Chapter 26
The sun had just risen when Taeron decided that he must leave the bed and the warm woman who had been sleeping soundly in his arms, her head on his shoulder, her warm breath caressing his neck. When he gently moved away from her, she did not awaken as she turned away and curled into a ball beneath the soft blanket. He crushed the urge to return to her side. He had obligations and in his selfishness, he had neglected them all, not the least Amyr and his sister. So now after washing with water in a basin, he tossed about tunics until he found a green one that was not quite the color of Sharisse's eyes but would suit her. Leaving the room, he caught a bleary-eyed serving woman in the hallway and asked her to take the tunic to the seamstress to alter for a woman. She had giggled when he showed her the size with his hands, but when she tried to flirt with him, he ignored her and continued on his way to Amyr's room.
He wondered if Stryfe had escorted the princess back to the cottage she shared with Sharisse and if Princess Dijana had even noticed that her sister had disappeared during the feast. Stryfe had not disturbed them and since he had seen his brother drinking copious amounts of wine, Taeron caught himself hoping he had dishonored the princess. If he had, that would solve one problem but then he would be obligated to regain his honor by retaliating against his own brother. Stryfe wasn't that unwise, and while he might have fooled Princess Dijana into believing he was devoted to her, his brother had not been eager to have to entertain the princess.
As for Amyr, he was in his large bed, but he wasn't alone. Taeron was used to seeing him with a woman or two, but what he saw this morning made his brows raise. The prince was sound asleep, his snores putting a canyon beast to shame, his arm around a small form cuddled against him. Taeron mused that it did not take Amyr long to charm his son, but then Amyr had plenty of experience charming people and Taeron knew better than anyone how important a father's love and approval meant. Yori had not even been raised a Calabrian and yet he was drawn to his father after spending his entire short life knowing only his mother's love.
The boy's mother was draped half on the bed and half off, fully dressed, stinking of stale wine and snoring loudly. Taeron didn't know how Yori could sleep through the noise both his parents were making, but he noted that Yori was not the only one oblivious. Jeshed was sprawled out across the room on the mat on which Taeron would usually rest attentive to any danger to his prince. Taeron crossed to where the strange man lay and nudged him with the toe of his boot, but Jeshed did not stir and Taeron suppressed the urge to laugh. The dragon man would make an awful guard for the crown prince.
Leaving behind the unusual domestic scene, he made a tour of the castle, looking for potential trouble. He stepped over many men and women in various stages of undress which was not unexpected given the nature of the feast. Taeron was looking for anything out of the ordinary.
"You are up early."
He turned to see Lord Mordrad fully dressed and not weary from the revelry that had lasted the better part of the night. Was this out of the ordinary? Taeron had been distracted by Sharisse the evening before or he might have wondered why the hunter lord was not drinking as heavily as many men and women had.
"Are you going somewhere?" he asked curiously since Lord Mordrad looked dressed to travel.
"I received a request for help on Ergas, a planet a few days travel from Norvana. From time to time the people are troubled by a rather nasty beast and I am not loathe to take their credits to cull the population. The pelts of the monster bring a high price at the market on Ergas, so I cannot pass up the opportunity." Mordrad sighed mournfully. "I will miss the dragon, but I knew that I was one day going to have to part with him when he decided it was time to seek his own people. The men and I will find hunting a little more difficult without Jeshed's help. Let Quynn know where we have gone and that we regret her absence."
Taeron realized he was frowning as he watched him walk away. He had been taught to trust his instincts and his instincts told him now that Mordrad's behavior was as suspicious as it was ordinary. There did not seem to be any reason to distrust him and yet he did. Later he would question Quynn about the man, but for now he must accept his explanation.
By the time he was ready to return to his room and the woman in his bed, the sun was shining brightly through the windows. Stryfe was waiting outside his room with a pretty serving woman who was holding an armful of folded garments including the tunic that had been altered. Since she had guessed who the garment was for, she had added a feminine silky undershirt, suggesting with a smile that his female might appreciate it. The garment was soft and thin, and Taeron could not help wondering what it would feel like against her warm skin.
