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                           Dragon Lord 



                                     By 



                       Kaitlyn O’Connor 



 © copyright by Kaitlyn O’Connor, April 2007 



 Cover Art by Jenny Dixon, April 2007 



 New Concepts Publishing 



 This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of 

the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any 

resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence. 



                               Chapter One 



 An ambiguous mixture of emotions ran along the 

periphery of Raina Willows’ mind as she carefully 

polished a three foot segment of the dark mahogany 


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balustrade. Narrowing her eyes, she studied the section 

critically. The light powdering of dust she’d been 

stirring around, she saw, had collected in a groove on 

the bottom side of the railing. Settling her rump on one 

of the stairs, she speared the polishing cloth with the 

nail on her index finger and ran it back and forth along 

the decorative furrow until she’d removed the pale line 

and then focused on the intricate carving that supported 

the balustrade. 



 It was archaic, Raina decided, but she still wasn’t 

altogether certain of how she felt about it. Vaguely 

resentful, she supposed, maybe a little threatened. 



 Threatened might be a little strong, she amended, 

lifting her head briefly to flick a gaze around the vast 

foyer of the mansion, but something like that. 



 From the moment she’d first seen the place, from the 

outside, the fanciful notion had swept over her that she 

was walking onto a movie set for a filming of a vampire 

flick or a ghost story. The gothic mansion and its setting 

had the sort of theatrical feel to it that gave her a mild 

case of the willies even before she’d set foot inside, and 

the interior of the place was evenmore gothic--heavy 

crushed velvet draperies on all of the tall windows, 

heavily carved furniture, dark mahogany moldings 

everywhere. 


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 She wasn’t sure why she’d worked so hard to get the 

job. 



 Aside from the fact that she desperately needed work, 

that is. 



 Cleaning lady wasn’t exactly the sort of thing one 

could put on a resume to get a leg up in today’s world. 

 She’d gone after the job because she’d thought it would 

be a cinch to get it and she’d been beat out by the 

competition on every other job she’d tried for over the 

past couple of months. Immediate needs had finally 

overrode the desirability of career building. 



 She’d felt like a peon, though, from the first moment 

she’d been interviewed, and that, at least, was no 

exaggeration. The housekeeper hadlooked like a 

character out of an old horror/vampire flick, not quite 

medieval but damned close in her severe, mid-calf 

length black dress, her gray hair slicked back and 

knotted at the back of her head in a style that looked 

like something out of the eighteen hundreds. 



 Raina had known immediately that she’d fucked up 

when she’d shown up for the interview in jeans and a 

knit top, be they ever so neat. The housekeeper, Mrs. 

Higgenbottom, had looked her over as if she smelled 

something that stank--like shit. 


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 It was menial work she was applying for, though. How 

the hell was she supposed to guess they’d expect her to 

dress up just to crawl around on her hands knees to 

clean? She’d figured she should wear work clothes. She 

’d worn her best jeans and a neat, almost new, 

conservative knit top. 



 It had been obvious immediately that she’d figured 

wrong. The housekeeper, she strongly suspected, would 

’ve pitched her out on her ass right then and there, 

without an interview, except for Mr.Smith . The woman 

’s face had looked as if it was about to crack wide open 

with outraged contempt--that Raina had dared to show 

herself like she was--when she’d looked up and met 

Mr. Smith’s gaze. Raina hadn’t noticed a single 

emotion ripple across the man’s face and yet after that 

exchange of gazes, the housekeeper had settled and 

started the interview. 



 What wasup with that, anyway? 



 So far, she’d met--not been introduced to, but had them 

pointed out to her--Mr. Smith, Mr. Jones, Mr. Black, 

Mr. Green, and Mr. White. 



 No way in hell was she believing that was their real 

names. 



 They were like--a security detail of some kind, 


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reminded her of glimpses she’d had of the secret 

service men that surrounded the President--they were 

that fucking scary! Maybe a little more scary. 



 Except for the detail of slight variations in hair 

coloring, they almost looked like a matched set of 

bookends--all of them were at least six foot tall and 

built like bouncers on steroids. All of them wore suits 

and dark glasses. All of them had hard angular, 

strangely exotic faces and looked as if their faces might 

crack if they ever used any of their facial muscles for 

anything approaching a smile. They all had 

unfashionably long hair, which was smoothed back on 

their heads and tied at the base of their skulls into a ‘ 

ponytail’ that should’ve made them look ridiculous but 

somehow didn’t--probably because they practically 

dripped testosterone. 



 Like the housekeeper, they all wore black, except their 

suits weren’t throwbacks in style like the housekeeper’s 

dress--or dresses. Either the woman wore the same 

dress every day or she had a closet full of the identical 

style. It was Raina’s third day on the job and she’d yet 

to see the woman wearing anything that looked the least 

bit different from the dress she’d worn the day Raina 

had come to interview a week earlier. 



 She had yet to see the mysterious Mr. Simon Draken, 

her actual employer, but, as curious as she was about 


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the man, she actually dreaded the possibility of running 

in to him. 



 The housekeeper, Mrs. Higgenbottom, had spent most 

of her first day on the job telling her what was expected 

of her and laying down the ‘rules of the house’. 



 She was a servant, not to be seen or heard--at 

all--which was where the archaic attitude came in. Mr. 

Draken was a busy man and rarely left the west wing, 

where his ‘suite’ lay so she was assured an encounter 

wasn’t likely, but if she happened to be in an area of the 

house when he did pass through, she was to try to make 

herself invisible andnever to look directly at the man. 



 Archaic! 



 It made her uneasy, though.Maybe she wasn’t 

supposed to look at the guy because she was a servant 

and dirt beneath his feet, and maybe there was some 

kind of dark and creepy reason she wasn’t supposed to 

look at him. 



 It was a flaw in her personality, she supposed, that 

aside from engendering a good deal of resentment in 

her, the restrictions had also given rise to a wealth of 

curiosity she might not have felt at all if Mrs. 

Higgenbottom hadn’t been so adamant that she was 

forbidden even to look at the man. Her active 


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imagination had instantly began to conjure speculative 

images. 



 The mansion almost looked like it could’ve been from 

the Dark Ages, in style anyway. Except for the style of 

the architecture, it didn’t look old, but the house didn’t 

look new either, mostly because she couldn’t imagine 

the craftsmanship evident in the place having been 

mass produced or even handcrafted by modern day 

millworkers. 



 So she figured he must be old, especially with his 

archaic expectations of his household staff. 



 He was obviously filthy rich, too. Even if this estate 

had been handed down to him, she couldn’t imagine a 

younger man wanting to live in a place like this--single, 

she thought. There’d been no mention of a Mrs. 

Draken. 



 The fact that she’d been forbidden to look at him made 

her think he was deformed or disfigured in some way. 



 Maybe not. 



 The security detail that guarded the place as if it was 

Fort Knox suggested he might be someone who’d, at 

least at one time, been famous, maybe a political 

dignitary or something. 


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 Or maybe not. She supposed it could’ve just been his 

wealth. 



 Shaking the thoughts off, she focused both her mind 

and her gaze on her work for a moment, examining it 

carefully. She didn’t want to get fired when she hadn’t 

even collected her first paycheck and Mrs. Bitch, old as 

the crow was, had the eyes of a fucking eagle. If there 

was so much as a speck of dust or a smudged 

fingerprint, the old bat would make her start over from 

the beginning. 



 She’d been trying to convince herself this was just the ‘ 

new girl’ shake down, typical of most jobs where the 

boss led you around by the short hairs and cracked the 

whip over your head until they were certain you’d been 

properly broken in and cowed. If she could just make it 

through the initiation phase, it would be smooth sailing 

after that. 



 The intricate carving of dragons and vines and strange, 

exotic flowers was beautiful, she supposed. She’d 

thought so before she was told to clean and polish the 

damned thing anyway. All the tiny crevices and grooves 

collected dust, though, and a cleaning rag and polish 

just didn ’t get it insofar as removing the dust in the 

minute fissures. 


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 Unconsciously rolling the kinks out of her shoulders 

and back, she glanced surreptitiously around the foyer 

again. Seeing no sign of Ms. Hatchet-face, Raina lifted 

her head for a more thorough search. All the doors 

along the foyer within her view were firmly closed and 

after a moment, she slipped the toothbrush out of her 

jeans pocket. 



 The woman would probably shit a squealing worm a 

mile long if she caught her using a toothbrush, which 

was why Raina didn’t intend to get caught. Shealso 

didn’t intend to spend the entire day cleaning the 

fucking balustrade that wound up both sides of the foyer 

in a grand, horse shoe shaped curve. 



 Draping her cleaning rag over the handle of the 

toothbrush, she dipped the soft bristles in the cleaning 

solution and made short work of the balustrade support, 

darting an occasional guilty glance around to make 

certain she wasn’t caught at it. When she’d finished, 

she used another rag to wipe off the excess cleaning 

solution and then stood up and leaned over the 

balustrade to clean the outside. 



 Somewhere in the rounds of balancing and cleaning 

and the need to finish the task quickly, she became so 

focused on what she was doing that she not only forgot 

to keep a look out for her nemesis, the housekeeper, but 

she also didn’t pay any attention to the march of many 


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feet on the upstairs landing until they slowed and finally 

stopped. 



 It was the cessation of the sound that finally penetrated 

her absorption. Instinctively, she glanced up and froze 

as she met the gaze of the man standing at the top of the 

stairs. 



 His eyes were unlike any she’d ever seen--on any 

human, or animal for that matter. Even with the 

distance separating them the color--a strange gold 

flecked with orange-rust--seemed to jump out at her. 

The black pupils didn’t look ‘normal’ either. Instead of 

round, as they should’ve been, they were elongated, 

almost diamond shaped. 



 It wasn’t the eyes, though, that caused her such a jolt. 

It wasn’t anythingher eyes were registering, because 

she wasn’t actually aware of noting and cataloguing his 

physical attributes at that suspended moment in time. 

She wasn’t the sort of person who went around talking 

or thinking in terms of ‘auras’ and yet she’d felt his 

even before she looked up, an almost electrified charge 

in the air that had already been crawling over her and 

prickling her skin even before she looked up. Once she 

did look up and met his gaze, she was enveloped in 

something like a force-field that was ten times stronger 

than that first awareness, a powerful, unidentifiable ‘ 

something’ that seemed to suspend her breath in her 


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chest and her heart and then jumpstart both with an 

electric current that made her heart take off like a 

runaway freight train. 



 He seemed almost as frozen as she was, though she 

was quite sure, later when she could think at all, that it 

wasn’t for the same reason or anything approaching it. 



 For her, the closest she could come to describing her 

feelings later was that she was awestruck, as if she’d 

found herself in the presence of some deity, or a being 

with god-like powers--or a sex god of the silver screen. 



 After a long, long moment, while her heart hung 

suspended in her chest, and the air she’d sucked into 

her lungs and held slowly depleted of oxygen and began 

to bleed a dizzying current of carbon monoxide into her 

feeble brain, he lifted a pair of sunglasses and settled 

them over his eyes. The movement, or the sudden 

release of her captive gaze, allowed Raina a handful of 

seconds to gather an overall impression of the man 

before she became aware of the men surrounding him, 

standing slightly behind him. 



 A security detail, her mind clicked. 



 The mysterious Mr. Draken, her mind added. 



 The toothbrush in her hand. 


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 Guiltily, Raina made a belated attempt to hide the 

contraband in her hand. She averted her gaze but not 

before she saw her guilty movement had drawn his 

attention directly to the toothbrush she’d tried to palm. 



 She was never to be seen, or heard, and under no 

circumstances to look directly at the man. The color left 

her face in a rush as those rules, drummed into her head 

over the past several days, belatedly filtered into her 

mind. Straightening abruptly, she grabbed her tray of 

cleaning supplies, galloped down the stairs, and around 

the curve, flattening herself against the wall. Her heart, 

jump started by her abrupt awareness, was galloping in 

her chest at around ninety miles an hour. Her lungs, 

laboring overtime now that she’d remembered to 

breathe, pumped like a bellows, over oxygenating her 

blood so rapidly she thought for several horrifying 

moments she was going to pass out. 



 Triple shit! she thought in dismay as she caught a 

glimpse of the housekeeper’s shoes in the doorway off 

to her right. 



 She’d broken every single damned rule in the space of 

a heartbeat and topped that off by galloping down the 

stairs like an idiot, drawing even more attention to 

herself! 


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 She flicked a look at her hand by her side and saw the 

bright blue handle of the toothbrush sticking up out of 

the cleaning cloth. As casually as she could, she rotated 

her arm so that the handle, she hoped, was hidden from 

the woman’s view, but she had a bad feeling it was way 

too late to be worrying about the damned toothbrush. 

Even if Hatchet-face hadn’t seen the toothbrush, she’d 

probably seen her gallop down the stairs,and seen her 

look directly at the man--Simon Draken--staring at him 

as if she’d heard a chorus of angels singing in the 

background. 



 She knew it had to be him. As stunned as she’d been, 

she’d been dimly aware that he wasn’t alone even 

before she glanced up. The fact that four of the security 

men had flanked him was enough to assure her it was ‘ 

his lordship’ himself. 



 She frowned at that thought. She’d been too 

mesmerized to take in any particular details about him, 

but she certainly hadn’t gotten the impression that he 

was old. His bearing had been ramrod stiff--almost 

military, although ‘regal’ was what popped into her 

mind from out of nowhere--not bent with age. His 

bearing aside, the impression she’d gotten was one of 

exceptional height, and massive proportions,not a body 

shriveled with age. 



 Not fat. 


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 He wore black like everyone else in this bizarre 

household, but it hadn’t been a suit. The slacks had 

been tailored to fit narrow hips and long, lean legs. The 

shirt, almost ‘blousy’ and old world looking, had been 

open at the neck, but his shoulders were broad and 

straight and the silk-like fabric had draped what 

seemed, in retrospect, hard, bulging muscles a 

body-builder would envy. 



 The men were halfway down the stairs before her 

hearing picked out the sound of their footsteps over her 

drumming heartbeat. Inwardly, she cringed, wishing she 

hadn’t stopped by the stairs. She’d been lucky to make 

it as far as she had, though, without her legs completely 

losing muscle tone and dumping her in the floor. She 

was fairly certain she wouldn’t have made it down the 

hall to the service area without embarrassing herself. 



 Sweat beaded her brow when the contingent reached 

the foot of the stairs and paused. The housekeeper was 

still watching her. She wasn’t going to look, even 

though it was eating her alive to glance in that direction 

just to see ifhe was looking at her. 



 She wasn’t going to. 



 She slid her eyes in his direction. She couldn’t see 

anything but black shoes and calves clad in dress 


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pants--and a pair of knee high black boots. The toes 

were pointed toward the door. For some reason, though, 

she had the impression that he’d glanced in her 

direction. 



 Paranoia? 



 After that brief hesitation, the entire party went out the 

front door. 



 Raina expelled a breath of relief when they 

disappeared. 



 She counted to ten, expecting to hear the crisp 

footsteps of the housekeeper. She knew the woman 

wasn’t going to bellow at her from down the hall. 



 “Mr. Draken will be back in an hour,” Mrs. 

Higgenbottom said finally, her voice sounding almost 

mild for her. “Be certain you’ve finished with the 

balustrade and moved into the dining room by then.” 



 More than a little stunned, Raina nodded, but the soft 

click of the door told her the woman hadn’t waited for 

any kind of response. 



 Her entire body slumped as the tension went out of 

her. Feeling dazed and more than a little confused, 

Raina moved away from the wall when the weakness 


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finally subsided and strength slowly began to return. 



 She hadn’t been dismissed. 



 Yet. 



 The old bat was probably going to wait until she’d 

finished cleaning andthen fire her, Riana thought 

morosely. 



 And how the hell didshe know he’d be back in an 

hour? Where would he go on the island that would take 

him an hour to get there and back? He wouldn’t be 

leaving the island. It was a fifteen minute ride around it 

to the dock and another ten to fifteen from there to the 

mainland, twenty or thirty to the city limits …. 



 Shaking that puzzle off, Riana hurried up the stairs and 

hustled to finish the seemingly endless task in the time 

allotted. It wasn’t just that she was concerned about the 

housekeeper, either. The entire episode had left her 

feeling strangely disoriented and jumpy. The man 

exuded cold and dangerous. As scary as she’d thought 

his watch dogs were, the main man made them seem 

warm and cuddly in contrast. 



 Thatwas the impression that had made her heart stop 

and her breath freeze in her lungs, she decided. 


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 The image of his strange eyes hung in the back of her 

mind as she worked furiously to finish the cleaning and 

polishing so that she could play least in sight when the 

man came back. 



 Emotionless, she thought, not just cold in the sense 

that he might have been looking at a roach that had had 

the audacity to creep out from under the rug. His eyes, 

his expression, had been as cold and distant as if there 

was no soul in the body. 



 She’d seen a flicker of …something , though, she 

realized after a while. Fleetingly, so briefly she would’ 

ve missed it if she hadn’t been staring into his eyes, she 

’d seen something pass through them, an 

acknowledgement of her presence, she supposed. 

Surprise, maybe? As if it had been so unexpected for 

him to discover an actual living, breathing being 

cleaning his house that it had jolted him out of that 

faraway place where his mind ordinarily dwelt. 



                                  * * * * 



 Such turmoil churned through Simon as he left the 

house that it was only habit that guided him down the 

path he’d worn over the years from the house to the sea. 

He found he could not sort the confusion of thoughts 

and impressions, even though he felt a need to do so, 

and that disturbed him almost as much as the fact that 


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he was in a state of disorder at all. 



 He had not expected to encounter the woman--his 

peopleknew he did not like to deal with outsiders--but 

he was not unaware of the woman’s presence in his 

house. As little interest as he had in such things, he was 

kept informed of everything that went on around him. 

That was a given. Whether he was interested or not, his 

rank placed as many obligations upon him as it did his 

people. 



 And that being the case, he should not have felt such a 

jolt of … shock upon encountering her. Should not 

have felt even a great deal of surprise, let alone stunned 

to such a degree that it seemed to suspend him in time 

so that he’d found himself unable to move, or think, or 

even breathe for a seemingly endless time. 



 Itwas shock that he’d felt, though, he finally 

acknowledged, an unpleasant jolt of stunned … what? 



 He still was not sure, but his mind obligingly recalled 

every image it had recorded in those moments, every 

impression, and tumbled them around again in an effort 

to find some explanation, some logical reason for the 

disturbance. 



 A small, pale face surrounded by untidy locks of dark, 

reddish brown hair emerged dominate, and most 


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strongly of that impression was the eyes--because they 

seemed larger than anything else about her face. More 

vaguely, he had had the impression of clothing that had 

seemed far more suitable for a man--at least the men of 

his culture--fitted, though there had been nothing at all 

mannish about the body the clothing so faithfully 

conformed to--large, soft breasts, a narrow waist, nicely 

rounded hips and shapely thighs. 



 He had noticedeverything about her body, he realized 

with a mixture of surprise and irritation. Without any 

actual intention of doing so, without even a conscious 

awareness of it, he had catalogued every pleasing curve, 

could remember very clearly every detail of shape and 

size, even a calculation of firmness and softness. 



 Arousal, he realized as he felt his body stir again only 

at the memories. Part of it, at least, had been desire. 



 He examined that with suspicion, searching for a 

reason to dismiss it, and realized that he could not. The 

potent attraction, unwelcome as it was, unfathomable as 

it was, had been the greatest part of the jolt to him. 



 He had not been with a woman in …. He could not 

exactly remember the last time. He had a vague 

memory of expending himself on some nameless, 

faceless female, but nothing beyond that--no perception 

of time. In truth, he had ignored his physical needs so 


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long he rarely felt it to any great degree anymore and he 

could not even recall when he had managed to quash 

even the call of his manhood. 



 That explained it, though--need. It was not want. It was 

only nature demanding he remember that his body had 

needs besides the intake of nourishment and the need to 

rest. 



 That did not explain why, though, the eyes bothered 

him so much, why the expression on her face haunted 

him. 



 She had felt it, too, he realized after a few more 

minutes of thrashing the idea around in his head, feeling 

almost more stunned by that realization.That was why 

he had felt such a jolt. The look in her eyes, on her 

face--it had mirrored the same, inexplicably powerful 

force of attraction that he had felt. 



 Reflected back at him, he wondered? Overlain there by 

his mind’s eye only because it was what he felt? Or had 

she actually felt it, too? 



 Frowning, he examined that more carefully. 



 He did remember it correctly, he finally decided, but 

the attraction wasn’t all that he’d seen. It might not 

even have been the emotion that dominated that little 


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face that he’d found so appealing, so strangely 

fascinating. 



 She’d been focused on his eyes, paled as she stared 

him, froze like prey that has sensed the interest of a 

predator. 



 He hadn’t been wearing his glasses, he realized 

abruptly, feeling anger and far more disappointment 

than he should have. 



 He had scared the hell out of her. 



                                   * * * * 



 The conflicting thoughts and impressions did nothing 

to settle Raina’s nerves. As tired as she was by the time 

she’d managed to finish, she was still jumpy. The 

faintest sound made her stiffen and cock her ears to 

listen intently until she’d identified it. 



 She was frantically polishing the last segment of the 

balustrade when she heard the sound she’d been 

listening for--the faint scuff of soles on the walkway 

outside the front door. For a split second, she froze like 

a deer caught in a car’s headlights. As she stared at the 

door, though, and saw the door knob begin to turn, she 

grabbed her cleaning tray and darted toward the formal 

dining room on tiptoe. 


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 God only knew why she thought that would help 

anything. The cleaning supplies jiggled and rattled with 

each step, noisily marking her quick retreat. She almost 

spilled the thing in her haste to clear the doorway and 

close the door behind her. 



 Struggling not to pant for breath like an obscene phone 

breather, Raina, inspired by some insane impulse she 

couldn’t resist, paused before closing the door 

completely. Holding it with no more than a thin sliver 

between the door’s edge and the frame, she peered 

through the minute opening as the men entered the 

foyer. 



 Hewas in the forefront again. Despite the panic that 

threaded through her veins, she allowed her gaze to 

take a full sweep of him before she focused on the hard 

planes of his face, studying his profile as he came into 

full view. 



 He hesitated fractionally as he placed one boot clad 

foot on the first stair. For a split second, she thought he 

knew she was there, that he was going to turn and look 

straight at her. 



 He didn’t. He mounted the stairs and disappeared from 

view, leaving her to wonder if she’d just imagined that 

slight hesitation. 


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 When the last of his escort had disappeared up the 

stairs behind him, she very carefully closed the door, 

wincing as she heard the click as the door caught and 

wondering if it only seemed loud to her or if it actually 

had been loud enough to carry up the stairs. 



 After glancing around the vast dining room vaguely for 

a moment, she finally moved to one of the dining chairs 

that lined the wall nearest her and collapsed weakly on 

the seat. 



 Staring at nothing in particular as her mind focused 

inwardly, she tried to sort the unfamiliar riot of 

emotions inside of her. With a touch of surprise, she 

finally realized that uppermost was almost a sense of 

awe, giddiness--vague hysteria--as if she’d discovered 

herself in the presence of some rock star or god of the 

silver screen she’d lusted over and fantasized about for 

years--except this man was a complete stranger. She 

was absolutely certain she’d never seen that face 

before. She wouldnever have forgotten it. So how, him 

being a nobody as far she was concerned, could he have 

had that kind of effect on her? 


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                              Chapter Two 



 Audric studied the prince surreptitiously as he 

followed in his wake, ostensibly scanning their 

surroundings for any sign of an assassin. He knew the 

others were alert for the possibility, though, and only 

half his mind was focused on that constant vigil. The 

other half was focused on the prince himself, searching 

for some outward sign that his ruse had been detected. 



 Simon had seen the woman. There was no doubt in his 

mind that, for the first time since he could remember, 

something had finally penetrated the shield of ice 

Simon had erected around himself. Unfortunately, since 

he’d been behind his half-brother, as was his place, he 

hadn’t seen what sort of effect it had had on him. 



 He was still heartened. Even a tiny fracture was 

welcome after all these years when he’d almost lost 

hope that he would ever again see the man he’d 

worshipped since he was child, guarded with his life 

since he was old enough to take his place in the royal 

guard. 



 When Simon stopped at last on the promontory where 

he always stopped, staring out at the sea, Audric 

motioned for the royal guard to take up stations and 

then moved to a position that would allow him to keep 


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watch and still catch an occasional glimpse of Simon’s 

profile. 



 Uneasiness filtered through him when Simon turned 

his head and stared at him for a long moment before his 

gaze focused inward again and he turned to stare out to 

sea as he had ritualistically once a week since his exile 

from his homeland.He knew, if the others didn’t, that 

this was Simon’s penance for living when the woman 

he’d loved more than life had died, taking his heart and 

soul with her. 



 To everyone else, it might seem as if Simon was hardly 

                                                             a 

aware of where his eyes focused. It was just   sea, not 

the sea that had swallowed Evangeline and taken away 

the light in Simon’s eyes. 



 Heknew, though. The very first time they’d come this 

spot and looked out at the sea the image that had been 

printed indelibly on his mind forever had surfaced 

instantly and he’d thought for several moments that he 

would throw up. 



 That was why Simon came here, not because this sea 

reminded him of home, but because every time he 

looked at it, he saw Evangeline’s long black hair 

drifting in the tide, saw her lifeless eyes staring back 

him. 


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 He came to torture himself. For living? Maybe. 

Probably. But Audric thought it was also because he 

was searching for his lost soul, trying to figure out why 

he was still alive--or still breathing. What Simon had 

been doing since he’d been exiled didn’t actually 

constitute living. Existing more accurately described it. 



 Despite every effort he’d made himself to banish that 

nightmare, Audric felt it grip him again the moment he 

acknowledged it, felt the memories wash over him in a 

sickening tide. 



 He’d been afraid and struggling mightily with the effort 

to hide it and maintain his dignity when they’d been 

brought out, they thought, for execution after the 

months they’d spent in that stinking prison. He’d told 

himself he’d expected nothing less, that he was 

surprised they’d even waited as long as they had. He’d 

told himself it was better to get it over with than to die 

by degrees, slowly rotting in prison, becoming less of a 

man and more of an animal every day. 



 When they’d brought Evangeline out, he’d felt sick, 

certain they’d brought her to watch, fearful that he’d 

shame himself when he died. He’d been so focused on 

that that it had taken him a while to figure out what they 

were doing. 



 Disbelief, he thought, had gripped all of them as they 


----------------------- Page 28-----------------------

watched the executioners bury Evangeline in the sand 

up to her neck, and comprehension was slow in coming. 

For a long while, he had simply stared at her, the men 

around him, the men standing on the beach, watching 

the slow, inevitable approach of the tide. Even when it 

had finally clicked in his mind what they were about, he 

hadn’t been able to believe it. 



 It was just Jaelen’s sick way of tormenting them to the 

bitter end, he was certain. 



 And it was. 



 What it was not, was a show merely to torment them. 



 He should have known that when he saw how excited 

Jaelen was, but there was no reason to kill Evangeline. 

It served no purpose. Killing them served a purpose. 

Killing Simon would have served a purpose, becausehe 

was the rightful emperor.He should have ascended to 

the throne upon his father’s death--not Jaelen, the 

treacherous, backstabbing little worm. 



 There were times when he was not certain which part 

of that nightmare sickened him the most, watching 

Evangeline die, or watching Simon slowly fall apart; 

remembering the terror in Evangeline’s eyes, or 

remembering the terror in Simon’s; watching her slowly 

swallowed up beneath the sea, or Simon, tearing and 


----------------------- Page 29-----------------------

clawing at the chains that bound him like a raving 

madman, sobbing and begging like a child for them to 

kill him instead. 



 Audric’s stomach lurched sickeningly with the 

memory. 



 He’d loved her, too, fallen in love with her long before 

she had caught Simon’s eye and capturedhis heart. No 

one could be around her for any length of time andnot 

love her. He had understood that, understood that 

Simon could no more help loving her than he could 

and, moreover, that she had never been meant for him. 

She had been Simon’s long before he had finally 

noticed, or acknowledged, the woman his father had 

chosen for his bride. 



 For the most part, the same could’ve been said of 

Simon, that it was impossible not to love the man 

himself completely aside from his title. His men and his 

subjects had loved him, worshipped him as a god, as 

flawed and imperfect as he was as a man. In fact, it had 

almost seemed as if his flaws were as integral a part of 

why he was so beloved as his perfections, as if 

everyone had been drawn closer, felt that theycould 

love him and not merely hold him in the awe and 

respect his birth entitled him to. 



 It was their love that had destroyed him, just as it was 


----------------------- Page 30-----------------------

his love for Evangeline that had destroyed her. If he’d 

been hated, or if his people had even been indifferent, 

his enemies could’ve simply disposed of him, given 

him the death that was all he’d wanted when they were 

through with him. As it was, Jaelen had deduced fairly 

quickly that killing him would only make him a martyr 

for rebellion, would bring the entire realm into revolt. 

So instead, he’d broken Simon, crushed the life from 

him, and left the shell to appease the people, held him 

ransom for their behavior by sending him into exile. 



 As long as they knew he was alive, that he would pay 

in blood for any attempt at revolt, the people 

endured--ever hopeful, as he was, that one day Simon 

would return and destroy the usurper. 



 Which was why, as much as he loved Simon himself, 

he’d been willing to risk being accused of treachery by 

bringing the woman into the house. 



 It had seemed safe enough. He’d checked her out 

thoroughly before he’d allowed the interview. She had 

no one. If she had to go missing, no one would be 

looking for her. 



 It seemed unlikely, too, that Simon would realize what 

he was up to. Physically, she looked nothing at all like 

Evangeline, which was hardly surprising since she was 

human. Still, there was something about her that had 


----------------------- Page 31-----------------------

instantly arrested his attention, something in her wide 

green eyes and delicate features that had snared him 

once he’d managed to drag his attention from her body. 



 Clad in snug fitting jeans and a body hugging top, every 

lush mound and curve was blatantly evident. He hadn’t 

needed to see what was beneath the clothes to know 

that body was a siren call to any lustful male, human or 

draconian, and his mind had already been churning with 

possibilities even before he’d examined the face that 

went with it. 



 Viewed dispassionately, he supposed she was more ‘ 

interesting’ than beautiful, but he doubted very much 

that many men realized she wasn’t.He wouldn’t have if 

not for the fact that his lustful thoughts had abruptly 

shifted to possessiveness and from there, naturally 

enough, to what sort of opposition the others might 

present … which had brought Simon to mind. 



 Thathad brought her into clearer perspective, impelled 

him to take a step back and try to view her with more 

objectivity. 



 She wasn’t beautiful, but she had a way of looking at a 

man that blinded him to her slight imperfections--a 

strange mixture of boldness and shyness, of frankness 

and mysteriousness, of appreciation and wariness--that 

aroused every hunting instinct. From the moment he’d 


----------------------- Page 32-----------------------

first met her gaze he’d been drowning in conflict. He 

wasn’t sure which instinct was most dominant--the 

primal and purely male need to conquer and dominate 

or the urge to protect, but neither could be ignored and 

he knew, if he felt it so powerfully, Simon would not be 

able to resist those urges either. 



 The last time he’d tried to divert Simon with a woman, 

though, the results had been disastrous. She’d been too 

blatantly sexual, too obvious a plant to tempt his 

appetite because he’d been stupid enough to choose a 

woman that bore too striking a physical resemblance to 

Evangeline--not that she’d really looked like 

Evangeline. Tall and elegant and shapely enough to 

tempt most any man, her hair had been long and black 

like Evangeline’s, her complexion like fine porcelain. 



 But, unlike Evangeline, the woman had been all too 

aware of her appeal. She had been too focused on her 

appearance, too aware of her sexuality. Every move she 

made had seemed calculated. Every toss of her 

midnight hair, every faux shy glance and timid ‘come 

hither’ smile had been as blatant an enticement as if she 

’d stripped naked and waved her tits and ass in their 

faces. 



 She’d pierced Simon’s self-absorption, all right. He’d 

taken one look at her and shut himself into his rooms 

for weeks, staring at the wall and refusing to eat more 


----------------------- Page 33-----------------------

than a morsel of food as he had in the first months after 

Evangeline’s death until they’d thought he would starve 

himself to death. 



 He let out a disgruntled sigh as Simon turned at last 

and headed back to the house, disgusted that he’d 

succeeded in getting no more of a rise out of Simon 

than that brief flicker of surprise and interest. 



 If Simon didn’t want the woman, he was going to have 

her himself, he decided--assuming he could grab her 

before the others managed to. 



 Theyhad noticed. Simon might be dead to the world 

around him and everything in it, but the rest of them 

had blood in their veins, and a woman like Raina 

caused that blood to heat and centralize in the groin 

effortlessly. She didn’t even have tolook interested. 

The sway of that delectable ass of hers, the bounce and 

sway of her pert breasts was enough to make a man 

instantly forget where he’d been going and follow her 

off hopefully, sniffing for just the hint of her womanly 

scent. 



 Despite his abstraction, as the others fell into 

formation beside him, he noticed Haig was trying to 

catch his attention. Frowning, he glanced at the man 

questioningly. Haig lifted his right wrist and tapped the 

face of the watch he wore. 


----------------------- Page 34-----------------------

 Perplexed and more than a little irritated, Audric sent 

him a dismissive look and returned his attention to 

Simon. He didn’t know why Haig was so attached to the 

damned time piece. It wasn’t as if time meant a hell of 

a lot to any of them. 



 It jelled in his mind after a moment, though, and his 

head snapped toward Haig again. Haig nodded 

significantly and nudged a chin in Simon’s direction. 



 Maybe, Audric thought, the petite brunette had 

managed more than a little crack in the ice? He’d been 

too deep in thought himself to realize Simon had stayed 

far longer than he usually did, and he hadn’t been 

wearing that white faced look of someone who’d been 

stabbed in the chest, now that he thought about it. 



 He’d looked … thoroughly pissed off, but Audric could 

deal with Simon’s temper. 



 He was still unconvinced that his ruse had had any 

notable effect until they stepped into the foyer again 

and Simon hesitated, briefly, before ascending the 

stairs, as if he was aware the woman was peering at him 

from the dining room. 



                                  * * * * 


----------------------- Page 35-----------------------

 Having successfully, he thought, dismissed the turmoil 

that had chased him from the house, Simon braced 

himself as he trained his gaze on the restless swells of 

the sea and focused his mind inward, summoning Evie 

to him. Instead,her image filled his mind. Wide, 

startled eyes the color of the changing sea--green and 

gold and blue, and dark and mysterious--surrounded by 

a thick fringe of curling black lashes. The long bridge of 

a straight nose that ended above a short upper lip, lips 

that were too narrow, too thin, too determined--not soft 

and yielding and feminine--and beneath that a small, 

jutting knob of a chin that bordered on belligerent, high 

cheekbones that created faint hollows in her cheeks, an 

oval face. 



 It wasn’t a beautiful face at all. 



 And worse, it belonged to a human. 



 He didn’t know why it had stuck in his mind’s eye so 

solidly that it had thwarted his attempt to recall Evie’s 

face, but he felt something stir to life inside of him that 

he hadn’t felt in a long time--anger--resentment--pain, 

real pain, not just the distant ache of it that never went 

away completely. 



 He turned to stare at his head guardsman, his bastard 

half-brother, Audric, speculatively. Audric returned the 

look unflinchingly, but he thought he saw a flicker of 


----------------------- Page 36-----------------------

something in his eyes. Guilt? 



 Returning his gaze to the sea, he struggled to banish 

the image that had supplanted his beautiful Evie, called 

her to him with a mental command that bordered on 

desperation. They weren’t going to take that away from 

him, too! 



 As tortuous as all his memories were of her, as much 

as they aroused a deep, unquenchable hunger inside of 

him, he had to have them to keep from going 

completely insane. The memories were all that 

anchored him anymore to the world he had to live in. 

He endured the last of them because he had to. He 

couldn’t summon the others without remembering 

those horrible, gut wrenching last moments of her life 

but it was a price he was willing to pay to remember the 

rest. 



 So he watched her die--every time he became so empty 

he couldn’t stand the emptiness anymore and sought her 

out. Over and over again, he felt the helpless rage well 

up inside of him until he was choking on it, felt the bite 

of the chains he had fought against with every ounce of 

strength he could summon. He felt the suffocating terror 

that seemed to go on forever and ever as the water 

advanced in rolling waves, covering her and then 

washing out to sea again, leaving her choking and 

coughing and fighting for breath untilhe couldn’t 


----------------------- Page 37-----------------------

breathe, until at last it consumed her completely and all 

he could see was her wide, terrified, beseeching gaze as 

her midnight hair floated and swirled around her and 

her eyes slowly dimmed as her soul left her. 



 The regret came next, regret that he’d failed her, that 

she’d died for loving him, but mostly for loving her. If 

he hadn’t loved her quite so much, mayhap they would’ 

ve allowed her to live and taken him instead. 



 If he hadn’t loved her so much, mayhap he would have 

seen what was coming. Instead, he had been so 

wrapped up in her,willfully closing himself off from the 

world he’d never truly wanted, submerging himself in 

his joy of her and ignoring all the warnings of treachery 

until it had been too late to save either her or himself by 

the time he’d become aware of the danger hanging over 

them. 



 Arrogance. More even than his preoccupation with 

Evangeline, it had been his arrogance that had 

destroyed them. 



 Because it had not occurred to him, even once, that his 

younger brother coveted the crown, that he was 

gathering to strike the moment their father died and 

take the throne that should never have been his--that 

was to go to Simon and his heirs forever. 


----------------------- Page 38-----------------------

  Hewas the crown prince, had been born to rule. He’d 

 known from birth that he would one day, that it wasn’t a 

 matter of choice for him. Everything had been destined, 

 his entire life laid out for him before he’d even had the 

 chance to live it--even Evangeline had been chosen for 

 him and that had rankled. Of all the things about his life 

 that chafed him, that had angered him the most. Gods 

 he had been furious when he had found out his father 

 had arranged that binding without even consulting him! 



  He had been so spoiled, so accustomed to always 

 having everything his way that he’d refused to have 

 anything to do with her, ignored even his curiosity to 

 see what she was like. The day hehad to bind with her, 

 he’d thought--the day he was shackled to the woman his 

father  had chosen would be soon enough to deal with 

 her. 



  He should have had more faith in his father. Whatever 

 else he was, his father had loved him. He should have 

 known his father would choose carefully for him, would 

 ’ve picked a woman he could care for, not just whatever 

 female was most politically advantageous. 



  It had pricked at his manhood, though, made him feel 

 more of a child than a man, and that had enraged him so 

 much that he’dbehaved more like a spoiled, willful 

 child than a man. 


----------------------- Page 39-----------------------

 Until he saw her. 



 He’d been caught instantly by her gracefulness, by her 

beauty of form, the body that had seemed designed 

expressly for the purpose of depriving a man of his 

wits, but from the moment he’d pushed back her veil 

and seen her face for the first time, looked deeply into 

her wide, beautiful eyes, he’d felt as if he was drowning 

and soaring into the heavens at the same time. 



 Love, as unfamiliar as he was with it, it had still 

claimed him the moment he met her gaze. He had not 

recognized it for what it was, at first. It had taken him a 

while to sort through the myriad of powerful emotions 

and identify it, but it had been there from the first, 

awaiting only a drop of encouragement to grow wildly 

out of control. 



 No thought had entered his mind when he had gazed 

into the eyes of the woman bound to him for life. 

Awareness of anything beyond her had faded to 

nothingness. They might have been completely alone 

instead of in the midst of a grand, royal binding 

ceremony with hundreds of onlookers. 



 Habit was all that had guided him through the rest of 

the formalities, the manners and stilted customs that 

had always annoyed him, but that had been drummed 

into him until it required no thought at all to perform as 


----------------------- Page 40-----------------------

was expected of him. 



 It was just as well, he’d thought wryly, later, when he 

could think at all. Because his instincts from that 

moment were purely primal, savage, urging him to 

slough off any semblance of civilized behavior. Urging 

him to grab her and carry her off to his lair at once, to 

stake his claim on her, and defend his sole right to her 

to the death if any other male so much as glanced in her 

direction. 



 He’d seen that look in many women’s eyes in his life, 

for he was crown prince and not hard on the eyes, 

accounted handsome by most, though he’d always taken 

that with a grain of salt--not love, not even exactly 

desire, but--worshipfulness--as if he was a god. For the 

                                                              feel 

first time in his life, though, it had made him                     like a 

god--more powerful than an ordinary mortal, more 

desirable. 



 He’d succumbed in that very moment, so enraptured by 

her perception of him that all he could think of was 

being what she wanted and needed him to be, terrified 

that he would slip and fall and she would wake up and 

see he was just an ordinary dracon, not special in any 

way beyond the accident of his birth. 



 For two years out of an entire life, he had walked 

among gods, known passion unlike anything he had 


----------------------- Page 41-----------------------

ever experienced, love that was for him alone, as a 

dracon--not because he’d been born a prince--known 

true happiness, not just an absence of unhappiness or 

boredom or strife, known what it was like to look 

forward to every day with eager anticipation. 



 And then as instantly as the snuffing of a candle, it was 

all gone--all of it--his beloved father, his princess, the 

daughter he had adored--everything--snatched away 

from him so jarringly that he couldn’t even take it all in 

in the months he’d spent in prison. 



 Until the very day he was marched from his cell to his 

execution, he had still believed he was the god-like 

being Evangeline had perceived, believed he would 

still overcome, that he would take back everything that 

had been taken--somehow. 



 It had come as a shock to realize he really was going to 

die, that he really was just an ordinary dracon after all, 

not even a prince anymore. He’d still had his pride, 

though, that inborn arrogance that had been so carefully 

cultivated in him because he’d been born to rule. He’d 

braced himself for death. As afraid as he’d been when 

they’d gathered them all, he thought, for execution, he’ 

d told himself he was ready for it, that he could face it 

with dignity and strength--show them all that hewas the 

prince, whether they wanted to acknowledge it or not. 

He could face it like a dracon, even though waiting for 


----------------------- Page 42-----------------------

the execution was nothing in the world like facing a foe 

on the battlefield where one knew one had a chance to 

live as long as strength and skill held out. 



 And then they’d ripped all that away from him by 

dragging his beautiful Evangeline out onto the beach in 

front him and killing her instead. 



 He’d been far more afraid when he saw what they 

meant to do than he had been when he had expected to 

be the one who watched death slowly overtake him. He 

’d been petrified, mindless with it, unable to summon 

any of the quick wit he’d always prided himself on. 



 He’d tried. The gods knew he had--reasoning, threats, 

bribery--and begging when nothing he’d said had had 

any effect at all other than bringing a glint of hard 

satisfaction to Jaelan’s eyes. 



 Evangeline hadn’t pleaded for her life. She’d only 

stared at him with her beautiful, wide golden eyes, 

hopefully at first, and then without hope, but with fear 

and resignation. “I love you, Simon,” she’d called to 

him. “Don’t watch. Don’t let them use me to hurt you. 

Please don’t watch.” 



 He hadn’t been able to tear his gaze from hers, though. 

Somewhere in the madness his mind had beguiled him 

with the hope that he could hold on to her. If he just 


----------------------- Page 43-----------------------

didn’t let go, he wouldn’t lose her. 



 This time as he remembered, instead of feeling the 

emptiness wash into him as he watched her soul fleeing 

from him, instead of the soothing, hurtful images of the 

happiness he’d known and lost, he saw Jaelan’s smile 

of triumph--not Evangeline’s smile of love. He heard 

the complacency in Jaelen’s voice as he banished him 

forever, not Evangeline’s teasing voice echoing to him 

through the forest as she raced him to the glade that was 

their special place. 



 Rage and hopelessness warred inside of him instead of 

a bittersweet taste of peace, a remembrance of the days 

before when all he had known was the joy of greeting 

each new day because he had anticipated that it would 

be as grand and glorious as the day before. 



 And when he struggled to thrust those memories from 

his mind, strained to reach for Evie and wrap his mind 

in the warmth of her, her scent, the soul deep beauty of 

her, a pair of wide, soulful green eyes peered back at 

him. An image of a rosebud of a mouth parted in 

surprise teased him instead of Evie’s generous, full lips 

curling in a tempting smile. Instead of visualizing Evie’ 

s long, graceful arms and legs twined about him as they 

made love, the press of Evie’s full, generous breasts 

against his chest, he remembered the compact little 

body of the human woman and saw himself striving 


----------------------- Page 44-----------------------

over her, felt a rippling heat-wave move over and 

through him as he imagined her body engulfing his 

flesh. 



 And for a just a moment, so fleetingly he could almost 

convince himself he’d imagined it, he saw the look in 

her eyes and knew what it was. He felt the impact on 

his soul just as he had the first time he’d looked at 

Evie. And stark terror hit him--the paralyzing fear one 

feels in anticipation of inescapable pain. The fear that 

threatens to swallow one up when the certainty fills one 

that what is about to happen, and can not be avoided, is 

going to cause excruciating pain, even before the nerves 

detect it and send the sensation flooding into the mind. 



 Sucking in a harsh breath, he thrust it from his mind, 

                                       that          feel 

telling himself he didn’t see                 at all,      what he’d 

thought he’d felt. 



 Anger and resentment flickered to life inside him, 

began to boil like acid through his veins. He wasn’t 

going to feelthat again. Even if he had wanted to feel 

those things,no one could make him feel that again. 

Evie had given it to him and she had taken it with her to 

her grave. 



 He was safe. He couldn’t die again because he was 

already dead. 


----------------------- Page 45-----------------------

 Butshe had cut up his peace. Just by being there, she’d 

punched a hole in the wall he’d so carefully erected to 

shield him from the pain he couldn’t bear, ripped away 

his ability to summon the comforting memories that 

were all he had left. 



 Damnher! 



 Giving up finally in his quest to relive the past as he 

had every miserable day of his life since he’d lost Evie, 

he turned away from the sea and fled back to his prison, 

hoping that he could at least find the peace of 

nothingness again even if he couldn’t feed his withering 

soul on his memories. 



 The gods help him. He didn’t think he could live and 

bear it if he had to feeleverything again. This time, he 

would go mad! 



                             Chapter Three 



 Raina was so tired by the time the housekeeper let her 

go for the day, it took all she could do to climb the 


----------------------- Page 46-----------------------

stairs to the loft apartment she’d been given above the 

garage. “Who would’ve thought cleaning and polishing 

would be so damned hard?” she muttered to herself as 

she sprawled in the first easy chair she came to and 

stared tiredly into space. 



 Actually it wouldn’t have been if the place hadn’t been 

so fucking huge, and every damned thing in it hadn’t 

been made out of wood. The whole bottom half of the 

walls had been paneled in wood in the damned dining 

room! 



 She was starting to hate wood. 



 If Ms. Hatchet-face hadn’t told her this polishing 

business was just a once a month thing, she would’ve 

quit before lunch and headed back to the 

mainland--even if she’d had toswim the damned 

inner-coastal waterway to get there! 



 If she didn’t get used to this, in a hurry, there was no 

way she was going to be able to take classes next 

quarter. She didn’t have the energy to think! 



 The longer she sat, the more inclined she was to forget 

supper and head straight to bed. She didn’t even feel up 

to taking a bath. Expelling a deep sigh, she pushed 

herself up and headed for the bathroom, dragging her 

clothes off and discarding them piece by piece as she 


----------------------- Page 47-----------------------

went. She was down to her sports bra and panties 

before she even reached the bathroom. Stopping by the 

four poster bed to push her sneakers off and wiggle out 

of her jeans, she held onto a post to balance herself as 

she pulled off her socks and dropped them and then 

padded barefoot into the bathroom. The cool tile felt 

like ice under the warmth of her soles, and she gritted 

her teeth as she hopped onto the bathmat to adjust the 

water. 



 She hopped off again as the twist of the knob produced 

a clanking, knocking noise and a sputtering of rusty 

water and then a long, agonized groan. Wincing at the 

sound, she grabbed the knob and twisted it to ‘off’. The 

groaning stopped. After staring at the thing in 

consternation for several moments, she tried it again, 

just in case the first time had been a fluke. This time 

the pipes groaned first and coughed up a couple of 

frigid blasts of water, sputtered a few times, and then 

just dripped. Turning the faucet off again, Raina glared 

at the shower for a couple of moments and finally spun 

on her heel and stalked back into the 

bedroom/kitchenette/living area. 



 A scan of the main room produced the information that 

there was neither a phone nor an intercom. What a 

surprise! 



 She looked around in disgust even though, when she’d 


----------------------- Page 48-----------------------

dragged her belongings upstairs upon her arrival that 

morning, she’d been delighted with the place--actually 

loved it. She didn’t love it without frigging water, 

though! 



               feel 

 She didn’t           like putting her clothes back on, 

trudging down the stairs, across to the main house to 

find somebody to help, and then back again! 



 Abruptly remembering she’d glimpsed someone 

working in the garden when she’d followed the covered 

walkway to the garage, she moved to the window that 

faced the garden and looked down. There was a man on 

his knees pulling weeds from one of the beds. She 

looked down at herself, but then shrugged. She was 

wearing a sports bra not one of those lacy, seductive 

things that revealed almost as much as it covered. 

Pushing the window open, she leaned out. 



 “Hey!” she called out in a loud whisper. “Psst! Garden 

guy!” 



 The man stiffened and glanced around. 



 “Up here!” she called again, leaning out the window to 

wave at him. 



 He lifted his head and gaped at her. 


----------------------- Page 49-----------------------

 The thought crossed her mind that he might not be 

entirely bright. 



 “My water isn’t working,” she said plaintively. “Do 

you know anything about plumbing?” 



 He stared at her a long moment and finally shook his 

head. “I’m the gardener.” 



 Raina huffed an irritated breath. “So? You’re a man. 

Don’t you know anything about plumbing?” 



 “I know about flowers.” 



 All righty then! The guy was a few cards shy of a full 

deck. “Who takes care of things like this then?” 



 He frowned, scratching his balls while he studied over 

the question. “Oooh! I didn’t need to see that,” Raina 

muttered, immediately averting her gaze. As she did, 

her eyes collided with the gaze of the man standing at 

an upstairs window of the main house. Startled, she 

jumped and then dove behind the edge of the window 

she’d been leaning out of only moments before. 

Embarrassment flooded her cheeks the moment she 

did. “For christsake, Raina! That was stupid!” 



 “I’ll get Mr. Smith. He’ll know!” the gardener called 

up to her. 


----------------------- Page 50-----------------------

 “No! Wait!” Raina hissed. It was too late, though, she 

saw in dismay. The man had already galloped off 

toward the main house. “Shit!” She glanced around. It 

was one thing to let a halfwit see her in her sports bra, 

but she had a feeling Mr. Smith, if he came at all, 

would expect to be able to inspect the pipes. 



 Unwilling to waltz across the room and dress when she 

had no idea if the man was still standing at the window, 

Raina glanced up and saw a rolled shade above the 

window. Grabbing hold of the bottom edge, she 

snatched it down--allthe way down. She stared blankly 

at the edge she still had in her hand, stared down at the 

crumpled, unrolled sheet lying on the floor, and then 

popped her head up to look across the garden again. 



 She didn’t see the man she’d glimpsed, or thought she’ 

d seen, before, but the drapes were open and moving 

slightly. Dropping the shade abruptly, she darted across 

the room, snatching up the clothes she’d discarded and 

bundling them in her arms as she headed for the 

bathroom to dress. Deciding not to bother with her 

shoes, she strode across the main room when she left 

the bathroom, grabbed the doorknob and snatched the 

door open. 



 There was awall of man on the other side. Evidently, 

he’d been just on the point of knocking. Raina nearly 


----------------------- Page 51-----------------------

had heart failure. “God!” she exclaimed, pressing a 

                                                             piss 

palm to her pounding heart. “You scared the                         out of 

me!” 



 He tilted his head at her. She couldn’t see his eyes. He 

was wearing the sunglasses all of them seemed to wear 

all of the time, but she didn’t need to see his eyes. The 

movement of his head was enough to assure her he’d 

surveyed her from head to foot. 



 She wondered if he was the one that had been standing 

at the window and if he’d watched her strip tease on the 

way to the bathroom, but finally decided he probably 

couldn’t have seen that far into the room even if it had 

been him. 



 Especially not with the dark glasses. 



 What wasup with that anyway? 



 Did they sleep in the damned things? 



 “Dere is no vater?” 



 Raina blinked at him several times before her brain 

translated his heavy accent. Smith? With an accent like 

that? Where were these guys from anyway? 



 He moved past her without waiting for an answer, 


----------------------- Page 52-----------------------

striding toward the bathroom. Her hand still on the 

doorknob, Raina turned to watch him. His head barely 

cleared the doorframe--brushed it, in point of fact--and 

he had to angle his shoulders slightly to fit through the 

narrow doorway. 



 Ok. So he was a little more than six feet tall. 



 Which meant the main man was alot more than six feet 

tall, because she distinctly remembered he’d been 

noticeably taller than the others. Releasing her grip on 

the doorknob when the weakness in her knees finally 

subsided, she trailed after him and peered into the 

bathroom. 



 He’d crouched beside the tub and was twisting the 

knobs. The pipes let out another squawk of protest, 

coughed, and produced a flood of ugly brown water 

through the tub spout. He studied the flow for several 

moments and switched the tub to shower. 



 The pipes rattled and quaked, but no more than a 

spattering of water emerged. 



 He came to his feet, studied it frowningly for a moment 

and finally balled his hand into a fist and hammered on 

the wall. Raina stared at him blankly a moment and 

finally bit her lip, trying to keep from smiling. 


----------------------- Page 53-----------------------

 He glanced at her before she had the chance to 

straighten her face. After staring at her for a long 

moment, his lips curled faintly in response. 



 She gave up trying to hide her amusement. “You think 

that’ll do it?” 



 His dark brows twitched together and then the frown 

vanished. “No pain to try.” 



 “Hurt,” Raina corrected when she’d translated. “It 

doesn’thurt to try. You don’t speak English very well, 

do you?” 



 He shrugged, returning his attention to the ‘problem’. 

After surveying the wall he’d been beating on, he 

stepped back to examine the wall than enclosed the 

pipes. “No need. Uders speak same.” 



 “Oh,” Riana said as he grasped the edge of the panel 

and ripped it loose. Reaching into the cavity, he 

pounded on the pipes again until Riana more than half 

expected them to break and spew water all over the 

bathroom. “I’m not sure that’s a good ….” 



 She didn’t get the rest of the sentence out. The pipe 

broke and water began to gush in every direction, 

spurting in Mr. Smith’s face and soaking the entire 

front of his suit. Riana clamped a hand over her mouth 


----------------------- Page 54-----------------------

as he dove for the handles and tried to shut the water 

off. Unfortunately, shutting the water off that was 

running into the tub only increased the volume of water 

shooting out of the pipes. Within seconds the entire 

bathroom and both her and her ‘plumber’ were soaked 

to the skin. 



 “Shut off valve!” Raina exclaimed suddenly 

remembering the plumbers in her previous experience 

had always found one to shut the water off when they 

needed to. 



 Clearly, he’d never heard of one, however. He merely 

glanced at her and looked around for something to try to 

plug the pipe with. Squeezing past him, she shielded 

her face from the shooting water the best she could and 

peered into the dark cavity. There was no sign of a knob 

of any description, though, and she abandoned the 

effort. 



 “Downstairs!” she said. “There has to be one to the 

apartment!” 



 She hoped. Abandoning him to try to dam the flood 

with towels, she hurried across the main room and 

galloped down the stairs. Water was already pouring 

through the ceiling of the garage and onto the floor. 

Skirting the cars, she headed toward the closet at the far 

end. There she found a washer and dryer and a water 


----------------------- Page 55-----------------------

heater. There was a blue ‘wing’ type valve closure on 

one of the pipes leading up from the water heater. 

Grabbing it with both hands, she twisted it as far as she 

could in one direction. 



 “Did that help?” she yelled at the ceiling. 



 “Hot!” 



 “Sorry!” Grabbing the valve again, she twisted it in the 

other direction until it wouldn’t go any further. “How ‘ 

bout now?” 



 “No hot!” 



 “There’s still water?” 



 “Yes! Much vater!” 



 After looking around a little desperately, she finally 

discovered there was another valve just above the water 

heater on a pipe leading up from the back side. She 

discovered she couldn’t reach it, however. After 

scanning for something to help her reach it, she finally 

climbed on top of the washing machine. She still 

couldn’t reach it without standing on top of the water 

heater and she had a bad feeling it wouldn’t hold her 

weight. Finally, she compromised by putting one foot 

on the water heater and leaning to reach the other valve. 


----------------------- Page 56-----------------------

Listening to the rush of water in the pipe, she turned the 

valve in first one direction and then the other until she 

couldn’t hear the rush anymore. “I think I’ve got it!” 

she yelled at the ceiling. 



 “Stop vater?” he asked, directly behind her, giving her 

a jolt. 



 His hands settled on her hips as she wobbled 

precariously. As politely as she could, she pushed his 

hands away and turned to face him. “I can get down.” 



 “I help,” he said implacably. He caught her waist and 

pulled her from her perch before she could object 

further. She grabbed for his shoulders to steady herself 

as he lowered her. 



 He seemed in no great hurry to let go of her once her 

feet had settled in the puddle on the floor. Tryingnot to 

feel alarmed or threatened by the fact that the guy was 

not only a monster, but as hard as granite all over, she 

removed her hands from his shoulders and pushed at 

him. Almost reluctantly, he dropped his hands from her 

waist and Riana drew a breath of relief. 



 “You’ve got water on your glasses,” she pointed out, as 

much to distract herself from her uncomfortable 

awareness of him as to distracthim from his sudden 

interest in her. 


----------------------- Page 57-----------------------

 He pulled the sunglasses off, looking down at his 

soaked clothing for a dry spot to wipe them on. 



 Seeing his dilemma, Raina said, “I’d dry them for you, 

but I’ve got the same problem.” She was almost sorry 

she’d pointed that out. It drew his attention to her at 

just about the same moment she realized her blouse 

was plastered to her skin and transparent enough she 

could clearly see her bra through it. Worse, the chill of 

the water, or the excitement of having him whisk her 

from the top of the water heater as if she weighed no 

more than a feather, had her nipples sticking out like 

twin bumpers on a caddy. His gaze zeroed in on the 

hard little nubs until heat climbed into her cheeks. She 

forgot all about her embarrassment, however, as he 

flicked a glance up at her face. 



 As quickly as he looked down again, frowning as he 

rubbed the lenses of his glasses on his coat and then put 

the glasses on, she saw he had the same, really strange 

looking eyes as Simon Draken. 



 Were they related? Or was it just some trait of the 

people from where ever it was they were from? 



 “I should go check the damage,” she said, abruptly far 

too keenly aware of how close they were standing and 

the way the room, tiny already, seemed to have shrunk 


----------------------- Page 58-----------------------

around them. He was a big man. As accustomed as she 

was to being around people all the time who were taller 

than her, she rarely even noticed--unless they were alot 

taller than her, and he was. Not only that, but he was 

just plain big. His hands had very nearly spanned her 

waist, she recalled, abruptly feeling vaguely uneasy. 



 She had a small waist. She’d always thought it was her 

best asset and had worked to keep it that way, but even 

so, twenty inches was a hell of a hand span--or two 

handed span. 



 He followed her back across the garage and then up the 

stairs. She tried not to feel threatened. There was no 

reason why she should. He hadn’t been the least bit 

pushy, hadn’t crowded her space until he’d pulled her 

off the water heater, but even at that she couldn’t say 

that he’d purposefully intruded within her personal 

space. The utility room wasn’t big and he was. 



 She regarded him with wide-eyed uneasiness when she 

discovered he’d followed her to the bathroom and stood 

in the doorway. He met her gaze and then looked away, 

a faint frown between his brows. “This is mess.” 



 Distracted, Raina surveyed the room glumly. “So much 

for a bath,” she muttered. “Guess I won’t be getting 

one.” 


----------------------- Page 59-----------------------

 “You come to big house. Stay there. This must fix.” 



 Her shoulders slumped dejectedly. She really, really 

preferred staying in the little apartment, mostly because 

she really, really didn’t like the idea of staying in the ‘ 

big’ house with Mr. Smith and his friends from giant 

world. It was unnerving enough to be aroundone of 

them. Being around all of them made her feel like a cat 

romping through a lumbering herd of buffalos, in 

imminent danger of getting squashed if she didn’t watch 

her step. The alternative, though, was trotting to the big 

house every time she needed to use the bathroom and 

that didn’t appeal to her a lot more. 



 Besides, she reminded herself, Mrs. Higgenbottom 

stayed in the main house. Shrugging, struggling to shake 

off her uneasiness, she followed him as he left the 

bathroom and went to get her suitcases. Fortunately, she 

hadn’t had the chance to unpack. He took her suitcases 

from her, shoved one under his arm and caught the 

handle of the other. 



 He dwarfed them. If she’d had any doubt about his 

strength, or his size, being purely the product of an 

overactive imagination, she no longer did. It was all she 

could do to drag the things. He had both under one arm, 

and they practically looked like briefcases--ok, slight 

exaggeration, like overnight bags instead of full size 

suitcases. She preceded him from the apartment, 


----------------------- Page 60-----------------------

surreptitiously peeling her shirt loose from her skin and 

fanning it to try to dry it a little. He’d used all the 

towels to mop up the water. 



 She just hoped she didn’t run into the ‘gang’ on the 

way to her room. 



 It made her uneasy when they looked at her. She 

couldn’t see their eyes and she was pretty sure it was 

just paranoia, but she felt like they were sizing her up 

for dinner … and she didn’t want anythingthat big 

humping her leg. 



 Catching her arm as she headed to the main entrance, 

he guided her through the garden and in the back way, 

leading her up a narrow back stairway. When they 

reached the upper floor, she stepped aside to allow him 

room to exit the stairs and then followed him down the 

hallway. Opening the last door at the end, he pushed the 

door wide and indicated with his hand for her to enter. 

 She went in cautiously, glancing around. 



 She shouldn’t have been surprised that it was as 

elegant as the rest of the house, but she was. A huge 

king sized bed was the focal point, mostly, she 

supposed, because it was the biggest thing in the room. 

A tall armoire claimed much of the opposite wall. 

Beyond that, there was a long dresser with a large 

mirror, a small chest on either side of the bed, and a 


----------------------- Page 61-----------------------

desk. 



 Raina looked around the lavishly furnished room 

uncomfortably. “You sure it’s ok for me to stay here?” 

she asked doubtfully. 



 “Yes, you stay here. Shower dere.” 



 She followed the direction he’d indicated with a nod of 

his head and then went to the door and opened it. The 

bath was beautiful, the room huge. Pleasure welled 

inside her, and then more doubt. “Maybe we should ask 

Ms. Hatchet … uh … Higgenbottom? I mean, this 

looks like a guest room. Aren’t there other, smaller 

rooms?” 



 He shook his head. “Go. Bath. Is ok.” 



 She smiled at him tentatively. “Bathe--you should 

work on your English.” 



 He straightened from settling her suitcases, smiling 

faintly. “You teach, yes?” 



 Riana chuckled, but wryly. “I’m not sure I’d be a very 

good teacher.” 



 It was impossible to tell much about his expression 

with the glasses, but she could tell he was studying her. 


----------------------- Page 62-----------------------

“You teach you speak. I teach my speak.” 



 It was easier to translate that time. She was getting 

used to his broken English. She decided to ignore the 

suggestion, regardless. He was way too interested. She 

wasn’t going to encourage him. “How long have y’all 

been here, anyway?” 



 He frowned faintly and finally nodded. “Five.” 



 Raina looked at him curiously. “Five what? Months?” 



 He looked puzzled. “Full cycle,” he responded finally, 

extending a finger and drawing a circle in the air. 



 Raina studied the motion for several moments in 

complete confusion. “Years?” 



 He thought it over and nodded. 



 A shiver went through her. She glanced down at her 

wet clothes and decided that was reason enough to be 

shivering. “Uh … I guess I’ll just go get that bath and 

get some dry clothes on.” 



 He didn’t move. After chewing her lip for a moment, 

Raina finally decided he’d get the idea that it was time 

to leave when she went into the bathroom. 


----------------------- Page 63-----------------------

 Shehoped he got the idea. 



 When she’d locked the door, she moved to the shower 

to turn it on. A heavy blast of water shot forth instantly 

and relief flooded her. Stripping off her wet clothes 

while she waited for the water to warm up, she kicked 

the pile into a corner and finally climbed in. Pure bliss 

filled her as the heated water beat down on her, 

washing away the chill from her wet clothes and the 

tiredness and tension from her muscles. It felt so good, 

she almost hated to get out. 



 Finally, reflecting that there were bound to be some 

really pissed off people if she used up all the hot water, 

she shut the water off and climbed out. A small linen 

closet yielded a stack of fluffy towels--huge fluffy 

towels. Ordinarily, she wrapped her wet hair in one 

towel and used a second to dry herself, but the towels 

were way too big to form a turban. She settled for 

scrubbing the towel over her wet hair until she’d gotten 

most of the water out and then wrapped it around her 

like a sarong. 



 A jolt went through her when she stepped out of the 

bathroom intent on grabbing clothes from her suitcase. 



 Mr. Smith was standing directly across from the 

bathroom, stark naked. 


----------------------- Page 64-----------------------

                              Chapter Four 



 Raina let out a shriek of surprise and dropped her 

towel. His head swiveled in her direction the moment 

she yelped, but otherwise he didn’t look the least bit 

disconcerted. He paused to watch her with keen interest 

while she fumbled frantically to get the damned towel 

around her again. Finally, she gave up and clutched it in 

front of her. 



 “Holy shit! Holy shit!” she exclaimed, holding one 

hand up in front of her to block her view of him. He’d 

looked huge with clothes on. Without them she was 

sure she’dnever seen that much bare skin. “Oh my 

                           your 

fucking god! This is               room?” 



 He nodded. “Is ok,” he said finally, dragging his gaze 

from her with an obvious effort and reaching into the 

closet for a shirt. 



 As if that was atall helpful when his genitals were just 

hanging there. 



 Actually, not just hanging. The lethal weapon that hung 


----------------------- Page 65-----------------------

nearly halfway down his thigh was stirring to life right 

before her eyes. She lowered her hand to block the 

view, but she didn’t dare take her eyes off him. “No 

hell it isn’t ok, damn it! I don’t know where you got the 

idea that I’d sleep with you, but I’m damned sure not 

going to!” 



 He glanced at the bed. A smile slowly curled his lips 

and then his lips parted in a grin. His golden eyes, no 

longer hidden behind the ‘shades’ gleamed with a 

definite predatory glint. “No sleep.” 



 “No fuck, either!” Riana snapped. She didn’t mind a 

challenge, but Mr. Great Dane might as well get it 

through his head right off that he wasn’t going to be 

shoving that thing upthis toy poodle’s ass! 



 He chuckled. Obviously that word was familiar to him 

even as limited as his vocabulary was. Andwhy wasn’t 

she surprised? 



 He looked vaguely disappointed for all that. “No fuck 

either,” he repeated, nodding agreeably. 



 Glaring at him, Riana grabbed hold of the handle of 

one of her suitcases and dragged it off the bed. As angry 

as she was, it didn’t lend her enough strength to hold 

the heavy thing. It hit the floor, nearly jerking her down 

with it. 


----------------------- Page 66-----------------------

 He strode toward her. Raina’s eyes widened. Releasing 

her grip on the suitcase, she put up a hand to hold him 

off. He stopped as her palm flattened against his belly, 

stared down at it a moment and then lifted his gaze to 

meet hers. His black brows snapped together. He 

settled one of his hands lightly over hers. “No ‘fraid,” 

he said in a soothing voice. “I go. You stay here.” 



 Disconcerted, Raina looked at him doubtfully. “You’re 

not … you weren’t planning on sleeping in here?” 



 He shook his head. “You here. I there,” he said, 

pointing toward the hallway. 



 “Oh.” Riana felt her face heat, mortified to discovershe 

was the one that had her mind on sex, not him. No 

wonder he’d laughed! “I’m so sorry! God! I feel awful 

for putting you out of your room. Where are you going 

to sleep if there isn’t another room?” 



 He shook his head, either because he hadn’t grasped 

everything she’d said or because he didn’t want her to 

worry about it. She wasn’t sure which. 



 He lifted her suitcase and placed it on the bed again 

and then moved back to the closet. Making a pretense 

of searching for clothes for herself, Riana watched him 

out of the corner of her eye as he pulled a pair of dress 


----------------------- Page 67-----------------------

pants out and stepped into them, adjusting himself 

before he dragged the zipper up. 



 No underwear, now that was something that was going 

to haunt her dreams, she thought wryly, wondering if he 

never wore shorts or he was just in a hurry to cover 

himself. He didn’t seem to be. He seemed supremely 

indifferent to his nudity. 



 As mesmerized by that truly impressive cock as she 

was, she couldn’t help but wonder about his complete 

lack of discomfort at being naked in front of a total 

stranger. 



