A/N: Okay, I lied.

I'm dead.

Really.

My ghost is posting this.

Feel free to poke me into posting the next chapter.

Rated K+ unless duly noted.

CRACKASM:

Alanna/Mat: Whee. Hot hot.

Summary: Mat goes looking for Bodewhin and finds Alanna instead. He gets a bit more than he bargained for.

Elayne/Egwene: Ah. Yes. This one. Been meaning to do for a while.

Summary: Elayne thinks she knows what love is like, but Egwene might have a better idea.

Thom/Mother Guenna: In the immortal words of mah 'satz: "the pensioner fluff."

Summary: Thom can't handle his healers.

Leane/Siuan: Did no one other than me feel this?

Summary: Siuan needed some comforting. Leane will provide. Rated T.

Leane/Logain: Pathetic. Not sure how good it is, but it was juicy enough that I had to try.

Summary: Leane goes out of her way to seduce Logain. Might not be too far out of her way, though. Rated high T.

Abell/Tam: Youko, you smack'd my muse'd.

Summary: Spending all their money on me, all their time on me, (she's got me spending…) Kidding. Anyway. Abell is very good at distracting Tam from his preoccupation.

Rand/Logain: Dedicated to the lovely YoukoKoenma.

Summary: Rand gets an unpleasant surprise. Though unpleasant might not quite be the word. Rated T.

Done.

Teehee.

Oh, and if you're waiting to review until I finish, please don't. Because I don't think I'll ever put an end to this lovely panoply of pathetically ponderous pairings. Complete with alliteration.

Alanna Mosvani was sitting in her room, relaxing, and pondering what to do about Rand. She examined her sense of him, turning it over as if it were an interesting specimen of stone on a beach, and tried not to think of the man attached to it. She did a lot of thinking about him lately. It was a little hard not to, considering what the man put himself through. Vile, stupid, stubborn…

The door banged open, and her head snapped up, half-expecting to see a furious Dragon standing there, as if he could hear her innermost thoughts, even as she knew that he hadn't moved. Instead, there in the doorway stood a slight, lean man, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and scowling at her from a very handsome face. "Alanna Mosvani?" he said suddenly, his voice strangely melodic from such a scruffy man.

Unconsciously, she smoothed her skirts, and then scolded herself for doing so. "Yes," she said. "And you are?" she tried to keep the interest out of her voice, to make it just a query, maybe even an accusation: what do you think you are doing here? But he gave her an odd look and stepped back a little, so she guessed that some of her feelings had shown in her eyes. She looked him from head to toe surreptitiously as he tugged his coat straight, looking down briefly. By the time he made eye contact with her again, she had gotten herself composed. And reaffirmed her keen interest in the stranger.

After all, it wasn't every day a handsome young man came knocking on your door, asking for you by name. Especially when you were an Aes Sedai.

"I'm looking for a Bodewhin Cauthon. R…I was told that she was here with some other Two Rivers girls."

"You still haven't answered my question."

He looked at her for a while, and quirked his mouth in a smile. "I thought you might have guessed."

"I had a suspicion when you mentioned the girl's last name. Heard a lot about you, Matrim. Not all of it from your sister. Come in and sit down."

He laughed. "I'm not stupid. I've been warned about you. Besides, you're Green Ajah."

"Warned?"

"Several times. Besides, Moiraine told me to be careful around anyone of Green Ajah. I don't care to end up bonded to an Aes Sedai."

"We would never bond against a man's will."

"I'll let Rand know that, next time I see him." The man's smile was small, his eyes glittering like a cat's. He knew he'd hit home. She shrugged and sat back.

"Suit yourself," she said casually. Silence hung between them for a few moments.

"Bodewhin?"

"Probably still sleeping off the scare Rand gave her and the others."

He glanced at her and was silent. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Upstairs. But won't you stay and talk with me for a bit? I'm fascinated to meet my third ta'veren."

