xxxxxx


Chapter Twenty-Nine:

Sparring

xxxxxx

When he awoke just before dawn colored the world in its soft, grayish-purple hues, he found that the drow had awoken before him.

She sat before the small fire she'd ignited in the remnants of last night's campfire, roasting the cold deer meat of last night's dinner on the end of a sword.

Bishop watched her, quietly, making no show that he was awake.

Jaelyn stared intently at the meat on the end of her sword and she was practically drooling. There was an expression of intense hunger on her face.

She reached out and pinched the meat to see if it was cooked enough and quickly took back her hand.

"Ouch!" she hissed, sticking her finger in her mouth.

Jaelyn pulled her sword out of the fire and waited until the metal cooled off before grabbing it and turning it so she could bring the meat to her mouth. She blew on it fiercely and then took a bite, letting out a soft moan as it obviously intensified her appetite. She ate more ravenously, probably assuming no one was awake to see her.

He smirked and let her continue thinking she wasn't being watched. It gave him the chance to see her at her most authentic; people couldn't help but be themselves when they thought they were alone. Hells, maybe she'd do something embarrassing and he could use it against her, make her flush that way he liked. Unfortunately, she did nothing of the sort. It seemed her most embarrassing moments lay within her angry ones. Those had been the only times he caught her doing something she usually didn't do when people looked on.

Right now, she was simply perfect, even though she was eating in that same savage, half-starved manner as her animal companion.

That hunk of meat was a thing of the past now and she sucked on every one of her fingers before taking up her canteen for a drink.

Bishop sat up on his elbows, now grinning in that wolfish way he had when he was amused.

"Hungry, drow?"

Jaelyn started and promptly spit her mouth full of water into the fire, coughing. Her eyes were so wide they nearly took over her face.

She turned toward him and her dark skin flushed a bit darker.

Jaelyn rubbed her hand across her wet lips and then patted her chest, which, for some reason, seemed to be a universal reflex to nearly choking.

"Do you enjoy scaring me to death?" she croaked and then cleared her throat.

He only shrugged.

Jaelyn narrowed her eyes at him. "And how long have you been watching me?"

He grinned. "Long enough."

She frowned. "You need to be taught a lesson in manners, Bishop. You shouldn't watch a lady eat."

"Why not?"

"Because it makes her self-conscious, that's why. When she knows you're doing it, that is."

"Only if the lady happens to have low self-esteem."

"What're you saying?"

"Figure it out."

Jaelyn glared at him. "How about the next time you go out to relieve yourself, I'll just come watch like you offered before? Then we'll see who's got low self-esteem."

"That's fine with me. In fact, I'd welcome it. You can finally see what you're missing out on."

Jaelyn gave him a sneering once-over and then huffed indignantly. "It's hard to see what isn't there."

His grin remained in place, though it turned a touch nastier.

"Oh, well, that must be 'cause of all this leather I'm wearing. Let me just remove it..."

His hands moved down to his belt and he began tugging it open. Jaelyn let out a gasp and quickly averted her eyes, her face turning hot.

"Cut it out, you perverted fool!" she exclaimed. "I don't want to see that!"

He laughed. "Gods, you're such a little prude. You're going to have to look at a man one of these days, drow."

"Yes." she agreed, refusing to look at him. "But it's going to be a man that means something to me, one I love, not you."

Jaelyn wanted to laugh at her own words, at the ease with which she had lied to him. Even if she fully understood how she felt about this man, would she ever be able to confess those feelings to him? Would she even want to? She knew how he'd react to it, the same way he'd reacted when she told him she cared about him. It was better to lie. For now. Just until she understood completely, until she really knew for sure. But didn't she admit it to Quin? Didn't she admit that she loved him?

She came out of her thoughts, shaking her head, realizing his silence.

When she turned her head to look at him, she found him looking off elsewhere and there was a faint scowl on his face.

Was he...upset?

Bishop got to his feet, dusted his leathers off and then looked down at her coldly.

"Your loss." His voice shared that same coldness on his face. "Now, get up. We got a few hours before we have to leave here. Might as well take advantage of the time and get in some more sparring. You need all the practice you can get."

"Don't insult me, you jerk." she snapped.

"It's not an insult if it's fact." he replied indifferently. "And the fact is, you're no where near good enough to wield a sword in battle."

The ranger was baiting her and he knew without a doubt that she would bite. She never backed down from a challenge.

