“You’ll learn.”
She knocked my hand away and stepped back. “Why are you doing this?” she asked, her voice heavy with suspicion. “Why did you spare me instead of killing me in the courtyard?”
“A gut feeling. I sensed that there was more to you than another cruel killer like the others of the Unswerving Shadows. I’m glad I did it and that you took the choice while it was there.”
“No one had offered me a way back onto the Wandering Path before. But it’s easy for someone like you to talk about that choice. You don’t have to rely on a golem you can only make once a day to create the fear that keeps you alive.”
“You don’t have to rely on that. There’s so much more to you.” I laughed. “Besides, I defeated it every time it showed up. You can hardly rely on something like that.”
“You’re right.” She frowned and stared down. “I have nothing more to offer.”
“You could expand your repertoire. My team are learning new tricks every day, new ways to use our powers. Even with just one element, you can do all sorts of things.”
She stroked her chin thoughtfully, then stepped in close to me.
“What will you and your team do if we win this fight tomorrow?” she asked.
I looked at her long and hard, this fierce woman with her piercing eyes, her slender curves, and her bright shock of hair.
“Guess we’ll get back on the road,” I said. “Go back to finding other places to help and other people to free. Y’know, more cultists to kill.”
Something flashed in Mahrai’s eyes. Her hand shot out, and she grabbed me around the neck, then pulled my head down. She kissed me fiercely and swiftly, ending with my lower lip caught between her teeth.
“Better make the most of you while you’re still here, then,” she said.
She shoved me back against the telescope mount and tore my robes open. One hand slid down the front of my pants and grabbed hold, making me shudder in excitement as she set to work. She pressed up against me, kissing my neck and chest, the nails of her other hand raking my back.
I slid my hands down her sides, one drifting gently across her belly and then up to caress her breast.
Mahrai grabbed my wrist and twisted it around, like she was disarming an opponent.
“Save the slow and tender bullshit for your princess,” she said. “I like my men strong and rough. You think you can manage that?”
I smiled. “I can manage.”
I twisted back, got hold of her arm, and forced her around, pressing her up against the telescope. I seized both of her hands and pinned them above her head with one of my own. I ripped open the front of her robe, squeezed her pert, pale breast tight, and pushed my body against hers.
“That’s better.” She grinned.
She tugged one hand free, grabbed me by the hair, and pressed my face to hers. We kissed wildly, our bodies writhing against each other. Then, she yanked my head back, slid her lips down my neck, and left a bite mark on the skin over my collarbone.
I took a step back and twisted her arm, forcing her to her knees.
“Well played,” she said, a flash of mischief in her eyes. “But what could you have in mind?”
With her free hand, she unfastened my pants and let them fall to the floor. She placed her lips around me, and I gasped as her tongue danced back and forth, making me tingle with pleasure. Her hand reached around behind to squeeze my ass, then ran down the back of my leg, nails hard against my skin.
I let go of her hand and placed both of mine on her head, combing them through her hair.
“You like that, don’t you?” She moved her head back. “But how about this?”
She grabbed me by the ankles and pulled my legs out from under me. I crashed to the ground and before I had a chance to get my bearings, she had scrambled on top of me, trapping me in place. She tore off the last of her clothes and cast them aside, then straddled my hips. As she sank onto me, we both moaned in delight.
She rose and fell against me, moving fast and hard, as though she was trying to beat me into submission. This was a fight I was happy to lose.
I slid a hand down her belly and pressed it between her legs, drawing a fresh moan of delight. With the other, I grabbed her breast, squeezing the flesh and pinching the nipple between my fingers. She ran a hand up and down my body while the other settled on my throat and squeezed not quite hard enough to choke me. The floorboards were rough against my back, but that just added to the intensity of the moment.
“You might have won earlier,” she said. “But I’m in charge now.”
“Really?”
I tried to grip her arm, but she knocked my hand aside. We grabbed hold of each other and went rolling across the floor, our bodies entwined in something that was almost close combat. Then, I was on my back again, and she was springing up. I leaped to my feet, grabbed her from behind as she laughed and tried to get away, and pressed her up against the wall. I wrapped one arm around her, pinning her close even as I cupped her breast, lifted up one of her legs with my other hand, and slid inside. Mahrai gasped, grinned, and turned her head. I leaned close and kissed her across her shoulder. I pressed against her with the same speed and intensity she had shown me, stabbing with the only weapon this fight would allow.
Our bodies shuddered as we slammed into each other again and again. She braced herself against