"I can't tell you anything about it. I'm just lucky."

She appraised him openly. "I'll say," she said with a small smile. This was a game she understood.

He raised his eyebrows at her. "Now I understand why Moiraine told me to be wary of Green Ajah. Are you all this bad?"

"I've always prided myself on being worse than the others."

He glanced at her, his eyes considering. "I don't know that worse is quite the right word. You're very fine, for an Aes Sedai." Something had changed in his stance as he relaxed into the familiar rhythms of the flirting dance. It was almost natural for him. Not surprising, considering his face.

"Would you like a drink?" she saw his wariness and laughed. "Not up here. Down in the common room. Don't worry, I can't do anything to you without someone noticing. Nothing you don't want me to do, anyway." She narrowed her eyes at him. He laughed as if he couldn't help himself, but kept his distance and didn't move to help her gather her papers and put them away.

"You are worse than the others, aren't you?"

"I certainly hope so."

She glided over to the door and offered her arm with a smile. He looked at it briefly as if considering a sleepy viper, and then extended his arm. "I guess Bodewhin can wait a few minutes," he said quietly.

"I should think so."

Elayne's eyes were very clear through the hole in the wall that connected their rooms. Egwene perched on her elbows and considered Elayne's question.

It was dark, the only light the reflection of Egwene's small lantern off Elayne's eyes. It would have been easier to use saidar for light, but she didn't dare risk even the smallest of sparks. If a sister sensed it, they would be scrubbing dishes until Lan was an Aes Sedai. It wasn't, maybe, the best time to talk, Egwene thought as she rubbed her watering eyes, but it was the only chance they had.

"The worst thing I've ever done was probably when I swam in the river near Emond's Field with Bodewhin. She's two years younger than either of us, but she'd already had her share of mischief. Mat wasn't the only one in the Cauthon household with a nose for trouble. He just got caught more."

She could see the flash of Elayne's teeth as the other girl smiled. "I love hearing you talk about the Two Rivers. Your life there seems so simple and kind, without all of the complications that I had here in Caemlyn."

"You think I'm a country bumpkin, don't you? Some kind of sheepherder from far away that you can tell all your sophisticated socialite friends about?" Egwene didn't know why Elayne's words made her angry, but she couldn't help snapping at her. Elayne seemed injured as she replied.

"No! No, that's not it at all. I just like hearing about someplace that isn't stained with all the intrigue of the court in Caemlyn."

"I see." Egwene knew that she sounded petulant, but she could hardly help herself. Some part of her wanted to lash out at Elayne for some reason, any reason, really. There was a long, uncomfortable silence. Finally, Egwene sighed. "My turn," she said flatly.

"That's right." Elayne's voice was subdued, and Egwene nearly winced at the note of hurt in it. She felt a brief twinge of guilt and hurried to ask her question. "Have you ever kissed a boy?"

Elayne laughed, suddenly, and Egwene relaxed. "Actually, it's funny you should ask," she said. "I was just thinking about it. I remember once when I was really little, I asked Galad to kiss me. You should have seen the look on his face! Of course, that was before I realized what a prick he was. And then there were the boys around the palace. I was shamelessly manipulative a few years ago, offering kisses on the cheek or maybe even on the lips if they'd do this or that for me. I was such a little brat."

"Still are," said Egwene, allowing herself a smile.

Elayne blew a raspberry, and the last of the tension between them dissolved. Egwene's anger melted like sugar on the tongue. "What about you?" Elayne asked.

Egwene blushed. "Oh," she said. "Well. Only once. On the Green, when one of the girls said that she didn't think I'd even know what to do with a boy if I had one. So I just grabbed Rand and…kissed him. Just as mother came out. She got the wrong idea, of course."

Elayne nodded sagely. "That's mothers for you. Anyway, I have my question. Have you ever been in love?"

"Dunno," she said at last. "There's Rand, of course, but I don't know if that's really love. What does love feel like, anyway?"

