In Rapture (Destined) (25 page)

Malinda
looked down at her stomach and closed her eyes. She took in a few long, forced
breaths and tried to find peace in the winds around her. Soon the breaths came
easier and the world seemed to be a better place. “Perhaps you are right. I
will try to listen to him.”

The
women waited for the men to catch up to them and rode silently at their side.
Since the night was so close in the sky they decided to make camp outside of
the skirmish. They set up the few tents they had brought with them and let the
women create a fire. While the women monitored the campsite the men went to
take care of the bodies that were strewn along the forest floor. Malinda did
not want to know what they did with the enemy corpses. She rested against a
tree and watched the fire that sat a few feet away from her. The flames were
hypnotic and soon she had drifted off to sleep.

Malinda
awoke to a tender touch on her cheek and looked into Grant’s golden eyes. She
looked away and sighed. She knew they would have to talk eventually, and while
she was not quite ready to talk to him she knew they needed to clear the air.
She said the first thing that came to her mind. “It’s a warm night.”

“That
it is.” Grant looked over her face, hoping that she was calm enough to talk to
him now. “Look, Malinda, we really need to talk.”

She
saw the way his shoulders slumped around him and realized at once that Lysandra
was accurate in her perusal of the situation. “You can’t always be the strong
one, Grant. Sometimes you need to count on others.”

Grant
looked at her and shook his head, as if to ward away her words. “Malinda, I—”

“Didn’t
mean to look at me the way you did? Got it. No harm, no foul.” Malinda looked
away from him and raised her eyes to the stars. She felt a cool wind run across
her face and smiled against its caress, a soft gentle touch that reminded her
of Grant’s hands. She turned back to Grant and looked him straight in the eye. “Don’t
you ever think that I’ll be content to sit at home while my family is in danger
ever again.”

“You
cannot be serious!” Grant’s exasperation with her was clear.

“You
go off and fight these wars; all you men do. You always assume you have to
leave us women behind because we are weak and cannot take care of ourselves. Do
you realize you would not have returned tonight, none of you, had Lysandra and
I not been here to help you?”

Grant
took in the heated argument, let it linger in his mind longer than he normally
would, and debated his next words carefully. Malinda was right. Clearly the
women of Lena were strong, powerful women who could do so much more in this
world than they had been allowed to. They had been extremely helpful in this
battle, for the Lair had no idea what had hit them. They had been ill prepared
for any sort of magical attack. Grant put his hand on her face and looked her
in the eyes. “You were magnificent. I was proud to have you at my side,
Malinda. But please understand, men are bred to be the strong ones. We have to
learn how to accept help from the rest of the world around us.”

“Well,
start learning,” grumbled Malinda.

“Yes,
my lady.” Grant captured her mouth in a tender kiss and placed his hand
underneath the back of her neck. He turned to see the many eyes that had locked
onto their public display and pulled away. “Come with me.” He stood up and
offered his hand to her, half expecting her to turn away from him, but when her
eyes lit upon his a flash of desire lit up the space between them.

Malinda
stood with the hand that was offered to her and followed him through the
breakage of trees. They were heading farther away from the chaos and closer to
a darker area of trees where barely any moonlight shone through. As soon as
they had put enough distance between themselves and the rest of the world Grant
gathered her close to him.

Malinda
raised her face up to meet the mouth that she knew sought hers. The kiss lasted
a lifetime, absorbed every inch of air around them, and made the stars seem
brighter in the sky. Malinda ran her fingers against his chin, loving the
tingling sensation it sent across her palm as she moved it further up his face.
Soon both arms had found their hiding place in his hair, pulling the hair at
the base of his neck to draw every last inch of him into her mouth. When she
finally pulled away from his kiss they were both gasping for air.

Grant
removed her riding cloak and placed it on the ground behind her. Then he
unfastened the buttons that ran down her back, every once in a while cursing
the modern conventions that kept her flesh trapped away from him. Finally he
had removed the rest of her green dress along with the undergarments that lay
beneath. He placed her back on the cloak and started to remove the leather
armor from his body. Malinda lay on the ground trembling in anticipation and,
while the night air was cool, it barely touched her skin. He stood before her,
a magnificent specimen of male prowess. She saw the rise and fall of his fur-covered
chest, the well-formed muscled body that almost glowed brighter than the half
moon in the sky. She continued to peruse his body and noted that his shaft was
certainly ready to pierce her core, for it was engorged beyond belief. She
licked her lips and looked up to see Grant trying to still the emotions that
ran through him.

“Come.”
Malinda reached out her arms to him, offering him the release his body
required, but when he lay down beside her, he did not take his fill. Instead,
he ran his fingers along the length of her body, almost as if his fingers were
memorizing every inch of her. When he made no move to enter her Malinda
squirmed against him. His touch was driving her wild with need and she knew his
body was more than ready for completion. She pushed his shoulders upward and
sat up on her knees beside him. “Lay down.”

Grant
lay down as ordered, looking up at his wife with inquiry. She straddled her
legs over him and positioned herself so that he was mere inches from entering
her. He watched in amazement as she lowered herself onto him. Her body took him
in and the warmth of her honey surrounded him. He closed his eyes and, when he
looked back up, his breath caught in his throat. She was a veritable wood
nymph, with dark hair surrounded by a halo of moonlight. Her body glowed as if
she were covered in stardust and in her eyes was the warmth he had missed
before. They rode together, their cries of passion breaking the stillness
around them. Their desire rose to a higher plateau, one only gods could have
dreamed of, and they soared through the skies together. They floated back to
each other into a satisfied cocoon of warmth that kept the cold night at bay.

