“Oh, that was a mistake on my part then. Perhaps you are in need of a tonic to release bowel pressures? I did notice a lack of fruit at the midday meals. My son is a noted healer. I’m sure he could whip up a potion to alleviate the tightness in your viscera.”

  “My viscera are fine.”

  “Good, good. Then perhaps your fractious face—”

  “My face was not fractious,” I snapped. “My role is not that of a jester to jape and toss pennies in the air. I am at your side as your protector. That is a role I take quite seriously.”

  He stopped just outside the door to his suite, hands still behind his back, honied gaze finding mine and holding it.

  “Yes, I have noticed. Perhaps you need to take a night off and engage in something that will give you some enjoyment.”

  “That was my plan.” I opened the door to his room, nodding at the duo of Sandrayan guards on either side of the door, and bowed slightly to Teryn. “May you sleep well, Mahouk Nouradi.”

  I spun on my heel and left before he could poke another witty thorn into my side. Why in Ihdos’ name did the man rankle me so? Generally, I was of lighter humors. Perhaps the role of captain of the guard tasked with protecting such a valued dignitary was weighing even heavier than normal. Not that guarding the king was something I took lightly. It was that this assignment carried such import. Aelir and his consorts had been working tirelessly to bring about a closer union with the clans that we’d pushed away. It was a slow, arduous process to gain back trust once it was lost.

  I stalked through the castle, taking note of my guards at their posts, until I was back at the barracks on the far side of the keep. I called for a bath. Soon the large metal tub behind the screen was being filled with buckets of hot water toted in by new recruits. Once the last bucket was dumped, I stepped into the tub, sinking down to wallow in the lavender-scented water. Lavender. From the lavender steppes. A wholly Melowynn aroma. No traces of lime or black ginger root. Nothing but sweet lavender. As was my soap. Crafted by the Sisters of the Steppes for sale here in Celear.

  The hot water began to ease the rigidity of my muscles. Even my jaw ached. I slid under the water to soak my head, coming up with a gasp. I thought only of the night ahead. Of finding a lover. A masculine one for sure this eve. I was in no genteel state of mind to take a slight, feminine elf to bed. No. Tonight, I required a lover who could give as well as he got. Perhaps I would allow him to mount me after I spent myself deep inside his—

  A robust knock startled me out of my sensual daydream. “Unless the castle is afire, I gave orders to not be disturbed,” I bellowed.

  “I’m sorry, Captain, but there’s a summons from the Revered Mahouk Nouradi,” a tentative female voice called through the crack between the door and the stout frame. I sighed so deeply that dots appeared in front of me. “I’ll slide the note under the door and wait for your reply.”

  “Ihdos damn the man,” I snarled, stood, and stepped out of my tub, water sluicing down over me, and stamped wet feet to the door. A rich envelope of ivory lay on the floor, the address somewhat formal. Guard Captain Greenleaves.

  Muttering under my breath so as not to let the waiting guard hear me calling a noble envoy a festering pain in my arse, I broke the dark red wax seal of a scorpion with my thumb and opened the short missive.

  Dearest Pasil,

  I have come up with the most wonderous idea to aid you in your search for relief from the contractures of your duties. Come to my suite with all due haste.

  Yours under the holy light of Shamsira—

  Teryn

  “I am going to throttle this man,” I growled lowly.

  “You said something to me, Captain?” the feminine voice on the other side of my door asked.

  “No, I was merely speaking to myself. Hold, and I shall reply to the mahouk.” I stomped to my desk, naked and wet and partially aroused, and threw some words on a blank sheaf of vellum. Folding it in half, I sent it off without even a seal. A shove under the door was the extent of the reply’s care from me.

  “He gets five minutes,” I told the wardrobe as I yanked it open. Once I had explained to the man that I had plans in town, he could take his “wonderous idea” and shove it deeply up his tight little arse. Not that I knew that his arse was tight. His robing covered everything from shoulders to knees, allowing only dark bare calves in fashionable leather sandals to be seen. Men and women of the Isles dressed in the same manner, loose-fitting light robes to allow their bodies to cool in the heat of their home islands. “Five minutes and then I am tossing whatever coin I have to the nearest whore I can find.” To hell with searching for the stablehand.

