She shivered. Could the priestesses really teach her to control what she saw? To force a vision to come? What kind of people were the Draconi?
Maybe if she took a tour of this place, she’d meet a priestess to ask. She glanced at Jamie, who still slept the sleep of the drugged, and walked to the door. Would the priestesses mind if she left the healing room?
Only one way to find out.
Lily pulled open the door and stepped out into the hall. A quick glance left and right showed no one standing around, willing to answer her questions. And that was why she had feet—to transport her where she needed to go.
If only she knew where that was.
Picking a direction, Lily headed to the right down polished stone floors. Brass knobs in the shape of dragon heads dotted the doors, gleaming gold against the wooden panels. Light emanated from globes hanging next to the line of doors, casting a gentle glow over the corridor.
When she arrived at the end of the hall, she picked right to head. This corridor was short and ended in a large foyer lit by the evening sun shining through a wall of windows. A cozy circle of cushioned chairs clustered around an unlit fireplace. Huge, intricately carved doors took up the wall opposite the windows. Lily tilted her head back and took in the sweeping expanse of a ceiling. Something was painted up there, but the angle of the light shining through the windows prevented her from seeing the painting. What a perfect room to paint in and thanks to Enar she had her brushes. Maybe someone would loan her paints, canvas and an easel.
Someone. Anyone.
Where was everyone? Shouldn’t a priestess be around to talk to her? She looked from one end of the space to the other, gave up finding a priestess and headed to the chairs.
Her bottom had no sooner touched the chair when the doors opened, Enar stalking inside.
“Enar!”
He paused, turning toward her, squinting in the sun.
“Lily?”
“Hi! There’s room here for another.” She gestured toward the chairs and watched as he walked to where she sat.
Muscles flexed under leather as he strode across the floor, the soles of his boots whispering against the stone tiles, killer quiet. Lethal. Why hadn’t she noticed during the past week, he was built like a killer?
Probably because she was too busy sighing over pleasure-filled nights.
“What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in the healing rooms?”
“Keara left. Jamie was unconscious. I couldn’t find a priestess and I got tired of waiting around. So I took a walk.”
“Where are the priestesses?”
“Do I look like I know?”
He grinned. “I guess not. Would you like to walk around?”
“I was hoping for a bath and change of clothes. Where are all our bags anyway?”
“In one of the rooms.”
“Really? Do you happen to know which one? Does it have a bathing room?”
“Hold on.” Enar’s eyes grew distant, much like Keara’s had seconds before she disappeared. But instead of disappearing, he remained where he stood and a priestess popped in next to him.
Lily bit back a scream. Next up on the to-do list: get used to Draconi suddenly appearing in front of her.
“How may I assist, Enar?” The black-haired priestess clasped her hands in front of her waist, but Lily could tell the woman would rather have placed them on Enar.
Was that growl coming from her throat?
Both Enar and the priestess looked at her and Lily took a deep breath. If she got busy breathing in, then nothing could come out. Right?
Right.
She forced a smile. The priestess turned back to Enar, her face full of hopeful expectation.
Lily clasped her hands together until the knuckles turned white. What was wrong with her today? Why did she have this desire to smash the smile off the priestess’s face for talking to Enar?
Perhaps she hit her head when she fell earlier. Although that didn’t explain the growling noises escaping her throat or the overwhelming urge to commit murder.
“Which room has our bags?”
“Ah. Right this way. Please follow me.” The priestess started down the hall, tracing the path Lily took earlier.
Instead of turning down the corridor to the healing room, the priestess continued straight until she reached one of the many doors set in the wall. With a shove, she opened the door and took a step back.
“Here you go! The bathing room is to the right and the relief room is to the left. Enjoy your stay.” A brief nod of her head and she disappeared, vanishing in a wisp of smoke, taking with her Lily’s insane urge to kill.
“I really need to get used to people popping in and out like that.” Lily blinked at the empty spot formerly containing the priestess.
“It shouldn’t take long.” Enar walked to the bed and began to disarm, shrugging out of the holder for his broadsword.
Lily headed to the bathing room. Clean skin coming up. Maybe they had a clean set of clothing, since Goddess only knew hers needed a good scouring.
“And just where do you think you’re going, woman?”
“To take a bath. You’ll like me better afterward.”
“I like you fine right now.” His teeth gleamed a predator’s white as he loosened the tie holding his hair. The blond waves fell around his shoulders as he stalked toward her.
So much for the bath. Not that she was complaining.
His lips captured hers, his arms banding around her waist. Her hands stroked through his hair, holding him close. One of his hands skimmed from her back to the underside of her breast, his thumb flicking against the peaked nipple.
She moaned into his mouth.
“Like that?” His lips slid to her ear, clasping gently on the lobe, sending chills racing around her limbs.
“Mmm. Keep it up and you’ll find out.”
He chuckled, a dark knowledge in the sound. “As you wish, love.”
Love. His fingers drew sensations from her she didn’t realize she possessed. Was that love? Had the emotion snuck past her aloof decree and embedded itself into her heart? Did he love her? Or was love just a word bandied about with no thought?
Too much thinking on her part. In the moment was where she needed to be, not all up in her head.
Lily drew his lips to hers as his hand slid across her stomach, stroking lower, each inch taken making her core weep, tantalizing her with the remembrance of his fingers’ past talents and tempting her with future ones. Right when she feared the anticipation would drive her crazy, he cupped her mound. Even through her trousers, Lily felt the heat of his palm, searing her, branding her his.
His. She, who had never belonged to anyone, belonged to Enar. And because of it, she would do anything for him.
She stroked her tongue against his, feeling the wet heat of his mouth, hands fisted into his shirt. He lifted her, pressing her back against the stone wall, his arousal pushing against her stomach. The chill of the stones seeped through her tunic, clashing with the heat of her body against Enar’s.