Elayne smiled, the lines at the corner of her eyes crinkling. "Like stepping onto air and realizing that there's nothing there to step on and that falling isn't so bad after all. Like surrendering part of your soul to someone else. Like music heard at a distance or the smell of a fresh-baked pie." Elayne's voice was dreamy and distant. "Or," she said suddenly, her face in the candlelight flickering bright red. "That's what the gleemen say, anyway. Not like I would know."

Egwene grasped at something at the edge of her mind, feeling like Nynaeve was quizzing her on something that she should know. She nodded slowly and opened her mouth, trying to remember what it was she wanted to say. "Oh," she said finally, unable to think of anything else to say. And again, more quietly. "Oh."

"Footsteps in the hallway," Elayne whispered fiercely. "Quick, put out the light. I think it's Elaida."

Egwene winced. "G'night, Elayne," she said quickly, pulling open the lantern with clumsy fingers and pinching out the light. She lay down on her back and shoved the lantern under the bed, closing her eyes just before the door opened, letting in a stream of light. Egwene squinted up, trying to look convincingly surprised by the influx of light. "Elaida Sedai?" she said, in as sleepy a voice as she could muster.

"I thought I saw a light in here." Elaida's voice was not precisely accusing, but Egwene had to resist the temptation to wince.

"Not me. I'm exhausted, Elaida Sedai."

"I'll leave you to your rest, then, child." Elaida swept out of the room and closed the door firmly behind her. Egwene let out a sigh. Elayne's voice hissed through the hole in the wall. "You should be an actress."

"I'm very good at pretending," Egwene whispered back, and closed her eyes and tried to remember what it was she was trying to remember.

As soon as Mat was out the door, Thom realized that he was trapped.

"You idiot. What have you been doing? Wandering around in the cold and hacking your lungs out?"

He scowled and kept his mouth shut. She planted her fists on her hips. "Stubborn man. Always the same way. Driving yourself to the breaking point before coming to see anyone, and expecting a woman to fix all your problems. Well. You can go lay down on the couch while I make tea and mix some herbs for that cough. And no arguing."

"You sound like a mother."

"Then she must have been a sensible woman. Now go!" Thom went. She came back a few moments later, holding a steaming cup. "Drink the tea," she told him.

"I don't want to."

He didn't know how she did it. Suddenly she pulled him upright and dumped the tea in his protesting mouth. He swallowed convulsively. It tasted foul. His tongue curled, automatically. "What was that?" he sputtered.

"Tea. Open your mouth."

"What are you giving me now?"

"Something for the cough. Open."

He shook his head and kept his lips stubbornly closed. She pinched his nose. Finally he could hold his breath no longer. He opened his mouth just slightly to take a quick breath, and had a moment of syrupy, bitter liquid on his tongue before he swallowed automatically. Mother Guenna washed it down with a liberal splash of the foul tea.

"Are you trying to kill me, woman?" he burst out as soon as he could breathe again.

"You're a man. You probably wouldn't know the difference, anyway."

He growled at her. Mother Guenna unbuttoned his jacket and started to remove his shirt. "What are you doing?" he asked indignantly.

"Putting hot packs on your chest to clear up your lungs. Relax."

He tried to sit up. "Now listen, woman, I,"

It was dirty and underhanded. Before he could get another word out, the woman had poured more of the stinking tea down his throat. While he was still trying to get a breath, coughing, she moved. "Oh dear. That doesn't sound good. Some more syrup, perhaps?" He scowled at her, but said nothing, and lay back, allowing her to remove his shirt. Moments later, she slapped a wet cloth on his skin. He roared. His skin was going to blister.

"Don't be such a baby. They have to be hot to work."

He subsided reluctantly. She smiled charmingly at him. "You're going to need to relax for a few days. I'll be keeping you here for a while and making sure you don't strain yourself."

