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  He mumbled around the food, “Now, I have the recorder set. Tell me what happened last night.”

  She told him about the ball, about dodging the dancing and finally slipping out for some air in the garden. When she returned, the half-dozen podders were waiting for her. Three grabbed her and hauled her out into the gardens and from there into the tunnel.

  They had muttered about her fixing the tree the entire time, and when she came into the cavern, she knew what they meant. The tree was wrong. It was sick and it was frustrated and that illness was coming into the pods, twisting the intoxicating experience into something that would eventually kill.

  She had been shoved, she had fallen and then the Guardians had arrived. The moment the Guardians came, the tree reached out with vines and pulled her up into the cradle of its boughs until Walking Darkness lifted her out.

  Rowen recounted the pain, but she had lost track of the podders at that point. She lost track of everything a moment later.

  “I woke up in my bed with Walking Darkness administering the final medical intervention needed for the evening before leaving.”

  Fire Fall nodded and turned off his recorder. It was mounted into a brooch on the front of his cloak, and he turned it off with the lightest touch.

  He grinned and filled his teacup. “And you left out your punching Walking Darkness in the jaw. I saw the bruise you left on him. Why did you hit him?”

  She was halfway through a sandwich. “He didn’t tell you?”

  “Nope. He came back and he couldn’t stop grinning, which is rather unlike him. He is not normally a cheerful man.”

  “I hadn’t noticed. He seems to be constantly laughing at me.”

  “He is delighted by everything that you are and all that you are not. I am delighted as well. He needs someone to remind him that there is more to life than duty and honour.”

  She sipped her tea. “Because once he is involved, you will be the last man standing?”

  “Because once he admits he has a wife, I will be free to find my own. I have no illusions about living life for the Guardians. I want hot nights and sweaty sheets with a woman who lets me risk my life and come home to her.” He smiled and shrugged.

  “That is a tall order.”

  “That is why Guardians hide their features. Women and men fling themselves at the danger and forget the stress. We are trying to protect them from themselves.”

  “Drug cartels trying to get themselves the newest designer plant, scientists stealing new creations, plants out of controls, illegal tapping of resources and the regular thieving and terrorism that goes on in any society.”

  “Exactly. These are daily occurrences for us. We need to test a woman before we are sure she is the right one.”

  “So? I have been tested?” She leaned back and sipped her tea.

  “The fact that you were willing to defend your marriage without even meeting your husband was your test. An Irudan woman would have tried what she could with a Guardian at her disposal in private. Your punch proved your fidelity and to a man you didn’t know.” He chuckled. “It must have been a solid hit too. We don’t bruise easily.”

  Rowen shrugged her shoulders. “I did what I could with what I had at my disposal.”

  Fire Fall cackled and reached for another sandwich. “And you did well.”

  Chapter Eight

  Akadeel arrived the following morning. “I am here to help you choose your next outfit.”

  Rowen squinted at her through sleepy eyes. “You mean pick it yourself.”

  “Something like that.”

  Rowen stood back and let her in, scrubbing at her neck. “Why the early visit, Countess?”

  “We are attending a dinner party this evening. Skorin has volunteered to escort you, so I want you to make a good impression. Go take a shower, dear.”

  Rowen nodded and wandered into the lav. She called out, “Why a good impression?”

  The countess called out cheerfully. “I want grandchildren, dearest.”

  Rowen was so shocked that she forgot to undress before she stepped into the solar rain.

  She stumbled out again, stripped and walked back into the shower for a better blast of cleaning.

  Wearing the loose robe around her, she returned to find her mother-in-law in a whirlwind of chaos.

  “Ah, there you are.” Akadeel held the dresses up one by one and nodded. “This one.”

  The dress was black with a wide gold cincher around the waist. While Rowen held it against her, Countess Akadeel found the matching shoes, the laced-up undergarment and the jewels that Rowen had refused to wear on the previous event.

  “Wear that. Skorin will meet you here at sunset to escort you. Be polite. I don’t know why he changed his position as to meeting you, but it is apparent that he wants to.”

  Rowen gave her a serious look. “Really? You can’t imagine?”

  Akadeel gave her a serene smile. “He has chosen that occupation, so when he is out and about, we pretend not to know him. You have never met with Skorin and that is on public record.”

  Rowen blushed. “Right. This is complicated. Well, can I go to work as per normal?”

  “I will send a girl here at four to pin up your hair and do your makeup. If you want to get a full day in, you should get out there now.” Akadeel inclined her head.

  Rowen took the hint and grabbed a suit and some boots, returning to the bathing room to get dressed. She braided her hair, wrapped it in a knot and left to find breakfast while the countess looked for the perfect place to hang the portrait.

  The minutes dragged by and her work wasn’t up to her personal standards, but she got through to four and headed over to the manor house after she had filed her daily activities.

  The young woman met her on the staircase, took one look and nodded. “We are going to be pressed for time, miss. Scrub up, I will be waiting.”

  Rowen laughed and did as she was told. While Hismi worked on her hair, Rowen soaked the soil out of her hands.

