Fifteen
Graciella heard nothing, but stood frozen and holding her breath, waiting. Finally, she heard something too—the sound of hoof beats coming up the road.
Yavi strained to see through the branches of the trees. “It’s my brother.”
Graciella followed him out into the moonlight on the side of the road, and Yajna and Jiandra slowed their horses to a halt. They dismounted, and Yavi motioned them to lead their horses through the trees to where Sikar was grazing on frozen reeds by the creek.
While the horses drank, Jiandra grasped Graciella’s hands. “How are you, my dear?”
“Fine, sister.”
“She’s exhausted,” Yavi said, sliding an arm around her shoulders. “But we can’t rest long until we reach the monastery.”
Graciella leaned against him for warmth. “How much farther is it?”
“Three or four more hours,” he answered. “It will be dawn by the time we arrive.”
Yajna placed a hand on Jiandra’s belly and kissed her cheek. “How are you holding up with the long ride, Lahdli?”
“Tired, but not too tired to make the rest of the journey.”
Yavi spoke up. “We’ll be well-rewarded when we get there. The monastery has hot mineral pools carved into the side of the mountain near the bunkhouses. The warriors soak their tired muscles there after a long day of training.”
“We used them during our mystic training for the Black Armies,” Yajna added. “We’ll ask if we can have use of them when we arrive.”
Graciella perked up. “I’ve never soaked in a hot spring.”
“I haven’t been in one either since I left Villeleia,” Jiandra said. “The one in the crystal caves on the border with Nandala is the only one I’ve ever visited.”
Graciella frowned. “When were you at the crystal caves?”
“When I went looking for Solange’s assassin.” Jiandra grinned up at Yajna. “Someone told me that was his hideout.”
He grimaced. “Don’t remind me.”
“I’m sorry, sweet husband.” Jiandra tiptoed up and kissed his cheek. “Don’t worry—he turned out to be the good guy.”
Yavi glanced over his shoulder. “When the horses have rested a few more minutes, we should get moving again. We’ll take it at a little slower pace so we don’t tire them out before we arrive.”
“Agreed,” Yajna said.
§
Graciella awoke with a start when she felt Yavi move to dismount. He reached up to lift her off Sikar’s back and set her on her unsteady feet.
She held onto his forearms for support, peering sleepily at the stone pillars of the monastery in the early light of the dawn. Relief washed over her. “We’re here.”
Yajna and Jiandra dismounted behind her, and two monks hurried down the stone steps to greet them. They bowed to the twins and took their horses’ reins. Yavi said something to the monks in Nandalan, then grasped Graciella’s hand to lead her up the stairs. They passed through the courtyard and entered the main sanctuary, where a small group of monks knelt to say their morning prayers in time to the soft, intermittent chiming of bells.
A monk rose to greet them, bowing. Yavi spoke to him in Nandalan, and he nodded, motioning them to follow him through an archway to the right.
Graciella walked along beside Yavi, grateful for his warm hand holding hers for support. They descended a staircase that led to a beautiful enclosed garden surrounded by stone walls that were covered with ivy and other types of vines. There were stepping stones leading through the vegetation to an archway in a wall, and when they ducked through it Graciella saw three luminous pools carved into the multi-layered rock of the mountain, separated by dividing walls for privacy. Vegetation grew all around each pool and lush vines covered the stones surrounding the area.
Yajna and Jiandra chose the first pool from the entrance, and Yavi said something to the monk, who nodded and left.
“He’s bringing some towels and robes,” Yavi told Graciella in a hushed tone as he led her to the pool at the far end.
She gazed down at the still water, at the misty steam rising off its surface. “It looks inviting,” she whispered, untying his cloak from around her neck.
He helped her remove the cloak, then folded it for her and laid it on the stones nearby. “These pools work miracles on tired muscles and ease the mind as well. Go ahead and get in—I’ll wait for Eliv outside by the archway.”
“But—don’t you want to soak?”
“Yes, but I’ll wait until you’re done.”
“You could join me,” she suggested.
He smiled. “I would love that, but Yajna and I need to speak with Master Volkan first. Go ahead and soak, Sheir-zin. I’ll go wait for Eliv to return, and then I’ll bring you a towel and a robe.”
After he left, Graciella sat on a low wooden bench near the pool and tugged off her boots. She stood to pull her ruined dress over her head, then stripped off her petticoat and chemise. She stepped close to the pool’s edge and dipped a toe into the blissfully steamy water, then climbed down the steps to sink into it up to her neck.
