Savage Lessons (Temple of Luna #3) Page 4

  He gathered the fabric of her robes, somehow managed to let it tease over her skin as he lifted it. "How badly?"

  Guilt and lust burned through her in equal measure. "I ache. Does that appease your ego?"

  "My ego doesn't need appeasing." His foot nudged the inside of her ankle, widening her stance. "The beast inside me does."

  "So badly you couldn't find another woman who would suffice?"

  "So badly no other woman could suffice." He bit her earlobe as his hands worked her robes above her thighs.

  The cool night air caressed her skin, but even that couldn't lessen the heat that rocketed through her. "You flatter me."

  His fingers smoothed over her leg. "Close your eyes. Use your power. Feel what I need, and tell me it's flattery."

  What radiated from him and flooded her was nothing short of hunger, and she yearned to satisfy it. "I don't want to talk."

  "I'm not done yet." His touch drifted higher teasing across her abdomen. "I'm considering how to take you. On the ground. Against the wall. Standing, maybe?"

  Lexa had to clear her throat to speak. "Does it matter?"

  "It shouldn't." A groan, and the world spun dizzily as he whipped her around, dragging her against his body. "I want to give you what you need."

  What she craved was his pleasure. She pushed him down to the grass and followed, climbing astride his thighs.

  His hands spanned her hips, then slid up, dragging her robes with them. "Take this off. I want to see you."

  Again, she wanted him to tear the fabric from her body. And again, it wasn't part of what they had, this clandestine encounter. Lexa pulled both robes over her head at once, leaving her completely bare.

  Glazed pleasure and appreciation filled his eyes as he smoothed his hands up to cup her breasts. "You're beautiful. Wicked."

  "Wicked?" She tugged his shirt up and spread her hand across his stomach. "Why, because I tempt you?"

  His thumbs brushed over her nipples, plying them with teasing gentleness. "You tempt me more than is rational."

  "Temptation isn't about rational thought." She leaned forward and bit her lip when his strong hands cradled her breasts more fully. "It's about need."

  A smile curled his lips before he caught her nipple and tugged it. "Tell me what you need. What makes you ache?"

  "You." She loosened his pants, impatient to have him inside her again. "The way you watch me. Want me."

  "Need you?" He hissed out a breath. "I can't think about anything but having you around my cock again."

  "I know." And she did. If he'd been able to walk away, he would have. There was no reason to sneak around and jeopardize both their positions unless the need clawing at them would allow no rest or respite.

  His hand trailed down the center of her body until his fingers brushed between her legs, slicking close to her clit. Lexa couldn't concentrate on talking while she undressed him, so she lapsed into silence. There would be time for words later, if they found themselves with anything to say.

  She stripped off his shirt, but only eased his pants down until she could close her hand around his erection. She longed to taste him again, feel him in her mouth, but there wasn't time.

  There would never be time.

  Lexa crawled up to kiss him, grinding her hips down so that his shaft nestled between the wet lips of her cunt. "Take me again," she whispered.

  "Under me." He nipped her lips and rolled, bringing her body to the soft grass. A low, rumbling growl worked its way up out of his chest as he kissed her hard enough to intensify the ache inside her with only that contact. One thrust and he was inside her, hot and large, pressing down until their hips met and he groaned against her mouth.

  She bit his shoulder to hold back the sharp cry that rose and then dug her nails into his back as she panted. "Dejan."

  "Tell me." It was half command, half plea. "I need to hear it. I need to know."

  She could barely breathe the words through her moans, but she'd never before meant them so completely. So utterly. "I'm at your mercy, warrior."

  He bit her throat and rolled them again, bringing her on top of him in a surge of muscle. "Sit up. I want to see you."

  Lexa obeyed. She trembled and swayed and finally braced her hands on his chest. "What do you see?"

  "A woman." A roll of his hips lifted her knees from the grass and drove him deeper inside her. "Not a priestess. A beautiful, hungry woman."

  Her lip bled where she'd bitten it, and still a too-loud moan escaped. "You have no idea how hungry I am." Her body clasped him tight as she began to move, rolling her hips eagerly over his.

