Part 14 (1/2)
He drove into her so hard and fast that the heavy oak table shook.
”You're going to break my furniture!” she gasped, then shrieked with pleasure as his teeth gently chewed one nipple, his tongue lapping the pebble-hard peak. She struggled to free her hands from his grasp, wanting nothing more than to cling to him as her body erupted beneath his carnal onslaught.
She shouted his name and he released her wrists, his arms closing around her and crus.h.i.+ng her to his chest. She clutched him so tightly her arms and legs ached, but she didn't care. All she felt was waves of throbbing ecstasy. His climax forced her back onto the table, and for a long moment, she lay beneath him, both catching their breath amidst a table full of half-eaten food.
She laughed. ”That was the best meal I've had in a long time.”
”That was the first course.”
Her eyes widened slightly as he swept her into his arms and carried her to the bed.
The night's heat awoke Sparrow. Though she lay on top of the bedcovers, her skin felt hot and sticky. She reached for Lock, but found the bed empty beside her. A breeze blew through the window at the far corner of the room. She slipped out of bed, hoping the wind might cool her.
Even the wind's too warm, she thought, stepping closer to the window. She caught sight of Lock in the middle of the moonlit field, the white stallion grazing in the distance behind him.
She slipped on her boots and a thin cotton s.h.i.+ft and went to join him.
As she approached, she saw he was moving across the field with the grace of a big cat, performing kicks, blocks, and strikes. Though she knew he was practicing fighting, his motions reminded her of a dance. She vaguely remembered taking a trip with her father years ago. They'd visited a kingdom in the North where they'd watched several Knights of the Ruby Order perform an exhibition of their fighting techniques. The Knights were healers and warriors, and such performances were rare, since they lived by strict vows and a stern code of ethics. The Northern King had been a friend of their leader, however, and the Knights had agreed to the exhibition as a favor. Watching Lock made her think of the Knights. His practice looked so similar to theirs.
She sat on the fence and stared at him, her eyes devouring his lean, muscled torso glistening with perspiration. She gazed at his long, powerful legs as they s.h.i.+fted in low stances or kicked at various levels-at times above his own head.
Finally he stopped and glanced at her, wiping damp hair from his forehead.
”Where did you learn how to do that?” she asked.
He approached, his breathing returning to normal, and stood in front of her, a hand braced on the fence post on either side of her legs. She watched the pulse beating in the hollow of his sweat-sheened throat and glanced at the sleekness of his body. Sliding her hands over his chest, she reveled in the feeling of his hot, wet skin.
”Years ago I was first mate on a s.h.i.+p called The b.l.o.o.d.y Morning. She sank off the coast of an island to the east. Only four of us survived, and we were forced to live there until we could find a way off. We were told s.h.i.+ps scarcely docked there. There were six huts on the whole d.a.m.n island, girl. Six. Twenty people lived there, six of them children. They'd moved away from their homeland.”
”Why?”
”To live in peace. At first we didn't understand their language, but later I learned to speak it. They were members of a house of warriors who served a great lord. Tired of bloodshed, they left and settled on the island. They appeared to have nothing, but in one of the huts, an old man had a h.o.a.rd of armor and weapons that would fetch a very high price off the island. Two of the members of our crew attempted to steal the old man's belongings, not that they could go anywhere once they took them. The old man's nephew caught them, and they pulled a knife on him. I'd never seen anyone fight like that boy. He used his body like weapon. He had the speed and strength of the wind.”
”What happened to the thieves?”
”He killed them both.”
”You didn't try to steal from them, I hope?”
Lock wrinkled his nose. ”Do I look daft? I wanted to learn their fighting style. I figured I had nothing else to do on that island. I didn't know how long I'd be there, but if it was long enough, I'd master their technique. I was bigger than any of them, and knew once I could fight like them, I'd have the advantage. When the time came for me to leave, I could take the armor and weapons, and they could do nothing about it.”
”So you used them?” Sparrow wondered if her disappointment shone in her eyes. At times she could forget he was a pirate, a thief, a killer.
”I used them. For three years I lived on that island. The only other man left from The b.l.o.o.d.y Morning had been injured when we sank, and he died of a fever soon after we washed ash.o.r.e. I lived with those people, worked with them. We survived mostly by fis.h.i.+ng, but also did some farming.”
”Which is why you didn't make a complete mess of my farm while I was tied up.”
He winked at her. ”You've done well, Sparrow. I can see why you're proud.”
She smiled, pleased by his words, and said, ”Finish your story.”
”When I wasn't doing my share of the work, I practiced. Practiced every day until my arms and legs felt as heavy as steel. I wanted to know everything those masters knew-all at once, of course.”
She chuckled. ”Looks like you did pretty well.”
”I learned everything they had to teach. Then a s.h.i.+p docked, and I was ready to go back to my life.”
”As a pirate?”
”It was all I knew.”
”But they showed you an honest life.”
”I didn't see it that way at the time. I took what I'd learned as another way to make myself unbeatable. In a way, it did. Since then, I've never been beaten in a fight-until those bounty hunters got their hands on me.”
”So you stole the weapons and armor when you left the island?”
He sighed, his eyes fixed on hers. ”No. I didn't.”
”Why?”
”I...” He shook his head. ”I don't know. The time came, and I just didn't want to do it anymore.”
”Because you felt loyalty to them for all they'd done for you.”
”Maybe. I don't know.”
”You've always had a heart, Lock.” She slid her arms around his neck and touched her nose to his.
”I don't think I have a heart like you mean.”
”If you didn't have a heart, we wouldn't be together right now. You feel for me. Admit it.”
”If I could feel for anyone, it would be for you, but I don't think I'm capable.”
”Of course you are.”
”I've lived like an animal, Sparrow. Surviving day by day, There's almost nothing I haven't done for money.”
”Much of that wasn't your fault.”
”Maybe, but most of it was.”
”I don't care about your past, Lock. I care about now and the future.”
Lock caressed her face. ”Whatever happened to that prince you were supposed to marry?”
”You were right.” Sparrow lowered her eyes. ”He didn't want a commoner.”