All For One [Nuworld 3] (28 page)

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“Andru is the heir to the Gothman nation,” Ana said coldly.

“I’m not arguing that. I think Andru is a little older than Beel is.”

“Beel?” Ana crossed her arms and stared at him.

“My mama’s servant.” Roth cringed at the animosity he drew from Ana. He could

tell she would always be loyal first to her brother.

“I want to see what he looks like.” Ana still stood in front of Roth and he still had

his hand on her arm. “My father had a reputation for taking many women, but that was

a long time ago. I’ve never heard of any bastard children, though.”

“And what if he is a bastard?” Roth wasn’t sure taking Ana to see Beel would be a

good idea.

“I don’t know. I guess we’d have to figure out what to do after I saw him.” Her eyes

softened as did her tone. “When can I see him?”

“It depends on how long your mama and her troops are here.” Roth walked into

her since he couldn’t pull her to him and wrapped his arms around her. She looked so

beautiful and yet she’d kept her head level when he told her what he’d wondered about

ever since he’d seen Andru. Roth also knew of Lord Darius’ history. What would he do

if his mama’s servant were the Lord of Gothman’s bastard child?

“How long does it take to get to your tribe from here?” She moaned slightly as he

traced his fingertips up and down her back.

Roth used one hand to raise her face to his and let the other hand lower to cup her

bottom.

“By glider, it wouldn’t take an hour.” Roth smiled and welcomed the passion he

saw ignite in her eyes. He welcomed the distraction.

Roth lowered his lips to hers and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his

waist and arched into him, which seemed an invitation to explore. Roth slid the long

robe that covered her dress off her shoulders and she moved her arms so it could fall to

the floor. Then, without warning, he lifted her into his arms and walked toward the

bedroom.

Ana’s stomach flip-flopped when Roth lifted her into his arms. There was only one

bedroom in the trailer, and he’d had all her belongings from her glider brought in here.

The trailer appeared to be Roth’s home away from home. The bedroom closets were full

of clothes that looked like they were his. She was going to be his lover. The thought

thrilled her and scared her to death at the same time.

Roth walked into his room and carefully placed her on the bed then cuddled up

next to her. He let his hand run up her long bare leg and although she quivered, she

didn’t stop him. He searched her eyes then and saw her excitement and terror as she lay

partially underneath him. She reached up with her hand and pulled his face down to

hers for another kiss.

He knew she was trying to build up her confidence but that wasn’t what he wanted.

He would have her—all of her. She would have to want him with every inch of her soul

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because once he took her, he would never give her back. They had time, he just had to

ride out this thing with her parents. They were in his nation, and fell under Tree People

jurisdiction. He knew once he had her virginity, her future would be his future, but he

wouldn’t be able to let her get away. As much as he wanted to take her right now,

waiting just a bit longer would ensure that less people would fight their union. He

knew Ana didn’t have the strength to stand up to her parents. And he wouldn’t have

her flee from him after he’d made her his.

Roth leaned up on his arm and smiled down at her lust-filled face. Her eyes

betrayed her fear and that was what he pulled from her.

“Why did you want to know how far away the Barringswood tribe is?”

She blinked several times in order to clear her head of their foreplay and looked up

at him.

He saw the answer to his question the second their eyes met. “You want to go

there? We can’t. I have to stay with your mama and you’re not going by yourself.”

Ana giggled. “I don’t have to talk much around you, do I? I wasn’t thinking about

going without you. I thought maybe we could slip out after everyone is asleep, go see

what he looks like then come back before we’re missed.”

Roth looked at her incredulously. “Life with you will never be boring, will it?”

She smiled cautiously. Was he thinking about spending his life with her? She knew

he could read her thought so she tried to stifle it. He smiled shyly, though, and kissed

her nose. She feared he pulled the thought and blushed in spite of herself. She forced

thoughts of her brother into her head—they had to be safe.

“Do you think we could go see him tonight? You brought him up and now it’s got

my curiosity going. Besides,” she said devilishly, “if my papa’s bastard is in your tribe

we might be able to use him to negotiate my staying here with you.”

Roth hadn’t seen that thought coming.

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Chapter Fifteen

“Do you have everything you need for the night?”

Surprised by the voice behind her, Syra turned and stood.

