TITLE: Marked

AUTHOR: LOTSlove®

CHARACTERS: Richard / Kahlan / Cara / Zedd / Original Characters

RATING: PG-16 / R later

WARNINGS: Author Chooses Not to Use Warnings

TIMELINE: Anything up through S2

DISCLAIMER: I'm completely obsessed with the show Legend of the Seeker and all things Richard and Kahlan. I love to write about them even though they cancelled my show and now I'm fighting to get it back!

SUMMARY: Sequel to my fic Revenge, Richard finally has Kahlan safely back with him, but does he really?

Chapter 21

Reaching the hot springs, Richard released her only to swiftly turn towards her and bury his hands in her hair, kissing her passionately. "I know we just made love, but I just can't get enough of you."

Kahlan smiled, nipping at his bottom lip. "I know," she softly breathed. "I already want you again."

Richard paused to kiss her, his tongue teasing hers. "You are so beautiful, Kahlan," he murmured. "I still can't believe you're all mine."

"You better get used to it because I don't plan on ever being with anyone else but you."

He softly caressed her cheek, almost reverentially as he stared deep into her brilliant blue eyes. "I'm so scared I'm going to lose you again."

"I'm not going anywhere except where you are," she reassured him, cupping his face in her hands.

He leaned in and kissed her again, passion growing hotter by the moment. He gripped her shoulders, sliding down her arms before finding her dress again. He felt her shiver as he worked to remove the material that kept him from her, his fingers roughened by his sword brushing against her soft skin.

He continued to kiss her, his lips leisurely sliding over her skin, taking his time and enjoying the feel of her in his arms again. Although they had just made love not that long ago, it already felt like an eternity since he'd buried himself deep within her core. He craved the feel of her so hot and wet, sheathing him so perfectly as if they had been made just for one another.

Kahlan felt the material loosen and fall from her body as he explored her all over again. His hunger for her never seemed to diminish even though they had made love several times already. Each time they came together was like the first time all over again, so passionate and fierce that she thought for sure they should be consumed in the flames they fanned together.

He began to kiss her and nip along her throat, curving his back as he sought out her breasts again. She loved the feel of his hot mouth on her skin but especially her chest. The way he kissed and suckled her, his teeth raking over her sensitive skin creating such a heated frenzy within her that it made her nearly incoherent.

A sharp gasp escaped her lips as his teeth scrapped over her nipple. She arched her back, pressing more of herself into him as she tugged mercilessly on his hair. She frantically pulled at the material around his waist that kept her from being able to touch him as he captured her lips again. She swallowed his moan as the material fell away, her hand suddenly on him making his heart stutter.

She gently stroked him as she kissed along his throat, her own need rising. His chest was heaving by the time her lips reached his muscles there, her hand not pausing for even a moment as she licked at his skin that was beginning to glisten with sweat.

She slowly lowered herself to her knees before him, Richard's mouth falling open in shock as well as rapture. Peering up at him through her long eyelashes, she met his heated gaze, watching as she leaned in and began kissing him so tenderly.

"Kahlan…" he gasped, his body already beginning to shudder with what he knew she was going to do to him. "Kahlan…you…Spirits! You don't…have to…do…"

"I want to," she murmured as she continued to pepper him with kisses.

"Spirits," was all that he was able to manage to get out again as his fingers tangled in her hair, his head falling back in sheer ecstasy despite his desperate need to watch her mouth moving so erotically over him.

His whole body was on fire like a raging inferno as she loved him, pleasuring him beyond anything he'd ever imagined. The feel of her hot slick mouth on him was driving him absolutely insane, his toes curling into the grass beneath him as he fought to remain upright.

The feel of his fingers gripping her hair and kneading her head was making her more than anxious to be with him, but this moment was all for him right now. She wanted him to know how much she truly loved him, that she would never leave him no matter what.

He needed her love and reassurance now more than anything especially after everything that she'd put him through. She wanted him to know that she fully trusted him and that her heart was his no matter what happened.

Richard moaned something husky and utterly sinful, causing Kahlan's lips to momentarily curl into a smile as she continued her attentive ministrations. She was thrilled that she could reduce the mighty Seeker to a quivering incoherent mess like this. It caused her blood to heat in her veins.

"K…Kah…Kahlan…" he panted heavily, barely able to catch his breath now, on the verge of blacking out with what she was doing to him. "St…stop…you have to…stop. I'm going…to…" he growled through clenched teeth as he tried to hold back his release.

Instead of slowing, Kahlan increased her tempo, his fingers tightening painfully in her hair as his body tense and convulsed as he suddenly came. She tenderly kissed him one more time before he dropped weakly to his knees, his breath hot blasts against her face as he stared dazedly into her eyes.

"Kahlan…that was…incredible…" he gasped as he suddenly grabbed her and pulled her into a rough kiss. The taste of himself on her tongue pulled a low growl from deep in his throat. "Spirits, you didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to," she softly replied, caressing his cheek. Gazing into his eyes, she knew in that instant she always wanted to be the one to put that look on his face. "I love you, Richard. I just wanted to show you."