He groaned. She smiled wider, her eyes dancing wickedly. She held up the kettle of steaming liquid. "Tea?"

Leane ran the brush through her hair, counting the strokes to herself. The door opened and closed quietly, and she heard the beat of familiar footsteps behind her. She finished her counting, and turned around to look at the young woman who had been an infamous Amyrlin Seat. "Siuan?" she said quietly.

Her hair was disheveled, her eyes red and her face streaked from crying. She didn't look like herself, and it wasn't just the age change that…stilling…had brought on. Siuan never looked anything less than cool and collected, unless she was angry. It was unsettling. A shiver ran up her spine and tingled on her neck.

"I'm scared, Leane," she said. "I feel so tired and empty. Tonight I just felt like I wanted to let go and…give up. I don't want that to happen."

This was the fate that all stilled women and gentled men feared. The loss of will, or interest or desire to live. Until all that was left was a woman who went through life in a daze and eventually starved to death, turning her face to the wall and refusing to live. And Leane was not going to let Siuan resign to such a fate.

"Sit down. I'm going to get something for you to drink."

"W-what?"

"You are about to get very drunk."

Siuan spluttered and started to protest, but Leane poked her with a finger. "You are no longer the Amyrlin Seat, and I am no longer your Keeper of the Chronicles. You are a distraught young woman who needs to take her mind off her troubles. So stay put. I'll be right back."

It didn't take long to procure a tray full of drinks for the two of them. She asked for their strongest wine and added a liberal splash of brandy to it. Then she ascended the stairs and shoved a glass into Siuan's unresisting hand. "Right then," she said. "Down it goes." Siuan looked at her, rolled her eyes, and tossed back the glass. She gasped as the fire of the brandy hit. Her eyes slid out of focus for a moment, then cleared. This was going to be easier than she thought.

Leane took her own glass and sipped it as she watched Siuan down a second, grimacing at the kick. Siuan didn't seem to mind so much. By her third glass, she was already giggling madly, her eyes unfocused. Leane plucked the glass from her hand and removed the tray, putting it safely out of reach. "We want you drunk, not insensible," she muttered.

"Leane, I feel good now," said Siuan, her voice loose and slurred. Leane bit her lip to keep from laughing. "I don't think I could dance, though. Am I supposed to dance?"

"No, you don't have to dance."

"I wish I could still touch saidar." There was undeniable longing in that voice as Siuan swayed drunkenly on the edge of the bed. Leane reached over and pulled the other woman's chin around to face her.

"Siuan, let's not think about that right now. How about a kiss, just to take our minds off things?"

Siuan blinked. "What?"

"No strings attached. Just a kiss."

Siuan was shaking her head, obviously confused, and Leane swooped in. She kissed Siuan fiercely on her slightly parted lips. Her surprised breath tasted like berries with a tang of brandy on the edge of it. Siuan's hands were clutching at her head, holding her shoulders, pulling her waist closer as her mouth made little murmuring noises. Leane started to pull away from the kiss, but Siuan pulled her down, murmuring slightly, and Leane couldn't resist. Her hands tangled in Siuan's hair, she kissed her face and neck, listening to Siuan murmuring in her ear, "Yes, yes, yes," as her Amyrlin's hands ran up and down her back.

Leane put the finishing touches on her makeup and appraised herself in the mirror. She scowled. "You look like a whore," she told her reflection, and twisted her mouth. "Though I suppose that was the look you were going for."

Bloody Siuan and her bloody ideas. "Leane, why don't you seduce Logain and see if you can get him attached to you? I don't like him wandering around hating everyone in our camp. It makes me nervous," whined Leane to her mirror. "Please." Of course, she could have said no. She should have said no. Siuan needed to learn that she did not rule Leane's life by her whims. She wasn't the Amyrlin any more, and she needed to bloody realize it!

Though it wasn't really like she didn't want to bed Logain. That was just the problem. She did. Had, since she'd picked up all the Domani tricks. He was a challenge, he was an enigma, and besides, he had nice eyes. And shoulders. And a very pretty voice.

