly, not wanting to alarm her again. “Actually, I believe you tapped into my abilities.”
“Excuse me?”
“I can sometimes view another’s dreams. This perception is rather new, and until now, it’s only extended to my brothers and Arim.” His uncle didn’t know that, nor would he, if Aerolus had his way. “But I don’t think you had a dream, more like a vision.”
She stared at him, her head cocked to the side in thought. “It did feel real, didn’t it? That was my aunt, Queen Lidra. Though she doesn’t really look like that. She deliberately projects an air of…,” she paused, trying to find the right word.