Hot and cold. Strength and gentleness. Enar took her out of the cold and showered her with warmth. Her hands slipped beneath his shirt, feeling the hard planes of his stomach. Slipping lower, she untied the laces of his leathers, pushing them over his hips.
“What—”
Lily pressed a finger to his lips, silencing his question. Heat burned in his eyes as she dropped to her knees, one hand sliding along the length of his shaft until she reached the sensitive head. She dropped her eyes to what she held, taking a deep breath. She could do this, take him into her mouth, give back to him a taste of the pleasure he gave her.
Her lips kissed along his shaft, tracing the contours with her tongue, while one hand cupped his sack, kneading gently.
Enar moaned, his hands clutching her hair, pushing her tighter against him.
Opening her lips, she welcomed him in, all the while her tongue flicked around the head of his shaft, finding the spot that elicited another moan. Wrapping her lips around him, she took more of him into her mouth, trying not to gag when he hit the back of her throat.
“Goddess, woman, that feels good,” Enar’s words rasped on an exhale of breath.
Lily smiled to herself as she slowly pulled him out until only the head remained. Circling her tongue around once, twice and then she took him back in only to repeat the process, until she tasted the salt of his essence. As she swallowed, he pulled out.
“If you keep that up any longer I’m going to explode in your mouth and I want to be in you when I come.”
Lily looked at Enar as her eyes shuttered in pleasure.
“I’m waiting.” She ran a finger along the hardness of his shaft, watching as a pearl of liquid beaded on the tip.
Enar’s hands lifted her, pulling her tunic off, pushing her trousers down. He picked her up, hands under the curves of her bottom, and carried her to the bed.
She landed with a muffled screech on the mattress, Enar dropping on top of her.
“Ah, Lily, love.” One of his hands came between them, flicking across the bud that gave her so much pleasure. His lips played with the lobe of her ear while his fingers stroked her. When he spoke, his voice was a whisper that sent shivers scuttling across her skin.
“What did I ever do without you?” The head of his shaft pressed against her wet opening before forging inside.
He pulled out, until he caught against her opening and then pushed back into her depths, stroking over her inner sweet spot. As if they moved of their own volition, her legs wrapped around his waist, drawing him deeper into her.
In and out, pushing and pulling until Lily didn’t know where he stopped and she started. All she knew was the pleasure his lips, tongue and shaft brought her. The crest of pleasure started in her core, working its way through her body until she screamed his name as the wave crashed over her, over him, until nothing mattered but the heat of his skin molded to hers.
So this is what love feels like.
She squelched that little thought. Just because Enar managed to break through the barriers of her heart did not mean she needed to pull out the big “L” word.
“What about that bath?” Enar raised up on one elbow, staring down at her.
“You coming?”
He cocked a grin. “Wild dragons couldn’t keep me from it.”
She returned the grin and pushed herself up. Lying around with him sounded good, but a warm bath sounded wonderful.
Beating Enar to the bathing room entrance, she pushed open the door and stepped into a tiled room with a step-down pool in the middle of it. Large enough to hold two, the stone tiles lining the pool gleamed white in the glow of the flameless torches set in iron sconces that dotted the walls. Steam floated above the water of the pool, heating the room. White fluffy towels sat in neat rows on wooden planks surrounding the pool.
Enar popped her on the bottom and she jumped. “Woman, are you going to stand around staring all night, or get in the water?”
Lily took in the wall of rippling muscle as Enar walked to the pool, stepping into the water. He had a point. Why was she standing around staring when she could be getting a bath? With Enar?
Several strides later and she stepped into the warm water. Ah, bliss. Hot water, good-looking man, what more could she want?
Soap.
“Looking for this?” Enar waded through the water toward her, his hands containing bubbles. The man must be a mind reader.
“Where did you find it?”
“Little indentions in the tile.” He ran his bubble-filled hands down her arms.
A thrill of excitement strummed through her core. Desire and lust warred with another emotion that slid into the depths of his gaze. His lips claimed hers as his soapy hands stroked over her breasts, down her sides.
And just like that, she wanted him again. Wanted him to fill her, to—dare she say the word—love her. Her brain spit out the word she’d been trying to hide in the inner recesses of her mind. Spit it out and left it standing there like a brand, searing her, refusing to leave.
She gave a mental curse.
Enar pulled away from her lips, his brows pulling together. “What’s wr—”
His words cut short as he doubled over as if in pain, hands clasped against his ears.
“Enar! What’s wrong? Are you all right?”
She shook his shoulder, her stomach in knots. What was wrong? With a moan he straightened, white lines storming around his lips.
“Bloody Council. What do they think they’re doing, calling me twice in one day?” He stomped out of the pool, dripping water on the stones as he reached for a towel.
“Council?”
“Bloody, buggering group of males poking their noses into business best left alone.” His muttered words continued in a hot rush as he marched out of the bathing room.
Lily sucked in a breath as the cold air hit her wet body. Like Enar, she grabbed a towel, wrapped it around her waist and followed him into the bedroom.
“Twice in one day. It’s unheard of.”
“Twice?”
Enar fastened the laces on his leathers, his lip crawling up as he glanced at her. “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“What do you mean ‘twice’?”
“The Council called Thoren and me to report on our mission. It’s normal when a spy pair returns to Draconia.”
“Do you always go out in pairs?”
He yanked his shirt over his head, his voice muffled by the cloth. “Yes. It’s a rule.” His head poked out of the neck-hole. “We have a mission, come back and report and then go our own way. We don’t get called back again.” He sat on the bed and reached for his boots. “Twice is unheard of.”