Jaelyn jumped up to her feet, angry. "Oh, really? I could kick your ass easy."

He grinned in that terrible, ominous way he had when he provoked her. "Yeah? Prove it."

"Fine!" she hissed through her teeth in an effort to keep her voice quiet. She didn't want to wake the others.

Jaelyn bent down, snatched up her sword, and walked right up to him, poking him hard in the chest with her finger. "Let's go."

She started off into the woods. Bishop followed.

They were a good ways away from camp when Jaelyn finally stopped and turned around to face him. "All right, we're far enough away from camp now."

"If you wanted to be alone with me, you could've just said so." he replied, smirking.

She snorted. "In your dreams. And only in your dreams."

"Oh, yeah. And the things you do in my dreams..."

Jaelyn didn't miss the suggestive tone, nor the lewd glimmer in his eyes.

"You...You're...ugh!" she groaned violently and then thrust the point of her sword at him. "I'll teach you some manners!"

He unsheathed his longsword, his mouth twitching into a faint smile. "Let's see what you've got then, girl."

Bishop wasn't intending to go easy on her. He was going to give her the full extent of his skill and see how much of what he'd taught her yesterday had actually sunk in.

They sparred for about ten minutes before he had her disarmed and laying on the ground with him standing over her, the point of his sword at her neck.

She was glaring up at him, frustration showing on her face.

"Not bad." he remarked. "Lasted longer than I thought you would, but you've still got a lot to learn."

Jaelyn lifted her hand and pushed his weapon away from her neck. She sat up, frowning.

"It shouldn't be this hard. I mean, how much is there to hitting someone with a sword?"

"A lot." He stuck the sword's point into the ground and leaned a bit on the crosspiece. "It's more than just swinging, hitting, parrying and thrusting. It's psychological as well."

Jaelyn gave him a confused look. "Huh?"

He rolled his eyes in a half-hearted manner. "Swordplay, like war, is about deception. To deceive your enemy, you need to know your enemy, what he's thinking and how he fights. Bait him with moves he'll expect. If he's especially full of himself, then make him feel strong and powerful by acting weaker than what you are; he'll get careless. That's when you go in for the kill. Strike him down fast; don't give him even a second to think or you'll take the risk of him realizing your deception."

He paused a moment and straightened up.

"You may not want to hear it, drow, but you're going to, anyway." he went on. "Do not try to talk your opponent down. It won't work. Don't spare him. Out there on the battlefield, it's either you or them. Don't show mercy; it's a weakness and your enemies won't hesitate to use it against you."

Jaelyn frowned and shook her head. "So just kill?"

He scoffed. "It's battle. What do you expect? I don't get it. You've killed before and I've seen you kill without mercy. So, why are you suddenly getting all sensitive about it?"

"I killed out of necessity."

"Right. That's no different than how one kills in battle. Like I said, it's either you or them."

Jaelyn slowly got to her feet, looking at him determinedly. "But there has to be-"

"There isn't!" he snapped at her, getting frustrated. His brows were drawn together and there was a harsh glint in his eyes. "Get that through your thick head."

Gods, how he wanted to throttle her. Why she couldn't learn to accept that killing these drow was the only option she had, he would never know.

Well, she'd understand it once she stepped in battle with them, though that lesson would likely cost her her life.

Not that he cared. Nope, not a bit.

Let her go out there and think she can save everyone. Let her idiotic belief that there's good in everyone take her down. It would be her own damn fault.

Bishop frowned. He would show her what she would be up against. He would show her now; he would make her understand, and there would be no going easy on her, no chances. She was going to see the brutality of battle, where words had no place, unless they were the cries of war or the pleas of the dying.

Without so much as a word or a sign of warning, he swung his sword at her, aggressively. It made a keen whistling noise through the air as it came in at her.

Jaelyn's reflexes were fast and she barely had a second to jump back from him, her face a mask of surprise and confusion.

"What're you do-"

Bishop swung again and this time the edge of his sword caught her arm, drawing a thin line of blood. She exhaled more in surprise than in actual pain. She had been expecting the smack from the flat of the blade, not the sting of its sharp edge.

She looked at her arm a moment and then at him to see a cool, indifferent look on his face.

"If you're trying to prove some kind of point here, there's no need in-"

This time the blade thrust in at her. She threw her body backwards and the sword barely missed impaling her. She could actually feel it scrap across the front of her tunic, severing a bit of the fabric.