"I suppose I can't have my bed yet?" inquired Stryfe with a raised brow, drawing his attention from thoughts he should not be having.
Taeron matched the brow. "Your bed?"
Stryfe chuckled. "Well, it was worth a try. Is Sharisse in there? I escorted Princess Dijana back to her cottage last night, but I couldn't tell if she was happy or angry that her sister slipped away with you. You didn't …?"
Taeron's answer was a frown at his brother for even asking. Was he asking so that he could add the detail to his expansive tale about the misadventures of the crown prince and the warlord of Varoonya?
As for Sharisse, Taeron did not know where he found the will to resist her, when she was taking his blood, and then later as she wept in his arms before falling into an exhausted sleep. In the past few days when he had not seen her, Taeron had decided that he must not encourage the fragile female. The oath that he had made to the emperor was binding and he had no choice but to take Princess Dijana as his wife despite his revulsion to the task. The emperor demanded it and Taeron would do almost anything for Trey. He had been determined to distance himself from Sharisse, was sure that he could view her as he did his sister, but when they had been sitting side by side on the bed, he could not resist kissing her as he would never kiss his sister. The gods only knew how he had been able to refrain from doing more, especially when she made it clear that she was willing. His heart still ached from the grief he had caused her by his rejection of what she offered.
Stryfe chuckled. "Sorry your night was so unpleasant, brother, when mine was so delightful after I returned to the castle."
Taeron glanced at the serving woman who moved closer to Stryfe after handing the clothing to him. His brother had probably fully enjoyed the accommodating female and planned to do it again. The customs of Calabria were too ingrained in Taeron to even envy his brother his careless lifestyle. If he were to enjoy Sharisse, it would only be as her bonded mate. Gods! Why was he thinking such thoughts when he was supposed to be distancing himself from her?
"I think I will sleep a little longer." The night had been long, and he wanted to return to Sharisse's side to hold her in his arms so that she was not alone when she awoke. "Our sister seems to have drunk herself into a stupor."
Stryfe snorted. "You don't want to be around when she gets up. Her hangovers were legendary at the academy. Where is she?"
"With Prince Amyr."
Stryfe blew out his breath. "Then you really don't want to be around. She will probably sleep a few more hours. Amyr and Yori were awake late also, so I don't think you will be missed." He laughed and clamped his hand on his shoulder. "I don't think I have ever seen you look so exhausted even though you don't sleep around Amyr."
His brother's allusion to his night with Sharisse annoyed him, but he managed to smile at him. "I hope you were too busy observing the prince's behavior at the feast to take note of what I was doing." He had not dishonored anyone last night, but Stryfe did not know that and he obviously thought Taeron had done more with Sharisse than he had.
Stryfe shrugged. "I was drinking a bit too much as well, so I don't have much recollection of what you were doing or who you might have been with. And Amyr's actions are my priority now, not yours." Taeron was too good a judge of men to believe that. The emperor would probably hear all the sordid details since Stryfe did not forget anything. When Stryfe reported to Trey, they sounded like two old women gossiping which was what made him invaluable to the emperor who claimed the scribe's reports were the only entainment to be had on Calabria.
He slipped back into the room and found that Sharisse had not moved from the position he left her in so he laid aside the clothing, pulled off his boots and tunic and rejoined her. Taeron had never slept with a female before although he was not inexperienced in many sorts of activities that ensured mutual pleasure without stepping over the line reserved for a bonded mate. Amyr's women made sure of that and he sometimes wondered if Amyr put them up to seducing him. Whatever the reason, between their tutelage and his mother's unsolicited advice, he knew how to please a woman. Doing so with this woman would be a mistake, no matter how much he wanted it.
Sharisse's clothing was rumpled and stained from tears like his own, and remembering how miserable she had been, he wanted to hold her again, so he drew her gently into his arms. He had thought her lean, but he hadn't realized she was so thin. He could feel the outline of her delicate bones through the rough fabric of her tunic and he wondered if her affliction was to blame. Thinking about what had been done to her, how she had been treated, Taeron felt anguish every bit as deep as what she had felt last night. He knew that her feelings for him were deeper than they should be and he bore the guilt when he had known all along that there could be nothing between them.