She felt around her bedraggled coiffure for any remaining pins that might have survived the evening’s ordeal, carefully collected them in her palm, washed them, and placed them on a rock near the side of the pool where she could find them later. She leaned her head back to rinse her hair, smiling at the heavenly feeling of the warm mineral water gently buffeting her naked body.
Soon Yavi’s voice came from around the corner. “I have some supplies for you, Sheir-zin.”
She grinned, stretching her arms out to float them along the pool’s surface. “Well, bring them in.”
He came around the wall and placed a stack of linens on a large, flat rock near the pool’s edge, setting a cake of soap and a comb on top.
“Are you sure you don’t want to join me? The water’s wonderful.” She rose up slightly to reveal the upper swell of her breasts above the water.
He glanced down at her chest. Then back up at her face, swallowing. “I’ll be back in a moment. After we’ve met with Volkan.” He turned to go, calling out to Yajna to join him.
Graciella sighed and reached for the soap, lathering it up to wash her hair while he was gone.
§
Yavi and his brother bowed deeply as the elder monk entered the room. “Master Volkan,” they greeted him in unison.
“Mahajin,” Volkan replied. “You have ill news for me.”
“Yes, Master.” Yavi’s jaw tightened. “A son of Thakur has emerged to challenge the throne. His name is Uman, and he’s Vyrkune.”
Volkan’s eyebrows rose. “Vyrkune?”
“He’s raising an army of other Vyrkune to fight us,” Yajna added. “We can’t kill them with sword or arrow. Yavi had to give Uman the emperor’s ruby in order to free Jiandra’s sister from their clutches.”
Volkan frowned. “This challenger took young Graciella captive?”
“Yes.” Yavi’s heart twisted at the memory of seeing her helpless in their grasp. “But we got her back safely.”
Volkan shot him a fierce look. “You must protect her, Yavi.”
“I will protect her with my life, Master. Always.”
The monk patted his shoulder. “Do that, my son, and Tejeshwar might smile on you with the gift of her love.”
Yavi swallowed. “A precious gift that would be, Master.”
“Precious to him who already loves her with all his heart.”
“Do I have your blessing, Master?” Yavi asked hopefully.
Volkan studied his face. “How does the girl feel about you, Yavi? Have you had any indication?”
Yavi thought about her making his favorite Nandalan dishes, sneaking into his room to spy on him, and lacing his cake with Tongkat Ali to weaken his almost-nonexistent defenses against her beauty. “I believe she feels the same way as I do, Master.”
The monk held his gaze. “She has told you as much, hasn’t she?”
“Yes.”
“Then love and protect her, Yavi. You have my blessing.”
Yavi grasped the old monk’s hand in gratitude.
Yajna cleared his throat. “I hate to interrupt, but now that Uman has the ruby, Master, I fear that will only embolden him in his quest. It may cause more Nandals to join his ranks. And Tejeshwar appeared to Jiandra at the temple in Nirren and told her Yavi and I must prove our worth by achieving victory over this enemy.”
Yavi spoke up. “We know there must be some way to kill the Vyrkune if Tejeshwar ordered us to fight victoriously. We just don’t know what it is.”
Volkan paced to the window. He turned back to address Yavi. “Do you still have the sword of the Zulfikars? The one your father gave you?”
“Yes, it’s in my quarters at the palace in Darpan.”
“There is a legend that Emperor Archan of the Zulfikars fought Vyrkune with it. Centuries ago.”
“Archan?” Yajna furrowed his brow. “I do not know this name. Do you, brother?”
Yavi shook his head. “I’ve never heard of him.”
“Varyn never spoke to you much of your family’s history because he didn’t want to incite a lust for the throne in his sons. He knew that would only bring sorrow and trouble.”
Tears stung Yavi’s eyes at the mention of his father. “He was wise.”
Volkan placed a hand on Yavi’s shoulder. “He was also unaware that Tejeshwar had chosen you to re-establish the Zulfikars’ right to rule.”
Yavi glanced at Yajna. “He chose both of us.”
“Yes, but you are the swordsman. You must wield the black sword against the Vyrkune.”