 She wasn’t exactly ‘world weary’ but she’d been 

around a few guys, dated her fair share, and had sex 

with a good many of the boys/men she’d dated, though 

certainly not all. Most of them at least tried to act 

unconcerned about being naked, but most of themwere 

uncomfortable, at least a little bit. They pretended they 

weren’t because they thought it wasn’t macho to be 

bashful. 



 But then, he had nothing at all to feel the least bit 

self-conscious about. She’d suspected the men were all 

built like body-builders, but she knew she hadn’t really 

believed it or she wouldn’t have been so stunned.He 

certainly was. There didn’t seem to be a spare inch of 

fat on that body anywhere, back or front. As masculine 


----------------------- Page 68-----------------------

beauty went, he was a definite ten, and he had a really 

nice face and a gorgeous smile to go with it. 



 And he was hung like a stallion. 



 She threw him a fleeting smile as he strode toward the 

door. He inclined his head slightly and kept going. 



 Her shoulders sagged with relief when he’d shut the 

door behind him. 



 Frowning thoughtfully, she dug a change of clothes out 

of her suitcase and went into the bathroom to dress, 

wondering if it was just because they were foreigners 

that they seemed so very strange to her. 



 And where did those eyes come from? She supposed 

they could’ve been classified as hazel, like hers. Hazel 

was a color that was hard to pin down. Depending on 

what she wore, hers could look brown, blue-green, or 

deep green, but his and Simon’s had looked golden, not 

brown, not yellow, not some shade of greenish brown, 

just golden--with rusty glints--strange, strange eyes and 

the odd shape of the pupils wasn’t something she’d 

imagined either. As handsome was he was, as pleasant 

as he seemed, those eyes made uneasiness creep along 

her spine. 



                                   * * * * 


----------------------- Page 69-----------------------

 Simon was pacing his sitting room restlessly when 

Audric arrived and slipped soundlessly into the room. 

Surprised, he slid a questioning glance at Haig. Haig 

shrugged infinitesimally, but Audric wasn’t left to 

speculate long on what the cause of Simon’s agitation 

was. 



 Simon whirled on him within moments of his arrival. 

Already taut, his face hardened even more with anger. 

“I want her gone from here!” he said in a low, 

threatening growl. 



 Surprise, confusion, and uneasiness flickered through 

Audric in quick succession. He hadwanted to provoke 

some kind of reaction out of Simon, hoped to. He hadn’ 

t expected this simmering rage, however, in point of 

fact was thrown off completely by it since, as far as he 

knew, Simon hadn’t caught so much of a glimpse of the 

woman since that first encounter nigh a week earlier. 

“Raina?” he asked, sparring for wind. 



 Something flickered in his eyes and then Simon’s lips 

curled back in a snarl. “I do notwant to know that little 

whore’s name!” 



 Audric studied him. He hadn’t given a great deal of 

thought to how he would handle Simon if he did 

manage to pierce his shield andmake him acknowledge 


----------------------- Page 70-----------------------

that he was still among the living and could feel. 

Mostly, he supposed, because he hadn’t expected an 

avalanche of emotion. Before he could decide how to 

proceed, Simon turned to pacing again. “That …squat, 

graceless speck of humanity has no appeal to me 

whatsoever. Did you think she would?” He demanded 

with a growl. “Shegallops down the stairs when I come 

upon her! I can not walk through the house without the 

certainty of stumbling over her, or feeling her peering at 

me from around some corner like she has spied an ogre 

and expects to be eaten. I do not believe she can walk 

and speak at the same time without tripping over her 

dainty little feet! She falls in and out of doors with great 

regularity or trips over something that does not exist. 



 “She is not even pretty, let alone beautiful! She speaks 

as if she is from the gutter--I hear her swearing and 

muttering to herself even if I do not see her--and she 

behaves as if she is! She is as bad or worse than the one 

you dragged here before. That one at least had beauty in 

form, and grace, even if shewas human! She did not 

look as if she would be crushed by a man’s passions! 

She did not look like a startled hare whenever a man 

looked at her and bound into hiding!” 



 Audric exchanged glances with the other men ranged 

about the room. Struggling to tamp his anger over 

Simon’s less than flattering ranting over all of Raina’s 

perceived flaws, he folded his arms over his chest and 


----------------------- Page 71-----------------------

leaned back against the wall. 



 Jorell frowned. “She can not be a whore and shy of 

men at the same time,” he said reasonably, if unwisely. 



 Simon whirled upon him with a fulminating glare. 



 “I thought she was pretty myself,” Haig put in. “I find 

her daintiness very appealing. She looks sturdy enough 

for a man to ride ….” 



 “She is only being coy!” Simon snarled. “No woman of 

her age with a body like hers would be ignorant of a 

man … especially nohuman woman!” 



 Audric studied his nails. “I confess I am counting on 

that. I have never seen the appeal of virgins myself. I 

far prefer a woman who knows her way around a man.” 



 The startled look Simon sent him might have been 

amusing if Audric had been in any mood to be amused. 

As it happened, he wasn’t.He had been keenly aware of 

Raina’s presence, had been so intrigued by her, in point 

of fact, that he’d all but forgotten why he’d thought 

bringing her into the house was an excellent notion to 

start with. He felt a sense of possessiveness move 

through him at Simon’s speech that was almost 

disconcerting, mostly because it was a clear indication 

that Simon was just as fascinated with her as he was or 


----------------------- Page 72-----------------------

he wouldn’t have noticed so much about her. 



 Simon recovered himself with obvious effort. He 

moved to the window. “Suit yourself,” he growled 

finally. “If it does not bother you to fuck the whore, far 

be it from me to try to dissuade you, but I would take 

care that you do not catch some disgusting disease.” 



 Audric came away from the door, abruptly angry 

himself. “She is no whore, and as you pointed out, she 

is human. I could no more contract disease from her 

than give her one … even if not for the fact that I have 

had no woman in … Fuck! I can not evenrecall the last 

time I had a woman! When did you become so ‘nice’ in 

your requirements? I can recall many a time when we 

drank and whored together halfway across Schalome 

and back again!” 



 Rama frowned at him. “It is not as if you have not been 

invited to come with us when we go to look for women! 

I, myself, have tried to persuade you to come! I thought 

that you did not want to because of Willa or I would 

have tried harder.” 



 Audric shook his head infinitesimally, but he saw it 

was too late. The mention of his lost companion had 

prompted Simon to think of Evangeline. To his 

surprise, the haunted look, instead of intensifying until 

Simon forced the mask of indifference over his face 


----------------------- Page 73-----------------------

again, seemed to plateau for several moments and then 

lessen. 



 Mayhap that was where they had gone wrong before, 

he thought? Mayhap, instead of allowing Simon to hold 

his grief inside they should have forced him to let it go? 

None of them, least of all him, had been able to bear 

watching Simon’s agony, though. Beyond the fact that 

he had grieved for Evangeline and did not think he 

could endure having his raw emotions lacerated, he also 

had not been able to bear the thought of dealing with 

Simon’s inconsolable grief. 



 “I grieved for Willa,” he said finally, and with 

complete truth. He’d loved Willa, and yet, unlike 

Simon, Willa had not been his first love. Evangeline 

had. He had come to love Willa because she was 

worthy of being loved, worthy of more than he’d been 

able to give her, butshe had loved him and he hadn’t 

been able to help loving her back. “In the beginning I 

did not want to think of laying with another woman and 

certainly not replacing Willa with another. No woman 

could replace her. I am a man, though. What does it 

serve her for me to be alone and miserable? She can not 

come back. She can not suffer any longer. She does not 

need as I need. It does not feel wrong to seek what 

comfort I can find.” 



 “With that …shadow of a female?” Simon growled. 


----------------------- Page 74-----------------------

 Audric gave Simon a level look. He had done his 

utmost to hide his love for Evangeline, but he knew 

very well Simon had known. And knowing that, he had 

to know also that Willa was a ‘shadow’ herself. It was 

not new that he would be willing to settle for a woman 

hecould love instead of the one he was in love with. 



 He saw something then in Simon’s eyes that he had not 

expected to see. 



 Simon wanted Raina--so badly he could taste it--and it 

terrified him. 



 For a moment that fear made Audric feel vaguely 

nauseous. Simon would not have been afraid if he’d felt 

no more than lust for Raina. He was afraid to go near 

her because he was afraid he would feel more than lust. 



 And he wanted her removed from his temptation 

before it got the better of him. 



 The sense of possessiveness tightened in his gut again, 

making him feel more ill. 



 Maybe, he thought, ithad been unwise to bring Raina 

here? He hadn’t intended or expected to do more than 

crack the shell of ice around Simon, to bring him back 

to the living. It had certainly been no part of his plan to 


----------------------- Page 75-----------------------

place Simon in harm’s way again, which he would be if 

he fell in love with Raina. 



 She was totally unsuitable. She was human, 

unacceptable as a mate … for any of them, really, but 

especially for Simon. Simon would have to produce an 

heir, for his heir had died with Evangeline. 



 Beyond that, his own heart was threatened or he would 

not have felt ill at the thought of stepping aside for 

Simon, again. Swallowing the sense of drowning with 

an effort, he struggled to think, and do, what would be 

best for Simon, and therefore their homeland. This 

would be far more tricky than he’d expected. “I do not 

see her as a shadow,” he responded to Simon finally. “I 

know what is due my family name … even in exile. I 

would not set out to love her, or consider binding, for 

one day I expect to return to Schalome. She will suit 

my needs of the moment, though.” 



 Simon snorted. “One never sets out to fall in love,” he 

said dryly. 



 Audric smiled wryly. No truer words were ever 

spoken. He had painful first hand experience with 

making an utter fool of himself, and bringing misery 

down upon himself for a loving a woman he could 

never have. “Assuming that I can coax her into my 

bed,” he continued as if he hadn’t heard Simon’s 


----------------------- Page 76-----------------------

muttered remark, “which might take a bit more work 

than I have been accustomed to in the past. She does 

not seem indifferent to me, and although she is 

certainly no whore, she is not ignorant of men either. I 

have the uneasy feeling, though, that she finds my size 

as unnerving as I do hers. I thinkthat is why she is 

skittish, but, to my mind, I think she is not easily 

intimidated. Once she grows accustomed to my hulking 

size and realizes that I am not so clumsy that I will step 

on her and crush her like a little bug, I believe she will 

be receptive to the notion. 



 “I could be wrong, but she seemed to find my body 

appealing,” he added. 



 Haig looked him over with interest. “How did you 

manage that if you have not ‘coaxed’ her into your bed 

as of yet?” 



 Chagrinned, Audric chuckled. “I am no hand at 

mechanical things. I broke the pipes trying to fix them 

and soaked us both. I had to remove her from the area 

of disaster. I have put her in my room for now. 

Unfortunately, she did not fall for the ruse. She has 

made it clear that she isnot prepared to share my bed 

with me … at least not yet.” He paused, reluctant to 

continue, but at the same time unable to resist prodding 

with another dig. “Her face might be merely pretty, but 

her body takes my breath away. I do not believe that I 


----------------------- Page 77-----------------------

have ever seen a woman whose body was more 

appealing.” 



 “I had thought so. Is her patch the same color as the 

hair on her head?” Jorell asked with keen interest. 



 Audric grinned, discarding his reluctance to discuss the 

intimate details with an effort. Mentally, he shrugged. It 

was in a good cause and it seemed obvious that, 

however tempted Simon was, he was determined to 

resist. It could not hurt to give him a little push. “Much 

lighter, more red and her nipples a shade of pink that 

begs tasting.” 



 Haig smacked his lips, chuckling lasciviously. “Then 

her little lips will be as pretty a pink and as enticing to 

taste.” 



 Elden, who had said nothing until that moment, looked 

Audric over speculatively. “I had thought the moment I 

set eyes upon her that I would welcome the opportunity 

to lick her all over. If you have no luck with her, will 

you take it badly if I try my hand?” 



 Audric stiffened, feeling the sense of possessiveness 

clench at his gut again, before he could think of a 

response, however, Simon turned from the window and 

released a hissing breath. “I will go down and work 

out,” he announced tightly, stalking from the room 


----------------------- Page 78-----------------------

angrily. 



 When he had stormed out, slamming the door behind 

him, Audric looked at his companions. Almost as one, 

they moved to settle in the chairs and sofas arranged 

into a comfortable conversational grouping. “I do not 

think any of us should count upon collecting the woman 

’s favors. If you’ve need of a woman, you should look 

elsewhere. Whatever Simon has said to the contrary, he 

wants her and if he sets his mind to have her, she will 

fall into his hands like a ripe plum. I have not seen the 

woman yet who could resist his charm when he blinds 

her with it,” he said wryly. 



 The men exchanged varying expressions of 

disappointment, resignation, and irritation. “That is 

because he is the prince,” Rama agreed glumly, 

nodding. 



 “Comfort yourself with that thought if you like,” 

Audric retorted dryly. “Butshe does not know who he 

is, and it would mean nothing to her if she did. These 

Americans are not nearly as impressed with royalty as 

they are with their film stars! In any case, I saw the look 

on her face when she first saw him, if you did not. She 

is his if he wants her, whether any of us like it or 

not--whethershe likes it or not. Even if wewished to 

challenge his right to have whatever he wants, and I 

would not consider it, none of us would have a chance 


----------------------- Page 79-----------------------

with her.” 



 Haig grinned. “Aye, he was ever a silver tongued 

devil!” 



 Despite his mixed feelings over the situation, Audric 

chuckled. “His silver tongue is not likely to help him 

now--I doubt that he has much more facility with her 

tongue than I do, and I am nigh hopeless. I had not 

thought that I would come to regret not putting myself 

out to learn it. Buthe does not need it. The man has a 

… presence. There is something about him that draws 

women to him even when he does notwant to draw 

them.” 



 He grinned more easily as the comment caused 

memories of more pleasant times to surface. “I have ‘ 

rescued’ Simon more than once, for he has no more 

idea how he does it than I do, or of how to dissuade 

those he has no desire to entice. You have never seen 

such panic in a man’s eyes as I have in Simon’s. Not a 

flicker of fear on the battlefield and abject terror when 

some completely undesirable female crawls upon his 

lap and tries to seduce him into her bed--and they have 

done that, amazingly enough--for whatever it is that 

draws them to him also makes them brazen as 

bedamned. 



 “But when he wants them, he only has tolook at them 


----------------------- Page 80-----------------------

and they come to him as if they have been summoned. 

Even Evangeline, although she was wise enough to lead 

him a merry chase before she allowed him to ‘catch’ 

her, was his the moment she met his gaze.” 



 He shook his head. “There have been many times 

when I have wished that I had even half whatever it is 

about him that makes women go weak and hot all over 

the moment he looks at them … and almost as many 

times that I have been very grateful that I do not.” 



 Jorell burst out laughing. “Do you recall that toothless 

whore in Babayon? I swear I nigh snorted my ale 

through my nose at the look on his face when she 

crawled upon his lap and offered to suck his cock, 

pointing out she had no teeth to cause him any 

discomfort. I believe the little fellow crawled up into 

his belly to hide! He had the devil of a time coaxing it 

out again when he found a woman thatdid appeal! We 

had tried two more whorehouses before he had steadied 

his nerves enough to bed one!” 



 Haig snorted. “Little fellow? Your eyes are bad, or 

your ego inflated. I am loath to drag mine out when he 

is anywhere around for fear my ‘little fellow’ will be 

too ashamed to poke his head out.” 



 “I remember that! Hesneaked out the back!” Elden 

said, laughing heartily at the memory. “No small feat 


----------------------- Page 81-----------------------

for a fellow his size. I do not know how he managed 

it.” 



 Audric gave him a look. “He managed it because I 

offered myself on the altar of sacrifice,” he said dryly. 

“And coaxed her into my bed instead. The things I have 

done for my prince!” 



 Rama grinned. “Well? Did the lack of teeth improve 

the ride?” 



 “I did not ‘ride’. I offered to let her suck my cock 

instead. It was not half bad, actually. The woman could 

have sucked the etching off of a steel blade,” he 

admitted with an easy laugh. “I thought for several 

panicked moments that my head would cave in.” 



 Elden rubbed his cock uncomfortably. “I am thinking I 

might go to the mainland and look up my woman,” he 

muttered. “I have not had a good ride in a while.” 



 “Did she not toss you out on your ear the last time you 

went sniffing at her mons?” Haig asked with a grin. 



 Elden sent him a sullen look. “She did not! She was 

not happy to see me … at first, but these Earth women 

have very interesting customs. I reminded her that she 

had offered to be my ‘fuck buddy’ and she allowed me 

to persuade her. Simon can say what he pleases, but I 


----------------------- Page 82-----------------------

like uncomplicated sex myself and Ilike Earth women! I 

do not mind paying for it when I must, mind you, but I 

have never particularly cared to be serviced by a whore 

when Iknow that they are only doing it for the money. 

Thesehumans , which Simon is so set against, give 

passion if a man is willing and skilled enough to draw 

it. For myself, I will miss that when we go home and 

have only the choice of binding or paying for service 

and may or may not get passion either way.” 



 His comments dampened the good spirits of moments 

before. “We are dead men if we return to Schalome,” 

Haig said finally. 



 “Not if Simon is ready to lead us,” Audric said grimly. 

“He need only show himself and an army will spring up 

on every shore to crush that upstart Jaelen into dust!” 



 Rama frowned. “I do not doubt that for a moment, but 

he would not believe, before, that his brother was after 

the throne else we would not be here now. I love 

Simon as much as any of you, but I know him well, too. 

Regardless of what Jaelen has done, he is still Simon’s 

brother. Simon maythink he wants to kill him for what 

he did to Evangeline, but I do not believe that Simon 

can bring himself to kill his brother and if he does not, 

then we will have it to do all over again. Given time, he 

would raise another army of mercenaries and enemies 

of Schalome, just as he did before, and the results 


----------------------- Page 83-----------------------

would likely be the same--except that Jaelen will not 

make the same mistake twice. If he has to fight Simon 

for the throne again, he will make certain it is the last 

time. He will suffer no qualms about killing Simon, you 

may be sure. He would not have allowed Simon to live 

the last time except that he feared the people would 

revolt. 



 “They were enraged enough when he tossed Simon in 

that stinking hole for nigh two years and then dragged 

him through the streets and had him whipped like a 

common felon. I believe he thought that doing so would 

show them that Simon was merely a dracon--no god to 

be worshipped--but he miscalculated the depth of love 

the people feel for Simon. He will not do that again. I 

will not say it is a weakness, but there have been times 

when I have felt that Simon has too much heart and not 

nearly enough ruthlessness to be a sovereign.” 



 “He can be ruthless when he needs to be,” Audric 

ground out. “Never doubt that. But I think you may be 

right about his brother. I do not like to think what it 

might do to Simon if he was forced to kill his brother 

anyway--he has too much conscience. If he could have 

gotten to Jaelen that day, I think he would have torn 

him limb from limb with his bare hands, but afterwards 

….” He shook his head. “I will take care of it myself 

when and if the time comes … and I will be sure that 

Simon has no inkling that it is an assassination. I do not 


----------------------- Page 84-----------------------

want to test his ruthlessness myself.” 



 Haig studied him thoughtfully. “You think this woman 

is what we need?” 



 “Ithought this woman was what we needed,” Audric 

responded. “Now I am not completely easy in my mind. 

We will have a hell of a mess on our hands if he 

becomes too attached to her.” 



 Jorell frowned. “Do you think there is any real danger 

of that? I will admit she looks like a tasty morsel--but 

no more than a mouthful--and sheis human. He will not 

forget that. He cannot forget that, or where his duty lies. 

For myself, I had begun to make plans for when he has 

lost interest in her and set her aside.” 



 Audric shook his head. “Heis worried, and that makes 

me nervous.” 



 Rama shrugged. “Then we will set out to seduce her 

ourselves. He will be less vulnerable to her if he knows 

that she has shared herself with any or all of us.” 



 “Do not eventry to make that sound like a sacrifice! 

You want her as much as I do or you would not have 

thought up that idiotic plan! That is not likely to make a 

straw’s worth of difference to Simon anyway,” Audric 

snapped. “Evangeline was no stranger to men when she 


----------------------- Page 85-----------------------

came to him.” 



 They all looked taken aback. 



 “How do you know?” Haig demanded. 



              I 

 “Because  was her lover before him--and he knew 

it--and she was no virgin when I took her to my bed. 

You should not believe everything that he says. He is 

too fair minded to hold that against a woman when he 

has been such a cocksman himself, and too 

arrogant--and with good reason--to worry himself that 

his woman will stray if he chooses her. He was only 

spouting all that nonsense about whores to convince 

himself that she is not worth his time. If he believed 

that he would not be in the basement pounding out his 

rage on the bags. 



 “I will seduce Raina,” he added after a moment. 



 “And we are to back off only because you say so?” 

Rama ground out. 



 Audric narrowed his eyes at his long time friend. “You 

will back off because this is what is best for Simon--and 

what is best for Simon is best for Schalome. I only 

dangled Raina in front of him to remind him that he is a 

dracon, and he is alive. It will not serve us if he 

becomes so smitten that he loses all interest in 


----------------------- Page 86-----------------------

returning home and reclaiming what is rightfully his, 

and we will be exiled forever.” 



 “So you will ‘sacrifice’ yourself? I do not see the 

difference.” 



 “You do. You just do not want to because you are ‘ripe 

’ for herself yourself. But the difference, if you must 

have it explained, is that Simon loves me. He is well 

aware that I loved Evangeline and he took her from me 

because he could not help himself … and he still hated 

                                  I 

himself for it. For a time  hated him for it, until I 

realized that no one can take what you did not have to 

start with. If she had truly loved me, she would not 

have looked at Simon. She could no more help falling 

in love with him than I could help falling in love with 

her. 



 “He will fight harder if he believes that I care for her. 

That will give him two very good reasons to keep his 

distance--self-preservation for the heart he has already 

had broken once, and a reluctance to hurt me again. 



 “Please the gods, that will be enough, because I must 

pretend to be smitten with her or he will not hesitate to 

strike when his blood reaches full boil--and I am not at 

all certain that I can pretend and protect my own heart 

at the same time. In fact, I am afraid I can not … and it 

will be a sacrifice for me either way. 


----------------------- Page 87-----------------------

 “If we succeed and Simon turns his sights upon 

Schalome again, even if for no other reason than his 

need for a suitable mate, I will have to leave her. 



 “And if Simon can not contain his desire for her, then I 

am fairly certain that I will not be able to hold her to me 

anymore than I could hold on to Evangeline. 



 “The gods must hate me as much as they love Simon, 

else they would either have given me the same ‘gift’ 

with women that they did my half-brother, or they 

would not have given me the same taste in women,” he 

said tiredly. 



 Elden draped an arm over his friend’s shoulder, 

planting a sloppy wet kiss on his cheek, and then 

laughing uproariously when Audric glared at him and 

shoved him away. “I love you, Audric! I will save you 

from yourself by seducing Raina away from you before 

you can loose your heart to her!” 



 Audric gave him a look. “Such a sacrifice will not be 

necessary on my account!” 



 All of the men chuckled at that. 



 “I love you, too, brother!” Jorell announced with a grin. 

“I will gladly throw myself into the breach!” 


----------------------- Page 88-----------------------

                               Chapter Five 



 Simon was appalled to realize, once he had beat the 

edge off his fury, that every muscle in his body was 

screaming in protest and he was breathing as heavily as 

if he had sprinted five miles. He had worked out 

diligently for most of the years he had been in exile, all 

except the first anyway when he had been so weak and 

ill from prison and Jaelen’s attempts to break him, in 

the beginning because his companions would give him 

no peace if he didn’t, later mostly because it had 

become a habit--never once because it mattered to him 

that he keep in good fighting shape. 



 He was either getting old, or he had simply not pushed 

himself as he once did. 



 He frowned over that thought--both doubts. 



 He had not given any thought to his appearance or the 

years in so long he couldn’t remember the last time it 

had occurred to him to wonder if a woman might not 


----------------------- Page 89-----------------------

find him appealing. 



 Not that he was wondering--or cared. It had only 

occurred to him to think of it because of Audric’s 

comment about the woman findinghim appealing. He 

scrubbed a hand over the faint bristles along his jaw, 

wincing as the gesture reminded him, sharply, that he’d 

beat the bag barehanded until his knuckles were raw 

and bleeding. 



 That had been unwise, he thought, studying them 

wryly. It was going to be hell working out now, until 

they healed. 



 He frowned as his stomach growled and he realized he 

was starving. 



 He couldn’t remember the last timethat had happened 

either. Mostly he ate because he knew he needed to, 

not because he had any enthusiasm for it. His ‘ 

enthusiasm’ was back with a vengeance, however. He 

discovered he couldn’t ignore the grumbling as he 

generally did and finally yielded to the demands of his 

belly and left the basement gym. 



 He paused when he reached the first floor and heard 

the tone that announced that dinner was served. He’d 

broken a sweat and he hadn’t changed since that 

morning. Ordinarily, he would never have considered 


----------------------- Page 90-----------------------

sitting down to eat as he was--unshaven, unwashed, 

completely disheveled. Resentment filled him, though, 

when he realized a part of his reluctance now--the 

biggest part of it--was a disinclination for ‘that woman’ 

to see him as he was. 



 “To hell with her,” he muttered to himself. He was not 

likely to see her, or she him. She would eat with Mrs. 

Higgenbottom in the kitchen. 



 And, in any case, he didn’t give a flying fuck what she 

thought about him. 



 He probably smelled like anaybst --the furry beasts 

they rode into battle on Schalome--that had been run 

into the ground, but ifhe didn’t mind his stench he saw 

no reason whyshe should. Setting his jaw, he slipped 

his arms into the sleeves of his shirt and left it hanging 

open. He was too damned hot to fasten it up and tuck it 

in. He combed his fingers through his hair to bring 

some order to it and then abandoned his unconscious 

efforts at grooming abruptly, leaving his hair hanging 

about his shoulders. 



 The glasses were another matter. Removing them from 

his pocket, he put them on. 



 Just one more reason to resent the woman’s presence! 

He could not go about without the damned things 


----------------------- Page 91-----------------------

becauseshe was human and was liable to faint at the 

sight of his alien eyes … and then run screaming to the 

authorities that aliens were in residence on Milton 

Island. 



 Audric looked him over disapprovingly when he had 

sprawled in his chair at the head of the table. Simon 

regarded his half-brother broodingly, almost hoping he 

would make some snide remark so that he could feel 

justified in knocking his teeth down his throat. 



 “I would not worry about the glasses,” Audric finally 

said mildly, refusing to take the bait he saw in Simon’s 

eyes. “She has seen my eyes … and yours. If she has 

not fainted, screamed, or taken off running by now, she 

is not likely to.” 



 Simon snatched his glasses off and pitched them across 

the room. 



 It was unfortunate that that little fit of temper 

happened to coincide with Raina’s entrance into the 

dining room. She jumped as the glasses hit the wall 

next to her, rattling the dishes on the tray she was 

carrying. 



 Simon felt dull color creep into his cheeks as she 

flashed wide, startled eyes in his direction. Clearing his 

throat, he glared pointedly at Jorell, who was sitting 


----------------------- Page 92-----------------------

next to him. Jorell stared back at him blankly and then 

whirled his head abruptly to look at Riana guiltily. 



 She narrowed her eyes at him. 



 Simon dropped his elbow to the arm of his chair, 

cupping his chin in his hand and pressing his index 

finger along his lips to curb the urge to smile. 



 “It was not I!” Jorell snapped. 



 Simon chuckled. “She can not understand Draconian. 

And I do not think she would believe you if you could 

think of the words to say in her language. You looked 

far too guilty when you looked at her.” 



 Jorell sent him a resentful glare. “You did that on 

purpose!” he said accusingly. 



 Simon shrugged. “I did,” he responded coolly. “It was 

anun princely thing to do. You did not expectme to take 

the blame, surely?” he added provokingly. 



 Letting out a huff of irritation, Jorell focused on Raina 

as she carefully balanced the tray on one hip and tried to 

lift one bowl of soup from the tray without spilling 

everything else. 



 “Pardon, lady,” Jorell said in his best English, pointing 


----------------------- Page 93-----------------------

at Simon. “He did!” 



 Raina frowned in concentration until she’d managed to 

settle the bowl of soup and successfully redistribute the 

weight on the tray. She flicked a look at Mr. Black--she 

thought he was the one Mrs. Higgenbottom had told her 

was Mr. Black--and then looked at Simon Draken. His 

gaze was focused on the plate in front of him, but she 

thought she detected a faint smile hovering around his 

hard mouth. 



 She wished the man hadn’t directed her attention to 

 Simon. She was already having heart palpitations just 

being this close and dreading having to serve him. She 

was going to pitch the tray and run like hell if she 

spilled soup in his lap. 



 It was just as well she hadn’t gotten the full impact of 

the man when she’d first met him or she would’ve 

passed out and rolled down the stairs. She’d had the 

impression, then, that he was gorgeous. Now, with all 

that long, black silky hair hanging around his head in 

disarray, the hint of a five o’clock shadow on his hard 

jaw and chin, and the opened shirt that displayed the 

most beautiful chest she’d ever gotten the chance to 

look at, she could feel her kegel muscles clenching 

frantically and she had the horrible suspicion that her 

panties were damp. 


----------------------- Page 94-----------------------

              feel 

 She could           the man’s pheromones bouncing off of 

her in waves. 



 Ignoring Mr. Black’s juvenile excuse for throwing 

something at her, like an--undisciplined juvenile 

delinquent--she sucked in a sustaining breath and 

moved around to Simon. The dishes on the tray were 

rattling from the shakes running through her. Color 

climbed into her cheeks as he very casually shifted in 

his chair to put some distance between them as she 

leaned to set his bowl on the table. She didn’t know if it 

was because he was afraid she was going to spill the 

soup in his lap, or if it was a conscious or unconscious 

dislike of her close proximity, but she felt snubbed 

anyway. Moving around to Mr. Black, she gave him a 

narrow eyed look and plunked his bowl down in front 

of him hard enough to slosh soup over the edge. 



 Someone at the table chuckled and then tried to make 

it sound like a cough. She wasn’t sure which one of 

them it was, but she suspected Mr. Smith. He was 

grinning at her when she flicked a glance in his 

direction. Turning her nose up at him, she stalked down 

the table and settled the last bowl of soup and then 

marched out of the dining room. 



 Mrs. Higgenbottom was glaring at her when she 

returned to the kitchen, her lips pursed. “You are to 

serve Mr. Draken first,” she said coldly. “The others in 


----------------------- Page 95-----------------------

order of their station.” 



 Raina gaped at her. “Station?” 



 Raina wouldn’t have thought it possible, but Mrs. 

Higgenbottom’s expression turned even more sour. 

“Mr. Draken first. And then Mr. Smith, Mr. Black, Mr. 

Jones, Mr. Green, and finally Mr. White.” 



 Raina stared at her in disbelief. She was already 

irritated that the woman had told her she was ‘off’ for 

the day andthen , when she’d come down to eat, had 

informed her that she had to serve first. Thensomeone , 

one of them, had pitched something at her when she’d 

gone in to serve their soup, almost making her drop the 

damned tray. And on top of that, she didn’t know the 

first thing about serving and, if the woman hadn’t 

noticed, she was clumsy, especially when she was 

nervous, and sheknew she was going to make a mess 

before the dinner was over. 



 Especially since she couldn’t come within ten feet of 

Simon Draken without turning to jelly. 



 “Look, lady! I can’t tell one of theQuints from the 

other!” 



 Mrs. Higgenbottom’s eyes narrowed. “You know Mr. 

Draken, do you not?” she demanded testily. 


----------------------- Page 96-----------------------

 Raina realized abruptly that she was thoroughly pissing 

the woman off and also that she didn’t give a damn if 

she was. “Tall guy? Boobs bigger than mine?--Wait! 

They’reall tall and theyall have boobs bigger than 

mine! Dark hair? No that isn’t going to work either!” 



 “They do not look anything alike!” 



 “Well! Youtold me not to look at them at all! 

Especially Mr. Draken! I’d have to actually see their 

faces to tell them apart, damn it! Otherwise I can’t tell 

the forest from the trees because all I can tell is that 

they’re all really, really tall--really, really big, and they 

all have long dark hair, and they all wear those damned 

sunglasses, which cover half their face anyway!Maybe I 

should examine their damned belly buttons and see if I 

can tell them apart!” 



 “Mayhapyou could try being a little more observant? 

They are notwearing their sunglasses now!” 



 “No, because one of them threw their damned glasses 

at me when I went in with the soup and I’mnot taking 

anything else in there if they’re going to be throwing 

things at me because I’m slow in bringing on the 

chow!” 



 “I did not throw my glasses at you.” 


----------------------- Page 97-----------------------

 Riana’s knees turned to pure water as the deep, 

masculine voice rolled over her. Her head whipped 

around so quickly at the sound that she felt a bone in 

her neck pop. 



 ‘The god’ was standing at the door between the kitchen 

and dining room, leaning negligently against the door 

frame, his arms folded over his broad chest, making all 

those lovely muscles bulge. Her mouth watered. He 

reddened faintly when she gaped at him. 



 “It was a churlish thing to do--and I beg pardon--but 

you were never an intended target.” 



 Riana averted her gaze, struggling to regain her 

equilibrium, feeling so weak she thought for several 

moments that she was going to do something really 

embarrassing--like faint. “Oh,” she mumbled, resisting 

the urge to fan herself. 



 Mrs. Higgenbottom stepped into the breach, and 

although Riana didn’t delude herself that it was 

intended for her benefit, she could’ve kissed the 

woman for distracting him from his intent study of her. 

She thought he’d been looking at her. She felt like he 

had been. 



 “Are you ready for the next course, my lor…Mr. 


----------------------- Page 98-----------------------

Draken?” 



 Apparently he nodded and returned to the dining room. 

He didn’t say anything else, thankfully. Riana might 

have embarrassed herself by coming at the sound of his 

voice. 



 She wasthat close. 



 It ought to be illegal, she thought resentfully, for a man 

like that to be allowed anywhere in the vicinity of a 

starving woman. She was surprised women weren’t 

attached to the man all over like limpets. 



 On the other hand, that might be why he never went 

anywhere. He was afraid of being mobbed. 



 “Youcarry the tray and follow me,” Mrs. Higgenbottom 

announced when she’d arranged the plates with the next 

course. “And pay attention so that you’ll know the 

proper order to serve.” 



 Raina made a face at the woman as she followed her 

through the dining room door. Unfortunately, she didn’t 

discover until she’d done it that, although Ms. 

Hatchet-face couldn’t see her, the men at the table 

could and they were looking right at her when she did 

it. Embarrassed and completely unable to keep her 

color from fluctuating, she compensated by turning her 


----------------------- Page 99-----------------------

nose up at them as she stalked behind Ms. 

Higgenbottom to the table. 



 Mrs. Higgenbottom gave her a stern look as she 

removed the soup bowl and carefully settled a plate in 

front of Mr. Draken. 



 “What?” Riana asked, all at sea. 



 The woman actually rolled her eyes. “Observe!” she 

hissed. 



 “Oh!” 



 She removed Mr. Smith’s soup bowl next and set his 

plate in front of him. “Mr.Smith ,” she said in an 

undertone, “likes his meat rare.” 



 Raina looked at Mr. Smith doubtfully. 



 He smiled at her and winked. She bit her lip to keep 

from smiling back at him. Diverted by his flirtatious 

interest, she almost ran into Ms. Hatchet face as she 

moved around the table and stopped abruptly because 

she was still looking at him when the woman stopped. 

The housekeeper glared at her. “Mr. Black likes his 

meat medium.” 



 Raina frowned, abruptly uneasy about where all this 


----------------------- Page 100-----------------------

careful instruction seemed to be leading. “Does this 

mean I’m going to have to cook, too?” she demanded in 

a loud whisper when the woman turned her back on her 

and moved to other end of the table. “Because I have to 

tell you I’m not worth a shit at cooking. They’reall 

going to get it rare in the middle and black on both 

sides, because I really don’t have the patience for 

cooking. I did say that when I applied. I distinctly 

remember telling you I couldn’t cook ….” 



 The last word was muffled by Ms. Higgenbottom’s 

hand as she clapped it over Raina’s mouth. Raina glared 

at her over the hand and then stuck her tongue out 

before she thought better of it. Ms. Higgenbottom 

snatched her hand back and gritted her teeth at her. 

Raina wiped her tongue on the shoulder of her shirt, 

wrinkling her nose. “Don’t tell me where you’ve had 

that hand because I donot want to know!” 



 Mr. White snorted his wine and fell into a fit of 

coughing. Mr. Black spat a mouthful of wine into his 

plate and then stared down at it in disgust for a moment. 

Finally, he shrugged and picked up his knife and fork. 



 Raina sent him a commiserating look. “That’s nearly as 

                                                your 

bad as dropping it on the floor. It’s                   germs, after all. 

And theydo cook them in wine sometimes. It’s 

supposed to enhance the flavor,” she whispered. 


----------------------- Page 101-----------------------

 Ms. Hatchet-face grabbed her arm and practically 

hauled her out of the dining room. 



 “Exactly what was that all about?” the woman had the 

nerve to demand. 



 Raina slammed the tray full of bowls down on the 

closest counter and glared at her. “That’s what I’d like 

to know! Lady! I’ve got a lot of patience, but if you 

manhandle me again you’re going to draw back a nub!” 



 It was at that point that Hatchet-face lost her contacts 

and breathed fire. 



 Smoke, anyway. 



 Raina observed the twin streams of smoke that 

emerged from her nostrils with more than a little 

surprise. “Hey! I didn’t know you smoked!” 



 Someone grabbed her from behind and swung her in a 

dizzying circle. She didn’t stop until she slammed into 

a chest that felt like a brick wall. A hand settled on each 

side of her head even as she began to tip her head back 

to see who’d grabbed her. She met Mr. Smith’s mouth 

in descent. 



 She was too disordered to react with more than a jolt of 

surprise. As his firm lips settled over hers, melding 


----------------------- Page 102-----------------------

flesh to flesh in gentle adhesion; as his breath filtered 

into her mouth, merged with her own and then 

descended into her lungs and spread throughout her 

body, borne away by the blood pumping frantically 

through her heart; as he thrust his tongue into her mouth 

in bold conquest and filled her senses with the taste of 

him, a dizzying thrill went through her. Warmth rose up 

to envelope her. 



 Doubt flooded her. 



 She lifted her hands and placed her palms against his 

chest, above his heart, intending to thrust him away. 

She liked his taste and touch, though, enjoyed his scent 

as it became a part of her, relished the floating, dizzying 

intoxication of her senses, and, without consciously 

making a decision, instead of pushing him away, her 

fingers curled into his shirt. The tension of doubt and 

surprise uncoiled from her muscles and she swayed 

closer, relaxed her jaw to give him better access. 



 She felt a shudder ripple through his body as she 

closed her mouth around his tongue and sucked at it. 

She felt her body quicken, warmth and moisture and a 

gentle rippling of the muscles within her sex. 



 He tensed. She thought for a moment that he would 

bring her more tightly against him. Instead, he withdrew 

his tongue from her mouth, sucked gently at her lips 


----------------------- Page 103-----------------------

and finally lifted his mouth from hers. 



 For the space of several heartbeats, she remained 

perfectly still, waiting, hoping he would kiss her again. 

Finally, languidly, she lifted her eyelids. He was staring 

down at her lips intently, hunger in his eyes. As if he 

caught the movement of her lids, however, he met her 

gaze. 



 She caught her breath at the heat in his eyes. 



 And then she caught a glimpse of something in her 

peripheral vision and her eyes automatically swiveled. 



 And a jolt went through her. 



 Simon Draken was staring down at her, his expression 

nearly as taut and filled with need as Mr. Smith’s, 

except anger mixed generously with his passion, or 

maybe spawned it. Instinctively, Raina shrank from that 

look, molding herself more tightly to Mr. Smith since 

he was blocking her retreat. 



 And behindhim stood the others. 



 Raina crashed to Earth and burned. Still more than a 

little confused with the heat surging through her, she 

glanced up at Mr. Smith, glanced at the others, and then 

abruptly released her grip on Mr. Smith’s shirt and 


----------------------- Page 104-----------------------

pushed past him to put a little distance between herself 

and the men--because all of them were 

looking--hungry--and she couldn’t think of anything 

more unsettling than being the focus of desire of that 

many men at one time. 



 Mrs. Higgenbottom, she saw when she glanced around, 

was standing at the far corner of the kitchen, speaking 

in a low voice with Mr. White. The woman’s back was 

to her, so she had no idea what they were talking about, 

because Mr. White’s face was carefully devoid of 

expression. Frowning, she glanced back at the tableau 

of men crowding the door between the kitchen and the 

dining room and then looked at Mr. Smith. 



 “That was well done,”Simon growled ominously. 



 Audric dragged his gaze from Raina and stared at him 

in tight lipped silence for a moment. “I had to distract 

her. It was all I could think of,” he said defensively. 



 “I do not doubt it.”Simon slid a narrowed gaze at 

Raina’s reddened, swollen lips, quashed a fresh surge of 

desire and fury with an effort and looked at Audric 

again. “It is a very good thing that you did not have 

time to think of somethingmoredistracting else we 

would have witnessed something far more interesting, 

I am certain.” 


----------------------- Page 105-----------------------

 Audric flushed, but his face went taut with anger. 



 “What’s going on?” Raina demanded as her stunned 

surprise gave way to a rise in anger when she realized 

they were discussing her in their language. She knew 

they were. Both of them kept looking at her. 



 Simon gave Audric a look of malicious amusement. “ 

Explain it to her.” 



 Audric sent Raina a harassed look. Frowning, he 

fumbled around in his mind for the words he needed for 

several moments and came up empty. “No … uh ….” 



 “Speak,” Simon prompted. 



 “Speak,” Audric echoed. 



 “English.” 



 Audric glared at him. “Asshole!”he ground out. 



 Simon stared at him for a long moment. “He kissed 

you to stop the argument,” he said without glancing at 

Raina. He paused for a long moment. “Because he was 

concerned that you would be hurt.” 



 “What did you tell her?”Audric demanded 

suspiciously. 


----------------------- Page 106-----------------------

 Simon repeated it in their language. After studying him 

doubtfully for a moment, Audric glanced at Raina 

cautiously. She was still frowning, he saw, but at least 

she wasn’t looking at him--at them--as if she suspected 

she’d been the butt of a nasty prank. 



 Simon pushed away from the doorframe abruptly and 

strode across the kitchen. “Thank you, Tedra, for that 

delightful exercise in indigestion. I believe I will skip 

desert,” he said coldly as he passed the woman. He 

paused at the door and turned to look back her. “See if 

you can not learn to hold your temper a little better.” 



 Mrs. Higgenbottom turned to stare at the door for 

several moments after he’d left and abruptly burst into 

noisy tears. 



 Raina jumped at the sound, staring at the woman in 

wide-eyed dismay. 



 There was a stampede of men as they vacated the 

kitchen abruptly. 



 Raina stared at the woman guiltily for several 

moments, wrestled with the urge to leave, and finally 

expelled an irritated breath. Instead of leaving, she 

moved to Mrs. Higgenbottom, stood staring at her 

uncomfortably for a moment and finally lifted a hand 


----------------------- Page 107-----------------------

 and patted her on the shoulder consolingly. “Hey! It 

 wasn’t that bad, was it?” 



  Mrs. Higgenbottom sniffed. Her chin wobbled. “He is 

 angry with me.” 



  Raina gnawed her lip for a moment. “He’s angry all the 

 time, though, isn’t he?” 



  Mrs. Higgenbottom glared at her. “No! I have been 

 with him since he was a … baby and he has never said a 

                                                            your 

 cross word to me, not in his entire life! It is                    fault!” 



  Most of Raina’s empathy dried up at that hateful 

 comment. “Myfault? Hey, I didn’t spillone damned 

 thing! And I didn’t start the argument. Why is it my 

 fault?” 



  A hand clamped over her shoulder, spinning her 

 around. This time, though, Mr. Smith grabbed her up 

 and tossed her over one broad shoulder. Raina was so 

 stunned she didn’t find her voice until he’d strode from 

 the kitchen with her. “Hey! What the hell do you think 

 you’re doing?” 



  “No, Raina! No, no, no!” he said tightly. “No fight 

 Tedra. Bad ting! Very bad!I turn my back on you for 

five seconds and you are at it again  ,” he muttered in 

 his own language.Lady, you have no sense of 


----------------------- Page 108-----------------------

self-preservation at all! That woman could eat you 

alive. She is damned near twice your size and she is 

draconian. She is a hell of a lot stronger than you 

seem to think she is. 



 Raina reared up and tried to break his grip and slide off 

his shoulder as he headed up the stairs. He popped her 

on the ass with his palm. Raina gasped in stunned 

surprise and outrage. Collapsing on his shoulder again, 

she pounded on him in the general vicinity of his 

ass--his lower back because she couldn’treach his ass. 

“Don’t … you … ever … hit … me … again!” she 

snarled, emphasizing each word with another slap. 



 He ignored her, which only made her madder. 



 She glared at him through narrowed eyes when he 

finally gained her--their--room and set her on her feet. 



                                Chapter Six 



 Audric regarded Raina with a mixture of disbelief, 

lingering irritation … and amusement. He held up his 

hands in the universal gesture of surrender when she 


----------------------- Page 109-----------------------

took exception to the faint smile curling his lips. “You 

seem to have gotten over your uneasiness around 

draconians, half-pint, ” he murmured in his tongue. 



 Raina frowned at him uncertainly, feeling her anger 

begin to taper off at his expression. “I don’t understand 

a word you’re saying, but I have a feeling you’re 

counting on that,” she said irritably. 



 His dark brows drew together. “No understand.” 



 Raina resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I’m going to 

have to teach you how to speak English, Mr. Smith! If 

for no other reason than the fact that I’m going to go 

nuts with only old Hatchet-face to talk to.” 



 “Audric.” 



 She stared at him blankly. 



 He gestured toward himself. “Audric.” 



 Surprise usurped her annoyance as it clicked in her 

mind what he was saying. Allowing her gaze to wander 

over his face, she found herself smiling back at him. 

“Audric. I’ve never heard that name before. Should I 

call you Audric? Or Mr. Smith?” 



 “Audric,” he responded firmly. 


----------------------- Page 110-----------------------

 Progress. She didn’t know what all that business had 

been about in the kitchen, or why he’d abruptly gone all 

Neanderthal on her, but he hadn’t taken exception to 

her pounding on him--which was a tremendous relief 

considering she’d been mad enough she hadn’t stopped 

to consider that it might not be the best idea in the 

world to provoke Goliath. 



 If he was willing to let bygones be bygones and extend 

the old olive branch, though, she wasn’t going to ignore 

it. Unfortunately, she didn’t see any way to make any 

real progress in making friends with him--not when he 

couldn’t understand much of what she said or vice 

versa. She heaved a sigh. “Well, Audric, I’m starving. I 

didn’t get to eat. Do you think, maybe, you could get 

out of my way so I can go back down to the kitchen and 

get some food?” 



 She thought for several moments that he hadn’t 

understood any of that when he shook his head. 



 “You stay. I get.” 



 Raina studied him in surprise and finally nodded. If 

that was what he wanted to do, she wasn’t going to 

object. All she cared about at this point was being fed. 



 She just hoped he didn’t show up with something like 


----------------------- Page 111-----------------------

a peanut butter sandwich because she was going to be 

seriously disappointed. 



                                   * * * * 



 Audric met up with Simon as he reached the upper 

landing with the tray of food. 



 Simon studied the tray for several moments and then 

met Audric’s gaze. “You are smitten,” he said dryly. 

“Serving the wench instead of the serving wench doing 

the serving.” 



 Audric reddened with irritation. “She is not a wench.” 



 “She is not a lady.” 



 Audric’s lips tightened. “You did not used to be such 

an arrogant snob. She is not draconian. Our class system 

has no bearing on her. And it would not matter to me if 

it did. I am a bastard.” 



 Simon looked at him uncomfortably. “A royal bastard.” 



 “But still a bastard.” 



 Simon met his gaze for a long moment and finally 

turned away, descending the stairs. 


----------------------- Page 112-----------------------

 Audric frowned. “Where are you going?” 



 “For a walk.” 



 Consternation filled Audric. He glanced around but he 

saw no sign of the others. After looking down at the tray 

he held in his hands, he turned to look toward the room 

where Raina waited. “Shit!” 



 Striding briskly down the hall, he set the tray by the 

door and rapped on it. He had reached the stairs again 

when Raina opened the door and peered around. She 

studied his retreating back until he disappeared. 

Shrugging, she picked the tray up and went back into 

the room. 



                                  * * * * 



 Simon scowled with irritation when he realized he’d 

picked up a tail, particularly when healso realized it 

was Audric … and Audric was responsible for the 

restlessness that had prompted him to decide to take an 

evening stroll to start with. 



 Haig and Rama had decided to head to the mainland in 

search of a woman. He’d managed to give Elden and 

Jorell the slip by waiting until they’d gone down to the 

gym to work off some of their tension on the 

equipment, and he’d thought Audric was preoccupied 


----------------------- Page 113-----------------------

withthat woman . 



 All he could figure was that she was not nearly as 

fascinating as Audric pretended or he would not be out 

following him. He would be with the woman. 



 He dismissed that, almost reluctantly, after a moment. 

Audric was loyal to a fault. He would always put duty 

before personal desires and he was as convinced as the 

others that an assassin waited behind every tree and the 

moment they relaxed their vigilancehe was a dead man. 



 They were overzealous to his mind, but they weren’t 

completely wrong. There’d been a number of attempts 

over the years--sporadic, just often enough to make 

certain that they knew they could never relax their 

guard as long as Jaelen lived. He’d more than half 

hoped, in the beginning, that one of them would 

succeed and put him out of his misery. He didn’t know 

how he felt about it anymore, except that, regardless of 

what they appeared to believe, he wasn’tseeking his 

death. 



 He needed a woman. That was the biggest part of his 

restlessness. Since he’d seenthat woman , he hadn’t 

been able to think about much else. It wasn’ther , not 

really. She was attractive enough, he supposed--not at 

all to his taste--but she was a woman and it was enough 

having her twitching her little ass under their noses to 


----------------------- Page 114-----------------------

make it impossible for any of them to get fucking off 

the brain, especially when Audric seemed to be 

thoroughly enjoying himself. 



 He frowned at that thought. He’d been studiously 

trying not to think about that display he’d come upon in 

the kitchen, primarily because he’d gotten hard 

watching and every time he’d thought about it since he’ 

d gotten hard all over again until his balls were aching 

like an abscessed tooth. As much as it went against the 

grain to take care of his own needs himself, he was not 

going to get any sleep tonight, he knew, if he didn’t. 



 Anger surged through him. Not that he’d had a decent 

night’s sleep since he’d seen her. 



 It occurred to him after a moment, though, thatshe 

hadn’t behaved as if she was used to Audric’s kisses. 

Audric had gone blank faced with raging desire, looked 

as if he was considering throwing her down right there 

and then and fucking her on the kitchen floor. He’d 

been in pretty much the same state himself, though, and 

it hadn’t occurred to him, then, that Audric had looked 

far too desperate for someone who’d been assuaging his 

needs with a woman. 



 That didn’t necessarily mean he hadn’t been. He might 

have fucked her just enough to want more and not 

enough to have had a surfeit yet. 


----------------------- Page 115-----------------------

 The woman, though, that was another matter. She’d not 

only looked stunned when Audric had grabbed her and 

kissed her, she’d looked as confused as she was rattled 

and he didn’t think that was because she’d discovered 

they were watching the entire byplay. 



 He studied over that for a while, wondering if he was 

only trying to convince himself the woman wasn’t 

warming Audric’s bed, or if there was actually a 

possibility that Audric hadn’t managed to coax her in to 

it yet. 



 Not that it mattered. He wouldn’t touch her himself 

even if she hadn’t. 



                      a 

 He just needed   woman, not that one. 



 It wouldn’t be wise, at all, to consider her because such 

an arrangement could get very uncomfortable very fast. 

 She might get the idea that there was more to it than 

just lust and then they ’d be looking for someone else to 

help Tedra around the house. 



 Not that that was his problem, but he didn’t actually 

want her. He didn’t see what the attraction was, for 

Audric, or any of the others for that matter. 



 They were just as randy as he was forany woman, he 


----------------------- Page 116-----------------------

thought derisively, and for the same reason. The sad 

truth was, none of them had had much in the way of 

female companionship since they’d been exiled. It hadn 

’t been something that mattered a great deal to him, but 

he was well aware that it had been a hardship for the 

others. They’d chosen this world because it was the 

most like their own that they could find that wasalso 

inhabited with beings much like them. 



 And they’d discovered they still didn’t ‘blend’ with the 

natives. The Earth people were a smaller race, but not 

that much smaller. Except for the eyes, outwardly there 

was very little difference. He still wasn’t entirely 

certainwhy they didn’t seem to blend in, but he 

supposed it must be that the humans, whether they were 

aware of it or not,sensed they weren’t the same. 



 And, that being the case, they’d had to be very cautious 

about going among them. None of them, including him, 

wanted to have to look for another place once they’d 

settled. It was bad enough not being able to go home, 

bad enough living among aliens on an alien world, but it 

at least had some similarities to their home. They might 

not have that much if they had to leave and look for 

another place. 



 He stopped walking when he abruptly realized he’d 

gone, by force of habit, to the place he’d always gone to 

feel close to Evangeline. Turning, he stared out at the 


----------------------- Page 117-----------------------

sea. He didn’t try to summon his memories of her. He 

hadn’t been able to since …. 



 The loneliness returned full force, though--not the pain 

of loss. That had dulled, become a distant ache. He’d 

felt so empty for so long he wasn’t even sure anymore 

when it had stopped grinding at his guts. 



 She’d left him, he decided. She’d come to him for 

years, wanting, hoping that he’d avenge her death, and 

he’d failed her in that like he’d failed to protect her. He 

’d allowed himself to be so wrapped up in his loss he 

had lost sight of what still mattered. 



 Revenge. Justice. He’d abandoned his people without 

giving a thought for what they were suffering--also 

because of him. Because he’d been too selfish to 

consider anyone’s welfare but his own. 



 He had to go home, he realized. What he’d lost was 

gone and he was never going to get it back, but 

Schalome was still there, suffering because he had 

abandoned the people to Jaelen. And Evangeline had 

never gotten justice, never would if he didn’t see to it. 



 Conflicting emotions welled inside of him the moment 

he accepted that he’d denied his destiny as long as he 

could. Homesickness warred with a reluctance to return 

to the place where he’d known the heights of happiness 


----------------------- Page 118-----------------------

and the absolute depths of despair. The need for 

revenge warred with a need to know true peace. 



 I am weary of being alone, Evie. If I do this for you, 

if I avenge your death, will you give me peace, 

beloved? Will you let me go? 



                                  * * * * 



 By the following morning, Raina had had time to 

consider everything that had happened the night 

before--over and over while she was trying sleep. 



 It had occurred to her that she’d allowed her temper to 

gain the upper hand. It didn’t matter that she was tired 

and hungry and aggravated, and she still didn’t know 

why Mrs. Higgenbottom had gotten so bent out of 

shape, she should’ve handled it better. Mrs. 

Higgenbottom wasn’t her boss. Simon Draken was 

since he owned everything, but the housekeeper was 

still her supervisor. 



 If she didn’t figure out some way to get on the woman’ 

s good side, she was going to be out of a job. The day 

before, she’d almost been ready to let it go. The thought 

had occurred to her to just walk out. She wasn’t cut out 

for this kind of work. She’d thought it would be easy. 

Sheknew how clean. What was complicated about that? 


----------------------- Page 119-----------------------

 But it was obviously more complicated than she’d 

realized. Mrs. Higgenbottom had lost her temper and if 

there was anything Raina had learned in the short time 

she’d been at the place, the woman was inclined to be 

unflappable. 



 She supposed it didn’t really matterwhy Mrs. 

Higgenbottom was so stuffy about who got served 

first--undoubtedly it was some custom from where ever 

the men were from--shewas going to have to figure it 

out. 



 She just wished she’d known before she’d taken the 

job that she was going to be expected to serve the 

meals. She’d never lied when she applied for a job. She 

would’ve told Mrs. Higgenbottom that she didn’t have 

any experience in waiting tables. 



 Actually, shehad had some--all bad. Her first working 

years had been spent waiting tables. She’d bounced 

from one restaurant to another for several years before 

she’d realized waiting tables was not only never going 

to get her anywhere, she wasn’t any damned good at it. 

She was too absentminded to remember everything she’ 

d been expected to keep up with--who ordered what, 

what the daily special was, what sides came with this 

dish, etc., etc.--and then on top of that, she wasn’t the 

most coordinated person in the world. The first day she’ 

d waited tables, she’d poured four tall glasses of iced 


----------------------- Page 120-----------------------

tea all over two men and their dates because she couldn 

’t balance four glasses on a tray in the palm of her hand, 

and thenremove one. 



 Luckily for Mr. Draken and the Quints, Mrs. 

Higgenbottom hadn’t expected her to try to balance the 

tray on the palm of her hand or they would’ve been 

wearing their soup. 



 Two meals a day, Mrs. Higgenbottom had said. They ‘ 

broke their fast’ in the morning with a breakfast buffet-- 

strangeway to refer to breakfast--so she didn’t have to 

worry about bad memory, lack of coordination,and not 

being able to unglue her eyes to see because she’d 

never been a morning person. She didn’t come fully 

awake until around nine or ten o’clock, and she doubted 

they ate breakfast that late. 



 A sharp rap on the door roused her enough to sit up in 

bed just as Mrs. Higgenbottom opened the door. 

Instead of looking at her, the woman stared down her 

nose at the tray Raina had set outside the night before 

when she’d finished eating. “You will start on the front 

parlor this morning. It you want to eat before you get 

started, you should be downstairs within the next 

twenty minutes. Bring the tray to the kitchen.” 



 Raina lay back down when the woman left. 


----------------------- Page 121-----------------------

 Twenty more minutes of sleep! 



 She’d already rolled over to go back to sleep when it 

dawned on her that if she skipped breakfast, she was 

going to be starving come lunch time, and she wouldn’t 

get to eat until she’d served lunch. 



 “Damn it!” she muttered, rolling off the bed and 

staggering into the bathroom. 



 The shower roused her enough to open her eyes a 

sliver. She wasn’t much more awake, though, when she 

headed out of the bathroom to get dressed. 



 Audric was standing at the closet, stark naked. 



 That opened her eyes. It jump started her heart, too. 



 She stared at him in disbelief for many moments, 

trying to crank her brain into gear, wondering, since it 

was virtually a replay of the scene the first day, if she 

was only dreaming it. 



 “Audric?” 



 He looked disconcerted. “You were in the shower. I 

thought I could change before you got out,”he said 

with a shrug. 


----------------------- Page 122-----------------------

 “Don’t talk to me in … whatever language that is this 

early in the morning. I can’t handle it,” Raina said 

tiredly. 



 Moving to her suitcase, she grabbed some clothes and 

went back into the bathroom to dress. Thankfully, he’d 

dressed and left before she got out again. She managed 

to wolf down a few bites of breakfast before Mrs. 

Higgenbottom shooed her out of the kitchen. It was 

mid-morning before she came awake enough to 

mentally review the morning visit with any objectivity. 



 She supposed, since she was sleeping in his room, he 

might have the idea that it wasstill his room. And she 

completely understood that he needed his clothes to 

change. And if he was sleeping on one of the couches 

he wouldn’t want to move his clothes, especially since 

this arrangement was supposed to be temporary. 



 But for some odd reason, she had a feeling there was 

something going on that she was missing--like maybe it 

wasn’t just because of the inconvenience of moving 

them that Audric had left his clothes in the room. 

Unlessthey knew where he was sleeping, it was bound 

to look as if he was occupying the room with her. 



 And then there was the kiss the night before. Simon 

had said he’d done it to distract her from the argument 

with Hatchet-face. She’d been too bemused by 


----------------------- Page 123-----------------------

everything to really question it at the time, mostly 

because she turned into a slobbering moron the moment 

she discovered she was anywhere around Simon, but 

also because Audric had really dazzled her. 



 He was a damned good kisser. She considered herself a 

connoisseur of kisses. She’d kissed a lot of guys, or 

been kissed, and most of them were pretty so-so. Some 

were down right nasty. Some irritating. Some boring. 

Some ok, and every once in a great while, some were 

pretty damned good. On scale of one to ten, though, 

Audric was a definite fifteen. She’d had guys kiss her 

pussy that didn’t get her that hot, that fast. 



 And pretty much all she’d been able to think about 

since he’d kissed her was if he’d do it again and if it’d 

be that good the second time. And if he could kiss like 

that, just how good was he in the sack? 



 She’d thought about that when she wasn’t wondering if 

Simon could kiss even half that good and what he’d be 

like in the sack. 



 Which was why she was only just now getting around 

to realizing just how bizarre that episode had been. 



 She could understand everything right up to the point 

Audric had grabbed her and kissed her. She’d been 

arguing with Hatchet-face, getting madder and madder, 


----------------------- Page 124-----------------------

and old Higgenbottom had been getting angrier and 

angrier, and she supposed both of them had been 

getting louder, which explained why the argument had 

drawn attention. It didn’t explain whyall of them had 

piled into the kitchen. 



 They’d expected a show--that was the only explanation 

that made any sense. 



 She’d suspected, at first, that the ‘show’ had to do with 

that kiss. She still wasn’t sure it hadn’t, because she 

couldn’t really remember what sort of expressions any 

of their audience had had on their faces. 



 Except Simon. 



 Simon had looked like he wanted to kiss her himself, 

and at the same time as if he wanted to throttle her--and 

not with his tongue. 



 If he’d been surprised to find Audric kissing her, if any 

of them had been, she’d missed that part, and she didn’t 

know when they’d arrived. They might have been 

standing there when Audric hadstarted kissing her. 



 As much as she’d enjoyed that kiss, now that she’d had 

time to gain a little perspective, it seemed like a really 

lame excuse. Kissing her to distract her? 


----------------------- Page 125-----------------------

 Besides seeming lame, it was really depressing. 



 On the other hand, if he’d kissed her because he knew 

they were there and had wanted to make it look like 

something was going on between them, then that wasn’t 

depressing or lame, and it pissed her off. 



 Trying to shake the sense that had come over her the 

night before, that there’d been more to it than a man 

seizing the opportunity to do something he’d been 

looking for an excuse to do, she studied over it again. 



 And she still got the impression that all of them had 

sailed into the kitchen because they’d expected … 

something, maybe not what had happened, but 

something. 



 And then all of them had left when Higgenbottom had 

started bawling, except Audric had dashed back into the 

kitchen, snatched her up like he was some sort of 

caveman and hauled her upstairs--and he hadn’t wanted 

to let her go down again to eat. 



 They couldn’t honestly have thought the old woman 

was in any danger, could they? She didn’t like 

Higgenbottom, and she’d been pretty ticked off about 

the woman manhandling her, but she was an old 

woman. She wouldn’t have clobbered the old bat. 


----------------------- Page 126-----------------------

 Of course they didn’t know that, and Higgenbottom 

had said she’d been with Simon since he was a baby. 

Obviously, they’dall known her for years and years, 

because Audric had said they’d been living here for five 

years. 



 She thought that was what he had meant, although that 

was another puzzle, because none of them looked to be 

older than their late twenties. That would mean they 

would have been in their early twenties, or maybe not 

even that old, when they’d moved into the house. 



 That was hard to swallow. 



 She dismissed it as a puzzle for another time, though, 

bringing her mind back to the kitchen escapade. 

Abruptly, she remembered Simon had said that Audric 

was worriedshe would get hurt, not the old woman. 



 That was when she remembered that, just before 

Audric had grabbed her, she’d noticed Mrs. 

Higgenbottom was wearing contacts, colored contacts, 

because her eyes, thereal color, was the same as Audric 

’s, Simon’s--all of the men’s. 



                                   * * * * 



 Raina had no more idea why it was that she felt so 

guilty watching Simon than she did as to why she was 


----------------------- Page 127-----------------------

drawn to watch him to start with. Since her curiosity 

had driven her to find out where Simon went when he 

left the house, though, and she’d discovered he always 

walked out to stand on the beach and stare out to sea 

she hadn’t been able to resist watching him when he 

left the house if she was able to reach a window where 

shecould watch him. 



 There was just something about the way he stood so 

still for so long that did something to her, that created a 

yearning inside of her that she couldn’t completely 

understand. His back was as ramrod stiff as ever, his 

shoulders erect, not slumped with dejection, but shestill 

felt that she could sense loneliness and pain in him. 

And that drew her almost as much, though in a vastly 

different way, as her absolute fascination with the aura 

of power that surrounded him, and the less exalted, but 

equally distracting, lust she felt every time he came 

within her vicinity. 



 She had never been around a man that had that kind of 

effect on her, that she had only to look at to feel the 

urge to hump something--preferably him--as if she’d 

just shot up with some potent aphrodisiac. And the 

strange thing about it was that she wasn’t entirely sure 

ofwhat it was about him that made her feel that way. He 

was handsome and had a body that had a serious pant 

factor, but the other men were handsome and built well, 

too--Audric was gorgeous and he really turned her on, 


----------------------- Page 128-----------------------

but she didn’t feel like she was going to melt just from 

looking at him. Her brain didn’t take a holiday every 

time she looked at his mouth--or his eyes--or his hands. 

She didn’t feel weak kneed and faint and clumsy and 

stupid whenever he passed through the room. 



 It was almost as scary, the way he made her feel, as it 

was enthralling and she could never decide whether she 

                          from               toward 

most wanted to run                 him, or              him. 



 Mostly, though, if she could command her feet to 

                           from 

move at all, she ran               him, afraid he’d see the really 

embarrassing effect he had on her. 



 She had a bad feeling, though, that heknew how he 

effected her and that was why he always scowled when 

he got a glimpse of her because he hadn’t looked at her 

once as if he welcomed her mindless adoration. He 

hadn’t even looked vaguely interested until he’d seen 

Audric kissing her and she didn’t flatter herself that she 

’d actually figured that much into the lust factor--mostly 

becauseall of them had the glazed look men got on 

their faces when they watched a porn. 



 “Raina!” 



 Raina nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden 

intrusion into her thoughts. 


----------------------- Page 129-----------------------

 “Get your cleaning supplies and come. Now! Quickly!” 

Mrs. Higgenbottom said sharply, turning away before 

Raina had a chance to scowl at her for scaring the pee 

out of her. The urgency in the woman’s voice 

communicated, however, and she scrambled to her feet, 

tossed everything into her tray, and hurried after the 

woman. 



 The housekeeper was nearly at the top of the stairs 

before Raina reached the foyer. 



 The woman might look as old as time, but she moved 

fast, Raina thought with surprise. Grabbing the handrail 

with her free hand, she hurried to catch up, stumbling 

about halfway up and nearly sprawling out on the stairs. 

Fortunately, she had a firm grip on the balustrade 

because she almost never managed to negotiate the 

entire staircase without stumbling at least once. 



 Damned treads! There was something about the height 

of the steps, or the depth of the treads that didn’t go 

well with the height of her step or the length of her foot 

because she always stubbed a toe on at least one riser 

going up, and caught her heel on at least one step going 

down, sometimes more than one. 



 She didn’t know how the men, with their great big feet, 

managed to go up and down the stairs without rolling to 

the bottom. 


----------------------- Page 130-----------------------

 The door to Simon’s suite was standing open when 

Raina reached the upper landing. Raina’s heart instantly 

stepped up its pace. Since it was already fluttering a bit 

frantically from her near fall, the racing pulse had her 

panting. 



 Or maybe it was the idea of entering Simon’s private 

sanctum? 



 Mrs. Higgenbottom stepped into the doorway. 

“Quickly now! We must get the rooms cleaned before 

he comes back!” 



 Raina frowned but hurried down the hallway. She’d 

been at the mansion for weeks and she still couldn’t get 

used to the strange way everybody acted. She supposed 

it was because she’d never been a ‘domestic’ before, 

had never even met anyone who had been--cleaning 

ladies, yes--but not a ‘domestic’. It seemed really 

weird, though, to be so frantic to dash into the man’s 

rooms and clean the place up while he was out. 



 As if they were magical pixies or something! 



 It wasn’t as if the man didn’tknow he had servants in 

the house. 



 And Ms. Higgenbottom, she knew, wasn’t as 


----------------------- Page 131-----------------------

awestricken with the man as she was, couldn’t be if she 

’d known him all his life--wasn’t afraid of him--so why 

the almost panicked way she ran around serving him 

and trying to keep from beingseen serving him? 



 Shedidn’t know, but she found that it reallyannoyed 

her. Mostly, she supposed, because she hadn’t gotten 

the knack of the ‘never seen or heard’ part of the job. If 

he wanted to pretend they were invisible and didn’t 

exist unless he wanted something, though, she didn’t 

                                  pretend 

see why he couldn’t just                      it without her having 

to play invisible. 



