-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
several moments passed in silence, and she trembled as she stood before him. since she could not see any form of circlet, crown, or anything close to it on his brow, she had no idea what his title or rank was. all she knew was that the only thing that moved was his eyes, and she felt completely naked as she watched his gaze slowly travel downward. a laser-like intensity settled on her skin, and she knew the moment he regarded her toes then began sliding his gaze back up.
she didn't notice that his gaze had lingered on her curves, but she did notice when his eyes pierced hers with an intensity that frightened her. too far away to make out what color they were, she could only note that they seemed dark and stormy as she was brooded over. when he finally stood up, her pupils contracted painfully into tiny pinpricks as he paused for a moment, then began descending the dais towards her. if she hadn't been rooted to the spot in terror, she would have fled.
step by step he approached, with a calmness that was maddening to her. the heavy thud of his footfalls proclaimed a man sure of his abilities and strength, and her mind took in the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt. he seemed to be wearing a jacket trimmed in fur over breeches, and over that he had on armor. there was a leather strap buckled to his chest, hinting at a weapon hidden on his back under the coat.
drawing a breath slowly, she gulped nervously as he stopped in front of her. she was not short by any means, and was on actually on the tall side for an elf, but he loomed over her frame. as her head tilted up involuntarily to take in his overwhelming presence, her nose filled with the scent of leather and heat. her eyebrows twitched slightly as her brain processed this bit of information. heat? as her stunned senses scrambled to keep up, she realized that body heat radiated from him like a furnace.
she also realized that this entire time, aside from the initial command he hadn't said a word. a roaring filled her ears as her pulse kicked up again, and she felt a strange sensation within her skull which was actually the warning sign she was going to faint dead away. seeming to spot this, he moved his right hand upwards, and her gaze shot to it as though she expected him to be holding a sword to lop her head off with.
"breathe," he said, his voice soft. with a start she exhaled abruptly, then began hyperventilating. he made a calming motion with his hand, and there was a sense of something surrounding her like a blanket, or perhaps an embrace. "i'm not going to hurt you," he continued, his voice a pleasant rumble that sounded like it was coming from his chest rather than his throat.
his words had the desired effect on her, and slowly her breathing began to even out. he watched her as she trembled less, but he noted she was still very much afraid of him. fear rolled off of her in waves, and he had the strange desire to hold her close and reassure her that she was safe, here, now, with him in his castle. it was an odd feeling, and it put him on guard. was this a witch sent to enchant him?
his eyes narrowed as he studied the quivering elf. no, this wasn't a witch, he reasoned. a witch would be much more confident in their abilities to try and assassinate him, or at least be trying harder to appear as innocent as a babe. this was a genuinely frightened woman, who had no idea why she was here and hadn't the slightest notion of who he was.
his lips curved in a smile, as it occurred to him that since she didn't know anything about him, he would be able to have his fun without her knowing his reputation. she wouldn't try to seduce him into a rank of power, and she wouldn't try to slit his throat to gain the throne. this was a good thing. a very good thing. his guardsmen had finally found someone quite ideal to him, and gods willing he would be able to enjoy every bit of her without having to sleep with one eye open.
of course, since she wasn't a mind reader, she had no idea why he was smiling at her like that, and she shrank away from him. he shook his head lightly to clear it, and his face resumed his stony expression. her eyes were wide as she looked up at him, and they were bright with unshed tears. he felt a slight tugging on his heart as he regarded this, and he wondered just how innocent this woman truly was. with that, he gestured for her to follow him.
"come," he commanded simply, and turned around and began walking away. confused now, she followed as he led her through a dizzying maze of corridors until eventually they stopped before a large pair of doors. a nearby guard grunted as he pushed it open, and with that the man casually walked through the doorway as though the other wasn't there at all. trailing in his wake, she realized they were now outside. she shivered as a breeze caressed her skin, as she wasn't used to being exposed to the elements in such little clothing.
together they meandered through the grounds until surely hours must have passed. eventually they came upon a camp, with cliffs and a nearby brook. her attention was diverted for a moment, so she didn't see the enormous red tent shot through with gold and black until he reached for her and pulled her inside. stumbling a little bit, she looked down at her bare feet to spot the culprit, and in so doing didn't notice she was being led towards a large, circular bed with pillows thrown about in the back.
in fact, she didn't spot the bed until a tugging on her hand brought her head up from the carpet, and though she immediately turned to flee, the hand holding hers didn't let go. this caused her to pause, and she turned to look back at the man. his face was unreadable, but she could now tell what color his eyes were. they were a beautiful shade of silver, and in the torchlight seemed to shift between light glinting on steel and darkest storm clouds.
he seemed to be waiting for her action, and his grip was gentle on her hand. a slow trembling began making its way over her body from tip to tail, but she took a step back towards him. then another, and another. he carefully pulled her arm forward and past him, then used his other hand to lightly push on her lower back in the direction of the pillows. as she stepped up she felt the pressure increase, but she knew that he was merely supporting her in case she stumbled.
the sensation of walking on the bed was strange under her feet, but she calmly strode over to where a rug had been tossed on top of the linens, and paused to see what she would be needed to do next. when he didn't join her she almost turned around, but a slight sound reaching her tipped ears clued her in as to why. if she didn't know any better, she would have sworn she had heard the sound of shifting cloth, and a quiet thump as though something like a jacket or maybe pants were dropped on the floor.
her trembling became a little more pronounced, but she held still. she did turn her head to the left, but the curtain of her midnight hair blocked her view and she could not see anything. a few strands stirred in the wake of her breathing, fluttering a bit as thought she was in a cool breeze. the night was mostly calm, and while she could hear the leaves in the trees moving as a slight gust swept by the tent, she was relatively sheltered within it.
because her attention was so focused on the wind, she did not hear him approach her until a hand touched her spine. she jumped, and a soft whisper soothed her. the hand left her back, and cupped her chin. as her head was tilted upwards, she once again looked up into his face. two things happened simultaneously. one, his face seemed a lot softer as he gazed down at her, and two, she realized he was now completely naked.
the shock must have registered in her face, because he smiled slightly at her. without saying a word, he reached behind her neck and unclipped the clasp. as he pulled his arms back, he grabbed the sleeves and pulled them down her arms. as the silks followed the motions, he extended his arms around her waist. the click of the belt being undone was a little louder than the one behind her neck, and that too made its way to the bed.
standing in a pool of her wispy clothing, she was now completely bared to his attention. he then used his fingers to lightly push her backwards, and she obeyed with a hint of confusion on her face. he then bent down, picked up her silks and her belt and her sleeves, and tossed them away into a random location within the tent. as he shifted back to face her once again, she felt a fissure of fear sluice down her spine.
a few moments passed as they simply stared at each other. when he reached out to touch her cheek she shied away slightly, but his touch was that of a butterfly landing on a flower when he asked her a question. "what is your name?" he asked, his words soft. she hesitated only a moment before responding, her tone pitched to match his. "inanna," she murmured. "inanna akaelyn."
"inanna," he repeated, his voice husky. "i am jhaeros faemyar, and i am the man who now owns you."
inanna shivered at the implication of those words, but he did not elaborate. instead, he used his arms to push her down onto the rug on the bed, then lay down beside her. she was on her back, and he propped himself up on an elbow while staring down at her, and he couldn't resist reaching out and caressing her soft, supple skin. yes, this one is going to be perfect for me, he thought to himself.
No comments:
Post a Comment