Still.

She rolled her eyes, sighed, and rubbed a touch of scent on her neck and wrists. Her hands trembled, and she gripped the table to steady herself, resisting the urge to pull the clinging, nearly transparent dress up. It felt like it was going to fall off! She was so nervous. Bloody man. Why was he making her do this? Why was Siuan making her do this. It was all her fault.

There was some comfort in being unreasonable. She wanted to detach herself from her body, to drift along cold and aloof. Of course, cold and aloof would seduce very few. She would have to feel everything, tonight. Every kiss, every brush of skin, every tongue on her –

Leane shoved that thought away, blushing. How, how was she going to do this? "Well, not by worrying," she said at last, feeling very annoyed, and more than a little scared. "He's not a Dragon, girl," she said, trying to chuckle weakly at her joke. It just made her tremble as she remembered how he'd ripped Ghealden apart before he'd been gentled. With a sigh, she pulled her cloak closer around her and exited her rooms, stepping lightly across the ground in shoes that were silk, thin, and certainly less than practical. However, Leane wasn't going for practical. It was a pity, too.

She navigated through the quiet streets of Salidar. She was lucky – most of the Sisters were inside right now; it was a cold night. Hoping she got the right house, she stepped delicately up to the door, paused, breathed deeply, and knocked.

She waited a few moments before she heard footsteps coming from the other side of the door, and a moment later the door opened. Hastily, she arranged her shawl and put her hand on her hip, pushing her shoulders back and her neck craned gracefully forward and upward. At least she hadn't forgotten all her lessons. Logain peered down at her. He blinked, his eyes widening, before they settled back into that dull, lifeless gaze. "What are you doing here?" he asked. She shivered. His voice was like a caress, low and delicious and thick, even when it was flat and toneless. What would it sound like when he whispered her name?

"I was lonely," she whispered. "And I thought of you." She laid her hand on his arm, her fingers putting just the slightest pressure on his skin. "Please. May I come in? My house is so cold, and it seems so…warm…here."

Logain blinked again, his brow furrowing, and for a moment Leane was afraid he was going to refuse. But at last he opened the door a little wider and stepped back. She came in, glancing around the sparsely furnished room, already planning her conquest. He stared at her for several moments. Silence stretched out. "Do you want anything?" he said at last."

Leane decided that with Logain, forthrightness might be the best way to go. She lowered her eyelashes and looked up at him, swaying her hips daringly as she moved toward him. "Do I want anything?" she asked softly, in a low, rich voice. She imagined reaching out with snares, luring him in. She needed to catch him. Burn him, she wanted to! "I wonder…" He blinked again, slowly, looking bewildered. Something flickered in those dark, flat eyes. She reached for him, and he moved as if to step backward, but didn't. Bravely, she stepped forward, let her fingers walk up his arm, touching the bare skin of his arms. Her hand reached his neck, tickled up the side, and cupped around it, his skin hot on her cool hands.

He flinched and pulled back. "What are you doing?" he asked sharply. That…something…flickered again, flared, and died. Something stirred in Leane's gut in response to that flicker, but she couldn't identify it yet. "Don't play with me."

"I'm not playing," Leane said, letting her lower lip poke out a little, pretending to be hurt. "I've wanted you…ever since I first saw you. But Siuan…" she sniffed, not having to pretend to look angry. "…well, she can't tell me what to do now. And…I'm here. Ready." She let her cloak slide back off one shoulder. Her excuse was thin – paper thin, ready to tear at any moment – but he was distracted by that glimpse of bare white skin, and by the idea that someone was telling him he wasn't universally hated and feared. That there was someone who might at least desire someone who had once been a False Dragon. "Logain…" she murmured. "I need you. Please. I'm lonely."

She moved toward him again, put her hands around her neck, stood up on her tiptoes, and pursed her lips with a small smile. "Kiss kiss?"

