Dark Prince (7 page)

The house was split into two levels. Where she stood on the top level was the bedroom. A large bathroom was across from the bedroom and a sliding door led out to a back patio of broken limestone. The top floor curved around the center lower section to the kitchen area. Taking two steps down would get you to the living room and fireplace.

By the small windows was a wooden dining table set into the wall with rounded cushioned booth seats. An open kitchen with wooden cabinets, glossy countertops, and a food bar with stools was next to it. Everything was dark wood accented with black. A carved dragon’s head was above the food bar, embedded into the wall where the ceiling rose higher. It matched the design on the coverlet.

Before the fireplace was a wood couch with plush black cushions, a matching wide-based chair, and a rocking chair--now that was something she’d heard of but had never seen. Draped over the end of the couch, she saw a tanned masculine hand. It wasn’t moving. She guessed Yusef was asleep, as she could hear a soft snoring coming from his general area.

Seeing her husband took her a little by surprise. It shouldn’t have, as she expected to see him eventually. But remembering his hands, so strong and sure as they touched her, sent a shiver over her spine. Instantly, she grabbed her sore arm and frowned. She wondered what the Pirate Code said about someone else healing you against your will. Honestly, it had never once come up until now. Most pirates were a callous lot and did not take well to nurturing each other.

Ignoring Yusef, she stealthily moved across the wood floors. The boards did not creak as she walked over them. Going to the sliding glass door, she unlatched it and snuck outside without making a sound.

The air was surprisingly cool for such a bright day. Birds sang beautifully in the distance. Little noises of insects came from the large forest. The air was fresh and the sky a clear greenish-blue. Olena saw that there were three suns shining in the cloudless sky--two yellow, one blue.

Seeing a path leading into the forest, her curiosity got the better of her and she wandered off. The new, longer length of her hair was heavy on her back but she ignored it. She was sure she looked horrible. If anyone came across her, they would probably scream like they were under attack. Olena smiled. It wouldn’t be the first time she was mistaken for a witch. She just hoped the Qurilixen didn’t burn anyone at the stake. She didn’t want to go through that one again.

To her pleasure, she saw a small pond just off the side of the path. Picking her way through the yellow ferns she came to the edge and smiled. The water looked clear. Dipping her toe in, she smiled. It was warm.

Olena glanced around and listened. The insects buzzed, but aside from that the forest was quiet. Without further contemplation, she pulled the nightgown over her head and dove naked into the pond.

* * * *

Yusef yawned, rubbing his tired eyes. He had been up most of the night looking after his wife. Her fits had stopped during the late hours and he could finally relax enough to sleep.

After going to the bathroom, he went to check on his patient. Cracking open the door, he frowned. She was gone.

Yusef pushed back his hair and made a quick survey of his home. Seeing the latch to the sliding glass door was unhooked, he went outside, not bothering with boots. It wasn’t hard for him to pick up her scent and he followed the trail to the east pond. Hearing splashing, he slowed. Seeing the discarded nightgown, he grinned.

Coming up through the trees, he quietly pulled back a branch. The surface of the water rippled where she had gone under. He made his way to the shoreline, crossing his arms over his chest as he waited for her to emerge.

Olena came up with a graceful flow of the arms, leaning forward to float naked on the water before diving back under the surface. Yusef wanted to growl at the little wood sprite scene. His eyes blazed with fire.

Beneath the water, Olena chuckled to herself. She had seen Yusef on the shore, but chose to ignore him until she could compose herself to properly handle him. He was a handsome man, standing so tall against the forest background. No longer able to hold her breath, she broke through the surface and treaded water. Slowly swimming her arms, she brought herself around to face him.

"You really shouldn’t be swimming in there," Yusef called lightly when she looked at him. A stunning smile formed on his handsome, dark face, making her skin tingle with a little shiver of feminine longing.

"Why? Afraid I’ll drown?" she called back, leaning back to get her hair off her face. The red flames pooled in darkened glory around her on the surface.

"No," he mused, "givre."

"Giv--what?" she asked, her tone playful as she again dove under the surface, giving him a quick view of her very muscular derrière. When she resurfaced, she had swum closer to better hear him.

