Dragon Witch Series - Dragon Witch Part 36

"But if I cover the crystal 'twill become dark," he complained as he took the scarf from her slender fingers.

"Aye, 'twill be very dark." She watched the scarf float from his hands to veil the bright crystal orb. Darkness descended rapidly upon them.

"Aye," his voice whispered from the darkness. "I believe I am beginning to remember something..."

"Oh," she sighed in answer, "and such lovely memories they are!"

THIRTY-NINE.

"Adrian. Where are you taking me?"

"You will see soon, my sweet," he answered, kissing the top of her head, then her ear, then her neck.

She sighed and leaned against his muscular chest. She loved riding horseback with him. The feel of his strong body pressing against her, his legs molded to hers, his arms around her, holding tightly, his kisses...G.o.ds how his kisses burned her, made her body go all weak and trembly.

"Adrian?"

"Aye."

He nibbled at her shoulder, sending delicious shudders down her spine.

"We..." She swallowed, momentarily losing her train of thought. "We had better get there soon."

"Why is that?" he asked as he slowly moved his hand from her waist to cup her breast. "Are you not enjoying the journey?"

"I do not think I can stand much more of this journey, my love," she answered breathlessly. "I think my body will melt before we reach our destination."

"Would you like me to stop touching you?"

"Nay!" she moaned softly. "But 'tis torture, just the same."

"Torture?" He nibbled at her ear.

"Aye. Sweet torture."

By the time they reached their destination, Tempest was more alive than she had ever been in her life. Adrian made her skin tingle, her mind whirl, her insides feel like jelly. Her heart fluttered like a bird in a cage, and yet she wanted more, something intangible was missing. She needed...

"Tempest? Are you asleep?"

Asleep? G.o.ddess no! She would never sleep again. She opened her eyes and looked around, unable to focus completely on her surroundings.

"What is this place?"

"'Tis where we are to spend the first days of our marriage, my love." Adrian dismounted and reached up for her. He helped her off the tall gelding and let her slide sensuously down the long length of his lean, hard body, setting her already sensitive body aflame with new desire as she came in contact with that part of him which had grown the hardest. Her legs were so weak she would have fallen had he not held her close.

"Are you ill, my love?" he asked.

She looked up into his eyes and saw a twinkle of mischief.

He knew full well what he was doing to her. She would pay him back in full measure for this sweet agony!

"Aye," she retorted with a grin. "I believe I am dying."

"Can a maid die of desire?"

"Aye." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down. "And this maid is sworn not to die alone."

She kissed him then. Kissed him as he had never been kissed before. This time Adrian saw stars, his insides knotted, and his already hard manhood began to throb with antic.i.p.ation. If death was to be the result of this kiss, then he was ready. He was more than willing to follow this innocent temptress into eternal rest. Rest? Nay, rest was not what he wanted. Adrian picked her up in his arms, their lips never breaking contact. He wanted this kiss to be timeless. To last forever.

Neither spoke as they paused, gasping. They could not speak. Their breaths shuddered, their bodies shook with desire, their minds whirled, and they clung to each other, unable to move.

"Tempest," Adrian finally whispered, his heart full to bursting. "I love you. I meant every word I spoke of our vows.

I promise, my love, I will never leave you. I will love you forever, in this life and all the others to follow. You are mine- my life, my heart, my love." He kissed her tenderly on the forehead.

She clung to him for a long time, unable to put words to

the love that consumed her very soul. She lifted her hand and brushed a stray lock of golden hair from his cheek.

"I love you, my husband. Now. Forever. Eternally, Adrian.

Eternally." 'Twas not enough, but words could not express what was in her heart.

"Do you not wish to view our love nest, my sweet? I worked very hard on it." He wanted to change the subject. He needed some respite to recapture his thoughts.

Tempest turned from him and gazed around her. The bright moonlight filtered through the trees, making everything glow with soft iridescence.

Adrian had, indeed, worked hard to create a place of beauty.

He had hung bolts of costly silk from the trees, creating a silken love nest, a private sanctuary. Each panel was a different color brilliant scarlet, pale blue, creamy white, deep forest green, s.h.i.+ny saffron-all hung to create a fluttering carousel of beauty in the soft breeze. He had visited a great many fairs looking for just the right colors to create this special place. He wanted his wedding night to be perfect for his bride.

He drew a panel aside. "Your new home, milady." He bowed, ushering her in.

Tempest gasped when she entered their cozy nest. The ceiling was open, and moonlight filtered down, giving everything a quiet, muted light. He had cut new gra.s.ses and leaves and piled soft furs on them to make a bed. He had spread wildflowers from wall to wall and over the bed and, as she walked toward it, the crushed blossoms beneath her feet exuded the sweet scent of newly picked flowers. Honeysuckle, lilacs and wild rose petals created a heady perfume of love.

On the bed was a gold velvet blanket. She lifted a corner of the cover and found it to be thick and light. "How..?"

"Mother made it. She filled it with goose down and sewed it together. It was on her wedding bed, and she gave it to us to ensure our marriage would be as happy as hers has been."

"Adrian," Tempest spoke hesitantly, afraid to break the beautiful mood which surrounded them. "Make me truly your wife."

He needed no other encouragement. He began to unb.u.t.ton

her golden wedding gown.

"I will never understand a human's love of clothing," he muttered as he undid the last b.u.t.ton. "You always have to take them off, then put them on, then take them off again. It would be so much easier if a person never bothered to put them on in the first place."