  Pulling on a linen tunic of dark blue, some trousers, a belt with a coin pouch and a sheath for my eating dagger, and soft kid boots, I ran a towel over my head, tossed it to the floor, and left my room. I did not stop until I was stalking down the corridor where the guests of the crown were situated. I rounded a corner and nearly collided with Tezen and her charges. The twins were red-faced, cheeks wet, in their sleeping gowns with their small feet bared.

  “Captain,” Tezen said and looked around me. “Have you seen a kitten?”

  “We’ve lost Spot,” Alfina said, her lower lip out so far a bird could have lighted on it.

  “Papa will be cross if we cannot find him,” Al’fur informed me, his round face covered with spent tears and what looked to be honey.

  “I’ve not seen your kitten, but cats are known to hide in dark, secretive places. Perhaps you should return to the nursery?” I replied as kindly as I could. “She may be hidden in one of your toy boxes.”

  “That’s where we are heading now. The children were upset. Nanny Vilde is searching the playroom again, so we did a fast sweep of the kitchens as honey cakes are known to calm tears,” Tezen explained, hovering in front of me. “If you see the kitten, bring him to the nursery, will you?” I nodded. “Thank you, Captain.”

  After watching the little party climb the narrow, curved steps to the next floor, I continued onward, my goal within sight. Two Sandrayan guards stood at the portal, opening it for me and closing it behind my back without announcing my arrival. That seemed a dereliction of duty. I took in the elegant room quickly. The windows were open, as was the patio door, and the sea winds tickled the sheer curtains. The bed was unmade. The coverlets tossed about, and in the center of the spray of linen and pillows of differing sizes and colors lay Teryn’s spotted cat. Its fur gleamed like a gold spire in the sun, the darkish brown spots melding into soft brown and gold. It would be virtually invisible moving through the jungles that dotted the Black Sand Isles. Eyes the exact shade of Teryn’s stared at me in interest. Long whiskers twitched as it gently flicked its tail. Around its neck was a red band of silk with a small pendant that grabbed the firelight in the hearth.

  “Hello?” Teryn called out from the bathing room. All thoughts of sloppy guard form dissipated at the imagery of the envoy resting in one of the large stone baths. “Is that the heated breath of the bronze warrior I hear in my chambers or has a constipated bear wandered into the castle?”

  This man was beyond vexing. I had half a mind to storm into his bath and explain to him, for the fortieth time, that I was not the sole hero in those tales nor was I making sounds like a backed-up bruin. I actually took several steps before I stopped myself just short of the rounded archway leading to the bathing room. It was when the thick, steamy cloud of sand sage hit my nostrils that my ire began to change into something else entirely.

  “Dearest me, it must be the bear as Pasil Greenleaves is known to have a tart tongue,” Teryn commented, water splashing, and then just as I was taking a step in reverse, he appeared in the arch wearing only a thin peach-toned robe that hid nothing of the nude, slick male body beneath. My sight went to his cock, hanging along the inside of his thigh. A thicket of black curls at the base looked silky soft. His balls dangled and swayed as he walked. With a grunt, I tore my sight from his prick to look at his face. Golden eyes glowed like his cat’s. Small beads of water lingered on his goatee and thick hair. His lashes were clumped from his bath. His lips parted into a knowing smile as I fumbled to find what to say. “No, I was mistaken. It is not a bear at all. It is the man who quelled a yeti attack.” He strolled to the bed to pet his cat. “We have company, Pehdra. Be sure to be on your best behavior as I am trying to impress him.”

  “Not alone,” I managed to croak out as he padded across the cool tile floor, his elegant feet bare. The alluring smell of sand sage billowed off his damp skin, whispering at me to step closer and get lost in the sensual fragrance. Now I knew. The man literally bathed in perfumed oils. I could see the shimmer on his dark skin as he passed in front of the glowing coals in the hearth. He wore no adornments other than the slim gold chain fastened to the tip of his elegant, long ear. What charms were attached to the end I’d not been able to discern yet. The fire glinted off his hair, showing dark russet highlights amid the ebony strands.