  Five minutes before sunset, she was dressed, standing in her evening heels and draped in enough jewelry to buy a moon. She breathed in and out carefully.

  “Well, Lady Nakkua, I have done all I can. It was a good thing that the countess warned me of your peculiar skin tone. I would have been stumped if I hadn’t prepared.”

  “Thank you, Hismi.” She smiled and the young woman left her alone and skipped down the stairs.

  With a deep, calming breath, Rowen walked down the stairs and into the gardens.

  She walked through the fountains of flowers and the thick, lush grass.

  “I thought I might find you here.”

  She turned and tried not to bite her lip. The tunic he was wearing made his shoulders even wider. The polished boots and tight trousers were definitely eye catching.

  “Skorin, I presume?” She remained where she was. If she pivoted, she would dig into the turf with her heels.

  “Rowen, I presume?” His jaw was wide, lips were firm and there was a smile in his olive green eyes.

  “You are correct. Thank you for your invitation to Irudan.”

  “If you wish to repay me, will you dance with me this evening?”

  Rowen smiled. “Yes. A dance will be a good start. Is that all you want?”

  “For bringing you here? Yes. We will negotiate on everything else. Shall we?”

  He offered her his arm, and she stepped forward, getting a look at the sharp blade of his nose in profile.

  “You look different in normal clothing.”

  He smiled and looked down at her. “In what way?”

  “Like you are holding back. It is as if you are not yourself.”

  “You are perceptive.”

  The Nakkua skimmer was waiting for them and Skorin helped her inside. They were up and away in seconds, spending half an hour in travel before landing in the forecourt of an elegant home.

  When he escorted her inside, the
y were announced as, “Lord and Lady Nakkua.”

  The occupants of the ballroom paused and applauded as they entered arm in arm. Akadeel and Drimal came to greet them, kissing them each on the cheek.

  Drimal whispered, “Well done, Rowen.”

  She wanted to tell him that she hadn’t done anything, but they were swept along in the social whirl with everyone wanting to meet the happy, new couple.

  Throughout the evening, she stuck to Skorin’s side and he did most of the talking. It was a relief. She had minimal skills for small talk.

  The dancing started at the same time as the buffet. She looked longingly at the doorway to the food as Skorin led her to the dance floor.

  “You owe me this, Rowen.” He smiled, but there was tension around the corner of his mouth.

  “It is hard to be out and about like this, isn’t it? If you like, we can leave and get something to eat at the commissary.” She looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

  “Oh no. If I have to be here, you have to be here, and according to my mother, we have to be here.” He swung her into his arms and he began to sway to the music, mimicking the short dance of the previous afternoon.

  She turned and twisted in his arms as they blended with the other dancers. Her skirts swirled around them both and she relaxed into the music.

  The beat picked up and the music got faster. They spun, met, parted and collided over and over as fewer dancers were on the floor.

  A wild laughter started in Rowen’s throat, and she held tight, moving when he shifted toward her and coming in close when he moved back. The musicians played faster and faster. When Rowen spotted the blurs of other dancers, she noted that it was a competition for who could keep going the longest.

  She was up for the challenge and they kept dancing. When the final couple spun out, a cheer went up. Skorin pulled her in and she thudded against his chest, her heart racing and sweat on her skin. He kissed her in front of one and all in the room and another wave of cheers went up.

  She was bent backward, and she held on tight as he slid his tongue into her mouth and kissed her savagely in front of Irudan society. She clutched at his shoulders and held tight as she returned the passion, with an intensity that made his hands clench on her waist.

  Akadeel and Drimal parted and escorted them off the dance floor in different directions.

  Drimal was laughing as he steered Rowen to the buffet. “I don’t think that polite society was prepared for that much pent-up sexuality.”

  Rowen blushed. “I don’t get out much.”

  It seemed that it was the funniest thing her father-in-law had ever heard.

  She piled her plate with a few choice dainties and waited for his chuckles to ease. When they did, she swallowed and asked, “Where did the countess take Skorin?”

  “The way she was talking, she was going to shove him head first into a fountain.”

  Drimal got his own plate, and they took a position at a small table with a bottle of wine between them. “Well done, Rowen. I haven’t seen dancing like that since Akadeel and I were courting.”

  “I have no idea what I was doing, but my clothing is still on, so that is something.” She grinned and raised her glass.

  “You do tend to look on the bright side, don’t you?” Drimal was giving her an analyzing look.

  “I try to. With plants, it is immediate need running into future planning. You have to know what you want it to become before you place it. With men, I have no idea. They are like weeds. They always pop up where you least expect them.”

  Drimal laughed again as they were joined by Akadeel and Skorin.

  Skorin’s eyes were still hot, but the rest of him seemed to have calmed. Rowen poured wine for her husband and his mother before topping up Drimal’s.

  A servant brought another carafe to their table, and as the lowest-ranked individual there, she poured for herself last.