Suddenly she stirred and he sighed contentedly as she burrowed against him, but she remained in his arms for only a moment before she came to her senses and she put her hands against his chest and shoved, pushing him away as she scrambled out of the bed and he eased out of the bed on the opposite side. By the time she found her balance, the bed was between them and he saw that her hands were shaking as she pushed her fingers through her cropped hair.
Sighing with regret that he would be denied any more time holding her, Taeron retrieved the pile of clothing the maid had given him and went around the bed to hold them out to Sharisse. She stared at the altered tunic for a moment but she did not take it from him.
He frowned at the gift he continued to hold out to her. "I had the garment altered to your size so that you could wear it. My brother will not miss it."
She raised her eyes to his and he felt her shame and embarrassment. "I do not want anything from Lord Taeron. Save it for Prince Amyr."
Taeron was disappointed to see the return of the wall she used to keep people at a distance, but he should have expected it. He had hurt her and would do so again when she learned his true identity. He should tell her now, but he could not think of any words that would make it less painful for her to learn that the man she had grown to trust was bound to marry her sister.
Instead he said, "I will walk with you."
"I don't need you to accompany me! I am not helpless!"
She tried to go past him, but Taeron grasped her hand and brought her to him. He wanted to comfort her, to find some way to ease her past the embarrassment from revealing her sorrow to him. "I want to accompany you."
Sharisse looked at his hand and then glared up at him. "Why? You need not concern yourself with me. When I need you again, I will not hesitate to come to you since you have kindly offered to help me. I don't need anything from you but your blood."
Taeron did not know what caused her sudden enmity and he could only watch speechlessly as she stomped to the door, jerked it open and left. He heard an indistinct grunt from the hall and seconds later Stryfe walked in rubbing his lower back.
"She stepped on me." his brother complained. "I am used to such behavior as the scribe, but as Lord Taeron? Surely she should have more respect for the hero of Varoonya."
Taeron sank down on the side of the bed. "I do not understand females."
Before Stryfe could respond there was angry shouting from across the hall and Taeron leaped to his feet, not knowing if he should save Amyr or his sister from whatever had infuriated Quynn, but his sister was awake now and probably not happy to find out where she had spent the night.
The door opened and Yori hurried in, his eyes wide. "My mother is angry at my father."
Stryfe held out his hand and the boy hurried to take it. "Don't worry. Your mother is grumpy because she is feeling a little sick." He helped Yori onto the bed. "You can stay here with me until she feels better."
"She won't hurt Papa, will she?" Yori's eyes were glistening with tears.
Taeron thought there was a possibility she might, given his sister's volatile temper, and since she could fling fireballs as easily as boots at Amyr, he said, "I will be sure that she does not. Try to go back to sleep and I will calm her." As if anyone could sleep with Quynn screaming blistering insults at the crown prince that would have her incarcerated and punished on Calabria. Not that Amyr did not deserve to be called every name she used. Taeron hoped he did not get burned by her magic when he intervened.
Having no choice but to shelve any thoughts about Sharisse, Taeron crossed the hall to Amyr's room where he found Jeshed cowering in the corner as Quynn threw whatever she could get her hands on at Amyr. Taeron was proud of how Amyr managed to dodge everything quickly, proof that the training was improving his fighting skills. Behind him, a pile of boots and broken pottery was growing aganst the wall.
"Why are you not doing your duty?" demanded Amyr when he noticed Taeron. "Stop her!"
With a sigh he crossed to catch Quynn before she could launch a stone pitcher at Amyr's head, and seizing her wrist, he jerked the pitcher from her hand. He bent and hefted her over his shoulder, ignoring the fists she pounded on his back as he turned to face Amyr. "I will return her to her cottage where she can sleep off her excess. Shall I escort your son as well?" He would not have asked the question on Calabria because Yori belonged with Amyr, but he was not sure how Amyr was proceeding with Quynn.