  “Yes, I recall. You’re a humble, dedicated man. I find that very appealing.” He stopped beside a small table that I’d not noticed. Some highly skilled guardian I am. Atop the delicately crafted ashen table were fruits, cheeses, and an urn of tea. Red tea, I suspected. Steam rose from the spout of the glass teapot with intricate imagery of a yellow sun and black shores. “Would you like a cup of tea? I had the kitchen send up a pot of honey. I have seen how much you mainlanders enjoy your sweets.”

  He had feasted with Aelir for days. No one enjoyed sweets like our king. It was obvious where his children got their sweet tooth.

  “Thank you, but no, I’m here at your request, but I do have plans for the evening,” I said, my sight dropping down to stare openly at his round arse through his robe. The orbs were tight and high, looking as if they would sit in my hands like one of the dark orange melons the Sandrayans had brought over with them. Desire coursed through me. Truly, I needed to see what the man wished of me and leave before something disastrous took place.

  “Oh, I am sorry for interrupting your plans.” He poured some tea into a cup, stirred it with a small silver spoon, and then, cradling the cup in his hands, turned to gaze at me. The room seemed to pull inward, growing smaller and duller, until there was no tea, no cat, no hearth with shimmering briquettes. “I had thought that we might take a ride. The king has said your horses are high-spirited with a love of running.”

  “You wish to ride?” I asked dully, my mind mushy with the sight and smell of this man.

  “I thought to offer to ride with you as you seem to need an outlet for your pent-up energies. Unless you can think of a better cathartic release?”

  Surely this was Ihdos himself testing me. “Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?” My voice sounded scratchy.

  He blew over and then took a sip of tea, his sight never straying from my face. “Yes.”

  One simple word. My heart sped up slightly. “We should not.” I fisted my hands at my sides. “Your station is higher than mine.”

  A single lean black brow quirked upward. His head tipped slightly, the gold chain coming to rest on the side of his throat. All I could think of was pushing it aside with my lips so I could feel his pulse thrumming under my mouth. My cock ached now, my balls heavy with the want he spoke of so poetically.

  “Did your king not wed two consorts of common blood?” he countered as I knew he would. To be truthful, my excuse was flimsy at best. I’d argued with V’alor not to look at his affections for Aelir under such a light, and now here I stood, spewing the same tired rhetoric.

  “He did, yes, but I am not a king,” I fired a feeble volley back. “If word of our liaison were to spread, some of the nobles of Melowynn would be greatly displeased.”

  “No, you are not and thank the sun goddess for it. You’re above the machinations of the courts, and I find that a joyous respite. As for your second point…it is quite sad that the mainlanders still cling to such outdated and choking ways. If. That is a clever word, is it not? It is based on supposition or conditions. There is no predicting the future unless one is a prophet of Shamsira, which, sadly, I am not. What I do know, Pasil, is that we desire each other. The want floats on the air like the sea spray from the Silvura. Surely you can smell it, taste it?”

  “All I can smell or taste is sand sage. It haunts me.”

  And the truth was freed. Would that I could pull the words back but I could not for they floated on the salty wind like morning vespers.

  “As does your aroma of lavender and leather, horse and man, steel and honor.” He placed his tea on the table and walked to me with sure strides. This man knew what he wanted. Ihdos bless me for a fool, I seemed to be what he desired. “I’ve sat before you, the wind at my back, and found myself working to keep my head in the negotiations instead of wondering if the skin of your back carried the scent of lavender.” He stepped before me, hands at his sides, gaze as hot as the sands of his homeland. “Now, I present myself to you if you would have me?”

  “We should not,” I repeated even as a shaking hand rose to tug at the silken ties holding his shift closed. His throat worked as he swallowed. The backs of my fingers brushed his glistening flesh as I pulled gently. The tie fell open. The robe glided down off one shoulder, baring his biceps and one taut nipple to my hungry gaze. I wet my lips. Unsure in the blink of an eye and then certain beyond any question the next. “This is going to end badly.”