"You've already showed me several times tonight," he told her, his heart still hammering wildly in his chest.

"I wanted to do something just for you though," she said. "You've been through a lot lately…all because of me."

"I never want you to feel as though you have to do that for me, do anything you don't want to do, Kahlan," he sternly replied, his eyes filled with nothing but pure love. "Just being with you, making love with you is all that I've ever wanted. Besides, you've put me through nothing. Even in the worst of times, I'm happiest being by your side."

"Me too," she smiled softly.

Getting to his feet, Richard helped her up, keeping a tight grip on her hand as he led her into the water. Turning towards her, he pulled her into his arms, kissing her deeply as he took them both under the water.

Coming up for air, they reconnected in a fierce rush, the passion between them building once more. He slid his hands over her moist flesh as he began to devour her again, the need to be inside of her overwhelming him once more.

Kahlan could feel the headache lingering just beneath the surface, threatening to overtake her all over again. She wasn't about to let it interrupt their time together now. They wouldn't have this anymore once Zedd and Cara caught up with them.

Wrapping her legs around his waist, she clung to him as he pushed her back up against a smooth rock wall behind her. She pressed her head back against the rock as he bent down to take her breast into his mouth. She never wanted this to end with him, didn't want to have to face the outside world and their waiting responsibilities. She just wanted to hide away with her Seeker forever.

Kahlan bit down on her lip as a sharp pain shot through her head, causing her to wince as Richard kissed along her neck, his teeth grazing over the skin there. She hissed at the sweet sting he created before he soothed it with his lips and tongue.

Searching for her lips again, Richard gazed at her through hooded eyes full of passion, suddenly noticing the look of pain that veiled her face. "Is the headache back again?" he panted softly as he cupped her face.

"It's alright," she insisted, squeezing her eyes closed.

"Spirits, Kahlan," he murmured, kissing her softly this time as he attempted to rein in the desire pulsating hotly through his veins. "We don't have to do this."

"No, I want to," she pursed her lips, shaking her head.

Kahlan quickly leaned in and kissed him hard, trying to force the headache back into the recesses of her mind again. He quickly responded to her kiss despite himself and the worry for her that continually simmered in his soul.

Pulling back for air, he pressed his forehead against hers as he fought to control the arousal storming through him at that moment. "I want you too, Kahlan…but not if the headache is coming back," he frowned.

"No…no, I want you, Richard…I want you now," she whispered against his lips, shifting her hips and taking him deep inside of her in one swift motion.

Richard's head fell back with the sudden overwhelming feeling of being completely joined with her again, a sharp gasp being pulled from his lungs. She immediately began to move over him, her lips capturing his, her tongue demanding entrance.

He gripped her hips, trying to slow her down so he could talk to her, but she refused to be stopped. She bit on his bottom lip, nearly pushing him over the edge right there as she forcefully rose up and down over him.

Without a second thought, he pressed her more firmly against the smooth rock behind her, burying his face in the crook of her neck as he took over. His bit down on her pulse point, eliciting a throaty moan from her that only excited him all the more.

His desire for her took control of him now as he drove into her with wild abandon, his overwhelming thirst for her to come again with him becoming too hard to ignore. She was intoxicating, filling his blood and unleashing an animalistic need deep within him that demanded to be met...could only be met…by her.

"Kahlan," he murmured against her throat, his breathing ragged as he made love to her.

She grunted and gasped with each of his forceful thrusts, on the verge of coming undone right there. The passion that had exploded around them, engulfing them both and threatening to consume them was creating tremors of pleasure to shoot through her as he pushed her to that blissful edge once more.

Her magic roared to the surface with a force she'd never known before, her eyes swirling to an inky black. She screamed his name as she dug her fingernails into his shoulders, her body responding to him of its own accord now. The feel of her coming undone all around him sent him tumbling headlong into a fierce release that left him trembling as well.

"Spirits…Kahlan…" he murmured, dropping his head against her shoulder in blissful exhaustion as well as guilt. "We shouldn't have done that."

Kahlan panted heavily, pulling his face up to kiss him. "I wanted to…I needed you," she whispered.

"But your headache is back again," he frowned as he brushed his lips against hers, his hands pressed against the rock on either side of her head, keeping himself buried within her as well as pinned between him and the wall.

"My headache is always there," she insisted. "If we waited until it was gone, we'd never get to make love."

Richard sighed deeply, nuzzling her cheek with his nose. "I still feel bad, Kahlan," he told her. "You're more important to me than just this."

"I thought it was pretty incredible," she teased in an effort to lighten his mood. "I don't feel the least bit guilty."

He pressed even further against her, keeping his hands on either side of her head. "It was beyond amazing," he murmured seductively against her lips, tilting his head to kiss her again. "I like it here…keeping you pinned against the wall like this."

Kahlan chuckled softly, her fingers playing with the wet hair against his neck. "I love it too, but I think Zedd and Cara will have something altogether different to say about it."

"Don't remind me," he shook his head. "I want to just forget about it all and stay here with you."

"I'd love that too," she thoughtfully replied, brushing his wet hair from his forehead.