 She was breathless by the time she scrambled through 

the door, but she didn’t delude herself into thinking it 

was from the rush--not the race upstairs, anyway. It 

gave her a rush even stepping across the threshold of 

his suite, as if his aura lingered over the rooms. She 

stopped dead in her tracks when she’d stepped inside, 

though, her gaze drawn automatically to the huge 

portrait hanging over the fireplace at one end of the 

sitting room. 



 The woman depicted in the portrait was movie star 

beautiful, breathtaking--intimidatingly so. It looked like 

some old world painting, something like one of those 

famous old painter’s might’ve done, partly because of 

the colors, and partly because the woman was wearing a 

style of dress that looked like a historical costume. The 


----------------------- Page 132-----------------------

long, flowing gown reached all the way to her ankles, 

covering her feet. She was curled up on her side on 

some sort of sofa that had one arm, half sitting, half 

reclining against the arm of the sofa in a position that 

displayed a nicely rounded hip and deep waist indention 

despite the flowing gown. The waist of the dress fit just 

beneath her breasts, and at least half of those bountiful 

mounds were protruding above the rounded neckline. 

There was a lacy looking, standing collar sort of thing 

around the back edge of the neckline that started near 

the woman’s creamy shoulders and stood up behind her 

long, graceful neck. Around that beautiful neck was a 

jewel encrusted collar, not a necklace, but rather a piece 

that fitted around her throat, making it look even longer 

and more elegant. 



 The woman’s inky black hair was swept up close to her 

perfectly shaped head into some kind of intricate knot 

that perched directly on her crown, except for a thick, 

wavy lock that sprouted from the center of the knot and 

flowed down her shoulder and across one bosom. Freed 

of the intricate knot, Raina calculated the hair probably 

reached almost to the woman’s waist. 



 Which would make it about a yard long, because Raina 

could see she was a tall woman--unless she was 

reclining on a really short couch. 



 A little girl, still with the chubby baby cheeks of a 


----------------------- Page 133-----------------------

toddler, was perched on the sofa in front of her mother. 

She looked like a miniature copy of the woman. 



 Mrs. Higgenbottom had stopped to stare up at the 

portrait herself, as if she’d never seen it before. Shaking 

herself, she finally turned and spied Raina gaping at the 

picture. Her movement had caught Raina’s attention, 

dragging her gaze from the smiling face of the woman. 

Higgenbottom, she saw, looked, pale, shaken. 



 Raina instantly realized this was no classical painting 

of an unknown subject. Mrs. Higgenbottom knew the 

woman and child. “Who is it?” she asked in an awed 

whisper, wondering if, maybe, it was Simon’s mother, 

although even that seemed improbable because of the 

clothing the woman was wearing. 



 “The princ …. Evangeline and Tiera.” 



 Raina lifted her gaze to the painting again, noticing the 

background of the portrait for the first time. The couch 

had been arranged in front of very tall windows, or 

maybe French doors. Long, semi-transparent drapes 

fluttered at the openings, as if lifted by a light breeze, 

and beyond the windows lay a city. Riana could see the 

shapes of a multitude of buildings and the peaks of 

dozens of strange roofs that looked sort of like upside 

down ice cream cones--except they weren’t perfectly 

conical. The wide base was sort of bubbled outward and 


----------------------- Page 134-----------------------

the narrow tips twisted. The top of a bright orange, huge 

ball of a sun peeked from behind one of the strange 

looking spires, partially hidden by a purplish range of 

snow capped mountains in the distance. 



 It reminded her of pictures she’d seen of the ancient 

buildings in Russia--except not quite. Something about 

it wasn’t the same and it wasn’t just the fact that there 

were mountains and she couldn’t remember seeing 

mountains in any of the pictures she’d looked at. 



 “Evangeline and Tiera?” she echoed. 



 “Mr. Draken’s wife and daughter.” 



 A shockwave rolled over Raina like the concussion of 

an exploding bomb. For several moments she felt 

completely divorced of her body, lost awareness of any 

of her senses. The shock suspended even her thought 

processes. She stared blankly at Mrs. Higgenbottom as 

she moved away, creeping like an old woman. She 

seemed to have shrunken somehow, aged. She looked a 

little dazed, as if she was wondering where she was, 

wasn’t certain what she was supposed to be doing. 



 It clicked in Raina’s mind abruptly that she’d not only 

not seen the woman or child, she’d not seen any sign 

that they’d ever been in the mansion. There were no 

toys, not feminine articles laying around. 


----------------------- Page 135-----------------------

 Not that she’d been in Mr. Draken’s suite before, but 

shehad been in places where children lived. There 

were always signs everywhere--grubby little handprints, 

toys scattered about, things they weren’t supposed to 

play with hidden behind chairs and under seat cushions. 



 “They don’t live with him?” 



 “They don’t live,” Higgenbottom said harshly. “They’ 

ve been dead ….” She stopped, frowned. “Five years,” 

she said, almost as if to herself. “Can it really have been 

that long? I haven’t seen the portrait in at least five … 

Six? It’s so hard to remember the years he ….” She 

broke off her rambling monologue abruptly as she 

looked up at Riana. “Cleaning,” she said more briskly, 

looking around again as if she’d lost something and 

finally striding briskly toward the double doors at the 

other end of the room that opened, Riana saw, into a 

large bedroom. 



 Riana had to force herself to move. Her mind had taken 

a vacation and was no longer with her as she set to work 

cleaning, gaining a little speed as her frozen muscles 

began to thaw a little. Mrs. Higgenbottom came out of 

the bedroom a few minutes later, a bundle of bed linens 

in her arms, and left the room, moving quickly down 

the hallway to the back stairs. 


----------------------- Page 136-----------------------

 The room, like the rest of the house, was actually not 

messy at all. She hadn’t given it a lot of thought before, 

but with six men in the house and only the 

housekeeper, she supposed, before she’d arrived, it was 

almost amazing to realize the place wasn’t a wreck. Her 

last boyfriend’s apartment had looked like a war zone 

and he’d only shared the place with one roommate. 



 Beyond cleaning the floors and polishing the endless 

furniture and woodwork, and helping Mrs. 

Higgenbottom with some of the kitchen cleanup, there 

was very little cleaning or straightening to do. This 

suite looked the most ‘used’ in the entire mansion. 



 She didn’t look up when she heard approaching 

footsteps until they halted just inside the door. A fresh 

wave of shock went through her when she did. Simon 

had halted just inside the door, his gaze riveted to the 

portrait over the fireplace mantel. 



 She didn’t mean to pry. She stared because he always 

had that effect on her. Any time he came within her 

view, she was paralyzed until something broke the 

spell--a fly trying to fly into her open mouth or up her 

nose, the house falling down …. 



 The look on his face as he stared at the portrait crushed 

the air from her lungs, though, made her heart squeeze 

painfully in her chest. It was raw, the pain so clear in 


----------------------- Page 137-----------------------

his eyes that she felt it all the way through her. 



 She wished, desperately, that she hadn’t seen it. 



 She must have made some sound, some slight 

movement. As she stared at him, feeling like crying, 

wishing she could sink into the floor, trying to make her 

body work again and at least avert her gaze from the 

painful sight of his tortured eyes, she drew that gaze. 

Instantly, all the pain she’d seen there transformed to 

boiling rage, fury that she’d intruded on something that 

personal, that painful, she knew, and it sucked every 

ounce of strength from every muscle in her body until 

she felt like a jelly fish. 



 “Get out!” he ground out in a rumbling growl that 

sounded like the low, threatening growl of a wounded 

lion. 



                             Chapter Seven 



 Raina shot to her feet as if an electric current had 

boosted her from her knees. Escape was the only 

thought running through her mind as she barreled 


----------------------- Page 138-----------------------

toward the door, which he was blocking. His hand 

snaked out and caught her arm as she shot around him. 

Her momentum carried her in a tight circle, but she 

wasn’t really aware of anything but a dizzying sense of 

disorientation until she was slammed back against an 

unyielding surface. The collision wasn’t painful, but she 

didn’t know if it was shock that cushioned her or if she 

just hadn ’t hit it that hard. She didn’t have time to 

inventory possible damage or even figure out what had 

happened. A wall of flesh, as unyielding as the wall 

behind her, closed in on her, sandwiching her between 

the two. The pressure eased after a moment. A hand 

tangled in her hair, dragging her head back until she was 

staring straight up at Simon’s taut face. 



 She didn’t think, even if she’d had any of her wits 

about her, that she could’ve deciphered that expression. 

 She certainly couldn’t at that moment. The only thing 

rattling around in her brain was total confusion as to just 

how she’d gotten where she was. 



 Every muscle in her body seized as the dim awareness 

filtered through her shocked brain that the body 

flattened against hers was Simon’s. Abruptly, she 

couldn’t breathe. Weakness filtered through her in a 

stinging path from her chest outward, as if her heart had 

stopped beating and her body was slowly dying of 

oxygen deprivation. As devastating an effect as he had 

on her from across the room, nothing could have 


----------------------- Page 139-----------------------

prepared her for the way he made her feel at that 

moment. 



 Involuntary brain function kicked in and her lungs 

expanded abruptly, sucking in a gust of breath that 

carried a mingling of scents--a woodsy scent, the ocean 

breezes, the faint smell of detergent from his clothing, 

of soap and shampoo and aftershave, perhaps, from his 

skin although the light stubble of black hair along his 

cheeks and jaw and chin belied that. But the smell that 

overpowered all else, that wasn’t identifiable or even 

detectable as an actual scent, was Simon, and she knew 

it without ever having been near enough she should’ve 

been able to detect it. The airborne pheromones 

reached inside of her and completed annihilation. 



 He swallowed. Mesmerized, she watched the 

movement of his throat, watched his face as it moved 

closer, filled her vision, and then his lips as they parted 

and then she lost all awareness of anything else as she 

felt the pressure of his mouth over hers. Her heart 

clenched painfully in her chest. Something hot and 

burning shot through her veins. Like acid, it seemed to 

burn a path through her and leave ash in its wake. 



 His mouth was hot, demanding, savage, almost hurtful, 

his tongue a conqueror, not a petitioner, as he thrust it 

between her lips and raked it along hers with a ravaging 

hunger that took the last of the starch out of her knees. 


----------------------- Page 140-----------------------

As she slipped, the hands she hadn’t even realized were 

holding her, tightened, one on her breast, one on her 

waist. The pull of fabric in her clutched fists told her 

she was gripping two fistfuls of his shirt even though 

she had no recollection of grabbing a hold. 



 Fire pored through her, awakening her to sensation all 

over her body. As if she’d been frozen and abruptly 

thawed, it was so intense it was almost more painful 

that pleasurable. His taste enthralled her, intoxicated 

her. Her world reeled on its axis drunkenly and she 

clung more tightly to his shirt as she lost equilibrium 

along with all else. Her belly quivered, the walls of her 

sex tightening and easing in a milking fashion, as if 

begging for the feel of his flesh inside of her. 



 She wanted it, more than she’d ever wanted anything 

in her life before. Images flooded her mind of his body 

striving above hers. The thrusting sweep of his tongue 

in her mouth became the thrust of his cock in her nether 

mouth. The walls of her sex tingled and clenched in a 

mournful, aching echo of the pleasure rocketing through 

her from the feel of his tongue along the sensitive flesh 

of her mouth. 



 She sucked in a shuddering breath. Want, need, 

desperation thrummed along her vocal chords, emerging 

as an animalistic sound of supplication. An answering 

shudder rippled through him at the sound. His hand 


----------------------- Page 141-----------------------

tightened on her breast, squeezing and releasing like the 

muscles along her channel. 



 She moved restlessly, entwined her tongue tentatively 

along his to savor the taste and touch of him even more. 

Almost as if he’d been waiting for that sign of complete 

and utter surrender, or perhaps as if it had somehow 

broken through his own focus of his needs, he withdrew 

his tongue from her mouth, withdrew his mouth from 

hers as abruptly as he’d captured it. She followed the 

retreat as far as she could before the tether of his fingers 

in her hair prevented further pursuit. 



 His ragged breath fanned her face. She opened her eyes 

with an effort, no more than a sliver. His face was taut, 

his golden eyes, narrowed, but wild with the same 

savagery that had been in his kiss. “Next time,” he 

ground out, “the forfeit will be more than a kiss. I will 

take everything I want.” 



 A shiver crawled over her with the withdrawal of his 

heat. She stared at him blankly as he released her 

completely and eased away from her until he no longer 

touched her anywhere, too focused on trying to keep her 

legs from dropping out from under her to think. 



 “Get out!” he snarled. “And do not ever come in here 

again.” 


----------------------- Page 142-----------------------

 She stumbled over his feet as the order galvanized her 

to move at last. Grabbing the edge of the door to steady 

herself briefly, she fled mindlessly down the hall, 

unaware of any destination until her gaze lit on the 

narrow, rear stairway. She blundered down them 

blindly. Her feet skidded out from under her the third or 

fourth stair down and her ass made painful contact with 

the step behind her. It broke her fall, jarred some of the 

shock out of her along with her breath. She didn’t 

move, couldn’t gather her wits enough to even figure 

out how to get up. 



 Mrs. Higgenbottom appeared at the bottom of the 

stairs, fresh folded linens in her hands. She stopped as 

abruptly as if she’d hit a wall, staring up the stairs--past 

Raina’s head. Feeling the hairs on the back of her neck 

prickle, Raina wrenched her head around to follow the 

path of the woman’s stare. 



 Simon, still breathing heavily, stood braced at the top 

behind her. Dimly, she realized the sound of her fall 

must have drawn him. Her lips parted in surprise but 

the sight of him was enough to send a rush of 

adrenaline through her. She pushed herself up and 

stumbled down the remainder of the stairs, sliding 

across half of them on ass. Her grip on the handrail was 

all that kept her from pitching forward when she neared 

Higgenbottom and slamming into the woman. She 

nearly knocked the woman down anyway as she shoved 


----------------------- Page 143-----------------------

her aside to get past her. 



 “Rainie!” 



 Instead of freezing her on the spot, the sound of Simon 

’s voice calling her name sent another burst of 

adrenaline through her. She flattened herself against the 

back door momentarily when she failed to disengage 

the latch fast enough, fought for several mindless 

moments and finally managed to disengage the latch. 

Realizing at last that she had to pull the door inward to 

get it open, she wrestled with it and finally got the door 

open far enough to squeeze through. Without a pause, 

she raced through the garden, through the covered 

walkway, and across the front lawn. 



 She found herself jogging down the beach with no idea 

at all of how she’d found her way there. Feeling a stitch 

in her side, she slowed, gasping for breath. She heard 

the pounding of running footsteps behind her then, 

though. Whirling, she saw Audric barreling toward her. 

Uttering a breathless cry as her heart lurched in her 

chest, she whirled away and started running again. 



 She couldn’t hear anything beyond the roar of the tide 

and wind in her ears and the internal pounding of her 

heart. Thoughts flickered disjointedly through her mind, 

had since she’d fled Simon’s rooms, but she was in no 

state to try to collect them or sort them into any sort of 


----------------------- Page 144-----------------------

order. She didn’t even know why she was running or 

where she thought she was going. 



 She’d simply yielded to an instinct to flee and been 

caught up so tightly in the urge that it continued to drive 

her even when she’d begun to feel as if her heart and 

lungs were going to give out with the effort. Something 

hard slammed into her abruptly, pitching her forward 

toward the sand. He fell with her, caught the brunt of 

the collision with his shoulder and hip, and it still jarred 

her painfully. She was only stunned momentarily, 

though, began struggling to claw her way out of his grip, 

driving sand painfully deep beneath her nails. 



 His arms tightened around her. Briefly, they wrestled 

on the sand and then he heaved himself over her, 

pinning her hips beneath his, manacling her wrists with 

his hands and forcing her arms to the sand. “Raina!” he 

growled when she continued to heave against him in an 

effort to throw him off. “It is I, Audric!” 



 She stopped abruptly at that, staring up at him. She’d 

known it was Audric all the time. A sob of a breath 

escaped her. Her lungs were still heaving so desperately 

for air she felt nauseous. Numbness abruptly gave way 

to pain and she expelled another hard sob. Another 

chased it, and then another until she was gulping and 

sobbing uncontrollably, hard cries that wrenched 

painfully at her chest. 


----------------------- Page 145-----------------------

 He eased his hold on her wrists, lifted a hand to stroke 

her hair from her cheek. It was enough of an invitation 

to pour out her grief. She grabbed two fistfuls of his 

shirt and burrowed her face against him, trying to find 

comfort in his warmth and his scent. He rolled, carrying 

her with him until they were lying side by side, his arms 

tightening around her and holding her close. After a few 

moments, he began to stroke her back soothingly, 

murmuring words she couldn’t understand--in his own 

tongue, she realized dimly. It didn’t matter. It was still 

soothing and she still cried until she couldn’t any more, 

until she could only snuffle and hiccough for breath. 



 Exhausted finally, she relaxed against him, more 

because she didn’t have the strength to continue to cling 

to him frantically than because she wanted to let go. 



 “Why cry, Raina?” he asked huskily when she’d 

quieted. 



 Why? she wondered dimly, uncertain of why she’d 

wept as if her heart was broken, or why she’d run. 



 “Simon hurt?” he asked after a lengthy pause, anger 

threading his voice now. 



 When she didn’t respond, he eased away from her, 

trying to see her face. She burrowed deeper against him, 


----------------------- Page 146-----------------------

trying to hide her tear ravaged face, to avoid the probing 

of his gaze. He wouldn’t allow it. He caught her jaw in 

one hand and urged her face upward until she could 

only close her eyes to shield herself from him. 



 “Simon hurt?” he demanded. 



 Simon hurt, she thought. Yes. Simon hurt. That was 

why she’d cried, not for herself, not for anything he’d 

done. Although it had hurt her to the quick when he’d 

snarled at her to leave, she’d understood that it was fury 

borne of pain that had inspired it, anger that she’d seen 

something meant to be private and not shared, certainly 

not with her. 



 It wasn’ther pain that had dredged up the hurtful wails. 

It washis that was chewing her up,his suffering that 

made her hurt so badly she felt like she couldn’t bear it. 



 Because she knew,knew , that he had loved that 

woman,still loved her and there was not even a tiny 

little corner of his heart that was open to anyone else. 

She hadn’t even realized that she had coveted that as 

much as she’d yearned for his body until she’d seen just 

how truly hopeless such an idea was. 



 She sniffed, shook her head. “No,” she finally 

managed. “He didn’t do anything.” 


----------------------- Page 147-----------------------

 His face tightened. The smoldering of anger in his eyes 

blazed into rage. “Liar.” 



 Her chin wobbled. “No,” she said on the edge of tears 

again, but she couldn’t explain it. Even if not for the 

language barrier that stood between them like an 

impenetrable wall, she couldn’t have explained that she 

  felt 

’d      the agony of his tormented soul to the depth hers 

and it wasn’t anything she’d ever felt before or wanted 

to feel. She’d run to escape the weight of it, unable to 

handle emotions more powerful than anything she’d 

ever known. She’d run to escape the shattering of 

dreams she hadn’t even realized she had been 

nurturing. 



 “No cry,” he said huskily, nuzzling his face against 

hers as he dragged in several ragged breaths. 



 Finally, he eased her away and sat up. When he 

released her to stand, Riana mopped her eyes and nose 

with her hands, wiping the moisture on her jeans for 

lack of anything else. He caught her hand, hauling her to 

her feet and then brushing at the sand that clung to her 

clothes and skin while she wavered and tried to find her 

balance. Slipping an arm around her waist when he’d 

brushed the sand off, he dipped and hooked the other 

beneath her knees and hefted her against his chest. She 

looped her arms around his neck instinctively. “You 

don’t need to carry me. I can walk,” she said on a 


----------------------- Page 148-----------------------

shaky, snuffling breath. 



 “No argue,” he said tightly. 



 She was too tired to argue. If he wanted to risk a hernia 

carrying her as if she was child, she was in no mood to 

quibble. Sucking in a shaky breath, she dropped her 

head to his shoulder and enjoyed the nothingness that 

had settled over her as her tears swept her clean of 

emotion, left her feeling empty. 



 Dread began to filter through the emptiness as they 

reached the front lawn. She hadn’t run far enough or 

fast enough to escape the pall of sorrow that hung over 

the mansion. It shamed to her to realize she’d been too 

insensitive to notice before. 



 But she had, she realized in the next moment. She’d 

just misinterpreted it. She ’d thought they were all cold 

and unfeeling when the truth was they were hiding from 

the raw emotions they didn’t want to feel or deal with 

any more than she did, probably didn’tknow how to 

deal with any more than she did. No wonder they all 

looked as if a smile would be enough to make their 

faces crack like fractured ice. 



 Simon was standing at the head of the stairs as Audric 

began to climb them. Raina caught no more than a 

glimpse of his boots before she knew who it was. 


----------------------- Page 149-----------------------

Tensing all over, she tightened her arms around Audric’ 

s shoulders and burrowed her face against the crook of 

his neck. When he stopped, she hunched even closer to 

him, wishing she could become invisible. Audric’s 

arms tightened on her, but she didn’t know if that was 

because she was strangling him or not. She relaxed 

fractionally when he started moving again and she could 

tell by the change in direction that he’d turned toward 

the room she’d been using. The temptation assailed her 

to peek over her arms to see if Simon was watching. 

She quelled it. If he was, she didn’t want to know badly 

enough to risk meeting his gaze. 



 She didn’t want to seethat again, ever. It had been hard 

enough to deal with the other things he’d made her feel, 

desire so powerful it wasn’t even recognizable as 

desire, need that threw her into so much turmoil all she 

could think about was escaping its grip on her. She felt, 

suddenly, as if she’d lived her entire life up until the 

moment she’d first seen Simon in an emotional desert. 

All the pain, happiness, sorrow, anger, desires she’d 

experienced had been nothing, mere bumps in the road, 

so insignificant she wondered that she’d even noticed 

them now. 



 She didn’t want to let go of Audric when he shouldered 

his way into her room and settled her on her bed, partly 

because she wasn’t ready to give up the comfort of his 

closeness, but mostly because she’d finally emerged 


----------------------- Page 150-----------------------

enough from her self-absorption to realize he was tense 

all over, to feel the rage boiling out of him and 

threatening to explode in violence. “Stay with me, 

please?” 



 He peeled her arms loose in spite of her efforts to hang 

on to him. Fear squeezed her heart when she saw his 

face. She’d never seen that look on anyone’s face 

before, but she knew what it was. 



 Killing rage. 



 “Audric don’t! Please don’t! Oh god! Don’t! Don’t!” 



 He peeled her hands away as quickly as she caught at 

him again. “Stay!” he growled at her from between 

clenched teeth, his hands tightening around her wrists 

for a moment before he released them and stepped 

away. “No move!” 



 She stumbled out of the bed as he pivoted on his heels 

and stalked to the door. The slamming door 

reverberated behind him. The bellow of rage that 

echoed down the hallway made the hairs on the back of 

her neck stand on end. She froze, unable to move, 

struggling with the urge to run after him and try to stop 

him and the equal urge to run and hide. Immobilized by 

the conflicting urges, she remained frozen to the spot as 

she heard the thundering raging of titans colliding down 


----------------------- Page 151-----------------------

the hall. The grunts and snarls and roars, accompanied 

by meaty thuds and the cracking and splintering of 

wood, sounded like two wild beasts battling to the 

death. 



 It was that thought that drove her to the door and 

through it. There was no sign of either man when she 

reached the hall. The sounds, she realized, were coming 

from downstairs and she surged forward, halting again 

in stunned horror when she saw Audric and Simon 

pounding at each other with their fists. A swath of 

balustrade and banister support was missing, as if they’ 

d rolled down the stairs and slammed against it. 



 “Go to your room, woman!” 



 Raina’s head jerked toward the voice. She stared at Mr. 

Black blankly until he surged toward her. Uttering a 

gasp, she whirled then and raced to the room, slamming 

the door behind her and then ran into the bathroom, 

slamming and locking that door and backing away until 

she bumped into the wall. She held her breath, staring 

at the door, expecting it to cave in any moment. When 

it finally dawned on her that he wasn’t coming after her, 

she wobbled and finally slipped down the wall until her 

rump connected with the floor. Dragging her knees up 

tightly against her chest, she covered her ears with her 

hands and tried to block out the sounds of breaking 

glass and furniture that seemed to escalate for a time 


----------------------- Page 152-----------------------

before the silence between began to lengthen and 

finally stopped altogether. 



 It was a while before she realized she was so cold her 

teeth were chattering. She grunted with pain from stiff, 

cramped muscles when she unwound herself slowly and 

tried to get to her feet. She needed to get warm, though, 

and the promise of hot, soothing water beckoned. It 

took an effort to pull her clothes off. When she climbed 

in, she stood under the hot, pelting spray for a few 

moments and finally settled on the floor of the tub, 

allowing the water to beat down on her until it was no 

longer scalding, and then barely warm. 



 Feeling completely drained when she got out, she dried 

off, stumbled into the bedroom and climbed into the 

bed, cuddling a pillow against her. Audric’s scent clung 

to the pillow. It was comforting. Burrowing her face 

against it, she yielded up the effort to stay awake and 

dropped into a welcome, black nothingness. 



                                  * * * * 



 Jorell dropped an ice pack into Audric’s hand and then 

moved away. Sprawling in the chair across from the bed 

where Audric sat, he studied his sibling with a mixture 

of amusement and empathy. “You look like hell.” 



 Audric said nothing, but he squinted at his brother 


----------------------- Page 153-----------------------

through the one eye he could still open. In truth, he felt 

like hell now that the heat of battle had left him and 

dreaded the morrow with the certainty that he was going 

to feel worse still before he began to feel better. “He 

deserved it,” he growled finally. 



 Jorell’s amusement deepened. “I will not argue that. It 

has been too long in coming, but while I am certain that 

it madehim feel a great deal better to beat the shit out of 

you, I can not see that it has helped your feelings a 

whit.” 



 Audric glared at him, but he was too weary to maintain 

his anger and after a moment his own sense of humor 

got the better of him. “It was a draw,” he admitted, 

albeit reluctantly. 



 Jorell chuckled. “Only because this life he has led here 

as not kept him as sharp as he once was, a fortunate 

circumstance for you.” 



 Shifting the ice pack more comfortably over his eye, 

Audric moved from the edge of the bed where he’d 

been sitting with great care and settled on his back with 

equal care, letting out a long sigh of relief when it was 

no longer necessary to move. “Aye, you are right. There 

was a time, not so long ago, when he would have beaten 

me down in half the time it took him today.” 


----------------------- Page 154-----------------------

 “A few more rounds like today and I expect he will be 

at the top of his game again,” Jorell murmured. “If I 

were you, I would wait awhile before I challenged him 

again, though. It is not likely to be much of a contest 

otherwise.” He paused. “I assume this was about the 

woman.” 



 Audric made a rude sound. “He did something to her, 

the bastard,” he growled, angry all over again. 



 Jorell said nothing for a moment. “He kissed her, 

nothing more.” 



 “So he said!” 



 “He is your brother, not mine, but I will say this. I have 

never known him to lie.” 



 “Nay,” Audric agreed tightly. “But he has been known 

toomit from time to time.” 



 “It is called diplomacy,” Jorell said pensively. “But 

why would he feel the need of it? You are closer to him 

than anyone I know. He was never as close, even to his 

full brother, Jaelen.” 



 “That serpent!” Audric spat. “I almost think his dame 

lied to his sire about that one! He is darkness. He has 

always been, since he was no more than an infant.” 


----------------------- Page 155-----------------------

 Jorell shrugged. “Simon was the beloved … born to 

rule while he was born only to dwell in Simon’s 

shadow. It ate at him.” 



 “He would have been that way regardless. His mother 

doted on him, far more than she did Simon. That is 

what is wrong with him, if you ask me, what was always 

wrong with him, that he was the favorite of that 

shebeast. Emperor Devlyn did not coddle Simon and 

see how he turned out. If he had had a hand in Jaelen’s 

upbringing he would have been a better man for it.” He 

thought it over for several moments. “Likely the 

woman poisoned his mind because hers was eaten with 

jealousy and envy. She spoon fed him her poisons night 

and day until she turned him into an image of herself. 

Likely it was she who convinced Jaelen that the throne 

was rightfully his. I think she hated Simon for being the 

image of his father.” 



 “Mayhap … probably,” Jorell agreed. “Women have a 

way of doing those things.” 



 Audric turned to look at his half-brother. “You are 

suggesting that Raina is trying to drive a wedge 

between us?” he demanded angrily. 



 Jorell shrugged. “It is a thought.” 


----------------------- Page 156-----------------------

 “One you can put aside!” Audric snapped. “You are too 

accustomed to the ‘ladies’ of the court, who dabble in 

politics and see that they keep some excitement or 

other stirred up. Raina is not of that ilk. She knows 

nothing about politics, especially ours, and she has no 

facility for deceit.” 



 “If she told you Simon did something to her and 

convinced you to behave like such a fool, she has a fair 

grasp on it!” Jorell said brutally. 



 “She said he did not do anything!” 



 “But not convincingly enough?” 



 Audric sat up abruptly and winced at the pain that shot 

through him. “You did not see her!” 



 “I saw her clearly enough when she came to watch the 

results of her little drama!” Jorell snapped. 



 Audric sent him an arrested look. “She saw?” 



 “Very little. I sent her back to her room.” 



 Setting aside his reflection that he and Simon had 

probably frightened her half death with the realization 

that going to her looking as he did was unlikely to 

soothe her, Audric studied his half brother in silence. 


----------------------- Page 157-----------------------

“Do you truly see her as such a creature? Or is it only 

that you would prefer to blame her than him?” 



 Jorell met his gaze for a moment and finally looked 

away. “She is no good for you, regardless of what I 

believe or whether she is or not, big brother. If you 

need a woman, come with me into the city. Stay away 

from that one. That one will steal your soul.” 



 Audric grimaced. “I am afraid she has already gotten 

her tender hooks into it, little brother. I have little will 

to resist the siren call … and less every day.” 



 Jorell shook his head at him, smiling faintly but grimly. 

“Save yourself while you can, Audric. I am as certain as 

I can be that she has her hooks inhim , as well. It will 

not go well for you.” 



 Audric dropped the ice pack on the chest beside the 

bed and lay down again. “I knew how it would be from 

the beginning. I have accepted that.” 



 Jorell snorted. “So you say now! But it is I will have to 

look at your glum face all the way back to Schalome 

and listen to your tale of woe.” 



 Audric smiled faintly. “I did not say that I would take it 

manfully. I said that I had accepted.” 


----------------------- Page 158-----------------------

 Jorell stood up abruptly and paced the room. “Send her 

away. You have done what you set out to do.” He 

speared his fingers into his hair, clutching it for a 

moment and leaving it in wild disarray when he 

withdrew his hands. “By the gods! This is a nightmare! 

The fate of the entire realm hanging in the hands of this 

… half-pint woman-child who is so daft she thinks she 

can take Tedra on one moment and weeps buckets over 

a cross word the next! This is as bad as it was with 

Evangeline … No worse! She is not suitable for either 

one of you fools! 



 “This is a dangerous game, Audric! I should have seen 

it, butyou know him best. I was certain that you knew 

what you were doing and it was the right thing.” 



 “Itwas the right thing to do!” Audric retorted. “The fate 

of the realm has rested in the hands of a dead man for 

years, who did not care about his own fate, let alone the 

suffering of the people he left behind. I thought that he 

would come out it on his own after a while, but it has 

become such a habit with him I do not even think he 

remembershow to live anymore!” 



 “Well he remembers now!” Jorell ground out. “Much 

more of this and he will be a complete madman!” 



 Audric frowned and then winced at the pain the effort 

caused him. “He needs to purge the poisons he has kept 


----------------------- Page 159-----------------------

locked inside him all this time. He never did, you 

know. If he could have, he would never have sunk so 

deeply in melancholia. 



 “It was not just losing Evangeline. It was losing little 

Tiera before her, the betrayal of his brother, and the 

helplessness he felt when he could not save 

Evangeline.That most of all, I think. He had never 

known what it was to be helpless. He has been treated 

almost as a god since birth, known his place in the 

universe, felt his invincibility as a dracon in every battle 

he fought and won. It destroyed his belief in himself 

when he was forced to watch helplessly while they did 

… that to Evangeline. 



 “It is good for him to rage. Let him work it out of his 

system. When he has done ranting at nothing, he will 

turn it to good purpose. He will remember that he has a 

duty to his people and his name and take back what is 

rightfully his.” 



 Jorell stopped abruptly and glared at his brother. “You 

say that because you did not see him while ago. It took 

the four of us to drag him into his room when you 

brought her in. Ithought that he had calmed down or I 

would not have backed down when he commanded me 

to release him. Ithought you would try to make him see 

reason, but you were spoiling for a fight yourself!” 


----------------------- Page 160-----------------------

 “We worked it out.” 



 “Nay! He worked you over and now he is pacing his 

room like a cagedleon, snarling and baring his teeth 

every time anyone tries to speak to him. He ripped the 

portrait of the princess from the wall and pitched it 

through the window and dared anyone to touch it. I 

have not seen him throw such a royal tantrum as this 

since he was a youth.” 



 Audric struggled to sit up again. “I will go and speak to 

him.” 



 “You will not. I am set to watch you to be sure that you 

do not. Elden and Haig and Rama are bent on helping 

him drink himself into a stupor.” 



 Audric snorted. “He could drink them under the table 

any day of the week, and it is certain if he is still as 

angry as you say that there is not enough liquor in the 

house to do the job. I expect there is enough to mellow 

him, though … especially when he has not had spirits in 

so long and has decided todrink his dinner,” he said 

dryly. “I will leave him to it, then. You need not stay.” 



 Jorell gave him a look. “I am not as big a fool as you 

obviously think, big brother!” 



 Audric grimaced. “It did not hurt to try.” 


----------------------- Page 161-----------------------

                              Chapter Eight 



 Raina felt refreshed when she woke--as well she 

should’ve since she’d gone to bed at dusk and slept 

through the night--but she was subdued as she left the 

room and went down for breakfast. She’d woken once 

during the night, hungry because she’d skipped dinner, 

but she hadn’t wanted food badly enough to sneak 

downstairs to get it and in spite of her rumbling 

stomach it hadn’t taken a lot of effort to go back to 

sleep. 



 Mrs. Higgenbottom looked subdued, too, which was a 

surprise. Raina had more than half expected the woman 

to bite her head off after what had happened the day 

before. To her relief, though, the housekeeper made a 

point of behaving as if none of it had ever happened. 



 When she’d finished eating, the woman sent her to 

clean the library to dust the books and clean the 

shelves. She supposed she should’ve been prepared 

since the housekeeper had said ‘library’, but she wasn’t. 

She was dismayed when she discovered the library, 


----------------------- Page 162-----------------------

rather than a sort of informal home office with shelves 

full of knickknacks and a sprinkling of books, was a real 

library, with floor to ceiling shelves crammed with 

books that lined three sides of the enormous room. The 

other wall was mostly taken up by the three sets of 

double French doors, otherwise it would probably have 

had shelves, as well, she thought glumly. 



 After surveying the daunting task for a few minutes, 

she decided to start at the top and work down instead of 

starting with the easiest shelves and working up to the 

hardest. There was a rolling library ladder attached to a 

lead rail at the top and she pushed it to one end. She 

had climbed to the top before she discovered she had 

no where to set the cleaning tray once she got there. 

Climbing down again, she took the cleaning cloth she 

meant to use, soaked it in the lemon scented polish and 

shoved it into her back pocket for the climb up again. 

She’d already set her foot on the first rung when she 

remembered she was supposed to dust the books, too. 

Grabbing the duster, she shoved the handle of it into the 

other pocket and mounted the ladder again. 



 Dragging small stacks off the first shelf, she emptied it 

to polish the shelf and then began dusting the books one 

by one and replacing them. After a brief mental debate 

when she’d finished, she decided to keep going and 

clean all the top shelves first, then move to the second 

row and so on. She’d made it all the way to the corner 


----------------------- Page 163-----------------------

behind the door to the library when the door abruptly 

opened, slamming into the ladder. Clutching the ladder 

with both hands, her heart hammering uncomfortably in 

her chest, Raina glanced down to find Simon glaring up 

at her. The color fled from her face only to return again 

with a vengeance. She looked away, trying to remember 

what she’d been doing before he’d come in, hoping he’ 

d just do whatever it was he’d come in for and leave. 



 She heard the door close and then the click of his boot 

heals after a few moments but it didn’t sound as if he’d 

left the room. It sounded like he’d moved to the other 

end. Feeling as if she was being viewed under a 

microscope, she went back to her work with an effort, 

deciding to try to ignore him. 



 It was impossible. She doubted he was looking at her 

at all, but she felt like he was and, in any case, despite 

what had happened the day before she hadn’t been 

miraculously cured of her fascination with him. 



 Actually,due to what had happened the day before, she 

was in a worse state of jitters. Her heart would race for 

a few moments and then brake to a halt and then kick in 

again. She felt over warm and then cold, depending 

upon what image taunted her at the moment--the kiss, 

or the fight afterward. 



 His face bore some interesting bruises. 


----------------------- Page 164-----------------------

 She wondered what Audric looked like. She hadn’t 

seen him since he’d left her and stalked down the hall 

to kick Simon’s ass. 



 It was too much to hope, she supposed, that Simon 

didn’t know that was what the fight had been about. 



 It occurred to her abruptly to wonder if he’d fired poor 

Audric. She knew he was a bodyguard. She didn’t know 

why she hadn’t thought about the possibility before. 



 Except that she’d been trying very hard not to think 

about any of it at all. 



 As sweet as it was that Audric had felt compelled to 

hammer Simon into the dirt because hethought Simon 

had done something to her, she did wish he hadn’t. She 

hated to think he might lose his job on her account. He 

could hardly speak English. He was liable to have a hell 

of a time finding another job. 



 She supposed she’d find out when she served lunch. 



 She sure as hell wasn’t going to ask Simon. 



 As much as she dawdled over the task, Simon was still 

planted firmly at the other end of the room when she 

finished. Trying not to think about it, she descended the 


----------------------- Page 165-----------------------

ladder and moved it to the next unit, opening the door 

and pushing it all the way back when she’d situated the 

ladder. 



 “Close it!” 



 Raina jumped, sending him a startled look, but she 

closed the door again. She was still so unnerved she 

dropped a handful of books while she was trying to 

unload the shelf. She stared down at them in dismay. 

She was trying to decide whether to just leave them 

there until she finished with the shelf or hurry down 

and pick them up again when Simon strode to the foot 

of the ladder. Bending, he collected the books and, to 

her dismay, examined them for damage. She knew what 

was coming even before he looked up. 



 “I trust it is not your intention to throw all of my books 

on the floor. I would like them dusted, not battered,” he 

said coldly. 



 He had to know she hadn’t dropped them on purpose 

… unless he had gotten the idea that she’d done it to 

attract his attention, she thought in sudden horror. 

“Sorry,” she said weakly, wondering just how 

expensive the books were. “I’ll be more careful.” 



 He lifted the books to her. She stared at his hand a 

moment and finally descended a couple of rungs to take 


----------------------- Page 166-----------------------

them, almost dropping them again before she managed 

to secure them against her chest and climb up to set 

them on the shelf. 



 It would’ve been a lot easier if he’d just go away 

instead of lingering in the library and making her so 

nervous. She decided, though, that she’d just finish the 

shelf she was working on and go to find Mrs. 

Higgenbottom and ask to work in another room. That 

thought relieved her considerably and she managed to 

clean the shelf and return the books without dropping 

any more of them. She was in such a rush to get down 

the ladder and evacuate the library that her foot slipped 

off a rung on the way down. Fortunately, she had a firm 

grip on the sides. Her heart was beating unpleasantly 

fast when she reached the floor, though, and her knees 

felt wobbly as she hurried across the room to grab up 

her tray. She didn’t look in his direction as she let 

herself out and rushed off to find the housekeeper. 



                                   * * * * 



 Simon wasn’t certainwhat he felt when Raina fled the 

library, but satisfaction certainly wasn’t it. 



 He’d felt almost lightheaded when he had discovered 

she was in the library and had to fight the insane urge to 

flee like an inexperienced youth with no notion of how 

to behave, or control himself, around a woman. 


----------------------- Page 167-----------------------

Fortunately, that reflection had so thoroughly annoyed 

him that it had killed the desire before he could retreat 

in disorder. 



 His annoyance bolstered him for all of five minutes, 

just long enough to stalk across the library and plant 

himself firmly within full view of her … if she cared to 

look, which she made clear she didn’t. He knew 

damned well she knew he was there. 



 Guilt and embarrassment over his behavior the day 

before reared their ugly heads as he sat staring fixedly at 

her wiggling ass while she worked the cloth she held 

back and forth across the shelf. He had not meant to 

frighten her, had not meant to kiss her, for that matter. 



 He didn’t know why he had anymore than he 

understood why he felt such a compulsion to drive her 

away from him--why healways felt a compulsion to 

drive her way whenever she looked at him--even if she 

wouldn’t look at him. 



 She had not tried to entice him, not consciously that he 

could see, had not flirted or pestered him. There was no 

need to shun her when she was not importuning him in 

any way. 



 He did not knowwhy she had not. He was not hard on 

the eyes. He did not need to be conceited to know that. 


----------------------- Page 168-----------------------

Women had always seemed to like his looks, anyway, 

and they did notall know he was the prince. 



 He would not have thought much about the uneasy 

glances she always cast in his direction if she had 

seemedequally unnerved by all the others. He would 

have put it down to her human instincts telling her that 

he was not her species. But she did not behave that way 

toward Audric--at all--she never flirted with the other 

men, but she did not seem to pay them any mind at all. 



 It washim she always looked at as if she had a … 

prowlingleon in behind her. Every gods be damned 

time he even glanced her way she tensed up and looked 

ready to faint or run, and he was damned if he could 

figure out why. He could not see that there was 

anything different about his face--it looked like the 

same face that had appealed to women before, mayhap 

a bit thinner, a hair older--but still the same. 



 And he distinctly recalled, by the gods, that the last 

time he had gone into the city to look for a woman, he 

had had his gods be damned pick! 



 He should apologize for being so rough, he thought 

guiltily. That had been enough to scare the wits out of 

her--Notthat he would have had a gods be damned 

chance in hell of kissing her at all if he had not grabbed 

her before she could flee! 


----------------------- Page 169-----------------------

 Hewould have apologized if Audric had not taken it 

upon himself to act like such a complete fool! As if he 

had dishonored her! Gods! 



 He should not have bellowed at her afterward. Then 

again, if he had not, he almost certainly would have 

behaved even more disgracefully because he had had to 

fight the urge to drag her into his room and plow into 

her until he had rid himself of the urge. 



 Ignoring the book in his lap, he turned to stare out the 

window, struggling with the frustration that had been 

dogging him since he’d first set eyes on that twice 

damned female and seemed to be getting more out of 

hand. It was worse than useless to keep telling himself 

he did not want her. He had been in an almost constant 

state of arousal since the first moment he’d lain eyes on 

her. His cock ‘smelled’ her whenever he was in her 

vicinity and stood at attention even beforehe knew she 

was there himself. 



 He was becoming obsessed with her. He knew he was. 

He supposed that was why he was so gods be damned 

determined to drive her away. Or maybe it was only the 

contrariness of his nature that, because she behaved as 

if she thought he was a monster, he felt compelled to 

behave like one, instead of trying to convince her that 

he was not. 


----------------------- Page 170-----------------------

 He did not know. All that he did know was that he 

could not think straight when ever she was any where 

near him. And he was not doing a much gods be 

damned better job of thinking straight when she wasnot 

anywhere around him. 



 He had reached a point where he spent half his time 

hoping that she would just leave and end his torment 

and the other half fearing that shewould leave and he 

would be no better off--mayhap worse. 



 He despised having to go into the city to look for a 

woman willing to take him into her bed. He felt uneasy 

to begin with because he could not walk into one of 

their taverns without attracting far more attention than 

he liked. And although he had long since learned their 

native tongue--more from boredom than for any other 

reason--he still did not completely understand their 

speech--because they used wordsnever used on the 

television, which was where he had learned, and 

dialects that he had difficulty translating--and more than 

that their customs disconcerted him. There were no 

clear lines to follow that he could see. The women 

would flirt outrageously, rub all over him, and then 

sometimes agree to go with him, and sometimes grow 

furious and call him names and stalk off. 



 His need for release had finally driven him to consider 


----------------------- Page 171-----------------------

going anyway, but he had no sooner decided to do so 

than he discovered he had no interest it. 



 Because when he thought ‘woman’, his cock thought ‘ 

Raina’ and he had an uneasy feeling that it might refuse 

to cooperate with him if he pointed it in a direction it 

did not want to go. 



                                   * * * * 



 Mrs. Higgenbottom glared at Raina when she reached 

the kitchen. “You are not done with the library.” 



 “Mr. Draken’s in there. I thought, maybe, I should 

work someplace else … and not bother him.” 



 The housekeeper looked away. “Go and wash up and 

find an apron. You can help me with these vegetables.” 



 Oh joy! She was going to get to peel vegetables! 



 She rushed to do as she was told, but only because she 

was afraid she might run into Simon again. She wasn’t 

sure where her ‘arena’ lay--she still hadn’t found the 

niche that seemed to fit her just right, though the lord 

knew she’d tried--but she was certain it wasn’t in the 

kitchen. 



 Maybe, she thought as she settled down to peeling and 


----------------------- Page 172-----------------------

chopping vegetables at the kitchen island, she should 

reconsider taking auto mechanics at the tech school this 

fall? It had seemed like a good idea at the time because 

it was a skill that paid well and there would be the 

added benefit of being able to fix her own car--when 

she managed to buy one again. But she’d be working 

around men all the time and she didn’t seem to get 

along with them in a working environment as well as 

she’d thought she would--not the men in this 

household, anyway. 



 She was getting kind of tired of going back to school to 

pick up a new skill anyway. With the money she’d 

already spent on training, she probably could’ve bought 

herself a house somewhere in this time or at least a 

mobile home. She hadn’t exactly excelled at anything 

she’d tried before, though, she thought as she mentally 

reviewed her work record. 



 She’d been a fairly good beautician, and she’d liked it 

well enough. The only trouble with that was she’d had a 

problem with some of the chemicals, and anyway, after 

that time she’d burned that woman’s hair off trying to 

straighten it nobody had seemed too keen on hiring her. 

So that was out unless she moved to another town. 



 Driving the school bus had been pretty cushy, and she’ 

d been good at taming the little hellions, mostly, she 

thought, because she could bellow like a drill sergeant 


----------------------- Page 173-----------------------

when she wanted to, which seemed to have 

disconcerted them enough to get their attention. The 

hours had truly sucked, but she hadn’t seen why she 

couldn’t handle a rig if she could drive a school bus. 

Truck driving would’ve been better, she thought, but, 

there again, nobody had wanted to hire her even with 

her license and freshly signed graduation certificate 

from the tech school. They’d taken one look at her and 

dismissed her on account of her size. She was alot 

stronger than she looked, whatever those assholes 

thought, but she couldn’t convince them of that. She’d 

seriously considered taking body building at the gym 

but had finally dismissed the idea. Even if she built up 

until she looked like a small ape, it wasn’t going to add 

inches to her height andthat was the main reason 

nobody took her seriously, or simply walked around her 

and ignored her. 



 So maybe shedid have a chip on her shoulder about her 

                                       people 

size, but it wasn’t her fault--                  made her have the 

chip by either ignoring her or treating her as if she was 

as cute and useless as a miniature dog. 



 She needed to find a job where height didn’t 

matter--that she wasalso good at. 



 It was amazing how damned hard that was! 



 She was on her tenth potato when Higgenbottom 


----------------------- Page 174-----------------------

decided to check her progress and nearly shit a 

squealing worm. “No! No! No! You do notchip the peel 

off! You are wasting half of the potato!” 



 And it washer fault nobody had ever shown her the ‘ 

proper’ way to peel a damned potato? 



 Simon opened the kitchen door just about the time 

Higgenbottom had worked herself up to a good lecture 

and the woman clamped her lips together abruptly, 

sending him that special, sour smile she reserved just 

for him. “My lor… Mr. Draken? Is there something you 

need?” 



 He frowned, his gaze slipping from her--thank god!--to 

the housekeeper. The man always looked like a 

thundercloud when he looked at her.That was why she’ 

d been under the impression that he was always angry, 

because he always seemed to be when he looked at her. 

She’d begun to suspect it was the breathing thing that 

annoyed him--as in, if she’d just stop he’d be a happy 

camper. 



 If she was honest with herself, she supposed it was her 

‘hero worship’ problem. She’d always found idiots 

annoying herself--she just couldn’t help it.Stupid 

bothered her--and it gave her such palpitations every 

time he looked at her, or walked by her, or she caught 

sight of him, that her brain stopped functioning and her 


----------------------- Page 175-----------------------

mouth watered--not the one on her face. Even if her 

brain had been working and made it possible,that one 

dried up until she couldn’t talk for the fact that her 

tongue was sticking to the roof of her mouth because 

theother one was gathering all her juices--and that kiss 

had certainly not helped one little bit. 



 It made her shiver all over every time she remembered 

it. 



 Not that she could remember it all that clearly. She had 

been insuch a state the only thing about it that she 

could really remember was that she was insuch a state 

she hardly knew where she was. 



 Learning about his personal tragedy had made things 

much, much worse. She wished, for an infinite number 

of reasons, she’d never found out about that, mostly 

because she thought if she hadn’t she could’ve just 

dismissed her ‘god’ as an arrogant asshole after a while, 

not worthy of the hero worship she’d bestowed upon 

him completely without his consent--and obviously 

without his desire. She hadn’t just heard about it, 

though, and made up her own little fairytale about the 

tragic, handsome prince. She’dseen what it had done to 

him and as feverish as his kiss had made her, his pain 

had reached a lot deeper, stirred things up inside her 

that was ten times worse than lusting over her boss. 


----------------------- Page 176-----------------------

 As far above her as the man was, a man’s cock was 

never all that discriminating. She might have had a 

chance of appeasing the lust, even if it meant doing so 

also meant she’d be waving goodbye to the job fairly 

soon and hello to the unemployment line. 



 The other--well she didn’t need Hatchet-face to tell her 

that, to men like Simon, she fell in the category of 

something one stepped in and scraped off the shoe as 

soon as possible in the hope of removing the stench. 

She didn’t have an inferiority complex, but she knew 

she belonged firmly with the working class. Even if she 

’d tried as hard as she could--and for him she would’ve 

been willing to try--she just didn’t know how to act like 

a high society lady. She’d never been close enough to 

one to find out, but she knew enough to know she 

would always stick out as ‘not belonging’ and that 

meant no chance in hell he’d ever consider any kind of 

relationship outside of the bedroom. 



 She wasn’t even the kind of woman a man would 

consider as a ‘trophy’--not beautiful enough, young 

enough, sexy enough, and certainly not glamorous 

enough. 



 No matter how much she suffered for him, no matter 

how desperately she yearned to be the one to try to 

soothe his hurt, she was never going to get the chance 

to get that close. 


----------------------- Page 177-----------------------

 She’d never spent a lot of time worrying about what 

she wasn’t, but she envied that dead woman more than 

she’d ever envied any living woman in her life. If she 

could’ve just been half that beautiful, elegant, and 

graceful …. The truly ‘stunted’ like her couldn’tattain 

elegance and sophistication, though. The best they 

could hope for was ‘cute’ and she’d missed that, too. 

She didn’t have the face for ‘cute’, or the figure--or the 

temperament, if it came to that. 



 And she didn’twant to be cute, dammit to hell! She 

wanted to be taken seriously. She’d never wanted to be 

cute, and she damned sure didn’t want Simon to think 

so. She wanted him to look at her like he’d looked at 

that beautiful woman in the portrait--like she was a 

goddess or something. 



 “…. The handyman has arrived to repair the … uh … 

damages. When he has finished inside the main house, 

he will repair the apartment above the garage.” 



 Raina blinked, dragged from her abstraction by the 

keyword ‘handyman’ so that she caught the tail end of 

the conversation. She perked up instantly. “Really?” 

she asked hopefully, feeling such a dizzying rush of 

relief she forgot the ‘neither seen nor heard and never, 

under any circumstances, look directly at Mr. Draken, 

or draw attention to herself, or address him directly 


----------------------- Page 178-----------------------

unless he has addressed you’ rule. 



 She remembered all that when Mr. Draken and the 

housekeeper both looked at her. Clearing her throat 

uncomfortably, she frowned at the potato in her hand. 

She would’ve picked up the knife and focused on 

peeling except, one, the housekeeper still hadn’t given 

it back to her and, two, she didn’t want to cut her thumb 

off in front of the boss and spoil his lunch. 



 Apparently, Higgenbottom didn’t trust her not to bleed 

all over the vegetables either. She put the knife away 

and searched the kitchen tool drawer until she’d 

unearthed a potato peeler when Simon Draken left. 

Raina tried for a while to mentally calculate how long it 

might take the handyman to get around to the bathroom 

in her apartment, but since she didn’t know the full 

extent of the ‘damages’ Simon had mentioned, and she 

didn’t know anything about handyman work and how 

long it took to do things, she finally dismissed that 

exercise in futility. 



 She hadn’t wanted to mention anything that might give 

Hatchet-face the opportunity to raise hell at her for her 

part in the fight the day before, but since Simon had 

already introduced it, she decided to see if the 

housekeeper knew where Audric stood now. 



 She cleared her throat. “I haven’t seen Audric today,” 


----------------------- Page 179-----------------------

she said tentatively. 



 Higgenbottom stiffened and turned to look at her. 

Raina wasn’t looking at the woman, but she sensed the 

movement and then the burning laser effect of her gaze. 

“Mr.Smith?” 



 Raina frowned, trying to decide what the undertones 

were in that query. “His name isn’t Audric?” she asked 

doubtfully. She still hadn’t completely got the hang of 

those names. They were just too ‘generic’ to keep 

straight. 



 “He isMr. Smith to you!” 



 She didn’t really want to get into another argument 

with Hatchet-face, but that irked her. “He told me to 

call him Audric,” she said, turning to look at the 

woman. 



 Higgenbottom’s lip curled like she smelled shit. “Earth 

…. American women, bah!” she muttered to herself. 

“No respect for their betters! If he said to call him that 

when you are romping in his bed, then that is his 

decision! Otherwise, you will respect his station and 

refer to him asMr . Smith!” she added, turning to fix 

Raina with a hard glare. 



 Raina reddened, her hand tightening on the potato 


----------------------- Page 180-----------------------

peeler. Maybe ithad been a really good idea to take the 

knife and give her the potato peeler before she insulted 

her? Briefly, she indulged a little fantasy about shoving 

the peeler up the woman’s flared nostril. She gritted her 

teeth, counting to ten, and then to twenty. “Right,” she 

                                           fucking 

said sarcastically. “When we’re                        , I can call him 

Audric. Otherwise, Mr. Smith. I’ll remember that.” 



 She fumed while she attacked several more potatoes, 

but when she got her temper under control, she tried 

again. “I guess that meansMr . Smith didn’t get 

canned?” 



 The woman stopped and turned to stare at her. 



 “Fired? Dismissed?” 



 “He is not aservant ,” the woman responded with 

obvious disgust. “He is Mr. Draken’s half brother.” 



 That startled Riana so much she forgot about being 

angry. “No shit?” she asked, turning to look at the 

woman. 



 Again, the woman looked at her as if she smelled shit. 



 Riana counted to ten, and then to twenty, and she was 

still pissed off. “Look, lady! I don’t know what your 

damned problem is, and I don’t particularly give a 


----------------------- Page 181-----------------------

flying fuck if my breathing offends your delicate 

sensibilities.You are a servant here the same as I am so 

you can just get off your high horse and stop acting like 

you’re better than me! I amtrying to get along with you, 

but I’mnot going to take your lip every time I open my 

mouth! 



 “Whatever you think, I’mnot screwingAudric ! He’s 

been nice to me and I just wanted to know if he was 

alright.” 



 Higgenbottom stared at her for a long, long moment. 

Finally, some of the tension went out of her. “The boys 

can get rowdy at times--that is the way of men, 

especially men of war such as they are--but they are 

deeply attached to one another and extremely loyal. 

Nothingyou could do is likely to change that after all 

that they have been through together.” 



 Intrigued as she was by the first part of that speech, it 

was completely overshadowed by the snide remark at 

the end. Raina glared at the back of the woman’s head 

but finally decided to let it slide. Nothing she could say 

was likely to change the woman’s low opinion of her, 

and she didn’t care what the old battle ax thought about 

her anyway. 



 She shouldn’t have even asked the old bitch, she 

thought irritably, but at least now she knew Audric hadn 


----------------------- Page 182-----------------------

’t been fired, which was the main thing she was worried 

about. She’d get the chance to see him when she served 

lunch so she could reassure herself he wasn’t the worse 

for the battle. 



 Shedidn ’t get to see him at lunch, however. His seat 

was vacant when she took the food in. That worried her. 

There wasn’t anything she could do about it, though. 

She couldn’t just stroll around the mansion looking for 

him. Higgenbottom made damned sure she kept her 

well occupied. 



 Apparently there was work for the handyman upstairs 

and not just on the handrail and lower floor. Raina got 

the chance to see him climbing the stairs later carrying 

an entire window, which explained why Simon had 

taken up residence in the library, and made her wonder 

when the handyman might get around to working on the 

garage apartment. 



 Since the library was currently off limits, 

Higgenbottom sent her to clean up the front parlor. 

Most of the breakage had already been removed, but 

there was a good bit of glass and pottery shards still on 

the floor, which required a broom and dust pan for 

removal, and she saw the handyman was probably going 

to be working on the room after he’d fixed whatever 

needed fixing upstairs, and the handrail. Aside from 

several pieces of furniture that had been overturned, 


----------------------- Page 183-----------------------

there were holes in the walls that were the size of heads 

and fists and broken chunks of molding lying 

around--which marked the room as the main battle 

ground. 



 She stared at the carnage of the once beautiful room in 

dismay, more because it brought home how much 

battering the men had taken than because of the lovely 

things that had been destroyed. ‘Things’, no matter how 

nice, could always be replaced--usually, anyway. People 

that sustained that kind of damage usually wound up in 

the hospital. 



 She wondered worriedly if that was why Audric hadn’t 

been at lunch. 



 Surely the old bat would’ve said something, though, if 

one of the ‘boys’ had ended up at the hospital? 



 She comforted herself with that thought right up until 

she entered the dining room that evening and got her 

first look at Audric. 



                              Chapter Nine 


----------------------- Page 184-----------------------

 Raina really hated the soup that generally constituted 

the first course, not that she had anything against soup, 

but it was hell getting through the kitchen door with a 

tray loaded down with dishes of soup and even worse 

trying to get the plate and sliding bowl on the table 

without spilling anything--because Higgenbottom 

always set the bowls on top of a plate for some reason 

that defied logic in Raina’s opinion since itobviously 

wasn’t there to catch the soup she spilled. 



 She’d just breathed a sigh of relief that she’d managed 

to negotiate the door and looked up as she moved 

toward the table to gauge the distance between herself 

and anything that might trip her up or that she could 

bump in to, when Audric looked up and directly at her. 

Sucking in a sharp breath when she saw his handsome 

face was battered almost beyond recognition, Raina 

dropped the tray from suddenly nerveless fingers. 



 Naturally enough the clatter of breaking dishes drew 

every eye in the room. Raina had just looked down in 

dismay at the mess at her feet when Higgenbottom 

charged out of the kitchen to see what had happened, 

stepped in a puddle of soup on the floor and executed 

the most amazing slapstick pratfall Raina had ever been 

privileged to witness first hand. She gaped at the 

woman in dismay as her feet flew out from under her 

and up into the air, her long, black, demure skirt 


----------------------- Page 185-----------------------

flapping upward to display her granny panties and the 

hose rolled to her knees. The woman landed flat of her 

ass in the middle of the soup, mopping up a good half 

of it as she skidded across it. 



 Before she could stop herself, or even realized it was 

coming, a gale of laughter erupted from her. She 

clamped a hand over her mouth, trying to stifle it. “Oh 

my god! Are you hurt?” she gasped when she thought 

she had her untimely mirth under control. 



 Not surprisingly, since her voice was shaky with 

suppressed laughter instead of the least bit sympathetic, 

Higgenbottom’s shocked surprise gave way to 

indignation and she glared up at Raina. 



 For some reason, that struck Raina as even funnier, 

probably because the usually excruciatingly dignified 

woman was sitting in the middle of the puddle of soup 

with her dress in her lap and her carefully coifed hair all 

askew. She tried not laugh. She really did. Another 

string of giggles erupted, however, as she bent down 

and tried to grab the woman’s arm. “Here! Let me help 

you up.” 



 Someone at the table coughed, which drew her gaze 

automatically, although she’d been at pains to try to 

pretend they weren’t there. She registered a couple of 

grins before she discovered that Audric had gotten up to 


----------------------- Page 186-----------------------

help Mrs. Higgenbottom up. “Watch the soup!” she 

warned, just before she stepped incautiously into a glob 

herself as she tried to brace herself to help pull the 

woman up. She skidded. “Whoa! Shit!” she exclaimed 

as she fell against Audric. 



 It was touch and go for a moment, but he managed to 

steady both of them, grabbing Raina as she plastered 

herself against him and started to slide toward the floor. 

As he righted her, she looked up at him, wincing at the 

painful looking bruises on his face. 



 It embarrassed him. She could see it did. He moved 

away from her and made his way around the mess 

cautiously until he was behind Mrs. Higgenbottom. A 

fist crashed on the tabletop, rattling dishes and glasses, 

as he bent down and hooked his hands beneath her arms 

to help her to her feet. 



 Raina’s head swiveled toward the sound. Simon was 

glaring at her, obviously furious. “Woman! You are a 

walking disaster!” 



 Blood flooded her cheeks. Raina bit her lip and looked 

down at the mess, realizing that she’d just ruined their 

dinner--again. “Sorry, sir! I’ll get it cleaned up!” 



 She stepped into the soup in her rush to get to the 

kitchen. Her feet shot out from under her and she 


----------------------- Page 187-----------------------

landed, hard, on her ass, spreading the mess before her. 

Stunned, it took several moments for her to realize 

what had happened. She lifted her hands and studied 

them, realized she had soup soaking through her jeans 

and snickered. Audric, she saw, had gotten Mrs. 

Higgenbottom to her feet. When she looked up at him, 

he shook his head ever so slightly. 



 She knew it was a warning and she still couldn’t help 

giggling at the look on his face, even knowing it was 

probably going to enrage Simon more. Trying to 

disguise it as a cough, she moved cautiously to her 

knees. Audric extended a hand to help her up. She’d 

already reached to take the offering when she realized 

her hand was covered in soup. She came up on her 

knees, looked down at herself in search of a clean spot 

to use to wipe it off and finally rubbed her hand on her 

shirt. 



 She’d managed to conquer her mirth by the time she 

got to her feet and leaned down to examine herself. 

Clearing her throat uncomfortably, she grabbed the 

frame of the door and managed to make it into the 

kitchen without falling again. Mrs. Higgenbottom had 

disappeared by the time she got back to the dining room 

with the dust pan and a broom to get up the broken 

dishes and as much of the soup as she could. 



 She hoped the dishes didn’t cost much. She’d really 


----------------------- Page 188-----------------------

been looking forward to seeing a paycheck. It was nice 

that she got room and board as part of the package, and 

one of the main things that had made the job so 

appealing in the first place, because she’d been 

expecting to be evicted any time from her apartment, 

but she needed money to buy personal items and she 

had to save up for when she got fired--which probably 

wouldn’t be long now. 



 She was already a mess. There didn’t seem much point 

in worrying about her clothes getting in a worse mess 

and in any case, she could feel Simon’s simmering gaze 

the whole time she worked frantically to scoop up the 

soup and broken dishes. Fortunately, she and Mrs. 

Higgenbottom between them had already mopped up 

most of the spilled soup. She had to fight another round 

with her untimely mirth as that thought flickered 

through her mind. “Almost there!” she called out to the 

waiting diners as she dropped to her knees with a wet 

kitchen towel and quickly mopped up the residue on the 

floor. 



 When she’d finished and inspected the floor to make 

sure she’d gotten everything up, she dashed back into 

the kitchen. Mrs. Higgenbottom still hadn’t returned 

and she hurried into the pantry to see what she could 

give them to take the place of the soup she’d spilled. 

Spying a row of canned soups, she grabbed them up and 

dashed into the kitchen. 


----------------------- Page 189-----------------------

 There was no microwave, she noted in dismay. 

Grabbing a large pot, she started opening cans and 

dumping the contents into the pot on top of the stove, 

then read the directions on the can and added water. 

While the mixture was heating, she grabbed another 

dishtowel, wet it and worked on cleaning herself up as 

much as she could. The soup came to a boil and 

overflowed the pot before she could get back to it, 

extinguishing the fire on the stove. Shrugging, she 

turned the gas off and scurried to the dish cabinet. 



 It didn’t seem like a good idea to try the tray again. 

Instead, she took out a new stack of plates and bowls 

and ferried them in to the men one bowl and plate at the 

time. She’d just returned from delivering the last bowl 

when Mrs. Higgenbottom reappeared, once again 

immaculate. She stared at the pot on the stove, and then 

the cans. Moving to the now empty collection of cans, 

she picked them up one by one and examined them and 

then looked at Riana. 



 “I improvised,” Raina said uneasily. 



 The woman looked at the can again and then moved to 

stare down at the remainder of soup in the pot. 



 Raina bit her lip. “There didn’t seem to be five of a 

kind … it was sort of a vegetable/noodle soup medley.” 


----------------------- Page 190-----------------------

 Hatchet face stared at her for many moments, 

apparently wrestling with the urge to explode. Finally, 

she merely grabbed the cans up and threw them into the 

trash receptacle. “Go and clean yourself up! You can 

not serve looking as you do!” 



 “Yes, ma’am,” Riana responded, thoroughly subdued 

by the realization that she probably hadn’t ‘recovered’ 

the situation as well as she’d thought she had. 



 She discovered she didn’t have much of an appetite by 

the time she got the chance to eat. Afterward, she 

escaped outside for a walk in the garden, feeling too 

restless and depressed to hide in her room. She’d been 

sitting on one of the garden benches for perhaps twenty 

minutes, staring glumly at her soup spattered shoes, 

when Audric joined her. Immediately, her spirits lifted 

but they sank just as quickly at the look he gave her. 



 “I’m going to get fired, aren’t I?” 



 He shook his head and settled next to her on the bench. 

She studied him, wondering if that meant he didn’t 

know, he hadn’t understood the question, or if it meant 

that he felt sorry for her and she was definitely going to 

get fired. 



 “You should no have laughed,” he said carefully. “Bad 


----------------------- Page 191-----------------------

ting.” 



 Pleased to see he’d obviously been practicing his 

English, Raina smiled at him until the comment sank 

in. Biting her lip, she stared down at her toes. “No, I 

shouldn’t have, especially since Hatchet-face might 

have been hurt. I just couldn’t help myself.” She 

studied it over for a moment, remembering the incident. 

She chuckled, glanced at him and let out another 

chuckle when he smiled faintly. “She looked so funny, 

though!” 



 He hesitated. Finally, he lifted his hand to mimic the 

skew of her hair when she’d landed. “Hair flop over.” 



 Raina burst out laughing. “I think that was what was 

sooo funny! She’s always so prim and proper and 

dignified … and the look of disbelief on her face!” 



 Audric’s eyes gleamed. He chuckled, then winced. 



 Raina didn’t miss the wince. Her amusement died. “I 

amso sorry, Audric. Your poor face! Does it hurt very 

much?” 



 He shrugged. “Only when ha, ha,” he said finally, his 

lips twisting in self-depreciating amusement. 



 Raina felt a smile tremble on her lips in response. 


----------------------- Page 192-----------------------

“You shouldn’t have done it, you know. It was … really 

sweet that you wanted to protect me, but even if he’d 

done something--which he didn’t--I don’t want you 

fighting with your brother on my account. I can take 

care of myself.” 



 He gave her a doubtful look, but she thought it was 

probably because he couldn’t understand half of what 

she’d said. 



 “I’ve been taking care of myself since I was sixteen,” 

she added, just in case that doubtful look had anything 

to do with disbelief that she was capable of handling 

herself. “My granny died and I didn’t want to end up in 

foster care like my little brother and sister, especially 

since I was almost legal anyway, so I took off. I hated 

that I couldn’t take them with me, but I could barely 

manage taking care of myself then. If my father,” she 

added, making quotes in the air with her fingers, “hadn’ 

t been such an asshole and taken off when mama got 

cancer and died, they wouldn’t have ended up in foster 

care, either. 