  He shrugged his covered shoulder. The robe slithered to the floor. “I do not see why it would.” He placed his hands on my chest. My heart thundered now. “Taking pleasure in the open arms of a willing lover is the path the goddess has laid out for us. Loving others, taking them into our hearts, into our homes and lives, is the truest way to discover the joys of divinity.” Words froze on my tongue. I feared for many things as I stood there with his hands on my breast, his gaze questioning, waiting…“I would bring no dishonor to your name, Pasil. My people are more open and giving when it comes to sex and the joys of the flesh. No one would look askance at you and me sharing a bed.”

  “None of your people,” I replied, the words raspy as a bog toad’s croak.

  “We are the same people, Pasil. Elven blood runs through all of our veins. Elven hearts beat in our chests. The only difference between us is the tone of our skin. So perhaps for the time that I am here, you and I can begin to breach the divides that keep us apart?”

  The man knew how to speak. Hundreds of years as a diplomat and negotiator had not gone to waste. I let my hand settle on his shoulder, reveled in the feel of his slick skin under my calloused palm, and lowered my head to taste those red tea-stained lips.

  Never had I tasted anything so divine.

  His tongue slipped out to tease mine, sliding back into his mouth where I chased it, delving deeply into his mouth as his fingers bit into my chest. My hands found his lean hips, locking him against me, then pulling him tighter as I tasted the pungency of ginger, the sweetness of cinnamon, and the bite of the famed Black Sand peppercorn. Saffron and sumac mingled with a fruity undertone that I could not place. Not that I cared overly if it was yellow apricots or purple rukah pears. His taste blurred the line I had tried so diligently not to step over. As did the pulsing heat of his cock as it rode alongside mine.

  “I feel your tension still,” he whispered into my mouth when the kiss broke suddenly. “In this chamber there is no ambassador or guard, Pasil. There are only two men who have finally folded under the weight of the yearning they have for each other.”

  My hands moved up his silken sides, fingertips growing slippery from the oils clinging to his skin. I cupped his face, my thumbs grazing the soft whiskers around his swollen lips. I had never kissed a man with facial hair. I found the scrub of it against my face and thumbs wildly erotic. I gazed into eyes as dark as the tiny cocoa breads that Widow Poppy served the children for afternoon treats.

  “Then, if I take command of our evening, that will not bring a rebuke down upon me when the moons fade at dawn?” I rolled my hips. His mouth parted with a sigh as my cock moved over his.

  “The only rebuke you will get from me is if you do not fuck me into a delirium this night.”

  He rose to his toes to seal his mouth over mine, a hand sliding from my chest to find my hardness straining against the ties of my trousers. A madness of lust overwhelmed me. With a grunt, our lips broke apart as I lifted the smaller man from his fragrant feet and toted him in my arms like a bundle of kindling to his bed. With a toss, he flew into the air and landed on the plush mattress with an OOF! that sent the cat scurrying over and leaping into a tall chair with a dark blue velveteen pillow.

  “Apologies, Pehdra,” I mumbled while yanking my shirt over my head. Teryn lay back among the pillows, his sight roaming over me as I rushed to strip down. He wet his lips when my cock was revealed.

  “You are truly a fine man,” he purred much like the feline sitting atop her pillow watching us from across the room. “I knew you would be crafted by the hand of the goddess. Come to me now, lie with me, and let us forget the days filled with bickering advisors, tedious arbitrations, and dialogue over dock dimensions and ferry taxes.”

  “Your tongue is silvery and smooth like the face of a pond under the moons,” I confessed, kneeling on the bed, cock standing out, the head peeled free of the foreskin, a droplet of seed on the tip. “I’ve heard you talk Umeris into things that only Ihdos himself would have been successful at doing.” He smiled at me with a smile that told me he knew his skills were vast. I knee-walked closer, between his spread thighs, and took his prick in hand. The smugness left his face, replaced with the softening glow of pleasure. “Perhaps your desert magicks are at play not only in the negotiations but here in your chambers as well.”

  He chuckled as I stroked his shaft, squeezing it softly to urge a pearl of cum to ooze free. “Pasil, do you think I needed to use magicks to get you here?”

  No, I knew that as surely as I knew the sun would rise in the east tomorrow. “No, I do not think that. I was lost the moment you emerged from your bath and smiled at me.”