She had been expecting anything. Hesitancy, fear, wariness. But she hadn't expected this. This ravenous hunger. He kissed her, his mouth hot and hungry on hers, needing her, needing everything she had. She shrugged off her cloak, fear rising briefly before it was quelled in the sheer bliss of his embrace, his lips insistent on hers. She pressed her body against his, twining a leg around his, letting her body rub against his as he kissed her, feeling his skin on her breasts beneath her thin dress. He kissed her neck, her shoulder, his tongue brushing her skin as insistently as his lips, needing her to need him. She submitted, let his hands remove her dress, let him kiss her and explore her naked body as she lay sprawled on the couch, head back, eyes closed, drinking in the feel of his fingers on the tender skin of her thighs.

He straddled her, panting, his long and lean body naked by now, his skin hard and tough, muscle rippling under the skin. He reminded her of a wolf, stalking, hungry, strong, graceful. Beautiful. He bent to kiss the hollow of her throat, but she laid her fingers against his lips. "One moment," she breathed, trying to catch her breath. "I think we've forgotten something."

He pulled back, and she was afraid she'd lost him. Rolling him over so she sprawled on top of him, she reached over to the light and switched it off. "Now," she said breathlessly, her fingers dragging through his silky black hair, "We can have some fun."

Abell found Tam cleaning out the empty paddock, the stench of dead flesh still permeating the air, though the plundered sheep were long gone. The farm looked the same as ever, the neat little house cleaned of the Trolloc mess that had been left behind when he and Rand fled to the village, the fences and barn repaired. But there were no animals, and no Rand, and Tam now carried his bow even as he went about his ordinary chores; Abell walked with his quarterstaff though he needed no support, and the Two Rivers folk walked a little more softly, looking over their shoulders every few steps as if expecting another disaster to rush them from behind.

"Tam, do you really think you should be working alone here all by yourself? It hasn't been many days since you were hurt, and if the Trollocs came again, you'd be terribly vulnerable. Why don't you come and stay in town?"

Tam looked over his shoulder, leaning on the shovel. There were new gray hairs in his tangled dark mane, and new worry lines etched his brow. "I'm fine," he said, and there was something queer in his voice. "I'm fine. Whatever that Moiraine Sedai did, she did well. I don't even have a scar."

Abell blinked. "At least come back to town and get a drink. You look exhausted. It can't hurt to rest for a bit."

"No, I don't think so." Abell opened his mouth to protest, but Tam overrode his protests. "I need to be here, working, cleaning up. If I'm not working, I'll just worry. About Rand. Who knows what he'll have to face out there? I worry, what if I forgot something when I was teaching him? Something important that he'll need?"

Abell tried to laugh. "You think I'm not worried about my son? At least Rand has a good head on his shoulders. Half the time I'm amazed Mattie still has a head at all. Listen to me, still calling him Mattie as if he was a little boy. They're nearly grown, now. They'll be okay. You're boy's a good one, and Perrin's good and solid, too. They'll keep the others safe and maybe even my boy steady."

Tam rolled his shoulders, standing up and leaning the shovel against the barn. "I suppose you're right," he said doubtfully. "We're in the same position, aren't we? Two fathers worried about their sons out in the world for the first time. How's Natti holding up?"

"Fine, when she's not fretting herself silly." Abell was rewarded with a flicker of a smile. "Come on. I'm not going to let you stay out here by yourself. You must be lonely. Come home with me. Natti's making pie tonight."

Tam opened the gate and stepped out, wiping sweat off his brow. A few of the worry lines seemed to smooth away. "Pie sounds wonderful," he said.

"I'll come back tomorrow and help you finish cleaning up. You can stay with us tonight. The girls will keep you busy. Wait until you hear Bodewhin nattering about Wil al'Seen. Not even braiding yet, and already setting her eye on young men."