Now she was getting angry. If she hadn't been quick to get out of the way, that blow would have killed her.

"That's enough, Bishop." she snapped. "I'm not playing this game, so cut it out."

She yelped in surprise when he grabbed her in a painful grip and pulled her back against him, his left arm coming around her shoulder and across her chest to keep her in place. His sword came up against her throat, pressing firm into the delicate skin of her neck, close to drawing blood.

"Look at you," he hissed in her ear in a disdainful tone. "You're pathetic. You wouldn't last five minutes on any battlefield."

Jaelyn wiggled against him and he tightened his arm around her until it became painful.

"Let me go!" she cried in alarm. "You're hurting me."

"Good." he growled, pulling his sword away from her and then shoving her roughly toward where her weapon lay.

It was the only favor she was getting from him.

Jaelyn fell hard next to her longsword and glared up at him. "What's your problem? Why are you acting like this?"

"Pick it up!" he barked at her.

But she didn't. She sat there with that angry look directed at him, defiant as ever.

He stepped to her, leveling the point of his sword just under her chin, pressing it deep until it drew blood this time. He peered down the length of that blade, a dark, ominous expression on his face and a strange light in his eyes. He seemed passionately determined.

"Don't test me, girl, or I'll gut you here and now." he warned her. "You've got two choices: fight or die."

Her face creased into a frown of confusion. "You can't mean that."

Bishop smirked and shook his head. "When will you learn?"

He drew back his weapon, and for a brief second Jaelyn was relieved, then she felt the sharp sting of his sword across her cheek as it bit into her skin. She let out a pained gasp, her hand moving over the cut. A small stream of blood slipped through her index and middle finger.

Bishop watched her, how her frame went rigid. Then slowly, she looked up at him.

He smiled. What he wanted was there.

Her green eyes held that strange red sheen, the haze of rage. She knew now he meant business.

He whirled his blade and thrust it down at her. Jaelyn rolled away and over her sword, barely missing being impaled again. The point of his weapon went a few inches into the ground and came within a few inches of her body.

She scrambled to her feet, weapon in hand and moved around him, not yet moving in to attack him.

This surprised him, but at the same time it also found his approval. She was still too much of an amateur to make such a bold move; caution was needed on a more skilled opponent. He wondered if she truly knew this or if she was merely hesitant on attacking him, despite her anger toward him.

There was only one way to find out.

Bishop grinned nastily and began circling her. "Come on, little drow. Shouldn't you be attacking me, charging in, all hell-bent on killing me?"

Jaelyn's eyes followed his every move.

Good. Now she was getting it.

"No," she growled back. "Because that's what you want me to do and the moment I charge in, I'm going to impale myself on your sword. I'll pass on that."

"Well, you could always impale yourself on something else of mine." he remarked, suggestively.

Jaelyn scoffed. "Try to goad me all you want. I'm not attacking first."

"Who's goading? I was making an honest suggestion."

"Then suggest it to someone who's interested."

"Don't act like you're not. I know what effect I have on you. Doesn't take a genius to see it, the way you look at me and get all flustered around me."

"You-You're out of your mind!" she sputtered and silently cursed her traitorous cheeks for suddenly turning hot under his accusation.

"Am I?" he replied with a smirk, noticing the way her skin darkened. "Someone's going to claim that sweet maidenhood of yours sooner of later. Might as well be me. I've got the cure for your prudence, drow; all you need is a good fucking."

Jaelyn looked positively appalled, his vulgar suggestion proving successful in its attempt to further her anger.

She lunged at him with her sword and he easily knocked the attack away and then riposted. His blade struck against hers with a loud clang that echoed around the forest. Their weapons stayed together a moment and then Bishop gave his a violent whirl against hers that sent Jaelyn's arm out wide, opening her up for a killing blow. Of course, he didn't follow through with it, but what he did do was prove it was there by placing the tip of his weapon against her chest, just where her heart was.

"Guess what. You're dead." he said, dryly. "I hope you get it now how talking can be turned against you."

So, that was his little game?

She wanted to slap him.

Well, she wasn't the only one in need of a lesson here. She was going to show him once and for all that she was not to be trifled with.

She knew deep down that there really wasn't any lesson she wanted to give him. She just wanted to get back at him for showing her up, for proving his point and being right. She hated it when he was right.

Jaelyn sighed, lowering her head to appear ashamed of herself.

