Page 11 (1/2)

She ith the warmth of the sun on her face and a sense of anticipation On the morrow, he had said, when the sun is nee shall look upon each other

Throwing the covers aside, she sat up "My lord?"

"I ah"

" &039;Tis dawn"

"Aye Are ye ready?"

"Aye," she replied tremulously "I aers closing over so soft She started to ask what it was, but then she knew It was the wolf&039;s fur, twisted into a tight braid

She felt his hand close over hers

"I a with power "Master of fire and light Believe, Channa Leigh, and receive thy sight"

Heat flowed into her hand, raced up her arm She treht on her face She blinked and blinked again as her vision cleared Looking up, she saw hi her

He wore a black shirt open at the throat and black trousers tucked into supple black boots A long black cloak fell from his broad shoulders She had not expected him to be handsome, but he was Undeniably so Why hadn&039;t her father told her? Darkfest&039;s hair fell past his shoulders, thick and black His broere slightly arched, his nose straight, his lips full His expression was stern but not cruel But it was his eyes that held her gaze Green eyes that were familiar somehow He was tall, as she had expected She was sorely tempted to run her hands over his shoulders, to press her palhtly over her breasts to keep fro and well

"How is it possible that I can see?" She glanced at the bit of braided fur in her hand "How long will it last?"

"Until sundown"

"No longer?"

He shook his head The power in the cuttings of the wolf&039;s fur greeaker with tiht?"

"The power that lies in the hair of the wolf" Odd, he thought, that in his human form he lacked the same ability "The poithin your own blood I wove the two of theether, then cast a spell upon it, to quicken it"

"My blood? Where did you get my blood?"

"It was on the blade of the knife" He did not tell her how tantalizing he had found the scent of her blood or how frightened he had been at the way it called to him Nor did he tell her that he had licked her blood froh him like the purest fire The memory of it thrilled him even as it repulsed him, and he shook it from his mind to examine h," he said quietly "Will ye now grantherself to speak as he sat down beside her Moving slowly, he slipped his arm around her waist, his hand splayed over her storew dry Every nerve in her body seemed to come alive as she waited for his kiss He lowered his head toward hers He kept his eyes open, and so did she His eyes were as green as the leaves on the trees They drew her in, hts under starry skies His kiss was light, his lips war of her, only the touch of her lips against his But it wasn&039;t enough She wanted htened around her waist, drawing her closer

With a sigh, her eyelids fluttered down and she leaned in to hi his flesh

He groaned softly Lifting her onto his lap, he kissed her again, his tongue stroking her lower lip, sending waves of pleasure rippling through her

It was a kiss unlike any she had ever known It burned away the memory of Ronin&039;s chaste kiss and forever after spoiled her for any other

She was breathless when they parted Feeling bereft, she stared into his eyes, felt herself falling into the clear emerald depths She felt the whisper of his power slide over her skin, heard the echoes of his lonely childhood, saw the small Cimmerian corner of his soul where his uncertainty lived, but before she could explore it further he drew his gaze away froed with amazement

He looked at her, his eyes narrowed "What makes ye say that?"

"I sahen I looked into your eyes There is a dark place deep within you"

He did not deny it

"What is it that troubles you?"

Lifting her froan to pace

She sat down on her blankets and looked up at him, her brow furrowed "Will you not tell me?"

"There is a darkness within me," he admitted "More than the darkness of uncertainty It is a love for the shadows of the night, for the dark ers just below my awareness" He held out his hands, palms up, and stared down at the within ed his hand over his jaondering how to explain the unexplainable