 “I keep meaning to look them up, but somehow I never 

seem to find the time. It’d probably take a while. I don’ 

t know if they’re even around here anymore. Honestly, I 

don’t know if I’d even recognize them if I saw them. It’ 

s been ….” She paused, frowning. “God! Almost ten 

years! My how the time flies when you’re working your 


----------------------- Page 193-----------------------

ass off!” 



 She looked at him, smiling faintly. “You didn’t 

understand any of that, did you?” 



 He frowned faintly and then smiled apologetically. 

“Some.” He touched his lips. “Accent.” 



 Raina chuckled. “What? You’ve got a problem with 

the southern accent? I hate to break it to you, but I have 

trouble withyour accent, too!” 



 He grimaced. “I work on. No good yet.” 



 Raina sighed. “I wish you could. It would be so nice to 

have somebody to talk to. Not that it matters now, I 

suppose. It’s just as well I got something out of the 

accident--a good laugh--because I guess I’m going to 

get the boot.” She glanced over her shoulder at the 

garage apartment. “Which sucks. I was really looking 

forward to living in that apartment. It’s the nicest thing 

I’ve been in since I left granny’s house.” 



 He took her hand. Staring down it as he settled it in the 

palm of his, he stroked her fingers. Surprise flickered 

through Raina at the warm, tingling sensation that ran 

through her at that simple gesture. She watched a little 

breathlessly as he lifted her hand and brushed his lips 

along her knuckles, feeling another pleasant gush of 


----------------------- Page 194-----------------------

warmth. 



 She saw his bruised knuckles then, though, and it 

distracted her. “Oh! Your poor hands!” she gasped. 

 Shifting to face him, she grasped his hands in both of 

hers and examined them and then, impulsively, leaned 

down to kiss the injuries. “Poor baby! Did you miss his 

face and hit the wall?” 



 He was studying her intently when she looked up at 

him. Disengaging his hands from hers, he settled them 

on her shoulders and drew her toward him. She smiled, 

lifting her face readily for his kiss. She’d thoroughly 

enjoyed it the first time he’d kissed her even though it 

had been way too brief in her opinion because she’d 

just begun to get really warmed up when he stopped. 

 She liked him, a lot, and more than that she found him 

very desirable, and sweet, and she felt so guilty about 

him getting beat up. She wanted to do something to 

make him feel better as much as she wanted the kiss for 

herself. 



 Their lips met, brushed. 



 “Ow!” he muttered, leaning away and sucking at his 

bruised lip. 



 Undeterred now that she’d set her goal, Raina came up 

on her knees as he released her. Leaning toward him, 


----------------------- Page 195-----------------------

she steadied her hands on his shoulders and brushed 

feather light kisses over his cheeks and then, very 

carefully, pressed her lips to his. He let out a hissing 

breath. Sighing with disappointment, Raina sat back on 

her heels. 



 His eyes were glittering with desire, she saw when she 

looked at him. Her belly responded by tightening 

hopefully, but she could see he was stiff and sore 

besides the bruises. 



 On the other hand, shy of actual death, men didn’t 

seem to have a problem with sex if they got the chance 

of it, no matter how injured they were. She waggled her 

brows at him. “Want to fool around?” 



 He smiled faintly at the expression, but his dark brows 

drew together. “Fool around?” 



 She was always forgetting his limited vocabulary. 

“Fuck,” she clarified baldly. 



 He looked startled. 



 She couldn’t help but blush. She looked down, 

studying the definite ridge in his pants with a good bit 

of disappointment. “Never mind. I was just thinking I 

might be leaving soon--like to tomorrow--and I haven’t 

gotten laid in a while, and I have a feeling you haven’t 


----------------------- Page 196-----------------------

either. And everybody’s sure we already have anyway.” 



 She heard him swallow. 



 “Make love?” 



 “Are you ask …? Shit!” She caught a glimpse of a 

shadowy figure near the house as she looked up at him. 



 She’d thought they were alone. 



 She wondered just how clearly her voice had carried to 

the man standing near the house and how long he’d 

been there. Completely disordered by the possibility 

that it might be Simon, since it occurred to her 

forcefully that he might have come looking for her to 

speak to her about the ‘disaster’ at dinner, she 

scrambled off the bench. “I have to go in now.” 



 Since the man was standing in the shadows near the 

back door, she headed toward the front, moving briskly 

in the hope that she could make it in the house and 

upstairs before he could head her off. It wasn’t that she 

thought she could actually put off a termination speech 

by running to hide. If he had that in mind, he was going 

to corner her sooner or later, but she thought later might 

be better. That might give him time to forget she was in 

the garden trying to hump his brother directly after the 

disaster at dinner, because she was pretty sure that wasn 


----------------------- Page 197-----------------------

’t going to improve his mood. 



 She almost skidded to halt when she came through the 

door and saw Simon advancing toward her from the rear 

of the house. “Uh oh,” she gasped and headed up the 

stairs at a gallop. 



 Any hope she’d entertained that he wasn’t actually 

following her died when she heard his swift ascent on 

the stairs behind her. Throwing a panicked glance 

backward when she reached the landing, she sprinted 

toward her bedroom, hoping he’d decide not to follow 

her there. He caught the door with his hand as she leapt 

inside and turned to close it. She stared at him warily 

and gulped. 



 Simon tried to steady himself, struggled to reclaim his 

reason, dimly aware that he was perilously near his 

limit and running more on instinct than reason. He hadn 

’t wanted to go any where near Raina, hadn’t trusted 

himself to do so and retain his wits, but the woman had 

Tedra quivering on the verge of a nervous breakdown 

and she’d wrangled a promise from him to speak to 

Raina. 



 He shouldn’t have followed Audric. He’d suspected 

immediately thathe knew where Raina had disappeared 

to and, moreover, that it was probably a prearranged 

assignation between them. In point of fact, it was that 


----------------------- Page 198-----------------------

suspicion that had goaded him to follow. Otherwise, he 

would gladly have dismissed his promise to Tedra and 

waited until he was in a better frame of mind to speak 

to Raina. 



 All of which was a moot point. He had gone and 

instead of turning around and leaving when he saw his 

suspicions had been confirmed, he’d been rooted to the 

spot. He hadn’t heard much, or registered it in any 

event. He’d been far more focused on the sound of her 

voice, her husky chuckles, the way she looked at 

Audric--touched him, offered herself to him. And equal 

parts rage and lust had battled it out inside of him and 

grown hotter and hotter until, together, they’d deprived 

him of any ability to do anything but act on instinct. 



 And then she’d seen him. 



 And she’d run. 



 If she hadn’t, his hunting instincts might not have 

kicked in, but that was a moot point, too. With rage and 

lust already goading him past the ability to reason, he’d 

had nothing to stem the instinctive urge to give chase. 



 As he stared down into her wide green eyes, he saw the 

uneasiness in them and a flicker of doubt went through 

him, but he saw the other, too. The look he could never 

completely fathom. The look that made him feel as if 


----------------------- Page 199-----------------------

he was the center of her universe, that made him want 

to be. The look that made him want to hold her and 

caress her with infinite tenderness. And at the same 

time made him want to tear her clothes off of her and 

ravish every tender inch of her flesh until she was 

screaming his name and begging him for more. 



 That look that had made him want to run, made his 

heart beat so hard he felt like it would choke him to 

death. 



 The look that had compelled him to try to drive her 

away because with every fiber of his being, worse than 

he’d ever wanted anything in his life, he’d wanted to 

grab what she offered with both hands and nothing had 

ever terrified him as much in his life. 



 He hesitated, wavering as he felt that gut wrenching tug 

again to go in two diametrically opposed directions at 

once, and then he took a step toward her. 



 And she took a step back. 



 He advanced on her, stalking her step for step until he 

had her cornered, knew he’d cut off her retreat as he 

slung the door to behind him. She jumped at the sound, 

her gaze flickering from his face to the door and back 

again. The look of uneasiness slid through her eyes 

again, this time more pronounced, impossible to ignore. 


----------------------- Page 200-----------------------

 She hadn’t looked at Audric like that. 



 But then Audric hadn’t been making a complete ass out 

of himself, trying to scare her away because he didn’t 

have the guts to take heror run. 



 And he didn’t give a fuck. It still pissed him off. “You 

do not mean to offer me what you offered him?” he 

growled. 



 Confusion filled her eyes. He folded his arms over his 

chest and leaned back against the door instead of doing 

what he wanted to do, which was to grab her and shake 

her till her teeth rattled. How dare she look at him that 

way, the way she’d looked at him from that first day, 

make him want her when he didn’t want to and then 

offer herself to Audric? “No, let us fuck, Simon?” 



 She blinked at him rapidly as she assimilated that and 

then turned bright red. Only part of it was 

embarrassment, though. The dreamy, worshipful, 

faraway look left her eyes to be replaced by anger. 



 Good, he thought with satisfaction. He wanted a fight. 

He realized he’d been spoiling for it ever since he’d 

kissed her--that and a good fuck. “If you had it in mind 

to use him to intervene on your behalf, why not go 

straight to the source?” he ground out, deliberately 


----------------------- Page 201-----------------------

goading her. He knew very well that wasn’t what she’d 

had in mind, but he would have preferred it to what she 

had done--offered comfort, affection--because he could 

have felt contempt then instead of raging jealousy. 



 The anger in her eyes gave way to hurt, and then 

resignation, and then more anger. She lifted her jaw at 

                                       fucking 

him. “That was none of your                        business!” she 

growled at him. “It hadnothing to do with you at all!” 

She clamped her lips together, staring at him in 

quivering rage for several moments and then whirled 

away from him and stalked to the bed. Dragging her 

suitcase out from under it, she opened it and stomped 

into the bathroom. When she came out again, she had 

an armload of cosmetics. She dropped them into the 

open suitcase and glared at him. “And I don’t have to 

take this shit from anybody! I don’t care if you are my 

boss! I quit! You can go to hell and everybody else in 

this damned house can go to hell, too! I’m sorry you 

lost your wife, but you might consider not being such a 

complete asshole to everybody!” 



 If she’d said anything but that he would’ve accepted 

defeat and left because he realized the moment she 

started packing that he’d pushed her too far, that he’d 

succeeded in driving her away when it was the last 

thing in the world he really wanted. That stab went right 

through him, though, like a knife. “I did notlose my 

wife!” he snarled. 


----------------------- Page 202-----------------------

 She froze, staring at him in confusion, her anger 

effectively diffused, though he was too raw to fully 

register it. 



 “She was murdered, right in front of my eyes … and 

not cleanly, not quickly. I had to watch her die by 

inches, had to because I could not help her, could not 

stop it, and because I could not, I had no right to look 

away and spare myself the pain of watching when I 

could not spare her the pain of dying.” 



 He came away from the door abruptly, intending to 

leave--he thought. Instead he surged toward her, 

grasped her upper arms. “Do not look at me like that! I 

do not want your pity! I do not need your pity, damn 

you to hell!” 



 “What do you want?” she asked quietly. 



 He stared down at her upturned face blankly. 

Everything inside of him stilled. He swallowed with an 

effort against the rawness of his throat and forced his 

fingers to ease the bruising grip on her arms and then 

release her. 



 He wanted her to make him whole again, to drive the 

nightmares from his mind and the emptiness from his 

soul, he realized, feeling a swell of panic. 


----------------------- Page 203-----------------------

 Because he knew there was only one way she could do 

that. 



 And he could not handle that, not again. 



 He turned away from her, strode toward the door, 

feeling weak and cold and sick with the emotions 

churning in his belly. She followed him. He froze with 

his hand on the doorknob as her hand skated along his 

back, seductive, warming. He wavered again between 

retreat and attack. Turning on her abruptly, he caught 

her and shoved her away none too gently, but then, 

instead of running while he could, which every instinct 

inside of him was screaming for him to do, he followed 

her as she stumbled back against the wall.A taste , he 

                           just a tasteof herand I will stop 

thought mindlessly,                                                       . 



                               Chapter Ten 



 Those eyes of hers stopped Simon cold even as he 

dragged her head back, bent onmaking her stay away 

from him if he couldn’t stay away from her. They were 

soft, filled with trust, warm with her own desires. He 


----------------------- Page 204-----------------------

stared into those green depths for several moments and 

knew defeat. He drew a shuddering breath and dropped 

his head to rest his forehead against hers. “Do not run 

from me anymore, Rainie,” he said raggedly. “I am 

sorry, so sorry … for all the things I said to you.” 



 He heard her swallow. “Ok,” she said breathlessly. 



 He drew a ragged breath. “I am so tired of fighting 

this.” 



 “Then don’t.” 



 He eased away to study her face, staring at her while 

that slowly sank into his mind. Abruptly, he realized 

that she was right. Instead of fighting the temptation, he 

should have yielded to it, expunged it by indulging it to 

the fullest until he’d sated himself on her. A red haze of 

lust flooded him, released abruptly by his certainty that 

hecould expend it. He felt a tremor begin deep inside 

of him and work its way outward until he was shaking 

with it. A deep hunger flowed with it. 



 Slipping one hand to her cheek, he lowered his mouth 

to hers. The hunger intensified as his lips met hers, 

clung, and he absorbed her warmth, her taste, her 

desire. Spearing his tongue past her lips, he raked it 

possessively along hers, branding her with his taste and 

touch, taking her essence for himself. As he swallowed 


----------------------- Page 205-----------------------

it, sucked it into his lungs, it fed the hunger like aged 

kindling fed fire. It made him drunk with need. The 

little sound she made, of want, of surrender, made it 

blaze higher. 



 For an endless time, all he could think about was 

absorbing her taste and scent forever, reveling in the 

hot, wet feel of her mouth as he explored it 

possessively. 



 And then that wasn’t enough. 



 And he still didn’t want to let go of what he had. 



 With great reluctance, he withdrew his tongue from her 

mouth, sucked gently at her lips and finally broke that 

point of contact, promising himself he’d taste it again, 

once he’d tasted and touched the rest of her. His hands 

were shaking when he grabbed her shirt and dragged it 

off over her head. He skimmed his hands down over the 

thing she wore beneath it that imprisoned her breasts, 

and then across the expanse of bare skin beneath that 

until he reached the waist of her pants. 



 He would never have believed a woman could wear 

pants and still look so womanly all he could think about 

was how quickly could he peel them off of her to find 

his prize. He met her gaze as he slipped his hands 

upward again, spearing his fingers beneath the thing that 


----------------------- Page 206-----------------------

covered her breasts and peeling it upward and off of her 

as he had her shirt, tossing it away blindly as he had her 

shirt. “Your breasts are beautiful,” he said hoarsely as 

he stared down at them, mesmerized by the pert little 

pink tips, feeling his mouth go dry with the need to 

taste. 



 He cupped a breast in either hand, squeezing the soft 

globes gently, relishing the weight of them in his palms, 

the silkiness of her skin, the yielding of her flesh to his 

touch, and then slipped his hands to the center and 

caught the tight little buds he wanted to taste so badly 

between his thumbs and forefingers, plucking at them, 

rolling them to examine the contrast between the taut 

little buds and the soft swell of her breasts. 



 She made a sound, released a shuddering exhalation of 

breath, and he flicked his rapt gaze from her breasts to 

her face. The pleasure he saw there captured his 

attention for a handful of seconds, and then he looked 

down at her breasts again. 



 Dilemma. He couldn’t reach them to suck them into 

his mouth and explore them like he wanted to. The top 

of her head barely reached his pecs. He stared down at 

her, abruptly disconcerted by how tiny she was next to 

him, but he was far more troubled by his dilemma. 



 Get down on his knees? Lift her up? Lay her down? 


----------------------- Page 207-----------------------

 The glint of a tiny ring in her belly button caught his 

eye. He skimmed hands that shook with urgency down 

her body, stroked one finger over it and then abruptly 

began tugging at the fastener of her pants, anxious to 

see the rest of his prize. Shoving his hands inside the 

moment he had mastered the closure, he peeled her 

pants from her hips as he followed the curvature of her 

hips, then explored the shape and tautness of her 

buttocks and finally stroked her belly, threading his 

fingers through the bright curls on her mons. 



 He met her gaze again as he was swept up in a feverish 

need to possess her that moment. Spearing his hands 

beneath her arms, he lifted her straight up, shifting one 

arm beneath her buttocks to support her once he had 

and opening his mouth over the tip of one breast. The 

sound she made when he sucked the turgid peak, the 

taste of her that flooded his mouth, sent a dizzying rush 

through him, shredded the last of his reason. 



 Pushing and tugging at her pants as he suckled 

feverishly at first one breast and then the other, a sense 

of profound relief filled him as he felt them drop to the 

floor at last. Freed from the fetter, she lifted her legs to 

wrap them around his waist. The hot dampness of her 

cleft on his belly, the light, musky scent of her arousal 

drove him over the edge. He wedged her body between 

his and the wall behind her, groping for the fastening of 


----------------------- Page 208-----------------------

his own pants blindly, so mindless with need, so shaky, 

he was ready to rip the thing open before he finally 

managed to unearth his cock and guide it into her 

opening. 



 Her heat seared him as he wedged the head of his cock 

inside her opening, crushing the air from his lungs. 

Releasing his hold on her breast for a moment, he 

sucked in a harsh breath and curled his hips, straining to 

press himself more deeply inside her channel. His 

heart, thundering deafeningly in his ears, muted the 

little sounds she made, but they whispered over him, 

sending shudders through him. Tightening his arms 

around her and pressing down on her in counter, he 

glided deeper, feeling the squeeze of her body around 

his shaft in his chest until he began to think his heart 

and lungs would explode. 



 He sought her mouth, covered it, darting forays inside 

the heated cavern of her mouth with his tongue as he 

heaved and pushed desperately to claim all of her 

before he lost his seed, to feel her hot, wet flesh 

surrounding him when he came. She groaned into his 

mouth as he burrowed deeply and began to thrust and 

retreat in desperate lunges stiffening in his arms as the 

muscles along her channel rippled along the length of 

his cock. He broke from her mouth with a sobbing 

breath, groaned as her gasping cries and the tremors he 

could feel inside of her pushed him over the edge and 


----------------------- Page 209-----------------------

his body began to convulse in nearly painful spasms as 

it pumped his seed into her until it dragged pained, 

choked grunts from him. 



 Spent, he leaned weakly against her, gasping and 

shuddering as aftershocks trembled through him 

seemingly endlessly. When he’d caught his breath, he 

rubbed his face along hers in appreciation, relishing the 

softness of her, her warmth, the perfume of her skin, 

regretful that it had ended so quickly when he’d wanted 

it to go on forever. 



 He should withdraw, he knew, but he was reluctant to 

do so. Despite the weak tremors running through him 

from spent passion, he didn’t want to move. He thought 

he could die happy right where he was, his flaccid cock 

still enveloped in her tight channel, her scent in his 

nostrils, the soft silkiness of her skin pressed tightly to 

his own. 



 Almost on the thought, he felt himself growing hard 

again. 



 He wanted her again. 



 Not here, though. Not against the wall. If he came 

again like he just had they were going to end up on the 

floor. 


----------------------- Page 210-----------------------

 He lifted his head and was momentarily distracted by 

the fact that he had no fucking clue of where he was. 



 It wasn’t his room, however. He knew that. A fierce 

possessiveness moved over him. The instinctive need 

to carry her into his lair, away from the possibility of 

intrusion, temporarily overrode all else in his mind. 



 Withdrawing from her abruptly, he allowed her to slide 

to the floor, bent down to grab her pants, and then 

scooped her into his arms and brought her closely to his 

chest. She gasped in surprise, but looped her arms 

around his shoulders, pressing her breasts against him, 

nuzzling her face against his neck. 



 She tensed and lifted her head, however, when he 

opened the door and moved down the hallway with her. 



 “Simon?” 



 He tightened his hold. “I am taking you to my room,” 

he said gruffly. 



 She subsided until he opened the door and discovered 

his sitting room was full. 



 “Out!” he growled, striding toward his bedroom 

without pausing. 


----------------------- Page 211-----------------------

 Raina hid her face against his throat, cringing inwardly. 

She forgot all about her discomfort, however, when 

Simon leaned down to place her on his bed. He 

straightened, shedding his shirt with a complete 

disregard for the buttons, sending them pinging in every 

direction as he tore his shirt off. When he dropped to 

the side of the bed to pull off his boots, she scurried up 

the bed, slipping beneath the coverlet. By the time she’ 

d settled, Simon had dragged his boots off and skimmed 

out of his trousers. 



 She managed to get a brief glimpse of his body before 

he bent over, dragged the coverlet off of her, and dove 

at her. A little unnerved by his single minded pursuit, to 

say nothing of the mountain of flesh falling over like an 

avalanche, Raina tensed. “Simon?” 



 His mouth crushed down over hers, silencing her, but 

he caught the bulk of his weight on his arms as he 

shoved them beneath her shoulders. 



 Heady pleasure filled her as the delightful heat of his 

mouth covered hers with a restless, searching hunger 

that sent her into mindless bliss again. She clutched at 

him, digging her fingers into his hard flesh and lifting 

against him as she opened her mouth wide for him, 

stroked his tongue with hers as he wound it 

possessively along hers. The faint abrasion of his hair 

roughened chest and belly against her bare breasts and 


----------------------- Page 212-----------------------

belly sent tingles of pleasure through her as she rubbed 

sinuously against him, trying to make contact with as 

much of his body as she could. 



 He lifted his mouth, dragged in a harsh breath and dove 

for her lips again, sucking at them before thrusting his 

tongue inside the moist, wet cavern of her mouth and 

exploring it thoroughly. When next he broke for air, he 

explored the rest of her face--her cheeks, her jaw, and 

chin. He kissed her eyelids, nuzzled his nose with hers 

and then he found her mouth again, supped at it for long 

moments before moving off on another exploratory 

foray--her ear and throat and upper chest and shoulders. 



 She sucked in a sharp breath, digging her fingers into 

his flesh and arching upward as he covered her ear with 

the heat of his mouth, sending intense sensations 

through her that raised a rash along her flesh and curled 

her toes. Briefly, he moved back to explore her mouth 

and then pushed himself upward to rest on his side and 

elbow and allowed his hand to explore her. Cupping 

one breast in his hand, he leaned down to cover the tip 

with his mouth. 



 Raina arched upward with a harsh gasp, digging her 

fingers into his hair at the intense pleasure that went 

through her as he tugged at the engorged tip with his 

mouth and tongue. He lifted his head, angled it to 

suckle the other tip briefly and then shoved himself 


----------------------- Page 213-----------------------

down the bed, pushing an arm beneath her shoulder 

blades to lift her breasts to his waiting mouth. 

Exploring her body with the same, single-minded 

possessiveness as he had her mouth, he moved 

restlessly from one breast to the other, suckling and 

tugging at her nipples until Raina lost her breath and 

then exploring the circumference of the swells, the dip 

between them and lower, along her ribcage and belly, 

and then up again until she was on fire with need. Every 

inch of her skin tingled and burned and quivered with 

each touch of his lips and tongue. Her sex quaked and 

clenched with the need to be filled, hot moisture 

flooding the throat of her sex, seeping along her nether 

lips. 



 “Simon!” she gasped breathlessly, lifting one leg and 

coiling it around him, curling her hips to press her 

mound against him in supplication. “I want you inside 

of me. Now! Please!” It seemed as if she’d wanted it 

forever. She couldn’t wait, didn’t want to wait. She was 

drugged on the feel and taste and touch of him, drunk 

with desire, feverish with need. 



 He was lost to his own explorations, however, 

unmindful, deaf to her pleas. She tugged at him more 

desperately, demanding, begging for appeasement as he 

moved down to explore her quivering belly with his 

mouth. After a moment, he shifted back up her body to 

suckle her breasts again and more fire poured through 


----------------------- Page 214-----------------------

her veins, and then hope surged into her as he left off 

teasing them and climbed higher, sucking at her throat 

and then her chin before he reclaimed her mouth. 



 He rolled as he caught her mouth beneath his, against 

the thigh she had wound around him, catching her other 

leg and thrusting it outward to accommodate his hips. 

She coiled that leg around him, as well, surged 

upwards, searching for what she needed, bumping her 

mound demandingly against his belly. 



 Supporting his weight on one elbow, he insinuated a 

hand between then, slid his palm over her belly and 

then parted her nether lips with his fingers, tracing the 

wet cleft. She moaned into his mouth as he pressed a 

thick finger inside of her, stroking the cream coated 

walls of her sex until she was near frantic. She tore her 

mouth from his, sucking in gulps of air, arching against 

him, groaning his name. “Please, Simon! Please!” 



 He withdrew his finger, traced her cleft until he found 

the nub of her clitoris and teased it with his fingertip 

until she was hovering on the edge of release, fighting it 

with every breath, nearly sobbing with need. Heaving 

upward abruptly, he thrust against her, pressing the head 

of his cock into the aching mouth of her sex. She 

struggled to counter the pressure as she felt herself 

sliding upward, away from him, frantic to engulf his 

engorged flesh. 


----------------------- Page 215-----------------------

 Uttering a hoarse groan, he shifted again, slipping an 

arm around her hips to hold her steady for his next 

thrust. “Rainie! I can not hold it,” he groaned as he 

filled her at last, shuddering, struggling to hold still. 



 She was too mindless by then to know or care what he 

said, to care about anything but finding the fulfillment 

that quivered within her. She bit down on his pec, 

arching against him, fighting him. Sucking in a harsh 

breath, he began to pump his hips, stroking her sheathe 

from mouth to womb and back again as he moved in 

and out of her, a little faster with each thrust, a little 

deeper, until he was forcing little choppy breaths from 

her with each pounding thrust. 



 She released a long, low groan as she felt her body tip, 

seize for a heart stopping moment and then rupture with 

pleasurable spasms so intense it forced keen, sobbing 

cries from her. He uttered a choked breath and came 

even as her own seizures of ecstasy began to abate and 

finally leaned weakly against her, struggling to catch his 

breath. She nuzzled her face against his hard pecs 

appreciatively when she finally caught her breath. 



 Bending his head, he kissed the top of her head and 

then, wincing, lifted his hips to disengage their bodies 

and shifted lower to place a short, gusty kiss on her lips 

before he levered himself off of her and collapsed on 


----------------------- Page 216-----------------------

his side beside her. 



 Dragging in a deep breath, she let it out on a long, 

satisfied sigh. “That was nice.” 



 He chuckled. “Only ‘nice’?” 



 She opened one eye a crack and discovered he’d 

propped his head in the palm of one hand and was 

studying her face, a faint smile playing about his lips. 

Lifting her arms above her head, she stretched like a 

satisfied cat. “Very nice,” she amended. 



 He stroked the index finger of his free hand down the 

bridge of her nose, traced a path across her lips and 

continued, right down the center of her body until he 

reached her mound, curling his fingers into the bright 

thatch of hair that covered it. “I will have to work on 

better praise for my efforts,” he said pensively, slipping 

his hand from that contemplation after a moment to 

settle it at the curve of her waist. 



 She rolled to face him, stroking a hand over the light 

furring of dark hair on his chest, curling her fingers into 

it as he had the thatch of hair on her mound. 

“Wonderful! Fabulous! Mind-blowing!” 



 His smile widened into a grin. “Better.” 


----------------------- Page 217-----------------------

 She smiled back at him. “You want more?” 



 His eyes narrowed. “You will have to give me a 

moment to catch my breath, wench.” 



 She uttered a gurgle of laughter. “I didn’t meanthat !” 



 “I did.” He lifted his head and slipped the arm he’d 

been propping on beneath her shoulders, hooking it 

around her and dragging her closer. “You are mine 

now,” he murmured against her hair. “Lost to this world 

until I have had my fill of you, for I am of no mind to 

allow you to leave my bed again until I have.” 



 Raina smiled rapturously against his chest, nuzzling 

her face between his male breasts just to inhale his 

delightful scent. “Promises, promises,” she teased. 



 He skimmed the hand that had been resting along her 

waist upwards to nudge her chin up. “Ah, but will you 

say that tomorrow?” he murmured when she met his 

gaze. 



 She smiled faintly. “Yes.” 



 He dragged her upward until they were face to face, 

nuzzling his face against hers. “And the day after?” 



 Her smile broadened. “Yes.” 


----------------------- Page 218-----------------------

 “And the day after that?” 



 She chuckled. “Yes.” 



 He stroked the tip of his finger along the smile line in 

her cheek, studying her mouth. “The is a fascinating 

little mouth, wench,” he murmured. 



 “Is it?” 



 “Mmm.” 



 She studied him for a moment. “What? You think you’ 

ll have your fill in only three days?” 



 He met her gaze. “Nay, but one can always hope … 

and I can but try my poor best.” 



 She lifted her brows. “If that was your ‘poor best’, I 

can’t wait to see your very best.” 



 His lips curled up at one corner. He dipped his head 

and fitted his lips to hers. They clung briefly. “I believe 

I have a far better use for this delightful mouth than 

chatter,” he murmured, covering her mouth again and 

delving inside with his tongue for a taste. 



 “Mmm?” 


----------------------- Page 219-----------------------

 “Mmmhmm.” 



 “What would you like for me to use my mouth for?” 

she asked huskily when he broke the kiss, because there 

was nothing she would like better than to lick the man 

all over and she was perfectly willing to start where 

ever he liked. 



 “Now that opens up a world of possibilities.” 



 He made love to her more slowly that time, or at least 

seemed to set out to. Once they reached the state of 

high fever neither of them were inclined to hold back to 

savor the moments. They fed off of each other’s 

passions, pushing one another to a higher and higher 

sense of frenzied need until they came and then lay 

tangled together in the aftermath while they struggled to 

catch their breath. 



 As Raina lay drowsing in the pleasurable afterglow, her 

stomach growled, the appetite that had deserted her 

when she’d had the chance to eat coming back with a 

vengeance. Embarrassed, she clapped a hand to it. 

Simon brushed her hand away and moved to put his ear 

to her belly. 



 “Stop it, ass!” 


----------------------- Page 220-----------------------

 He chuckled. “I have suspected there was a littleleon 

in here,” he murmured, lifting his head to look at her. 



 Raina lifted her eyebrows. “Leon?” 



 Something flickered in his eyes. “A beast of the feline 

variety,” he said smoothly. “Not a large beast, but very 

ferocious.” 



 Raina pushed herself up on her elbows. “What do they 

look like?” 



 “Felines.” 



 She gave him a look. 



 Her stomach growled again. She popped her belly. 

“Stop that!” 



 He chuckled. “I believe that was mine … calling to 

yours, no doubt.” 



 He rolled off the bed and strode to the door, snatching 

it open before Raina even realized his intent. Raina 

scrambled for the covers. 



 “Now where the hell is everyone?” Simon demanded 

irritably. 


----------------------- Page 221-----------------------

 “You told them to get out,” Raina reminded him. 



 He turned to look at her in surprise and then frowned 

thoughtfully. “I believe you may be right,” he said 

agreeably and strode from the room. She heard the 

outer door open and his footsteps as he went down the 

hall. “Tedra!” he bellowed. 



 “Yes, my lord?” 



 “A tray … for two. Bring plenty.” 



 Feeling her face redden, Raina scrambled out of bed 

and headed into his bathroom, locking the door while 

she attended private matters. The doorknob jiggled as 

she finished. 



 “You locked me out, wench,” he said in mild outrage 

when she opened the door. 



 She couldn’t help but chuckle at his expression. “Some 

people require a little privacy,” she said pointedly. 

Recalling that he’d strolled down the hall completely 

naked and summoned the housekeeper, she laughed 

again as she moved to the shower to adjust the water. “I 

can’t believe old Hatch … uh … Higgenbottom didn’t 

shriek and faint when she saw you standing in the hall 

naked,” she said, diving inside the shower and jerking 

the door closed when he moved to the toilet to relieve 


----------------------- Page 222-----------------------

himself. 



 He climbed into the shower behind her. “I have very 

few secrets that woman does not know,” he said wryly 

as he took the soap from her and lathered it over his 

chest. “She was more mother to me than my own.” 



 Raina cringed inwardly, glad she’d stopped herself 

before she’d called the woman hatchet face. “Oh?” 



 He disappointed her when he didn’t elaborate. She was 

hungry to know everything about him, but it occurred to 

her that that was one appetite likely to go unappeased. 

In all the time she’d been at the mansion none of them 

had actually let anything slip about who they were or 

where they came from. She wasn’t so stupid she didn’t 

realize that was careful reticence not merely a 

disinclination to talk about their past as it was with her. 

The secrecy was one of the things about them that 

unnerved her. 



 The other was the fact that Simon rarely left the 

mansion without all five of his bodyguards trailing him. 

For that matter, even when he was inside, they were 

generally within a few feet of him at all times. 

Occasionally, one or two of them would disappear for 

half a day, or a night, but never more than two and 

never more than long enough than it took, she 

suspected, to find a willing woman for a few hours. 


----------------------- Page 223-----------------------

That had stopped being a mere curiosity to her shortly 

after her arrival when it had finally dawned on her it 

wasn’t merely for ‘show’ because Simon was someone 

of importance. 



 Simon’s life was in danger. 



 It was areal threat, not movie glitz, and certainly not 

glamorous, not when Simon’s life was at stake. 



 It had to be political. As woefully ignorant as she was 

of current affairs she had no idea what sort of politics, 

but nothing else fit. He was certainly no movie star, be 

he ever so drop dead gorgeous, and it wasn’t just a 

hazard of extreme wealth. Their security was far too 

tight for someone who had only to concern themselves 

about the unlikelihood of a kidnapping attempt for 

money or a robbery. 



 The small island estate was accessible to the mainland 

only by boat. 



 Besides, Higgenbottom had addressed him as ‘my lord’ 

, and it wasn’t the first time she’d let that slip, or almost 

let it slip. 



 She didn’t ask him about it. He wouldn’t like it, she 

knew, if she tried to pry. He’d tell her what he wanted 

her to know and no more, which would be nothing. 


----------------------- Page 224-----------------------

 She wasn’t going to delude herself into thinking this 

was more than what it was. He needed her to try to ease 

the ache from his loss. She knew that and she was still 

willing to take what he had to offer. 



 Truthfully, she would have takenanything at all that he 

’d offered--one night, or one screw. She had desperately 

wanted the man from the moment she’d first seen him, 

and nothing had changed that. 



 He reached around her to tweak her nipples, drawing 

her mind away from unpleasant thoughts. He drew her 

back against him, dropping his cheek to rest it on the 

top of her head and watching the play of his hands. 

“These are pretty, dainty little things,” he murmured. 



 She elbowed him in the ribs. “Gee! Thanks!” 



 “I meant the nipples,” he said, his voice shaky with 

suppressed laughter. “These,” he added smoothly, 

cupping her breasts, “are bountiful melons.” 



 “Right! Comparatively speaking, theyare big I’ll have 

you to know!” 



 “Mmmm? Comparative?” 



 “To the rest of me.” 


----------------------- Page 225-----------------------

 He released her breasts and stroked both hands down 

her belly, measuring her hips with his hands and then 

her waist. Knowing what he was up to, she caught his 

fingers and tried to push them away. He rotated his 

hands and captured hers, lifting her arms above her 

head and twirling her around to face him. “You are 

right,” he said when he’d pressed her back against the 

wall of the shower. “Most definitely.” 



 “It bothers you, doesn’t it?” she asked, feeling a 

sinking sensation as she thought about the portrait of 

the woman in the other room. People, in general, had a 

preference for certain ‘types’, she knew--shedid. 

Everybody she knew did. It didn’t matter how many 

relationships they had, they were always drawn to the 

same things. For most people that was particular age 

groups, or body types, skin and hair coloring--and 

definitely particular personality types and no one caught 

their interest for long if they didn’t match any of those 

preferences. 



 It would’ve been depressing if she’d discovered she 

was a lot like his wife, but somehow it was worse to 

realize she was nothing like the woman that had meant 

so much to him. 



 Because she knew that meant she had a very limited ‘ 

shelf’ life. People liked ‘novelties’, but those things 


----------------------- Page 226-----------------------

were only briefly entertaining. Mostly, they liked the 

comfort of familiarity--and they always went back to it. 

Always. 



 Maybe he was intrigued that she was small, and maybe 

not. She couldn’t even count on that considering she 

knew his taste ran to tall, slender, and classically 

beautiful. 



 Very likely he was just interested because she wasn’t 

Mrs. Higgenbottom and she was handy. 



 And she didn’t care. Everything about him made her 

hungry. 



 Releasing her wrists, he caught her waist and lifted her 

up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and looped 

her arms around his shoulders as he pressed closer to 

suck at her throat. “Mmm,” he murmured lazily. “I will 

admit it makes navigation somewhat tricky--there are 

definite setbacks--but I believe I am enjoying the 

challenge.” 



 “You are?” she asked hopefully. 



 “I are.” 



 She chuckled. “What are the setbacks?” 


----------------------- Page 227-----------------------

 “Navigation,” he murmured, laughter threading his 

voice. “There was a moment of panic when you 

disappeared beneath me and I thought I might not find 

the … uh … hole.” 



 She gurgled with laughter. “I didn’t notice you having 

any trouble.” 



 “That, sweeting, is because my soldier has an unerring 

eye and a penchant for exploring damp little caves. I 

had forgotten he had a nose for these things and did not 

need my help to find his way.” 



                             Chapter Eleven 



 There was a large tray filled with covered dishes 

waiting on the cabinet beside the bed when they 

emerged from the bathroom. Raina was mildly 

embarrassed, wondering if Higgenbottom had heard her 

‘yodeling’ in the shower. 



 If the woman was as familiar with Simon as he 

claimed, though, it probably wasn’t anything she hadn’t 


----------------------- Page 228-----------------------

heard before. 



 Which still didn’t make her a lot more comfortable. 



 Oh the woman would probably relish having her 

prejudice confirmed! She’d already all but called her a 

whore. 



 Not that Raina cared what she thought--what any of 

them thought! 



 Alright, she did, a little. She cared more than a little 

about what Audric might think about it, but she wasn’t 

going to allow that to cut up her peace or ruin her 

enjoyment. Her ‘god’ had deigned to bestow his favors 

upon her and she meant to enjoy it to the fullest as long 

as she could. 



 He was gorgeous. He kept her far too occupied that 

first night to give her much of a chance for her own 

explorations, but as they lazed away the following day, 

she had the opportunity to examine him thoroughly 

with both her eyes and her hands … and her mouth. He 

was hard and muscular all over. Even his legs, though 

somewhat leaner, were well developed. 



 She was almost surprised. Even though she’d seen that 

Audric was very well built, it still came as a surprise 

that Simon was so well built and so pleasingly 


----------------------- Page 229-----------------------

proportioned. Very tall men rarely seemed to be in her 

judgment. They tended to have a  ‘stretched out’ 

look--arms and legs that were too long for the body, or a 

body that seemed too long for the arms and legs, usually 

the latter. 



 Not that she was terribly familiar with tall men. She 

had dated a couple that were nearly six feet tall, but 

both of them had been long and lanky, not muscular. 

Mostly, her comfort range was men who, like her, fell 

into the under average height range. 



 They had luncheon in bed. Still naked and oddly 

comfortable with it, Raina sat cross legged with her 

back against the headboard of the bed. Simon sprawled 

on his side, cross ways the foot of the bed, his long 

black hair loose and flowing about his shoulders like 

some pagan king. The tray lay between them. Trying 

not to be too obvious about her interest, Raina nibbled 

at her food and allowed her gaze to wander over him. 



 Simon didn’t bother trying not to be obvious as he 

studied her assets. “Tell me about your family,” he said 

finally, with the air of someone demanding to be 

entertained. 



 Raina met his gaze briefly. “That wouldn’t take long,” 

she said wryly, reluctant to dwell on her sordid little 

life. She supposed she would’ve been anyway, but 


----------------------- Page 230-----------------------

Simon’s opinion of her mattered--a lot. She doubted it 

was any secret to him that she was a nobody. Her 

granny had always staunchly maintained that they were 

a good middle class family, but the unhappy truth was 

that everyone else considered them white trash because 

they were dirt poor. “Why do want to know?” 



 He studied her a long moment, frowning as he looked 

down at the tray, but she didn’t think it was because he 

was trying to decide what he wanted off of it. He was 

accustomed to getting what he wanted. He didn’t like it 

when anyone balked at any request he made. “Why do 

you not want to tell me?” 



 Raina shrugged. “It’s just that there isn’t anything to 

tell.” 



 He fixed her with an intent look. “You told Audric.” 



 She frowned, irritated that he’d overheard. “Because 

Audric can’t understand half of what I say to him. And 

it wouldn’t bother him anyway.” 



 “But it would me?” 



 Raina released a heavy sigh, wishing abruptly that she 

hadn’t made an issue of it. She reached for a handful of 

grapes. “My father split--no clue of where he is. My 

mother’s dead … and my granny. My little brother’s in 


----------------------- Page 231-----------------------

prison for armed robbery and my little sister died of a 

drug overdose about three years ago. At least, that’s the 

story the cops told. Her friends,” she made the air quote 

with her fingers, “said her pimp gave her some bad shit 

because he was pissed off with her,” she finished, 

relishing having made it sound as sordid as possible, 

though there actually wasn’t any way to ‘clean it up’ 

without telling outright lies--like she had told Audric. 

She hadn’t actuallywanted to talk about her fucked up 

family, though. She didn’t like to think about the 

possibility that things might have turned out differently 

for her brother and sister if she hadn’t run off. 



 He said nothing for several moments. “I am sorry.” 



 Raina shrugged. “That’s life. It sucks and then you 

die,” she said flippantly. 



 “You were sixteen when you left your home?” he 

prompted after a moment. 



 “Mmm,” Raina said noncommittally, trying to ease the 

defensive tension from her shoulders. “Almost. The 

first few years were pretty rough, but it’s practically 

been smooth sailing since.” She popped the last grape 

into her mouth. “I think that’s the only time in my life 

my size was actually an asset … mostly, anyway, 

though, come to think of it I suppose it might have had 

something to do with me being so stunted. I mean, 


----------------------- Page 232-----------------------

granny wasn’t tall, but she wasn’t as short as me. I can’t 

really remember mama, though. Maybe I got it from 

her--my height, I mean.” 



 He lifted one dark brow questioningly. 



 She smiled wryly. “I could get into places nobody else 

could. It helped when I needed to hide.And I got very 

good at climbing. It’s been a real pain in the ass since 

then, though. I’m too short for just about everything I 

really want to do--because, I suppose, I’m contrary and 

want to do everything I can’t.” 



 “Such as?” 



 She waved her hand airily. “Oh, the list goes on and 

on. You’d wouldn’t believe the jobs that have 

minimum height requirements--safety issues mostly. I 

went all the way through the course on truck driving, 

got my CDL and everything, and then nobody wanted to 

hire me.” She shrugged. “I could’ve gotten something 

local, I guess, but I wanted the long hauls … more 

money, plus you get to see the country. I had my heart 

set on it, too. I’d already tried for stewardess with the 

airlines and that was a bust.” 



 “You like to travel?” 



 “How would I know? I never have gotten much further 


----------------------- Page 233-----------------------

than the damned city limits of this town. I’d just like to 

see something else before I turn up my toes.” 



 He sat up abruptly and slid the tray off the bed, settling 

it on the floor. When he settled again, he caught her 

ankles and dragged her toward him. She studied him 

curiously as he arranged her legs to suit him, shoving 

her knees up and splaying her thighs. 



 She promptly clamped her knees together when he 

released them. 



 He sent her a look. Pushing her legs apart again, he 

wedged his shoulders between her thighs. 



 “Whatare you doing?” she demanded with a mixture of 

amusement and discomfort as he settled to stroking the 

thatch of hair on her pussy as if he was grooming it. 



 “Looking.” 



 “I see that.” 



 “Then why did you ask?” he asked, his lips twitching 

as he flicked a look at her face. 



 Raina felt her face redden. Flopping back on the bed, 

she dragged a pillow over her face. 


----------------------- Page 234-----------------------

 He chuckled. “What areyou doing?” 



 “Notwatching you look. Why do youwant to look, 

anyway?” 



 “Because I do,” he murmured, lightly stroking the 

inner petals of her nether lips. 



 Raina’s belly tightened, her heart and lungs 

constricting in her chest. She had to fight the urge to try 

to clamp her legs together again. 



 She felt the bed move as he shifted and lifted the 

pillow to see if he’d finished his survey just in time to 

watch as he lowered his mouth to her. She swallowed 

convulsively, unable to drag her gaze from the sight. As 

his mouth closed over her, however, and searing heat 

went through her, her eyes slid closed of their own 

accord. She sucked in a difficult breath, her mind, every 

nerve in her body focused on the point of contact and 

the feel of his tongue. When she opened her eyes again, 

she saw that he was watching her face as he sucked the 

little nub of flesh at the juncture of her thighs. 



 A fresh wave of heat went through her. Her head felt 

too heavy for her neck and she allowed it to fall back, 

her eyes closed tightly as the heat built inside of her in 

fiery waves. She moaned, gasped, panted for breath as 

the delightful sensations grew more and more intense. 


----------------------- Page 235-----------------------

Abruptly, though, she needed--wanted to do more than 

just lay passively while he pleasured her. 



 Pushing herself up onto her elbows, she shifted to 

reach his cock, grasping it with her hand. He paused, 

lifting his head to watch as she struggled closer and 

finally took the head into her mouth, sucking on it. He 

pulled her closer still and finally rolled onto his back, 

carrying her with him. 



 She’d never felt anything like, never done anything 

even close. It increased her own pleasure tremendously 

to take him into her mouth and pleasure him as he 

sucked and teased her clit with his mouth and tongue. 

 She moaned around his cock as her body climbed 

toward climax, pulling and sucking on his cock more 

and more frantically which, in turn, seemed to make 

him finesse her more hungrily until they were both 

shaking, rocking restlessly against one another. 



 And then, abruptly, she reached crisis, hovered for 

several heart stopping moments and then groaned and 

bucked as she came. He shuddered, his arms tightening 

around her almost painfully as he tensed, groaning 

against her cleft before he spilled his hot seed into her 

mouth in hard spasms that rocked both of them. 



 She was too weak to move when the shudders finally 

ceased. 


----------------------- Page 236-----------------------

 He rolled her onto the mattress after a moment and she 

flopped onto her back spread eagle, gasping for breath. 

He seemed equally spent. 



 Finally, he levered himself upward and stared at her for 

several moments. “Come here, wench. You are much 

too far away.” 



 She chuckled. “Too weak.” 



 He crawled over her, headed in the direction of the 

headboard and then grabbed her, dragging her limp form 

next to his and aligning their bodies … or rather 

arranging her body to suit him, she thought wryly. 



 “Comfy now?” she muttered against his chest. 



 “Aye.” 



                                  * * * * 



 As the veil of sleep parted and consciousness surfaced, 

so, too, did a sense of supreme well-being. A feeling of 

anticipation followed on the heels of it, a surge of 

energy waiting to be expended, and Simon lazily 

searched his mind for a few moments for the reason he 

felt the need to get up and go about his business. No 

particular task came readily to mind, but he was certain 


----------------------- Page 237-----------------------

there was something that needed to be done else he 

wouldn’t have felt compelled to get up at once and get 

to it. 



 Sucking in a deep breath as his senses followed the 

awakening of his mind and rose to alertness, Simon 

savored the scent of the woman pressed against him, 

the firmness of the buttocks nestled against his belly, 

and the softness of the breast resting in his palm. A 

flicker of sexual interest followed in the wake of those 

perceptions. Briefly, he examined the temptation, but 

he realized he was so thoroughly sated his appetite was 

mild, nothing he couldn’t ignore. 



 The question was, did he want to ignore it? 



 Opening his eyes, he tightened his hand around the 

breast resting in his palm, squeezing it experimentally 

to test his interest. She made a faint noise of complaint 

in her sleep, shifting away from him. Mildly annoyed 

by her disinterest in his overture, despite the fact that 

he hadn’t been certain of his own interest, he pushed 

himself up on one elbow to look down at her. 



 Dark, bruised crescents had formed beneath her eyes. 

He studied her sleeping face for a long moment, felt … 

something stir inside of him and finally lifted the arm 

he had draped over her and rolled away from her. She 

was obviously exhausted, he decided, staring up at the 


----------------------- Page 238-----------------------

ceiling as he allowed his mind to fill with the 

impressions of the hours he had spent expending 

himself on her--the sounds, the sights, the scents, the 

sensations that had raced through him. 



 Sexual interest stirred again, but the troubling sense 

that there was something he needed to do, something 

that needed his attention, eclipsed it. Whatever it was 

eluded him, but the restless energy that filled him made 

it impossible to seek sleep again and he rolled from the 

bed and went to shower and shave, deciding that 

whatever it was was bound to come to him when he 

was more alert. 



 It didn’t, but he dressed and left the room in search of 

something to do to work off the excessive energy. He 

met up with Tedra on his way to the basement to work 

out, nodded a morning greeting and kept going. Seeing 

her heading toward the kitchen, however, put him in 

mind of Raina, still sleeping in his bed and he stopped, 

considering it. 



 The time he’d spent with her had been surprisingly 

satisfying, but the point was hedid feel completely 

satisfied. She’d been right, and he’d been right. Giving 

in to temptation had been the way to go. He could not 

recall when the last time was that he had felt so 

thoroughly and completely satisfied. 


----------------------- Page 239-----------------------

 Swiveling on his heels, he turned to look at Tedra, 

whom he discovered had stopped and turned to look at 

him questioningly, her hand poised on the doorknob. 

“You should go and tell Raina to give you a hand about 

the place. I am done with her. She might as well make 

herself useful.” 



 An hour and half later, when he’d worn off the brunt of 

his excess energy and broken a sweat, it dawned on him 

what had brought about the sense of something ‘undone 

’ that needed to be done. He had nothing to 

do--here--nothing of any importance whatsoever. Every 

day was like the day before because, in essence, he was 

a prisoner. There was a very great deal of things to do in 

Schalome, however, things shelved for a more 

appropriate time, things ignored because he had not had 

the heart to face them or been able to summon the will 

to care whether they were ever done or not. 



 Vengeance and justice--they were his to wield, his to 

seek, his duty to perform, and no one else’s. 



 Belated, he thought with self-disgust. His sense of ‘ 

urgency’ was seriously, criminally belated. Like a 

mindless beast searching for a quiet place to die, he had 

crawled into a hole and buried himself deeply, telling 

himself he only needed time to grieve, time to heal, 

time to grow strong again and then he would find his 

lost manhood, his courage, his conviction, and he would 


----------------------- Page 240-----------------------

be a force to be reckoned with. 



 Those thoughts sustained him until he caught a glimpse 

of Raina as he headed back to his suite. At once a 

mixture of conflicting emotions swamped him; guilt, 

desire, a sense loss and disappointment when he tried 

to dismiss the first two with the reflection that he had 

no reason to feel either. They’d desired one another. It 

was simple lust, and he had been careful to give as 

much pleasure as he’d taken, but it was time to move 

on and focus on his duty. 



 Her scent and his memories lingered in his suite, 

though, taunting him with the urge to reverse his 

decision, undermining his certainty that he’d slaked his 

desire for her and when he’d bathed and changed the 

restlessness and uncomfortable sense of loss drove him 

from the house. 



                                  * * * * 



 And on the fourth day, they rested, Raina thought wryly 

when she woke to discover she was alone in the bed, 

tryingnot to feel deserted even though she knew she 

had been. 



 Mrs. Higgenbottom, who’d awakened her, stood in the 

doorway. “You will need to clean the parlor when you 

have broken your fast,” she said crisply, as if she wasn’t 


----------------------- Page 241-----------------------

standing in Simon’s bedroom door with Raina sprawled 

naked in his bed. 



 Raina heaved a heavy sigh. “Yes, ma’am,” she 

responded, trying to feel philosophical about it. 



 She’d expected nothing less. She’d just hoped it would 

last a little longer. 



 Rising when Mrs. Higgenbottom had departed, she 

headed into the bathroom for a shower. When she 

emerged, she realized she had a problem. She had her 

jeans and panties and nothing else. It took her a little 

while to remember that Simon had stripped her of her 

blouse and bra before he’d decided to haul her to his 

room. He’d grabbed her jeans and panties from the floor 

when he’d grabbed her, but he hadn’t bothered to look 

for the blouse he’d flung across the room. 



 She had two choices. She could borrow something of 

 Simon’s or stroll topless down the hall to the room 

where her suitcases were--because nobody had brought 

them to her. 



 She wasn’t going to stroll topless, not with six men in 

the house. Moving to Simon’s closet, she took out one 

of his shirts and put it on, staring down at herself wryly. 

The shirt tails came to her knees. She would’ve been 

decently covered without the jeans. 


----------------------- Page 242-----------------------

 Not that it mattered, except there was no way anybody 

meeting up with her would be in any doubt that she was 

wearing Simon’s clothes and if she met up with 

Higgenbottom she’d probably shit a brick. 



 Thankfully, Simon’s sitting room was empty. 

Obviously, he’d left the house while the house keeper 

rousted her out of his room. 



 It was harder to be philosophical about that. 



 She jolted to halt, though, completely forgetting her 

feelings of misuse when she discovered the portrait was 

missing from above the fireplace mantel. Frowning, she 

glanced around, but she’d already realized it hadn’t 

simply been moved. It had been removed completely. 



 Simon probably hadn’t felt comfortable cavorting with 

her and then having to ‘face’ his wife, she decided. 



 Shaking off her depression, she hurried down the hall 

to Audric’s room and went in. Audric had one foot in 

his pants when she sailed in the door. “Oh shit!” Raina 

exclaimed, coming to a screeching halt and throwing up 

her hands. “God, Audric! I am so sorry! I should’ve 

knocked.” 



 He said nothing and after a moment she realized he’d 


----------------------- Page 243-----------------------

returned his attention to dressing. Discomfort moved 

through her. She’d been so disconcerted when she’d 

come in on him dressing she’d completely forgotten the 

first encounter after Simon was probably going to be an 

uncomfortable one. 



 She studied him a moment, but what could she say? 



 She was just sorry that she’d been trying to seduce him 

in the garden just before. He might have felt the 

rejection anyway, but that had to have made it worse, 

becauseshe was the one who’d tried to cross the line 

between friends and lovers. 



 He must think she was a slut of the worse kind, she 

thought guiltily. 



 Trying to shrug that off as she had the depression that 

had settled over her becauseshe had been rejected, she 

looked around for her suitcases and finally got down on 

her knees to see if they’d been shoved further under the 

bed. 



 “They were moved to the garage apartment.” 



 Raina would have been a lot more favorably impressed 

with his progress on his English if not for the content of 

the sentence he’d just uttered. 


----------------------- Page 244-----------------------

 “Moved?” she echoed in disbelief. “You have got to be 

fucking kidding me! Well! I guess I should just be 

grateful he didn’t pitch me in the yard naked when he 

got done, the arrogant asshole!” 



 Whirling, she stalked from the room and headed down 

the backstairs, angry enough to blast anybody that 

happened to step unwarily in her path. Fortunately, she 

didn’t run in to anybody, because she was in no state of 

mind, at the moment, to consider the inadvisability of 

it. She’d been dumped by her boss. The next step was 

the boot, and she hadn’t saved up enough money yet to 

get her an apartment, even a crummy one, in town. 



 She remembered that when she got to the garage 

apartment and it cooled her temper right down. It didn’t 

make the sense of misuse disappear, but she could 

handle that--and smile. God knew she’d been dumped 

on enough in her life she ought to be able to handle it. 



 She threw Simon’s shirt in the laundry when she came 

down again. She’d intended to return it to his room, but 

then it occurred to her that she might run in to him and 

she wasn’t ready--lunch would be soon enough. 



 She didn’t get the chance to eat. Higgenbottom had 

cleaned everything up and put it away by the time she 

made it back to the main house. She wasn’t hungry 

anyway. Her stomach was coiled into a nauseating knot 


----------------------- Page 245-----------------------

of dread as she headed to the parlor to clean. 



 She couldn’t act angry, she coached herself as she 

settled to work. That wouldn’t do at all. In the first 

place, there was a good chance that she was on the way 

out and she had a better chance of sticking around a 

while longer if she behaved herself. In the second, she 

actually had noright to be mad. He hadn’t made her any 

promises. She hadn’t asked for any, and she certainly 

couldn’t claim that she hadn’t been a willing soul in the 

seduction. 



 Cold wouldn’t do, either. That was just mad inside out. 



 She was going to have to try to figure out how to 

behave as if nothing at all had happened. 



 That was just going to be lovely, of course, because 

there wasn’t a damned soul in the house that didn’t 

know. 



 It didn’t dawn on her until she was ready to serve lunch 

that, under the circumstances, the other men might 

decide to have a go at her. She wished it hadn’t 

occurred to her then because she could’ve served their 

luncheon without feeling so tense. On the other hand, 

she was a domestic, she thought wryly, and they were 

supposed to ignore her existence. 


----------------------- Page 246-----------------------

 It wasn’t as bad as she’d feared it would be. She had to 

focus on what she was doing anyway and that made it a 

lot easier not to look at anyone, which meant if they 

were giving her knowing looks they were wasting their 

time. 



 She was still relieved when she’d finished and could 

retreat to the kitchen where she didn’t have to be 

worried about anyone except Higgenbottom. Her own 

lunch was miserable. She hadn’t gotten breakfast, so 

her stomach was trying to eat her alive, and she was so 

tense and upset she could hardly swallow her food 

without choking on it. She managed to swallow enough 

to appease the beast and not look as if she was moping, 

but it sat like lead in the bottom of her stomach when 

she went back to work. 



 She was so exhausted from romping with Simon for 

days and having little sleep, that she was barely 

dragging by the end of the day. With gratitude, she 

climbed the stairs to the loft apartment and sprawled on 

the bed for a nap before she had to serve dinner. It 

seemed to her that she’d barely dozed off when a loud, 

extremely annoying buzzer went off. She came off the 

bed as if she’d had a jolt of electricity up the ass, 

staggering as she whipped her head around in search of 

the source. It stopped before she found it. She stared at 

the bed again. Just as she put her knee on the mattress 

to climb back in, the buzzer sounded again. This time, 


----------------------- Page 247-----------------------

though, it dawned on her that it must be a summons. 



 Sighing, she went to the bathroom to wash her face, 

combed her hair and headed to the main house. It was 

hard even trying to look alert while she passed out the 

plates, which was a blessing in disguise. She didn’t 

even think about being uncomfortable. 



 She was more than half asleep by the time she’d eaten. 



 Audric cornered her before she managed to make back 

to her apartment. She really, really didn’t feel like a 

confrontation, but she stopped and looked at him 

questioningly. 



 “You are ok?” 



 She stared at him, feeling the sense of misuse from 

earlier descend upon her like a clap of thunder on a 

sunny day. She hadn’t expected sympathy, especially 

not from Audric. Her chin wobbled threateningly. She 

bolstered it. “I’m just tired,” she said and then 

reddened when she realized he would immediately 

know why. She cleared her throat, studying her shoes. 

“But thank you for asking. That’s really sweet of you. 

Especially after … after ….” 



 “Hush,” he said, grabbing her hand and hauling her 

quickly across the garden and into the garage. 


----------------------- Page 248-----------------------

 She thought she’d mastered the urge to cry but when 

Audric pulled her into the apartment and into his arms, 

she burst into noisy sobs. He stood holding her for a 

few minutes, rocking her slightly and finally scooped 

her up and carried her to the bed. Settling her on the 

mattress, he lay down beside her and pulled her close 

again. 



 “I can’t,” she said tearfully. “I’m so sorry, Audric, but I 

can’t do this.” 



 He ignored her efforts to push him away, holding her 

tighter until she gave up and wilted against him. But, 

contrary to her fears, he didn’t attempt to do anything 

more than hold her. He was still holding her when she 

woke up. 



 That went badly, because she was too disoriented at 

first to realize she wasn’t snuggling next to Simon and 

it gave her a jolt when she finally realized it wasn’t 

him. 



 And he knew. 



 She looked up at him guiltily for a moment and finally 

averted her gaze and climbed out of the bed. By the 

time she emerged from the bathroom, he was gone. 


----------------------- Page 249-----------------------

 The rest and the catharsis of tears had helped her 

tremendously, she discovered. 



 One more reason to be grateful for Audric. 



 One more reason to feel like shit for not treating him as 

he deserved. 



 The worse of it, she thought, was that it wasn’t even as 

if she didn’t find him attractive. She did, and she 

appreciated his other qualities, as well. If she’d never 

seen anyone but Audric, she would’ve thought he was 

the most wonderful man she’d ever met--strong, 

handsome, protective--but Simon eclipsed him. Simon 

wasmore in every way. She couldn’t help it that she felt 

that way or that she had been drawn in as much by 

Simon’s neediness as his powerful charisma. 



 If she hadn’t felt that Simon needed her, she would 

still have followed him off at the crook of his finger. 



 She wasn’t actually sorry that she had. She was just 

sorry if it had hurt Audric that she had. 



 She tried to tell herself that it probably hadn’t. It was 

probably just his kind nature that had made him feel 

compelled to be so protective of her. She thought he’d 

probably been hopeful of getting laid, too, but he didn’t 

seem to have taken it in bad part that she’d picked 


----------------------- Page 250-----------------------

Simon instead. 



 Maybe he still thought he had a chance of getting laid? 



 And maybe he did at that. 



 She was very fond of Audric, and there was really no 

reason at all not to give in to him. 



 If he was interested. 



 Even if he wasn’t, the very fact that he was willing to 

spend time with her should discourage any of the others 

from deciding to have a go at hitting ‘it’. Which was 

awful of her, of course, but she didn’t see it as using 

Audric when she was willing to have sex with him if he 

wanted her to. 



                            Chapter Twelve 



 “I consoled her, nothing more,” Audric said, keeping 

his voice even with an effort. 



 “I have no doubt of that,” Simon shot back at him, his 


----------------------- Page 251-----------------------

eyes blazing with his own barely contained rage. 



 Audric studied him angrily for several moments while 

he wrestled with his temper. “She is no tavern wench, 

Simon, no whore, who performs for coins for her efforts 

and no thought of anything more. She was wounded by 

your carelessness.” 



 Simon reddened and looked away. “I gave her no 

promises. I would not promise what I can not give! She 

had no reason to be wounded.” 



 “You are not that dense!” Audric snarled, loosing his 

temper. “She would not have given herself to you at all 

if she had not cared, at least a little. It does not matter 

that you did notsay what you would or would not give. 

You gave her reason to think that you wanted her.” 



 “I did … and now I am done,” Simon snarled. “She 

has needs--clearly since she had already offered herself 

to you. I have needs. Weconsoled one another’s 

needs!” 



 “Well if you are done then you have no reason to rage 

                          your 

at me! And it is not              concern how I console her, is 

it, brother?” 



 “Iknew you had fucked her!” Simon bellowed, 

punching Audric in the jaw before he could duck. 


----------------------- Page 252-----------------------

 Jorell and Rama launched themselves from their seats 

and grabbed Audric before he could retaliate. Elden and 

Haig were a little slower catching Simon. He pulled his 

punch, however, when he saw Jorell and Rama had 

grabbed Audric’s arms. Shrugging Elden and Haig off, 

he stalked to the window, staring out at the night. 



 “If you are done with the woman,” Jorell said, “I will 

take her back into the city.” 



 Simon pivoted on his heel and fixed Jorell with a 

narrow eyed glared. “Did I give you leave to make 

decisions for me?” 



 Jorell reddened and then turned white. “Nay, my lord.” 



 “If you have need of a woman,” Elden offered, “we can 

all go into the city and find one. There has been no 

attempt on you in months.” 



 Simon swung his glare to encompass Elden. 



 “Or not,” Elden muttered, returning to his seat. 



 Simon turned to look at Audric again. “Stay away from 

Rainie,” he said coldly. “She is mine.” He waited. 

When Audric did not respond, he strode from the room 

and down the hall. 


----------------------- Page 253-----------------------

 “Where do you think he is going?” Elden asked 

uneasily. 



 “Where do you think?” Audric growled. “Unless you 

want a taste of his temper I would not advise following 

him.” 



 “But what if that is not where he is headed? He has 

been so unpredictable of late I never know if I should 

follow or not,” Haig said. 



 Audric dropped his hand from his jaw, which he’d 

been massaging. “Go. See that he is headed to her. If 

not, summon the rest of us and we will catch up.” 



                                   * * * * 



 As angry as Simon was as he stalked across the walk, 

into the garage, and up the stairs to Raina’s apartment, 

he was well aware that he was making a mistake. At the 

very least, he should’ve turned away and walked off the 

brunt of his anger before even considering approaching 

Raina. 



 He shouldn’t be approaching her at all. He had fucked 

her already until his cock was raw and his balls felt like 

they were filled with dust. He was going to be spitting 

blood if he kept it up. 


----------------------- Page 254-----------------------

 But as certain as he had been that he had had his fill, 

appeased the need, the hunger for her was still with 

him--had dogged him from the moment he had left the 

house like a coward after informing Tedra that she was 

to put Raina back to work. 



 He didn’t know why he hadn’t simply told Raina 

himself that he didn’t need her anymore. 



 Actually, he did. 



 He’d been afraid she would look at him with those big 

green eyes of hers and he wouldn’t have the balls to say 

it himself … and he wouldknow he was lying to 

himself. He had not worked her out of his system and 

he was very much afraid that the complete opposite was 

true, that the more he was with her the more he would 

want to stay. 



 And he couldn’t. 



 There was only one way that he was ever going to be 

free of his past and that was by putting it to rest once 

and for all. He had to give Evangeline justice so that 

she could rest in peace. He had to go home and do what 

he’d been born to do--free his homeland from the tyrant 

who had butchered his way to power. His people 

needed justice. They needed someone to guide them 


----------------------- Page 255-----------------------

who cared about them, not someone to crush them into 

the dirt and bleed them dry into the bargain. 



 He should not be standing at her door now like a 

beggar hoping for a few more crumbs of food. It had 

been hard enough to separate himself from her before. 

If he was wrong and he could not work her out of her 

system at all …. 



 He was on the point of turning around and leaving 

again when he heard her approach the door, no doubt 

alerted to his presence when he’d stomped up the stairs. 



 “Audri… uh oh.” 



 He narrowed his eyes at her as the tide of rage shifted 

abruptly and rolled back in. “Faithless wench!” he 

snarled. “Iknow that he slept here last eve! Elden has 

never learned to guard his tongue. You could not wait a 

day or two to fuck him?” 



 Outrage displaced Raina’s shock, making her throw 

caution to the wind. “Howdare you! Asif it’s any of 

your damned business who I fuck or when I fuck 

them!” she growled at him instead of informing him 

that she hadn’t done anything. 



 “You are mine … until or unless I say otherwise, damn 

you!” 


----------------------- Page 256-----------------------

 “The hell I am!” 



 “The hell you are not!” 



 He caught her then--completely by surprise, tossing her 

over his shoulder like he was … some barbaric king of 

the universe and stalking down the stairs with her. 

Shock held her tongue at first, and then the fear of 

falling as he jogged down the stairs, and the struggle to 

catch her breath. “What are you doing? Where the hell 

do you think you’re taking me?” she demanded finally. 



 “To my room. Our room. And you will stay there until 

I say otherwise. I will not have Audric … poaching on 

my preserves!” 



 “Who the hell died and made you god! I amnot your 

preserves!” 



 “Aye, you are, and I mean to fuck you until you will 

not look twice at my brother!” 



 “Put me down!” 



 “No!” 



 “I’m warning you, Simon!” 


----------------------- Page 257-----------------------

 “I am warned.” 



 She bit him on the back. 



 “Ow! Damn it to hell woman!” he ground out, popping 

her on the ass. 



 She let go of the patch of flesh she’d managed to latch 

on to, rearing upward. 



 “Watch your head!” he warned, throwing the front door 

open. 



 “Asshole!” she screamed at him. 



                                   * * * * 



 Jorell moved to the window, staring at the window of 

the garage apartment as he realized Simon had been 

before. “He is there,” he announced to no one in 

particular. “Will he stay, do you think, Audric?” 



 “I am to read his mind?” Audric demanded angrily, 

moving to a chair and settling in it. 



 Jorell turned to look at him. “I was only wondering if 

we should form a perimeter there, or wait to see if he 

returns to the house.” 


----------------------- Page 258-----------------------

 “Haig is outside watching. If he does not come back in 

an hour, you will join him and you and he can take first 

watch. Rama, Elden, and I will take second.” 



 Jorell turned to stare out the window again. “You 

should have waited,” he said presently. “If you had not 

instantly gone to her, it would not have aroused his 

possessive streak.” 



 “Mayhap,” Audric responded. 



 Jorell frowned. “You believe I am wrong?” 



 “Yes.” 



 “It will take longer than we thought to work her out of 

his system,” Elden said, nodding. 



 “Or he will not work her out of his system at all!” 

Jorell responded tartly. “He fucked her for three days 

straight. It can not be need. His balls will have dried up 

by now. I am surprised either one could walk when they 

came out. If he can not hold out one day without 

running back to her, we are in trouble.” 