"I see now." she spoke solemnly. "You easily turned the conversation against me, forced me to attack you out of anger. I allowed myself to become manipulated through words and if we'd been in a true battle, I'd surely be dead."

"Then you do get it. Good, maybe there's hope for you yet."

When he pulled his weapon away from her and sheathed it, she stepped toward him and immediately noted how he turned fully to her, how he wasn't cautious of her at all. Her weakness may be that she saw good in people and that she would rather talk her way out of something than to fight, but his weakness was easily underestimating people, or at least underestimating her. And for that, he was going to be sorry.

Jaelyn put on her most serious mask and looked up at him.

"Look, I hate admitting you were right, but I think what just happened here pretty much speaks for itself. So...thanks."

"Don't thank me." he replied. "You needed the lesson."

She laughed lightly. "Indeed. I guess I'm lucky to have you around to show me that. I really do appreciate all these lessons you've been giving me, you know."

Bishop narrowed his eyes a bit in suspicion, then he shrugged. "I'm surprised you've actually survived this long without knowing something about how to use a sword."

"Well, I know how to keep my distance, so I've never really had any occasion to use a sword."

"You'll have one soon enough."

She nodded her agreement and then smiled up at him. "As long as I have you around to teach me, I think I'll be fine. You are going to teach me more, right?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. You're doing well enough so far that it doesn't seem like a waste of time teaching you. You learn quick, I'll give you that."

Jaelyn grinned. "Good. I'm already looking forward to our next lesson."

She stepped even closer to him and they were now barely a foot apart.

Her voice was silky and sultry when she spoke.

"Now, I just need to decide how to show my thanks."

She kept her head lowered, playing herself off as timid and shy, remembering well how he'd called her a prude. There actually wasn't much acting involved at all. She was already nervous, having to play the seduction card on him again. It had worked the last time, but she wasn't certain about this time.

"Oh, really?" he finally replied and she could sense no suspicion in his tone. "Anything particular you had in mind?"

She boldly closed the space between them, pressing herself up against him. His scent and warmth filled her, made her disoriented for a moment.

Her heart was pounding against her chest.

Then she made a mistake.

Instead of closing her eyes and pulling him in for the kiss that would distract him so she could stick her knee in his groin, she looked up at him, into his eyes.

A tidal wave of desires and emotions rolled over her, strong and almost unbearable. They hurt and scared her as much as they felt good; they also confused and alarmed her. She couldn't fight them. Everything inside her was telling her that this was what she wanted. She wanted him, and this time, she would have him.

Bishop stared down at her, a brow raised. He was smirking.

His hands found her waist and Jaelyn let go of her sword. It fell at her side, but neither of them heeded the muffled clunking sound it made when it hit the ground.

Her hands came up across his shoulders and she had to stand up on her toes to reach him, seeking to close that little space between them.

He ached for that kiss, but he tried to force the need away with every bit of strength he had, and it wasn't easy. It aggravated him how hard it was to fight this off. That need was muddling his brain up and if he couldn't think, he was going to find himself in trouble.

Jaelyn's small frame was so pressed up against his larger one that he could feel every curve of her; he could even feel the quickened throb of her heart. And when her mouth brushed against his, timidly, unsure, he almost lost it.

He grit his teeth and gave all those emotions welling up inside him a violent, mental shove, then his hand came up against her throat to keep her from kissing him fully. It had taken quite an effort to move it, as if it were made of lead.

She looked confused and a bit dazed as he stared down into her eyes. His grip on her tightened and his face creased into a sneer.

"Nice try," he growled. "But I'm not falling for that."

He shoved her back away from him by her throat and glared hard.

"You're playing your games with the wrong man, drow."

Jaelyn shook her head, staring at him in surprise and hurt. "I wasn't-"

"Save it."

With that, he turned away and headed back to camp, leaving her there.

Jaelyn stood rigidly, watching him go, her heart still pounding, and she was now pained by the bitter stab of rejection. Perhaps she had deserved it for tricking him before.

xxxxxxxxxx

When Jaelyn finally found her way back to camp, she saw that the others were packing up and getting ready to leave.

She went over and began packing her own things; shaking off her bed roll and then rolling it back up, preparing a few rations from the deer meat in case she got hungry or if they had to camp again. She filled her canteen from a nearby creek and then took her belongings to place them on the back of the cart, which seemed to be everyone's general idea of what to do with their things.

The other weapons the natives had been carrying were already loaded on, leaving a small area of the cart free. It was here that Quin sat, babysitting Baeylene.