"The sun will be coming up soon," he told her. "We should probably get back to the Spirit House so you can get some sleep before they call the gathering."

"I don't want to sleep," she whispered. "I only want to make love with you."

Richard smiled with her words. "I would love nothing more, but you're still recovering from everything that happened to you. I should be letting you rest, not creating more exhaustion for you."

Kahlan frowned as Richard unhooked her legs from his waist, pulling her with him to the edge of the springs where they had left their clothes in the grass. Helping her out of the water, he pulled her into his arms, holding her close to him.

"We'll leave here, find the Stone of Tears and seal the rifts," he told her. "And then we can finally be together like this forever...I promise."

Kahlan sighed contentedly in his arms. She wanted more than anything to believe him, but something deep inside of her told her that it wasn't going to be that easy for them. There was always something or someone coming between, trying to keep them apart.

And now that they knew they could finally be together, she had a dreadful feeling it was all going to be taken away from her.

XXX

He watched them from the tall grasses, allowing the dark shadows of night hide his presence from them. Despite everyone else's blind trust in them, Hadi chose to keep his eyes open and his spear handy.

He had snuck by the Spirit House to spy on them only to find it empty. He had immediately set off in search of them only to find them in the hot springs. From this distance, he could only make out their dark silhouettes in the faint moonlight, their voice muffled.

He had wanted to get closer to them to find out what they were saying, but he couldn't risk being confessed by that witch. He was the only one in the whole village that they had not managed to trick into believing them. Even his friend Temin was beginning to turn on him.

He didn't care though. He would rid their village as well as the world of the Seeker and Mother Confessor. Then his people would see what a real hero he was for saving them from the terrible outsiders. He would be named Tolla of the hunting party. And when that happened, he'd have Nakunam and Mitta killed for putting their trust in outsiders.

They had ignored the Aku traditions, choosing rather to welcome in strangers and make them honored guests, having a feast for them. And now, he had heard they would be holding a gathering for them, asking their ancestors' spirits for guidance to help the Mother Confessor.

It was improper to hold such a sacred gathering for outsiders, people who didn't have Aku blood running through their veins. He grew more enraged the more he thought about it.

Peering over the tall grasses again, Hadi saw the Seeker and Mother Confessor hugging one another. They stood frozen like that for what felt like an eternity. He tightened his hold on his spear, wanting more than anything to run them both through with his weapon.

But he needed to wait a little longer. He wanted them to see who it was who had ended their lives, wanted the Seeker to see that he, an Aku warrior, had been the one to take his life from him. He had humiliated him in front of Temin. That shameful act could not be forgiven or ignored.

The outsiders finally began to move, helping dress each other before the Seeker took the Mother Confessor's hand and leading her back to the Spirit House. Crouching down even further in the grass, he waited and listened, tightening his grip on the shaft of his spear.

Hadi did his best to calm his racing heart, but he couldn't stop the rage that pounded through him. He wanted them both dead, wanted them to pay for their prideful insolence. The Seeker had disrespected him and he would pay dearly for that.

"I'm sorry I left the seeds in my pocket back in the Spirit House," he said.

"It's alright, Richard," she reassured him. "It's still manageable."

"I guess my thoughts were someplace else when we left," he chuckled softly.

"Hmmm….I wonder where that would have been," she lightly teased.

Hadi sneered at they grew closer, the soft rustling of the grass as they drew near causing his body to tense in anticipation. As badly as he wanted to kill them in daylight, the urge to end it right here was becoming too much to withstand.

"Well, when you're wearing that dress, you make it very difficult to think of anything else," he replied.

Her lilting laughter carried on the warm breeze. It did little to lessen his hatred for her. In fact, it only made it worse. She had confessed her Seeker and soon would confess half the men in their village if they didn't do something about her soon.

He wasn't certain who he wanted dead more – the deadly Mother Confessor who could confess them all or the Seeker who had humiliated him.

"Well, that skirt leaves little to the imagination, Seeker."

Hadi silently eased up out of his crouching position to catch a glimpse of them. Off to the side like he was, he was out of their direct line of sight as they walked past him, the backdrop of trees helping to disguise his presence from them.

"You don't think we could fight in these clothes, do you?" he asked, his voice full of amusement.

"I think you'd be too much of a distraction to me," she told him.

"I guess you're right."

Fully standing now, Hadi raised his spear, aiming directly at the Seeker, his wrath erasing all logic. Just then, they suddenly stopped. Hadi instantly dropped to his knees, peering through the grass as the Seeker turned to look in his direction.

"Richard, what is it?"

A long moment of silence passed before he finally answered. "I'm not sure," he muttered. "I just have the feeling that someone is here with us."

Kahlan began searching the shifting shadows of night for any sign of someone. "I can't really see," she replied. "It's so dark."

"It must just be fatigue," he said. "I think you must have worn me out tonight."

"I think you are just as much to blame," she shot back.

Hadi watched as the Seeker took her hand again, leading back into the village and away from him. He growled under his breath. He had missed his chance to rid them of the outsiders. He would have to find another way.