Blaze (8 page)

beneath the gentle twisting and rubbing of his thumbs and forefingers.

His mouth hovered over her clit, so close that the moist heat of his breath against her flesh teased her. Suddenly the tip of his tongue touched her clit. He licked upward with a long, incredibly gentle

stroke that sent her pulse racing out of control. Another lengthy, tender lick followed. Then another.

"Oh!" Melody cried, seeming unable to form any other word. The sensations were incredible, yet she doubted they would have been as marvelous with another man. The link she shared with Blaze,

the affection sparking between them, made such intimacy even more wonderful.

With a final lick, he slid up her body and covered her mouth with his. The tip of his engorged cock pressed against her damp pussy lips. Slowly he slid inside.

Melody drew a sharp breath. Though fully aroused, it took time for her inexperienced body to accept his length and girth. She squirmed and sank her fingers into his shoulders.

"Easy, sweet," he breathed. "I don't want to hurt you."

"It doesn't hurt. It's just—strange." She lifted her hips, forcing him in deeper.

Though she sensed his heightened desire through the tension in his body and the rhythm of his breath, he maintained in firm control of his actions. Rather than plunge into her, he moved slowly and smoothly, until her hot, wet passage accepted him fully.

For a moment they lay still, forehead to forehead, their breath mingling and their bodies engulfed by molten flames of desire.

"It feels so good inside you."

Melody's pulse raced. She felt so marvelously full, so wonderfully close to this man who had captured her heart.

Slowly, tenderly, his hips shifted. His cock rubbed against her soft flesh, rekindling the need she'd felt when he pleasured her with his mouth.

Panting, she mimicked his rhythm, increasing their pleasure.

"Oh, Blaze!" Her head arched back and her eyes slid shut as their desire reached unimaginable heights.

His thrusts quickened, becoming short and fast, though no less tender. The perfect massage with his hard, velvet skinned cock, slick with her juices, drove her over the edge. With a moan of pure animal pleasure, she came, clinging to him, her pussy clamping his cock in a primitive rhythm.

Through her own climax, she felt him stiffen and thrust hard. His groan of fulfillment sent shivers of lust down her spine.

For several moments they lay, locked together, their hearts pounding and breath mingling. Blaze rolled onto his back and drew her close to his side.

Resting her head against his shoulder, Melody smiled and stroked his chest.

"That was—I don't have words."

She giggled. "Neither do I."

He caressed her hair and stroked her cheek with his fingertips.

"Tell me something about yourself." Melody tilted her face so their gazes met.

"What?"

"After sharing something this intimate physically, it only seems right to share something emotional, too."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Something you've never told anyone. It doesn't need to be an important secret. It

can be something silly."

"After what we just experienced, silliness will not do. If I'm to tell a secret, then it will be deep."

Melody's interest stirred. One thing she was starting to learn about Blaze, with him no shallow moments existed.

"I love the Ruby Order. I am forever grateful to my foster father, Mahir, for rescuing me from the village where I was born."

Melody entangled her fingers with his. "I heard they kept you in a madhouse."

"It is true. I was put there by my birth parents. What I'm about to say I've kept secret because I feel some guilt about it. I sometimes wish to return to my village."

"For revenge?"

"Not really. I just want to show them what I have become. They believed that individuality equaled madness and madness equaled uselessness."

"You shouldn't feel guilty about that. Returning to your village as a Knight of the Ruby Order would not show ingratitude to Mahir and your brothers."

"But it shouldn't matter to me what my birth family thinks. So many times I have told others to forget the past and concentrate on the present and future, yet at times I still have this need to return to my village."

"If you would like to go back someday, I'll go with you."

"I'm lucky to have found you, Melody."

"No luckier than I am to have found you."

He kissed her forehead. "Tell me something about you."

Melody drew a deep breath. "Speaking of guilt, here it goes. This morning when you—No I can't."

"What? You must tell me now or curiosity will devour me."

"All right, but you won't like it."

"It is your secret and not for me to judge."

"You might not feel that way when you hear it."

"I'm waiting."

"This morning when you saved that man's leg, I was jealous of your skills as a healer. I know it's foolish."

"Why?"

"Because I've devoted my life to healing and thought I was good at it."

"You are."

"But you're better."

"Because in one instance I knew of a technique that you didn't? I'm sure there are situations in which you have more experience than I do."

"No matter what, there was no reason for me to be jealous of you. You've earned your position and I had no right to insinuate otherwise by questioning you about your spirit guides. I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He cupped her chin in his hand. "There's so much we can learn from each other, Melody. So much we can share. I'm looking forward to our life together."

"So am I. When should we let the others know?"

"Whenever you want." He stood and crossed the room to the fireplace.

Raising herself onto her elbows, Melody gazed at his gorgeous backside and legs as he built a fire.

The afternoon had grown colder. In a few hours, it would be dusk.

"I wish you could stay the night."

"Perhaps I can." He glanced over his shoulder. "Once I'm finished with the fire, I'll go to the tower and send a message by pigeon to the Ruby Order asking if they need me back. If they don't, I'll stay here and leave early in the morning to be in time for my rounds back home."

"Excellent. While you're gone, I'll cook dinner. Whether you stay the night or not you have to eat."

"I'm looking forward to it."

He sat on the edge of the bed and tugged her into his arms. They sat in silence for several moments, listening to the crackling of flames in the hearth and the tapping of rain on the rooftop.