Jaelyn was surprised to see that the halfling had constructed a crib-like bed for the baby out of the bed rolls, a safe enough place to put her while they traveled.

She was placed in it now with Quin leaning over her, making his silly faces at her. The infant giggled and clutched at his face.

Jaelyn smiled as she put her things on the cart. "You're very good with her."

Quin looked up at her with his trademark grin. "She's the sweetest thing. You know, I never even wondered about children until she came along. Now I think I'd like to have some of my own. A whole clan of them!"

Jaelyn laughed and reached out, pinching his cheek. "You'll make some lucky halfling girl a good husband and you'll be a good father as well."

Quin rubbed his cheek where she pinched. "You think so?"

"As long as you stay how you are." she said. "As long as you stay Quin Bramblebrow."

He laughed. "Well, who else am I going to be?"

She smiled. "Indeed."

Quin looked at her closely, finally noting the cut on her face. He lifted a finger toward it. "Say, what happened there?"

She shrugged. "I got it sparring with..." She didn't say his name. She couldn't speak it or hear it at the moment. It made her angry and sad all at the same time; to think she had opened herself up to him again, was willing to finally give in to him, only to be rejected so cruelly.

You deserved it. You were trying to trick him again until it became something else.

She shook her head.

Quin stared at her for a moment before speaking. "So, that's where you two have been. Sparring, eh? I assume you must have showed him a thing or two considering he came out of the forest looking like he wanted to beat up something."

She shrugged again. "No, I did something stupid that I know I'm going to regret for the rest of my life."

"What?"

"I tried to kiss him."

Quin's eyes nearly popped out of his head in shock. "You what?"

"He rejected me."

"Huh?" Quin looked positively confused. "You mean to tell me after all his idiotic suggestive remarks and sexual innuendos, he was given the chance to make good on them and he didn't? I knew he was all talk!"

"Well," she said with a sigh. "That's that, then."

Quin shook his head. "That idiot is going to be the one regretting it. No one likes him; he's only lucky that you do."

"He won't regret it; he wants to be alone it seems."

"Let him, then." Quin said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "You can do better than him, anyway."

Jaelyn shook her head and looked off at the natives as they talked amongst themselves, waiting to leave. "It's not that simple, Quin. I lo-"

"Are they ready to go now?" a harsh, impatient voice cut her off and made her heart seize up inside her chest.

Gods...

Jaelyn went rigid, her mouth went dry, and her hands gripped the side of the cart so hard her knuckles paled(or at least went a lighter shade of gray). Her breath gave up trying to escape her mouth and instead settled in her throat.

Quin looked from the approaching ranger to the one about to have a heart attack and rose a brow. He had no idea what she had been about to say, what she had almost blurted to the world, or at least to anyone within earshot.

"Jae, are you all right?" the halfling inquired. "You look like you're going to faint."

She opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was a soft, strangled sound, as if the words tried to come out so fast that they all got jumbled up together in her throat.

"What's her problem?" Bishop asked from where he stood behind her.

Quin merely shrugged.

A fleeting moment of relief washed over Jaelyn as she realized that Bishop must not have heard what she was about to say, but she was going to have to watch her mouth from now on. Why she had almost spoke those words aloud when she knew he was around and might hear was beyond her. She definitely wasn't going to make that mistake again.

There was a moment of silence where all she felt was his presence behind her and saw Quin looking at him over her shoulder with a funny expression on his face, then Bishop bumped her arm with his elbow. She turned slightly only to look at him out of the corner of her eye. He gestured something to her, a small vial.

Jaelyn cocked her head as she realized it was the healing potion she had given him before they had left to find the weapons, the one she had given him as a token of friendship. What did it mean if he was giving it back?

"For the cut." he said gruffly, eying the wound on her face. "Consider it-" He caught himself. "Just take the damn thing. Never used it, anyway."

He pushed it into her hand, not waiting to see if she'd take it and then stalked off without a glance back.

Jaelyn juggled the vial, careful not to drop it and looked from it to him in surprise.

"Huh," said Quin. "That was odd."

She looked at the vial again and then at the ranger, swallowing. "Indeed."

The halfling reached for the little bottle. "Here, I'll help you apply it."

Jaelyn clutched it to her chest. "No, I think I want to keep it for a while."

"...Why?"

She shrugged and smiled. "I just do."

