Free Dragonfyre by Donna Grant Page A

like to have him lie atop her, thrusting inside her.
    “I wanted to make sure you were all right, that Eldar was treating you well.” Kyndra smiled at his words. He was always thinking of her. “Aye. I’ve already eaten my fill and then some. I see you have new clothes.”
    He grimaced and shrugged. “I came out of my bath to find my clothes gone and replaced with these.”
    “They left your weapons at least.”
    “Aye.” He moved to her bed and chuckled. “Looks as though you’ll be wearing something new as well.”
    Kyndra sat back in the water, letting it cover her breasts. She should be ashamed to have Aimery with her as she bathed, but it made her feel decadent and aroused. “I admit it is odd to see you wear anything other than blue, silver and white.”
    “Do you not like the black?”
    She liked it a lot. Too much. “It looks good on you.”
    He glanced at the bed. “I cannot wait to see you in this gown.”
    “What color is it?” Part of her was hoping it was black as well. She’d never worn such a color. To a Fae, black signified evil and death. Yet, seeing it on Aimery, watching how the tunic moved across his thick chest and arms made her appreciate the hue anew.
    “You’ll see.”
    The water began to cool, but she was hesitant to get out with Aimery in her room. Yet she didn’t want him to leave. How she had become so mixed up she wasn’t sure. Aimery turned her about, kept her off kilter until she forgot everything but him.
    Before she changed her mind, she stood and reached for the towel. She was too embarrassed to meet his gaze, but she felt his eyes on her. She wrapped the towel around her and walked to the bed and the gown that waited for her.
    “Cream,” she said and touched the soft material. The gown was simple in its elegance and so different from anything she had ever worn. “I like it.”
    “I want to see you in it.”
    The harsh croak of Aimery’s words jerked her gaze to him. If she had thought his gaze burned her before, she might go up in flames now. There was no doubt he wanted her. How she wished he would take her in his arms and kiss her again. She wanted him with a desperation that frightened her.
    But she didn’t want to have to choose him.
    If he took her, she could always say it had been the loss of her magic that had made her turn to him. Though she knew that wasn’t fair to Aimery, it was the only way she could have what she wanted.
    He walked to her and lifted a wet strand hair from her shoulder. He leaned toward her, his mouth near her ear. “Don’t go anywhere without me,” he whispered. “I don’t trust Eldar.” She forgot to breathe as he turned his head until their mouths were breaths apart. All she had to do was lean forward to touch his lips with hers, to feel again the thrill of his kiss, the way he made her body throb with desire.
    But she couldn’t do it.
    “I’ll be right outside your chamber,” he said before he turned on his heel and left.
    Kyndra waited until the door closed behind him before she let out her breath she’d been holding. If ever there was someone who could make her throw away everything she had worked toward, it was Aimery.
    All Fae were sensual creatures, but Aimery held an essence of wildness about him, a streak of uncertainty that called to her on a level she hadn’t experienced before. And, oh, how she wanted to experience more of the thrill that raced through her whenever he was near.
    With a sigh of regret, Kyndra dropped her towel and reached for her new clothes.

    * * * * *
Aimery leaned his head against Kyndra’s door and cursed himself for ten kinds of fool.
    What kind of idiot stayed in her chamber when she was bathing? It was an enticement he didn’t need, one he couldn’t ignore. Every fiber of his being told him to leave, but his mind couldn’t make his body work.
    Instead, he had soaked up her beauty. Her hair was slicked against her head from the recent rinsing, and beads of water clung to her skin as