  The wine was stronger than what she normally drank, so she paced herself. When Skorin asked her to dance again and she got to her feet, she realised that she hadn’t kept to the proper pace.

  “Oh, dear. I don’t think I can do that again. I am a little dizzy.” She whispered it to him as they walked back to the dance floor.

  “This is a slow one, I promise. Are you feeling well?”

  “Yes, I am just a lightweight when it comes to drinking. While plant compounds don’t directly affect me, yeasts and alcohol knock me on my butt.” She giggled quietly.

  They arrived at the dance floor and took their place amongst the swaying partners.

  “That is good to know.”

  “How did you get the night off?”

  “I simply took the night off. Easy. I am owed more than four months of time off. One night will not destroy the world.” He smiled, but there was a tightness in his eyes.

  “If you want to return to wherever you live, you are welcome to it. I can find my own way home once I locate a tube station.”

  His hands tightened on her waist. “You are not going home without me.”

  “Then, we are at an impasse. You want to be somewhere else and so do I.” She stroked the side of his neck with her fingers as they swayed around the room.

  He shivered at her light touch. “What I would really like is to be somewhere with you and in complete privacy.”

  She leaned forward until she was pressed against him, from breast to thigh. “That sounds like fun.”

  His gaze burned. “I believe we could make that happen if you are willing to travel in an unorthodox manner.”

  “I am if you are. How do we escape?”

  He grinned and steered her off the dance floor, into the night.

  Once they were away from the people and no one was around, he wrapped her tightly in his arms and shadows formed around them. They lifted from the ground, and she held onto him as tightly as he did to her while he took them who-knew-where.

  Chapter Nine

  “What is this place?” Rowen looked around with wide eyes; her mind catalogued the different plants and inhaled the intoxicating scents of hundreds of species of flowers.

  “We are at the Nakkua formal gardens. They are secure and private. This is the guest house.” He smiled and walked her toward a structure nearly invisible in the tangle of vines that covered it.

  She fought laughter as he let shadows flare around him.

  “What is amusing?” He opened the door with tendrils of shadows.

  “An entire world to choose from and you bring me to your parents’ house? It is a funny thing to a human. Trust me.”

  He pulled her to him and kissed her again, one hand stroking over her breast and hip while the other held her to him. Suddenly, funny wasn’t funny anymore.

  She clawed at his shirt and wrapped her legs around his waist as he moved them into the guesthouse. She heard fabric tear and skin greeted her eager hands.

  He cursed and pressed her to the cool surface of the wall, pulling up the frothing edge of her skirts until his crotch pressed against hers. He shifted and freed himself from his trousers.

  She wanted to see, but when his fingers tore the seam of her undergarment in two, she got distracted again. She arched her head back as he fitted the head of his cock to her and eased into her.

  She pressed her fingers into his shoulders, clawing as he slowly moved inside her. He thrust into her slowly at first and then with more force as he began to bite at her neck, shoulders and the tops of her breasts.

  She moaned, cried out and rocked against him as his hips pinned her to the wall.

  He snarled and held her as they savagely came together.

  Tension was building and she clawed at his hands, he used shadows to pin them to either side of her head, and the long, thick slide of his cock brought her closer and closer to the edge.

  She screamed and her voice echoed off the walls of the guesthouse.

  He groaned and shuddered inside her, resting his head on the wall next to
hers.

  They remained there, panting and resetting themselves until he lifted his head and looked down at her with shame. “I am so sorry.”

  She blinked. “For what?”

  He leaned back. “I didn’t hurt you?”

  She chuckled and flexed her channel around him causing a jerk inside her, and he thrust his hips forward. “Hurt is not the word I would use. You satisfied an ache, does that count?”

  He blinked. “I thought—you bruise so easily.”

  She smiled. “And yet, I was using my hand normally. I may colour but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy…vigorous activity?”

  His smiled lit up the interior. Her eyes were used to the darkness by now.

  “Uh, Skorin, can you let my arms go?”

  He chuckled and pulled her against him with his shadows. “I don’t think I will be letting you go any time soon.”

  He dropped her on the bed and flipped her to her stomach, unlacing her gown with incredible speed. When it came loose, she squawked as he picked her up and dropped her to her back, pulling the fabric free of her and discarding it to one side before he removed the shreds of his own shirt. He had to sit down to free himself of the boots and trousers, but after a few short, sharp tears, he had parted ways with the fabric.

  She watched as he crawled over her, his body blocking what little light there was. She leaned up and nipped at his lower lip, drawing him into another kiss that grew out of control in seconds.

  They rolled across the bedding, and his hands moved over her with rough attention. Her breasts ached, and she gasped when he explored with his mouth, his teeth rasping at her nipples in turn until her heart pounded and her sex ached.

  She could feel how wet she was getting and didn’t fight it. Skorin moved up her body and once again fitted himself to her. This time, he thrust in hard and fast, moving past the resistance at her opening and sliding in to the hilt.

  The darkness gave her a boldness she would otherwise have hesitated to use. She thrust her hips up to meet his, and they began to roll across the bedding.