 “You are making something out of nothing!” Rama 

snapped irritably. “Three days are nothing when he has 

not been with a woman in a year. He was with that 

whore a full day and he did not even find her to his 


----------------------- Page 259-----------------------

taste.” 



 Audric came to his feet. “Take care, Rama!” he 

growled threateningly. “If you want to keep your teeth 

you will not discuss whores and Raina in the same 

breath!” 



 Rama stared at him blankly for a moment and then 

glared at him. “I did not mean that! Gods! You are as 

bad Simon! I am only saying … Gods! I do not know 

what I meant to say now!” 



 “You were telling us that we are being concerned over 

nothing, that Simon will only take a while longer to 

work her out of his system,” Elden said helpfully, 

“which is exactly what I said. It has got nothing to do 

with how long it has been since he was with a woman, 

or eventhat woman. She is handy and he is a man and 

can have her when he pleases, and he was obviously 

very pleased with her or he would not have been three 

days fucking.” He thought that over. “I have not been 

withany woman that I would be willing to be cooped up 

with for that length of time. I expect he knew that he 

was not done. He only came up for a bit of air.” 



 “For myself, I am sick of hearing how many days he 

was with her,” Audric snarled. “Can we not agree that it 

was impressive and leave it at that?” 


----------------------- Page 260-----------------------

 Elden frowned. “I will certainly agree that it was 

impressive, though Simon has always had far more 

stamina than any man I know …or know of.” 



 “All of that is completely beside the point!” Jorell 

snapped. “He has not said a word about going home and 

that is the point! Because he is notgoing to think of 

going home as long as he is following that woman 

about!” 



 “Thatwoman is named Raina,” Audric said tightly. 



 “Thatwoman …. Gods be damned! He is coming this 

way with her! And she is ….” He stopped abruptly and 

whirled to look at Audric. 



 “She is …?” Audric demanded with a low, menacing 

growl. 



 Jorell’s gaze snapped to Elden. “Grab him!” 



 Elden gaped at him blankly. “What?” 



 “By the gods! Grab him!” 



 They all heard the front door slam open at that 

moment. Raina’s voice carried up the stairs. “YOU 

ASSHOLE! Put me down! Put me down right now!” 


----------------------- Page 261-----------------------

 Audric charged the door before any of the others could 

get out of their seats. Jorell leapt the chair blocking his 

path and reached the door at almost the same moment 

as Elden and Rama. Briefly, they formed a bottle neck 

but managed to break free in a moment and race after 

Audric, catching up to him just as he met Simon on the 

stairs. 



 “Put her down,” Audric said tightly. 



 “Get out of my way, Audric,” Simon growled. 



 “Don’t youdare hit him!” Raina snarled. 



 Audric looked at her sharply as she reared up from 

 Simon’s shoulder, twisting around to look at him. The 

distraction cost him. Simon slammed his fist into his 

jaw, rocking him back on his heels. Jorell and Elden, 

who were directly behind Audric by that time, each 

caught one of his arms as he rocked back and began to 

haul him back up the stairs. 



 “Audric!” Raina exclaimed in dismay. “Why did you 

hit him?” 



 “Because I did not like the look on his face,” Simon 

growled, stalking up the stairs with her and into his 

apartment. 


----------------------- Page 262-----------------------

 “You … you … bully! He wasn’t even looking when 

you hit him.” 



 “He deserved it,” Simon said grimly. 



 “He didn’t do anything!” 



 “You do not challenge a man over his woman and then 

allow yourself to be distracted. Next time, he will know 

better.” 



 “That’s barbar….” Raina broke off, sucking in a sharp 

gasp as Simon bent over and dropped her on the bed. 

She flung out her arms instinctively as she fell. Simon 

sprawled on top of her, grasping her wrists before she 

could recover enough to try to escape. She stared up at 

him. “I amnot your woman! You kicked me out!” 



 Simon stared at her a long moment. “I did not.” 



 Confusion filled her eyes. Simon took full advantage of 

it, covering her mouth with his and kissing her with a 

savagery that took her breath and sent shockwaves of 

heat all the way to her core. 



 Raina struggled to gather her wits when he broke the 

kiss and wove a meandering path across her face to her 

ear. “You didn’t?” she managed, shivering as he sucked 

gently at her ear and then traced the swirls with his 


----------------------- Page 263-----------------------

tongue. His heated breath fanned her ear as he did so, 

making the muscles low in her belly clench and sending 

a rippling cascade of goose bumps from her neck 

downward. 



 Had she completely misunderstood what had 

happened, she wondered dizzily? 



 He moved down her neck after a moment, lifted his 

head briefly to shove her blouse and her sports bra up 

and leaned down to suckle one engorged nipple just 

about the time it clicked her mind that Higgenbottom 

wouldn’t have taken it upon herself to order her out of 

Simon’s room. 



 Not that she had … exactly. 



 Fire blossomed inside of her as Simon caught her 

nipple in his mouth and sucked at it, though, and for 

several moments she completely lost her train of 

thought. Her breath hitched in her throat. She groaned. 



 “Simon! We need to talk,” she said, breathless, 

warmed by his touch, but determined. 



 “After,” he said firmly, silencing her with his mouth 

again as he reached down to tug at her jeans. He slipped 

his hand inside the opening as soon as he’d unfastened 

them and pushed the zipper to the bottom, threading his 


----------------------- Page 264-----------------------

fingers through the thatch of hair on her mound and 

then finding her clit with the tip of one finger. Another 

wave of pleasurable heat washed through her as he 

teased her. 



 He slid his hand lower after a moment, tracing her cleft 

and finding the moisture that told him no matter how 

much she struggled she wanted him, too. Breaking the 

kiss, he grabbed her jeans and hauled them down her 

legs to her ankles. Pushing her thighs apart, he covered 

her again, reaching between them to unfasten his own 

pants and pull his cock free. The moment he did, he 

guided it downward along her cleft, found her opening, 

and pushed inside. 



 “You don’t want me,” Raina said shakily, “not really.” 



 “Does this feel like I do not want you?” he ground out 

hoarsely as he clutched her tightly to him and cupped 

his hips to thrust more deeply. 



 The fight went out of Raina as she looked up at him. 

She hadn’t wanted to fight him at all, had wanted to go 

to him. If he hadn’t made her so angry …. 



 The need in his voice, the tumult in his eyes--of desire 

and anger … and hurt and confusion--completely 

disarmed her. She swallowed with an effort, clutching 

him and lifting her hips to meet his thrusts. He needed 


----------------------- Page 265-----------------------

her, she realized. He just didn’t want to. 



 She lifted her lips to his chest, nuzzling her face 

against him as he thrust into her with an edge of 

desperation, feeling a thrill go through her as he 

stiffened, groaned low in his throat and came, spilling 

his seed inside of her. 



 He leaned heavily against her when he’d ceased to 

shudder and quake with release, gasping for breath. 

Finally, he withdrew from her and rolled onto the bed 

beside her dropping a forearm across his eyes. 



 Raina lay as he’d left her, listening to her heart thunder 

in her ears. She hadn’t come, but she’d felt something 

far better--and scarier. 



 She shouldn’t have just caved in to his demands, she 

realized. She’d had every right to be mad when he’d 

stormed into her room and called her faithless--a 

faithlesswench , to be precise. She’d been absolutely 

stunned, both by his wild arrival and the accusation. 



 She hadn’t done anything wrong, hadn’t done anything, 

period, and it had outraged her for him to accuse her. 



 She should’ve just told him nothing had happened 

between her and Audric. 


----------------------- Page 266-----------------------

 Now, he was not only not going to believe it, he was 

angry with Audric. 



 She rolled onto her side after a few moments, 

wondering what was going through his mind, wondering 

if he was still angry. 



 “That was unforgivably stupid,” he muttered. 



 “Which part?” Raina asked hesitantly. 



 “Every gods be damned bit of it! I think I am going 

insane.” 



 Raina touched his chest tentatively. “Nothing 

happened between me and Audric.” 



 He said nothing for several moments. “Why did you 

not come for me then?” 



 The question caught her by surprise, partly because she 

wouldn’t have thought he would’ve noticed, especially 

all things considered, partly because she had a hard time 

following the logic of it, but mostly because he sounded 

like a sullen little boy. It amused her. 



 She looked down at herself and straightened her bra 

and shirt. She didn’t think he could see her face, but 

there was no point in riling him up again by letting him 


----------------------- Page 267-----------------------

see she thought it was funny. “That’s because I was 

thoroughly pissed off with you and couldn’t catch up,” 

she murmured finally--which was true--but then he’d 

been so--fevered--had come so quickly, she wasn’t 

certain she could’ve anyway. 



 She knew better than to tell him that. Thatwould 

wound his ego. “I enjoyed it anyway.” 



 His lips flattened. “You are so gracious,” he responded 

tartly. 



 It took more of an effort to keep from smiling that 

time. “You’re welcome,” she said when she thought 

she could command her voice. 



 “You will not believe me, I suppose, if I say that I 

have never done anything like that before?” he asked 

tentatively. 



 “Which part?” 



 He was silent for several moments. “Any of it.” He 

hesitated. “I do not know why I said those things … did 

what I did. In battle it would be understandable, but I 

do not recall that I was ever so completely out of 

control.” 



 Battle? Raina’s heart thumped uncomfortably in her 


----------------------- Page 268-----------------------

chest. It dawned on her after a moment that Simon had 

no idea that he’d said anything that might seem ‘ 

off’ to her. She pushed it aside for later, though. 

She was going to have to give that alot of thought. 



 “You’re too stressed out,” she said finally--which she 

thought was completely understandable. In the first 

place, he clearly wasn’t the sort to ‘release’ things that 

were bothering him. If he had been, he wouldn’t be 

having so much trouble dealing with the emotional 

turmoil he was going through now. In the second,she 

would’ve been a blubbering moron if she’d spent the 

past five years expecting somebody to jump out and 

shoot her in the head like he obviously had.That by 

itself, in her opinion, was enough to drive anybody over 

the edge, but he was carrying a lot of guilt about his 

wife’s death, still mourned her, mourned his daughter, 

and there was no telling what else he was carrying, but 

she knew that wasn’t all of it. 



 She’dhoped the sex would help him. It was certainly 

no cure all, but that was the way men usually found 

release from tension. She had a bad feeling it had 

probably added as much as it had helped, though, 

because she thought he was feeling guilty about his 

wife. 



 He was probably feeling guilty about living and 

enjoying anything about life. Having someone die that 


----------------------- Page 269-----------------------

you loved had a way of doing that to you. 



 She shifted to look at him. “I know you don’t want to 

tell me what’s bothering you, and that’s ok. I’m not 

going to bug you to tell me. I don’t like to think I’m 

adding to your problems, though. How about if I make 

you a promise?” 



 He dropped his arm and looked at her, a frown between 

his eyes and wariness in them. “What sort of promise?” 

he asked uneasily. 



 Amusement and irritation flickered through Raina. 

Commitment phobia, she diagnosed. “No strings, no 

obligations, no commitment between us--except for 

sex. I’ll just be your fuck buddy--I take care of your 

needs. You take care of mine--and otherwise we just go 

about our lives and do as we please--that way, no stress. 

And I’ll promise not to fuck anybody but you as long 

we’re fuck buddies.” She lifted one hand and laid the 

other over her heart. “I, Raina Marie Willows, do 

solemnly swear that I will not, under any circumstances, 

consider fucking anybody but you, Simon Draken, as 

long as we have this pact between us, so help me god. 

And if I lie, I hope to die, stick a needle in my eye.” 



 He pushed himself up on one elbow, regarding her 

with a mixture of amusement and doubt. “This is a 

strange oath of fealty,” he murmured. 


----------------------- Page 270-----------------------

 Raina chuckled. “I guess so. It’s the one me and my 

brother and sister used to make to each other when we’ 

d promise not to let Granny know what we’d been up 

to.” 



 He took her hand in the palm of his, rubbing his thumb 

along the back of her hand. “What do I promise you?” 



 “The same thing,” she said promptly and then 

hesitated. “But I don’t want you to get mad at Audric 

any time he talks to me. He’s my friend and I don’t 

have many--in fact none but him.” 



 Anger flickered to life in his eyes again. “Audric wants 

to fuck you.” 



 She sighed. “Maybe, but I just swore to you I wouldn’ 

t. If you don’t trust me at all this isn’t going to work.” 



 “It is Audric I do not trust.” 



 “No, it isn’t. It’s me.” 



 He frowned. “It is Audricwith you I do not trust.” 



 She fought a round with her temper and finally quelled 

it. “I’m sure this will come as a complete shock to you, 

but I’m a sexual camel. I can get along a very long time 


----------------------- Page 271-----------------------

without any sex at all. I think I can contain myself 

enough with you fucking my brains out every night to 

resist temptation.” 



 He tugged on her arm, pulling her down to rest on his 

chest and staring up at her. A half smile played around 

his mouth. “You are a strange spe ….” He broke off 

and hesitated fractionally. “This is a strange but very 

interesting custom.” 



 Raina ignored the slip. She chuckled. “There’s nothing 

strange about it. Haven’t you watched the discovery 

channel? Lots of animals have sex just for fun--and 

trade sex for favors--in this case, you scratch my itch, I 

scratch yours.” 



 His smile widened. “What if I do not want to ‘scratch 

your itch’every night?” 



 She shrugged, pretending to think it over. “Once a 

month?” 



 He gave her a look. “I was thinking more along the 

lines of three times a day.” 



 She chuckled. “I’ll be bow legged.” 



 He frowned faintly as he thought that over and then 

laughed. Rolling over, he switched places with her so 


----------------------- Page 272-----------------------

that she was on the bottom looking up at him. “I think I 

will take you up on this promise.” 



 She smiled up at him. “I had a feeling you might.” 



 “Did you?” 



 “Mmm. I feel it on my thigh right now.” 



 He reached down and grasped his hard cock in his 

hand, thumping her on the leg with it. “This feeling?” 



 She gurgled with laughter. “That feeling,” she 

confirmed. 



 He dipped his head to nibble at her throat. 



 “No more of that ‘I am lord and master of all I survey’, 

shit, ok?” 



 He tensed, jerking his head up to stare at her for a long 

moment, his gaze shuttered. “But I am lord and master 

of all I survey,” he said finally, almost apologetically. 



 She shook her head at him, but smiled. “Except not 

this ‘wench’. The pact makes us equal partners.” 



 “Does it?” 


----------------------- Page 273-----------------------

 “It does.” 



 He shrugged. “I believe I can live with that … for now. 

When I have dazzled you with my prowess as a lover, 

you will change your tune,” he said arrogantly. 



 “You think so?” she said, chuckling. 



 “I am convinced of it,” he said teasingly. 



 “Mmm. So when are you going to start convincing 

me?” 



 “Is that a challenge?” 



 “You bet your ass, Mister! Bring it on! I have this itch 

….” 



 “Where?” he asked with interest, his eyes gleaming. 



 She took his hand and guided it over her belly and 

between her thighs. “Right around …there.” 



 He settled beside her, propping his chin in one hand. 

“There?” 



 “Mmmhmm. That’s the spot alright.” 


----------------------- Page 274-----------------------

                            Chapter Thirteen 



 Jorell sent Audric a questioning glance as Simon 

stopped on the promontory and stared out to sea. Audric 

frowned and shook his head slightly. It had been weeks 

since Simon had taken up the vigil that had been a 

constant in his life before Riana, and he wasn’t certain 

what to make of it himself. 



 Simon had seemed more relaxed, more like his old self 

every day, and he’d begun to believe, for the first time 

in years, that there really was a chance that Simon 

would recover from the crippling blow he’d been dealt. 

He was never going to be the same as before, Audric 

knew, but close would have satisfied him, vengeful 

would have been satisfactory--anythingwas better than 

the broken shell he’d been. 



 He didn’t know what had happened between Simon 

and Raina that night. He’d been sure Simon had finally 

completely lost his mind, butsomething certainly had 

and not the something he’d feared. 



 He hadn’t thought so at the time. Mostly he’d just been 

relieved that Raina had emerged from the ordeal 


----------------------- Page 275-----------------------

apparently unscathed, but, unlike the first time, they 

hadn’t holed up in Simon’s room for days on end, with 

Tedra bringing trays of food up to them at every meal. 

They’d left Simon’s apartment the next morning, both 

of them seeming completely satisfied, and gone their 

separate ways. 



 He hadn’t known what to make of that either, 

especially when Simon had dragged her into his room 

the very next evening. 



 He didn’t seem to be as obsessive as he had been at 

first, which had been a great relief, but he’d discovered 

that was only a surface façade. The obsessive 

possessiveness was still there. He was just hiding 

it--from Raina. He obviously didn’t give a damn 

whether they knew about it or not. In fact, he made 

damn sure Audric knew it. He hadn’t threatened to 

pound him into the dirt for even looking at Raina, hadn’ 

t told him to stay away from her, but one of the others 

always shadowed them when they were together. Raina 

seemed to be oblivious, but then she wasn’t used to 

looking over her shoulder. 



 It made him uneasy that Simon had enough of his wits 

about him to use cunning to guard his possession. That 

required premeditation. The other had just been gut 

reaction, unnerving, but not unexpected. 


----------------------- Page 276-----------------------

 A little unexpected, actually. He’d thought when thaw 

finally set in Simon would have a hard time dealing 

with the emotions he’d locked away for so long, 

allowing them to build toward explosion. He just hadn’t 

expected an explosion of that magnitude. 



 “What news of home?” Simon asked presently, 

sounding perfectly calm. 



 Audric exchanged a glance with Jorell. 



 “What sort of news do you mean?” Jorell asked. 



 “The state of the realm,” Simon retorted dryly. 



 “Brooding violence,” Audric said. “After the attempted 

revolt several years ago failed, Jaelen lost what little 

sense he had. He has cowed them with an iron fist, he 

believes. When the truth is he has taught them that 

nothing they can do can appease him--the poor die in 

droves because the merchant class is now as poor as 

they were. And the wealthy and powerful are no better 

off now than the poorest merchants. He bleeds them 

dry. All of the nobles he had imprisoned when he 

imprisoned us have been executed. Those he did not 

manage to lay hands upon have been living in exile 

since, but I have heard that Ravenwing, Montdragon, 

Goldsinger, and the Duke of Sardovf have all fallen to 

assassins.” 


----------------------- Page 277-----------------------

 Simon’s jaw tightened. His most vocal supporters--and 

incidentally the most powerful. “What of their sons?” 



 “The young duke, Nimets, is loyal and eager, but he 

has not been tested in battle. Goldsinger’s son died with 

him. Ravenwing’s and Montdragon’s heirs are both as 

cagey as their fathers and can be completely depended 

upon.” 



 “We will need mercenaries,” Simon said thoughtfully, 

turning from his contemplation of the distant horizon to 

something that had caught his attention on the beach. 



 A flash of red assured Audric of what, or rather whom, 

had caught his eye. 



 “Send all the coin we can spare and tell them to make 

ready--quietly. We will not have half the army we had 

before. If we can not take him by surprise, we will lose 

the only asset we have.” He turned to look at Audric. 

“Tell them I am coming.” 



 He left them then, striding down the beach toward 

Raina, who stood at the water’s edge with her jeans 

rolled up to her knees, her long, auburn hair fluttering 

in the breeze and flashing brightly as the late afternoon’ 

s sun caught in it. 


----------------------- Page 278-----------------------

 Audric felt his excitement wane more than a little as he 

watched Simon slip up behind her and wrap his arms 

around her, dropping his chin to rest on the top of her 

head. The sound of her voice reached him--not the 

words, for those were snatched away by the sea 

breeze--only the sound, and then Simon’s laugh at 

something she had said. 



 Envy filled him, but pity, too. He was going to miss 

her. He could not imagine how much Simon would. 



 Almost as if Jorell had heard his thoughts, he 

murmured, “I would not be in his shoes.” 



 “He will triumph,” Elden said cheerfully. “He has not 

counted the army we will have when we reach 

Schalome’s borders with the army his men will raise.” 



 Jorell looked at him. “I have no doubt of that. I was 

only thinking that it will bring him no 

happiness--wealth, power, the adulation of the 

people--but he will still be alone.” 



 Rama joined them. “The council will not allow that to 

stand for long. Simon should have had a son near 

manhood by now. They will expect him to chose a 

woman quickly and breed one upon her.” 



 “He would have had a son near manhood by now if he 


----------------------- Page 279-----------------------

had not died with Evangeline,” Audric said grimly. 



 “Gods be damned!” Jorell swore irritably. “They are 

not going to fuck, now, on the beach and it yet full 

light!” 



 “I believe they are,” Audric said tightly. “Send Haig 

down the beach southward. You remain here--and make 

certain you keep close watch for any vessel of any size. 

Elden, Rama, and I will guard the rear.” 



                                   * * * * 



 “Simon!” Raina said with a mixture of amusement and 

embarrassment. “Someone will see us--at least five I 

know!” 



 “I will cover you with my body, wench. Believe me 

they will see nothing but the flash of my white ass 

bobbing on the beach … and they will have no interest 

in that.” 



 Raina laughed huskily as he nuzzled his way down her 

throat and covered one breast with his mouth. The heat 

and moisture sent a river of warmth through her even 

through her shirt. 



 “I wish you would not wear this thing you have here. It 

makes it harder for me to get to my breasts.” 


----------------------- Page 280-----------------------

 “Mybreasts, you mean.” 



 “That is what I said,” he murmured, laughter threading 

his voice. 



 “Five seconds more--that’s all it takes for you to whip 

it up.” 



 “Yes, but I am not a patient man--and the pants are 

enough for me to have to deal with in getting to my 

pussy.” 



 “Yourpussy?” 



 He grunted in satisfaction as he managed to open the 

jeans and slipped his hand inside to cup her. “At least 

you did not argue with me on that.” 



 “Simon,” she protested weakly as he began dragging 

her jeans down, “I’ll have sand in the crack of my ass!” 



 He chuckled. “The things you do for your prince! You 

do not expect me to plant my royal ass in the sand, 

surely? Because itis royal, which means it is a superior 

ass. I am risking a great deal on your behalf only to 

expose it to the sun and wind.” 



 “A royal pain in the ass, is what you are!” she said 


----------------------- Page 281-----------------------

dryly. Apparently, he’d liked the fact that she’d accused 

him of behaving as if he was lord and master, she 

thought with a mixture of amusement and irritation. He 

missed no opportunity of bringing it into the 

conversation. 



 Despite the self-depreciating way he always joked 

about it, though, and the wise-cracks she usually came 

back with, she was almost certain hewas royalty even 

though she had tried to dismiss that idea as absurd at 

first. Because the fact was, she’d noticed the moment 

she set eyes on Simon that he had aura of mystery and 

power about him unlike anything inside her experience. 

He had ‘great man/leader’ written all over him. She was 

just surprised it had taken her so long to figure that out. 



 “We have not tried that,” he said musingly, tugging at 

her jeans until he had them past her knees and then 

running a hand over one cheek of her ass. 



 “And we’re notgoing to try that either!” Raina retorted. 

“You’re hung like a horse. No way am I letting that 

thing near my ass!” 



 “It was no more than a passing thought,” he said, 

sounding vaguely disappointed. 



 “Right.” 


----------------------- Page 282-----------------------

 He wedged his hips between her thighs once she’d 

dragged her feet from her panties and jeans, supporting 

himself on one elbow as he reached between them to 

unfasten his own pants. “I can not help that I am 

obsessed with claiming every inch of you,” he 

murmured huskily, watching her face through 

slumberous eyes as he entered her. 



 Raina gasped, closing her eyes in delight as she felt his 

flesh melding with hers, felt her body yielding to the 

force of his. The familiar excitement filled her as he 

did, as he stroked her channel with his hard length, 

giving rise to heated desire and quickly after that to 

shaking anticipation. She hadn’t expected to come with 

so little foreplay, exposed as they were, but there was 

something so wildly exciting about making love to him 

in the open that she felt herself nearing her peak within 

a few minutes. 



 She moaned low in her throat as she felt the first 

tremors of release, trying to muffle the sound against 

Simon’s chest. He shuddered, at the sound, or the 

suction of her mouth as she bit down on his flesh lightly 

as her climax broke over her. Uttering a choked sound 

he came as her body milked his of his seed and leaned 

weakly against her. 



 “Woman, you are shameless,” he murmured huskily 

when he’d caught his breath. “Do not spare my blushes. 


----------------------- Page 283-----------------------

Have your way with me where ever you like.” 



 Raina laughed. “You aresuch an ass! Blame it on me, 

why don’t you?” 



 “I had thought I just did.” 



 He bent down and kissed her before she could think of 

a retort. When he lifted his head, he glanced around 

them for the first time. “Ah … Rainie, my precious, we 

have a dilemma.” 



 “We do?” 



 “I have just thought that it will not be nearly as easy 

putting your pants back on as it was removing them.” 



 Raina gave him an irritated look and studied it over. 

“Lay on your side behind me and I’ll put them on 

sitting down,” she said finally. 



 “Good plan.” 



 He got up and casually shoved his genitals back into 

his pants, zipping them before he bent to retrieve her 

jeans, shook the sand from them, and handed them to 

her. 



 “Where are my panties?” 


----------------------- Page 284-----------------------

 He looked around. “Alas, the sea has claimed them,” 

he announced cheerfully, settling behind her. 



 She glared at him irritably but finally struggled into the 

jeans and fastened them. 



 He helped her to her feet, dropping an arm around her 

shoulders and herding her back toward the mansion. 



 “I hesitate to point this out, sweeting, but you are 

walking strangely.” 



 “Because I have sand ineverything !” she said shortly, 

plucking at her jeans in discomfort. 



 “However did you manage that?” he asked in a shaking 

voice. 



 She elbowed him in the ribs. 



 Laughing, he scooped her into his arms. “This, at least, 

will reduce the discomfort until I can bathe you.” 



 “Youcan bathe me?” she echoed. 



 “Thank you, sweeting. I always enjoy that. I will tell 

Tedra to hold dinner. It may take me a while, but I am 

dedicated. I will make certain that there is not so much 


----------------------- Page 285-----------------------

a single, tiny grain of sand to cause you any more 

discomfort, my precious.” 



                                  * * * * 



 It wasn’t until Raina had finished serving and finally 

settled in the kitchen to eat her own meal that it dawned 

on her that she’d noticed a tension among the men in 

the dining room that she hadn’t noticed in a long time. 

After considering it for a few moments, she revised the 

thought. She had never noticed them behaving anything 

like they were tonight. 



 There’d been a tremendous amount of tension when 

she’d first arrived. She hadn’t known them then so she 

hadn’t realized that itwas tension. She’d just thought 

they were all a bunch of up tight, cold, snobs. The 

tension had shifted to a different sort of uneasy restraint 

during the time when she and Simon had been battling 

it out, but it wasn’t until they’d managed to get on a 

fairly even keel that she’d realized that that uneasiness 

was because they were expecting Simon to explode and 

concerned about fallout and which direction the 

shrapnel was going to fly. 



 When she’d made the pact with Simon, though, and it 

had relieved him of so much stress, the men had 

relaxed, as well. 


----------------------- Page 286-----------------------

 They were like weather balloons, a very good gauge of 

conditions around the hurricane--which was Simon. 



 And now they were sending out signals that were a 

warning of storm weather. She just wasn’t exactly 

certain of what sort of storm was coming their way. 



                                   * * * * 



 Raina wasn’t certain what had woken her at first. 

Disoriented, she lay staring at the ceiling for several 

moments before she heard the sound she knew had 

awakened her. 



 Simon was moaning in his sleep. 



 Shifting onto her side, she studied him in the dim light 

filtering through the bedroom window and realized he 

was having one of his nightmares. He’d already begun 

to thrash, straining to move, his face contorting with the 

emotions attached to his nightmare. 



 Empathy squeezed tightly around her heart. He hadn’t 

had a nightmare in a month, at least. She hated to wake 

him. He had to be exhausted--probably not as exhausted 

as she was, she wryly amended, but he’d fucked her six 

ways from Sunday before he’d finally given in to 

exhaustion--something he hadn’t done in weeks. 


----------------------- Page 287-----------------------

 Ordinarily, he was satisfied with once a night--He 

wanted sexevery night, but he settled for once--and 

once in the morning if she spent the night with him, 

which she did fairly often--and once in the afternoon 

unless he was occupied with something else, which he 

usually was. 



 The marathon fucking was something they only did on 

fairly rare occasions. Sometimes he’d let a couple of 

weeks go by, sometimes no more than a week, and then 

he’d drag her in to his room before it was even good 

dark and make love to her with an almost frantic sort of 

desperation until they were both so exhausted they fell 

asleep. 



 Tonight he’d been more insatiable than usual, and that 

was one of the reasons she was reluctant to wake him. 

She knew if she did she was in for it. 



 The nightmare was escalating, though, not dissipating 

as she’d hoped. He’d begun to mutter unintelligibly--it 

was his language. She didn’t know what he was saying, 

but she’d heard them speak to each other in their native 

tongue enough times to recognize it. 



 She’d already shifted closer to him to try to soothe him 

when he said something perfectly audible. 



 “Rainie … Rainie!” 


----------------------- Page 288-----------------------

 Her throat closed. There was so much distress in his 

voice she forgot about her reluctance to wake him. She 

settled her hand lightly on his chest, stroking him 

soothingly. “It’s alright, baby.” 



 He sucked in a choked breath and went completely 

rigid for several moments and then slowly began to 

relax. His arm came around her shoulders and pulled 

her closer. When she settled her cheek against his 

chest, listening to his frantic heartbeat, feeling faint 

tremors still running through his body, he stroked her 

back. “What is it, sweeting?” he asked, his voice 

sounding raw--not rough with sleep, hoarse with 

remembered fear or pain or both. 



 She shook her head. “I just wanted to snuggle. Sorry I 

woke you.” 



 She heard him swallow. He sucked in several deep, 

pained breaths and seemed to relax. 



 She’d just decided he was drifting back to sleep when 

he rolled to face her, dragging her tightly against his 

length and squeezing her so hard her breath left her in a 

little grunt. He didn’t seem to notice. He continued to 

hold her so tightly she’d begun to feel miserably 

uncomfortable long before he finally drifted off again 

and his tight hold relaxed. 


----------------------- Page 289-----------------------

 She woke to the feel of a hot mouth tugging at her 

nipple and sending delicious currents through her. A 

faint smile curled her lips. “I’d know that mouth 

anywhere,” she murmured huskily without opening her 

eyes. 



 “Do you?” he murmured lazily. 



 “Mmmhmm. It’s attached to the most beautiful man in 

the world.” 



 He nipped at her nipple with the edge of his teeth just 

hard enough to send a tidal wave of sensation through 

her. “I never like to argue with my lady,” he said 

teasingly, “but it is, in point of fact, attached to the most 

beautiful woman in this world.” 



 “Uh oh! He’s gone blind! Granny always said if you did 

it too much you’d go blind!” 



 He lifted his head from her breast. She opened her eyes 

to look at him as he stroked his hand caressingly along 

her cheek. “There is nothing wrong with my eyes,” he 

said solemnly. 



 Raina reddened, partly with pleasure and partly with 

discomfort, searching for something to say. 


----------------------- Page 290-----------------------

 He smiled after a moment. “I can not believe I have 

rendered you speechless, wench. No!” he added quickly 

when her lips parted, dipping his head to claim her 

mouth. “I can not allow you to snatch my victory from 

my grasp.” 



 He seemed in no great rush, building the heat between 

them languidly. She stared down at him through half 

closed eyes, stroking his long silky hair as he wove a 

meandering path of kisses along her belly. “I suppose 

you’d freak if I got pregnant?” 



 He tensed momentarily. “Happily that is not possible,” 

he said easily after a moment. 



 She couldn’t see his face for the wall of black hair 

hanging across his lean cheek, but it didn’t escape her 

that he hadn’t sounded too receptive of the idea. She 

drew a pained breath. “I don’t suppose that would fit 

into our little pact anyway,” she said as lightly as she 

could. 



 He lifted his head to study her for a long moment. 



 She smiled at him lazily. “I think you missed a spot.” 



 His dark brows rose. Amusement gleamed in his eyes. 

“Where?” 


----------------------- Page 291-----------------------

 She chuckled. “I’m going to let you find it.” 



 “Unfair. Now I am convinced it was the tastiest spot 

and I must start all over again to make certain I have 

not missed it.” 



 Raina stretched languidly. “Sorry,” she murmured, “but 

I wouldn’tthink of telling you how to do your job.” 



 His eyes narrowed. “Here?” he asked, digging the tip 

of a finger into one of her ribs. 



 She gasped and chortled with laughter, slapping at his 

hand. He grinned at her and found another ticklish spot, 

making it abundantly clear he’d mapped each and every 

one. He chuckled when she shrieked with laughter. 

“Simon stop!” she gasped when she could catch her 

breath. 



 “Woman, I am trying to find the spot I missed! What 

about this one?” 



 She was breathless with laughter, her stomach aching, 

and tears streaming down her cheeks by the time he 

settled face to face with her, scooping his arms beneath 

her shoulders. She wiped her eyes, trying to give him a 

censorious look as he grinned down at her. 



 “I have not found it. I will have to look again.” 


----------------------- Page 292-----------------------

 Her smile slowly died as she stared up at his laughing 

face. Her heart seemed to turn over in her chest. As 

handsome as she had thought he was from the first, he 

was even more handsome when he smiled and laughed. 

It filled her with a deeply satisfying warmth to know 

she’d brought laughter into his eyes. She lifted a hand 

to trace a laugh line in his cheek. 



 He regarded her questioningly, his own smile dying. 

“What is it, sweeting?” 



 She swallowed with an effort and averted her gaze, 

stroking her hands down his shoulders. 



 “I did not hurt you?” 



 She shook her head. “I was just thinking.” 



 “This is a bad sign,” he said, striving for a light note. 

“Dare I ask?” 



 She stroked her hands from his back to his sides. “That 

I owe you,” she said, digging her fingers into the spot 

she knew was ticklish on him. 



 He let out a choked grunt and burst out laughing, 

scrambling away from her. She followed him, straddling 

his waist and working her way up his ribs to his armpits. 


----------------------- Page 293-----------------------

 “Stop that, demon spawn!” he growled, his voice 

shaking with the effort to suppress his laughter. 

Grabbing her wrists, he shoved her arms behind her 

back and dragged her down until she was plastered 

against him. 



 “Now that I have you at my mercy,” she murmured 

against his chest, “I believe I’ll have my way with you.” 



                           Chapter Fourteen 



 He chuckled but then sucked in a sharp breath as she 

bit down lightly on a patch of flesh and then sucked at 

it, teasing it with her tongue before she released it. 



 Releasing his hold on her wrists, he skated his palms 

lightly up her arms. She caught his wrists, pushing his 

arms down until they were flat on the bed on either side 

of his head. 



 He gave her an arch look but he made no attempt to 

break her hold. She skimmed her hands lightly along 

his hard forearms and then the hard, bulging muscles of 


----------------------- Page 294-----------------------

his upper arms, and all the while she nibbled little bites 

along his upper chest. She slipped her hands back down 

his arms and matched her palms to his as she wove her 

way to one turgid male nipple and sucked at it. His 

fingers laced with hers, curling over the back of her 

hands. When she’d teased that nipple until his breath 

was hitching in his chest, she moved to the other, 

undulating her body and pressing her mound against his 

taut belly. 



 He was watching her from beneath half closed lids 

when she lifted her head, his eyes gleaming with desire. 

Disentangling her fingers from his, she stroked his arms 

while she explored his throat and neck, teased his ear 

until he was breathing raggedly and then moved to his 

hard mouth, plucking his lower lip into hers and 

sucking it and then nipping at his upper lip before she 

slowly traced both with her tongue. 



 He swallowed thickly when she opened her mouth to 

thrust her tongue into his mouth. A shudder when 

through him as he sucked on it. He followed her mouth 

as she retreated, lifting his arms to wrap one around her 

waist. He cupped the back of her head with the other, 

trapping her, kissing her deeply. 



 She kissed him back, stroking her tongue along his and 

then sucking at it while she explored his cheeks with 

her palms, his shoulders. 


----------------------- Page 295-----------------------

 When he broke the kiss at last, she brushed her cheek 

along his, relishing the feel of his skin, the rough brush 

of morning whiskers. He had a faint cleft in his chin, 

which she explored with her tongue before she scooted 

back along his belly and worked her way down his 

broad chest with her hands and mouth until she felt the 

head of his cock delving into her cleft. 



 She pushed herself upright then, came up on her knees 

and grasped his cock. She watched his face as she 

stroked it back and forth along her cleft until she’d 

coated him with her body’s moisture and then aligned 

his body with hers. He caught her hips to balance her as 

she began to lower herself, slowly engulfing his flesh 

within hers. 



 He closed his eyes, tipping his back as she settled fully 

against him, sheathed him fully. “Rainie,” he breathed 

raggedly. “Gods! You feel so good, sweeting!” 



 He sat up abruptly as she began to move. Coiling his 

arms tightly around her, he nudged her chin up to cover 

her mouth with his, kissing her ravenously for several 

moments before he broke the kiss and urged her to 

move faster. Lifting and pressing her hips to guide her 

to the rhythm he needed, he watched their bodies 

merging, his chest expanding to brush hers with the 

depth of each harsh breath he drew. 


----------------------- Page 296-----------------------

 Raina moaned as she felt her body quicken, shuddering 

as the first wave of release went through her and 

tensing at all over. Holding her tightly to him, he tipped 

her quickly onto her back and began to drive into her 

with rapid, pounding thrusts as she gasped and sobbed 

for breath with the hard quakes rushing through her. 



 He uttered a choked cry as his own body seized and the 

spasms of ecstasy overtook him, murmuring her name 

raggedly as he spilled his seed inside of her. 



                                   * * * * 



 Simon’s face was grim as he stared at the hologram of 

the battlefield he had chosen. Inwardly, he raged as he 

listened to Audric recite the latest intel the couriers had 

gathered from their supporters. 



 “It is as if he knows every move before we make it,” 

Audric growled with repressed fury. 



 Simon flicked a glance at the faces of his men around 

the table in the basement where they had gathered. 

“You have scanned the area for any devises?” he asked 

when his gaze settled on Jorell. 



 “Thoroughly,” Jorell said grimly. “I have gone over 

every inch of the island myself. Unless they have 


----------------------- Page 297-----------------------

something with a far longer range than I have 

knowledge of, the leak is not here.” 



 Simon nodded, his expression a careful façade of calm. 

“He will have spies within the ranks of our supporters. 

He would not overlook anything so obvious.” He went 

back to studying the hologram, moving slowly around 

the large table to study it from every angle. When he 

had chosen the battlefield where he would meet his 

enemy, he had expected to have the Fortress at his 

back, to retreat his men, if necessary, up the single 

narrow access. He had not expected that he would have 

to fight his way up the mountain to reach his enemy. 



 But that could not be helped now, he thought furiously, 

for Jaelen had seized that position for himself. 



 He would find another way. Everything had been set in 

motion. There was no going back, not unless he meant 

to let Jaelen live out a long and happy life and die in his 

bed. And he had no intention of allowing that if he had 

to take the Fortress apart stone by stone. “We will 

assume, then, that he knows most, if not all, that we had 

planned for him and act accordingly. 



 “The fortress itself will be the hardest nut to crack. If 

he has knowledge, then he has had plenty of time to 

reinforce the weaknesses.” 


----------------------- Page 298-----------------------

 Audric studied the fortress. Perched at the pinnacle of 

Mount Lania, it was bound on every side by nearly 

sheer cliffs, which was why it had never fallen in the 

five hundred years it had stood guard over Schalome’s 

southern boundary. There was only one way in or out 

and it was a narrow, winding road that would allow no 

more than five mounted men abreast to pass. “I have 

never more deeply regretted that we no longer have the 

knowledge to morph,” he muttered. “Our grandfathers 

did not foresee such as this or they would not have 

taken the knowledge with them when they went to their 

final rest.” 



 “We have the strength of our fathers,” Simon said 

grimly. “And those we do battle with will have no 

more. We do not need wings to take Draken Fortress. 

We will have the skimmers. We do not need dragon 

fire. We will have incendiary bombs. Our grandfathers 

knew the time had come to walk the land and claim it 

as land dwellers. We would have been extinct as a 

species before many more generations if we had not 

treated with the Macedons for their technology. It was a 

fair exchange, technology far advanced of any other race 

we have met, including the Earth people, to give up the 

skies and the territorial wars and become a united 

people, to be builders instead of destroyers. 



 “Despite the wars fought since, we have progressed far 

more in the past hundred years than in a thousand 


----------------------- Page 299-----------------------

before.” 



 Audric shrugged. “I did not say that the old ways were 

better--though I still recall with awe the magnificence 

of our grandfather on the day of the Signing. He was a 

glorious sight to behold, far more regal than the 

Macedons who had defeated him. 



 “Draken Fortress was built in the days of the great 

dragons. With all the technology we have developed 

ourselves, and all that given to us by the Macedons, one 

dragon could do what it will take an army to accomplish 

and still leave the Fortress for our sons and daughters. 

We will have to destroy it.” 



 Simon lifted his head to meet Audric’s gaze for a long 

moment. “I know the secret of Draken Fortress. Jaelen 

does not.” 



 Audric nodded fractionally. 



 “It is time to bring the ship in and prep it for our long 

journey home,” Simon said, turning from Audric to the 

others. “Tomorrow, Jorell and Rama will leave to 

retrieve it. Elden and Haig will have watch--leaving us 

thin. Do not tarry in the retrieval.” 



 Dismissing them with a nod, he turned and strode to 

the vid screen on the far wall, staring at the star charts 


----------------------- Page 300-----------------------

displayed there. Audric joined him after a few 

moments. Simon said nothing for so long that Audric 

had begun to think that he had misread the signal Simon 

had given him to speak alone. 



 “It will be good to be home again,” Simon said 

presently, his voice harsh. 



 Surprise flickered through Audric, but he followed 

Simon’s lead. “Aye. And in the thick of battle! This 

place is pleasant enough, but not as beautiful as 

Schalome.” 



 Simon drew a ragged breath. “We are getting too old 

for this,” he said, smiling faintly. 



 “Speak for yourself! I am in my prime.” 



 Simon said nothing, but every breath seemed to pain 

him. “It will take no more than five days to prep the 

ship for the long journey home.” 



 “More or less.” 



 “Five, Audric.” 



 “Aye. We can manage in five.” 



 Simon swallowed audibly. “Go to her, Audric,” he said 


----------------------- Page 301-----------------------

on a ragged, pained breath. 



 Audric frowned. “Now? She is surely abed by now and 

asleep.” 



 A muscle in Simon’s jaw worked as he clenched his 

teeth. “Do not be dense, Audric, and make this harder 

for me. At first light, go to her and say that I have sent 

you and the pact is broken. I can give you no more than 

five days, but I will grant you that for the love I bear 

you … because I know you care for her and I think that 

she will need you. 



 “Take care of her for me. I must be here and … and I 

am not at all sure that I could do what I know that I 

must if I saw that it hurt her. You must take her into the 

city and find a place for her to stay awhile.” He reached 

into his pocket and dragged out a folded paper and an 

envelope. “You will give her these. One is the deed to 

this estate. The other has the number of the account I 

have set up for her.” 



 Audric nodded, too stunned speak, taking the papers 

and pushing them into his pocket. 



 Simon swallowed with difficulty, dragged in a ragged 

breath. “I will speak to the others, make certain they 

know that I will not tolerate any attempt to harm her, 

but I will still feel better knowing that you are with 


----------------------- Page 302-----------------------

her--protect her for me in case one of these fools decide 

they know better than I what is best for all of us.” 



 Audric stared at his profile in horror. “She is no threat 

to us or our plans! She knows nothing. She would not 

say anything if she did. I know her.” 



 “Aye. You know, and I know, but we are going to war. 

They will be thinking like warriors and they will not 

like to leave loose ends, especially when we all know 

that there is a spy among us. I would far rather be safe 

than live with regret the remainder of my days because 

I had failed her.” 



                                   * * * * 



 Raina simply stared at Audric blankly when she had 

answered his summons on her door, trying to figure out 

why he was standing on her doorstep so early in the 

morning. “Good morning, Audric,” she said summoning 

a sleepy smile as she squinted at him through sleep 

blurred eyes. “Did I oversleep?” 



 “It is half past six.” 



 “In the morning?” Raina demanded, turning to look at 

the window and trying to figure out if the dimness was 

actually late evening. She couldn’t seem to get her 

sleep starved brain to function, however. 


----------------------- Page 303-----------------------

 “Yes, morning,” Audric confirmed. 



 “Oh! Well, I don’t have to get up yet,” she responded, 

staggering back toward the bed and sprawling face 

down on the mattress. 



 Audric followed her, staring down at her limp form and 

finally leaned over and popped her ass with the palm of 

his hand. She bolted up, blinking at him in shock. He 

crouched beside the bed. “I am to take you into town, 

Raina. You can not go back to sleep. You must get up 

and pack your things and we must go.” 



 That finally penetrated her stupor and Raina glanced 

toward the window that looked towards the main house, 

the window of Simon’s sitting room. 



 When she looked at Audric again, she saw that his face 

was taut. “It is time go, Raina,” he said, his voice gruff. 



 Swallowing with an effort, Riana nodded and climbed 

out of bed. She stared numbly at her reflection in the 

bathroom mirror when she’d washed her face and 

brushed her teeth. She knew she’d been dismissed. She 

knew she was being sent away, she just couldn’t fully 

grasp it. 



 She realized after a moment, though, that the 


----------------------- Page 304-----------------------

numbness was a blessing. 



 She might actually have some hope of leaving with 

some of her pride intact. 



 She’d never actually unpacked. She’d known from the 

beginning that she wouldn’t stay long and in any case, it 

had become a habit over the years to live out of her 

suitcases. She never knew when she might have to 

leave a place quickly and she’d worked hard for the 

little she had. When she’d dressed, she had only to drop 

her laundry and cosmetics into the suitcase and close it 

again. 



 Audric carried the suitcases downstairs for her and 

loaded them into the back of the car he’d chosen to 

drive her. She sat stiffly in the front seat beside him as 

he backed the car out of the garage, staring at her hands 

in her lap, fighting the urge to look to see if she could 

get one last glimpse of Simon. 



 She maintained her stiff posture until they were out of 

sight of the house and finally leaned her head on the 

seatback, closing her eyes. 



 “I am to find a place for you in town to stay.” 



 Riana lifted her head to look at him blankly. “I can find 

my own place, thank you,” she said finally, closing her 


----------------------- Page 305-----------------------

eyes again. “I’ve saved my pay.” 



 “We will look together,” he said firmly. 



 She didn’t try to argue with him. She didn’t especially 

want company, but it was a habit with Audric to rescue 

her from distress, and, truthfully, she didn’t think she 

was up to a search for shelter. If left to her own devices, 

she would simply sit down somewhere and stare at 

nothing, because she felt too empty to think. 



 Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the boat dock and 

Audric pulled the car under the shelter nearby, removed 

her suitcases from the car, and carried them down the 

dock to the boat. Raina followed him like a zombie, 

realizing after all that she was relieved she didn’t have 

to try to think. 



 The crossing was brief even though the channel 

between the island and the mainland was fairly wide. 

On the other side, they took the car that was always left 

in a shed there for trips into town. 



 Raina dozed, wakened sometime later by the sounds of 

traffic. Even with the windows up and the air 

conditioning going, despite the early hour, the racket 

seemed ungodly loud. 



 She’d grown too accustomed to the quiet of the island. 


----------------------- Page 306-----------------------

It seemed bizarre that she would have. She’d been on 

the island for months, true, but she’d lived in the city 

her entire life before that. 



 “Are you hungry?” 



 Raina glanced at him, thought it over and finally shook 

her head. 



 He frowned. “I am hungry.” 



 Raina managed a faint smile. “Then we should stop 

and eat.” 



 Audric stopped outside the diner he’d chosen and took 

a newspaper from the vending machine. “Good 

thought,” Raina said. “I’ll need to start job hunting right 

away.” 



 He ordered breakfast for both of them. Raina gave him 

a look, but she didn’t feel up to arguing. Instead, she 

helped herself to part of the paper, flipped to the help 

wanted section and began studying the possibilities. 

She felt vaguely nauseated when the waitress brought 

their plates, but she sipped at the coffee and had a few 

bites of bacon and toast. She couldn’t look at the eggs 

without feeling ill. 



 Audric sent her a disapproving look but forbore 


----------------------- Page 307-----------------------

comment. 



 By the time they’d left the restaurant, Raina had circled 

a half dozen hopeful possibilities. She had very little 

interest in where she stayed beyond the price, but she 

quickly discovered that Audric’s idea of where she 

should stay and hers didn’t coincide at all. 



 “I can’t afford a place like this!” she hissed angrily 

when he’d pulled up in the parking lot of an expensive 

apartment complex. “Don’t stop. Just start the car again 

and give me the paper.” 



 Audric shifted in the seat to study her. “Simon is 

paying,” he said finally. 



 Raina’s head jerked up. She stared at him blankly 

while her face changed color three times. “No, he isn’ 

t,” she said after battling her emotions for several 

moments. “I can take care of myself.” 



 Audric sighed impatiently. “I am ordered to take care 

of you.” 



 Raina’s jaw tightened. “And here I thought you’d come 

because you were my friend. Stupid of me.” 



 “I am your friend, Raina.” 


----------------------- Page 308-----------------------

 She gave him a look. 



 “I am trying to be your friend.” 



 “I don’t work for Simon anymore. You might have to 

follow his orders, but I don’t. And I am not, nor was I 

ever, his mistress. I don’t give a shit how he usually 

disposes of his mistresses. He can take his money and 

shove it up his ass.” 



 Audric’s face tightened. “He has never had a mistress. 

He sent me to take care of you because he wanted to be 

sure you were alright. I came because I wanted to be 

sure, otherwise I would have told him to go to hell.” 



 Raina’s throat closed as she stared at him. The tears 

she’d been fearing would overcome her stung her eyes. 

She blinked them back with an effort, knowing if she 

started she wouldn’t be able to stop. 



 “I will arrange this for now,” he said gently. “When 

you are feeling better, if you do not want to stay, then 

go and find another place.” 



 Riana nodded. All she really wanted was a bed to lay 

down on, a room with dark shades she could lock 

herself into … and maybe she’d never come out. 



 She dozed off again while she was waiting for Audric, 


----------------------- Page 309-----------------------

awakening when he opened the door on the driver’s 

side and got in. Starting the car, he drove around the 

building, staring up at it until he found what he was 

looking for and then parked the car and took her bags 

out. Telling her the apartment number, he allowed her 

to precede him. 



 Raina stood uncertainly in the middle of the living 

room when Audric had opened the door for her. He 

passed her, heading down the hallway toward the 

bedroom. 



 The apartment was fully furnished. 



 She couldn’t have afforded it without furnishings. 



 Audric returned from the bedroom after a few 

moments. Closing and locking the door, he took her 

hand and led her to the bedroom. Her shoulders 

slumped with weariness and the weight of her tamped 

emotions when she saw the king sized bed. Releasing 

Audric’s hand, she crawled on the bed and lay down, 

staring at the wall. “Are you leaving now?” she asked 

when he didn’t move. 



 “If you wish.” 



 She flicked a look at him. “Would you stay if asked 

you to?” 


----------------------- Page 310-----------------------

 He swallowed audibly. “If you wish.” 



 Raina’s chin wobbled. She nodded, unable to speak for 

the hard knot in her throat. He moved to the bed and 

settled behind her, curling an arm around her waist. She 

dragged in a difficult breath, trying to hold the tears at 

bay. 



 “Cry if you need to, Raina. I will not mind holding 

you.” 



 Turning in his arms, she pressed her face to his chest 

gratefully and accepted the invitation, crying until she’d 

exhausted herself and fell asleep. 



 He was gone when she woke. Distressed to find herself 

alone, she felt like crying all over again, but she’d cried 

already until her head felt as if it would explode. 

Instead of yielding to the impulse again, she got up and 

went to the bathroom, standing under the hot water 

until she felt like she might live. 



 There were no towels, of course, and she hadn’t 

thought to get one from her suitcase. Dripping water, 

shivering with the cold of the apartment after the heated 

water, she went back into the bedroom for a towel. As 

she stood quickly drying herself, she heard the front 

door open and the rattle of plastic bags. Her heart 


----------------------- Page 311-----------------------

executed a hopeful jounce in her chest. Wrapping the 

towel around her, she moved to the door and peered 

down the hallway. 



 Audric dropped an armload of bags on the floor and 

turned to leave again. As he did, he glanced toward the 

bedroom and did a double take as he saw her standing 

in the doorway. His gaze slid over her bare shoulders 

and down the towel that covered her from her breasts to 

the tops of her thighs, lingered for so long at that point 

that she’d begun to think she must be hanging out the 

bottom, and lifted one leg across the other. The 

movement seemed to break the spell. His gaze snapped 

up to meet hers again. 



 “I thought you’d left,” she said. 



 He looked away after a moment. “You needed much. I 

have brought all that I could think of that you would 

need that is not here already and I have food if you are 

hungry.” 



 Raina smiled tentatively, the first real smile she’d felt 

since he’d awakened her that morning. “Trying to fatten 

me up?” 



 His gaze flicked over her again, but briefly. He finally 

smiled back at her. “You have enough meat on your 

bones to please any man with eyes in his head.” 


----------------------- Page 312-----------------------

 Raina blushed. “I wasn’t fishing for a compliment,” 

she said uncomfortably. “I’ll get dressed.” 



 He’d brought fast-food, she saw when she went into 

the dining area--burgers and fries and cola. “Yum! All 

my favorites!” 



 He looked at her a little doubtfully and Raina’s 

burgeoning spirits plummeted. Simon had always 

thought of a clever comeback whatever she said. She 

missed that, missed him, so much she couldn’t breathe 

for several moments, felt as if a tight band had 

squeezed around her chest and would crush her. She 

wanted to run from the pain, thought wildly for several 

moments about running and never stopping until she 

couldn’t feel anything anymore. But she knew there 

was no running from pain, no escaping it. All she could 

do was endure and try to forget and know that after a 

while it wouldn’t hurt as much. 



 She’d lost before. She knew the drill. At first the pain 

was so intense it felt as if it would consume you and for 

a little while you hoped it would, hoped to just die and 

escape it. But you didn’t and then it would dull into a 

heavy ache that would allow you to function and stay 

alive even though it dogged your days and nights and 

you lost track of time and place, days, weeks, 

months--and after a while even that would dull a little 


----------------------- Page 313-----------------------

more and one day you would wake up and discover 

there was life after loss. 



 Sometime in the future she’d remember how to laugh, 

feel something besides pain. 



 She was no hungrier for lunch than she had been for 

breakfast, but she sat down with Audric and tried to eat 

enough to make him feel as if his efforts were 

appreciated. 



 “I guess you’ll need to be getting back soon?” she 

asked tentatively when they finally finished their meal, 

dreading the loss of her last link to Simon as much as 

she dreaded being alone, wishing she could just cling to 

Audric for comfort until some of the hurt went away. 



 Audric hadn’t seemed a lot hungrier than she was. At 

the question, he pushed his half eaten sandwich away. 



                             Chapter Fifteen 



 Audric stared at Raina, feeling a cold sweat pop from 

his pores as the moment he realized he had been 


----------------------- Page 314-----------------------

dreading was upon him. He had faced men armed to the 

teeth with blood in their eyes and murder in their hearts 

with less fear than he felt at that moment. 



 He was suddenly sorry he had eaten anything at all, for 

it sat like a lead ball the size of his head at the bottom 

of his belly and, as his belly tightened around it with 

nerves, he felt vaguely ill. 



 He had never refused an order from Simon in his life, 

could not consider doing so in this instance at all even 

if he had wanted to, and he hadn’t. Fool that he was, as 

hard as he knew it would be, he could no more resist 

the lure of spending these last days with Raina than he 

could have cut out his own heart. In any case, he had 

been too stunned when he realized what Simon was 

giving him to feel much beyond shock and then a 

tentative thrill of happiness--which had vanished the 

moment he came face to face with the task Simon had 

given him. 



 Simon was in his own hell and he knew that better than 

anyone else, knew that Simon was focused on the task 

at hand with the determined single-mindedness of a 

man drowning and clinging to the only piece of flotsam 

he could find. Simon had not reasoned it out, hadn’t 

been able to, or he would’ve known that all he was 

doing was givinghim a taste of hell, as well. 


----------------------- Page 315-----------------------

 Mayhap, he thought, Simon was so steeped in his own 

pain he had no idea how Riana felt--would feel, buthe 

did. She loved Simon, not him. It did not matter that he 

loved her, he knew, as much as Simon could possibly 

love her. Her heart was given. Even if he was willing, 

even eager, to take the scraps from Simon’s table, she 

could not want him, couldn’t possibly have anything to 

give him. 



 Anger flickered inside of him as he thought of what 

Simon had done to him--given him the hardest task.He 

had to see her pain because Simon could not bear to see 

it. He had to hold her while she cried for Simon. As 

much as he wanted to hold her, as grateful as he was for 

any excuse to hold her close to him, it tortured him that 

she was hurt. 



 He dwelt on the anger for many moments until it 

dawned on him that heshould be the one to bear what 

must be borne. He deserved to suffer as much as they 

were. He had thrown the two of them together. He hadn 

’t expected what had happened, but he had certainly 

expected something to happen, hoped that it would--not 

this, never this, but still he had played with their lives. 

It had not seemed callous or wrong at the time. He was 

doing what was best for Simon, he thought, and 

ultimately for the people of Schalome. He had not 

considered that Raina might be hurt. He had not 

considered that Simon would be hurt. 


----------------------- Page 316-----------------------

 He had not considered thathe would be hurt. 



 Getting to his feet abruptly when he saw that Raina 

was waiting for him to say something, he paced the 

floor, trying to compose a speech that would encompass 

all that must be said in the gentlest way possible. He 

had worn a path across the floor before he finally had to 

accept defeat. There was no way to say what he had to 

that would be gentle, that wouldn’t hurt her more. 



 No way at all. 



 He discovered that Raina had moved to the couch. She 

was watching him with wide, wary eyes. 



 He strode to the couch purposefully, settling beside 

her. After staring at her speechlessly for several 

moments, he got up to pace again. 



 “You’re making me dizzy, Audric,” Raina said finally. 



 He stopped again and stared at her. He’d raked his 

hands through his hair until it was a wild tangle. The 

look in his eyes was one of pure misery. 



 Audric settled beside again, stiff, tense. He couldn’t 

tell her, he realized. He couldn’t. He was as big a 

coward as Simon when it came to Raina. When she 


----------------------- Page 317-----------------------

sighed unhappily and dropped her head to his shoulder 

he had to fight the urge to spring up and run out the 

door. 



 He couldn’t protect her from the outside of the 

apartment, though. He couldn’t watch both sides at 

once, couldn’t be sure that someone was not slipping 

into the rear while he was watching the front, or vice 

versa. 



 “I will stay a while,” he finally said gruffly, clearing his 

throat when he felt his voice crack. 



 She relaxed more fully against him and after a while, 

he shifted to get more comfortable and lifted his arm 

around her shoulders. 



 “I should be doing something,” she said after a while, 

vaguely, as if she wasn’t sure what she should be doing. 



 “There is nothing that needs to be done that can not 

wait a while--until you feel better.” 



 “I’m not sure it can wait that long.” 



 He thought it was an attempt at humor, but he could 

hear the quaver in her voice of tears. He tried to think 

of something to say that might stave them off. He was 

still a nervous wreck from the last bout, but he was no 


----------------------- Page 318-----------------------

good at diverting her mind and it seemed to help her to 

pour out her sorrow in tears. He couldn’t begrudge her 

that, even if it did make him feel like squalling like a 

babe himself. Uttering a long suffering sigh, he shifted 

to pull her across his lap and tucked her more 

comfortably against his chest, trying to ignore the feel 

of her buttocks against his groin and the soft press of 

her breasts against his chest. 



 Her delicate scent wafted to him with each breath she 

took, warming him and pushing his mind in a direction 

it had no business going. Gritting his teeth, he firmly 

ignored the war inside him and stroked her silky hair 

along the back of her head and her shoulder and back in 

a manner he hoped was soothing. 



 It didn’t soothe him. It made him regret, as it always 

did, that he had brought her to Simon’s notice at all. It 

made him wish that he had listened to the voice inside 

his head that had prompted him to take her for himself 

and leave Simon to his own devises. 



 It wouldn’t have turned out differently, though. He 

couldn’t have hidden her from Simon if he’d tried. 

Sooner or later, with or without his interference, she 

would have come face to face with Simon and it had 

taken no more than that for either of them. He’d seen 

that endless look they had exchanged that first day, seen 

the way she looked at Simon. He hadn’tneeded to see 


----------------------- Page 319-----------------------

the look on Simon’s face to know the attraction was 

mutual and had rocked Simon’s world. 



 He shrugged that thought off. There was no point in 

dwelling on it, no point in regret. It had happened. It 

had to be dealt with. They all had to deal with it now. 



 Bit by bit she had relaxed against him until he’d 

thought she had drifted to sleep again when she spoke. 



 “How long can you stay?” 



 He tensed, instantly at war within himself, trying to 

think what he could say that would be the truth and not 

something he couldnot tell her, but it was no more fair 

to her to allow her to think that he could stay as long as 

he wanted, or as long as she needed him. “I have … 

business that I must attend. I am going home in a few 

days, but I can stay until then … if you wish.” 



 Raina sucked in a harsh breath and held it as fresh pain 

spiraled through her and made it impossible to push the 

air from her lungs again and drag in another breath. He 

was going home--and he always went where ever 

Simon went. 



 Simon was going home. 



 That was why he’d sent her away, because, as she’d 


----------------------- Page 320-----------------------

always known, there was no place for her in his life. 



 She couldn’t do anything for several moments except 

wrestle with the magnitude of the pain in her chest. As 

much as it had hurt to think that Simon had ordered 

Audric to take her off and dump her like an unwanted 

pet, it hurt far, far worse to realize that he had done it 

because he was leaving. It was stupid, she knew, to 

derive comfort from Simon’s nearness when she knew 

she’d never get to see him again no matter that he was 

just across the channel. But shehad drawn comfort from 

it. 



 Even that solace was to be denied her, though. 



 He was leaving--going back to his world. 



 Because she knew ‘home’ wasn’t on this one. 



 It had taken her a little while to piece it all together, 

mostly because it had seemed just too fantastic to be 

true, but there was no getting around the facts. No 

human being had eyes like theirs. That trait wasn’t from 

any country, or any race on Earth, as hard as she’d tried 

to convince herself that was all it was, a unique racial 

trait, or maybe even just a unique family trait. 



 Beyond that, their native tongue wasn’t spoken 

anywhere on Earth. She was dirt poor and she always 


----------------------- Page 321-----------------------

had been. She’d lived and worked among the struggling 

poor her entire life, and immigrants fell into that 

category for the most part. She’d met and worked with 

people from countries all over the world. She knewthey 

weren’t speaking an Earth language, had known it from 

the first moment she’d heard it, she thought, although 

she’d struggled for a long time to try to fit it into 

something familiar. 



 Even their speech patterns when they spoke English 

were different, very formal--sounded stilted because 

they didn’t use slang, or understand a lot of it, and they 

didn’t contract their words and run them together like 

everyone else on Earth did. They very carefully 

enunciated each word. 



 To say nothing of the terms they used so often. 



 As far as she knew, there wasn’t a culture left on Earth 

that still believed in or worshipped more than one 

god--which they obviously did. 



 As painful as it was to think Simon had just gotten 

tired of her, it was far more painful to realize he wasn’t 

going to be on the same world with her anymore. She 

knew, even if he had meant to stay, that she’d never see 

him again, but it had comforted her to think of him 

being close by. Now, she didn’t even have that. 


----------------------- Page 322-----------------------

 And Audric was leaving, too. 



 Lifting her head, she stared at him miserably, realizing 

how much she’d depended upon Audric to comfort her, 

to befriend her in times of need--realizing she needed 

him more desperately now than she ever had--and he 

was leaving. 



 “Do not look at me like that,” he said hoarsely. “The 

gods are my witness, I never meant for you to be hurt, 

Raina.” 



 She averted her gaze. Dropping her cheek to his hard 

shoulder, she fought a round with her tears and finally 

dragged in a long, shuddering breath, trying to sort 

through her chaotic emotions. 



 Simon had sent Audric to take care of her. It hadn’t 

occurred to her before that there was significance in that 

fact, that there had to be one. Simon knew that Audric 

wanted her. They’d come to blows over it more than 

once, and almost come to blows about it more than that. 

After they’d made the pact between them, he’d allowed 

Audric around her, but she knew he hadn’t liked it, 

hadn’t completely trusted her or Audric. 



 Why, then, had he sent Audric? She thought Audric 

would’ve come anyway, or at least have wanted to, but 

he’d said that Simon had sent him to take care of her. 


----------------------- Page 323-----------------------

 Was it just because he trusted Audric more than any of 

the others? 



 Maybe, but she didn’t think so. 



 And she had seen ‘that’ look in Audric’s eyes, the 

hunger he’d worked so hard to hide before. 



 As tumultuous as her thoughts and emotions were, it 

was hard to ignore the picture that emerged--that there’ 

d been a reason besides Simon’s trust in Audric, 

besides his sense of obligation or responsibility or 

maybe honor that had compelled him to be certain that 

she was taken care of. 



 That hurt, too, the thought that Simon had passed her 

on to Audric, because she wasn’t so sunk in misery that 

she’d failed to notice Audric had arrived with his dick 

in his hand and a hopeful look in his eyes. 



 Maybe, she thought, he was just trying to make it up to 

Audric by giving him a chance to be with her before 

they left? 



 That didn’t make it hurt any less, butshe cared about 

Audric. She’d felt guilty that she’d led him to believe 

that she would welcome him and then had turned to 

Simon. 


----------------------- Page 324-----------------------

 And Simon was gone, had released her from her 

promise and handed her off to Audric. 



 And Audric had his own needs and he was still trying 

to ignore them and comfort her. 



 Desire was the furthest thing from her mind, but she 

realized she needed comforting. She was clinging to 

Audric because she couldn’t bear to be alone, taking 

advantage of his feelings for her, and it wasn’t fair to 

him. 



 It was never right or fair when one person did all the 

taking and one all the giving. 



 Who would it hurt, after all, if they gave each other 

what they needed? Not Simon as much as it hurt her to 

accept that. He knew how Audric felt about her and he’ 

d sent him away. 



 Lifting her head from his shoulder, she looked up at 

Audric again, studying the drawn lines of his handsome 

face, the faint frown between his eyes. She was never 

going to see him again. In a few days, he would be gone 

and she would have no one to run to when she needed a 

comforting shoulder to cry on, nobody to talk to who 

never seemed to judge her. Just like Simon, he would 

disappear forever from her life, and in his way, he was 


----------------------- Page 325-----------------------

as dear to her as Simon. 



 Without actually acknowledging that she’d made her 

decision, she lifted a hand and settled it on his hard 

cheek. He turned his head to look at her, a mixture of 

hope, doubt, and uneasiness in his eyes, as if he thought 

she would only tease him and then push him away 

again. 



 Like she had before. 



 Shame filled her for her uncharitable thought of 

before--He hadn’t come with his dick in his hand. He’d 

offered comfort for nothing, just like before. He couldn’ 

t help that he was hopeful for more. 



 She hadn’t wanted to hurt him either, hadn’t meant to. 

She’d just been so wrapped up in Simon, she hadn’t 

spared him a thought--not enough thought. Guilt hardly 

counted. She deserved the guilt, but it hadn’t done 

anything for him, hadn’t helped his feelings in any way 

for her to punish herself with little prickles of shame 

and remorse that bothered her only when she could 

spare a few moments from thinking about Simon. 



 Maybe he wouldn’t even want what she had to offer, 

but she wanted to offer it. If nothing else, he deserved 

the chance to blow her off like she had him. 


----------------------- Page 326-----------------------

 She drifted closer, planting a kiss at one corner of his 

mouth, and then brushed her lips lightly across his. He 

tensed, sucked in a shuddering breath and stilled as if 

he was afraid to move, uncertain if it was an offer or 

not. 



 She might as well go for broke, she thought wryly, 

unnerved by the idea, uncertain herself of whether she 

was facing rejection. 



 Slipping from his lap, she held his gaze as she 

unfastened her jeans and peeled the jeans and panties 

from her hips. Confusion flickered in his eyes briefly 

but disappeared quickly. A glazed look formed on his 

features as she wiggled out of the jeans. His gaze 

fastened on the patch of curling red hair on her mound 

as if he’d been transfixed. 



 When she’d stepped out of her jeans and panties, she 

climbed onto his lap again, this time astride his hips. He 

seemed to recoil for a moment. Disconcerted, Raina 

hesitated. When he did nothing more than stare at her, 

she grasped the bottom edge of her shirt and peeled it 

off over her head and then her sports bra. 