  "Yes I do." His thumb dipped lower, found her clit and rubbed in slow, maddening counter-point. "As hungry as I am. Almost."

  Fire blazed up inside her, and Lexa caught his hand. "I'll scream if you keep doing that."

  "Then muffle it." His hand continued to move, as if the weight of her grip was no hindrance at all. "I plan to see you come again and again."

  "Dejan." She bent and closed her teeth on his jaw. "I'm already trying to be quiet."

  His body tensed underneath her, the only warning before he spilled her onto the grass. Large, strong hands dragged her up to her knees, and his cock pressed against her ass. "You put yourself at my mercy, didn't you?"

  "I did." She shook with wanting him. "At your mercy, Dejan. Everything in me is yours."

  He covered her, chest to her back and arms on the ground on either side of hers. "Do you know your own power?" The words fell against her cheek in hot bursts of air as he rocked forward, eased his cock into her. "You give yourself... and own me."

  "I only know what I feel." He was hard inside her, and so deep. He spoke of her owning him, but he was the one leaving his brand on her body and soul. Lexa turned her head and spoke against his lips. "Do you put yourself at my mercy? Do you trust me to give myself to you?"

  Teeth caught her lower lip and dug in. "Yes."

  "Hold me and don't move." Trusting him to do as she asked, she threaded her fingers through his hair and slid her other hand down her body to stroke her clit. "When I come, fuck me hard."

  The arm wrapped around her body tightened, and his growl vibrated against her back. "Tell me how you're touching yourself. Slow? Rough?"

  "Soft now. Slow. When I get close --" She shifted her hips a little and gasped sharply. "Rougher when I get close. Harder."

  He turned his head and bit the inside of her wrist. "Will you like it just as much when it's my tongue?"

  The thought made Lexa clench tight around him, and she moaned helplessly. "We can't, Dejan."

  "Can we stop?"

  They had to. Sooner or later, they'd be caught. Still... "I can't stop wanting you."

  "So show me." One little bump of his hips, driving deeper into her. "Come, so I can fuck you."

  Her vision swam. She muttered a curse and sped her movements, desperate for him to continue those tormenting thrusts. "Tell me."

  "Tell you what?" The arm wrapped around her trembled. "That I'm at your mercy?"

  It wasn't fitting for a warrior, much less a trainer, to feel such things for a priestess. But here, in the garden, they were only a man and a woman. "Yes, Dejan -- yes --"

  The world shook apart and took her with it. He hissed his pleasure and gave her the movement she'd needed, a hard, deep thrust followed by another, and another.

  Lexa dropped her hands to the ground, fingers digging past grass and into the earth as she tried to anchor herself in something other than Dejan's body over hers, in hers.

  It was no use. The way her body and her magic embraced him so completely could only mean one thing. No amount of fighting would change it.

  She was his.

  Dejan buried his face against her shoulder and closed his teeth on her skin, muffling the hoarse, desperate groan that accompanied his release. Power flooded her, demanded she come with him as his steady rhythm turned ragged.

  His frantic pleasure sparked her own again. Lexa tried to hold back he
r scream but a keening wail escaped, and she bit her lip hard to quiet it. It was too loud even to her own ears, which still buzzed and roared in the aftermath of orgasm.

  "Lexa." Her name rasped from his lips as he stilled above her. "Mine."

  Too late for the word to bring anything but warm satisfaction, but Lexa was nothing if not stubborn. "We are allowed no claim on one another."

  His nudged her hair out of the way and pressed a hot kiss to the back of her neck. "Tell me it's not the truth."

  "That doesn't make it less likely to hurt us both."

  "And hiding from it will?"

  "No." She sighed. "Impossible, and I still can't walk away."

  He whispered the word against the back of her neck a second time. "Mine."

  Maybe they could handle this. All she knew was that they had to try. Lexa lifted a hand to his face. "Yes, yours."

  Chapter Three

  The ball slammed past Dejan, and Hektor barked out a laugh. "You're not even paying attention."