Torgo stood directly in front of her. His face was expressionless, but his eyes looked

her over before returning to meet her gaze. “I didn’t mean to startle you, no.” He picked

up her headscarf, which she’d taken off while wiping down her glider. “You shouldn’t

take this off.”

Syra watched him as he held out the headscarf but didn’t bother to take it from him.

“Why are you here, Torgo?”

“I thought we could talk. I don’t think I’ll be sleeping much tonight.”

She noticed then how miserable he looked, and desperately wanted to reach out

and touch him. She bit her lip and clasped her hands in front of her. “Of course we can

talk, Torgo. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“Yeah, we’re friends,” he muttered, his voice barely a whisper. Torgo shook out her

cloth then pulled it over her head. His hands stopped at her shoulders and for a

moment he left them there, staring at her. She didn’t move a muscle.

Syra finally breathed when he bent, grabbed her beam, then placed his hand gently

on her back, and escorted her through the campsite and toward the trees. She turned

and looked over Torgo’s shoulder at the campsite to make sure no one saw them as they

entered the woods, using the light from the beam to guide them.

They walked side by side, not speaking, and using the beam to guide them. A fallen

tree blocked their path and Torgo lifted himself onto it then sat.

Syra tried to do the same but since she wasn’t as tall as he was, she had trouble

climbing up.

Torgo grabbed her arm and pulled her up so she sat next to him. He had turned

sideways in order to help her and now pulled her to him so her back crushed against

his chest. He wrapped thick muscular arms around her and held her so tightly she

could hardly breathe. She didn’t protest but gently placed her hands on his large arms.

It felt so good to be held by him. She’d missed this during her travels. Many nights after

dreaming of him, she had woken, feeling so empty, so alone.

Torgo buried his head in her shoulder and left it there, not saying a word. They sat

like that for several minutes with him still holding her tightly.

Syra knew Torgo was releasing all the emotions he’d experienced after learning of

his claim’s infidelity. Torgo lived in a world where he couldn’t show weak emotions.

Admitting defeat, showing confusion, complaining of unfairness, or worse yet crying,

were actions a Gothman warrior did not engage.

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Torgo had never had a mama’s gentle touch, or been allowed to cry in her arms. His

papa died when he was very young, and Darius certainly wouldn’t have allowed his

younger brother to indulge in weak women’s emotions.

It had been different when Torgo and Syra were alone. She knew men and women

experienced pain differently, but they had both experienced pain. She also knew that if

the pain was ignored it could overcome and blind rational thinking. When they were

mere children, she’d made it clear that Torgo would only be better than his older

brother if he learned to cope with all his emotions and not stifle them.

Torgo shared everything he felt with Syra and always had. She imagined that in the

three winters she had been gone, Torgo had kept all his emotions bottled up. Now, in

the private company of his best friend he could unleash those emotions. She made no

attempt to stop him or talk. She just held his arms and let him cuddle her.

Torgo finally lifted his head and sighed deeply. “You are the only one I can be

myself with,” he whispered hoarsely into her ear.

“I know.” And at that moment, Syra felt better than she had since her return home.

“You stayed away too long, you did.”

“Or maybe just as long as I was supposed to.” She tried to turn her head to see him.

“You don’t appear to be mad at me anymore.” She smiled in the darkness and felt him

smile also as he nuzzled his face contentedly into her shoulder.

“I wasn’t mad at you the very next day, no,” he admitted.

“Liar.” Syra laughed.

He laughed too although dryly, as if the pain still ran deep.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked quietly.

“What’s there to talk about? It’s for the best, I daresay. I knew I’d be the hypocrite

my brother hoped I would be as soon as I heard you were back, yes.” His grip grew

stronger and one hand moved slowly up her front, gently fondling one breast, and then

stopping at her neck. “I never stopped loving you, Syra.”

“And I love you,” she said, leaning her head back and staring up at the thick trees

that blocked all stars. “What are you going to do about this claim of yours? I noticed

Mik wasn’t among our troops.”

“Mik is dead, he is.” There was a chill in Torgo’s tone. “I went to him this morning

after Darius gave me the disc. I confronted him and he mocked me, asking what I

would do about it.” His grip tightened around her neck as his anger flared all over

again. “He claimed that Jibs, my oldest son, is actually his son, he did.”

Torgo reached underneath Syra’s arms and turned her around to face him. He then