Chapter Four

After dressing, Blaze left Melody and entered the fortress's great hall. Similar to the hall back home, it was a vast room with three long wooden tables. Other than several men and women employed as maids and groundskeepers, the hall was empty. Blaze took the winding staircase to his right. His long legs swallowed the steps as he jogged to the pigeon-keeper's tower. Dame Rose, known playfully by her sisters as the Bird Lady, cared for the pigeons used to carry messages to

and from Travelle's many kingdoms, including Rubyshire.

He tapped on the door.

"Come in!"

Stepping inside, Blaze glanced at the round chamber filled with black and white birds.

Dame Rose, a tall, plump woman with a dimple in one cheek, smiled at him. Her gloved arm was slightly extended, a black bird perched upon it. "Blaze! I didn't know you were visiting."

"Early this morning." He replied. Two gray-haired women stood with the Dame, though he knew she couldn’t see them. They were the spirits of her deceased aunts who had taught her to train the birds she so loved. "I must reach my faction."

"Of course. There's paper and a quill on the desk."

"An answer should come later." Blaze scribbled the note, then handed it to Rose. "You will find me in the company of Sweet Music."

The Dame wrinkled her nose. "I'm sorry, Sir, but I think the spirits are talking for you again."

"The returned healer."

Rose tried repressing laughter. "That sure narrows it down."

Sighing, Blaze searched for a way to make her understand. "The island dweller gone for a decade."

"Oh you mean Melody! Are you and she trading healing techniques?"

It was Blaze’s turn to hold back laughter. What he and Sweet Music had shared was definitely healing to body and soul. "In a manner of speaking. My thanks for your assistance."

"Anytime at all, Sir."

After leaving the tower, Blaze stopped by the infirmary to check on the victims from the wagon accident. When he returned to Melody's chamber, she was standing at the table in the herbarium,

plucking leaves from dried herbs, her thick, curly hair bound at her nape. The traditional brown robe of the Opal Order concealed her lovely curves, but his passion rose when he thought of her body beneath.

The delicious scent of cooking food wafted from her room.

"Did you send the message?" She placed aside the herbs and approached him. Her arms slid around his neck.

Nodding, he brushed her mouth with a kiss and wrapped his arms around her.

"After dinner, I'm going to stop by the infirmary," she said.

"I was just there. All is well."

"Good. Are you hungry?"

"Like I haven't eaten in ages." He buried his face in her neck and gently squeezed her buttocks.

The scent of her skin and hair was more intoxicating than the strongest wine. Blaze never dreamed such happiness existed—at least not for him.

"I hope you can stay," she murmured.

"Unless there's some crisis, I don't see why I'd be needed tonight."

"Except by me. I need you." She tugged him closer and tenderly nipped his lower lip. Blaze's eyes slipped shut as her teeth pressed against his lip, gently biting from one corner to the other while tickling it with her warm, moist tongue.

Unable to resist holding her even closer, Blaze bent his knees, cupped her buttocks, and lifted her in his arms. Her legs locked around his waist as he moved towards the bedroom and sat on the bed.

Uttering a soft moan, Melody parted her lips to his prodding tongue. Lost in a haze of passion, he explored every inch of her mouth, stroking the soft, slick sides of her cheeks and enjoying the smooth hardness of her teeth. Her tongue reached out, touching his. He trapped it between his lips and sucked on it. Melody whimpered with pleasure. Grasping his head, she shifted upwards, crushing her soft, full breasts against his chest.

Reluctantly, he broke the kiss only to bury his face in her neck and tickle the soft flesh with the tip of his tongue.

"Blaze," she breathed, wiggling against him in a way that stirred his already stiff cock even more.

It felt like a piece of steel, a weapon aching to be concealed within her hot, slick sheath.

By the rhythm of her breathing and the sound of her soft moans, he guessed she was wet and ready. He tugged up her tunic and slipped his hand down the front of her loose uniform trousers.

Smiling, his eyes slid shut and he released a lusty breath as his fingers circled her drenched pussy lips.

"Mmm," she moaned, lifting herself slightly and making it easier for him to slip first one finger, then another, inside her. They rubbed, pressed, and explored where she was so hot and needy.

Then he took one of his long fingers, drenched with her juices, and ran the entire length of it up and down her stiff, aching clit. "Oh please, Blaze! Please don't stop!"

He had no intention of stopping. The sound of her voice and the tension in her body thrilled him.

By the Spirit, he might explode simply from rubbing her to climax!

"Oh, oh, yes!" She clutched his shoulders, her breath rasping in his ear and her legs trembling as she neared her peak. He continued the slow rubbing until she burst in shuddering waves of orgasm. Gripping his shoulders with almost painful intensity, she rocked against him, her head falling back and exposing the lovely column of her throat. Delicate veins and tendons strained beneath her golden skin, so beautiful to behold.

Giggling, she melted against him. Blaze smiled, resting his cheek against her head.

"I’ve never been so lusty. What have you done to me, Sir?" she teased, standing and straightening her tunic.

"The same thing you've done to me." He drew a deep breath, trying to will his cock into submission.

Melody's gaze dropped to his crotch and a smile touched her lips. "We really must do something about this swelling."

"I’m all for trying, but I fear it's a recurring condition." He stood and grasped her shoulders, massaging gently. "I get this way every time I think about you."

Lifting her face to his, she was about to kiss him when someone tapped on the door.