Quynn twisted around to look at Amyr. "Don't you dare keep my son here!"
Amyr's eyes narrowed at her. "I have done nothing to deserve your anger."
"You are a prick! How dare you bring me here!"
"I did not bring you here. I told Jeshed to escort you back to your cottage when you became quarrelsome at my offer to take you back."
Taeron glanced at Jeshed who had straightened although the damage to his dignity had already been done. The fool dragon did not know how to interact with humans, certainly not with females although Taeron was wondering if anyone could predict a female's reaction to anything, even something so innocuous as the offer of a change of clothing.
"She became unruly," explained Jeshed sheepishly, "so I had little choice, my lord, but to bring her here. She insisted on walking, refusing any help, and then she fell unconscious in the lane before we reached the castle. When I lifted her, I realized she is heavier than she looks, and since I did not think I could carry her back to her cottage, I saw little reason not to bring her here and let her sleep on the bed." He glanced at the mat on the floor, his face scrunched in bemusement. "Should I have taken her to the mat with me?"
"No!"snapped Amyr irritably at the same time as Quynn, leaving Taeron's interjection unnecessary.
"I am not leaving Yori with him!" shouted Quynn furiously.
Taeron ignored her and strode from the room after a nod to Amyr. Somehow he would make his sister understand what was best for her son. She struggled to no avail and while her movements were as erratic as a hill river eel, Taeron kept her pinned on his shoulder, but he was forced to hear curses heaped on Amyr, on Jeshed, on him and especially on all males of Calabria. By the time they reached the cottage, she had run out of things to say and he expected her to attack him once he had put her down inside, but she burst into tears and threw herself against him.
"What am I going to do?" she wailed piteously. "He is taking Yori away from me!"
Taeron was perplexed. "Prince Amyr is not taking your child. Males have not taken their offspring from females almost as long as they stopped leaving their females in the Wastelands."
She weakly pounded against his chest. "Oh Taeron! Why must you be so Calabrian!?"
He wondered if that was meant to be an insult. He decided not to ponder it. Since his time as Princess Shamara's imperial guard, he had come to realize that females were quite irrational and this morning he had ample proof. What had he done to offend Sharisse? Her parting words had been hurtful.
"I have just realized that Yori is truly my child."
Taeron had never awakened with a woman in his arms and feeling her pressed against him had seemed right. Why had she been offended by his gift? He had wanted to give her something pretty to wear, to bring out the beauty he saw when he looked at her.
"I want time to see him as my son, not as some child left for me to nurture."
Was he really nothing more to her than a means to satisfy her need for blood?
"How can I ever trust that bastard?"
"Should I ask her why she is angry with me?" he heard himself asking aloud.
"Are you listening to me?" demanded Quynn and he saw that she was frowning up at him.
Taeron met her gaze. "I heard what you said, but none of it makes any sense to me. I told you that you should have waited before your impetuous vow to Prince Amyr."
"That again!? Are you forever going to use 'I told you so'? I think I have learned my lesson well enough, thanks to you."
Her accusation stung, but she wasn't saying anything he hadn't told himself many times since the night of her oath ceremony. But given the inadvertent blood bond caused by the rose Amyr had given her, Taeron knew now that Amyr would have gone to Quynn that night, and after what he had witnessed in the hall, she would have welcomed him to her bed. That would have led to great dishonor for his father's house, shame to the emperor for what his son had done and possible insurrection on the moon because the chieftains on Ulfynaeus had made very clear that they opposed the match between the female of their governor's house and the worthless crown prince. They would not have borne his dishonoring her before the ceremony on the surface. Taeron could not even predict how his father would have reacted, or how would when they returned. The circumstances were even worse now with Yori visible proof. Would Amyr's actions with Quynn cause a rift between the emperor and his powerful imperial guard? Had Staefyn planned it that way?
"You all, including my own twin brother, have made it very clear that I cannot take back the worst mistake of my life."
