A Kiss of Fire (A Kiss of Magic #2)(79)

When they drew apart at last, their eyes met and held.

“Let’s do that again,” he growled.

“Oh no,” she said with a laugh. “Not you, my lord. You are going to rest.”

“But—“

“No buts. We will revisit the idea later, but for now…rest.”

“Will you lie with me?”

“Of course I will,” she said. She separated their bodies and moved to curl up against his left side. He draped an arm about her shoulders and, ignoring the discomfort it caused, he hugged her to his chest. “But only if you don’t hurt yourself,” she felt the need to add as she loosened his hold on her.

“Very well. If I must.” He smiled at her and lifted his head to kiss her. She made it as easy as possible for him to reach her. “Rest with me,” he urged her, pressing comforting kisses to her cheeks, lips and brow.

She closed her eyes and did exactly that.





Chapter Twenty-Two


Several hours later, after taking dinner with Sin, Arianna begged off for a few minutes of walking outside with Mariah. As they walked through the snow of the barren winter landscape, the two women talked of a variety of light topics. Ariana was not very forthcoming about the nature of her relationship with Sin, although Mariah was well aware of her lady’s affair. She had been called to dress her lady in the mornings after she awakened in the raja’s bed. If one was looking for Ariana, they need not look any further than the raja’s bed. She was with him nearly every minute of the day. What Mariah did not know was if it had been commanded of her mistress, or if her mistress was giving her attentions willingly.

Oh, she knew the decision to become lovers with Sin had been a conscious and willing one. Ariana had confided that much in her to put her mind at ease that she was not the victim of rape. No, it was clear her mistress was very much a willing participant in the affair.

What intrigued Mariah was the single-mindedness Ariana used in not discussing Sin with her. In the past, Ariana had confided almost every detail of her love affairs, what few there were, with Mariah. They had talked and tittered about them like best friends sharing secrets. But this time Ariana was keeping all the details to herself.

Ariana was not trying to make the affair an enigma, but it was simply unfolding that way. She didn’t know what to make of it for herself, so how could she explain it to anyone else?

As Mariah and Ariana walked, a guard walked a discreet distance behind them. It was Mordol again. The insolent guard was her least favorite of those left in charge of her. He always had some rude comment or other to make. Ariana ignored it for the most part. Words did not hurt her and she didn’t think the bully had the nerve to do anything that might incite his master’s wrath. She supposed she could have complained about him, but Sin had enough on his plate at the moment trying to run a country from his sickbed. And the day she couldn’t handle a smart mouthed bastard was the day she turned in her leadership credentials.

It did seem as though he was there every time she turned around. Even when others were supposed to be in charge of her. If anyone else noticed, they never said anything.

The guard she most enjoyed was Lindo. He took a small shift every day, usually when she was out walking or visiting with Fatima. He would walk with her and sometimes they would talk. He was a man of few words, but the words he spoke were profound and saturated with loyalty for his raja.

“You are very good for my raja,” he had said to her earlier that morning, before she had made love with Sin. “And it does not go unnoticed how much you have devoted yourself to his well-being.”

“I am not doing it to be noticed.”

“And that therefore makes it more remarkable,” he said. He had regarded her thoughtfully for a moment. “I do not think even you fully understand the passion with which you care for my raja.”

“I am simply taking care of a man who has been gravely injured while protecting my life. It is the very least I can do to show my gratitude.”

“Gratitude is it?” he had smiled enigmatically. “Would that I would be deserving of being thanked by a beautiful woman in such gracious ways. I would be a very happy man…as my master is at present.”

She had blushed and asked him, “You have no wife?”

“My duty binds me to my raja in such a way that I fear it wouldn’t be fair for me to marry or even court a woman who might ask even the most reasonable demands of me, only to have them rebuffed because my duty to Sin comes first in all things.”

“That hardly seems fair to you. Surely Sin does not require that you be alone for all of the days of your life that you serve him. That could mean a lifetime of solitude if you plan on serving him the whole of your life.”

“Sin does not require it of me. I require it of myself. As I said, it would be unfair to bring a woman into my complex world where I must satisfy my raja’s demands above all others. Even those of a lover.”

Ariana had understood his reasoning. In a way, she lived exactly the same way. She had to serve the demands of her country above anything and everything else. Often at the expense of a lover’s needs. Almost all of her love affairs, few though they had been, had ended because she had been more devoted to her country than to the needs of her lover.

Mariah and Ariana headed back toward the temple. The weather had turned colder and while Ariana could keep herself warm in the face of it, Mariah could not. And there was only so much that huddling up against Ariana for warmth could do for her. It was best they return to the temple.