Yavi nodded. “I am ready. Once Uman has gathered his forces at his fortress at Faril, he will no doubt attack Darpan again and try to take the palace. The Vyrkune soldiers are gathering even now, and will probably reach Darpan before we do. They run as fast as horses, and will devour any flesh in their path. We need to send a courier immediately to tell Manck and Captain Harshad to evacuate and fall back until Yajna and I can retrieve the sword from the palace and prepare our attack.”
“I will send my fastest courier to can take your message,” Volkan assured him. “We will call him now.”
§
Graciella finished scrubbing herself with the cake of soap, set it on a rock, and swam all around the circumference of the pool, exploring the indentations in the rock, the little inlets and outlets.
“Graciella.”
She looked up. Yavi set a little tray containing a pitcher and a cup near the side of the pool. “Here is water to drink.”
She smiled and swam closer to pour herself a cup while he started unbuckling his armor. He laid his leather breastplate aside, baring his muscular chest to her view. She sipped the cool water, watching him over the rim of the cup. He sat on the bench to tug off his boots, then stood and reached for the waistband of his trousers. She turned away to avoid staring at him and made another lap around the pool, pretending to be interested in the leafy vines that tumbled over the rocks at the far end.
Soon he sank into the water, diving beneath it for a moment. She waited for him to emerge. The moment stretched long, and then even longer. Concerned, Graciella rose up to see into the water better. “Yavi?”
He finally surfaced, grinning at her.
“You scared me!” she scolded, sinking back down in the water up to her neck.
“I can stay underwater for two minutes,” he boasted.
“You brute! You had me all worked up!”
He swam around in the pool a bit, his muscular arms outstretched. “I had forgotten how wonderful this water feels when you’re completely exhausted. Where’s the soap?”
She handed it to him, then moved back to her seat on the flat rock at the back to enjoy the view. He rose up to lather his hair, chest, and armpits, the surface of the water just barely covering his groin. She could see the diagonal lines of muscle that arrowed down the front of his pelvis, and just the beginning edge of hair below that.
Soon he reached lower to soap everything, and she averted her gaze, feeling overly warm all of a sudden. Out of the corner of her eye she got just a glimpse of something that might have been the tip of his shaft as he finished lathering himself, set the soap aside, and dove under the water again. He emerged and swam toward her, shoulder and arm muscles glistening with water.
She smiled as he approached. “The water really revives a tired body, doesn’t it?”
“Yes. In more ways than one.” He grinned and sat next to her on the smooth shelf of rock, silvery gaze scanning her face and shoulders. “Your hair is beautiful wet. It looks even darker than usual.”
“Your hair looks the same as usual,” she chuckled. “The water didn’t even flatten its spikes.”
He ran a hand over his close-cropped silver hair. “Yes. Pretty boring.”
“No. I love it.” She reached up to run her fingers over it, feel its texture. “Your hair is softer than it looks.”
“Not rough like the hair on my face,” he murmured, rubbing his angular jaw.
She touched the light dusting of stubble there. “I like how that feels too.”
“Graciella.” He turned his lips to kiss her fingers, then captured her hand in his. “I love how it feels when you touch me.”
She responded by moving closer and sliding her arms around his neck, the warm water pouring off them to drench his shoulders and chest.
He grasped her waist, grinning. “This is dangerous.”
His hands on her bare flesh sent tingles to her groin. She stretched forward to press her lips to his chin. “Dangerous how?”
He kissed her, tasting her lower lip with the tip of his tongue. “I’m about to eat you up.”
She grinned mischievously. “I’d rather you than those disgusting creatures back at the tower. I’m pretty sure they were planning to make me their dinner.”
“Don’t remind me,” he groaned. “When Terijin bit your ear, I went berserk.”
She kissed his jaw. “I knew you wouldn’t let them kill me.”
“You have that much faith in me?”
“Mm-hm.” She laid her head against his bulging shoulder, pressing close enough to him that her nipples lightly brushed against his chest.
He slid his hands upward along her midriff until his hands covered her breasts. She sucked in a breath at the delicious contact, raising her head to look at him.
His silver irises were half-lidded, a smile spreading across his face. He held her gaze while he massaged her breasts, teasing her aching nipples with his thumbs. Then he lifted her to sit sideways across his hard thighs, which placed her breasts above the water, at his eye level. He stared at them, then up at her flushed face as he cupped the left one in his right hand. “You’re stunning, Sheir-zin.”
She realized her lips were parted, and closed them.