There was nothing Taeron could do now to prevent Staefyn from sowing discord in the Calabrian Empire, just as Staefyn planned when he sent his shuttle hurtling into frontier space. Was his own father still loyal to the emperor whose son had driven his daughter away, the man who sent his sons to the edge of the frontier from which they had not returned? Taeron did not want to imagine the two men he saw as fathers clashing over their disappearance.
Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to Quynn who had sat down to pout with her head in her hands. "You did not spend enough time on Calabria to learn about our ways."
"I did not think they were so backward!"
"Your mother has adjusted," he reminded her.
"She has a human husband."
"Our father may not have Calabrian blood, but he has adopted our way of living. Do you doubt that?" When she did not answer, he knew she was considering the many ways their father had proven that fact. It was a matter of contention between Quynn and Lord Duo that he was high-handed in all the ways that mattered to a Calabrian male protecting the honor of his house. She had been on her own for too long and it was time that she learned her place. But Taeron had no intention of speaking that last thought aloud, not if he wanted to leave the cottage without blistering burns.
"You must defer to Amyr regarding Yori," he told her instead. She could hardly argue.
"I will not!"
He ignored her. "You will allow them time together ..."
"You are siding with him!"
"... and when they have bonded as father and son, Yori will come back to you." Taeron smiled at her although she was furious. "Am I not proof enough to you how much a Calabrian male loves and reveres his mother? Have you never seen the love that Amyr has for gracious Lady Arora? But we must have the guidance of a male."
She opened her mouth to speak and then he saw understanding in her eyes, large purple blue eyes that filled with tears. "I am so sorry, Taeron! I forget how difficult it must have been for you!"
Quynn would never know exactly how difficult. Without his sire's acceptance, Taeron had grown up feeling as though part of him was missing, just as it had been for Yori. But neither he nor Yori were without a father's love now and he would not allow his sister to take from her child what Taeron had yearned for all his life. Yori would not have to grow up listening to mockery, hearing the whispers behind his back, the speculations of who his sire was when no man had claimed him. What was worse, he suffered hearing the denigrating remarks about his mother. If Quynn did not accept Amyr with Yori, her son might suffer the same, especially after her rash decision to flee Calabria. Taeron did not need to point that out to her because he could feel that she was wavering in her steadfast rejection of Amyr.
"What of Jeshed?" asked Quynn. "Even he seems enamored of Amyr."
Taeron shook his head. "Jeshed wants to find a place in this world. He wishes to remain near you because he is fond of you and especially of Yori, so he has asked to take my place in protecting Amyr." Jeshed was many years from making that dream a reality, but since Lord Duo had managed to complete the training as an adult, perhaps Jeshed would be able to do so as long as he had the same determination.
Quynn blew out her breath in a long sigh. "I am overreacting, and I have a hellish hangover that puts to shame any weekend bender at the academy." She grimaced as she ran a hand through her tangled hair. "I need to bathe and rest, and then I should work on the ship. Yesterday Danlaer told me that they found parts he believes are compatible with the ones we need to get the ship off the ground. I realized that I would have to go back to Calabria and face the consequences of my actions, so I suppose I drank a little too much so that I could forget about all my problems."
'A little too much' was a gross understatement and Taeron chuckled. "The prospect of spending your life as Amyr's mate is that distasteful?"
"No, the prospect of facing my father after what happened is."
"Our father loves you very much. He will understand that what happened was not your doing." Taeron thought that was true of Lord Duo, but he could not predict how the emperor would react. Despite all the changes he had made to make the lives of females more bearable on Calabria, Emperor Trey still had archaic notions of what entailed dishonor. He might blame Quynn for what had happened just as easily as he blamed Amyr. Indeed, Trey had been furious by Quynn's flight and did not want to hear her name mentioned when she was responsible for his son's shame, so her reappearance with his son's child in her arms would probably anger him even more.
"And what of you, brother? You have made an oath to take Princess Dijana as your wife and yet I cannot stand the thought of an honorable man like you pledging to spend the rest of your life with that awful woman. And what are you going to do about Sharisse?"