"Kari always wanted a daughter." Melancholy crept back into Tam's voice. Abell forced a laugh.

"Be glad you don't have one. If you had, you'd regret it for the rest of your life. They're like having another wife, but worse."

Tam groaned. Abell sensed his friend allowing him to soothe him with words, even if they didn't mean anything for long. He kept talking. "Eldrin's at that stage where everything Bode does is perfection. She aspires to be her sister. Bode pretends not to like it, but she's pleased as a cat that's just caught a mouse. Natti's worried that she's going to make her sister do something stupid, but I don't think so. Bode's got more of a head than that." As he watched Tam's head bobbing and following his stories, the melancholy slowly retreating, Abell felt secretly grateful, and by the time they reached home, he felt a small lurch in his heart as he watched Tam smiling at some story he was telling without thinking. He smelled dinner cooking as they started down the path to the farm, and sighed. "Smells good," he said, inhaling deeply the smell of cooking poultry and bread.

Tam grinned. "Smells like home," he said.

Abell looked at his friend and his mouth twisted slightly. "Home is where the heart is," he said, unable to keep the bitter edge out of his voice. And his heart, he added silently, was not up the hill on that little house. It was right here beside him, smiling wistfully as he thought of a wife eighteen years dead.

Rand heard the door open and close and tensed. "My Lord Dragon," said Logain's silky voice. "Still awake at this hour?"

Rand allowed himself a small, bitter smile. "Obviously. What are you doing here?"

He didn't like the man very much, but at least Lews Therin didn't scream quite so loudly about killing Logain every time the man came into sight as he did about Taim. Now, he was just muttering softly in the back of his mind. Rand muted the sound to a buzz, automatically.

"I thought you might be needing some…assistance." There was something in Logain's voice that made Rand's shoulders tighten. He felt a small shiver in his gut. What was wrong with that tone of voice? Or, perhaps, what was familiar? At least they had settled into a sort of wary respect for each other rather than stepping in circles like two strange dogs. It made things a little easier. He had enough to deal with without fretting about Logain.

"No, thank you. I'm fine," he said stiffly. He heard Logain move closer, and stood up, turning around for the first time. He had the advantage of height over the older man, but Logain was broader in the shoulders. Logain's eyes were dark and smoky, his mouth curled in a small, knowing grin. It was not Taim's half-smile, but it still bugged the hell out of him. The man's face was strikingly contrasted in the warm glow of the candles he kept lit. He found himself noticing the hollows of shadows and ridges of yellow light keenly. He flinched and pulled away.

Logain moved closer again, his hand now resting on the desk. "Are you sure?"

"Burn you, Logain, what do you want?" snapped Rand, trying to rein in his temper. What was it about that smile, that voice, that look in his eyes that made something in his gut churn and stir, and something primal in his body respond?

Logain smile grew broader. "What do I want?" his eyebrows arched delicately. His hair was neatly brushed, curling at his shoulders. The light in the room glowed on his skin. Rand couldn't believer he was noticing these things now.

It must have been the anger, the forgetting who he was facing. It never would have happened otherwise. Logain moved like a striking snake. In a moment his arms were pinioning Rand's to his sides, his warm mouth insistent as he pressed into Rand, Logain's hips against his as the older man pressed him into the table. For a fleeting instant, he thought of struggle, but a moment later the warmth of Logain's lips on his, his tongue probing and insistent in his mouth, drove the idea out of his mind. He pushed feebly against the man, but Logain pushed Rand's arms back, pinning his wrists to the desk, knocking papers to the floor as he bent Rand over the desk, Logain's hips still matched against Rand's. He could feel his body responding, and for one breathless instant Logain pulled back and reached to unbutton his shirt, but Rand snarled and pulled him back, his hands seizing handfuls of rich black hair.

He didn't remember much of anything except a blur of sensations and skin and frantic shedding of clothing, except that as he lay on his stomach, crying out with something akin to pain as Logain had his wicked way with him.