"Ah, snake, I believe is your word," he answered with a serious nod. "They love to swim these waters."

Olena, seeing the look, laughed and swam back out to the middle where the sunlight was brighter. The warm light struck upon her body, as she turned in the water to let it hit her pale flesh. The water was just too good to leave quite yet.

"Nice try, knight," she chuckled.

"I am Yusef," he frowned. Did she not remember him?

"Whatever you say, knight." Olena spit a mouthful of water in his direction. It fell very short of him, but she grinned impishly nonetheless.

"Come," he motioned his hand, not sure he liked the way she said the word ‘knight’. It didn’t exactly sound like a compliment. "It’s time to get out."

"No," she sighed, again rinsing her mouth and spitting. "I’m not finished."

"Come on," Yusef said. "Seriously."

"Oh, seriously?" Olena giggled, shaking her head. "Well, seriously then, you’d better tell those boys over there that the show is over. I wouldn’t want to come racing out and startle them into manhood too quickly."

Olena jerked her finger to the far tree line and twirled herself in little, playful circles. Yusef frowned, instantly seeing what she meant. He saw a head pop back behind a large trunk. Giving a gruff wave of his hand, he shooed them away. A pack of obnoxious boys ran off into the forest, laughing.

"See," Olena piped up with an impish grin. "They’ve had me trapped for sometime."

Yusef looked at her. She didn’t seem all that concerned by it.

"The medic warned that you shouldn’t spend too much time in the sun today. The injection he gave you can make you sensitive," Yusef said, delightfully eyeing her pale flesh and eager to see it more fully.

"Nice try, knight," she called, swimming forward. She came up closer than before. Droplets of water clung to her face and lips, as she said in low murmur, "You’re just trying to get a show of your own."

"If I wanted a show, wife, I would go swimming with you," he answered without flinching.

That brought Olena up short. Merely looking at his bold figure was doing strange things to her insides. She wasn’t sure what she would do if he were to touch her with it. It wasn’t like he had festival rules to stop him. Remembering how he denied her, after she practically threw herself at him, helped to cool her ardor some--but not much.

Olena waited to see if he was going to turn around. When he didn’t, she shrugged, and stood in the shallow water.

Yusef shivered, his eyes devouring her naked, wet flesh before he could stop them. A smile came to his dark features. Olena rang out her hair, twisting the locks before throwing them impishly over her shoulder. In the sunlight, he noticed that her nether hair was a darker shade of her fiery locks. If he was a weak man, he would have swooned right there or in the very least fell to his knees to worship at her feet.

"Finished?" she asked, her hands moving to her hips as she didn’t even try to cover herself from his view.

"No," Yusef answered sheepishly, pleased that she was not shy before him. "You’re shivering. Come here. Let me warm you."

"No thanks, knight," she tossed glibly. "I’m warm enough."

"Then come cool me for I am hot," he murmured, a devilishly wicked grin coming to his features. Olena stepped forward, her mouth opening to return a quick jibe. Instead she gasped, flinching as a sharp pain shot up her leg from her ankle.

"Ah, great," Olena began with a hiss of irritation, looking more annoyed than hurt as blood trailed over her anklebone. She blinked heavily, her eyes rolling in her head as she fell forward into Yusef’s arms.

Yusef caught her naked body against his chest. His wife was unconscious. The telltale red and black tail of a givre was trailing off into the water. Cursing, he easily lifted her up into his arms and carried her quickly back to his home. Laying her naked body on the bed, he immediately called for a medic on the intercom. His home was directly linked to the mountain palace.

Olena’s body was limp as he dried her off and she didn’t make a sound. He noticed that her skin was turning a subtle pink. Yusef continued his tender administration even as he cursed at her unmoving body for being too stubborn to listen to him. His stomach still tight with worry, he gruffly called for the medic to enter when he heard his respectful knock

"Draea Anwealda," the same medic who had taken care of Olena the day before said. Seeing his wet patient wearing one of Yusef’s large cotton shirts, he frowned. Her skin was slowly becoming redder, burning angry and bright.

"Tal," Yusef acknowledged with a curt nod. He stepped back to let the man work.