He returned his gaze to her breasts, caressing them in his hands, brushing his thumbs over her nipples until they were so tight with need they almost hurt. Then he pulled her forward and took a nipple into his mouth, covering it with his lips and flicking his tongue over it inside his mouth.
When he sucked gently, she moaned.
“Sundarra,” he murmured against her breast. “Sheir-zin auf de sundarra…” He shifted to the other breast and took that nipple into his mouth, his lips and tongue working their magic on it as well.
Graciella clutched at his shoulders, hot with desire. Desire for more of his kisses, all over her body. “Yavi, don’t stop,” she breathed. “I need you.”
He held her waist and lapped at her nipple with his tongue. “Need me?” He licked, sucked gently. “Like this?”
“Yessss.”
He turned his attention back to the left breast, giving that nipple the same treatment.
“Mmh…” she groaned.
“Your body is sundarra, Sheir-zin. So beautiful,” he whispered against her sensitive flesh. “I’ve wanted to do this ever since Kitran spilled water on your dress that day in the kitchen.”
“You wanted to make love to me then?” she squeaked as he continued to kiss her breasts, his beard stubble brushing against her tender flesh.
“Wanted is an understatement.” He reached up to tease the right nipple with his fingers and thumb while he sucked the left.
“Zehu bless Kitran. But why in heaven’s name didn’t you say so?”
He chuckled, turning his head to take the right nipple into his mouth again. Graciella thought she had died and gone to heaven, and she wanted—badly—to turn her lower body to straddle him, press her aching pelvis against him. She squirmed in his lap.
He grimaced and reached down between their bodies to adjust himself. “Sweet Graciella, stop wiggling. You’re torturing me.”
She scooted back a little, trying to get her knee up. “Can’t I just…get my leg around you?”
He loosened his grip on her waist, and she backed up enough in the water to straddle his thighs. When she hugged his neck and pulled herself in closer to him, the underside of his hard cock pressed firmly at the juncture of her thighs.
He groaned, squeezing his eyes shut.
Graciella opened her thighs wider and pressed against him until his huge shaft was securely against the spot that was crying out for contact with him. His cock jerked against her sensitive flesh, and he muttered a strained oath in Nandalan. “Graciella,” he choked, glancing down at her breasts. “Stop moving for a second; let me catch my breath.”
“Why?” She kissed his lips, grinding her hips against him. “I need you, Yavi.”
“Yes, I need you too, but I want to pleasure you the right way.”
“What’s the right way?”
“In a bed, for one.” He stood, lifting her up with him, and scooped her up into his arms cradle-style. He climbed out of the pool and set her on her feet, then picked up a towel and quickly dried her body. He unfolded a monk’s robe, draped it over her shoulders, and helped her wrap and tie it properly. Then he laid out a pair of slippers for her to slide her feet into. While she combed out her damp hair, he dried himself quickly with the other towel and shrugged into his own robe and slippers. He looked every inch the warrior-monk in the wide-sleeved robe once it was wrapped close to his torso and tied at his waist, and she was pretty certain the robe’s style didn’t look as good on her as it did on him.
He took her hand. “Come with me.”
They hurried past Yajna and Jiandra’s pool, ducked through the archway outside, and stepped lightly over the stones to an outbuilding at the far side of the garden. Once they were inside the portico, Yavi tapped on the door, opened it, and poked his head in. “Eliv?”
The young monk appeared. “Ahm, Mahaj.”
Yavi said something in Nandalan, and the monk nodded. He led them down a hall with windows that faced the monastery’s main sanctuary above. He stopped at a door at the far end of the hall and opened it for them. Yavi motioned Graciella to go inside first.
It was a bedroom with polished wooden floors and a low wooden platform holding a fluffy-looking mattress draped in off-white linens. A fire was lit in the small stone fireplace facing the foot of the bed, and the only other furniture was a chest along the wall next to the fireplace and a chair and table beside the bed. A thick, irregularly shaped rug made of white filstoc fur lay on the floor at the foot of the bed, and there was a washing bowl and pitcher on a wide windowsill on the far side of the room. Graciella went to look out the window and was treated to a breathtaking view of the early-morning sun filtering through the mist hanging over the cliffs and ridges that rose above the deep canyon below. She turned back to the bed and bent down to run her hand over the linens covering the soft mattress.