Taeron wanted to keep his thoughts from straying to Sharisse, not when he wanted to go to her now. He had intended to tell her the truth, but he did not want to lose her yet. His inaction had made his predicament worse because after last night, his feelings had become even deeper for her. Taeron felt as if he were standing at the edge of a precipice, leaning forward on his toes over an abyss.
"Did I hear you say that Sharisse was angry with you?"
"I have little experience with Teralonian females," he told her. "And my experiences with other females are limited to those that I can call sister. Princess Shamara was always very sure of herself, as was Princess Chaela." He looked at Quynn. "As you are, sister."
She smiled sadly at him. "I am not so sure of myself now." Rising, she crossed the cottage and took a folded cloth which she returned to give him. "I need more sleep. Come with me and I will heat the pond so that you can bathe and relax."
A long soak in heated water might clear his thoughts, so Taeron followed her out and they headed towards the small clearing in the woods nearby. "Have you spoken to Jeshed?" he asked.
Quynn's chin drooped and he could sense her shame. "I could not. He is not how I imagined him in the years that he was trapped in the bracelet." She held up her wrist to look at the bangle that used to glow but which was now dormant with no color in the stones. "I once thought that I had magic because of Jeshed, but Carrinda told me that everyone has an inclination to magic and with proper training can learn to use it, some more easily than others. I have an affinity to fire." She smiled self-deprecatingly and then looked at him. "You have the rarest magic, brother."
"I have no magic." Taeron refused to believe anything but his hard work and determination was responsible for his skill.
"Your magic is different," she told him. "Carrinda could not even describe it, saying that it is just part of your being, not something that you use, but something that is sensed by others. Why do you think Amyr is so jealous of you?" They were nearing the pond and he was going to respond to her question, but she put up her hand to stop him from speaking. He heard faint sounds indicating that the pool was already being used.
"Wait here," she whispered. "The pond is fed by an underground stream from the mountain. I cannot believe anyone could bathe in water that cold. " She crept forward and peered through the thick foliage of the bushes surrounding the stream, then stepped back to him. "It is Sharisse."
He frowned. "I should leave her to her privacy."
Quynn grabbed his arm before he could leave. "I will warm the water and you can talk to her or whatever it is you Calabrians do with women."
"It is not like that with her!" He was angry that she had categorized his feelings for Sharisse with the females on Calabria that were eager to sport with males.
Quynn raked his rumpled appearance with her knowing gaze. "You smell like that female, so I know you spent the night with her. I am not that obtuse. I trained with men in the colonies and have been around them after the kind of night you had."
Taeron was affronted after he had done no more than comfort Sharisse. "You never seemed to recognize it in Amyr," he retorted. "I cannot count the times he left females in his bed to court you."
She gasped in outrage and he inwardly cringed at the trouble he had just caused Amyr. What did it matter? She already knew what kind of rutting dog he was and he should not have hurt her by revealing what she did not need to know. "You let him?" She looked as though she wanted to say more, but she sighed instead. "This arguing is not helping. We have already determined there is no way back and only a way forward. I am sorry, Taeron, if I have offended you or Sharisse. And I realize that Amyr's private moments were not yours to share with others. What kind of imperial guard would that make you?"
"A good imperial guard but a terrible brother," he conceded.
"Go talk to Sharisse. I will have some clean clothing brought down from the castle for you." She turned and squatting, she put her hand to the ground and whispered a few words that he guessed was some sort of incantation. Soon after he saw steam rising from beyond the bushes and he took that as his cue so he nodded his thanks to Quynn after taking the drying cloth from her.
Sharisse was in the middle of the pond with her back to him, tendrils of steam rising around her as she hunched over with her head in her hands, her shoulders shaking. He first noticed that she was too thin, just as he had suspected when he held her and he wondered if Balak maltreated her after what had happened with Kai. Taeron was infuriated when he thought of Princess Dijana's curvaceous form proving that she had not spent a moment of want or need. How could he pledge his life to a woman who would allow this to happen to her own sister?
As his eyes took in her frail form they came to rest on her slender back and he was shocked to see mass of scarred flesh that indicated some horrendous trauma that had surely threatened her life.