 He swallowed convulsively, his gaze dropping to her 

breasts. 



 He made no attempt to touch her, but she could feel 


----------------------- Page 327-----------------------

faint tremors running through him, could hear them in 

his ragged breaths. His chest, hard and mounded with 

muscle, huge, expanded even more as his breath sawed 

in and out of his lungs in quick, hard breaths. 



 The look on his face, the evidence of his need, aroused 

her when she hadn’t thought anything could. 



 He swallowed audibly again. “You do not have to do 

this, Raina,” he said hoarsely. “I do not expect it of 

you.” 



 “I know.” 



 “I will stay and protect you, comfort you if you have 

need.” 



 “I know. You always have.” 



 “Why then?” 



 She could see he suspected it was only to get back at 

Simon, but what would be the point of that even if she 

was that kind of person? If Simon had cared, he wouldn 

’t have sent her away, and he wouldn’t have sent her 

with Audric. She couldn’t punish him even if that was 

her objective, and it wasn’t. “I’ve always run to you for 

comfort, Audric. Do you think I would have if I hadn’t 

care about you? Do you think I would’ve found comfort 


----------------------- Page 328-----------------------

in being with you if you didn’t mean something to me?” 



 “We are friends,” he said gruffly. 



 Relief flooded her when he said that. “Yes, we are,” 

she agreed, “and I don’t want you to go without 

knowing what it feels like to be with you. If memories 

are all we’ll get, we should make some happy ones, don 

’t you think?” 



 He swallowed with an effort. “I do not want you to 

hate me, Raina. I do not want you to feel regrets 

because of me.” 



 “I won’t regret doing this,” she said firmly. “I will 

regret it if I don’t.” 



 He allowed his gaze to drop from her face to her 

breasts. “If you tell me to stop, I will stop,” he 

murmured, but almost as if to himself. Lifting his hands 

slowly, almost like a sleepwalker, he cupped a breast in 

either hand, sucking in a shuddering breath as he gently 

explored the weight and fullness of them. After a 

moment, he released his hold on her breasts and slipped 

his hands along her ribs until he’d encircled her waist 

with them and then followed the curve of her hips. His 

gaze had riveted on her mound, though. He stared at it 

for long moments before he looked up at her again. 


----------------------- Page 329-----------------------

 “You are so beautiful, Raina,” he said reverently. 



 She felt her face redden at the compliment, but her 

heart quickened at the way he said it, at the look in his 

eyes. “Thank you,” she murmured, lifting her hands to 

distract him, and herself from her discomfort and 

opening the buttons of his shirt with hands that shook. 



 He skimmed his hands over her thighs while she 

tugged his shirt from the waist of his breeches and 

pushed it wide to explore his chest. Dark hair covered it 

liberally, not beast man thick, but certainly more than 

Simon. 



 She promptly pushed that thought from her head. She 

wasn’t going to compare him to Simon. 



 He had a beautiful chest, but she’d known that already. 

She’d managed to catch him dressing regularly when 

she’d been using his room. She’d never deliberately 

looked, though. She’d glimpsed, and then tried to look 

away, and although she had the impression that he was 

built very pleasingly, she hadn’t studied him as she did 

now. She hadn’t felt the pleasing texture of his skin. 

She hadn’t felt the tautness of the bulging muscles of 

his pecs, the ripple of muscles that cascaded down his 

belly. 



 He didn’t just look beautiful. He felt wonderful to 


----------------------- Page 330-----------------------

touch. He made her feel beautiful as he studied her 

almost with wonder in his eyes, desire. The tremors of 

need rippling through his big body spawned echoes in 

hers. 



 He met her gaze when she skimmed her hands beneath 

the shoulders of his shirt to push his shirt and coat off 

of him. A shoulder harness thwarted her efforts and she 

looked at the butt of the gun beneath one arm pit with 

surprise she shouldn’t have felt. He was a bodyguard. 

She knew that. She shouldn’t have been surprised that 

he was wearing a weapon. 



 She certainly shouldn’t have been surprised to see it 

didn’t look like any weapon she’d ever seen, not when 

she knew Audric, none of them, were from her world. 

When she sat back, he slipped it off, unholstered the 

weapon and lay it within easy reach before he shrugged 

out of his coat and shirt. 



 His shoulders were broad and muscular, his arms like 

the arms of a weight lifter, huge and hard and bulging 

with muscle. She skated her hands along his shoulders, 

feeling the ripple of reaction that went through him 

with a dizzying sense of pleasure. 



 She thought abruptly that she was going to enjoy this 

far more than she’d expected to. She hadn’t really 

thought beyond giving. She was still far more interested 


----------------------- Page 331-----------------------

in giving him pleasure than finding pleasurable release 

for herself. It would bring her just as much enjoyment, 

she thought, if she didn’t come. 



 He speared his fingers through her hair and dragged her 

close, tilting his head to cover her mouth with his and 

reminded her instantly of how good his mouth had felt 

on hers when he’d kissed her before. His scent, that 

unique perfume that belonged to him alone, that nearly 

intangible essence of Audric that had come to represent 

protection and comfort was magnified tenfold as his 

mouth opened over hers and she sucked it into her 

lungs with his breath. He tasted heavenly, felt heavenly 

as he thrust his tongue into her mouth and rubbed it 

along hers. 



 A hard shudder went through him and he broke away to 

stare at her, breathing hoarsely, his eyes nearly black 

with desire. He was waiting to see if she was still 

willing, if he’d distressed her or unnerved her. She 

dropped her gaze to his hard mouth, drifting closer. 



 He dropped all pretence of restraint. This time when 

his mouth closed on hers, she felt the hurricane force of 

his need. The power of it shook her to her core, 

banished any thought of merely accepting, or giving 

only for the sake of charity and caring. The demanding, 

almost violent assault commanded her passions, seized 

control from her, and she welcomed the breach of her 


----------------------- Page 332-----------------------

defenses. 



 Dimly, she realized this man was a stranger to her, not 

the gentle supplicant that Audric had always shown her. 

He was a man who took what he wanted with the same 

untamed lust that she’d felt in Simon. 



 She knew it was Audric’s mouth that held hers captive, 

though, Audric’s tongue that made her feel faint and 

breathless, giddy with excitement, drunk with pleasure. 

Her head fell back weakly as he hooked an arm around 

her shoulders and dragged her upward on her knees to 

meet his mouth in descent. Dimly, she heard him 

fumbling with the opening of his pants as he moved his 

mouth hungrily over her breasts, first one and then the 

other, suckling and tugging at her nipples with his 

mouth and tongue and the edge of his teeth. And each 

love bite sent a fresh, harder wave of mass destruction 

by fire through her blood stream. 



 She gasped in sharply as he dragged the head of his 

cock along her cleft and seated himself in the mouth of 

her sex, thrusting her downward to impale her on his 

shaft. Shaking all over, his face contorted with 

rapturous anguish, he drove into her without restraint, 

without rhythm, hard, desperate lungs. His breath 

hissed through his clenched teeth. “Gods, Raina! I can 

not hold it. Come for me dearling. Come for me, 

Raina,” he groaned as he heaved upward to drive into 


----------------------- Page 333-----------------------

her body in jerky, frantic thrusts. 



 As if he’d summoned it from the depths only with his 

voice, her body seized with blinding, mind-blowing 

abruptness and intensity. She uttered a choked cry, 

groaned, moaned long and low as her body erupted with 

pleasure. He crushed her against him, shaking and 

groaning as the clenching convulsions of her sex 

brought his own climax upon him. 



 Completely drained, Raina dropped her head weakly to 

his shoulder. His arms tightened around her, holding 

her upright, holding her tightly to him. “Sweet,” he 

murmured gustily, nuzzling his face against hers. “My 

sweet, Raina.” 



 She smiled hazily and dropped into oblivion. 



                            Chapter Sixteen 



 Whether by design or accident, Raina thought with 

some wryness, Audric found the magical elixir to drive 

her pain from her mind. She roused when he stood up 

with her and strode into the bedroom, settling her on 


----------------------- Page 334-----------------------

the cool sheets, discarding his pants and then joining 

her in the bed. 



 And thereafter, he gave her little time for rest and less 

for thought. He didn’t leave the apartment and rarely 

allowed her to leave the bed more than the time it took 

to take care of her personal needs. When they needed 

food, he called and had it delivered and as often as not 

they sat in the bed and ate it, brushing the crumbs off 

when they’d finished and making love again. 



 Anytime she became pensive or sad, he dragged her 

into his arms and kissed her, or made love to her, or 

both until she was amazed that he could still wring 

pleasure from her. 



 She didn’t count the days. She didn’t want to and 

Audric made it easy for her to lose track of the passing 

time. 



 He never mentioned it, and yet the morning she woke 

and saw his face was taut, she knew the time had come 

to say goodbye to him. 



 At least she got to say goodbye, she thought. 



 She hadn’t gotten to tell Simon goodbye. 



 After studying her face for a long while, as if he was 


----------------------- Page 335-----------------------

trying to memorize it, he’d made love to her and then 

dragged her into the shower for a bath and made love to 

her in the shower. Clad in nothing but a towel, weak 

and shaky, she watched him as he dried himself and 

dressed, shoving his weapon last of all into the shoulder 

holster. He hadn’t put on more than his pants in days 

and it was a clue that he was leaving even if not for the 

look in his eyes. 



 Raina cleared her throat. “I guess this means you’re 

going?” 



 He looked at her, but this time his gaze skated away 

from hers. “I must,” he said gruffly. 



 Her chin wobbled. “Then kiss me goodbye.” 



 He crushed her against him instead, rocking her 

slightly. “I will miss you, dearling,” he murmured 

hoarsely against her hair. 



 “I’m going to miss you, too.” 



 He squeezed her so tightly she couldn’t breathe, but 

she didn’t complain. 



 “If … this business does not keep me from it … If I 

could come back,” he said hesitantly. “Would you 

welcome me, dearling?” 


----------------------- Page 336-----------------------

 Raina couldn’t keep the tears back any longer. She 

knew he wouldn’t come back, no matter what he said. 

He didn’t belong here any more than she belonged on 

his world or there would’ve been no question. He 

would’ve asked her to go with him. “If you came back 

to stay,” she said finally. “Don’t ask me for a little 

while. I can’t do that, Audric. I love the hellos, but I 

can’t handle the goodbyes.” 



 He nodded and finally released her. After staring at her 

for a moment, brushing at the tears on her cheeks, he 

pulled a handful of crumpled papers from the inside 

pocket of his jacket and placed them in Raina’s hands. 

“Simon asked me to give you this.” 



 She stared at them, trying to focus through the tears 

and finally just nodded at him. She didn’t walk him to 

the door. She sat weakly on the edge of the bed and 

stared at the papers blindly while she listened to him 

stride across the living room and close the door behind 

him. 



 Alone again, she thought miserably. 



 Pulling the towel off, she mopped the tears from her 

cheeks and sniffed. When she felt like she’d regained 

some of her self-control, she opened the sealed 

envelope. 


----------------------- Page 337-----------------------

 I have never more deeply regretted anything in my 

life than leaving you, but I think you know I have no 

choice. I hope you do, and that you will understand 

how grateful I am to have known you. 



 I have opened an account for you to see to your 

needs and to give you the one thing that I know that 

you wanted--travel. Go and see the world you want to 

see, and think of me from time to time, for I will 

always be thinking of you. 



 Simon 



 Tears streamed down her cheeks in rivers as she read 

the note, dripping off her chin, but despite her sorrow, 

she felt warmed and cheered immeasurably by the fact 

that he hadn’t wanted to leave her. Mopping at her face 

again with the towel, she unfolded the other piece of 

paper and saw it was the deed to the island estate. 



 She stared at it for a long time, stunned by his 

generosity. 



 But she couldn’t live there. She would wither and die 

being surrounded by memories of Simon day in and day 

out. The only way she was going to survive was if she 


----------------------- Page 338-----------------------

could somehow push him from her mind. 



 Taking a shaky breath, she set the papers aside and 

stared down at her belly. Lifting a hand to settle it over 

the slight swell, she felt just a flicker of hope. “I guess 

it’s just you and me, now, little guy.” 



 “Not quite.” 



 Riana shot up from the bed in fear and whirled toward 

the man who’d spoken. 



 “What are you doing here?” she gasped, knowing she 

wasn’t going to like what he had to say. 



 “Emperor Jaelen awaits you. He has always liked to 

keep a few steps ahead of his enemies,” he said, setting 

the large, black case he was carrying down. “I have 

come to take you to Schalome.” 



 Raina stared at him, feeling a flicker of hopefulness 

that cost her. The man reached her, grasping her by one 

arm. Her eyes widened with fright. Her mind went 

blank with fear. “What’s that for?” 



 He glanced down at the case. “It is a portable sleep 

pod--for one’s pets. Fortunately for you you should fit 

in it very well without the need to remove any parts you 

might be fond of.” 


----------------------- Page 339-----------------------

 “You’re not putting me in that thing!” Raina gasped, 

realizing even as she tried to struggle that it was far too 

late. 



 She didn’t see the strange looking object he pulled 

from his pocket until a split second before he calmly 

stabbed it into her neck. Instantly, an icy cold wave 

flowed from the spot and through her and in its wake it 

left nothingness. 



                                   * * * * 



 There were a hundred things that should have been on 

his mind, details that, if they did not require his 

immediate attention, still needed to be considered, but 

none of the things that should have been running 

through his mind were. 



 It was the restlessness to be gone, Simon told himself, 

that had him in such turmoil, that had his belly tied in 

knots and his temper on edge. It was the irritations of 

preparing for the voyage that had seemed endless, his 

eagerness to see his homeland again, his impatience to 

deal with a situation that should have been dealt with 

long ago. 



 He had not simply accepted defeat and never intended 

to bring Jaelen to account. He had always known that he 


----------------------- Page 340-----------------------

would go back, that he had to--when the time was right, 

he would go back and do what both his conscience and 

his duty compelled him to do. Somehow, though, he 

had just lost track of time. Time had ceased to have any 

meaning to him at all, as if, when he had arrived on this 

alien world, time had simply stood still. 



 He was appalled that so much time had passed him by, 

that he had made no attempt to bring Jaelen to account, 

none to avenge Evie in all these years. 



 He had not wanted to rule. He had been young and 

wild, and he had chafed at all the restrictions imposed 

upon him by his birth, but even when he had rebelled 

against it, he hadknown that he would rule when his 

time came, known that when his father died he would 

ascend the throne as his father had before him, and his 

father before that, for generations. 



 He had known when he was exiled that it was his duty 

to return, to die if need be in an attempt to take back 

what was his by right--but not accept, never to simply 

accept. 



 He had done the right thing, the only thing that he 

could have done, he told himself as he paced the bridge 

restlessly, listening with a half a mind to the 

conversations flowing around him as they prepared for 

take off. He had made the only decision his conscience 


----------------------- Page 341-----------------------

would allow. 



 Why then, did it feel wrong, he wondered? Why did he 

feel a far stronger pull to stay than to go? 



 Why was it that he could not put Rainie out of his 

mind? 



 Guilt, he decided. Regardless of the pact she had made 

with him, he should not have simply sent her away as 

he had. He should have told her something. He could 

not have told her the truth, but he should have told her 

something. 



 Instead, he had made excuses for why he could not tell 

her anything, made excuses for why it would be best to 

simply send her away. 



 She would be angry, he knew, and it was better that 

way, better than hurting her if she did care for him. 



 The unpalatable truth was that it was just better for 

him, because he had felt himself wavering the moment 

he had made the decision to go, found himself trying to 

think of reasons why it would be better to wait a while 

longer--to stay, only because the thought of leaving 

Rainie was unacceptable. 



 He had known all along that he would not want to 


----------------------- Page 342-----------------------

leave her. It was for that reason that he had ordered 

everything set in motion--while he had still had some 

will to resist the pull of staying with her--because he 

had known if he could find an excuse, he would. 



 There was no choice now--none. An army had been 

raised, preparations made, promises made that he could 

not break and still look at himself in the mirror. He had 

failed in his duty by not returning before, failed his 

people, failed Evie, failed himself. 



 She would be all right. Even if she thought that she 

cared for him, it was only because she had no idea of 

whom or what he was. 



 The kindest thing he could have done, he supposed, 

was to have to told her. Then there would be no 

question of hurting her. She would have been eager for 

him to go, eager to escape him--probably horrified to 

discover the man she had given such passion to was not 

a man at all, but dracon. 



 He could not have done that, though, even if he had 

wanted to, and he had not wanted to. 



 He paused in his pacing as Audric came aboard, 

searching his face for … What? He had no idea. Some 

sign that Raina had rejected him? Some sign that she 

had sent him off a happy man? 


----------------------- Page 343-----------------------

 That thought brought his temper from a simmer to a 

slow boil. 



 The look in Audric’s eyes did nothing to tamp it. 



 Audric looked as miserable as he felt and he knew at 

once that he had spent his time ‘consoling’ her. 



 It was unreasonable, he knew, when he had sent 

Audric to her, but he did not care how gods be damned 

unreasonable it was. It still infuriated him. 



 He turned away when he felt his beast stir within him, 

that primal, territorial part of him that he had been at 

pains to keep hidden. 



                                   * * * * 



 He frowned when she went limp, studied the injector 

with a faint sense of uneasiness and finally pocketed it, 

lifting his fingers to check her pulse. If he had 

miscalculated the dose, Jaelen was not going to be 

pleased. Her pulse was slow and faint, but that was to 

be expected. He decided not to worry about the speed 

themuzinaire had taken effect. That was probably just 

the difference in the human metabolism, or maybe hers 

in particular. 


----------------------- Page 344-----------------------

 Allowing her to slide to the floor, he opened the case 

and then scooped her limp form up and placed her 

inside. He paused for a moment as he studied her, 

appreciating her naked form, but finally dismissed it as 

undoable. He was already fifteen minutes behind 

Audric. He didn’t have time to sample the wares. 



 Quickly, he inserted the tubes, set the cyber sleep, and 

adjusted the life monitoring unit. Satisfied, he tucked 

her arms and legs into a fetal position and closed and 

locked the case. 



 He checked his time piece. Twenty minutes in and out. 

Not bad, but maybe not good enough if he didn’t hurry. 



 Audric glared at him as he strode up the ramp and into 

the ship. “Where have you been?” 



 He shrugged. “Collecting.” 



 Audric’s lips tightened. “You are bringing that stupid 

beast?” 



 “I am fond of the bitch and Simon gave me leave.” 



 “Stow it then and get to your station. Simon’s fit to be 

tied at all the delays.” 



 Pressing the retractor, Audric waited until the gangway 


----------------------- Page 345-----------------------

had receded into its slot and locked into place and then 

closed the hatch and sealed it. Jorell sent him a warning 

look as he reached the bridge. 



 Audric glanced at Simon. 



 His face looked like a thunder cloud, but Audric didn’t 

think it was only because of the delays in departure. 

Simon had met his gaze when he’d arrived and he’d 

known instantly that, regardless of what Simon had 

said, he was less than pleased that Audric had taken 

him up on the offer to make the best of the time he had 

been allowed. 



 Or maybe it was only that he’d been convinced that 

Raina would refuse? 



 Likely she would have if she’d believed Simon cared. 

It was his own damned fault if he’d left her feeling 

discarded and unwanted. He could have told 

her--something. 



 Simon had the men going through another systems 

check. He didn’t look appeased, though, when 

everything had checked out. Instead, he turned to 

pacing the bridge while they waited for dusk to launch. 



 Nothing the earthlings had could catch them, but 

caution was ingrained by now. They’d launch after dark, 


----------------------- Page 346-----------------------

when it was less likely they would be seen by anything 

but mechanical eyes. They would break free of Earth’s 

atmosphere long before the airbase could scramble jets 

to follow, launch a missile--do anything more than gape 

at the blip on their radars as it shot skyward and 

disappeared beyond their range. 



 When Simon at last took his seat and began to fasten 

his restraints, Audric moved to his own chair and 

settled, trying to focus his thoughts away from Raina as 

he fastened his own restraints and checked them. 



 He should not have asked her, he realized, but he could 

not resist. He had wanted so much to know if she cared 

enough for him to consider it and the thought had come 

into his mind and spilled from his tongue before he 

could stop it. As much as it had pleased him to know 

that she would consider having him, he realized he had 

given her hope that he might return that would only hurt 

her more if he could not. 



 He had made up his mind, though. If he lived through 

the war, he would petition Simon to release him from 

his vows and accept permanent exile to be with Raina. 

She loved Simon far more than she would ever love 

him, but she cared for him, and he loved her. He could 

give up his homeland, his friends, his family. He could 

accept that he would have no family of his own. He did 

not want to accept life without Raina if he had a chance 


----------------------- Page 347-----------------------

with her. 



 “Fire up!” Simon commanded abruptly, dragging 

Audric from his thoughts. 



 Haig dashed onto the bridge and scrambled into his 

harness on the heels of the command. 



 Simon gave him a look. 



 Haig shrugged. “I had to take a leak.” 



 “You could not have held it?” Jorell demanded in 

disgust. 



 “With the way this thing bucks like a wildnaybst on 

take off?” he demanded indignantly. “I pissed my pants 

last time.” 



 Elden nodded. “He always pisses his pants.” 



 Jorell snorted. 



 “It is better than shitting his pants,” Rama put in. 

“Tedra would make him wash them himself.” 



 “If everyone has finished discussing Haig’s problem,” 

Simon said dryly. “Perhaps you would consider flying 

the fucking ship?” 


----------------------- Page 348-----------------------

 “Power is at full,” Jorell announced. 



 Audric swiveled around to check his instruments. “All 

systems holding.” 



 “The sky is clear,” Elden said, “on my mark … three 

… two … launch!” 



 Tedra let out a mewling cry as the ship shot skyward. 



 Simon flicked a quick glance at the old woman, but he 

could not see that she was under any particular distress 

aside from the fact that she had always hated flying. He 

glanced significantly at Haig. “Vitals check.” 



 Haig frowned and followed the direction of Simon’s 

nod. Nodding in return, he checked the vitals read outs. 

“We are all good,” he announced after frowning at the 

vid for several moments. “Tedra’s heart rate is a bit 

accelerated but she is not in the range of danger,” he 

added more quietly. 



 “She is a tough old bird,” Jorell teased. “Are you not, 

Tedra? She has not had a ride the likes of this in a 

while, I will warrant.” 



 Tedra pried one eye open and glared at him. “If you are 

suggesting what I think you are, Jorell Blackwing, then 


----------------------- Page 349-----------------------

I will have you know that it has not been nearly as long 

as you think!” 



 Elden laughed. “You have done it now. She will save 

the nastiest piece of meat for your dinner. Right, 

Tedra?” 



 “Now that you have given that away, no,” Tedra said 

primly, struggling to shake off her terror at their 

bantering. “I shall have to think of something else.” 



 “Gods be damned!” Jorell bellowed abruptly, jerking 

the ship so suddenly that it banked hard right and then 

righted itself almost as quickly, performing a hard 

zigzag that slammed everyone in first one direction and 

then another. “I thought you said the gods be damned 

skies were clear, Elden! I nigh took the tail off of that 

airline jet.” 



 “It was … then. I can not help it that there is an airport 

nearby! It changed course.” 



 “Rama! You are supposed to be monitoring the chatter! 

Get your head out of your ass!” 



 “There are two more,” Elden said. “Three degrees port 

on my mark … now!” 



 The craft cut sharply to the left and then righted itself 


----------------------- Page 350-----------------------

again. 



 “Clear,” Elden announced, “we are above their fly 

zone now.” 



 “Punching through the outer atmosphere,” Audric 

announced, completely unnecessarily as the ship began 

to shimmy with the last drags of gravity. “Artificial 

gravity in ten.” 



 Haig left his seat as soon as the artificial gravity kicked 

in. “I believe I will just go to my cabin and change my 

shorts now.” 



 Jorell emitted a snort of laughter. “You have no balls, 

Haig. That is your problem. It was not even that 

difficult a launch.” 



 Simon had thrown off his own restraints and moved to 

check on Tedra. “I do not believe Tedra would agree 

with you. She has fainted.” He glanced at Haig. “She 

has only fainted?” 



 Haig nodded. “I kept watch on her vitals. Blood 

pressure and heart rate remained well below critical.” 



 Crouching down in front of Tedra, Simon tapped her 

cheek lightly and finally unfastened her restraints. “Get 

the door for me, Audric,” he said as he scooped the old 


----------------------- Page 351-----------------------

woman into his arms. “She will be better if she rests 

awhile in her cabin.” 



 Audric preceded him, opening the door to Tedra’s 

cabin and turning down the blanket on the bunk. She 

roused as Simon settled her, looking around vaguely. 

“We are in space?” she asked. 



 Simon smiled at her. “The worst is over for now. Rest 

a while.” 



 “I really should be preparing dinner,” she said weakly. 



 “We will not starve. Rest.” 



 Audric glanced at Simon when they left Tedra’s cabin. 

Simon had not spoken to him since he’d returned and 

he was fairly certain he knew why. He thought that it 

would probably be best to wait until Simon was ready 

to speak to him, but he decided to test the waters 

anyway. “It would have been better to place her in a 

sleep pod for take off,” he said. 



 Simon slid a glittering glance in his direction. “She is 

afraid of them,” he retorted coldly. 



 Frozen waters, Audric mentally acknowledged, 

allowing Simon to brush past him as they returned to 

the bridge. 


----------------------- Page 352-----------------------

 He was not needed any longer and was tempted to 

avoid further contact with Simon at the moment, but he 

could not resist the possibility of taking once last look 

at Earth before they left it behind. Simon had already 

ordered the aft view up on the main screen when he 

arrived. He was standing rigidly before the screen, his 

hands clasped behind his back, his gaze focused 

intently, though there was nothing of any interest to 

either one of them to see any longer. A swirl of white 

cloud covered the entire southern portion of the 

continent. The city itself would have been no more than 

a speck now even without the clouds to obscure it. 



 He wondered if she was thinking of him … or Simon. 

She’d been tearful when he left but struggling to keep 

them inside. It warmed him that she’d cared enough to 

cry for him, and at the same made him feel ill at leaving 

her. 



 She would be alright, he told himself. She was far 

stronger than they had given her credit for. She had 

wept in her grief, but she had already begun trying to 

pick up the pieces and begin again. 



 She would be alright. 



 He was not at all certain that he would be. 


----------------------- Page 353-----------------------

 Or Simon. 



 He discovered as he averted his gaze that Simon had 

turned away, as well. For several moments, their gazes 

locked and Audric wondered if he looked as miserable 

as Simon did. 



 He supposed must. He saw when he looked away that 

Jorell was watching him and the others studying Simon. 



 Simon cleared his throat. “Perform a thorough systems 

check for possible exit damage,” he said, his voice 

sounding rough. “If everything checks out, chart a 

course for Maiden Prime. We will go there first.” 



 “You think the Macedons will help us?” 



 “It can not hurt to ask,” Simon said grimly. “I will be 

in my cabin.” 



                                   * * * * 



 “The men are grumbling,” Audric said as he propped 

his shoulders against the wall of Simon’s cabin, folding 

his arms over his chest. 



 Simon didn’t move. He was staring at the ceiling as if 

mesmerized by the gleaming metal above him. “It is to 

be expected. They are chafing for the battle.” 


----------------------- Page 354-----------------------

 “Exactly, and complaining that we have added another 

month to the trip for no good reason. They are 

concerned that you have no heart for this … and so am 

I.” 



 Simon expelled an impatient breath and sat up, running 

a hand over the growth of beard on his face--at a guess, 

at least three days worth. There were dark circles 

beneath his eyes and hollows in his cheeks since he 

neither ate nor slept as he needed to. “I am here,” 

Simon growled. 



 “Are you?” Audric asked tightly. “You look like shit.” 



 Simon lifted his head to glare him. “You look worse.” 



 Audric felt a flicker of amusement. “You have not 

checked your mirror lately.” 



 “I do not like the man I see,” Simon said after a long 

pause. 



 Audric could think of nothing to say to that for several 

moments. “They are not wrong, are they? You do not 

have the heart for this.” 



 “I will do what I must. I know my duty.” 


----------------------- Page 355-----------------------

 “But you do not have the heart for it.” 



 Simon made a derisive sound. “Because I am a 

heartless bastard,” he retorted. “That is what she 

believes, is it not? That I am a cold, heartless bastard?” 



 Audric said nothing for several moments, not because 

the root of Simon’s depression was any great surprise, 

but it was a surprise that Simon spoke of it to him. 

They had not exchanged more than a handful words in 

all the weeks since they had left, and at that Simon only 

spoke to him as his aide, never of anything personal. 

“She did not tell me and I did not ask,” he said finally. 



 Simon speared his hands through his hair, cupping his 

skull as if his head pained him, which would not have 

surprised Audric either considering Simon had 

celebrated the end of his talks with Macedons by tying 

on a four day drunk. “I had not thought that I would 

miss her so … desperately,” he said raggedly. 



 “It does no good to dwell on it!” Audric said harshly. 



 “Nothingdoes any good!” Simon snarled at him. 



 “In time ….” 



 “Do not spout that tripe to me! I do not want time to 

take her from me! I would rather be miserable than 


----------------------- Page 356-----------------------

forget.” 



 “You can not go into battle with a divided mind, 

Simon. We are at a disadvantage already. We will have 

to focus on the prize or we will have no chance.” 



 Simon dropped his hands and lifted his head to glare 

                                                           prize 

Audric. “That is the problem, Audric. The                          is back 

there! I was just too … arrogant to see it … because I 

was born to rule and taught from birth that I must do 

this for the realm, and that for the people, and set 

myself above them, and yet marry to please them. And 

if I do not give my life for the greater good, I am a 

selfish bastard, unworthy of the regard and respect of 

my people. 



 “Damnthe people! I do not want to be their gods be 

damned ruler! Not if it means I can not have Rainie.” 



 Audric felt fear well inside of him and twist at his gut. 

Some of it was anxiety for Simon, himself, for, despite 

their differences, he loved his brother. A good deal of it 

was concern for their enterprise because it was critical 

to their success that Simon put is whole heart into it or 

they would surely fail … and in doing so, many would 

die. 



 Theywere dead men if they failed. Even if they 

managed to escape, Jaelen would never allow them to 


----------------------- Page 357-----------------------

live to threaten his control again. He would have them 

hunted down. They would never be able to rest for 

looking over their shoulders for assassins. 



 But a very great deal of it was because he had been 

certain that, regardless of how Simon felt about Raina, 

he would do what his duty required of him, take his 

birthright, bind himself with a suitable consort, produce 

his heir, and rule as he had been born to rule. 



 He had not once considered that Simon would be 

willing to give up everything to go back to Raina. 



 As he had planned to do. 



 “You are not thinking clearly,” he responded finally, 

feeling more than a little ill. 



 To his surprise, Simon smiled. “I have not been 

thinking clearly since I first saw Raina,” he said wryly. 

“There is nothing new in that.” 



 “What do you mean to do, then? Turn about? Leave 

our supporters to try it on their own? Order them to 

stand down? They will not do it, you know. They are 

gathered. They are ready to fight.” 



 Simon got up from his bunk. “Nay. I am not so sunk in 

my own concerns that I would fail them. You should 


----------------------- Page 358-----------------------

know me better than that. Even if it were not for that, 

regardless of what I said about the people, I can not 

leave them any longer to Jaelen’s tender mercies. I set 

about to free them from his tyranny and I will. I set out 

to avenge Evangeline and I will. 



 “And then, when I have done all that my conscience 

                                          I 

requires of me, I will do what  want. I will go home to 

Rainie and see if I can convince her to take me back.” 



 “Schalome is home,” Audric said hoarsely. 



 Simon shook his head. “Rainie is home.” 



                           Chapter Seventeen 



 Raina could hear the drone of voices. At first, she was 

certain they were part of a dream, or maybe a 

nightmare, but there were no images floating through 

her mind in association with the voices and somehow 

that didn’t fit her understanding of a dream, despite the 

thick fog that clouded her mind. When she swallowed, 

pain drove the little thought she could manage from her 

mind. Her throat was as raw as if someone had shoved 


----------------------- Page 359-----------------------

sandpaper down her throat and scoured the flesh. As 

that pain subsided a little bit, she became aware that it 

wasn’t the only pain. She was a mass of pain. 



 The pain in her throat didn’t seem quite as bad after 

she’d swallowed a few more times--still bad, but more 

manageable and it made it easier to inventory the rest of 

the hurting. It was general overall ache, she decided. 



 Fever? Sore throat. She’d been sick? 



 She must still be sick, delirious, maybe, because even 

though she’d aroused and was certain she was actually 

hearing the voices, not in her mind, but with her ears, 

she still couldn’t tell what they were saying. 



 Why would there be voices around her anyway? 



 She must be sick and in the hospital, she decided, not 

sick in bed at home. 



 The bright lights drilling holes in her eyelids seemed to 

support that. 



 Whydid she ache and hurt all over? She wondered 

plaintively. 



 She couldn’t remember getting sick. 


----------------------- Page 360-----------------------

 She didn’t feel hot. She felt as if she was freezing to 

death. 



 Almost on top of that thought, she felt the shivering 

begin from deep inside of her and work its way outward 

until it felt as if the shivers were going to shake her 

apart. It grew worse and worse until her jaw spasmed 

with it and her teeth began to click together. 



 The voices stopped abruptly. She didn’t realize it at 

first. She was too focused on trying to control the 

tremors wracking her, but as the pain and shivering 

brought her more awareness and she tried to stretch her 

aching, cramped muscles, she also realized there was 

suddenly silence around her. 



 The silence and the discovery that she couldn’t stretch, 

could barely move at all, cleared the heavy fog until she 

was able to expand her senses beyond her body. She 

struggled to lift her eyelids when she’d studied over 

what she could smell, feel, and hear and realized that 

nothing entering her mind through those senses 

identified her surroundings as anything even vaguely 

familiar. 



 She wasn’t lying on a bed. The surface was hard and 

completely unyielding. In fact, she wasn’t actually 

laying at all, not like she would’ve in sleep. She was 

curled on her side into a tight little ball and she couldn’t 


----------------------- Page 361-----------------------

move more than a few inches without hitting something 

that kept her from moving more. The lights against her 

eyelids weren’t like the bright fluorescents in a 

hospital, or the soft yellow/white glow of her bedroom 

light. The smells weren’t like a hospital--or home. 



 She couldn’t lift her eyelids at first. Her eyes felt as if 

they’d been glued shut. Finally, after several tries, she 

managed to get both open a tiny slit. Her eyes watered 

immediately, filling with burning tears that prevented 

any attempt to focus. She closed them again, squeezing 

her lids tightly to dispel the water and then tried again. 



 A wavering image filled her vision when she tried 

again. His lips moved. A voice emerged, but she didn’t 

understand a word he said. The tone, she understood. It 

was commanding, a demand of some kind. 



 The face swam away and another entered her vision. 

Hands clamped around her arms, pulling and it felt like 

her joints were separating from the sockets as she felt 

herself lifted. She groaned involuntarily at the pain that 

enveloped her. The effort tore at her throat and sent her 

into a fit of coughing. 



 She was still coughing when she felt the soles of her 

bare feet touch what felt like a sheet of ice as she was 

lowered. She tensed, partly from the cold and partly 

from the instinctive urge to catch herself as she 


----------------------- Page 362-----------------------

descended. Pain shot through her muscles but they 

responded sluggishly and weakly. She slowed her 

descent, but she wilted into a heap anyway on the 

freezing surface. 



 She heard the voices again and thought they were 

discussing her. She wasn’t sure why or how she arrived 

at that except that they surrounded her and she felt 

hands plucking and poking at her. When she managed 

to get her eyes open again, she saw a man crouched 

beside her and there was something about his 

expression and the gleam in his eyes that told her he 

was the one poking and prodding her--like a malicious, 

sadistic little boy examining an injured animal and 

poking at it to see what it would do. 



 She let out a hiss of pain as he grabbed her wrist and 

pulled it, straightening her arm, and he chuckled. 



 She couldn’t see much besides the man, but she saw 

enough of the room she was in to realize her senses 

hadn’t betrayed her. Neither the man nor the place was 

familiar to her and that discovery added a taste of fear 

to the confusion. 



 He rose after a few more minutes of tormenting 

her--when she refused to make another sound to amuse 

him, barking an order. Another man bent over her, 

pulling at her and jostling her and finally lifting her off 


----------------------- Page 363-----------------------

of the floor. 



 She was naked. She’d dimly registered that, but it had 

fallen so far down the list of discomforts that she hadn’t 

done more than register awareness of it. Her discomfort 

over that fact climbed higher on her list as she was 

carried across the room and discovered there were 

people everywhere--men, all of them staring at her with 

taut faces and yellow/gold eyes. 



 A kaleidoscope of images and impressions pelted her, 

adding to the chaos of misery from her cold and pain, 

confusion, and her embarrassment to be naked and 

completely exposed to the people they passed. They 

looked her over with the avid interest of people 

viewing a side-show freak. She didn’t know the man 

carrying her any more than the others. She’d refused to 

acknowledge him after one glance at his stony 

expression, but she curled a little more closely to him, 

trying to pull into herself to shield herself from those 

eyes that followed her, trying to hold onto some 

warmth. 



 The man descended stairs into a darker area. No 

natural light filtered here. Only dim artificial light that 

hurt her eyes. After striding down one long corridor 

after another lined with doors, he finally shouldered his 

way through one, dropped her unceremoniously on a 

hard, narrow cot and left her, bolting the door behind 


----------------------- Page 364-----------------------

him. 



 It was darker inside the tiny room than the corridor had 

been. Feeble light spilled through a tiny widow high up 

on the door, but there was no light inside the cubicle. It 

wasn’t muchmore than a cubicle, maybe the size of a 

large elevator--just long enough for a cot, which went 

wall to wall in one direction. There was a hole in one 

corner, from which eye watering smells emerged that 

identified it as a crude latrine. A small pipe emerged a 

few inches from the wall above the hole, dripping fat 

drops of water that hit the edge of the hole and dripped 

into it. 



 She was in a prison cell and it was way worse than any 

jail cell she ’d been a guest in on Earth. 



 Shivering, she looked down at the thin, stinking cover 

on the bed and finally drew it up and wrapped it around 

herself. 



 The shaking from cold never actually went away, but it 

eased after a long while, leaving a shuddery, shimmying 

feeling in the pit of her belly that was more fear than 

cold. She didn’t make a conscious effort to analyze any 

of the thoughts drifting around her mind. She had no 

desire to assess her situation. She wanted to blank her 

mind and try to ‘hide’ from the fear, but eventually her 

brain sorted the puzzle pieces and began to fit them 


----------------------- Page 365-----------------------

together regardless of her wishes. 



 The moment real awareness finally penetrated her 

mind, she jerked the cover from around her and stared 

at her belly. The confusion of chaos instantly descended 

over her again as she stared at the basketball sized 

mound with total incomprehension and fear induced 

panic. Slowly, it penetrated her mind that her baby had 

to be alright and that a great deal of time had passed 

since she’d been aware of anything at all or the baby 

wouldn’t have had time to grow so much. 



 Months. She’d been unconscious in a drug induced 

coma for months. 



 Instantly, fear assailed her again that whatever she’d 

been given had hurt her baby, but she tamped it. The 

baby was growing. Surely it wouldn’t have been if they’ 

d damaged it? 



 She didn’t completely believe that, but she couldn’t 

bear to allow herself to think otherwise and she shoved 

it from her mind determinedly. A flutter of movement 

inside her stomach gave the fear an additional shove in 

the right direction. She stared at her stomach, her breath 

suspended in her chest. The movement came again, a 

shifting sort of sensation. A small knot appeared on the 

rounded mound of her belly and moved across it. A 

choked laugh escaped her as it dawned on her what that 


----------------------- Page 366-----------------------

small knot was. 



 A hand … or maybe a foot. 



 She burst into tears of relief then, looping her arms 

around her swollen belly and rocking herself. He was 

alive. He was moving. That had to mean he was alright, 

didn’t it? 



 She calmed herself with an effort when she realized 

the baby was moving agitatedly, as if her distress had 

communicated itself to him. Rubbing a hand soothingly 

over her belly, she crooned the few words she could 

remember from the only lullaby she could recall and 

dried her eyes with her other hand, sniffing until a sense 

of peace stole over her and with it a flicker of happiness 

and hopefulness. 



 For a while, she basked in it, allowing herself to 

fantasize about the baby, trying to imagine what a baby 

sized replica of Simon would look like. 



 The thoughts of Simon led her mind away from the 

pleasurable fantasies about the baby and her mind took 

off like a runaway train, snatching at puzzle pieces and 

slamming them together. 



 She was on Simon’s world, surrounded by his enemies. 

There was no doubt at all in her mind of that--and that 


----------------------- Page 367-----------------------

could mean only one thing. She’d been brought to his 

home world for one reason--to be used against him. 



 “Welcome to Schalome,” she muttered to herself. 



                                  * * * * 



 Excitement threaded Simon’s veins as he drew back on 

the reins of his mount and brought thenaybst he was 

riding from a canter to a sliding halt on the brow of the 

hill. The sun was just rising above the distant mountain 

range, bathing the landscape with its orange-red glow, 

and the morning dew that had collected on the foliage 

twinkled like gems as the prisms of water captured the 

light. The village below them, cloaked in a wispy 

morning mist, was as still as a painting. 



 He sucked in a deep, sustaining breath, drew in the 

smells of home and felt it flow through his veins like 

wine. 



 “I can see Schalome from here,” Jorell murmured low, 

but despite the quietness of his voice, or mayhap 

because of the near reverence of the pronouncement, 

his excitement was evident. 



 Simon glanced at him, and then at the faces of the 

others that he could see from where he sat on his own 


----------------------- Page 368-----------------------

mount, Audric and Elden. Rama and Haig had stayed 

behind to take the ship to a secure location after they’d 

landed and disembarked. To a man, and despite their 

efforts to contain it, they wore expressions of absolute 

joy, as if they were staring at the gates ofHadan , the 

home of the gods, instead of their homeland. 



 He didn’t stop to analyze his own feelings. He knew 

what had sent a rush of excitement through him and it 

was not the same thing that had affected them.He saw 

Raina as he stared out over the countryside at the peaks 

that formed Schalome’s southern border.He saw the 

task at hand finished and felt the narrowing of time and 

space that separated him from her. Soon now, he 

realized, he would face his enemy for the last time. 

 Soon he would feel the thrill of battle that was like 

nothing else--fear, excitement, challenge, victory, all 

rolled into one--and more, because at the end of it he 

would be that much closer toher . And then he would 

be done and he would have nothing more to do but 

clean up the mess and he could go back to her. 



 He could not entirely dismiss the fear that she would 

forget him, or that she would be too angry with him for 

leaving her without any explanation to take him back, 

but he had hope. He had determination. Somehow, he 

would win her back. 



 Audric grinned at him. “I do not believe I have ever 


----------------------- Page 369-----------------------

seen a more beautiful sight!” 



 Simon smiled faintly, his gaze distant as he summoned 

the image of Raina’s face to his mind’s eye. “I have,” 

he murmured. 



 Audric’s smile flattened. Pain filled his eyes and he 

looked away. 



 Discomfort moved over Simon, but he shook it off. “I 

do not know about the rest of you, but I am looking 

forward to getting down off this beast,” he said easily. 

“My ass begins to feel sorely abused.” 



 The other men chuckled, shifting in their saddles 

uncomfortably as if they’d only just then recalled the 

stiff muscles and numbed regions from three days of 

hard riding. 



 “You are waiting for an invitation?” Simon asked, 

grinning at them as he kicked hisnaybst into motion. 

“Alright then. Welcome home!” 



 The village awakened and began to stir to life before 

they reached the first cottage. By the time they’d 

cantered into the market square, adults and children and 

beasts seemed to throng the narrow, cobbled streets. 



 They slowed their mounts, holding them to a walk as 


----------------------- Page 370-----------------------

they threaded their way through the emerging foot 

traffic. A hum of excitement began to build around 

them, almost imperceptible at first, like the electric 

charge that filled the air as a storm gathered. 



 “It is him! The Emperor!Pater-Draken --Father 

Dragon. Our dragon lord! He is the image of his father! 

I saw him once. I know it is him. Itis him!” 



 Audric glanced at Simon as the whispers of awe drifted 

around them, became more pronounced--louder and 

louder as excitement as contagious as a virulent virus 

moved from person to person. 



 He seemed oblivious at first, distant, caught up in his 

own thoughts. Abruptly, though, hisnaybst took 

exception to a child that darted through the growing 

crowd of gawkers and let out a series of angry clicks 

and then a roar as it balked and tried to rear. Simon’s 

hand tightened automatically on the reins, drawing the 

beast’s head down to its chest, his knees digging into its 

shoulders. Thenaybst sidled, but quieted almost 

instantly. When Simon’s attention moved from the 

beast to the people around him again, he smiled, no 

more than a faint curling of his lips, and nodded--that 

regal nod he seemed completely unconscious of, 

probablywas unconscious of. 



 “Emperor Pater-Draken!” someone exclaimed. 


----------------------- Page 371-----------------------

 Almost as one, every man, woman, and child within 

sight of them dropped to their knees in reverence, some 

sobbing or wailing loudly, others laughing with nervous 

excitement, still others calling out welcomes. 

“Emperor! Emperor! The gods bless us! He has 

returned! He has returned! The gods are smiling upon 

us!” 



 Simon sent Audric a disconcerted look, color 

darkening his cheeks. 



 Audric shrugged. Almost reluctantly, he grinned. 



 A group of men emerged from a hostel near the center 

of the town. They stood rigid for some moments and 

finally dropped to one knee and bowed their heads, 

bringing one arm across their chests in salute. 



 Simon’s party came to a halt and dismounted. 



 As he approached the men, they rose. “Emperor 

Pater-Draken!” the eldest man exclaimed, grinning 

broadly as Simon caught his shoulders and embraced 

him briefly. 



 “Dill my old friend!” Simon said. “You are looking 

well!” 


----------------------- Page 372-----------------------

 Dilligen Valedraken studied Simon’s face searchingly. 

“Very well, Sire. Better than ever to see your ugly face 

among us again!” 



 Simon chuckled. “We came with all haste--and great 

secrecy,” he murmured wryly. 



 There were chuckles from the men surrounding them. 

Dill Valedraken laughed uproariously. “They know 

theirtrue emperor, Dragon Lord. You could have worn 

a mask and hood and they wouldstill have known you. 

In any case, it matters not--not now,” he added, 

sobering. 



 Simon nodded and they all turned and entered the 

building the men who’d greeted them had emerged 

from. Striding through the common room, the party 

gathered in a large, private chamber beyond. 



 Gathering around the large, round table that sat in the 

center of the room, they exchanged pleasantries and 

reminisced as the barmaids scurried back and forth 

bringing spirits and platters of food. When they’d 

withdrawn at last, everyone present fell silent. 



 Smiles vanished and faces grew taut. 



 “We have spies everywhere,” Dill announced grimly. 


----------------------- Page 373-----------------------

 Simon studied him in silence for several moments. 

“The gathering of such an army was bound to attract 

notice,” he said coolly. 



 “Aye!” Dill agreed, “But it should not have done so as 

quickly as it did. We used the greatest discretion, I 

assure you. We have staggered the recruiting and 

gathering with great care--no parties larger than a dozen 

in any one place at any time. And even if that had begun 

to attract notice, itstill would not explain how Jaelen 

knew that we would gather here to attack. The southern 

border is the least accessible. If he had had no 

knowledge of our plans, he would have amassed his 

army along the other borders. 



 “Beyond that, Draken Fortress has stood empty since 

your exile. Jaelen prefers the pretty little confection that 

he had designed and built for himself at Reamestone. 



 “I tell you he was expecting us even before we’d begun 

gathering our forces.” 



 Pushing his plate away with disinterest, Simon settled 

an elbow on the table and supported his chin in his 

hand, staring thoughtfully at the men around the table. 

“And you have ferreted none out?” 



 “A round dozen in my own camp alone,” Dill said with 

disgust. “We got nothing out of them before they died. 


----------------------- Page 374-----------------------

Either they knew nothing or they were more terrified of 

Jaelen than my best torturers, and I am thinking they 

knew nothing.” 



 Simon transferred his gaze to Ravenwing, listened to 

his report, and then Montdragon’s, moving around the 

table clockwise until he reached Nimets, the young 

Duke of Sardovf. 



 When he’d heard them out, he rose. “I have a yearning 

for a bath and a bed. We will meet here again this eve 

and go over the final details of the attack and determine 

what, if any, alterations should be made.” 



 Dill rose, as well. “By your leave, Sire, I will show you 

the chambers we had prepared for you.” 



 Simon nodded, sent his own men a significant glance, 

which they correctly interpreted to mean that they were 

to stay put, and he and Dill left the room together. 



 “You are off your food,” Dill commented as they 

ascended the stairs, sending Simon a speculative 

glance. “I can assure you it did not reach the table 

without a taster.” 



 Simon shrugged. “I never doubted it. I have grown 

unaccustomed to the food here, however.” 


----------------------- Page 375-----------------------

 Dill looked taken aback. “You did not leave with 

many, but you had servants, surely? Could they not be 

trained to prepare a decent draconian dish?” 



 Simon averted his gaze, ignoring the tightening in his 

belly at the inadvertent reminder of Raina. “They are 

not magicians and as impossible as it may seem to 

grasp, we did not think to load stores of ‘decent’ 

draconian herbs, spices, vegetation, or meat. I had 

Tedra, and there is no better cook on all of Drack, but 

she can not work miracles. There were a thousand 

subtle and not so subtle differences in taste, but I grew 

accustomed and now, I think, it will take time to 

reacquaint myself with my native foods.” 



 Dill studied him curiously. “I had not thought of that. 

They are much like us, though?” 



 Simon grimaced. “Aye, but like the food--subtle and 

not so subtle differences. Naturally, we chose a world 

as close to our own Drack as possible, peopled with 

beings much like us, but, by and large, they are smaller 

folk--less robust. The physical differences should not 

have been too notable, and yet we discovered quickly 

enough that we could not walk among them without 

drawing far more attention than we were comfortable 

with. They are … very curious of strangers. Beyond the 

size, our eyes are not at all the same and seemed to 

distress them far more than their strange eyes disturbed 


----------------------- Page 376-----------------------

us. 



 He frowned as Dill paused before a door situated about 

halfway down the corridor and opened it, stepping back 

with a slight bow for him to enter. Simon scanned the 

room as he did so, relaxing slightly when he saw the 

room was empty and moving further inside to settle in a 

comfortable chair. 



 “It has been many years,” he murmured as Dill took 

the chair across from him at the wave of his hand, “and 

either my memory is faulty or I had miscalculated how 

… enthusiastic my homecoming would be. I will say 

nothing about their prematurely hailing me as 

Emperor--perhapstheir memories are faulty and they do 

not recall that I was never crowned. But the folk did not 

used to grovel on the ground. What was all that 

nonsense upon our arrival?” 



 Dill expelled a harsh breath of disgust. “Need you ask? 

                          proper 

Jaelen. He requires                   humility of his subjects. 

Anyone in his presence whose head is above the level 

of his knee--if they are common folk--or above the 

level of his waist--if they are nobles--will find 

themselves without one.” 



 Simon’s lips tightened. 



 “As for the weeping, and wailing, and shouts of 


----------------------- Page 377-----------------------

joy--that was purely for you. They do not let out a peep, 

you may be certain, when Jaelen passes, not only 

because they hate him as enthusiastically as they love 

you, but also because they are terrified of drawing his 

notice.” 



 Simon nodded. “It is no wonder our plans are no 

secret,” he said dryly. “I begin to think there is no one 

who did not know and anticipate our arrival.” 



 Dill shrugged. “The commoners have a nose for these 

things, but you may be absolutely certain that, whatever 

they may have culled from watchfulness, they would 

never betray you. Some slimy bastard of a spy has 

infiltrated us. I swear to you on my father’s soul that no 

one, with the exception of the courier, whom I trust 

completely, had full knowledge of the plan save 

Montdragon, Ravenwing, Sardovf, and I. And I can not 

believe that it was any one of them, and I know gods 

bedamned well that it was not I!” 



 Simon rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “It is done now 

and not worth weeping over. We will simply have to do 

the best we can with what we have to work with.” 



 Dill frowned. “You do not think that it would be best 

to march ‘round Schalome and attack from another 

vantage?” 


----------------------- Page 378-----------------------

 Simon shook his head. “I have considered that, but we 

will certainly have no better element of surprise and we 

can not dismiss the effects that it would have on the 

men. They would be weary from the forced march, and 

dispirited, very likely--neither situation, of which, 

would be to our benefit.” 



 Dill was silent for several moments. “We heard word 

that you had diverted to Maiden Prime on your way 

home ….?” 



 “Aye. I spoke with their minister at length.” 



 “And?” 



 “They have agreed to remain neutral.” 



 “That is so very helpful of them,” Dill retorted with 

disgust. 



 Simon smiled faintly. “I accomplished what I set out to 

do. It is all that I was interested in--making certain that 

they would not intervene on Jaelen’s behalf.” 



 Dill sent him a startled glance. “I had not thought about 

that. You did not detect any sign that they have chosen 

to side with him?” 



 “They are lovers of peace. They will never interfere 


----------------------- Page 379-----------------------

unless they feel that it is necessary to keep peace. In 

this instance, they are no happier with Jaelen’s rule that 

we are. I have their blessing to--remove him from 

power, but they prefer to merely observe and allow us 

to make our own mistakes, and clean up our own 

mess.” 



 Dill nodded, but he still seemed unhappy. “It would 

have evened the odds for us a bit if they had been 

willing to furnish us with some of their weapons,” he 

growled irritably. “I will not complain overmuch--for I 

far prefer our own weapons, crude asthey might 

consider them, but in this instance ….” 



 “In this instance, we will triumph with draconian 

might,” Simon said coolly. 



 Again, Dill nodded. “The gods have always favored 

you, Simon Pater-Draken.” 



 Simon smiled thinly. “Let us hope they do not favor 

me as they have in the past,” he said dryly. 


----------------------- Page 380-----------------------

                           Chapter Eighteen 



 Raina stared at the two men who’d entered her cell, 

keeping her expression as carefully blank as possible. 

She recognized one of the two as the man who’d 

examined her with such malicious glee when she’d first 

woken, though, and it took an effort to stifle the shivers 

that kept trying to creep up her backbone. 



 His manner of dress was almost absurdly elaborate. 

Although he wore trousers and a shirt and boots, much 

like everyone else, his boots were not black, but bright 

red and topped with a cuff of fur. Bright gold tassels 

swung from the top, as well, and a colorful design had 

been stitched into the leather all over. His trousers were 

gold. Made of some glossy material, an elaborate design 

followed the outer seams from knee to waist--a sort of 

trailing vine with buds and blossoms. There was an 

obscene bulge in his crotch that she would’ve been 

willing to bet had been formed from some sort of hard 

cup-like devise, maybe something like sports figures 

would wear to protect their genitals. But she doubted 

that was the purpose. The purpose seemed to be to 

make himappear to have monstrous genitals. 



 The shirt he wore was of a paler gold color, but seemed 

to be made of the same glossy material as the pants. It 


----------------------- Page 381-----------------------

was open to the waist, displaying pale skin completely 

devoid of any hair and an expanse of chest that, while 

still fairly impressive, seemed soft. 



 He had a definite paunch--not big, but a soft bulge 

instead of a flat belly, as if he was fond of foods that 

tended to collect around the waist--either that or he just 

didn’t get much exercise. She guessed both. He just 

seemed like the sort of man to overindulge himself. 



 “You are Petra-Draken’s whore?” the second man, 

obviously brought as an interpreter, demanded for the 

second time. 



 Raina merely stared at the man, trying to decide if they 

were just trying to get a rise out of her or if they 

expected her to answer that. They couldn’t be in any 

doubt that she’d been Simon’s bedmate for months--not 

considering who it was that had taken her. “Is that 

supposed to be a question?” she asked finally. 



 The other man flung a string of furious words at her. 



 “The emperor will not tolerate your insolence, wench!” 

the translator snarled. “Answer the question!” 



 Fear pricked at her, but Raina pursed her lips in 

irritation. “I didn’t understand the fucking question.” 


----------------------- Page 382-----------------------

 Prissy the emperor might be, but he moved like 

lightening and struck like a rattlesnake, backhanding her 

across the face so hard her head jerked sideways and 

she rolled off the cot and onto the floor. Raina spat out 

the blood that filled her mouth from her cut lip and 

struggled to stop her brain from reeling. 



 “You carry Petra-Draken’s bastard, yes?” 



 The shock receded, allowing pain to wash over her. 

Ignoring the throbbing, she pushed herself up to look at 

them, wondering if she would be better off to ignore her 

pride and rebelliousness and blubber and cringe instead. 

She could. She’d never had a problem using whatever 

worked. It went against the grain, though. “I don’t know 

who the fuck Petra-Draken is,” she muttered, “but I’ll 

have you to know I’mnot pregnant! I can’t help if I’m 

fat, can I?” 



 The interpreter grabbed her by her hair and pulled her 

to her feet, using it to slam her against the wall behind 

her several times. “Then it will not kill the babe if I 

plant my fist in your belly, wench?” 



 Raina wrapped her arms around her stomach 

protectively, instantly losing every ounce of bravado. “I 

’m pregnant,” she admitted, swallowing against the urge 

to burst into tears. “He said his name was Rick.” 


----------------------- Page 383-----------------------

 To her relief, the man let go of her and the two men 

settled into a discussion. Raina sidled back to the bunk 

and pulled her knees up as tightly to her chest as she 

could, locking her arms around her calves. It wasn’t 

much protection for the baby, but it was all she could 

think of to do. 



 “Simon Petra-Draken,” the man said finally. “The 

deposed monarch of Schalome--you know nothing 

about this man?” 



 Raina flinched in spite of all she could do at his name. 

Her heart seemed to cringe in her chest at the discovery 

that he was, had been, the king--or the emperor, she 

supposed since the guy had referred to the prick as 

emperor--but she studied her toes studiously. “I worked 

for a guy named Simon Draken,” she said finally. They 

knew everything. They had to. Why the hell were they 

questioning her? 



 It dawned on her after a moment that they didn’t trust 

Green. If they had, they wouldn’t have seen any reason 

to question her. 



 “You fuck him, yes?” 



 She wanted to protect Simon. She knew once they 

were certain that she’d meant something to Simon that 

they were going to try to use her against him, but she 


----------------------- Page 384-----------------------

also realized they were cold blooded fuckers. She knew 

the type--malicious and sadistic. If they had no use for 

her, she and the baby were dead. 



 She had to protect the baby. 



 “Yes,” she said reluctantly. “I was his favorite fuck. He 

’s going to be really pissed off when he finds out y’all 

have been so hateful.” 



 “The bastard you carry is his?” 



 She sent the man a sullen look. “He seemed to think 

so,” she lied. 



 To her relief, they seemed satisfied and left the cell 

again. Her shoulders sagged. The terror she’d been 

holding at bay by sheer willpower flowed over her like 

a tidal wave. For an endless time she stared blankly at 

the door, shivering uncontrollably. After a while, her 

muscles began to relax because she just didn’t have the 

strength to hold them taut any longer and shortly after 

that weariness overtook her and allowed her to escape 

for a while. 



                                   * * * * 



 A scraping noise woke her. Raina stared at the glob of 

food in the bowl by the door without much interest and 


----------------------- Page 385-----------------------

finally got up to get it before the rodents that shared her 

cell with her tried to beat her to it. So far, the nasty 

looking things had seemed fairly timid, but the food 

drew them out. More importantly, she couldn’t afford 

not to eat, however disgusting the food was. She couldn 

’t afford to get weak--although eating a glob of mush 

once a day wasn’t doing much to keep her strength 

up--and she couldn’t afford to ignore her baby’s needs. 



 It took all she could do to hold the mess down once 

she’d managed to swallow it. When she was sure it 

wasn’t going to come right back up again, she got off 

the bunk and moved to stand over the latrine, trying to 

catch water in her mouth and swallow it without 

gagging on the stench emanating from below her and 

throwing up her food. 



 As jails went, this was the worst she’d ever been 

thrown in, and she’d seen the inside of more of them 

than she’d ever wanted to. When she’d first run away, it 

had seemed that she’d ended up in one every time she 

turned around, mostly for being in the wrong place at 

the wrong time, being poor, and being homeless--and 

she was usually charged with prostitution even though 

she’d never been one--which was really ironic 

considering she’d spent most of her first years on the 

street running from pimps who wanted to add her to 

their stable. The cops didn’t care. As far as they were 

concerned, if you looked guilty, you were guilty. And 


----------------------- Page 386-----------------------

guilty in their book was any female who loitered on the 

street. They didn’t give a shit if you didn’t have 

anywhere to go. 



 As familiar as she’d become with such places, though, 

she wasn’t familiar with the concept of trying to escape. 

It had never occurred to her to try before. Once she’d 

gotten over her initial shock and terror, though, she’d 

thought of little else. She wasn’t going to serve a little 

time and get turned out on the street. No one was going 

to bail her out--not that anybody ever had, but there’d 

been that option before anyway. 



 No one, except the bastard that had taken her, even 

knew she was here. 



 Thoughts of escape didn’t make a route miraculously 

appear, unfortunately. The place had no venting ducts. 

The walls, floor, and ceiling were all stone. The cell 

had a door, not bars and she’d already tried reaching the 

latch from the outside. She could barely reach the 

fucking window, let alone get her arm out of it. There 

was no dragging the cot over for a lift up. It was bolted 

to the floor. 



 God, she fucking hated being so damned short! 



 The latrine was the only way out. It had still taken a 

while to get up her nerve to consider it, but she’d had to 


----------------------- Page 387-----------------------

dismiss the notion fairly quickly. Given the choice of 

life or death, she thought she might have been able to 

contain her disgust about crawling through shit, but it 

wasn’t an option. If she hadn’t been pregnant, it might 

have been. The hole wasn’t big, but it was obvious they 

hadn’t ever had a prisoner her size in here. If she hadn’t 

been pregnant, a few days or weeks of their food would’ 

ve reduced her enough to fit. Shewas pregnant, though, 

and she had only to take one look to know her belly 

wasn’t going to make it, and it was getting bigger--she 

thought. It was hard to say. She was losing weight, she 

knew. Maybe it onlyseemed to be getting bigger really 

fast because the rest of her was getting small really fast 

from starvation. 



 She tried not to think about how that might effect her 

baby. She couldn’t do anything about that anymore than 

she’d been able to prevent that bastard from drugging 

her and keeping her in that case god only knew how 

long in a drug induced coma. She knew it was probably 

going to be a miracle if the baby survived, let alone was 

born strong and healthy, but she could only do what she 

could do. 



 Which was pretty much nothing. 



                                  * * * * 



 If she considered that she was fed one meal per day, 


----------------------- Page 388-----------------------

and Raina was pretty sure that was as regularly as she 

got fed, if it was even that often, she’d spent four 

fun-filled weeks in Schalome’s answer to criminal 

rehabilitation when the door of her cell opened and a 

guard strode into the room and grabbed her. She was 

too stunned to even attempt to struggle, which was just 

as well since it wouldn’t have done her a bit of good. 

She might have gotten loose from him, but she had no 

idea how to get out of the place and she would almost 

certainly have run afoul of a dozen more soldiers before 

she’d gotten far. 



 It was actually very fortunate for her that he’d surprised 

her because once she’d gathered her scattered wits she 

realized her docile behavior coupled with her size, 

which probably wasn’t half his in weight, had disarmed 

the man. It had led him to believe she wouldn’t be any 

trouble to him and it was the only advantage she had 

that she could see. He led her by one arm, forcing her to 

keep pace with him, which was difficult for her given 

that she was at least a foot shorter and trying to keep 

herself decently covered with the ratty blanket. She 

tried to use the time to best advantage, staring at her 

surroundings, trying to remember every turn and stair, 

but all the while her mind was busy sorting possible 

reasons for removing her from the cell. 



 They’d only questioned her once since her arrival and 

except for the infrequent feedings, no one had come 


----------------------- Page 389-----------------------

near her since. 



 As miserable as her incarceration had been, she was 

fully aware that it could have much worse. More 

questionings and more beatings, or rape. Given those 

possibilities, being left freezing, and naked, and half 

starved weren’t bad at all. 



 It made her wonder, though, what the sudden interest 

in her was, and it wasn’t hard to figure out. The time 

had come when they were going to do whatever it was 

they’d brought her here for. 



 She arrived at that realization about the time the man 

dragging her carried her through a huge doorway and 

she found herself outside. A cold tide of terror washed 

over her as ‘outside’ and ‘execution’ collided in her 

mind. She was still trying to convince herself that she 

was allowing her imagination to run away with her 

when they stepped outside. 



 Instantly, she was blinded by the bright sunlight and 

bombarded by a rumble of mingled noises that sounded 

like the distant roar of a coliseum full of football 

fans--caught in the middle of a thunderstorm. Smoke 

filled the air, as well, as if they were in the midst of a 

fourth of July fireworks display. The explosions 

preceded the light, though, she realized as her eyes 

began to adjust to the bright light, and the crowd she 


----------------------- Page 390-----------------------

heard wasn’t cheering and roaring with pleasure. 



 The roars she heard were all from the throats of 

men--of challenge, of excursion, and pain and death. 



 And then she saw the scaffold. 



 Her mind went blank, but she’d seen the sadistic glint 

in Jaelen’s eyes the first time she’d met him, and the 

second meeting had reinforced that impression, not 

dispelled it. The setting was so like medieval movies 

she’d seen of public execution and torture that, as much 

as she wanted to disbelieve, she accepted that her wild 

thoughts weren’t wild at all. 



 There was a battle going on some where nearby and 

Jaelen had decided the best way to use her. 



 Incongruously with the almost medieval setting, there 

was a huge video display screen erected in the distance, 

near what appeared to be a drop off. She hadn’t had 

time until that moment to realize that they must be on 

top of a mountain. The view beyond that screen made 

her stomach go weightless. 



 As she dragged her gaze back, she saw herself on the 

screen. She stumbled. The guard’s hand tightened, 

alerting her to the fact that he’d grown so certain she 

wouldn’t present a problem to him than he’d relaxed 


----------------------- Page 391-----------------------

his grip. She focused on his hold when she righted 

herself. It was firm, but not tight. 



 If Simon was anywhere around, and she thought he 

must be--figured the screen made it pretty obvious he 

was too far away to fully appreciate what they were 

going to do to her--he couldn’t help her. She was going 

to have to save herself and her baby because no white 

knight was going to come charging to her rescue. 



 Dragging her gaze from the horrible things set up on 

the scaffold with an effort, she scanned the area, 

looking for any possibilities. There were soldiers 

around, but most of them were focused on watching 

whatever was going on below them--a battle obviously. 

No doubt once the fun started with her, she’d have their 

full attention, but at the moment, except for the man 

dragging her out for her execution, she was almost 

unguarded. 



 Places to hide--places to climb--there would be no 

running. The cliff wasn’t something she was willing to 

jump off of, although it did occur to her that it would 

probably be a lot quicker and less painful than what 

they had in mind. 



 It looked like the ‘drawing and quartering’ thing she’d 

seen in a movie--close enough at any rate, she didn’t 

want to find out how close it was. 


----------------------- Page 392-----------------------

 The scaffold was a raised platform, maybe eighteen 

inches above the leveled stone plateau where it had 

been built. She was fairly certain she could get under it, 

despite her belly, and they couldn’t, but where to go 

then? 



 Could she take cover there until the ‘calvary’ arrived? 

Had the execution been scheduled because they thought 

Simon’s side was about to win and they hoped to 

demoralize him? Or were they already in trouble and 

Jaelen figured this would finish things off nicely? 

Distract Simon at a crucial moment? 



 She didn’t know, but she realized she didn’t have any 

options. There was nothing else. The scaffold was built 

on the very edge of the cliff. If she scrambled under it 

and they came after her, she supposed she was going to 

have to find out how good she was at rock climbing. 



 The thought was terrifying enough to make her feel 

weak all over, but she resolutely put it from her mind. 

There was no point in thinking about it until or unless it 

became necessary--no point in thinking about it then, if 

it came to that, or she didn’t have a prayer. She would 

have todo , not think. 



 She waited until they’d almost reached the scaffold. 

Dragging in a deep breath, she snatched her arm quickly 


----------------------- Page 393-----------------------

from the guard’s grasp and whirled in almost the same 

motion. Letting out an ear splitting ‘hi-yah’ like she’d 

seen the marshal arts people do, she slammed her fist 

into the man’s nuts with every ounce of power she 

could sling at him. The blow felt like it broke half the 

bones in her hand and dislocated her wrist, elbow, and 

shoulder, but the man let out a roar of pain and doubled 

over. 



 Raina was already halfway to the scaffold by the time 

he crumpled up, nursing his balls. A yell of alert went 

up from three or four men as she scrambled under it. 