"This is a stubborn one you have," Tal answered, shaking his head. He sighed heavily, setting down his bag and delving through it with precise hands. Instantly finding the instruments he needed, he asked, "She went out in the sun, didn’t she?"

Yusef nodded. "She did."

"And swimming, I see," Tal said, taking a reading from her arm. He shook his head slightly. "I take it she met up with a givre?"

"Yes," Yusef said, his brow furrowing. "She just fainted from the bite."

"It probably wasn’t the bite that did it. It was more than likely the shock of the givre’s mild venom combined with the medication I gave her for her allergy," Tal said, injecting his patient with a new medicine. Olena jumped in surprise, instantly opening her eyes.

She glanced first at Yusef and then at Tal. Seeing his needle, she jerked away and swung her arm in defense. Tal easily avoided being struck as he pulled away with a frown.

"Ow," Olena gaped at the pain the movement caused her. She flinched to feel her hot back. Accusingly, she glared at Yusef. "Ugh, what’d you do to me, knight?"

"You did it to yourself," Tal answered with the authoritative tone of a doctor scolding a wayward patient. He took another reading from her arm and nodded to himself in satisfaction. Almost distracted, he ordered her, "This time, try to stay out of the sun for the rest of today. You should be fine by tomorrow."

"What about those burns?" Yusef asked, nodding at her face. The flesh had turned to a bright, angry red and even her eyes had a pink tint to them.

Tal frowned at her. Lecturing, he said, "I should let you wait it out to make sure you’ve learned your lesson … but, I’ll give you a lotion to put on it. It too should be fine by tomorrow. Take it easy, drink plenty of water and you should be just fine."

Olena would’ve talked back, but her eyes burned from sun exposure and her skin felt as if she was indeed being burned at the stake. Wearily, she nodded to get the man to stop reprimanding her. If he hadn’t just helped her for the second time, she would have beaten him senseless for his tone despite her sore body.

The medic turned to Yusef, handing him the cream and some eye drops. "Give her those pain pills if she will take them. I can’t give her any more injections just now until the other medicine filters out of her system."

"Thank you," Yusef said. When Tal had gone, he turned to Olena and shook his head. "You really should listen to me when I tell you things."

"Could you save the lecture until a little later, knight?" She closed her eyes. "I’m kind of hurting right now and that doc just made my head swim with his yammering."

"You going to take the medicine this time or should I just leave you?" he asked. He tried not to smile at her fighting spirit. Was this woman just bent on doing herself harm? He had half a mind to tie her to the bed and keep her prisoner, just to save her from herself.

"I’ll take it," Olena murmured sheepishly.

"All right, that’s more like it," Yusef said, glad to see he wasn’t going to have to pin her down like the night before. Wearily, he went to get a glass of water and the pills. When he came back, she hadn’t moved.

After she dutifully took her medicine, Yusef touched her back to help her lift up. She was hot. "Let’s get this tunic off and I’ll get some of that cream on you."

"You’d like that, wouldn’t you, knight," she mumbled. But she did not fight him when he lifted the shirt off her skin so she could lie against the cold sheets. A weak moan left her lips as she shut her eyes and concentrated on being very still.

He slowly rubbed the cream over her burning body, careful to keep his touch light. Almost instantly the worst of the burn faded and she felt better. She moaned again, but this time it was in pleasure. His light touch was creating a burn all its own and if she wasn’t so sore, she was sure she’d have jumped on top of him.

Yusef’s body lurched in answering response to the soft, feminine sound. He quickly held his passions at bay. Now was definitely not the time.

Peeking at him through red eyelids, she said, "You’re quite the nursemaid."

Her tone was soft and he could tell by the look on her face that those simple words were the closest she had ever come to saying thank you. He smiled at her, running his hands over her face. His palm whispered over her lips and she shivered uncontrollably.

He wished to have his fingers linger on her skin, but he forced them to make quick work of his task. She was in no condition to receive his attentions. When her body was soothed and healing, he placed eye drops into her eyes, and covered her with the sheet.

Olena smiled wryly at him even as the pain pills kicked in, forcing her to fall into a drug induced sleep.