Yavi closed and bolted the door. He moved to the window to close the shutters, darkening the room, then came to her side. He grasped her hands in his and drew her with him toward the fire’s warmth, the orange blazes illuminating his clear silver irises. He brought her hands to his lips.
She hugged his neck, and he encircled her waist with his arms, pulling her up against his firm body and bending his head down to claim her mouth. His lips were firm and sexy, sending little tingles all through hers with the contact.
“Graciella, tell me if you want me to stop now, and wait until we are married.”
“Married?” She pulled back to look at him.
He held her gaze. “Would you accept me as your husband? I will do anything in my power to bring you happiness, Graciella. I will give you everything I have, everything I am. Will you marry me?”
She smiled, feeling warm all over. Way too warm for the woolen monk’s robe, in fact. “I would be thrilled to marry you, Yavi.”
He looked relieved, but then his expression grew serious. “I don’t know what my future holds, Sheir-zin, but I know I love you. I want us to be together forever.”
“I want that too. More than anything.”
He stroked her cheek, staring at her mouth. “I want to pleasure you, but tell me if you want me to wait until we’re married.”
“I don’t want to wait. I’m dying to feel you.”
He smiled and bent his head to slant his mouth over hers.
Graciella pressed up against him, kissing him back with all she had, eager to feel more of him, be absorbed into him if it were possible. He fiddled with her tied belt and spread the robe wide, then lifted it away from her body and laid it on the trunk nearby. That done, he led her to the bed, pulled the blankets aside, and scooped her up to lay her gently on the mattress on her back.
She raised herself up on her elbows to watch as he removed his robe as well, the soft glow of firelight revealing the muscular planes of his naked body to her hungry stare. His engorged cock jutted upward toward his taut belly as turned to lay his robe over the back of the chair.
He returned to the side of the bed and glanced down at himself, then up at her. “Is it to your liking?”
“You’re a lot bigger than I expected.”
He chuckled softly, reaching down to encircle his shaft with his hand. “This is why we have to use the virgin oil. I can hurt you without it.”
Graciella’s mouth went dry watching him. “Do you have the virgin oil?”
“No.”
Her heart sank.
He read her expression perfectly. “Don’t worry, Sheir-zin. We can make do without it for now.”
That perked her up, as well as made her eager to find out what he was planning. He joined her on the bed, and she scooted aside to make more room. He pulled her into his arms, pressing her against the full length of his body, then tangled his fingers into the damp hair at the back of her head before claiming her lips in a hungry kiss.
She caressed his chest a moment, then trailed her fingers down over the ripples of his lean belly to grasp his shaft. It was thick and strong, felt like velvet stretched over steel as she pushed her hands down to the base, relishing the feel of him.
“Graciella, slow down,” he choked, gently moving her hands away. “Let me pleasure you first.”
“Oh—I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” he whispered near her ear, nuzzling the sensitive skin behind it. “You can touch me all you want in a moment.”
He pulled her arms up and placed them around his neck, then leaned over her and trailed open-mouthed kisses down along the column of her neck. He flicked his tongue along her heated skin, caressing her waist and hips, his hands leaving a swath of fire everywhere they touched. He reached up to cup her breast, her turgid nipple scraping against his palm as he massaged her gently. He trailed kisses over the swell of her breasts, teasing her nipples with little flicks of his tongue. He took his time lavishing attention on her breasts with his mouth and hands, until she was so aroused she thought she was going to scream if he didn’t do something to alleviate the tension building in her core. Eventually he moved her arms up over her head and tucked her hands under the pillow on each side of her head.
“Keep them there,” he ordered huskily. He claimed her mouth again in a deep kiss, then moved lower to trail kisses over her belly. When his kisses reached her Venus’ mound, she squirmed and reached down to grasp his shoulder.
He chuckled and tucked her hand back under her pillow. “I know it feels vulnerable, but keep your hands out of the way and let me pleasure you, Sheir-zin. I promise you’ll like this.”
She smiled. Liking it was not the problem; it was simply that she wanted to touch him while he was making love to her, feel him, and it was an involuntary urge to free her hand to do so.
He went slower this time, lavishing kisses over her breasts, down over her midriff, and lingering a little longer over the tender flesh of her abdomen, kissing her open-mouthed and with little strokes of his tongue.