 It was a tight fit and hell trying to crawl with her belly 

dragging the ground, but she ignored that, ignored the 

pain in her hand and arm, ignored the fact that she’d 

lost the blanket and was stark naked. She didn’t pause 

until she’d covered a good bit ground, but she finally 

stopped to get her bearings, to gauge how far she was 

from the sides all around. 



 Faces appeared at the edges of the scaffolding. 



 They stared at her, trying to figure out how to get to her 

and get her out. 



 Obviously, a quick and relatively painless death wasn’t 

an option for her or they would’ve just shot her where 

she was. 


----------------------- Page 394-----------------------

 A couple of them got down on their bellies and began 

trying to wiggle toward her. 



 She heard feet tramping on the scaffolding above her 

and looked up quickly, trying to see if there was 

anything that looked like a trap door of the sort she’d 

seen used in hangings. Deciding the scaffold was 

probably too low for anything like that, she stayed 

where she was, trying to catch her breath and keep a 

watch on the men trying to crawl toward her. 



 They didn’t have any weapons, but neither did she. 

The moment the thought occurred to her, however, she 

began to look around for a loose rock. She found 

pebbles, nothing big enough to bash a head in, but she 

scooped up handfuls and began slinging them at the 

men coming toward her, hoping it would at least slow 

them down. 



 It did. It also pissed them off more than they were 

already pissed. She grabbed more and slung them 

harder, inching a little closer to the edge of the cliff as 

they inched closer to her. 



 She ran out of running room a lot faster than she’d 

thought she would. 



 A man ran around to the narrow ledge near the cliff’s 


----------------------- Page 395-----------------------

edge. As she saw his knees bend, Raina reversed 

directions and kicked him with both feet as hard as she 

could. He wobbled and let out a scream as he went over 

the cliff edge. 



 Raina thought for a moment she’d throw up, horrified 

that she’d shoved the man over the cliff. She realized 

fairly quickly, though, that it had made the others a lot 

more cautious about approaching her. Everyone else 

apparently decided to just wait and let the men crawling 

toward her get her and drag her out. 



 She turned to watch their progress, trying to even her 

breath. She’d been gasping with fear and exertion until 

she felt dizzy. She could still hear men walking around 

on the scaffold above her and realized they were 

watching and waiting for her to try to dart out. 



 The cliff was starting to look better and better, or more 

accurately, she supposed, less scary, more like a 

possibility when all other possibilities were quickly 

narrowing to none. There were probably men waiting to 

catch her if she popped out even on that side, but she’d 

run out of rock even to slow the men down and she saw 

they’d be on her in a matter of minutes. 



 She wasn’t going to let them drag her out and do all 

kinds of horrible things to her. She’d be dead anyway, 

and the baby would be dead. She had two 


----------------------- Page 396-----------------------

choices--climb, or die. 



 Girding herself, she scanned the edge, trying to see 

which spot closest to her looked like the best place to 

go over. Even as she stared at her last, dwindling hope, 

though, she saw something that stilled the breath in 

chest--stopped her heart, and she wasn’t certain whether 

it was more from terror, or sheer awe. 



                           Chapter Nineteen 



 Gasping for breath, Simon transferred his sword from 

his right hand to his left, flexed his aching fingers a few 

times to relieve some of the ache, and grabbed his 

water skin, squeezing water over his hot face before he 

filled his mouth. After swishing it around a moment to 

relieve the sour taste, he spat and filled his mouth 

again, drinking sparingly since he knew too much 

would make him ill. He was too hot from fighting, and 

too empty of food. 



 They’d had four full scale battles and nearly twice that 

many minor clashes over the past weeks, paying in 


----------------------- Page 397-----------------------

blood and sweat for every inch of ground they’d taken 

and everyone, him included, was the next thing to total 

exhaustion--partly because they rarely managed to stop 

long enough to fill their bellies or catch more than a few 

hours of sleep. 



 At that, they had been lucky. The first clash might have 

been disastrous for them, might have been the only 

battle of the war, except for the fact that nearly a quarter 

of Jaelen’s army had promptly switched sides. From 

that moment onward, they had been steadily pressing 

Jaelen’s rapidly diminishing army back--diminishing 

almost as rapidly because of desertions and switched 

loyalties as from those who’d fallen in battle, while his 

own army had been growing steadily despite their 

losses. 



 Loyalists from the east and west had arrived within a 

week of the commencement of their campaign. Another 

group from the north had arrived a week later to fill 

their ranks--and still they had been at for weeks. Simon 

chafed at it, but they were virtually at the gates of 

Draken Fortress now, and Jaelen had been kind enough 

to come and greet them himself. He would not be 

forced to chase him down when he had defeated his 

army. 



 Because Jaelen had been unwise enough to trap 

himself in Draken Fortress. 


----------------------- Page 398-----------------------

 “They are forming up for another run at us,” Audric 

gasped tiredly, dragging his own water skin from his 

saddle horn to take a few quick gulps. 



 Simon nodded, using his arm to wipe his face as he 

squinted at the army across the plain from them and the 

dead men that lay between both armies. “We have cut 

them down to size, though,” he said with satisfaction. 



 “But they have managed to keep the pass at their 

backs,” Jorell muttered in disgust. 



 “We will outflank them in the next engage …..” Simon 

’s voice trailed off as he lifted his head to stare up at 

Draken Fortress. A wave of cold washed over him as he 

stared in disbelief at the enormous vid screen Jaelen 

had had erected near the cliff’s edge. 



 They had thought he had done it to taunt them. They 

had thought it was Jaelen’s clever way of telling them 

that he was already preparing for their execution. They 

had thought the screen was his way of insuring that their 

executions could be clearly seen by the defeated army. 



 He saw that they were only partly right. Jaelen had had 

the scaffold and screen erected for their benefit, to taunt 

them--taunt him. 


----------------------- Page 399-----------------------

 As he watched, feeling cold dread settle through him, 

disbelief, fear, he saw a guard dragging a half naked, 

very pregnant woman toward the scaffold--toward the 

sadistic torture and lingering death he had believed 

Jaelen intended for them. 



 And mayhap that was his plan, but he would see to it 

that Simon had to watch Raina die first. Just as he had 

Evangeline. 



 For many moments, he could not seem to bring his 

mind to function. He could only stare, feeling the cold 

slowly give way to the horror he’d felt while he 

watched them prepare Evangeline for death, the 

tortuous sense of helplessness, the sick rage. Not 

Rainie, he thought. Gods! Not his sweet Rainie! He 

could not live and bear it! 



 Seeing that Simon had gone as still and white as death, 

Audric lifted his head, as well, and froze, staring in 

disbelief at the vid, trying to wrap his mind around the 

fact that he was watching Raina being dragged to her 

death. He thought for several moments that he would 

lose what little he had left in his stomach as his mind 

refused to give the lie to what he was watching. “Gods! 

Sweet, merciful gods! Do not do this!” he whispered. 



 “Gods be damned!” Jorell exclaimed, drawn by their 

rapt attention to look up, too. “That is not … that can 


----------------------- Page 400-----------------------

not be … Is that Raina?” 



 “By the gods itis her!” Elden exclaimed in angry 

disbelief. “How? How could she be here? How could he 

have gotten his foul hands on her?” 



 Simon abruptly let out a roar that echoed across the 

valley and bounced from the mountain back at them. 

Flinging his sword to ground, he leapt after it and began 

to tear at his clothes. Elden, Jorell, and Audric turned to 

gape at him. 



 “Gods! He has lost his mind!” Audric gasped, 

struggling to get down from his ownnaybst even as 

Jorell and Elden leapt from their mounts. 



 Racing around thenaybsts to try to restrain him, the 

three men skidded to a halt abruptly, shocked into a 

frozen state as they saw that Simon was not Simon 

anymore. 



 “He is morphing,” Audric said in disbelief and 

dawning awe, “shape changing! By the gods, Simon is 

morphing!” 



                                  * * * * 



 Pain submerged the rage for a time, surpassed it. 

Simon choked and gasped at the burning fire that 


----------------------- Page 401-----------------------

flowed over every inch of his skin and seared him all 

the way to the bone. Gritting his teeth, he fought to 

focus, calling the change as he had realized long since 

that he could if he but put his mind to it--his secret 

weapon, the secret of Draken that he alone knew now. 

He had planned to call upon it to defeat Jaelen if need 

be. 



 He had not known that he would need it to save his 

Rainie. 



 Fear trickled through the fire and pain and rage as her 

image filled his mind, and doubts, for he hadn’t 

succeeded in calling it before--not a complete 

transformation. 



 He thrust the distraction from his mind, focusing every 

ounce of his will on changing. In much the same way a 

hypnotist would focus on relaxing each part of the body, 

he called to each part of his to change, expand, 

grow--and he felt the change tear through him. 

Unrestrained by the inhibitors fed to the dragon folk in 

everything they consumed, he felt his bones crack and 

reform, felt his skin harden, felt his muscles burn as 

they bulged outward in thick, ropy cords. He felt his 

shoulder blades burn like fire as they bulged against the 

skin of his back, elongating, forming finger-like spines 

that stretched the thinning skin like the taut sail of a 

ship. He felt his spine crack, felt the bones expand, 


----------------------- Page 402-----------------------

forming a hard, jutting ridge from his neck downward to 

form a long, spiny tail. 



 And as he felt the pain begin to flow away, allowing 

the rage to surge back into him in a hot, molten tide, he 

looked down at himself and a savage sense of 

satisfaction filled him as he saw that he’d called forth 

his dragon form. 



 Lifting his head again to Raina, he stared at the men 

racing around the scaffold in an effort to get to her and 

the rage threatened to consume him, eating at his mind 

until he had to struggle to hold on to the man part of 

himself.Rainie , he thought,mine ! 



 Sucking in a deep breath, he expelled a death challenge 

to Jaelen, and with it a wall of fire that seared and 

charred everything in its path. Unfurling his wings, he 

stretched them wide, fanned them experimentally a few 

times and then raced forward, sprang upward, using his 

great wings to catch the air and lift him higher. 



 He glared down at Jaelen’s army as he soared above 

their heads, feeling the urge to circle around and blast 

them with his dragon fire, to launch himself at them and 

tear them limb from limb with his talons, shred them 

his teeth, and stomp them into dust. Snorting, he lifted 

his head again. 


----------------------- Page 403-----------------------

 Raina. Raina first, he told himself, his woman, his 

mate--his young. 



 His heart and lungs expanded and labored as he fought 

the currents to climb the walls of the canyon, to climb 

higher, climb faster. Quickly, he thought, he must move 

quickly or they would have her. 



 And then he burst above the cliff’s edge where the 

scaffolding was, where his Raina was. Angling his 

wings, he allowed the air to pass beneath and around 

them so that he hovered, studying the threat to Raina, 

assessing how to go about killing those who threatened 

her without harming her and his child. 



 The men atop the cliff froze as he came within their 

view, gaping at him as if they’d never seen a 

dragon--dragon men who gaped in terror at their own 

kind, he thought with grim amusement. He smiled a 

dragon smile, sucking in a deep breath to burn them to 

dust. 



 And then he saw his Raina--his brave, clever 

woman--peeking at him from beneath the scaffold, her 

beautiful green eyes as wide as saucers, and he 

struggled to tame his dragon mind with his man side. 



 Come to me, sweeting, he coaxed, flapping his wings 

to move closer, holding his arms out to her.Come to 


----------------------- Page 404-----------------------

me. Rainie. 



 She looked at him doubtfully, but he knew she’d heard 

him in her mind. 



 Trust me, Rainie. Come to me. Quickly, beloved. 



 “Simon?” 



 There was doubt in her voice, but even as he began to 

think he would have to think of another way to reach 

her, she scrambled out from under the scaffold and 

leapt toward him, dove right off the edge of the cliff. 

His heart seemed to stop in his chest as he swooped to 

catch her, folding her into his arms and against his 

horny hide. Sucking in a deep breath then, he expelled a 

wall of flame at the men who’d had time to recover 

from their shocked surprise and began to race toward 

the weaponry that would pose a threat to him. 



 He didn’t linger. As soon he’d blasted a swath through 

them, he peeled away, gliding downward on the air 

currents he’d had to fight to use to reach her. He could 

feel her clinging to him, shaking, could feel their child 

nestled between them. 



 His child. 



 She had allowed him to send her away and she hadn’t 


----------------------- Page 405-----------------------

told him. 



 Anger rolled through him. He tamped it with an effort, 

fighting another round with his beast side, reminding 

himself how fragile she was, how easily he could hurt 

her. There would be time--now--to tell her how 

displeased he was that she’d said nothing. Later. Not 

now. 



 “Simon?” 



 Yes, beloved. I have you safe. 



 The battlefield, he saw as he dropped toward the 

ground, had become a tangle of clashing bodies as both 

armies lost all semblance of order. Drawn by the 

fighting blood raging through him, he swooped low, but 

he could not attack without killing as many of his own 

men as he did Jaelen’s. 



 “Haig,” Raina said suddenly. “It was Haig that took 

me! He’s working for that asshole, Jaelen!” 



 An unsettling mixture of anger and amusement filled 

him, anger to learn of Haig’s involvement, and 

amusement at his Raina. I had begun to suspect it was 

him,he answered her.I will take care of him when I am 

done with Jaelen, but for now I must see to your 

safety. 


----------------------- Page 406-----------------------

 Circling the battlefield until he saw Audric, he called 

to him. 



 Audric dispatched the man he was fighting and looked 

up. 



 I need you to protect our lady. I do not dare leave 

her alone when Jaelen ’s men are everywhere. I trust 

no one but you to protect her. 



 Nodding, Audric wrestled hisnaybst around and fought 

his way to the rear of the battle. When he’d cleared the 

melee, he spurred the beast into a gallop. 



 Simon circled above him, lifting higher on the air 

currents until he could see where the men were fighting 

and finally alit when he’d found a place that seemed 

safe enough. Crouching low, he settled Raina on her 

feet with great care, dipping his head to study her 

carefully for any signs of hurt.I did not hurt you, 

beloved? 



 Cushioned from the roiling emotions at the back of her 

mind by shock, a sense of being caught up in a dream 

state,Raina gaped up at the dragon with Simon’s eyes, 

that spoke inside her mind with Simon’s voice, and 

shook her head. 


----------------------- Page 407-----------------------

 He studied her a moment longer, as if to make certain 

she wasn’t just telling him that. After a moment, he 

lifted a hand, as if he would touch her belly and then 

withdrew it again, curling his long talons inward toward 

his palm.Mine? 



 Raina swallowed with an effort. “You have to ask?” 



 He frowned.I want to hear you say it. 



 She looked worried and defensive at the same time. “I 

tried to tell you, but you didn’t seem to want it.” 



 He stared at her angrily, uncomfortably, trying to recall 

anything that she’d said that had seemed to indicate she 

was carrying his child, but he found his beast was at war 

with his man’s mind. Thoughts were hard. Instincts 

struggled to take over and his instincts were demanding 

blood. Impatience moved through him now that he had 

his woman safe, impatience to deal with the man who’d 

tried to kill her. 



 He snarled at Audric when he finally saw him racing up 

        naybst  Stay here with her and keep her safe. 

on his             . 



 Without waiting for a response, he lumbered away 

from the two of them, moving awkwardly on the 

ground. When he saw he’d put enough distance 

between himself and them, he launched himself 


----------------------- Page 408-----------------------

skyward again. He could do nothing for his men on the 

field without endangering their lives, but he could get 

to Jaelen. 



                                  * * * * 



 The blood lust began to sing in his veins again as 

Simon reached the battlefield. He circled above the 

plain, slow circles, peering down at the mass of 

struggling man forms below him through narrowed 

eyes, searching hungrily for an opening for vengeance. 

They had harmed his mate, threatened his child. They 

would have to pay in blood for that. 



 All of them, he thought--all--but Jaelen first. 



 Even as he looked up the fortress, however, his man’s 

mind pricked at him, reminded him that he could not 

simply yield to the beast. He had to have victory. He 

had to defeat the army. 



 Cutting another slow sweep over the field, he spied the 

men waiting for the signal to attack the fortress itself. 



 Dill stared at him with his mouth at half mast as he 

settled, hovering just above the ground. “Simon?” 



 “Aye,” Simon growled in his rumbling dragon voice. 

“It is time. Launch the skimmers. We will crush Jaelen’ 


----------------------- Page 409-----------------------

s army between us.” 



 Nodding jerkily, Dill whirled to belay the order. The 

skimmers rose from the ground like a swarm of angry 

bees, lifting, riding the air currents upward as Simon 

banked, circling around to lead the way. 



 The defenders of the Fortress had had plenty of time to 

regroup and recover from their shock, Simon saw 

grimly as he burst above the rim of the plateau and then 

had to bank sharply to avoid an incendiary bomb 

launched at his breast. It slammed into the skimmer 

behind him, sending it spiraling toward the ground far 

below like a fire bomb itself. It exploded halfway 

down, but the men inside had long passed beyond 

feeling it. 



 Sucking in his breath, Simon expelled a fire wall at the 

men who’d launched the weapon. The flame licked at 

the wall they’d hid behind, the wall built by dragon men 

to withstand dragon fire. He flapped his great wings, 

boosting himself higher into the air until he was above 

them, and belched a ball of fire at them. 



 Two managed to scream before they died. 



 Looking around for more to satisfy his need to kill, 

Simon saw that the skimmers were swarming round the 

fortress. The disk-like vehicles were armed to the teeth, 


----------------------- Page 410-----------------------

gun barrels sticking out in every direction that fired 

shells as big as man’s fist and powerful enough to 

penetrate the hardest material known to draconians--the 

crystal stone Draken Fortress had been built from. 



 From the top of the fortress, Jaelen’s skimmers rose, 

firing as they lifted. Simon swerved and dipped, 

avoiding the bulk of the shells, then roared in agony and 

rage as one pierced his thigh. He spiraled downward for 

several moments before he gained control of the pain 

and lifted his wings to catch an air current to break his 

fall. 



 Through pain glazed eyes, he searched for a place to 

light and finally struggled upward again, moving off to 

the nearest peak to the fortress and settled to examine 

his thigh. The bone in his leg had stopped the shell. 

Gritting his teeth, he used his talon to slice the hole 

wider and dig the shell out. Blood flowed freely from 

his leg for a moment before his accelerated cell 

regeneration sealed it. 



 He paused to catch his breath, watching the battle 

while he waited for the weakness to pass and finally 

returned his attention to the fortress. Jaelen, he thought. 

He needed to find Jaelen before he managed to escape. 



 Now where, he thought, would my murderous little 

brother be hiding? 


----------------------- Page 411-----------------------

                                  * * * * 



 Audric leapt from hisnaybst the moment it skidded to a 

halt and raced to Raina. 



 She lifted her arms to receive him, gasping as he 

caught her to his chest and lifted her clear of the 

ground. 



 “Raina! Gods! How did they find you? I thought you 

were safe,” he ground out hoarsely. “I never would 

have left you if I had thought otherwise. I thought my 

heart would fail me when I saw you up there.” 



 Raina clung tightly to him, her teeth chattering in 

reaction, tremors of cold washing through her. The 

warmth of Audric’s body chased the chill, though, the 

strength of his arms around her drove the terror away, 

the steady beat of his heart against her cheek comforted 

her. She sniffed, fighting the urge to let go of the 

emotions roiling inside of her. 



 He cupped a hand along the back of her head, pressing 

her more tightly against his chest. “My brave woman,” 

he murmured soothingly. “You were so brave. I was so 

proud of you.” 



 Raina sniffed again and burst into tears. “I was scared 


----------------------- Page 412-----------------------

to death! I was so scared, Audric! There was no place to 

go. No place to hide. I thought I was going to have to 

try to climb down the mountain.” 



 He rocked her gently until she’d calmed and finally 

pulled away to look at her. A frown drew his brows 

together as his gaze wandered downward from her face 

to her belly. “Why did you not tell us? I know you did 

not tell Simon. He would never have left you if he had 

known about the babe!” 



 Raina gave him a resentful look. “I tried to tell him.” 



 His eyes narrowed. “You are saying he would not 

listen?” he demanded in patent disbelief. 



 She sniffed. “I asked him if he’d be mad if I got 

pregnant and he said ‘happily that isn’t possible’.” Her 

chin wobbled. “I thought he just didn’t want to know. 

Obviously, he didn’t want me to have his baby.” 



 He studied her for a long moment in tight lipped 

silence and finally slipped an arm around her waist and 

guided her over to his beast, dragging a shirt from his 

pack. He watched her uncomfortably as she slipped her 

arms into the sleeves and began to fasten the buttons. 

“Did they …? What happened to your clothes?” he 

asked in a strangled voice. 


----------------------- Page 413-----------------------

 Raina looked at him questioningly and then it dawned 

on her that he thought she’d been raped. She shook her 

head. “They didn’t do anything--I don’t think. I guess 

they figured it would make more of an impact if y’all 

could see I was pregnant--otherwise, god only knows 

what they would’ve done to me.” 



 He frowned. “Do not think?” 



 She sighed, but glanced around uneasily, feeling a 

shiver skate along her spine as she listened to the 

noises of battle. “Are we really safe here?” 



 Diverted, Audric lifted his head to look around, as 

well. “Simon checked. He would not have left you here 

if he had not been certain it was safe. But you are right. 

We should find a place less exposed.” 



 He stared down at her rounded belly, and then looked 

at the beast, and then looked at her belly uneasily, and 

then looked around. “Gods be damned! I do not think it 

is at all safe to put you on the beast, but you can not 

walk like that.” 



 Raina plunked her hands on her hips. “Like what?” 



 Audric looked at her belly uncomfortably and finally 

down at her feet. “Your feet are bare,” he pointed out 

meekly. 


----------------------- Page 414-----------------------

 She knew damned well he hadn’t been talking about 

her feet! She didn’t like the looks of the thing he’d 

been riding, though. “What is that thing?” 



 He glanced at his beast. “Anaybst .” 



 “It’s horrible looking. It looks like a … big rat.” 



 He looked affronted. “It is a noble beast … but it is 

trained for war. It is no ride for a lady … especially …. 

I will carry you,” he added hurriedly at the look she 

gave him. 



 “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Raina said, thinking 

about the possibility of running into soldiers. 



 “I do not either, but I do not see an alternative. You 

can not walk--your feet are bare. You will cut them on 

the rock.” As if that settled it, he moved to the beast 

and took the reins he’d left trailing down on the ground. 

“You hold the lead. I will hold you.” 



 Studying the animal doubtfully, Raina took the leather 

strips he held out to her. The moment she took hold of 

them, however, the beast began nodding its head and 

making a strange clicking noise. Audric balled his hand 

into a fist and slugged it in the jaw. “Behave you ugly 

brute!” he snarled. 


----------------------- Page 415-----------------------

 Raina’s lips curled as he turned back to her and bent to 

lift her into his arms. “I thought you said he was a noble 

beast.” 



 “He is. But he is not a beautiful, noble beast,” he 

retorted, his eyes gleaming with humor. “He is a 

vicious, disrespectful brute, and he will run off it I 

leave him and we will be stranded.” 



 After glancing around, he followed a fairly level path 

for a bit and then began to climb a slight incline toward 

a rocky overhang. When they’d reached the wall it 

formed, he set her on her feet and brushed the rubble 

from a fairly flat stone close by. “There. Sit. I do not 

want it to fall out.” 



 “Excuse you!” Raina demanded angrily. “Fallout? Just 

how fucking big do you think I am?” 



 He looked disconcerted. “Wrong word?” he hazarded. 



 She narrowed her eyes at him. “Yes, wrong word, 

asshole!” she snapped and flounced down on the rock, 

wincing as it bit into her next-thing-to-bare ass. 



 He misinterpreted the wince. “Gods be damned! Do 

not have it here!” 


----------------------- Page 416-----------------------

 Raina gave him an irritated look and then stared down 

at her belly, placing her hands over the mound to study 

it. “It’s notthat big.” 



 Audric obviously didn’t want to argue about it, but he 

studied it with a good deal of uneasiness. “It is not 

ready?” he asked hopefully. 



 “I honestly don’t know. How long does it take to get 

here from Earth?” 



 “We traveled three months Earth time--two and half 

our time.” 



 “I guess that means I’m over half way--six or seven 

months. It’s supposed to be like nine months, I think. I’ 

ve never had a baby before.” 



 If possible, Audric looked more uneasy, but he 

apparently decided against voicing whatever doubts 

were running through his mind. Taking the beast’s 

reins, he led it a short distance away from them and 

settled a rock on the ends of its reins. After studying the 

beast thoughtfully for a moment, he reached into one of 

the packs and dragged out a handful of some sort of 

grain, holding it in his palm for the beast to eat. Wiping 

his hand absently on the leg of his pants when the beast 

had finished eating, he made a sweep of the area with 

his gaze and then returned to stand beside her with his 


----------------------- Page 417-----------------------

back to the rock wall. 



 Raina studied her stomach. “That … dragon was 

Simon,” she said finally. 



 Audric sent her an uncomfortable glance. “Yes,” he 

said. “We are dragon folk, Raina--that is why Simon 

said to you that it was not possible, because we thought 

it was not possible.” 



 “Draconians.” 



 “From the name of our world, Drack, but, yes, that is 

why it is named that … or perhaps why we are known 

as dragon folk.” 



 “I don’t understand. Everybody I’ve seen … they look 

like people, not dragons.” 



 “This land has not seen dragons for generations--until 

Simon. I do not know how he learned the way. I 

thought--we all thought--that the knowledge had been 

lost to us long ago.” He was silent for a time. “That is 

what Simon meant when he said to me that he knew the 

secret of Draken Fortress. He was telling me he knew 

the old ways.” 



 He grinned suddenly. “He is magnificent! I was so 

afraid for you that I could scarcely take it in at the 


----------------------- Page 418-----------------------

time--I thought that his fear for you had unhinged his 

mind when he began to tear at his clothes. And then I 

saw him begin to transform and I could scarcely believe 

even seeing.” 



 Raina swallowed a little convulsively. “Will he change 

back?” 



                            Chapter Twenty 



 Audric sent her a sharp glance. “You are not afraid of 

Simon?” 



 Raina thought it over. She had been afraid. She’d also 

been awed. Audric was right. Hewas magnificent--but 

she’d always thought that, always. 



 She still didn’t want to think about her baby and the ‘ 

transformation’ at the same time. She’d known even 

before she’d climbed happily into Simon’s bed that he 

wasn’t human. But she’d still thought he was the same 

… not as different from her as he was. 



 She looked up at Audric unhappily. “I just want my 


----------------------- Page 419-----------------------

baby to be alright.” 



 He looked away. She could see he wanted to reassure 

her and at the same time he had doubts, too. “We have 

not …. We have never mated outside our own kind,” he 

said finally. “If it is possible, then ….” 



 “It will be a miracle if he’s alright,” Raina said sadly. 

She didn’t want to think about the fact that the odds 

seemed stacked against him. She’d been through so 

much, though, since she’d gotten pregnant and now it 

had been brought home to her just how great a risk she’ 

d taken when she’d had sex with Simon, knowing her 

birth control was no longer effective and hoping she 

would get pregnant. 



 She’d been thoughtless because of what she’d wanted. 

She hadn’t been able to resist the temptation to have 

Simon’s baby, though, knowing all along that she could 

never have Simon. She loved him so much! She’d 

wantedsome part of him to love that would love her 

back. 



 It was Simon’s baby, she told herself. Simon was so 

strong. How could his baby not be? The babyseemed 

strong. He was very active, she thought. Though she 

had nothing to compare her pregnancy with, he seemed 

to move almost constantly, and he was certainly 

growing. 


----------------------- Page 420-----------------------

 She struggled to put her anxieties from her mind. All 

she could do was do her best to take care of herself and 

her baby. She was six or seven months along, she was 

sure. In a few months, she would know and that would 

be soon enough to deal with problems if there were any. 

It couldn’t be good for him if she spent all that time 

worrying about things she had no control over. Heknew 

when she was upset. Every time she was distressed, he 

was, too. 



 “Audric?” she said tentatively. 



 He looked at her questioningly. 



 “Do you have an extra weapon?” 



 His dark brows shot up. “Why?” 



 “Don’t look at me like that! I’m pregnant, not crippled! 

There are soldiers everywhere. I’d just feel better if 

both of us had something.” 



 “Women do not fight--especially women who are 

breeding.” 



 She gaped at him in outrage. “Oh! Don’teven start that 

macho man shit with me! It’s ok for them todie if they 

get overrun, but not ok to fight? I’ve just spent weeks in 


----------------------- Page 421-----------------------

a fucking prison--by myself!--and chased all over hell 

and gone by soldiers bent on … doing horrible things to 

me. I have absolute faith that you’ll try your best to 

protect me, and I know you’re very good at what you 

do, but what are the odds only one or two guys might 

show up? There’s anarmy out there! Give me the 

damned pistol!” 



 He studied her with a mixture of anger, reluctance, 

amusement, and grudging respect. “Do you know how 

to use it?” 



 Raina frowned at him. “Point and shoot, right?” 



 “You would not be able to bring yourself to kill, Raina. 

You are a woman. Women do not do these things.” 



 “I shoved a man off the damned cliff! Don’t tell me 

what I can and can’t do, damn it! If anybody threatens 

my baby, I’ll blow his fucking head off and I can assure 

you I’ll sleep just fine!” 



 A slow grin curled his lips. “You are so ferocious, 

dearling!” 



 He chuckled when she glared at him, but finally pulled 

the weapon from his shoulder holster and instructed her 

on how to use it. “Just do not shoot me in the back. I do 

not like to have holes in my hide.” 


----------------------- Page 422-----------------------

 Raina gave him an irritated look, but finally relented. 

“I’m fond of your hide, too.” 



 They were distracted by a sudden roar in the distance. 

Both of them stiffened and strained to hear what that 

roar of sound might mean. 



 “Pater-Draken!” 



 “The Emperor has fallen!” 



 “Long live Emperor Pater-Draken!” 



 Raina and Audric exchanged a look. “What are they 

saying?” Raina asked breathlessly. 



 Audric grinned suddenly. “We have defeated Emperor 

Jaelen! They are cheering Simon--our new Emperor!” 



 Raina smiled back at him, feeling her chest swell with 

pride, and at the same time a sickening sense of loss. 

He was Emperor. He’d won. And she’d lost. She 

swallowed against the nauseating pang. She’d neverhad 

. There had never been a chance of any other outcome. 

Even before she’d known exactly who and what Simon 

was, she’d known that he was a great man, not a man 

who could or would seriously consider having a woman 

like her as anything more than a mistress or temporary 


----------------------- Page 423-----------------------

plaything. “That’s good, then. That’s what he wanted. I’ 

m … so happy for him.” 



 Audric frowned, looked as if he meant to say 

something. Before he could, however, he heard a sound 

that diverted him. It was a moment more before it 

penetrated Raina’s misery and she realized it was the 

sound of pounding feet, heavy, as if it was many feet. 

Four men mounted onnaybsts burst into view, bent low 

over their beasts’ heads and riding hell for leather. 



 Audric recognized the man in the lead before she did, 

calling out to him before she could gather her wits and 

stop him. In truth, he’d already called out before it 

dawned on her that he didn’t know, that she hadn’t told 

him . 



 “Haig! We are here!” 



 “No! Audric! Oh god! He’s the one that took me, that 

brought me here. He’s with that asshole, Jaelen.” 



 It was too much to hope they hadn’t heard, but then 

Haig might have spotted them anyway. He veered 

toward them without slowing the beast by much. Raina 

froze in abject terror, certain for several moments that 

the riders were bent on running them down. Before it 

had clicked in her mind that they couldn’t very well do 

that unless they were willing to flatten themselves on 


----------------------- Page 424-----------------------

the rock face behind them, all four men pulled their 

beasts to a rearing, skidding halt and leapt from their 

saddles, pulling long, lethal looking swords from the 

sheathes strapped to their backs. Audric pulled his own, 

taking up a fighter’s stance. 



 Raina came out of her stupor, stared at Audric a 

moment, looked at the advancing men and then down at 

the weapon in her hand. Without giving it any actual 

thought, she pointed the thing at the first man that 

caught her eye and depressed the lever Audric had told 

her would make it fire. A beam of light shot from it, 

stunning Raina, who’d expected a deafening explosion 

of sound. It stunned the man it hit, too, knocking him 

into the air and backwards. 



 It stunned everyone, actually. Audric went rigid with 

shock. The three men still standing froze. Raina 

recovered first, firing at wild random as the men surged 

forward again at a hard, ground eating run. 



 “Raina!” Audric bellowed, grabbing blindly at her to 

either push her back, or stop her. “They have only 

swords!” 



 “Good thing, too!” 



 “It is dishonorable!” 


----------------------- Page 425-----------------------

 “And I give a shit!” 



 Either her first shot was just blind luck, or her panic 

ruined her marksmanship, or the speed they were racing 

toward them combined with her poor hand/eye 

coordination made hitting any of them in a vital spot 

impossible. She managed to hit all three, but they kept 

coming--and the weapon stopped firing. Audric grabbed 

her blindly by the shoulder, and began dragging her 

toward his beast. She stumbled to follow him, 

wondering if he thought they could get on the thing and 

get away before the men reached them. 



 “Stay behind thenaybst ,” he ordered grimly. 



 Raina looked at his back in dismay, realizing he was 

trying to form a shield around her with his body and the 

beast’s--which might be a good plan if the beast didn’t 

decide to stomp her to death. 



 She screamed as Haig, teeth gritted, his eyes wild with 

fury, leapt at Audric and swung his blade. Audric caught 

the blow with the edge of his own blade. The loud 

clang of metal against metal nearly deafened her. The 

high pitched screech of the blades sawing against each 

other as Haig’s blade continued its downward arc made 

the fine hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. 



 Clamping her hand over her mouth to keep from 


----------------------- Page 426-----------------------

distracting Audric by screaming again, Raina danced 

behind him, trying to stay out of his way as he and Haig 

hammered at each other with the deadly things as if 

they were swinging clubs, not four foot long blades. 

The men with Haig didn’t seem to be worried about ‘ 

honor’ or being dishonorable about ganging up on one 

man. They hobbled up behind Haig, watching for an 

opportunity to thrust at him. One of the men, spying 

her, tried to get between Audric and the beast. “Hasar 

!” Audric bellowed. 



 Clicking and snorting furiously, the beast promptly 

began to nod its head and bounce on its two hind legs, 

kicking out at the man with its two front legs and 

striking him on the knee with one cloven hoof. The 

man’s leg buckled. He staggered, caught his balance and 

swung and jabbed at the beast with his sword. The beast 

screamed as the blade sank into his chest and began to 

flail more frantically, rearing high enough to catch the 

man on the forehead with one hoof. The blow split his 

scalp and blood flowed from the man’s head, running 

like a river over his face. He staggered again, struck out 

blindly, missing the beast and nearly impaling Raina on 

the blade. Then he wobbled and both knees gave out. 



 In horror, Raina stared at the man as the beast stomped 

him over and over beneath his hooves until he was 

nothing but a ragged, bloody heap. Quivering all over, 

the beast finally stopped, wobbled unsteadily and went 


----------------------- Page 427-----------------------

down on its knees. It struggled for several moments to 

rise again and finally dropped to the ground on top of 

the man. 



 Raina slammed back against the stone wall behind her 

as she tried to leap out of harm’s way when the beast 

collapsed. There was little room for maneuvering, 

though, with the two men pressing Audric back. She 

managed to avoid the bulk of the beast’s weight, but its 

body pinned her legs against the stone. 



 Audric was breathing as if he’d run ten miles, his 

breath hoarse, grating. Raina could hear his laboring 

breaths even above the almost constant ringing of three 

blades as he beat back first one and then another. 

Realizing any minute Audric was going to be backed 

against her and the beast, with no room to maneuver at 

all, that they would have him pinned, Raina looked 

around frantically for something, anything. She had the 

pistol in her hand still, she saw. Even if it hadn’t run 

out of ‘juice ’, though, she was too close to all of the 

men to try to hit one without risking hitting Audric. 



 Anythingshe did was liable to distract him. They didn’t 

have any options, though. Audric was going to trip over 

the beast. His legs were against it, she saw, and the two 

men were trying to press their advantage, trying to 

overbalance him. 


----------------------- Page 428-----------------------

 She hurled the pistol at Haig’s head as he jerked 

sideways to dodge a blow Audric swung at him. The 

pistol caught him across the bridge of his nose. It wasn’ 

t heavy, but he jerked instinctively and when he did, 

Audric’s blade caught him across the neck. His head 

tipped drunkenly to one side. Blood spurted from his 

jugular vein like a fountain. 



 Audric jerked his blade back in a backhanded swing 

toward the other man. The man leapt back, but the 

blade still sliced a gash across his sword arm and all the 

way across his chest. He staggered back and whirled to 

run. 



 Audric lunged at him, shoving his sword straight 

through the man’s back. The man screamed, flung an 

arm over his shoulder to claw at the sword between his 

shoulder blades and then dropped to his knees and fell 

forward. 



 Gasping hoarsely, Audric wrenched his blade free as 

the man fell, driving the tip of his sword against the 

stone and leaning on it. Shaking all over, hardly daring 

to believe they’d managed to fight off all of their 

attackers, Raina strained to free herself from the weight 

of the dead animal. “Audric?” she gasped shakily as she 

saw his knees wobble. She screamed as his knees gave 

way and he dropped to the ground, wavered a moment 

as the beast had and then pitched sideways. 


----------------------- Page 429-----------------------

 Her fear for Audric gave her the strength to wrench 

free of the beast at last and she scrambled over to him, 

searching him frantically for wounds. Her hands came 

away from him sticky with blood, but she had no idea 

how much of it was his. “Audric?” 



 “Make … certain … they are … dead,” he gasped out 

in a weak, pained voice. 



 Sobbing uncontrollably, Raina grabbed his sword, 

dragging it behind her as she stumbled toward the man 

he’d just defeated. She didn’t know if he was still 

breathing or not. She didn’t care. He’d hurt Audric. He 

wasn’t going to be breathing when she was done with 

him! Screaming every foul thing she could think of to 

call the man, she lifted the sword as high as she could 

and hacked at him over and over until someone grabbed 

her and grabbed the sword, wrenching it from her 

hands. 



 Her chest heaving as much with her emotional outburst 

as with the effort of moving the heavy sword that was 

almost as long as she was tall, Raina looked up into 

Simon’s face without recognition for several moments. 



 “I believe this one is dead,” Simon said wryly. 



 Raina’s chin wobbled. “I think he killed Audric.” 


----------------------- Page 430-----------------------

 The faint glint of amusement in Simon’s eyes died. 

Handing the sword blindly to the man who stood just 

beside and behind him, he released Raina and moved 

quickly toward Audric. Mopping at the tears streaming 

from her eyes, Raina followed him in a rush, dropping 

down and struggling to lift Audric’s head into her lap as 

Simon examined him quickly and turned his head to 

bellow for a medic. 



 Sensing Simon’s gaze, Raina lifted her head to look at 

him hopefully. “Is he …?” 



 Simon shook his head. “I do not know. He is alive.” 



 Raina uttered a choked sob and went back to stroking 

Audric’s face lovingly. “Stay with us, Audric. Someone 

’s coming. Just hold on for me, ok? Don’t you dare die 

on me Audric! I’ll never forgive you!” 



 In a daze of shock, Raina sat holding Audric’s head 

while two men came and worked over him. Finally, 

they brought a stretcher to move him. Raina followed as 

they lifted him and carried him away, hardly aware of 

what was going on around her, her entire focus on 

Audric, as if she could keep him breathing by staring at 

the slight rise and fall of his chest. 



 No one tried to stop her as she followed the men onto 


----------------------- Page 431-----------------------

some kind of vehicle and settled beside the stretcher, 

taking Audric’s limp hand in hers and stroking it 

soothingly although he didn’t seem to be aware of her at 

all. The thing they were in moved. She felt the sense of 

floating, but only peripherally, and then it dropped and 

the door opened. A shiver skated down her spine when 

she saw they’d landed in the courtyard where she’d 

nearly died, but she shut her mind to that and followed 

the men as they went inside. 



 Someone took her arms and sat her firmly in a chair as 

Audric was carried into a room. When she looked up, 

she saw it was Simon. “You must rest,” he said firmly. 



 Raina swallowed with an effort. “Later … when I 

know Audric’s alright.” 



 His lips tightened. “You must think of the child. You 

are thin. You have not eaten. You have not rested.” 



 Raina looked down at her belly, stroking her hand over 

it as if to soothe the baby. “Alright.” 



 He stayed with her until she’d bathed and dressed in 

clothes someone had brought for her--a high-waisted 

gown sort of thing that buttoned up the front and was 

intended to be to be worn over loose, flowing 

trousers--made her eat some of the food that was 

brought, watched her until she had lain down on the bed 


----------------------- Page 432-----------------------

and closed her eyes. He was gone when she woke. She 

had no idea how long she’d slept, a few minutes, or 

hours, but she got up and found her way back to the 

room where they’d taken Audric. He was still 

unconscious, or maybe, she thought hopefully, sleeping. 

He didn’t rouse when she dragged a chair close to the 

side of the bed and took his hand in hers, but his hand 

was warm in hers. His fingers squeezed hers ever so 

lightly. Comforted, Raina lay her cheek on the back of 

his hand and dozed off again. 



 A hand settling heavily on the back of her head roused 

her. Dopey with fatigue, Raina lifted her head with an 

effort and found Audric staring down her. 



 Relief so profound it made her tearful washed over her. 

“Hey, you,” she murmured shakily. Gathering his hand 

in both of hers as he dropped it weakly to the bed, she 

brushed her cheek along the back and kissed it. “How 

are you feeling?” 



 He sucked in a pained breath. “Alright.” 



 “Liar,” she accused without heat. 



 He managed a faint smile. “Surprised.” 



 “About what?” she asked curiously. 


----------------------- Page 433-----------------------

 “That I am still alive.” 



 Raina’s chin trembled. She swallowed with an effort. 

“It was close. Don’t do that to me again!” 



 He smiled a little more easily that time. “You 

are a bossy wench,” he murmured. 



 “People keep telling me that.” 



 She hugged his hand and arm to her, studying him 

worriedly. He looked pale and weak. It was scary when 

he’d always been so strong and capable. She felt 

hopeful now that he’d wakened, but she knew he wasn’ 

t out of the woods yet. “You remember what you asked 

me just before you left?” she said after a moment, 

feeling her heart thunder erratically in her chest as she 

heard movement behind her and glanced around to see 

that Simon was hovering in the doorway. 



 She felt the color drain from her face as she met his 

gaze. Resolutely, she turned her attention back to 

Audric. He hadn’t noticed Simon, she realized. 



 And he didn’t remember. He was frowning and she 

could see he was searching his mind for what she was 

referring to. 



 Trying not to feel slighted by the fact that he seemed to 


----------------------- Page 434-----------------------

have forgotten, she smiled faintly and got up. Leaning 

over him, she kissed him lightly on the lips. “Well, 

when you remember, if you still want to, the answer is, 

yes. You have to get well first, though.” 



 She didn’t look at Simon as she left. Her heart 

threatened to beat its way out of chest as she passed 

him, but thankfully he didn’t try to detain her. She felt 

so weak and breathless by the time she’d returned to 

her room, she had to drag herself onto the bed. Her 

chest felt tight, making it hard to breathe. 



 She hadn’t even gotten the chance to grieve for the loss 

of Simon, not really. It was hard facing him when she 

still hurt so much, but it had been brought home to her 

as nothing before that there was never going to be 

anything between her and Simon. It didn’t matter how 

much she wanted it. It didn’t matter how desperately 

she loved him. 



 If he had just been a wealthy businessman, it was still 

doubtful that he’d chose to ally himself to a woman like 

her, but itwas possible if he cared enough. If he’d even 

just been some political figure, she might have a chance 

 … assuming he was willing to risk not getting 

re-elected, or being overthrown because she wasn’t 

suitable wife material for anybody like that, especially 

when she had a record for prostitution, however 

undeserved it was. 


----------------------- Page 435-----------------------

 She didn’t know all that much about royalty, but she 

had some education, enough to know kings married 

princesses. She’d heard about one or two that hadn’t 

married another royal person, but that was on Earth, not 

here, and anyway they hadn’t really married beneath 

them. They’d just married very high born aristocrats 

with money. 



 And he didn’t care about her. He didn’t love her. If he 

had, he wouldn’t have sent her away to start with. He 

was all bossy and possessive about the baby--the baby 

he hadn’t wanted and certainly hadn’t wantedher to 

have, but that was because the baby was at least 

half-royal. 



 Well, he could just put all that out of his head! It was 

her baby! She was the one carrying it around. She was 

the one that was going have to do all the work of 

bringing it into the world. All he’d done was have fun 

fucking her. 



 Alright, so she’d had fun fucking him, too, but that was 

beside the point. She’d hoped to get pregnant, wanted 

his baby because she loved him so much. She was just 

going to have to remind him that it was hers and he 

hadn’t wanted it. He could find him a damned princess 

and make aspecial , perfect little prince in he wanted 

one! 


----------------------- Page 436-----------------------

 Audric loved her and she loved him. If she’d ever been 

in any doubt about that, and she hadn’t been, realizing 

he might die was enough to convince her. It wasn’t the 

same way that she loved Simon, but it was still love, 

and he wasn’t Simon. Nobody ever loved two different 

people the same way, because they were different 

people, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t just as good, or 

just as real. 



 She was never going to get over loving Simon. She 

knew if she lived to be a hundred, she’d still love him 

and it would still hurt every time she thought about 

him--which was going to be every time she looked at 

their baby. 



 But life went on. A person had to live and there was 

only one ride on the merry-go-round per person. She 

could be happy with Audric and she thought she could 

make Audric happy. She was going to try, really hard, if 

he wanted to try. 



                         Chapter Twenty One 


----------------------- Page 437-----------------------

 Simon watched Raina hungrily as she hurried away 

from him, resisting the urge to go after her. She wouldn 

’t look at him, though, and he was afraid he knew why. 



 Anger flickered through him even though he’d known 

she would be as horrified as all the other humans to 

discover he wasn’t one of them. He had thought it 

wouldn’t matter to her, and mayhap it wouldn’t have if 

she had not seen his dragon form. She could not stick 

her head in the sand and ignorethat as she’d ignored all 

the rest, though. 



 He did not regret it. Even if he had known that she 

would run screaming from him and he would have to 

chase her down to save her, he would have done it. 

Even if her knowing meant she would never look at 

him the same as she once had, he could bear that far 

easier than he could bear the thought of having her 

snatched away from him by death. 



 He supposed, in a way, shewas running screaming from 

him. She was just hiding it inside. 



 Swallowing a little sickly, he turned away and studied 

Audric, feeling angry and resentful at the way Raina had 

fussed over him and at the same time deeply relieved to 

see that Audric was recovering. He moved into the 

room after a few moments, struggling with his jealousy. 

Dragging the chair to a more comfortable distance for 


----------------------- Page 438-----------------------

himself, he settled in it and dropped his hand to his 

brother’s. 



 Audric opened his eyes, stared at him for a long 

moment and then his eyes lit, a smile curling his lips. 

“You did it, Simon! I heard the victory shouts!” 



 “Wedid it,” Simon said, squeezing Audric’s hand 

before he released it. He settled back in the chair 

tiredly, exhausted by the endeavor, weary beyond 

belief--and more miserable than he had ever been in his 

life because Raina would not even look at him and he 

ached to hold her--just to hold her to reassure himself 

that she was safe. It would be a long time, if ever, 

before he recovered from the fear that had gripped him 

when he thought he would not get to her in time. He 

was going to have nightmares over it--waking 

nightmares. He felt ill with fear and rage every time the 

images rose into his mind. “The healers tell me you are 

too mean to die and hell has spat you back,” he said 

teasingly. 



 Audric made a sound that was half laugh half pained 

cough. “Do not make me laugh. It hurts.” 



 Silence fell between them. “I owe you a debt of 

gratitude that I can never repay,” Simon said finally, 

“for protecting Raina and my child.” 


----------------------- Page 439-----------------------

 Audric reddened. “You owe me nothing.” 



 Simon shrugged. “I know you did it as much for her 

sake, or perhaps more, than mine, but that does not alter 

the fact that you nigh gave your life for theirs, and it 

does not lessen my gratitude.” 



 “I am not at all certain that I could have managed it 

without Raina,” Audric said wryly. “There were four. If 

I had been fresh, I would have been more confident, but 

we had all been fighting for days as you well know. I 

will not lie. I was so tired and sore by then I do not 

think my chances were that good at taking them all. But 

I had called out before I discovered that Haig was the 

spy we were all hunting so determinedly and there was 

no hope for it then. 



 “Luckily for both of us, Raina had demanded that I 

give her mycatatrope and show her how to use it. Also 

luckily, she has no sense of honor and a great deal of 

determination,” he added, chuckling and then wincing 

at the pain. When he’d caught his breath, he continued, 

“she killed one right off. I scolded her, told her it was 

very dishonorable to shoot a man armed only with a 

sword, but she informed me that she did not care if it 

was honorable or not and she managed to wound all of 

them before thecatatrope ran out of ammunition. If 

they had not been wounded, the end might not have 

been so good. 


----------------------- Page 440-----------------------

 “My beast took care of one, who was trying to get to 

her, which left me only two and I was still out of breath 

from fighting the two. I dispatched Haig when she hit 

him in the head with the emptycatatrope and distracted 

him. The other--I was not sure that I had finished him, 

but I suppose I must have.” 



 Simon smiled grimly. “No doubt you did, but Raina 

was making certain of it when we arrived. I took your 

sword from her before she could injure herself.” 



 Audric looked at Simon apologetically. “I told her to 

be sure. I was afraid that he might get up and harm her 

and I was in no condition to do more. I did not think 

that she would try to lift my sword. It is nigh as long as 

she is tall.” 



 Simon studied him, a half smile playing about his lips. 

“We have not given proper credit to our little Raina,” 

he said, bemused. “She does amazingly well at taking 

care of herself.” 



 Audric held his stomach, groaning in pain and 

chuckling at the same time. “Did you see that guard’s 

face when she punched him in his balls?” 



 Simon stared at him blankly a moment, searching his 

memory and finally began to laugh. “I saw. I was just in 


----------------------- Page 441-----------------------

no state at that moment to really register what she did.” 



 He got up after a moment. “I will leave you to rest. 

Raina has ordered you to get well quickly. I will add my 

command to that. Keep that in mind.” 



 “Simon?” 



 Simon paused. 



 “How did you do it when no one has been able to in 

generations? How did you even discover how to do it?” 



 Simon studied him for a long moment and finally 

closed the door and moved back to the side of the bed. 

“I must swear you to secrecy.” 



 Audric frowned. “You know that you can trust me.” 



 “I do. It is only for that reason that I will tell you--we 

can all do it, Audric. We never lost the ability. It was 

taken from us--or rather bartered. As you know, we 

were a fairly barbaric race in those days--though 

mayhap you do not know that we had fought amongst 

ourselves until we were almost to the point of making 

ourselves extinct. I think that is why the Macedons 

stepped in--to keep us from self-destruction--this is 

what they have told me, at any rate. But they knew it 

was our beast side that needed to be tamed--because 


----------------------- Page 442-----------------------

when we are in dragon form, it is hard to think as a man 

at all, hard to reason. I had not realized myself until I 

morphed, but we are creatures of instinct then, and our 

instincts have always been to fight others of our kind 

for our territory, or mates. 



 “The offer was to allow us to live so long as we lived 

as land dwellers, and to wipe us out themselves if we 

did not because we were a threat, not only to ourselves, 

but to the others who share our world. 



 “They did not trust us, though, regardless of the treaty, 

and the technology they shared with us to compensate 

us for what we lost. It is in everything that we 

consume--inhibitors, drugs that keep us from morphing, 

keep us even from the urge to do so. 



 “I might never have discovered it except for 

Raina--likely would not have.” 



 Audric looked confused. “How did Raina help you 

discover it when she did not even know what we are?” 



 Simon chuckled. “By driving me insane with lust and 

jealousy, Audric. Rage is what gave me the ability to 

shape change, the complete loss of control of my 

emotions. Do you not recall the night she enraged poor 

Tedra until she nigh breathed fire? That was when I 

began to suspect. I almost transformed thrice in that 


----------------------- Page 443-----------------------

time when Raina came to us. The first time it was no 

more than an awareness of the beast side, a stirring that 

I realized, when I could think, was notme , not the me I 

knew, at any rate. The other two times, Ialmost 

morphed. I began to change, but then I was so stunned 

by it I just stopped partially through the change and 

resumed my man form. 



 “I did not know how to do it, how to call it. Even 

though none of us had had the drugs in years, none of 

us, including me, had ever been taught the way. 



 “When I saw what they meant to do with Raina, I lost 

control and began to change. If I had not been so 

focused on getting to her, I am not certain that I could 

have made a full change, though I had planned to try all 

along.That is why I have neither eaten nor drank 

anything of this world since we returned, why I carry 

the food and drink only from the ship … from Earth. 

And that is also why I had to go to the Macedons. I had 

to be sure that they would not attack us if I broke the 

treaty.” 



 He patted Audric’s cheek jarringly at the expression on 

his face. “Now, you know all and you can rest.” 



 He paused at the door again as he started to leave, 

struggling with the urge to ask Audric what Raina had 

meant when she’d been speaking to him. He knew that 


----------------------- Page 444-----------------------

it was private, and he had no right to ask. Her behavior 

had alarmed him, though, not just given rise to his 

jealousy and, although he had thought that he ’d 

mastered the itch to know, his uneasiness and the sense 

of threat he had barely acknowledged increased the 

longer he thought about it. Heneeded to know. He 

turned to look at Audric. 



 “What did Raina mean when she said her answer was 

yes? What did you ask her before you left her?” 



 Guilt was in every line of Audric’s face and in his eyes 

as he stared at Simon with a mixture of reluctance and 

resentment. “I asked her if she would take me back if I 

returned to her after we had done what needed to be 

done here.” 



 For several moments, Simon lost all the color in his 

face. When it returned, it returned with a vengeance. 

“And she said yes,” he muttered, but it wasn’t a 

question. His hands fisted. For a moment, Audric saw a 

glimpse of his dragon, rippling menacingly behind his 

eyes. With obvious effort, he tamped the urge to release 

it and left the room. 



 Simon paused just beyond Audric’s room, fighting the 

urge to go instantly to Raina and inform her that she 

would not be going anywhere with Audric. She was 

carryinghis child! She washis , damn her to hell! 


----------------------- Page 445-----------------------

 She was going to be the death of him, or she was going 

to drive him insane! He did not trust himself to speak to 

her at the moment, however. He could feel the stirring 

of his dragon beast. If she defied him …. 



 And heknew she would. He could trust that she would 

snap her fingers beneath his nose and tell him to go to 

hell. 



 If she had any sense of self-preservation …. 



 He dragged in a deep, calming breath, and then 

another, and a third. 



 She was fond of Audric--too fond--but he loved Audric 

himself. He could understand that she had been out of 

her mind with worry that he would die. He could 

understand how powerful her relief must be, the sense 

of gratefulness of knowing that she would not lose him. 



 That was what the root of this was, he told 

himself--fondness, relief, gratitude. She could not, 

truly, be considering leaving him to go to Audric 

carryinghis child! The child had bound her to 

him--should have. Whatever anger she still carried 

against him, despite what he had done, she had to 

forgive him. She had to see that she belonged with him. 


----------------------- Page 446-----------------------

 He would give her time to come to her senses. 



 He was still struggling with his raging beast, however, 

when he joined the men awaiting him to discuss affairs 

of state. He realized fairly quickly once he had joined 

them that he had not appreciated the full extent to 

which Jaelen had plunged the realm into disaster or the 

effects the war would have upon an already severely 

beleaguered nation. Once the nobles captured his 

attention, they dragged him so deeply into the quagmire 

of arguments over territorial disputes, taxes, the needs 

of the poor and homeless, etc., that he hardly had time 

to eat or sleep, let alone recall that he had a life of his 

own. 



                                   * * * * 



 As much as Raina wanted to simply lay down and 

wallow in her misery, as hard as it was to do anything 

else, the baby had no intention of allowing her to ignore 

his existence and think only of herself. She avoided the 

doctors, or healers, as they called them, because she 

was afraid of what they would tell her and at the same 

time distrustful of their skills and medicines. True, the 

medics that worked with the army had managed to bring 

Audric back from the brink of death, but she wasn’t 

convinced that that was entirely from their skills and 

not a stroke of luck combined with Audric’s natural 

strength and healing abilities. 


----------------------- Page 447-----------------------

 And besides, she wasn’t draconian. She hadn’t 

considered before that there might be vast differences, 

but it wasn’t something one couldnot think about when 

it came to medicine. 



 When she first thought about the fact that she should 

find a doctor, she figured she’d just wait until she got 

home and go to the clinic like she usually did. After a 

few weeks, however, it dawned on her that she might 

not make it home. Audric had said it had taken them 

three months. She still didn’t know exactly how far 

along she was, or exactly how long it was supposed to 

take, but if she was close to right, and she knew she 

was, then she was liable to have the baby somewhere 

between Schalome and home. 



 Audric would have a heart attack and die if she went 

into labor and there was no one but him to help her. 

Just looking at her belly had been enough to send him 

into panic. 



 Moreover, even if Audric had decided he did want her 

and wanted to take her home, he wasn’t in any shape to 

travel. He was up and trying to get around within a 

week, but stiff and sore … and grouchy as hell. 



 The first time he’d tried to get up when she’d been in 

the room, she’d rushed to help him. He’d looked down 


----------------------- Page 448-----------------------

at her in bemusement for several moments and then 

told her he didn’t need or want her help. 



 She’d looked up at his angry face and knew 

immediately that he was embarrassed about being so 

weak. “I’m just going to help steady you a little.” 



 His lips tightened. “Go and sit down, woman!” he 

growled. 



 Her own temper flared. “Grouch! Now, I know you’re 

getting better.” 



 “What is grouch?” he asked suspiciously. 



 “Bad tempered.” 



 He sat back down on the bed, but grabbed her before 

she could move away. “I do not know how to tell you 

this, Raina, because it is obvious you do not know, but 

you cannot hold me up. You are not much bigger than a 

nuztin and if I fall, which I am likely to do, I will crush 

you as flat as a … pancake.” 



 “What’s a noozeen?” Raina asked suspiciously. 



 “A rodent … much like the mouse.” 



 “Oh, you are so funny.” 


----------------------- Page 449-----------------------

 His lips curled. “Why are you giving me that evil eye, 

then?” 



 “I’ll just help you balance. If you start to fall, I’ll let 

you.” 



 He shook his head at her. “No, you would not. You 

would try to catch me because you think that you are a 

giant.” He encircled her upper arm with his thumb and 

forefinger. “Do you see this? It is not as big as my wrist 

and not as strong either.” 



 “Well I wasn’t planning on trying to pick you up and 

carry you around!” she said irritably. “I’m just going to 

help you balance … until you don’t need help.” 



 He pulled her closer, settling her between his thighs. 

“You are a very determined woman, Raina, but there 

are limits even to what you can do.” 



 “Can’t never could,” she quipped. 



 He chuckled. “I do not know what that means but I 

have a feeling it means exactly what I just said. I will 

wait until Simon can give me a hand.” 



 Raina sighed. “That’s probably going to be a while. He 

’s gone.” 


----------------------- Page 450-----------------------

 Audric’s brows lifted questioningly. “Where?” 



 Raina shrugged. “Don’t know … off to save the 

kingdom, I expect. He left a few days ago.” 



 “He did not say when he would return?” 



 She gave him a look. “Tomoi ? Why would he tell me 

anything? And it’s for sure I can’t ask anybody even if I 

was interested--which I’m not--because nobody around 

here speaks English besides me and you.” 



 He gave her a look of sympathy. “Poor Raina. It is no 

wonder you are always hovering around me.” 



 “Oh! Don’teven go there! If you don’t want my 

company, just say so and I’ll stop bothering you.” 



 “Grouch,” he said without heat. 



 Raina averted her gaze, trying to master the quiver in 

her chin. Audric caught her face, forcing her to look at 

him. “What is wrong, dearling?” His face darkened. 

“You are wounded. Has someone said something to 

you?” 



 She sniffed. “Asif I’d know if they did! They all stare 

at me, like I’m …,” she broke off with a half sob half 


----------------------- Page 451-----------------------

laugh, “an alien! Or a balloon that’s about to explode.” 



 “You are imagining it.” 



 “Right!You look at me like you think I’m going to 

explode.” 



 He looked down at her belly, which he had been 

studiously ignoring. “It is a very impressive mound,” he 

said teasingly. 



 “It’s ugly,” she wailed. “I look horrible. That’s why 

they all stare at me!” 



 He tightened his arm around her, pressing her head 

against his shoulder. “You are beautiful,” he disputed. 

“And very desirable. If my cock were not as nigh dead 

as I am, it would be leaping up to greet you.” 



 Raina snorted, and then laughed. “You’re just saying 

that to make me feel better.” 



 “Give me a few days more and I will be happy to show 

you instead.” 



 She lifted her head to look at him doubtfully, but the 

look in his eyes reassured her. She dropped her head to 

his shoulder again, looping an arm around his waist. 

“Promise?” she asked teasingly. 


----------------------- Page 452-----------------------

 He settled one large hand on her belly, moving it over 

the hard roundness experimentally. The baby kicked 

and a jolt went all the way through him. The look on his 

face was priceless. Raina let out a peal of laughter. 

“You should see your face! It’s just a baby, Audric. It 

doesn’t bite.” 



 The scrape of booted feet on the threshold startled both 

of them. Simon was standing in the doorway, Raina 

saw, livid with rage. “It is nothis baby, however!” he 

growled. “It is mine!” 



 “Uh oh,” Raina said as he strode across the room, 

grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet. 



 “I will speak with you later, Audric. I will speak with 

younow , Raina.” 



 Audric made an abortive attempt to rise and settled 

back with a groan. 



 “Stay put!” Simon snarled. 



 “Don’t youdare try to get up!” Raina admonished him 

as Simon hauled her toward the door. “I’ll be back in a 

few minutes.” 



 “She willnot be back in a few minutes,” Simon 


----------------------- Page 453-----------------------

countered. 



 “I can’t walk this fast!” Raina said breathlessly after 

they’d left Audric’s room. He slowed, stared down at 

her a moment and then jerked her into his arms, 

scooping an arm beneath her knees and lifting her 

against his chest. Looping her arms around his 

shoulders, Raina stared at his profile. “I don’t know 

why you’re mad,” she said tentatively. 



 “Do you not?” he asked, giving her a fulminating glare 

before he looked away again. 



 Raina thought it over and felt her own temper rise. 

“Actually, I don’t!” she snapped. 



 “Then I will explain it so that it is very clear to you,” 

he ground out between clenched teeth. 



 She waited, but he said nothing else. She did note, 

however, that he stalked right by her room. “When did 

you get back?” 



 He sent her a narrow eyed glare. 



 Raina chewed her lip. “It was that woman that’s been 

following me around,” she said accusingly. “Sheran and 

told you the minute you got back, didn’t she, the 

damned snitch?” 


----------------------- Page 454-----------------------

 His lips tightened, but he didn’t need to confirm it. She 

doubted he’d justhappened to drop by to see Audric 

and just happened to catch her. Of course she did spend 

a lot of time in Audric’s room, but she still didn’t think 

it was a coincidence. 



 She knew even before he stalked through the double 

doors that he’d taken her to his room--or apartment. It 

was the two guards standing on either side of the door 

like matched bookends that alerted her. They snapped 

to attention before he even reached the door and 

stepped together, each grasping a lever and pushing the 

doors wide. As Simon carried her through, the guards 

closed the doors again. 



 Raina looked up at Simon with a mixture of wariness 

and irritation when he set her on her feet. After a 

moment, she decided to let him fire the first salvo just 

so she could get her bearings and find outwhat they 

were going to fight about. “Whatwere you doing in his 

room, woman?” he demanded. 



 She gave him a look. “How much did you miss?” 



 He looked taken aback, but only for a moment. “You 

willnot go to his rooms again. He is recovering. You 

have no need to hover over him.” 


----------------------- Page 455-----------------------

 “What’s wrong with me going to Audric’s room?” she 

demanded. 



 “He is not your man!” 



 “Says who?” 



 “I say!” 



 “Well, excuse me all to hell and gone!” Raina snarled 

                                    I                  was 

at him. “But the last thing  remember I                      his woman 

                             you 

and that was because                not only dumped me, you sent 

him to me! If you changed the fucking schedule, you 

should’ve let me know!” 



 “The schedule is changed!” he growled ominously. 



 Raina gaped at him in outrage. “Why?” 



 The question threw him. Something flickered in his 

eyes. “Because, I say.” 



 “That’s not an answer!” 



 His lips tightened. “You are carrying my child.” 



 She narrowed her eyes at him. “Iknew that was it, you 

asshole! Well, you discarded your damned seed. It’s 

mine now.You didn’t want the baby. You can’t claim it 


----------------------- Page 456-----------------------

now!” 



 “You did not tell me you were with child,” he ground 

out, abruptly reminded of the jolt it had given him when 

he’d seen her racing around the top of the mountain. “I 

did not know until I saw you the day of the battle.” 



 “I asked you if you’d be mad if I got pregnant and you 

said ‘happily you could not’ get me pregnant.Happily ! 

I sure as hell wasn’t going to tell you then! So don’t get 

all pissy with me because I didn’t! You didn’t want to 

know!” 



 “You do notknow what I want!” he roared furiously. 



 The fight went out of Raina instantly, mostly because 

she was abruptly afraid that she was pushing him into 

demanding his rights as a father and that was the last 

thing she wanted to do. It wasn’t as if she was on her 

own turf where she could leave and take the baby with 

her. If that had been the case, even if he’d wanted to 

look for her, she could’ve made certain he didn’t find 

her. She was onhis world, andhere he was master of all 

he surveyed, and if he didn’t let her go home, she 

couldn’t. “What do you want?” she asked uneasily. 



 He stared at her angrily for several moments, breathing 

raggedly. Slowly, the anger dissipated. A restless 

hunger took its place, pain and yearning that made 


----------------------- Page 457-----------------------

Raina’s heart squeeze painfully in her chest. “I want 

what we had, Rainie,” he said hoarsely, closing the 

distance that separated them and pulling her against 

him. 



 Raina stared up at him in confusion, feeling her heart 

trip over itself. He wanted her? Or was he just saying 

that to get what he wanted? He wanted things justlike 

they were before, the pact? Or he wanted something 

more permanent? 



 There couldn’tbe anything more permanent, she 

reminded herself abruptly, and it just went to show how 

bad he was for her that, after everything, she still 

wanted it so desperately she was afraid even to consider 

it. A hard knot formed in her throat and refused to be 

dislodged. “It can’t be like it was before. You threw 

that away.” 



 He dragged her up more tightly to him, until she was 

standing on her tiptoes, cupping his hand along the back 

of her head as he dipped his head to nuzzle his face 

against hers. “It can, Rainie,” he murmured huskily, 

brushing his lips over hers, melding his mouth to hers 

in gentle adhesion and then nipping lightly at her lips 

with his. 


----------------------- Page 458-----------------------

                         Chapter Twenty Two 



 Raina sucked in a sharp breath at the first contact of his 

lips on hers, inhaling his glorious essence, and felt 

herself falling instantly into a dizzying whirlpool of 

delightful sensations that beckoned to her seductively, 

promised heaven. “I don’t want it to,” she whispered 

dizzily, making no attempt to pull away from him, 

wanting him to convince her it would be alright, that 

she could trust him this time not to break her heart. 



 “Liar,” he whispered back to her, covering her mouth 

at last as she’d been dying for him to and plunging his 

tongue past the vulnerable barrier of her lips. 



 The moment he filled her senses with himself, she was 

lost--lost to thought, lost to the world, lost in him. 

Desire rose up inside her in a conflagration that chased 

everything from her except an awareness of him. She 

made a sound of surrender in her throat, straining to get 

closer to him, to feel more, taste more, to inundate her 

senses with him. She wanted to drown in him,was 

drowning in the liquid heat, the boundless excitement 

he stirred inside of her as no one else ever had or ever 

could. 



 She loved him so much she ached with it, could not 


----------------------- Page 459-----------------------

have closed herself off from him, refused to respond to 

him, if she’d wanted to. Everything she was, was his, 

always had been. She hadn’t just grieved for the loss of 

him, she’d been diminished--less, as if she’d lost a 

critical part of herself and when she was with him, 

every sense seemed electrified, every reaction 

magnified until it was as close to glory, she knew, as 

any human being could ever feel. 



 “Simon,” she sighed in praise, in supplication, in 

acknowledgment that no one else could make her feel 

as he did, as he lifted his mouth from hers and anointed 

her face with the blessing of his touch, kissed her 

throat, and then returned to her lips to make her weak 

with want, hungry for more. He excited her as no one 

else, thrilled her, made her hunger for each new touch 

as if she would die with the waiting. 