"Aye," Tempest laughed. "Let us pledge to never don clothing so long as we are here in this beautiful place."

Smiling, he slid the gown from her shoulders. It drifted down her lush body, creating a lake of molten gold at her feet.

Her white chemise and stockings glowed silver in the moonlight as he gently slid the straps over her shoulders. The chemise quickly followed the same path her gown had taken and he bent to remove her stockings. He rolled them slowly down her legs, planting tiny kisses in their wake. She stood before him in all her curvaceous glory. The moonlight danced upon her curls, turning them a fiery red; her skin was so pale it was translucent. He drew a deep breath at the beauty of the woman before him. He quickly reached to remove his tunic, but she stayed his hand.

"Nay," she said. "Let me."

He obediently lifted his arms as she drew the tunic over his head and cast it aside. He gasped when she planted tiny kisses across his chest. She flicked her tongue over his nipple, and he moaned. "Tempest..."

"Aye," she giggled, "'tis sweet torture, is it not?" She bent to remove his boots. "Adrian. Where are your boots?"

"They hurt my feet. I left them at the cottage." .

"No matter," she said, "'twill make my task easier." She ran one finger around the waist of his breeches, and he gasped at the wildfire that traveled from her fingertip right to his groin.

"Tempest!" he could not breathe. Surely his body would explode if she did not cease. He could not take much more of this. But, G.o.ds, it felt so good.

"Aye?" She looked up at him, a sparkle in her green eyes.

"Finish quickly. You are killing me!"

She lowered his breeches slowly, then gasped and stopped when his engorged member sprang free.

"'Tis too big," she whispered. "I cannot do this." She turned from him.

Adrian quickly finished what she had begun, kicking his discarded clothing aside. "Tempest," he said softly. "'Tis not that big. I do not want to hurt you, my love but it must be. I promise I will be gentle. 'Twill hurt only a little. Tempest? I love you."

"I...".

The look of fear in her eyes almost tore the soul from him.

"Shhh," he whispered as he lifted her soft body in is arms.

"'Twill be only a small pain, my love." He carried her to the bed, laid her down and knelt beside her.

He kissed her lips. Gently, tenderly he wooed her, tried to make her relax, to forget what had frightened her. He laid his hand on her flat stomach, and she recoiled, drawing her belly in, but did not move away from him. He trailed soft, hot kisses down her neck and across her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

"Adrian, I think we should talk about this. I mean, there is no need to hurry is there? We have all night, do we not? I can build a fire and we can eat and..." Coherent thought fled as his lips claimed her breast. His tongue burned around and around her nipple, then flicked the hard nubbin, and she almost screamed with pleasure as sparks shot from her breast to the center of her being.

He suckled, gentle at first then harder. Her hand seemed to move of its own accord as she pressed his head against her, wanting more, wanting to quench the wildfire raging through her body. She moaned deep in her throat, a guttural moan of pure pa.s.sion.

Adrian's hand moved lower, and her legs fell helplessly open to his questing fingers. She gasped as his finger touched that tiny rosebud, that most sensitive of all places. Then his finger was inside her, and she felt her hips jerk involuntarily.

She could not think, only feel. This was paradise. This was h.e.l.l.

He could not wait. He needed her now, needed to feel her surrounding him, needed to be one with her. She was wet and ready. He settled himself between her long, velvety thighs and

entered her slowly. G.o.ds she was tight and hot. So hot he felt consumed. He plunged, unable to wait any longer. His father had told him to be gentle, to go slowly, but he could not. He needed, he wanted, he had waited so long.

Tempest felt a sharp pain but it was less than the pain of wanting. He did not move but lay tense, gasping for air, the sweat running from his face, and she felt it drip onto her lips.

She touched her tongue to the droplet. It tasted salty, like sea water, and sweet, like love.

He moved. He was leaving her! But he did not leave her completely, instead he plunged deeply again. Her hips rose to meet him as their bodies and souls synchronized in pa.s.sion's wild dance. Her body coiled tight as a spring as she felt herself rising to the apex of her existence, felt a warmth, a raging inferno begin deep where they were joined. Her heart beat wildly as the fire consumed her.

Tempest felt as though her body would fly apart as the moment hit. She felt her soul soar to the heavens as he grew even larger inside her. She felt him explode, felt his seed lave her womb.

She screamed. The pain was too much. It burned like acid, into her womb, coursed through her blood, into her brain, into her very soul. Dragon seed and human soul met, battled, merged and became one. Her hands grew numb, then she could feel every line in them as feeling returned ten fold. She could feel her lifeline lengthening, moving slowly, inexorably, to its final destination, could feel it meet, feel it circle her thumb. The power surged through her. She became the power and, as she conquered it, the power became hers, eternally hers.

The pain was suddenly gone, replaced by an aching warmth, by la.s.situde, as she closed her eyes and sighed contentedly.

"Tempest?" Adrian sounded worried. "Little witch? Are you all right? What have I done to you?"

"You have given me my power, Adrian," she murmured. "Now go to sleep, dearest. We will discuss this later.

I am so very, very tired."

In the dark silence there was a sigh, a rustle of clothing, a

giggle.

Gentle words of love were murmured, and the blue crystal glowed softly under its covering.

But no one watched the scenes that floated hazily through the crystal. At that moment no one cared what story it had to tell.