He must have made some sound of sympathy or horror because Sharisse suddenly turned and she gasped when she saw him standing at the edge of the pool. She sunk low so that the water came up to her chin. Her hair was wet and plastered back and as he looked at her he realized no woman could be more beautiful as she was in his eyes. What her poorly cropped hair hid was a finely boned face, large eyes with long, thick lashes under arched brows. There was only a faint resemblance to her sister for which Taeron was thankful when he had grown to despise the Teralonian princess.
She was glaring at him although her eyes were puffy and red. "Why have you disturbed my private moments? I have no need of you now."
Taeron wanted to comfort her, but doing so the night before had made her brittle, and now she was putting more distance between them. He should talk to her, but he doubted he could think of any words that would ease the ache she was feeling, the ache of his rejection of her. She thought he did not want her when she was the only woman he did. He could not envision a future with her sister as Sharisse stood in the shadows.
The decision he made now would ensure that he would never have to experience that future. He did not even close his eyes as he took the step forward to plunge into the precipice where only shame and dishonor awaited.
"I have need of you, Sharisse."
As he pulled off his tunic and undershirt, he heard her gasp and when he looked at her, he saw that she was staring wide-eyed at his bare chest. But then she rose from the water, revealing her body to the waist and he found it difficult to breathe as she moved toward him. His fingers fumbled with the fastenings to his leggings, but Sharisse reached him and as she took over for him, he stood helplessly with his hands at his side. He should stop her, stop himself, but he could not. He must tell her his true identity, and he meant to until they stood bare before each other and she slipped her arms around him, pressing her body to his.
Taeron did not hesitate to take her in his arms, and he didn't ask if she was sure she knew what she was asking of him when he lowered his head to taste her lips. The kiss they shared inflamed him into doing what he knew he must not. He lowered her to the mossy bank beside the steaming pond where he let his instincts guide him with the woman he loved. She cried out in pleasure when he gave himself to her completely by sinking his teeth into a sensitive place between her neck and shoulder when they were joined, and when he tasted her blood in his mouth, he did not care about oaths and responsibilities. His only responsibility from this moment forward was to this woman.
When the intense aftermath of their mating had subsided, he rolled to hold her in his arms and he saw the mark he had made with his teeth. It would heal in time, but he would always know it was there. He belonged to her. No other woman would ever come between them because only she could assuage his need and his need for her was growing by the moment.
She raised her head to smile up at him. "You have adopted the ways of your father's people better than Lord Taeron who was raised among them." She reached out to touch the slightly swollen mark. "I know this does not have the same significance to you as it would to a Calabrian, but you have honored me."
Taeron wanted to tell her the truth then, but he thought he should speak to the woman he had just wronged first and he could not predict how Princess Dijana would react. His father would be angry that Taeron had defiled his house with his dishonor, and the emperor would be more than displeased that he had betrayed him in the worst way by breaking an unbreakable oath. Somehow he doubted exchanging the bastard sister of Princess Dijana would be acceptable to any of the parties involved in the treaty. Until he sorted out the mess he had just made of his life, he could not tell Sharisse the truth. His consolation was that she needed him as much as he would now need her and they were free to indulge in whatever they wished. She was his mate now.
"I need to get back to my sister," she told him, lifting away and returning to the pond where she quickly washed herself. She smiled shyly at him and his heart belonged completely to her. Taeron could not love Sharisse any more than he did at that moment. "Can we meet tonight?"
"Every night," he assured her. He wanted her again now, but he might frighten her with his need, so he slipped into the pond to wash with her hoping the water would cool his ardor. He did not know how often he would have to mate with her before his body's urges would subside, but he remembered that men in training often abandoned Edgeland Fortress for weeks after marriage because they would have been useless.
"Can we meet here again?" she asked him. "I do not want my sister knowing."
Taeron agreed although knew he would have absolutely no way of hiding what he had done from Amyr for long since his Guerani powers were growing. He could go to Carrinda to remove the blood bond, but he did not want to do it.
He wanted to be Sharisse's mate, no matter the consequences.