 Her head swam dizzily as he reached down to slip an 

arm beneath her knees and lift her into his arms, turned 

with her, and strode quickly to his bed. She roused from 

her blissful stupor as she felt the cool softness against 

her back, the weight of his body as he settled against 

her and, briefly, doubts flickered through her mind. 

They were gone too swiftly for her to capture the 

fleeting warnings, though, banished by the heat and 

taste of his lips on hers, the feel of them on her throat 

and breasts as he unveiled her body to his touch with 

shaking hands, stripping her with an eagerness that left 


----------------------- Page 460-----------------------

her quaking and wet and needful. 



 She gasped as he captured a sensitive, aching nipple in 

his mouth, threading her fingers through his silken hair 

as he suckled her, teased her until she could scarcely 

catch her breath. The trace of his hands over her body 

as he explored her with his palms and fingers, disrobed 

her, left shivers of excruciating awareness in their 

passing, heightened the expectation until she was nearly 

sobbing for him to take her, to carry her to the heaven 

he promised with every touch. “Love me, Simon,” she 

gasped out on a shaky, sobbing breath. “Come inside of 

me. It’s been so long, baby. I thought you’d never touch 

me again.” 



 He kissed her deeply, almost savagely, silencing her 

and plunging her into a chasm of dark delight as he 

sucked and nipped at her lips, possessed her mouth 

with fierce, desperate thrusts of his tongue. He tore his 

mouth from hers almost as abruptly as he’d seized 

possession of it, rearing upward to rip his shirt off and 

then unfastened his pants, shoving them down his hips. 



 Through dreamy, half closed eyes, she peered at him, 

admiring his beautifully sculpted chest and belly--and 

felt a jolt go through her as her gaze dropped and the 

white mound of Olympus came into view. 

Embarrassment filled her cheeks, but he seemed 

oblivious to both the mountain that rose between them 


----------------------- Page 461-----------------------

and her dismay. Taking her hands in his, he pulled her 

upright. Dragging her onto his lap, he positioned her for 

entry and drew her down to envelope his turgid flesh. 

She caught her breath on a frisson of delight as she felt 

him entering her, stretching her, sinking deeply inside 

of her. 



 “Rainie,” he murmured hoarsely, praise and triumph 

and shaking need in voice as he began to move inside 

of her, lifting and settling her hips over him to guide her 

until she caught the rhythm he needed, until she felt the 

delicious thrusts of his cock wafting her upward to skim 

the crest of the tidal wave carrying her toward the 

rapture he’d promised her. She groaned, throwing her 

head back as she felt the tension building rapidly inside 

of her. He slipped an arm upward around her shoulders, 

bending toward her to trace opened mouthed kisses 

along her throat, cupping and massaging one of her 

breasts. 



 She lost her rhythm as she felt a tremor quake along 

her passage, moved halting until she felt the tremor 

explode into fiery sensation. And then her climax hit 

her, rocked her, rolled over her, tearing choked, gusty 

cries of ecstasy from her. He caught her tightly against 

him as she began to quake with release, moving inside 

of her in short, deep thrusts until he was shaking all 

over from his own release, uttering rasping groans as his 

cock jerked and spilled his hot seed inside of her. 


----------------------- Page 462-----------------------

 They stilled as their delight in one another slowly 

dissipated into a warm glow of satisfaction, panting for 

breath as their heartbeats slowed, until they finally 

caught their breath. He shifted after a time, carrying her 

down onto the bed so that they lay side by side, face to 

face. 



 “You are mine, Rainie,” he murmured with lazy 

satisfaction. “You will always be mine.” 



 Raina opened her eyes with an effort and stared at him. 

Oh god! She thought in dawning dismay.What have I 

done? 



        just 

 She’d         gotten through assuring Audric that she’d be 

with him. 



 Guilt welled inside of her, threatening to swallow her 

whole until she remembered abruptly that he’d acted as 

if he didn’t even remember asking her. She frowned, 

trying to remember his expression, but he’dseemed as if 

he didn’t remember, not as if he was trying to 

backstroke, and she didn’t know what the hell to make 

of that. Had it meant that little to him? Had it ‘slipped’ 

his mind because he’d been so sick? Or was it just that 

he hadn’t really meant it any of the time? 



 Or maybe he’d changed his mind because she looked 


----------------------- Page 463-----------------------

like a cow now and was carrying Simon’s baby? 



 Judiciously, she had to admit that was probably a big 

turn off all the way around. 



 Maybe he’d just pretended he didn’t remember 

because he’d thought she would have better sense, or 

better taste, than to expect to hold him to a ‘sort of’ 

commitment he’d made when he didn’t know she was 

pregnant? 



 The thought deflated her and she was already 

depressed. 



 She’d never thought she was especially gullible, but 

she must be. She’d thought Simon cared for her--at 

least something about her--and he’d discarded her like 

yesterday’s newspaper. She’d thought Audric did, but 

obviously she’d mistaken good old fashioned lust for 

caring--with both of them. 



 She didn’t know why Simon was suddenly interested 

in her again, except that he seemed damned possessive 

abouther baby and she supposed he figured he had to 

keep her if he was going to keep the baby. 



 Over her dead body he was keeping her baby! 



 Almost as if he’d read her thoughts, he dropped a hand 


----------------------- Page 464-----------------------

to her belly and began to rub it gently. She was tempted 

to slap his hand away, but the baby kicked at that 

moment and he jerked his hand back as if he’d been 

scalded. 



 He sat up and pushed her hands away to study her belly 

when she tried to cover it. 



 Almost as if the baby realized he had an audience, he 

began to perform gymnastics--bend, stretch, turn, roll. 

Simon watched his antics with fascination and finally 

placed his hand on her belly again. “He is strong,” he 

murmured, lifting his head to look at her. 



 The look on his face made her catch her breath. 



 She wassuch a fool! Even after he’d left her with no 

intention, she knew, of coming back, she still loved 

him, loved him so much she didn’t have a bit of 

sense--no sense of self-preservation at all. Anxiety 

descended upon her, though, not for herself, for Simon. 

She’d been trying very hard to convince herself 

everything was fine, but no matter how hard she tried, 

worry ate at the back of her mind. 



 Simon wanted the baby, desperately. She could see 

that and even while she resented the fact that he hadn’t 

wanted it before, and hadn’t wanted her, she couldn’t 

help but be gratified that he seemed to want it now--and 


----------------------- Page 465-----------------------

more worried. It was going to break her heart if the 

baby wasn’t strong and healthy. What would it do to 

Simon when he’d already lost his wife and child? 



 Simon slipped out of the bed after a moment to remove 

the clothing he still wore--his boots! And pants. 



 She reddened, but she felt warmed, too, that he’d been 

in such a hurry that he hadn’t spared the time to 

completely undress, even though she looked like a 

blimp. 



 When he settled on the bed again, he settled near ‘the 

baby’, stroking her stomach. It felt good. She didn’t just 

look ready to pop. She felt like she was ready to 

explode like an overripe piece of fruit and the counter 

pressure of his massaging hand felt wonderful. 



 “If it is a male child, we will name him for my father.” 



 Raina dragged a pillow beneath her head to watch him. 

“I was sort of thinking about naming him afterhis 

father.” 



 He looked surprised but pleased. Then he frowned. 

“This would be confusing. I would not know if you 

were calling to me or to him.” 



 Raina swallowed against an uncomfortable knot in her 


----------------------- Page 466-----------------------

throat, trying to ignore the surge of hopefulness that 

went through her at that comment. “I didn’t think his 

father would be around.” 



 He studied her for a long moment and then slipped up 

the bed, kissing her lightly on the lips before he settled 

on his side facing her. She could see from his 

expression that he was wrestling for words. It surprised 

her. Simon wasn’t the sort of man who usually had 

trouble speaking his mind or making a decision. 

“Whatever you believe, Raina, it was not easy for me to 

make the decision to leave you,” he said finally. “And it 

was far more difficult to send Audric with you. I sent 

him because I knew that he would guard you with his 

life and I thought you might be in danger. 



 “Unfortunately, I did not realize that the spy everyone 

was searching for was one of my own men, but I did not 

trust them completely--which is why I sent Audric. My 

mistake was in believing the danger to you would be 

removed once we had left.” 



 His eyes filled with anger. “I am not usually so easily 

duped. It is still hard to accept that a man I had trusted 

for so many years would betray me, and worse, threaten 

your life. I still can not believe that not one of us ever 

suspected that he had had the audacity to take you 

captive and bring you here onmy ship! But I am certain, 

now, that he did. There is no other way he could have 


----------------------- Page 467-----------------------

gotten you here so quickly.” He fell silent, reflecting 

over his carelessness that had almost cost him Raina 

and his child--thathad cost Rama his life, he knew. He 

had not had the chance to discover if his suspicions 

were true, but, unless Rama was also involved, Haig 

would have had to have killed him when he altered the 

plans so that he could deliver Raina to Jaelen. 



 It occurred to Raina to ask him if he thought the drug, 

or the sleep, might have harmed the baby, but he might 

not know anyway, and she didn’t see any sense in 

making him worry, too, about something that couldn’t 

be changed. 



 The babyseemed to be none the worse for it. She was 

just going to have to trust that it was. 



 Which only left her with the anxiety of what the results 

of their cross breeding might be. 



 He slipped an arm beneath her shoulders, drawing her 

closer. “I have a suspicion that Devlyn would not 

approve if I were to sheathe my sword in your beautiful 

scabbard again, beloved, but I must confess I am vastly 

tempted to test his wrath. That was a very nice 

appetizer, but I am still hungry. I have fasted far too 

long.” 



 Raina stared at him a moment while that sank in and 


----------------------- Page 468-----------------------

finally chuckled. “He did seem a little disturbed that 

you’d decided to joust with him--but you do realize he 

may actually be a she?” 



 He gave her a mock haughty look. “I am Simon 

Pater-Draken, master of all I survey--even my seed. 

They would not dare to present me with a female--not 

for our first born.” 



 Raina might have taken exception if she hadn’t seen 

the gleam of amusement in his eyes. It helped that he’d 

said ‘our first born’ as if he had every intention of being 

around for a second. Pathetic fool that she was for him, 

that small encouragement sent a thrill of hopefulness 

through her. “Oh really?” 



 He shrugged. “Mayhap it would be wise to choose a 

female name, as well, just in case there is treachery 

afoot.” 



 “What’ve you decided to nameher ?” 



 His brows rose. “I thought I would allow you to choose 

the female name.” 



 “You are so magnanimous!” 



 “So I am told,” he retorted, his eyes gleaming with 

suppressed laughter. “Simon the Magnanimous--that is 


----------------------- Page 469-----------------------

what I am called I am told.” 



 “Not Simon the Magnificent?” she asked teasingly. 



 “That, too,” he murmured, dipping down to nuzzle his 

face against her throat and suck a love bit on the tender 

flesh. Leaning away after a moment, he studied her 

face. Desire gleamed in his eyes, but teasing 

amusement, as well. “Ah! I sense doubt.” He slipped a 

hand down to capture one of hers and drew it to him, 

curling her fingers around his erection. “Behold! Is that 

not magnificent?” 



 Raina burst out laughing, but she made a sound of 

appreciation in her throat as she explored his length 

with her hand. “All this for little old me?” 



 The teasing light went out of his eyes. “Only for you, 

beloved,” he murmured, and set out to prove to her the 

sobriquet ‘magnificent’ was no exaggeration. 

Afterward, he spooned with her, dragging her back 

against his chest and stroking a hand over her swollen 

belly until she drifted to sleep. 



 She was surprised to discover he was still with her in 

the morning, but apparently he was bent on staking his 

claim as her lover and making it abundantly clear to 

everyone. Either that or he was just horny as hell 

because it had been months since they’d been together 


----------------------- Page 470-----------------------

because they spent the better part of a week 

reacquainting themselves in his apartments while 

servants ferried trays of food to them. When they 

talked, they confined themselves primarily to ‘light’ 

conversation, which suited Raina. She’d been more 

than half afraid he’d bring up the pact they’d had 

before, and when he didn’t,that worried her even more. 

Something, even so weak a commitment from him as 

that, was better than having nothing to hold on to. 



 He poked and prodded until he’d gotten her to tell him 

all she could remember about her ‘adventure’ and then 

about herself. She wasn’t comfortable talking about her 

life after she’d run away. She supposed it didn’t really 

matter. She was pretty sure he already had a fair grasp 

on it from what she’d told him already. He didn’t know 

about her run-ins with the cops, though, or the times 

she’d been locked up and charged with soliciting, and 

she didn’t want to have to try to convince him she hadn’ 

t been guilty to start with. It was easier just to avoid 

talking about it at all. 



 Unfortunately, the things she didn’t want to tell about 

herself made it hard to piece together a whole picture 

for him. 



 He surprised her by telling her about his life, regaling 

her mostly with amusing anecdotes--many of which 

included Audric, although he seemed reluctant to talk 


----------------------- Page 471-----------------------

much about Audric--but he still told her enough to give 

her a grasp of what his life had been like when he was 

growing up, and what life in general was like on his 

world. Apart from the entertaining aspects, she enjoyed 

listening. She’d been hungry to know everything about 

him, and yet the vast differences between his life and 

hers seemed to her to make the chasm between them 

wider, more impossible to breach. 



 She supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised that 

he seemed willing to talk to her about it when he hadn’t 

before. She knew, now, why he’d been so reticent 

before, but she had always sensed that he was a very 

private man anyway--and cautious about revealing too 

much about himself. 



 She was sorry when it ended, but all good things came 

to an end--eventually, and she admitted, to herself, at 

least, that she was more surprised that he’d seemed to 

have no interest in the outside world for as long as he 

had. She was not onlynot sexy when she could barely 

sit up without help and wallowed around the bed like a 

walrus, but despite his efforts not to show it she was 

pretty sure he didn’t think so either. He spent far more 

time cuddling with her and stroking her fat belly than he 

did trying to think up inventive ways to navigate his 

way around mount Olympus and even when he did have 

sex with her, he was either very careful to restrain his 

passion and use great care or the mountain had severely 


----------------------- Page 472-----------------------

dampened his passion. 



 It was still good. The pleasure she felt only from his 

touch was better than the pleasure she’d known before 

climaxing from sex--and when he made her come, it 

was the closest to heaven she ever expected to come. 



 He woke her tickling her nose with a lock of her hair. 

 She thought it was a bug and slapped at it, whereupon 

he uttered a husky chuckle. 



 Cracking one eye a slit, she glared at his grinning face. 

“Very funny, you ass,” she muttered, struggling to roll 

onto her side and put her back to him. 



 He promptly scooted up behind her and shoved his 

cock between her thighs, pushing slowly in and out 

while he nuzzled her neck and nibbled at her shoulder. 

“Are you referring to the long eared animal known as a 

jackass? Or this?” he queried with mock indignation as 

he squeezed one of her buttocks. 



 Raina smiled in spite of the fact that she was far more 

interested in going back to sleep than bantering with 

him. “Both,” she said promptly. “And you can stop that. 

I’m not interested … right now.” 



 He nipped at her ear. “Just go back to sleep, sweeting. I 

will attend to this. You will not even know that I am 


----------------------- Page 473-----------------------

here.” 



 Raina uttered a snorting chuckle. “Asif I could sleep 

with that … log of yours sawing back and forth along 

the crack of my ass!” 



 He cupped a breast, massaging it. “Does it not distress 

you at all to waste such a magnificent erection?” 



 She chuckled. “Itmight … if I didn’t know there’s lots 

more where that came from!” 



 He lifted his head. “Do you hear that, soldier? I told 

you you might as well go back to sleep. The lady has 

spurned you!” 



 She grinned. “Simon! You are impossible!” 



 “Nay. I am magnificent,” he retorted with a chuckle. 



 Shifting her shoulders so that she could see him, she 

smiled up at him. “Yes, you are.” 



 He met her gaze for a long moment and finally dipped 

to kiss her on the tip of the nose. “Now that you are 

awake, you must get up and dress. Duty calls,” he 

ended wryly. 



 Raina frowned at him. “Duty?” 


----------------------- Page 474-----------------------

 He grunted, popping her buttocks lightly before he 

rolled away. “Alas, yes. The council is convened and I 

must go and speak with them.” 



 Raina pushed herself up on her elbows. “You want me 

to go with you?” she asked in surprise and not a little 

dismay. 



 Correctly interpreting her alarm, he smiled at her 

reassuringly. “It will not take long to say what I have to 

say and then I will take you to show you the beautiful 

side of my homeland. I know that you have seen 

nothing but the ugliness.” 



 That sounded a lot more appealing, but she still wasn’t 

happy about having to go into public when she knew 

they’d all be staring at her. She had no interest in 

politics, even if she could’ve understood what they 

were talking about. She hated to disappoint him, 

though, so instead of whining and asking him to let her 

wait in his room until he came back, she got up and 

tried to pretend she wasn’t as uneasy about the prospect 

as she was. 



 She wasnot happy at all, though, when he summoned 

women to help her bathe and dress. She was 

uncomfortable being exposed to Simon’s view looking 

as she did. It was worse having strange women helping 


----------------------- Page 475-----------------------

her bathe and dress, especially since they chattered to 

one another in their native tongue the whole while. She 

didn’tknow that they were talking about her, but she 

didn’t know they weren’t either. 



 She felt a little better when she’d finished bathing and 

saw the gown and pants they had brought for her to 

wear. In style, it was pretty much like everything she’d 

worn since she’d been brought to the palace, a sort of 

loose robe/dress to be worn over the loose legged pants 

made to match it. As with the others, the dress fastened 

up the front. The ‘waist’ was just beneath her breasts 

and the skirt loose and flowing to mid-way her calves. 

The neck of this one, though, was lower than the others, 

showing a lot more cleavage than she was used to 

having on display. 



 It was made out of a material that reminded her of 

satin, though, shinny, and not clingy like the other 

gowns she’d worn. It was also lavishly embroidered 

with a beautiful design and sparkling stones had been 

sewn into the designs that reminded her of diamonds. 



 The only drawback was that it was a pale cream, almost 

white and she already felt like a blimp. This was bound 

to make her look even bigger, she thought glumly. 



 Simon seemed pleased, though. 


----------------------- Page 476-----------------------

 He seemed a little less pleased with the way they’d 

arranged her hair--in a style similar to the woman in the 

portrait--which Raina hadn’t especially liked either, but 

it seemed to be a fairly common style among the 

women. 



 “I far prefer your beautiful hair flowing about your 

shoulders,” he murmured. He pulled her close and 

kissed the top of her head and then tucked her hand in 

the crook of his arm, matching his steps to hers as he 

guided her along the seemingly endless corridors of the 

huge place and finally through a set of double doors that 

opened into a huge room. 



 She almost had heart failure when they stepped inside 

and a contingent of trumpeters snapped to attention and 

let out a blast with the strange looking musical 

instruments they were holding--all six of them at one 

time. Jumping, she sidled closer to Simon, looking 

around with wide eyed uneasiness as everyone in the 

room--and it was packed to the gills--immediately 

bowed low and stayed that way as Simon dragged her 

down the center of the room to a dais at the other end. 



 He patted the hands she had looped frantically around 

his arm. When she looked up at him questioningly, he 

smiled at her. “Do not be alarmed, beloved. Old 

traditions are hard to break.” 


----------------------- Page 477-----------------------

 Easy for him to say, she thought with some dudgeon. 

He wasn’t surrounded by a room packed with aliens. 

She’d known there was no way she could enter a room 

with Simon and not attract attention. She just hadn’t 

expected to be the focal point of the entire room. 



 She supposed Simon was actually the focal point, but 

she could hardly go unnoticed under the circumstances 

and she’d hoped to. 



 She felt a little relieved when she saw that Audric was 

one of the people seated on the dais, which held several 

chairs, one very big, very fancy looking chair, and two 

less fancy chairs on either side of that. The relief didn’t 

last, of course. Audric’s nearness had been a 

tremendous comfort to her almost as long as she’d 

known him, but she’d no sooner drawn a sigh of relief 

from knowing he would be close by than it dawned on 

her that he was probably really pissed off with her right 

now. 



 She’d be lucky if he didn’t give her the evil eye and 

snub her. 



 Which she richly deserved. 



 He didn’t, though. Even as she sent him an uneasy, 

guilty glance, he smiled at her reassuringly and got to 

his feet with an effort and bowed as Simon helped her 


----------------------- Page 478-----------------------

up the steps to the dais, guided her to the chair beside 

Audric and helped her to sit--helped her because the 

damned thing was higher than it had looked. She 

managed to plant her butt on the seat easily enough, but 

by the time she’d scooted into it, her feet were dangling 

above the floor. Trying not to look as uncomfortable as 

she felt, she propped her hands on the mound in front of 

her and then moved them to the arms of the chair as 

Simon moved away from her and sprawled comfortably 

in the huge, fancy chair she finally realized was the 

throne of Schalome. 



 She felt the color drain from her face as that sank into 

her, felt her heart alternately skip and race with nerves 

as everyone finally rose from their bows and faced the 

dais. 



                        Chapter Twenty Three 



 Simon reached almost casually for her hand and laced 

his fingers through hers in a gesture of reassurance. 

Raina smiled at him tentatively when she saw that he 

was looking at her, relaxing a little when he lifted her 

hand and kissed her knuckles. He lowered her hand to 


----------------------- Page 479-----------------------

the arm rest again, but he didn’t let go of it as he turned 

to survey the crowded room, bringing them to an 

expectant silence with no more than that look. 



 As the silence became so profound it was nearly 

deafening, he began to speak. 



 Raina had no idea what he was saying, of course, but as 

she surreptitiously watched the crowd around them she 

saw shock in every face--just shocked disbelief. She 

couldn’t decide, at first, if they were shocked 

speechless with joy or fear or anger, but she noticed 

after a few moments that everyone began to flick 

curious glances at her. The color that had left her face 

surged back and then began to pulse uncomfortably hot 

when the people began to divide less subtle glances 

between her and Simon as he continued. The dead 

silence that had gripped everyone when Simon began 

speaking gave way to a whisper of voices that gained in 

volume when he’d finally stopped speaking. Several 

men, dressed in clothing that seemed to indicate they 

were men of importance, detached themselves from the 

crowd and seemed to be arguing with Simon. They 

were certainly discussing something they weren’t happy 

about. 



 After a few minutes, when the crowd seemed to be 

becoming more agitated instead of less, Simon rose and 

helped her from her seat. “Do not look so distressed, 


----------------------- Page 480-----------------------

beloved. I knew they would not be pleased. Go with 

Audric,” he added, glancing at Audric. “He will keep 

you company while I sooth their ruffled feathers.” 



 She didn’t like the taut look on his face and the tone of 

the voices, even though she couldn’t understand what 

they were saying, made her more anxious, especially 

when Simon seemed worried about her continued 

presence. “You’ll be alright?” she asked anxiously. 



 He smiled. “You do not need to stay and protect me, 

my little dracon,” he murmured. “Go with Audric. I will 

be along directly and redeem my promise to show you 

Schalome. They are more … distressed than I had 

anticipated, and I do not want to leave until I have 

calmed them.” 



 She still didn’t like leaving him in the room filled with 

so many agitated people, but she thought, maybe, she 

was adding to the contention the way they kept looking 

at her. Finally, she nodded and turned to look at Audric 

a little doubtfully. He looked as grim as Simon, but he 

moved unhesitatingly to take her hand and settle it on 

the crook of his arm as Simon had before, guiding her 

to a door at the back of the dais. 



 Instead of leading her back to her room, or his, or even 

Simon’s apartments and leaving her, he walked her 

down a long corridor and outside into what looked like 


----------------------- Page 481-----------------------

a small formal garden. There were strange, stunted 

looking plants arranged along walkways and benches 

sprinkled here and there. She didn’t have much interest 

in the landscaping, though. A shiver skated along her 

spine. It was cool outside, so high in the mountain, but 

that was only part of her discomfort. She didn’t know 

what Simon had said to those people, and she knew 

there were guards stationed around him, but she still 

didn’t like him being surrounded by so many people 

who seemed so unhappy with his announcement. 



 Audric noticed. Turning to one of the men trailing 

them, he barked what sounded like an order and the 

man saluted and disappeared. He returned bearing a 

long, fleecy woven something that looked like a very 

long, wide scarf as Audric guided her to a bench and 

helped her to sit down. 



 Audric settled the scarf-like thing around her 

shoulders, wrapping it around her. “Better?” 



 Raina nodded, struggling with her uneasiness about 

Simon and her discomfort around Audric considering 

their last meeting. “You’re getting around much better,” 

she commented finally. “I’m glad.” 



 “Not nearly as glad as I am, I expect,” he returned, 

smiling faintly. “I was heartily weary of being confined 

to my sick bed.” 


----------------------- Page 482-----------------------

 Raina managed a faint smile, but then frowned, feeling 

her discomfort rise as she struggled to think of an 

adequate apology for her behavior. “I’m tempted to beg 

off on account of hormonal insanity,” she said finally. “I 

know you probably hate me, and you won’t believe it, 

but I’m sorry … about ….” 



 He lifted a hand and nudged her chin to force her to 

look up at him. “I do not hate you. I do not think that I 

could. I love you, Raina. I knew that he would come for 

you, even if you did not … and I also knew that you 

would go to him--As it should be when you carry his 

child. I will not say that it did not cause me pain,” he 

finished wryly, “but it was no surprise to me.” 



 Raina studied him with a mixture of hopefulness, 

distress, and shame. “I love you, too. I didn’t mean to 

hurt you. I just ….” She broke off and sighed. “I can’t 

help it.” 



 “You love Simon more,” he said simply. “Do not look 

so distressed, Raina. I am used to being in Simon’s 

shadow. I do not particularly like it, but I love him, too, 

so I understand.” 



 Raina frowned. “I love Simon differently,” she 

corrected him. 


----------------------- Page 483-----------------------

 “Because he is Simon.” 



 “And I love you because you’re you,” she said, smiling 

faintly. 



 “In a brotherly way.” 



 Raina chuckled, but she hated to see that look in his 

eyes, especially when it wasn’t true. “I hope you don’t 

think that I’d do the nasty with so much enthusiasm 

with my brother--even if I still had one. Ew!” she said 

teasingly. 



 He smiled more easily then, desire rising to gleam in 

his eyes. “I am not at all certain that I believe that, but 

as it helps my feelings a great deal, I think I will try to 

believe it.” 



 “You should. It’s true.” She studied her hands for a 

moment. “What was all that ruckus going on back 

there?” 



 Audric’s entire attitude changed instantly. “Simon 

abdicated. He has relinquished all rights to the throne of 

Schalome, now and forever,” he said with a mixture of 

anger and incredulity. 



 Raina stared at him in shocked disbelief. “He did 

what?” 


----------------------- Page 484-----------------------

 Audric stared at her for a long moment. “You did not 

understand any of that?” 



 As embarrassed as she was to admit she hadn’t 

managed to pick up even a handful of words in their 

language, she shook her head. “Sorry. I haven’t actually 

tried to learn. I figured when Simon got tired of me, 

again, he’d send me home. There just didn’t seem to be 

much point in learning the language.” 



 He looked taken aback. “He worships the ground you 

walk upon, little fool! I have never seen him behave so 

foolishly overany woman and I have been with him my 

entire life! Unless he tires of having a heart, I do not 

think that is anything you need concern yourself over.” 



 He shrugged, apparently oblivious to the fact that he’d 

sent her reeling with that information. Raina 

desperately wanted him to continue in that intriguing 

vein, wondering if he included Simon’s wife in that ‘ 

any’, but she decided it was probably just a figure of 

speech. It was enough to thrill her no end that Audric 

considered that she held a special place in Simon’s 

heart. She couldn’t help being envious of that long dead 

woman who’d meant so much to him, but she wasnot 

going to let it ruin her enjoyment of being special to 

him now. 


----------------------- Page 485-----------------------

 “I do not suppose there is any point in learning our 

language, unless you wish to please Simon. He told me 

when we were coming back that he would do this, but I 

                                                   I 

did not truly believe he would. Even  thought that it 

was no more than lust and possessiveness that he felt 

for you, that he would realize that and forget you …. 

Or, at least, I suppose I only hoped that that was it. He 

would hardly eat or rest. I had begun to be seriously 

alarmed about his health, but once he had made the 

decision to go back to you it eased his mind.” 



 Raina stared at him speechlessly. “He said that?Before 

he discovered I was pregnant?” 



 The look he gave her was skeptical, but he smiled 

wryly. “Love has made us all blind and deaf to the rest 

of the universe. It is you he wants, dearling. I think that 

he did not know that himself until he left you and came 

to realize you were all that mattered to him. I told him 

that he could not go into battle with his heart and mind 

divided, that he must focus on the prize. And he told 

me the only prize of any value to him was the one he 

had left--you. 



 “He knew that he would have to give up all to have 

you--for there has never sat a consort upon the throne 

that was not draconian--and he knew that he could only 

have one or the other, not both.” 


----------------------- Page 486-----------------------

 Raina felt faint with the thoughts churning through her 

mind, so thrilled she could hardly catch her breath, but 

hungry to hear more, and still doubtful. “He didn’t say 

he loved me,” she said after a moment. 



 “He calls you beloved. Is that not saying it?” he 

demanded with a mixture of amusement and irritation. 



 Raina blinked at him. “I thought that was only a term 

of affection. You both call me ‘sweeting’ and ‘dearling’ 

all the time. And he hasn’t acted any differently that I 

can tell.” 



 “Because weboth love you! And there is no reason to 

behave differently when we both did almost from the 

first moment.” 



 “Oh!” Raina cooed with a mixture of pleasure and 

shock. “That’s … that’s …Oh, that’s bad!” she 

finished. “He’s not going to be happy not being the 

king, is he?” 



 “Emperor,” Simon corrected as he reached them. “But 

he knows what he wants. Do not doubt that, beloved.” 



 Raina jumped, whirling to look at him in surprise, 

having dismissed the sound of approaching footsteps 

because she was so engrossed in her conversation with 

Audric and thought, besides, that it was just one of the 


----------------------- Page 487-----------------------

guards. 



 She looked up at him hopefully, feeling both shy and 

uneasy as she searched his gaze. “They’re still mad, 

huh?” 



 He shrugged. “They will recover,” he said 

dismissively, taking her hand and helping her from the 

bench. “They are arguing over who they will find to 

take my place when we leave. To appease them, and 

because we can not go anyway until you are able to 

travel, I told them I would do what I could to untangle 

the mess the realm is in before I left. For now, though, 

beloved, I am yours. I have arranged a traveling 

skimmer to show you about Schalome. I am anxious to 

see for myself how much has changed since last I was 

here.” 



 He grinned at her once he’d settled her in the thing he 

had called a skimmer, looking more relaxed and 

carefree than she’d ever seen him. “Ah! Alone at last,” 

he quipped. 



 Raina gave him a look. “Just you and me and the dozen 

heavily armed skimmers following us,” she said dryly. 



 He chuckled, but shrugged. “The realm is still in a bit 

of unrest. We can not be certain, yet, that we have 

ferreted out and eliminated all of Jaelen’s supporters. 


----------------------- Page 488-----------------------

We will ignore them.” 



 Heignored them. Raina found that a little more 

difficult, but the droves of people they met up with 

made that easier. Everywhere they went excitement 

rippled through the people that saw them, that bowed 

respectfully to Simon, looking at him, when they dared, 

as if they were in the presence of a god. Simon seemed 

to take it stride, smiling easily at anyone that made eye 

contact with them, although there weren’t many who 

seemed able to get up the nerve to do so. 



 “What does Pater-Draken mean? Your name isn’t 

Draken?” 



 Simon shrugged. “It is … ah ….” He paused to 

consider it. “An honorary thing from ancient times.” He 

smiled wryly and dropped an arm around her shoulders. 

“Long ago, the people looked upon the emperor as the 

son of the gods,” he whispered conspiratorially. “That 

is why the heir to the throne is always referred to as 

Father Dragon. We are credited--or were--as the origin 

of the race.” 



 She looked at him askance, not because she doubted it 

for a moment, despite the teasing way he’d said it, but 

because even she could see, without any understanding 

of the language at all, that theystill looked upon him as 

a god. 


----------------------- Page 489-----------------------

 “This is why they call you Matra-Draken,” he added, 

his eyes gleaming with amusement and something else 

she found hard to decipher. “But also because they have 

heard of your feats in battle and respect you as a great 

warrioress.” 



 “My feats …? You’re kidding, right?” 



 He chuckled. “Nowyou are credited with having slain a 

dozen draconian warriors. Before much longer it will be 

an entire battalion, but they are right about the gist of it. 

You are a remarkable woman, Rainie. You deserve 

their respect and honor. You were brave and strong and 

I would have swollen with pride in you myself if I had 

not been too terrified to appreciate it at the time.” 



 Raina reddened, both gratified by his praise and 

embarrassed. “I wasn’t brave. I was scared to death. I 

ran and hid.” 



 “You confounded the enemy, retreated to a more 

defensible position, and held them off with stones until 

I could rescue you--to say nothing of the man you 

dispatched to protect Audric. You kept your wits and 

fought them, for which I will be eternally 

grateful--because you protected the one thing most 

important to me--you. I am proud of you, and justifiably 

so. Few women in your position would have had the 


----------------------- Page 490-----------------------

courage or the wit to fight for their lives. They would 

have wept, or screamed, and waited for someone else to 

protect them.” 



 She still felt very undeserving of his praise when she’d 

only acted on her instincts for survival, but if he wanted 

to be proud of her for it, she was happy to bask in it. 

She smiled at him and slipped an arm around his waist 

as they walked together. As much as she enjoyed seeing 

the things he took her to see, and admired the beauty he 

’d spoken of--and the placewas beautiful, the scenery as 

well as the fine architecture of the buildings he took her 

to see--she enjoyed being with him far more. 



 She was exhausted by the time they returned to Draken 

Fortress, but happily so. She didn’t regret it even 

though her feet hurt from the soft soled slippers she’d 

been given to wear and her back hurt, and her belly felt 

as if it needed something more substantial to support its 

weight than her body, because she barely saw him for 

days on end afterward. Almost the only time they were 

together was at night, and she was usually exhausted 

and Simon seemed both exhausted and aggravated. 



 Audric entertained her. She didn’t doubt that Simon 

was behind it. If he hadn’t wanted Audric around her, 

he would’ve placed an army of guards between them, so 

she didn’t know if Audric actually wanted to be with 

her or not, but she enjoyed his company anyway. He 


----------------------- Page 491-----------------------

took her for walks, which got shorter and shorter as 

time went on because it became an exercise in teeth 

gritted endurance for her to walk at all after many more 

weeks and she began to fear she was going to have to 

spend the last weeks of her pregnancy confined to bed. 

She was determined not to if she could help it. She had 

reached a point where she was just as miserable, 

physically, no matter whether she sat, or stood, walked, 

or reclined. At least as long as she could move around 

she wouldn’t be bored to death, or worse, have nothing 

to occupy her mind but her fears. 



 Those alternated between the baby’s health, having the 

baby, and the fear that Simon would dump her, 

whatever Audric had said, because he seemed to lose 

interest in having sex with her. 



 She quit worrying about any of it after a while, though. 

She’d grown too miserable to have any room left for 

anything except hoping the baby would come so she 

could get it over with. She ‘ripened’ well past her 

anxiety about not being able to get around, when even 

getting a decent breath of air was a struggle. 



 Audric stopped walking her to the garden and started 

carrying her out to get a breath of fresh air. As much as 

she appreciated his thoughtfulness, though, it was pure 

torture to sit for very long on the hard, backless bench. 

She couldn’t sit up straight because of the mound in her 


----------------------- Page 492-----------------------

lap, and she couldn’t lean back far without her muscles 

screaming in agony. 



 As she sat staring at nothing in particular, thinking 

about nothing beyond the fact that she had to pee again 

when she’d just gone before she came out, idly rubbing 

her stomach, Audric finally turned to straddle the 

bench. “Come here. I will rub it and try to make it 

better.” 



 Raina looked at him doubtfully, but she was tempted. 

Finally, she dismissed her concern that Simon would 

find out and be mad and shifted closer. Audric dragged 

her between his thighs and pulled her back against his 

chest. Raina relaxed against him after a moment, 

closing her eyes in enjoyment as he began rubbing her 

belly soothingly. Just having him to lean against made 

her feel tremendously better because it was a strain to 

sit up without anything to lean on when she couldn’t sit 

straight up anymore because of her belly. The pressure 

of his hands was heavenly. Within moments she was 

half asleep. 



 “Simon’s going to be mad at both of us,” she 

murmured, feeling compelled to point that out. 



 Audric glanced up at Simon as he appeared in the door 

and strode toward them with angry, purposeful strides. 

Their gazes locked as Simon came to a halt a few feet 


----------------------- Page 493-----------------------

away, his eyes blazing with anger. “I will deal with 

Simon’s temper,” he said grimly. “Does that make it 

feel any better, dearling?” 



 Raina expelled a deep, contented breath. “It feels 

wonderful! It almost doesn’t hurt now. I used to wonder 

what people meant when they’d say ‘it’ll feel good 

when it stops hurting’. I can almost get a really deep 

breath. Will you feel slighted if I fall asleep?” 



 “No.” 



 “Good,” she murmured. She drowsed, but she knew 

the moment Simon crouched beside her even before 

she felt the light touch of his lips. “Don’t be mad, 

Simon.” 



 He slipped an arm behind her back and one beneath her 

knees. “I am not, but I think you will be more 

comfortable sleeping in our bed.” 



 She doubted it, but she was relaxed enough she felt 

some hope of taking a nap so she didn’t argue. If the 

baby would just take a nap with her she thought she 

could manage it, but he was rarely still for very long at 

the time. 



                                  * * * * 


----------------------- Page 494-----------------------

 Audric sent Simon a look that was a mixture of guilt 

and belligerence when Simon returned a short time 

later. He relaxed slightly when Simon, instead of 

blasting him with his temper, settled on the bench 

where Raina had been sitting and dropped his head into 

his hands. 



 “I am nigh sick with fear for her, Simon,” he said after 

a prolonged silence had settled between them that had 

grown from tension. “There is little more to her than 

belly now. It is your child, and I know that you will not 

like for me to say this, but is there not something that 

could be done?” 



 Simon lifted a haggard face to him. “Do you think I am 

not worried? I feel like weeping every time I look at 

her and it is all I can do to pretend that I am not anxious 

to keep from infecting her with my fear. I want the 

child, but not more than Rainie! Gods help me, but I 

would sacrifice it if I thought it would save her. I spoke 

to the court healer--asked him to take it from her, even 

though I know she would probably never forgive me for 

it--but he said it was too late, that it would be more 

dangerous to try, now, than to wait for nature to take its 

course.” 



 Audric’s shoulders slumped. “Mayhap it only seems 

huge because she is so small,” he said gruffly. 


----------------------- Page 495-----------------------

 “It seems huge because itis --to her. The healer thought 

there might be more than one--which would have made 

me feel a great deal better, I do not mind telling 

you--but he could not find but one heartbeat.” 



 “Mayhap he is right and there are two,” Audric said 

more hopefully. 



 Simon nodded in agreement, but he didn’t look much 

heartened. He said nothing more and Audric had just 

decided to leave him with his thoughts when he finally 

spoke again. 



 “I have suggested to the council that they should 

consider you to take my place.” 



 Audric stared at Simon’s profile in disbelief for several 

moments before anger settled over him. “May I speak 

to you as your brother?” 



 Simon sent him a questioning look, but smiled faintly. 

“I thought that you always spoke to me as my brother.” 



 Audric glared him, unwilling to allow Simon to tease 

him out of his ill temper as he generally did. “Then I 

will tell you straight out that I want no part of it! I love 

you, Simon, both as my brother and my sovereign, but 

this I will not do for you! I have never refused to do 

anything you asked. I have always tried my best, 


----------------------- Page 496-----------------------

regardless of how I might feel--but not this! 



 “I was not born to it, and not trained to it. I could not 

do it if I wanted to, and I do not want to even try. I 

knew from the moment that I realized that I loved 

Raina, that she was already lost to me, that there was no 

hope … at all. I can live with that because I must, but I 

will not be pushed into a position where I must marry 

for the sake of the realm! I will nottie myself to a 

woman I do love, and could never love--very likely 

could not even tolerate. I have no doubt that I will be 

miserable, but I am not going to be mademore 

miserable by struggling with affairs of state and 

                                            princess 

listening to the whining of some                          who thinks 

she has married beneath her because I am only a royal 

bastard! 



 “And, like it or not, when you leave here to return to 

her world, I will go also. You may not think that you 

need me now, but I have always watched your back, and 

I will continue to do so! Because whatever you say 

now, whoever they finally decide upon will not like to 

think that you might decide to return just about the time 

he becomes comfortable. If you do not spend the rest of 

your days dodging assassins, I will be nothing short of 

amazed.” 



 He got to his feet then, barely remembered to bow, and 

stalked off. 


----------------------- Page 497-----------------------

                         Chapter Twenty Four 



 Audric was startled and not terribly pleased when he 

answered Simon’s summons several days later and 

entered his chamber to discover that Simon was sitting 

with his back against the headboard of his bed, Raina 

between his splayed thighs and propped against his 

chest. He stared fixedly at Simon’s hands as they 

moved over Raina’s bared abdomen for several 

moments before he collected himself enough to beg 

pardon and make an about face. 



 “My apologies. I was told you wished to speak to me,” 

he said stiffly. 



 “I summoned you. Sit down--the end of the bed will 

do,” Simon responded coolly. 



 Audric stared at the bed for a moment and balked. “I 

will stand … if you please,” he growled irritably. 



 Simon ignored him, tipping his head to look down at 


----------------------- Page 498-----------------------

Raina. “Is that better, beloved?” 



 Raina sighed, but decided to lie. “Yes, much.” 



 “There was something I needed to discuss with you … 

and it concerns Audric, as well.” 



 Raina shifted, trying to find a more comfortable 

position as she looked around for something to cover 

herself with. Seeing nothing close enough to grab, she 

gave up. She didn’t particularly care. If Audric was 

revolted, he could look at something else. “What is it?” 

she asked finally. “Nothing bad?” 



 “I hope you will not think so,” he said, and paused for 

a moment. “Would you be greatly distressed if we 

stayed here instead of returning to your world?” 



 Raina tipped her head back to look up at him. “I’d … 

still be your woman, right?” 



 He smiled faintly and kissed the end of her nose. “Did 

I not say you would always be mine?” 



 Raina smiled back at him in relief. “Then I don’t 

care--as long as I’m with you I don’t care where we 

live.” 



 “You are absolutely certain?” 


----------------------- Page 499-----------------------

 Her smile widened. “Of course I’m sure.” 



 “Well, that is a relief, because I had told the council 

that I would not consider ruling without you by side and 

they have decided that they want us both.” 



 Raina chuckled wryly. “They want you badly enough to 

put up with the upstart Earthling, you mean.” 



 “They will do more than ‘put up’ with you, I assure 

you,” he said grimly. “They are happy to have you, else 

I would not have considered it.” 



 Raina sent Audric a wry look, but he was staring 

studiously at the far wall. She frowned. “I’d be … like 

… your consort?” she asked hesitantly. 



 “You will be my Empress--we are equals, you and I, 

remember?” 



 Raina wasn’t certain of how she felt about the title, but 

she felt delirious with joy that Simon had said he would 

marry her--not asked, told her, but she wasn’t about to 

quibble over it. “Empress Raina,” she said thoughtfully. 



 “It does have a nice sound to it,” Simon agreed 

                                            your 

cheerfully. “And Audric will be                     consort,” he 

added. 


----------------------- Page 500-----------------------

 Raina’s mind went blank. She stared at Simon a 

moment and then looked at Audric. Audric looked as if 

he’d been pole-axed, though, and she could tell he wasn 

’t going to be any help clearing up her confusion. “But 

… you mean he’ll be my escort?” 



 “Audric knows what I mean, do you not?” 



 Audric stared at him blankly for several moments and 

finally sat down on the end of the bed as if his knees 

had give out. “I have not betrayed you, Simon. I swear 

it! I never would.” 



                                                                 I 

 “But you love her, Audric, and she loves you-- love 

you. I would far rather accept that we are all dracons, 

and fallible, than demand something of you that you 

might or might not be able to do. As much as I want to 

be with Raina all the time, and as little as I care for the 

thought of sharing her, I can not do my duty without 

leaving her alone much of the time and I would never 

trust anyone to keep her safe but you. 



 “I need to be easy in my mind that Rainie is safe when 

I can not be with her, Audric, else I can not in good 

conscience accept the duties expected of me. Rainie’s 

happiness and well being will always be far more 

important to me than anything else.” 


----------------------- Page 501-----------------------

 Audric turned to look at her for the first time, staring at 

her for a long, long moment before he looked at Simon 

again. “You do not mean this,” he said hoarsely. “You 

are … concerned … now and you are not thinking 

clearly.” 



 “I am thinking clearly. I have checked the laws. There 

is no impediment. Despite the fact that it has always, in 

the past, been males who have binded with multiple 

consorts, there is nothing to prevent such an 

arrangement between us. You may be sure that I am not 

completely delighted with the prospect, even though I 

feel that it was the best solution for all of us. You may 

also be certain that I mean always to be first with my 

Empress--wewill be first bound. She and I first mates, 

     you 

and        will be her consort--that does not make you and 

I equals. I do not expect this to go smoothly--perhaps in 

the years to come--but no time soon. I believe that we 

will muddle through, however. I have not slain you 

yet.” 



 “Uh … Do I have a voice in this?” 



 “Only if you mean to agree with me, beloved.” 



 Raina gave him a strained smile. “I should’ve known 

that was your idea of us being equals,” she said 

teasingly. “There’ll be raised eyebrows.” 


----------------------- Page 502-----------------------

 Simon shrugged. “I do not care, even a little. They can 

waggle them, if they like. I am the Emperor Simon 

Draken, and I always do as I please.” 



 Raina sighed. “Well, if y’all are through deciding what 

you want to do, do you think, maybe, you could call the 

healer? I’m pretty sure something’s happening here.” 



 All traces of humor left Simon abruptly. He stiffened. 

“Gods be damned! Rainie! Why did you not say 

something before! Audric will have a heart attack if you 

have that child before the healer arrives and I am not at 

all certain that I will not! Audric! Go! Fetch the man 

now. And if you faint, I swear I will tie you to the 

whipping post myself and take the hide off of you!” 



 Simon looked so relieved when the healer arrived and 

sent him from the room, Raina might have been amused 

if she’d been in any condition to feel amusement. The 

pains had been growing steadily worse even before 

Audric had arrived for the discussion, though, until they 

’d reached the point where she couldn’t sit still any 

longer. 



 She’d listened only with half a mind to the discussion, 

had a dim idea of what it was about, and a lot of 

reservations, but she could deal with that later, she 

thought, when she didn’t hurt so much. It got worse 

than she would’ve believed possible, so that she passed 


----------------------- Page 503-----------------------

from the fear of dying to the fear that she wouldn’t, and 

still it didn’t let up. She hardly knew where she was or 

what was happening beyond the haze of pain, but she 

perked up when the healer stepped to the door and 

announced that the baby was coming and Simon should 

come in to witness the birth. 



 Almost over, she told herself. Just a little longer. 



 When she managed to open her eyes again, Simon and 

Audric were plastered against the wall at the foot of the 

bed, both of them looking as if they would pass out and 

slide down the wall at any minute. She lifted a hand 

hopefully to Simon. He stared at it as if it was a snake 

and finally wobbled to the side of the bed and dropped 

heavily to his knees, grasping her hand. She squeezed 

his hand tightly, uttering a growl of effort each time the 

healer told her to push. 



 “The babe has crowned,” the doctor announced. 



 Audric slid to the floor and fell over, distracting Raina 

in the middle of a contraction. She tried to sit up. 

Simon pushed her back down. “He is resting, beloved. 

He will be fine.” 



 Raina panted for breath. “He hit his head.” 



 “He has a very hard head. I am certain, if he broke 


----------------------- Page 504-----------------------

anything at all, that it was the fixture he turned over 

when he fell.” 



 “It is a male child!” the healer announced just as the 

baby announced his arrival by letting out a loud, 

indignant wail. 



 Riana let out a tearful breath of relief. “Is he alright? 

Does he look alright?” she demanded anxiously. 



 Simon turned his head to look at the infant. He 

frowned. “He is very small,” he said finally. “And very 

ugly.” 



 Raina glared at him, but ground her teeth as another 

contraction hit her. “What’s wrong?” she asked, 

panicked when the pain eased off. 



 “You are doing very well, lady,” the healer said 

soothingly. “The second infant has crowned.” 



 Simon stared at the man blankly. “You said there were 

not two,” he said accusingly. “I have been going insane 

with worry that it was one enormous babe and there are 

two?” 



 “I beg pardon, sire, but I said I did nothear but one. If 

you will only look, you will see that there are definitely 

two.” 


----------------------- Page 505-----------------------

 Simon looked vaguely ill. “I will take your word for 

it,” he said uneasily, his hand tightening on Raina’s, 

more as if he needed to hold on to her than as if he was 

giving reassurance. 



 “If you will take this one, I will help the other.” 



 Simon looked at the man in horror, but finally reached 

to take the wiggling bundle. Raina held up her arms for 

the baby as he turned and he settled it beside her with a 

look of profound relief. She cuddled it as she strained 

with another contraction and finally went limp as a thin 

wail announced the arrival of the second baby. “It is a 

female.” 



 As excited as she was about the babies, and anxious to 

examine them, exhaustion threatened to swallow her 

up. She struggled against it until she’d carefully looked 

both of her babies over and satisfied herself that they 

were perfectly formed. One of the women that had 

arrived with the healer surged forward and reached for a 

baby. Raina tightened her arms around the baby 

protectively, glaring at her. 



 “It is alright, Rainie,” Simon said soothingly. “She 

only wants to bathe them. She will bring them back to 

you.” 


----------------------- Page 506-----------------------

 She still didn’t like it, but she was too exhausted to 

argue. She lay drifting in and out of sleep for a while, 

listening to what was going on around her, feeling awe 

and happiness slowly claim her. “Devlyn and Racquel,” 

she murmured. 



 When she opened her eyes, she discovered Simon had 

disappeared and Audric was kneeling by the bed, 

holding her hand and grinning at her sheepishly. “They 

are beautiful,” he murmured. “Just like their mother.” 



 Raina blinked at him dizzily. “They are?” 



 “Yes.” 



 She frowned. “Racquel has dark hair … like Simon.” 



 “I have not seen them,” he confessed shakily. “But I 

know they are beautiful.” 



 Closing her eyes, Raina smiled. “Go and look at them 

and come back and tell me.” 



 She dropped into oblivion when the healer had finally 

stopped bothering her and went away. When she woke 

again the room was dim, as if darkness had fallen. 

Somewhere in the distance she heard the faint threads 

of music and many voices. For a while, she struggled 

with the realization that it had been midday the last she 


----------------------- Page 507-----------------------

recalled and finally pressed her hands to her belly. It 

felt so strangely soft and flat. 



 A light came on at her movement and she squinted at 

Simon, who’d been sleeping in a chair across from her. 

“Where are the babies?” 



 “Sleeping--as you should be.” 



 Disappointment filled her. “I only got to hold them a 

minute.” 



 He pushed himself from the chair and sat on the bed 

beside her. “You have had little rest in weeks. Rest. 

They are being well attended, you may be sure. Each of 

them have a nurse for their needs and Audric is 

standing guard over them--when he is not making 

absurd faces and strange noises at them. I told him to 

stop frightening them.” 



 Raina frowned, searching her memory. “Did he faint?” 



 Simon chuckled, but quickly pretended to cough. “Nay, 

lady. He is a fearless draconian warrior! Why would you 

think that?” 



 She thought it over. “He had a knot on his forehead the 

size of my fist.” 


----------------------- Page 508-----------------------

 He grinned. “I will let you ask Audric.” He hesitated. 

“Will it discomfort you for me to lie beside you?” 



 Raina smiled. “I could sleep better.” 



 Dragging his boots off, he climbed into the bed with 

her and settled beside her. “They are beautiful and I 

could not be more pleased or proud--of them or you.” 



 “You said Devlyn was ugly,” she said accusingly. 



 “He had been through a great trial. I have seen him. He 

is handsome now that he is not such a bloody mess. In 

truth, I did not get a very good look at first. I was trying 

not to disgrace myself as Audric did.” 



 Raina chuckled, but then frowned. “What is all that 

noise?” 



 Simon grinned at her. “They are celebrating the birth of 

the crown prince of Schalome--and our new princess. 

You need not concern yourself that you are welcome 

only because you will be my mate. They adore you as 

much as I do.” 



 Raina sighed blissfully and snuggled next to him. “Do 

you adore me?” 



 Simon slipped his arms around her and sighed 


----------------------- Page 509-----------------------

contentedly. “With every fiber of being, beloved.” 



                         Chapter Twenty Five 



 One year later … 



 Raina propped her head on her hand and watched 

Audric appreciatively through half closed eyes as he 

removed his clothing. Catching her gaze as he finished 

removing his trousers, he paused, studied her a moment 

and, his eyes gleaming with amusement, posed, flexing 

his muscles for her. A smile tugged her lips upward. 

“Mmm,” she murmured, “very, very nice. I especially 

like that muscle right there,” she added, pointing to the 

erect cock jutting from his belly. 



 Grinning, he moved toward her. Placing a knee on the 

bed and one hand on her hip, he rolled her onto her 

back as he settled the bulk of his weight on his side on 

the bed and dragged her beneath him. “It likes you, 

also. Especially this little part of you right here,” he 


----------------------- Page 510-----------------------

murmured, holding her gaze with his as he glided a 

hand over her belly and cupped her mound in his hand. 



 Dragging one leg upward, she allowed it to drop to one 

side, giving him better access as he stroked a long digit 

along her dampness and found her sex, delving inside. 

“I like it when you let your fingers do the walking, too,” 

she murmured huskily as he stroked his finger slowly in 

and out along her passage. 



 Lifting her arm, she settled her palm over the bulging 

muscle he’d been displaying for her moments earlier 

and tracked the contour upward and across his shoulder 

until she’d hooked her hand behind his head, drawing 

him down to her. Their lips met, clung briefly and 

parted. Again and again, he teased her and finally 

settled his mouth fully over hers and teased her with the 

stroke of his tongue in imitation of the steady 

movements of his finger inside of her. 



 Heat blossomed, delightful tension building inside of 

her until she began to move restlessly against him, 

surging upward to meet his hand, sucking hungrily at 

his teasing tongue. He slipped between her thighs after 

a moment, replacing his finger with his cock, surging 

into her with maddeningly slow thrusts until he’d 

seated his engorged member fully inside of her. He 

went still then, curling his body over hers until he could 

capture her mouth beneath his in a kiss filled with far 


----------------------- Page 511-----------------------

more hunger than before, a kiss that sent a fresh surge 

of heated need through her. 



 She lifted her legs, wrapping them tightly around his 

waist and curling her hips into his, the muscles along 

her passage quaking with the delightful spread of fire 

through her veins. He wrenched his mouth from hers 

abruptly. Pushing himself upward on his arms, he 

watched her face as he began to move his hips 

rhythmically, stroking the walls of her sex in 

pleasurable, teasing caresses that made her breath hitch 

in her chest. 



 Breathless, feeling the channeling of sensations focus 

inside her, feeling the tingling, almost electric charges 

jolting through her as her body gathered itself toward its 

peak, she dropped her feet to the bed and curled her 

hips to meet his thrusts, moaning her pleasure in the 

feel of his body inside hers. 



 Audric began to move faster to accommodate her rising 

need and his own, shuddering as he struggled to pace 

himself with her, allowing his passion to take over as he 

felt her nearing her peak. The moment he felt her 

passage begin to quake around his member, felt her 

muscles clenching him, milking him, he yielded control 

to her, allowed her body to coax his seed from him. He 

curled around her as she came, covering her mouth to 

drink in her soft cries of pleasure, groaning his own into 


----------------------- Page 512-----------------------

her mouth. 



 He was gasping for breath when his body finally 

stopped convulsing in release. Weak and utterly content 

in the aftermath, he wanted nothing more than to stay 

just as he was, joined with her flesh to flesh. Instead, he 

gathered himself and rolled over, carrying her with him 

until she was draped bonelessly across his chest. 



 “I pleasured you, beloved?” he asked after a bit, just to 

be sure, just because he liked hearing her tell him. 



 “Mmmm,” she murmured lazily against his chest, the 

hum of her voice tickling him. 



 “I may take that as a yes?” 



 She chuckled. “You know you did.” 



 “You are stingy with your compliments,” he 

complained without heat. 



 She lifted her head. Folding her arms over his chest, 

she propped her chin on her hands and stared up at him, 

a half smile on her lips. “All that moaning and groaning 

wasn’t enough for you?” she asked teasingly. 



 He folded his hands behind his head to stare down her. 

“I came with you. I thought my timing very nice.” 


----------------------- Page 513-----------------------

 She chuckled. “You almost always come with me,” she 

pointed out. 



 “Because my timing isalways very nice.” 



 Laughing, she removed her hands and placed a kiss in 

the center of his chest before shifting upwards to nestle 

her face against his neck. “And italways pleases me no 

end,” she murmured. 



 He stoked a hand along her back, caressingly, releasing 

a deep sigh of contentment. “I love you, Raina.” 



 “I loveyou , Audric,” she murmured. 



 He swallowed, the sound loud in her ears. She sensed 

tension in the prolonged silence. “If this does not 

happen as we had hoped, I will not be disappointed.” 



 Raina said nothing for a moment. “You wouldn’t?” 



 “Mayhap a little,” he conceded after a lengthy pause. 



 Raina smiled against his throat. “Then you wouldn’t be 

disappointed if itdid happen?” 



 “I would be very happy if it did. I am only saying that I 

will still be happy, even if it does not.” 


----------------------- Page 514-----------------------

 Raina slipped off of him, but propped on her arm to 

study his face. “But you would be happier if it did?” 



 He studied her face, frowning faintly. “I had thought 

Simon crazed when he suggested this, but I wanted it 

too badly to try very hard to dissuade him--even though 

I believed we would only end up with all of us 

miserable more often than happy. But I am more 

content than I had ever believed possible and I do not 

want you to think that I am not, or that anything would 

change that.” 



 She studied his face for a long moment and finally 

lifted a finger to draw little circles along his chest with 

it. “Then you’re saying you don’t actually need anything 

more to make you content with your life?” 



 He caught her finger. “No more than you.” 



 She released a deep sigh of feigned regret. “Then I 

suppose you won’t be nearly as excited about my news 

as I’d hoped.” 



 He stared at her blankly for a moment and then sat up 

abruptly. “You are saying …?” 



 Raina chuckled. Grasping his hand, she guided it 

downward and settled his palm over her belly. “I am 


----------------------- Page 515-----------------------

saying, yes.” 



 He studied his hand on her belly and then her face. 

Slowly, a smile dawned and then widened to a grin. 

“You are certain?” 



 “Oh yeah! I’m sure.” 



 Chuckling, he pushed her onto her back and kissed her 

soundly on the mouth. “You are…?” he asked when he’ 

d broken the kiss. 



 “I are,” she responded with a grin. 



 He sighed shakily and stroked her belly. “I wonder if it 

will be a male child or a female?” 



 “One or the other, for sure--if its both, I may murder 

you,” she added jokingly. 



 “Gods! I hope not!” he said in sudden horror. “That 

would be ….” He stopped, grinning as he thought that 

over. “Simon would be very outdone. He has preened 

himself over producing two at once … very modestly, 

of course.” 



 Raina eyed him with a mixture of amusement and 

annoyance--at both him and Simon. “Well, you’re just 

going to have to preen over one!” She considered that a 


----------------------- Page 516-----------------------

moment and finally shrugged. “At a time.” 



 He caught her face between his palms and kissed her 

again. “You may be certain that I will be so puffed up 

with pride that I will be insufferable.” 



                                  * * * * 



 Raina lay on her belly on a blanket beneath the shade 

of the open sided tent that had been erected on the 

beach for her use, dreamily studying Audric, Racquel, 

and Devlyn. Racquel and Devlyn were naked, and 

Audric the next thing to it--wearing a sort of 

breechcloth that was going to figure in her fantasies for 

a while. He was focused on trying to build a sandcastle 

for the babies, and they were focused on trying, by 

turns, to eat it, staggering around in drunken 

glee--delighted they’d gotten the knack of walking-- and 

racing on their stubby little legs for the waves crashing 

on the shore some distance away. 



 For the most part, he kept their attention, but every 

now and then either Racquel or Devlyn would make a 

dash for the water and he’d spring up and chase them 

down. 



 He was good with them and they adored him. 



 They seemed a little confused about which man was 


----------------------- Page 517-----------------------

daddy, but they adored both Simon and Audric, and 

Simon didn’t seem to have a problem with it. 



 He had suggested, though, that he would be pleased 

when Audric had his own. 



 A delicious shiver rippled through her. 



 Audric had certainly been working very diligently on 

fathering one. 



 As if he’d read her thoughts, he lifted his head just 

then and met her gaze. A slow smile curled her lips. He 

gave her one in return, his eyes taking on a speculative 

gleam. 



 Simon had had a summer palace built for her on the 

shores of the sea to remind her of home and she and 

Audric and the babies had been here lazing in the sun 

for nearly two months while Simon was off working on 

a peace treaty with a neighboring kingdom that had 

thought a bit too hard about annexing a little corner of 

Simon’s realm. 



 She sighed. She missed him. As much as she loved 

Audric, as much as she enjoyed the times they spent 

together, she always hungered for Simon. 



 She supposed that was one of the reasons Simon had 


----------------------- Page 518-----------------------

decided that she should take Audric as her consort. He’ 

d known she would be lonely a lot of the time, away 

from her homeland and people, and he loved her 

enough to worry about it and to want to make certain 

she was happy and protected. 



 And she was and she loved the palace he’d had built 

for her to remind her of home, and she still missed 

Simon. 



 Sighing again, she got up and joined Audric and the 

babies. They’d been a little small at birth, but they were 

beginning to make up for it. Simon and Audric had both 

been a little outdone that she’d been determined to 

breast feed them herself. Women of high birth in 

Schalome did not feed their babies themselves. They 

had wet nurses for that purpose, to which she’d 

responded that she wasn’t native born, or high born, and 

she meant to feed her babies herself. 



 She was glad she had, because it seemed to have given 

them a tremendous growth boost. Racquel had inherited 

her father’s hair and her eyes, and Devlyn her hair and 

his father’s eyes, but both of them looked just like 

Simon. 



 It was no wonder he thought they were so beautiful, 

she thought with amusement. 


----------------------- Page 519-----------------------

 Her throat closed as the thought prompted the memory 

of the night Simon had told her how much Racquel 

reminded him of Tiera. His voice had cracked. He had 

never mentioned his lost daughter before, and not once 

since, but she understood. He couldn’t bear to speak of 

her. 



 She was so glad she’d been able to fill some of the 

emptiness and ease some of his heartache. 



 Maybe, she thought, that was the main reason he had 

decided to form the unconventional family they had. He 

’d had so much taken from him. He was so fearful of 

losing again. And he couldn’t be in two places at once. 

As jealous as he was of Audric, still, he needed 

constant reassurance that he wouldn’t lose her and the 

babies, and he knew that Audric protected her and his 

children when he couldn’t be with them. 



 “This little one is the image of her mother,” Audric 

said, noticing Raina was watching with a half smile 

curling her lips as the baby dug her toes in the loose 

sand. 



 She didn’t say anything. He was determined her 

daughter was going to be just like her no matter what 

she said. Instead, she smiled at him lovingly. “I wonder 

if little Audric will be the image of his father?” she 

asked musingly. 


----------------------- Page 520-----------------------

 He grinned at her, excitement gleaming in his eyes. 

“Do you think it will be a son?” 



 Raina felt her throat tighten with love. “I hope so. Will 

you be disappointed if it’s a girl?” 



 He shook his. “Not even a little--especially if she is the 

image of the woman I love.” 



 He looked down at the twins, who were quite happily 

crawling all over him. “Did you hear this, little ones? 

Mommy will have you a … uh … hmm.” 



 Raina laughed. “Another brother or sister? You’re not 

going to faint on me this time, are you? Because I 

expect you to be the cheering section.” 



 He reddened. “I did not faint. It was only that I felt a 

little dizzy and decided to sit down to rest.” 



 “Whatever you say, teddy bear!” Her eyes narrowed on 

his mouth. “What do you say we take the babies to the 

nanny and go back to my place to fool around? I’ve 

been having fantasies about this gorgeous draconian 

with tight little buns running around in a loincloth.” 



 His eyes turned slumberous with desire. “This is 

someone I know?” 


----------------------- Page 521-----------------------

 She stood up, taking Devlyn and settling him on her 

hip. She gave Audric a look over her shoulder as she 

started down the beach. He got to his feet abruptly, 

brushed the sand off and snatched Racquel up, tossing 

her into the air. “Nap time, sweeting!” he said, smiling 

up at her as she laughed and tried to pull his nose off. 



 He caught up to her in a moment, dropping an arm 

across her shoulders as they walked companionably 

along the beach that reminded Raina so much of the 

beach where she’d made love to Simon so long ago. 

She wondered if that was why he’d chosen this 

particular spot. 



 She liked to think so. 



 A man appeared on a dune ahead of them, staring 

toward the sea, his long, silky black hair fluttering in 

the breeze and Raina’s heart stilled in her chest. She 

felt Audric stiffen. He stopped. Raina looked up at him 

worriedly. He lifted his free hand and caressed her 

cheek. “Go to him. I can not begrudge him the company 

of his beloved Rainie. He has allowed me more than I 

ever dared hope for.” 



 Raina smiled up at him and rose up on her tiptoes. 

Placing a hand on either cheek, she kissed him briefly 

on the lips. “I love you.” 


----------------------- Page 522-----------------------

 “I love you, too. Give me Dev before you dash off.” 



 She kissed the babies and turned to look for Simon. He 

had walked down the dune and was coming toward 

them. Hiking the skirts of the long gown she wore up to 

her knees, she raced toward him, flinging herself into 

his open arms when she reached him hard enough he 

had to take a step back to catch his balance. “Simon! I’ 

ve missed you so much!” she gasped, kissing him all 

over the face. 



 He chuckled, lifting her up for a more satisfying kiss. 

When he set her on her feet again, he glanced down the 

beach at Audric, who’d turned away to climb the dunes. 



 Returning his attention to Raina, he studied her face 

questioningly. “I hope that this trip has been as fruitful 

for you as mine was, beloved, for I must tell you these 

past months have been pure hell for me and I do not 

think that I can leave you for so long again.” 



 Raina nuzzled her face against his chest, inhaling his 

scent with pure delight. “I think it was. I don’t want you 

to leave me for so again, either.” 



 Some of the tension left him. “Think?” 



 “I told Audric.” 


----------------------- Page 523-----------------------

 His eyes narrowed speculatively. “Seven months?” 



 She shrugged. “More or less.” 



 He tugged her down on to the sand, kissing her 

hungrily as he drew her into his arms. Raina was 

breathless by the time he dragged his lips from hers and 

began to refamiliarize himself with her throat and the 

upper slope of her breasts. Unfastening the first few 

buttons of her gown and freeing her breasts, he kept 

going. The heat of his mouth on her breasts and the 

rough caress of tongue completed her descent into mind 

drugging euphoria. “We aren’t going to do this here?” 

she gasped dizzily as he switched breasts. “Someone 

will see us. The guards are everywhere.” 



 “Umm,” he murmured, suckling one turgid tip. “We 

have only seven months, more or less, and I must yield 

up my breasts to another. I will cover you with my 

body. No one will see anything more than my white ass 

bobbing in the sun, and they will have no interest in 

that.” 



 He was already covering her with his body and it felt 

wonderful. “Deja`vu,” she murmured as he came 

upright, slipping his hands beneath her gown and 

pulling off her trousers. 


----------------------- Page 524-----------------------

 He smiled the slow, intimate smile that always made 

her breathless as he leaned over her again. Reaching 

between them, he unfastened his pants and entered her 

with slow deliberation, propping himself on his arms so 

that he could watch her face as he worked his cock 

deeply inside of her and then began a lazy, tortuous 

rhythm that built the heat slowly but fiery hot until she 

began to moan with need, to gasp his name 

beseechingly. Lowering himself finally when she was 

almost sobbing with need, he increased the tempo until 

she climaxed so hard she cried out, burrowing her face 

against his chest to try to stifle the harsh cries of 

ecstasy. 



 Shuddering, he came with her and finally leaned 

against her weakly. “You can not saythat was the 

same,” he murmured with satisfaction when he’d 

caught his breath. “I held out far longer this time.” 



 Raina chuckled huskily. “No, but I still have sand in 

the crack of my ass.” 



                                  The End 


----------------------- Page 525-----------------------

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