“I cut it, he said sourly.
Even when she didnt intend to insult him, she did. “Well, she amended, “its clean. After a moment, she said, “Im surprised the prince regent of Jazid has to cut his own hair.
“Im hiding from an invading force that conquered my country, he growled. “We dont have the personnel to spare for amenities.
“Oh. She could see his point.
Allegra contemplated the man lying with his head in her lap. Brushing his hair comforted her for some odd reason. It took her a while to figure out why. Most people in the settled lands had straight hair; curls were only common in eastern Aronsdale. Markuss mop of curls reminded her of the boys back home.
She gazed at his body stretched out before her. He had a magnificent form. Under different circumstances, she might have desired him. In fact, if she had met him in Aronsdale, she would have considered him far out of her league and been intimidated by his sexuality and fierce beauty. He seemed larger, darker and so much more intense than any man back home.
Yet he lay quietly while she brushed his hair, the tension easing in his shoulders. The unlikely combination of his banked ferocity and his wish for her to play with his hair was appealing, even erotic. When she turned his head so she could reach the other side, he put his arms up around her hips and stroked her bottom, then let his arms relax back onto the cushions.
After Allegra worked the knots out of his hair, it took less concentration for her to brush it. At that point, she focused on the compass, which still pressed firmly into her leg.
And she sang.
The compass wasnt exactly a cylinder, but the shape was regular enough to bring her spell alive. The lullaby poured out of her, smooth and hypnotic:
Sleep my child, sleep my love
Through the night, my sweetest dove
None of that applied to Markus, except perhaps night as a metaphor, but it would do. She wound the song around him in a golden spell, the color that soothed physical or emotional pain.
Markus fought.
He never moved, never opened his eyes, and she didnt think he even realized he was fighting. But his body wouldnt let him sleep. She tried adding a touch of emerald to the colors, and to her surprise it worked. A mood spell formed, letting her sense emotions. He had no idea he was resisting a spell. She felt his fatigue, his tired muscles, his hardened thoughts of Emperor Cobalt, the man who had stolen his country, his people and his birthright. And she felt his need to sleep. He wanted to sleep. But tension coiled within him, and worries plagued his thoughts.
A haze of eroticism overlaid it all. He wanted her with a lust of bewildering intensity. He barely controlled his urge to take her as hard and as rough as he needed to satisfy that hunger. Yet despite how much his culture approved his using his pleasure girl however he pleased, he held back, for it mattered to him how she felt.
Her spell even absorbed bits of his memories as they affected his mood. They painted a grim picture of a land whose angry, violent men felt they had nothing to lose. Cobalt had taken everything, including their pride. In this country with far fewer women than men, the soldiers from the Misted Cliffs too easily seduced Jazidian women with promises of a better life. The fury of the men here simmered, ready to erupt.
She sang softly, verse after verse, fighting Markuss anger and insomnia, until finally he surrendered to a deep slumber.
Allegra opened her eyes. Gradually she realized the spell had put her to sleep, too. She was slumped over Markus, and her legs had gone stiff with the weight of his head.
The cold prodded her into action. The braziers had burned so low, they shed almost no light or heat, and she wore nothing except a few chains around her hips. When she slid out from under Markus, her muscles protested, and she winced. Even if he hadnt posted guards, she doubted she could have gone anywhere. She teetered on the verge of collapse.
Rising stiffly, she rubbed the ache in the small of her back. She retrieved her robe, but the silk offered little warmth against the night. Barely able to stay on her feet, she pulled at carpets until she found one supple enough to use as a blanket. Then she retreated across the tent, as far from Markus as she could go, and lay down, wrapping herself in the carpet, with the compass cradled against her stomach. The weave of the rug chafed her sensitized skin, but its warmth was lovely.
The moment she closed her eyes, the oblivion of sleep dropped over her and she knew no more.
CHAPTER 6
THE BARN
Tanner and Allegra wrestled, rolling in the hay that filled the loft. Sunlight sifted between planks of the barn, and dust motes danced in the shafts. He pinned her on her back, holding her down with his weight, while she struggled under him, pressing her body against his. The first time they had wrestled, he had kissed her with tenderness, but this time he took her lips as if he would take command of the world. He grabbed her hands and held them by her shoulders, holding her in place with the weight of his body and the demands of his kiss. She had never known this side of Tanner, fierce and hungry.
Arousal spiraled through her. Her shy explorations, alone in her bed at night, had never roused this intense response. Her skin felt fevered, hyperresponsive to his touch. She had known Tanner all her life and felt safer with him than with anyone else, but today he had changed. His dark edge excited her.
He released one of her hands and fondled her breast. She didnt remember undressing, but she lay beneath him with nothing on except a chain around her hips. No man had ever touched her this way before. She felt exposed and helpless, unable to stop himand incredibly aroused. He slid down her body, his clothes rough on her skin, and settled his hips between her knees in a way that felt familiar, though she had never lain with him like this. He took her nipple into his mouth and suckled, pulling hard, his teeth against her skin. She sighed as sensations tingled through her, and she ran her free hand through his hair. The curls felt thick and soft, longer than she remembered, more ragged.
He came back up and kissed her while he stroked her sides, his palms sliding from her breasts to her hips. He was moving his pelvis against hers in a steady rhythm, and she felt his erection through his trousers. His chest was strong, more muscled than she remembered. She fumbled at his shirt, trying to pull it off so she could feel his body against hers. But instead of buttons, her fingers caught on complicated fastenings, loops and ties. Then he grasped her wrists in one hand and pulled her arms over her head. Holding her wrists down in the hay, he captured her.
Let me go, she said, straining to embrace him.
He slid his hand between their pelvises, and she murmured a protest, wanting to feel his hardness against her. She couldnt free her hands to pull him closer, couldnt do anything but strain against him. Never would she have expected Tanner to affect her this way. He smelled different, an intoxicating musky scent. His palms were rough with calluses, but more like those of a swordsman than a farm boy. He stroked her between her thighs where she had never felt a mans touch, and she groaned as shudders of pleasure shot through her.
Tanner unfastened his trousers, pulling at the ties, his knuckles rubbing her sensually. Then his fist pressed between her thighs. No, not his fist. He was trying to enter her, and she tensed, suddenly afraid.
Its all right, he said. Ill go slow. Relax, sweet night bird. Youre ready for me.
Warmth swirled within her. Her body strained toward him, and he finally freed her wrists. She embraced him, pressing against his muscled torso while he slowly pushed into her.
Ah, gods, he said. I cant hold With a groan, he thrust hard and buried himself inside her. She cried out, barely able to take him, and he stopped, lying on top of her, his heart beating hard, so hard. But she didnt want him to stop. Her dreamlike urgency overwhelmed the pain, and she rocked against him. He began to thrust then, with a strong, steady rhythm, stretching her, filling her. It was so different from how she had imagined, delicious and frightening at the same time. Sensations flooded her like the crest of a wave, and she never wanted it to stop. She was so close, so close to the top.