Quin made a face. "You are both acting weird."

Jaelyn slipped the vial into the small pouch on her belt and reached over, giving the halfling's cheek another pinch.

"You're not exactly normal yourself, Quin."

He slapped her hand away, groaning. "Stop that. My Aunt Matilda used to do that to me all the time. Drove me nuts."

Jaelyn laughed briefly and glanced around. "Where's Feral?"

"I saw him wander out into the forest. He'll be back, I'm sure."

"He better hurry before Bishop starts getting antsy."

And as if on cue, the cat-bear in mention came darting out of the woods, leaping up into the halfling's lap while looking up at Jaelyn with a grin as if to say, 'okay, now we can go."

Jaelyn smiled and brushed her hand through his fur before turning and making her way toward the natives gathered around the dark, ashy remnants of their campfire.

Akereth looked up upon her approach and she nodded to him.

"We're ready to leave when all of you are." she said to him in drow.

He got to his feet and nodded. "We are ready."

"Bishop and I will lead." Jaelyn told him. "We need at least four of you to help pull the cart now that it's carrying more weight, but it must be handled carefully. Very carefully. There are...um, explosives on it."

Akereth's brows crinkled in confusion, as he'd never heard the word before.

Jaelyn laughed and shook her head. "They blow up. Boom!"

The native still wasn't getting it.

She sighed. "You see, if the cart isn't handled gently, there's something we're carrying on it that will tear apart anyone within a few hundred yards of it."

His eyes widened. It got through that time.

"T-Tear apart?" he stuttered. "You mean, the drow had this in their hideout?"

Jaelyn nodded solemnly.

"But...what if they have more?"

She shrugged. "Let's hope they don't. Even if they do, they have less of them now. So, it's still a good thing. Just...make sure your guys know to be careful with the cart."

Akereth nodded. "All right."

He turned back to his fellow natives to assemble four able-bodied men together while Jaelyn returned to the back of the cart.

She jerked a thumb back. "Off the cart, Quin. And take Baeylene with you."

"Huh? Why?"

Jaelyn gave him a stern expression as she picked Feral up from the cart and sat him on the ground, ignoring his irritated look. "Do you think it's a good idea for you and Baeylene to travel back here with the explosives? What if something happens?"

Quin cringed. "Oh, right. That makes sense." He pouted. "But it's such a long walk back to the village."

She grinned at him. "Getting there on foot is safer. Of course, staying back here if these things go off will probably get you there faster...and in pieces."

"All right, all right. Point taken."

Quin reached into the makeshift crib and pulled Baeylene out, holding her to his chest.

"Can you carry her all the way back to the village by yourself?" Jaelyn asked, looking down at him.

The halfling nodded. "No problem. Quit treating me like a kid."

"I'm not. I just want to be sure you can handle her weight. She's nearly as big as you are...or should that be you're nearly as small as she is?"

Quin looked up at her in shock. "What?"

She laughed. "I was only joking."

"I should hope so."

Four natives approached the cart, two standing on either side of the handles and giving Jaelyn expectant looks. She nodded to them and then looked down at Quin.

"Come on, let's go."

Quin fell in step behind her as she made her way over to Bishop, who stood on the edge of camp under a tree, his back against the trunk, arms folded across his chest as he scowled out into the woods.

"We're ready to go."

"It's about damn time." he grumbled. "We've wasted enough of it as it is."

Jaelyn made a proceeding gesture with her hand. "Well, come on."

He straightened up from the tree, glaring at her. "We go when I say we go."

She shook her head, setting her hands to her hips. She knew he was just trying to start an argument. "Then you're the one holding us up."

He growled at her, viciously, knowing she'd got him that time. "Let's go!"

Bishop turned on his heel and began making his way out through the undergrowth.

Today wasn't going to be his day, he could already tell that. He couldn't think straight, he was irritated and aching in places he didn't want to think about; all because of some woman. Damn drow. She was nothing but trouble, a demon disguised in dark, silky skin, beautiful sylvan features, subtle, yet enticing curves and luminous eyes. And that wild hair, white as freshly fallen snow. He remembered last night, when she was sleeping and he'd touched that hair, brushed it across her forehead, and it was soft; her skin, her hair, all of it, so very soft. And then when they'd been sparring, when she looked up at him and tried to kiss him, that soft brush of her lips against his...

His heart was hammering and there was a knot in his throat that refused to budge.

Damn it! He couldn't get her out of his head.