Graciella held her breath, waiting to see just how low those sensual kisses of his were going to venture. Soon, he was in scandalous territory again, parting her thighs and positioning his body directly in the middle of them. He gathered her legs up over his shoulders, turning his head to kiss the sensitive flesh of her inner thighs, first one, then the other. Her body was begging to feel his touch on her throbbing center, and if he didn’t touch her in the right spot soon, she was going to break his hands-under-the-pillow rule and attack him, oil or no oil.
At last she felt his fingers parting her intimate flesh, his warm breath fanning her there. “Sundarra,” he murmured. “Su shey-har sulil sundarra.”
Yavi! she wanted to scream. Touch me now!
Finally he lowered his head and covered her with his mouth, his tongue rubbing against her most sensitive spot in the most scandalous, thrilling sensation she had ever experienced. She caught herself before reaching down to touch his shoulder again and shoved her hand back under the pillow as he’d requested, arching her back under the wave of sweet tingles washing over her from the things he was doing to her with his mouth.
As he continued to kiss her, he used his shoulders to bunch her legs up a bit, reaching up to caress her hips, her waist, his fingers eventually finding her aching nipples to tease them again. Graciella was happily pinned to the mattress by his hands and tongue, with no argument inside her in the least about the situation. It felt like she was drenching his chin in moisture as his soft stubble rubbed the opening of her vagina. He licked and sucked until she was writhing and moaning beneath him, and then suddenly she felt his tongue probing inside her.
“Oh!”
His tongue plunged a little deeper, and he used the fingers of one hand to stimulate her swollen clitoris while he penetrated her in and out with his velvety tongue.
A climax started to wrack her body, and she convulsed, squeezing him with her thighs. “Oh, Yavi. Oh!”
He used his fingers and tongue to keep the pressure on while wave after wave of melty-hot ecstasy washed over her body. She felt as if she were being completely wrung out like a dishrag. Like every pleasure point in her body was squeezing and contracting, only to billow out again, stretching toward him, seeking his touch, craving his body, wanting to meld with him completely.
Eventually he released her from his sweet torture, caressing her thighs and hips a few seconds more. He freed her hands and wrapped them around his neck while he nuzzled her jawline. “Sundarra,” he whispered.
She found her voice, although it came out low and raspy. “What does that mean?”
“Beauty that overwhelms. It means when you’re helpless in the face of such beauty.”
“That was the best thing I’ve ever felt,” she groaned.
“Me too.”
“You too? How, when I am the one receiving all the pleasure?”
He caressed her hips as he kissed her neck, then spoke near her ear. “You are not the one receiving all the pleasure. Feeling you climaxing under me is a pleasure beyond belief, Sheir-zin.”
She hugged him closer. “How can I love you the same way?”
“Hold off on that for a moment longer. I want to give you another climax.” He stuffed her left hand under the pillow again.
“Another? But you—”
“Hush,” he ordered, pinning her right hand out of the way, under the pillow. He moved lower to trail kisses over her belly again, then spread her thighs wider and covered her with his mouth again. Graciella sucked in a sharp breath at the exquisite thrill of her still-swollen clitoris being even more sensitive to the strokes of his tongue than before. She felt his thumb stroking over the opening of her vagina, rubbing the inside rim gently, letting her get used to the sensation before pushing his thumb inside her just a bit. It stretched her, felt thick and tight inside her, and increased the pleasurable sensation of his hot mouth and tongue on her.
Within seconds she was moaning and writhing beneath him again.
He raised his head. “Hold back. Try not to release it yet.”
She tightened her belly, squeezing her eyes shut tight as he redoubled his efforts, licking and sucking with his lips and tongue. His thumb pressed slightly deeper inside her, and she felt herself contracting on it.
“I—I can’t…”
He raised his head, giving her a break. “Hold it if you can,” he urged gently.
She held her breath, willing herself to calm a bit.
He blew cool air over her wet clitoris, and she groaned.
He chuckled. “Are you under control, my sweet?”
“Barely.”
He licked her, and she convulsed, her climax right on the edge.
“Gods, Yavi,” she choked out. “Please…”
He blew on her again, softly. “Please what?”
She arched her back. “Please…help me!”
He chuckled and covered her aching clitoris with his mouth, licked her back and forth with his tongue, and pushed his thumb inside a bit further. An enormous wave that felt like molten lava claimed her body, and she lost all sense of time and space. The wave consumed her, pressing through her core and pushing out through every cell of her body. She arched off the mattress into his arms, moaning his name aloud, pushing herself against his hard frame.