  He wasn't, and he knew it. Dejan ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head. "I'm too tired for games today. I didn't sleep well last night."

  Hektor caught the small white ball as it rebounded. "So the rumors floating around the lounge are true."

  Dejan shifted from exhausted to wary in a heartbeat. "There are rumors about my trouble sleeping?" He made his voice casual, but it wouldn't be enough. It couldn't be enough, not if people were starting to talk.

  "Just that it's tough to get enough sleep with a woman under you."

  His control snapped, and he had his hand around Hektor's throat and his friend's back against the wall before he remembered moving. "Is that what they talk about?"

  "What the hell are you doing?" Confusion darkened Hektor's features, and he closed one iron hand around Dejan's wrist. "Whatever your problem is, it isn't with me, so I suggest you let me go."

  Hell. Dejan loosened his grip but didn't step back. "Tell me what they say."

  "The most popular rumors have linked you with any number of women employed by the Temple. Even a few influential wives from town."

  Relief flooded him, so fast it took violence with it. Linking him to Temple employees or ladies from town could get him in trouble, but it wouldn't endanger Lexa. "Have the men turned into novices, then? To gossip like overly excited girls?"

  Hektor didn't take the bait. Instead, he stared at Dejan and groaned. "You're not, Dej. For the love of all that's holy, tell me you're not mixed up with her."

  "Bite your damn tongue, Hektor." Dejan dropped his hand and turned away. "You don't have a clue what you're talking about."

  "Right. I don't hear you denying it."

  Because Hektor would hear the lie, and they both knew it. Hektor would hear the lie, and he would know that Dejan had spent the last moon's worth of nights on top of Lexa more often than not. Frantic, furtive meetings in the beginning, but lately they'd shifted. He wasn't soothed by an hour slaking his need in her body anymore. Not if he couldn't spend another hour lying with her in the circle of his arms and listening to her quiet voice.

  And perhaps that was what had doomed them. "She's a friend," he said finally, because it was the truth, if not all of it. "She's a strong, determined woman who needs a friend."

  Hektor sighed wearily. "We've all had at least one who made it tough to let go, but you have to. The Temple is a place for service, not love."

  Love. A word neither of them had dared utter. It would be insanity in any case -- who could be in love after a month of stolen moments? But the power and need twisting inside him was so much deeper, so much more desperate than the polite confines of love.

  Dejan could tell by the look in Hektor's eyes that he could see it, too. With a sigh, he gave up pretense. "Does everyone know?"

  "No, but they'll figure it out if you try to strangle them for teasing you about your conquests."

  "Damn it." He scrubbed a hand over his face. "I can't stop. It's instinct. It's... feral."

  "I wish I had an easy answer."

  Dejan wished he had an answer at all. "Who was she? The one who made it hard for you to let go?"

  Hektor's lips twisted into a bittersweet smile. "Tatiana. You may not remember her. She barely made it out of her novice robes before some noble returning from the war snatched her away."

  The name called to mind the image of a tall, blonde woman, quiet and quietly pretty, but not remarkable in any way. Nothing like the flashy, vibrant women Hektor seemed to favor. "What got to you?"

  His friend stared at the ground, lost in memories. "I have no idea. It could have been everything, or just a single moment I can't even remember. But I loved her."

  "And you let her go." Dejan closed his eyes. "I've tried. I've tried, damn it. The parts of me that are broken used to be an asset. Now they're taking over everything."

  Hektor snorted. "I didn't let Tatiana go. She carefully considered all of her options and decided it wasn't practical for us to remain together. She dumped my ass."

  Dejan froze. "And if she hadn't?"

  "I had asked her to leave with me. To become my wife." He shrugged. "She broke my heart, but she also did me a favor. It would have been a disastrous mistake once the infatuation faded."

  Asking Lexa to leave the Temple would be a greater betrayal than leaving her. If the need twisting inside her was anything like the instinctive hunger that plagued him, it might be enough to override sense -- for a time. Until she realized she'd given up her dreams for a broken man who couldn't offer her anything more than a quiet life of obscurity.