Malinda
laid her head on his chest and took in one breath at a time. She ran her
fingers through the hairs on his chest and smiled softly into the night. In
moments she had fallen asleep against him.

Grant
let her sleep for an hour before nudging her awake. “Time to go back to the
camp, Malinda. If we wait any longer they’ll send a search party.”

Malinda
sat up at his words. “Oh my! No, no. I would prefer not to be found like this.”

“I
thought so.” Grant’s chuckle followed after her as she dressed in the darkness.
He rose to assist her and then dressed as well.

They
appeared back at the camp at the same time as another couple. Malinda smiled at
Lysandra. Apparently they had not been the only ones that had gotten carried
away with the moment. Malinda ducked her head away from the knowing stares that
made it their way. She refused to meet their glances, but she was not ashamed
of the passion they shared with one another. Malinda made her way into their
tent and heard the men exchange words outside. She heard Aiden tell Grant to be
wary of the ways of women or he’d be surrounded with a flock of children just
as quickly as Aiden was. A few chuckles followed the comment, but when Grant
entered the tent she could feel the tension that had risen into his body. This
pregnancy would continue to be a contention between them. She did not know how
to resolve the fears that plagued him. When he curled up beside her she cradled
herself into the curve of his back. “Grant?”

“Hmm?”

She
panicked and said the first thing that popped into her head. “I love you.” At
first Grant did not answer and she was terrified that she had made a terrible
mistake. Just because she was in love with him did not mean she had to ruin
what they had together with the admission. When she heard soft snores fill up
the silence around them, she realized he must not have heard her and had
drifted off to sleep. She closed her eyes and let exhaustion take her.

***

Grant
lay awake in the silence, making his best imitation of sleep. He had not expected
Malinda to express any sort of love or emotion for him and it made him
uncomfortable. He had been told that several times by Maria, and every single
one of those times had been a lie. While he did love Malinda, he would not
confess his undying love and devotion to another woman ever again. He would
never put himself in that position with any woman. He stayed awake, listening
to the soft breaths of air, feeling the rise and fall of her chest against him.
When he knew she had fallen asleep he let his eyes close and his mind shut out
the sounds of the world around him.

Chapter 31

Grant
and Aiden had departed to meet with Marshal a few days following the attack.
They left the women and children at Wickford Manor, as they were confident in
the women’s ability to protect the manor while they were away. Today Grant was
meeting with Marshal to discuss a new strategy to aid in their battles against
the Lair. He waited in Marshal’s ready room. It was a large room with dark
wooden walls, each wall covered in various animal pelts and antlers. In between
some of these pelts hung weapons of different shapes and sizes, as well as
armor pieces that reflected innovation throughout the years. Grant inspected an
axe with a half moon blade that was attached firmly to a wooden handle. Sharp
spikes were imbedded where the head of the axe met the handle. He ran his
finger across the blade and jerked it back quickly. He brought his finger to
his mouth to pacify the cut his curiosity had earned him. He should have known
that Marshal would keep every blade in this room ready to go.

Three
leather armchairs surrounded a desk at the back of the room that faced the
doorway, and they were well worn. Grant had sat in those chairs for many hours
at a time as they worked to calculate the best strategy for their latest
attacks. A large map hung on the wall behind the desk, and several nails were
stuck into the wall in known places where the Lair had been detected. Sometimes
these points overlapped, which they thought might indicate a pattern, but so
far they had been unable to prove that a true pattern existed.

He
turned as Marshal Madigan entered the room. Grant nodded at him in greeting,
then took a seat in front of the desk. “Marshal.”

“Grant.
What’s on your mind?”

“You
are aware that the Lair has attacked outside of Wickford again?”

“I’m
aware.” The older man sat behind the desk and folded his hands in front of him.
His grey hair glistened in the fire light.

“Did
you hear how we won?”

“Actually,
I was hoping you could explain that to me.”

“We
had a secret weapon, two extremely talented women who are descendants from
Lena.” Grant tried to answer as nonchalantly as possible, for he knew that
people balked at the very mention of Lena, a place so mystical no non-magical
being had ever been able to find it.

“Lena
you say? Hmmm.” He brought his hand to his mouth thoughtfully. “And which women
did you have fighting alongside of you?”

Grant
looked away slowly. He knew what Marshal was really asking. He judged his words
carefully. “Malinda, and Aiden’s wife, Lysandra. They were invaluable to the
army. The Lair had clearly created an ambush for us, for as soon as one fell,
two more seemed to replace him. We certainly did not have enough manpower with
us. Their magical talents came in very handy. The Lair was not expecting such
an attack from us.”

“Interesting.”
Marshal’s blue eyes stared off into the distance, suddenly lost in a different
time and place. The room was silent for a few moments before Marshal continued
to speak. “It still doesn’t make sense.” He shook his eyes that were suddenly
coated with sadness.

“Give
it time, Marshal. She may give you a chance yet, especially considering her
condition.”

“And
what condition is that?” His eyebrows rose in confusion.

“She
is with child. I daresay you will be a grandfather at the beginning of next
year.”

Marshal’s
eyes misted over slightly, but the gruff man cleared his throat. “I would hope
to be a part of that child’s life.”

“I
cannot make guarantees, Marshal. Malinda is her own person. We can only hope
that time will heal the wounds between you. Until then, we can’t stray from the
goals at hand. Your chances of getting to know your daughter improve if you
consider allowing those with her abilities to fight alongside our army. It’s
almost foolproof.”

“Nothing
is foolproof, Grant. The Lair is quite adept at adapting any time we change our
attacks. They would adapt to this magic too.”