were still burning brightly, the flames casting leaping shadows on white marble walls and shimmering on several gold and silver chests in the room.
Elspeth clutched the gray wool blanket together at her breast, her gaze wandering over statues in alabaster, silver, and gold, and over plates and vases bejeweled with precious and semiprecious stones. In one gold chest with the lid thrown open she caught a glimpse of long strands of lustrous black pearls, emeralds, rubies, and diamonds.
She shook her head dazedly. “So much. I can’t believe it.”
“Neither could I, but that wasn’t what I wanted to show you.” Dominic placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her so she was facing the south wall. He gestured to the intricate design carved on the white marble surface. “Look.”
“The solar system,” she whispered. “Good Lord. It’s our solar system!” A huge round sun encircled by planets occupied the entire south wall and was executed with superb artistry on the white marble. The relative size and features of each planet were faithfully detailed even to the rings of Saturn. “What is it doing here? I would have thought this would have been in the temple.”
“Perhaps the royal family was interested in astronomy.” Dominic nodded to the long alabaster bench before the copper, brazier. “Maybe the king liked to sit there among the treasures of the earth and look at the planets. It must have been very chastening for him to know that regardless of how rich he became, he could never fly from this planet to all the others.”
“Da Vinci thought we could fly. I wonder…”
“No,” Dominic said firmly. “I’m willing to accept the thought of you wandering off to find El Dorado or Atlantis as long as I can trail along beside you, but I at least insist you remain on earth.” He arched a brow. “Do you notice anything strange about that rendering of the solar system?”
“Strange?” She frowned, her gaze returned to the wall. “No, everything seems to be in order. What-” She broke off and her gaze flew back to Dominic’s face. “There are
He nodded.
“But there have only been eight planets discovered.”
“Maybe they knew something we don’t,” he said softly. “Was there a telescope in the temple?”
“Yes, quite a large one in the same room that contains the lodestone.” Her eyes were blazing with excitement. “Oh, Dominic, isn’t it exciting? There’s so much to see, so much to learn. Let’s go there now.” She stopped. Dominic was laughing softly and shaking his head. “No?”
“Tomorrow. There are a few other things I want to show you here tonight.” His smile lingered. “Perhaps not as interesting to you, but I found them fascinating. They caused me to view the people of Kantalan in an entirely new light.”
“What things?”
“Step this way, milady.” He took her elbow and propelled her across the room, around the blazing fire in the copper brazier, to the open golden chest against the far wall. “Let’s see if we can find something a little more elegant than that blanket for you to wear. If I remember, I saw something in here that will do nicely.” He rummaged in the chest, tossing strands of pearls and rubies carelessly aside. “Here it is.” He pulled out a garment that glittered gold in the firelight. “I think it’s a cloak of some sort. It’s not as heavy as it looks, and it’s lined with silk.” He shook out the folds. “It’s a wonder the silk didn’t rot. Perhaps being closed up in the chest protected it.” He looked up when she didn’t say anything. “Don’t you like it?”
She touched the cloak with gentle, tentative fingers. The garment was a shimmering mesh of woven gold bordered in emeralds and pearls. “It’s magnificent,” she whispered. “It looks like something that should be worn by an empress.”
“Then it may be good enough for you.” He reached out and unclasped her fingers from the blanket. “Try it on.” The wool blanket fell to the floor and something hot and intent flared in his eyes as they ran over her glowing nudity garbed only in the necklace. “And do hurry before I realize what an idiot I am to have you put on clothes.”
She smiled shakily. “You once told me a man’s chief pleasure was in removing barriers.” She could feel her nipples tautening, her breasts swelling as his gaze touched them. “Have you changed your mind?”
“No.” He stepped closer and threw the golden cloak around her shoulders. The silk lining was a cool, sensuous shock against her warm flesh. He fastened the round emerald and pearl brooch at her throat with trembling hands. “It just becomes more difficult to wait when you know what’s beyond the barrier.”
“You don’t have to wait.” The words were spoken in a tone a level above a whisper. “It’s more difficult for me to wait now too.”
His fingers tightened spasmodically on the brooch before he forced himself to release the jewel and take a step back. “Sometimes it’s better to wait.” The pulse beating wildly in his temple and the flush darkening his long jaws belied the words. “It makes the pleasure sharper. I’d wager that the people of Kantalan knew the value of anticipation.”
“Why do you say that?”
He was searching in the chest again. “I’ll tell you-or rather show you-later.” He found the four objects he was looking for and drew them out. “Wear these.”
“Bracelets?”
He nodded as he clasped a broad band of emeralds and pearls around her left wrist. “To match your necklace.” He clasped an identical bracelet on her right wrist. He knelt before her, pushing the cloak aside. “And these are to match the bracelets.” He fastened a jeweled band around first her left ankle and then her right. He sat back on his heels and looked at her pale bare feet flowing into delicate slender ankles and sweetly curved calves. The hard shimmering jewels shown in barbaric splendor against her soft flesh and a sudden wrench of sheer lust tore through him.
“I think you should wear those all the time.” His palm cupped her left calf and squeezed gently. He heard the soft hiss of the intake of her breath, but he didn’t lift his gaze from the delicate shapeliness of her limbs. His fingers moved up to rub the soft skin behind her knee. “Will you do that when we’re alone like this?” He leaned forward and nibbled gently at the soft fullness of her thigh. “Will you let me put them on you then?” He parted her thighs gently. “You look so pretty. They match your eyes.”
“You’re not looking at my eyes.”
“No.” He blew gently on the secret heart of her womanhood. “But maybe I will later. Will you?”
She shivered and swayed toward him. “Yes… anything you want. Dominic, I-” She gasped as his warm tongue flicked out with expert precision.
He sat back on his heels again, his fingers gently massaging the flesh behind her knees. His gaze lifted slowly to her face. His skin was pulled taut over his cheekbones and his light eyes were burning as he searched her expression. “Now you’re ready to learn something new about Kantalan.” He rose lithely to his feet and took her hand. “Come with me.” He led her toward the far corner of the room. “Astronomy wasn’t the only interest the royal household had. Evidently Kantalan was a society composed of very sensual people.” He stopped before a collection of statues on a long, low marble table against the wall. “Look at them,” he said softly. “Have you ever seen anything like this in your temples in India?”
Elspeth’s eyes widened as her cheeks grew warm. The statues were incredibly beautiful in both material and execution and more erotic than anything she had ever seen anywhere. Each foot-high statue portrayed a man and a woman in a different position in the act of love, some she had never dreamed possible. In every statue the woman was depicted in fragile mother-of-pearl and the man in a rich ebony wood; the materials were so smooth and polished they begged to be touched. The tactile artistry added to the subject matter brought a surge of arousal rippling through Elspeth. “Never. They’re shocking.”
He was standing behind her, his breath warm against her ear. “And are you shocked, love?”
“No.” Her tongue moistened her lower lip, her gaze fixed in fascination on the statue directly in front of her. Did men and women actually do that? “I suppose I should be, but I think I’m more curious than shocked.”
“My God, I’m lucky. Every man should be so fortunate as to have a curious woman in his bed.” His teeth bit gently on the lobe of her ear. “Let’s see what we can do to satisfy that curiosity, Elspeth.”
“Have you made love in all these ways?”
“Most of them. The Kantalanians must have been pretty agile to have managed some of those positions.” His tongue plunged into her ear. She shivered and melted back against him. “That one you’re looking at now can be