  An insult to the woman who would undoubtedly rule the Savage Temple as its high priestess one day soon.

  "I'm sorry." Hektor looked truly sympathetic. "These things are impossible to avoid, but best ended quickly."

  "Perhaps you're right." If nothing else he could broach the matter with Lexa. A cooling off period, perhaps, to protect her until the gossip settled down. If she truly needed him, if it wasn't just the mystique of his position...

  If. The word had never terrified him quite so much.

  Lexa clenched her hands to hide their shaking and faced Celine, her shoulders shaking. "I don't know what happened. Everything was fine, and then..."

  "Sit." Celine's voice sounded strained, but her hand was steady as she gestured to the chair behind Lexa. "I haven't received the healer's report yet. Are you physically well?"

  "I'm fine. I had the situation under control. He didn't harm me at all."

  Celine didn't look as if she quite believed her. "The situation should not have been one that required control. Your warrior was young and recently gentled. Was his level of need misdiagnosed?"

  "I..." There was no way she could tell Celine the truth, that the frightened young man had sensed Dejan's claim on her and reacted with instinctive, angry violence. "As I said, I don't know what happened."

  "Then you'd best start considering the possibilities, Lexa." Celine leaned forward, her face fierce. "You will not meet another warrior until I'm sure you will be safe. If that had been a feral wolf, you would be dead."

  She bit her lip. Normally, she'd argue with a full removal from service, but the truth was that she'd spent more stolen nights with Dejan over the last month than she had entertaining warriors in need. "I understand."

  "You're taking this with surprising aplomb, priestess."

  She bristled. "What would you have me do, cry? Something went wrong, but no one was harmed. It isn't the end of the world."

  "No, it's not. Not for most priestesses." Celine settled back in her chair. "I thought you were not most priestesses. Perhaps I was mistaken."

  Only a few short weeks earlier, this sort of failure would have been unacceptable. Lexa wouldn't have eaten or slept until she figured out what had gone wrong. "No, you... I'm sorry. I'm angry with myself." That much, at least, was true.

  "If something were happening, if something had changed... I should hope you would understand you could talk to me."

  Th
e words meant nothing, not when the truth of her confession would leave her demoted, and Dejan banned from the Temple entirely. Lexa fixed her face into a calm, serene mask. "I understand, Celine."

  Silence stretched out, measured by the gentle sounds of the fountain in Celine's courtyard and the gentle music of wind chimes usually too soft to notice. Finally the high priestess sighed. "You're dismissed. I expect you to have an additional meeting with the healers in the morning, just as a precaution."

  The boy hadn't touched her beyond a too-tight grip on her shoulder, but she didn't argue. "I'll see them just after breakfast." Lexa didn't wait for Celine to comment. She turned on one heel and hurried out of the courtyard, into the corridor.

  The quickest way to her room was to cut through the main gardens. She stumbled through the door and leaned against the wall, thankful for the fresh air and quiet. She needed a moment to compose herself, to wrap her mind around the fact that Celine had been right.

  Then the wind shifted, and it carried his scent. Her body reacted immediately, but the warmth that filled her was more than arousal.

  She opened her eyes. "Dejan."

  "Lexa." He stood a few feet away, fingers curled into fists and his body fairly trembling with tension, but he didn't move closer. Instead his gaze roved over her face and body, frantic and worried. "Are you hurt?"

  So he'd heard. "I'm fine. It was nothing."

  "A young man turned violent on you, Lexa. It's not nothing."

  "And we both know why it happened." She forced herself to meet and hold his gaze. "Please, Dejan. Don't admonish me. I can take it from anyone else, but not you."

  "Admonish you?" It came out strangled, and he squeezed his eyes shut. "I should be whipped for it. I should be put down for the danger I've placed you in."

  Lexa swallowed tears and clenched her hands in her robes to keep from reaching for him. "We're both to blame."

  "We're both in need. But I know better, Lexa. As a trainer, I should have known I was leaving too much of myself on you. I should have been careful. And you paid the price for it, just as you paid the price for my lack of control before."