“Graciella,” he groaned, stroking her back, her waist, her hips. “Beautiful love. Beautiful.” He devoured her neck, pressing her back against the pillows, smothering her with kisses.
“Gods,” she breathed, straining up against him. “How did you do that?”
He chuckled against her collarbone and lay on his side beside her. “It gets stronger if you hold back a bit.”
“Let me pleasure you. I have to make you feel that too. Show me what to do.”
He pulled her hand down to his cock, wrapped her fingers around it. “Touch me like you did earlier.”
She stroked him eagerly. “Lie on your back,” she suggested, and he complied. She rose up on one elbow to get better leverage, caressing him up and down.
He reached down to capture her hand, rubbing her palm over his tip. It was wet with slippery fluid that coated her palm. “Now try it,” he urged.
She did, sliding her hand up and down his length more smoothly. She gripped him harder, stroking all the way down, loving the way his penis bucked against her hand a little bit. She looked up at his face. “Can I use my mouth like you did?”
“Yes. Do it.”
She bent forward to kiss the tip of his shaft gingerly. “This won’t hurt you?”
“Your sweet kisses? It’s like torture, but of the very best kind,” he managed.
She smiled and licked him, tasting the salty fluid that continued to seep a bit, then covering him with her mouth. She sucked gently, and he groaned.
After a few more minutes of her kisses, he shifted away. “I can’t wait any longer,” he said, laying her on her back. He pushed her legs together, then straddled her body and positioned himself so that he could press his cock between her thighs, rubbing himself up against her folds. She was still sensitive and tingly there, and shivered in response to the contact. He pushed himself deeper into the crevice, then pulled out, shuddering. In again, out. His breathing was hot and labored near her ear. One more push, and his entire body convulsed with a groan. Graciella felt hot fluid spill over her thighs, and then he gathered her into his arms, his heart thudding against the wall of his chest.
She hugged him tightly. “Yavi—just take me all the way. I want you to.”
“No, sweet,” he rasped, his voice thick. “Not without the bride oil. That is the way I want to do it.”
“When can we get married, then? We’re in the middle of a war.”
He nuzzled her ear, her neck. “Tonight. I’ll ask Volkan to perform the ceremony, if you agree.”
She squealed with delight. “Of course I agree!”
Hi kissed her. “It means you won’t have a temple wedding, wear a fancy dress, invite guests, or have a lavish banquet, Sheir-zin. Are you certain you want to do it here, tonight?”
“More than certain. I want to be your wife right now. But where can we get the oil?”
“I’ll ask Volkan about that too. If he has the ingredients and can make it, good. If not, I’ll ask him where I can buy it in Parvata, the village in the foothills near here.”
“Yavi, I love you so much.” She snuggled against him happily.
He held her close, stroking her hair. “Ohkfu shah denahmay. I love you too. Now sleep.”
With his pectoral muscle for a pillow, she did just that.
§
Yavi felt her fall asleep, lying on his chest. He absently reached up to place his hand over the emperor’s ruby, feeling strange to find it absent for the first time in six years. No doubt Uman wouldn’t rest until he had hunted them down again. Even though he now had the ruby, with the Zulfikar line still alive and living in Nandala, Uman’s authority would be tenuous at best. The palace guards, Black Armies, and general populace of Nandala were fiercely loyal to Yavi and his brother. Uman would have to murder many, many innocents with his Vyrkune in order to maintain control.
As selfish as it sounded, he was tempted to take Graciella and flee—go into hiding somewhere in Villeleia just as he’d suggested to her, be a peasant farmer, and raise a little family in safety and seclusion. But he knew that was impossible. He could not abandon his homeland to these flesh-eating creatures. Whether he was emperor now or not, he was still one of the highest-trained assassins in the Black Armies, with a sworn duty to protect Nandala.
He stroked Graciella’s soft cheek and the dark swath of her hair draped over his chest, touching the silky strands with his fingertips. Whatever it cost him, she must be protected. He knew the right thing to do was to send her back to Villeleia, well out of harm’s way, as soon as he had a chance. But the thought of parting with her now drove a dagger deep into his gut.
He would consult with Master Volkan when they awoke, ask for his consent to marry them that night. And pray. Perhaps Tejeshwar would speak with him if Jiandra asked him to, here at the monastery, tell him what to do to protect his bride and his country.
Clinging to that hope, he drifted off to sleep.