Free Dark Lord of Kismera: Knights of Kismera by Tamara H Hartl Page B

get his sword drawn, it happened so fast. I was wounded on my thigh. The other man was Jem, Estelle’s mate. He was wounded also, but we were still able to kill the dogues. He and I managed to get my father on a horse and ride for home. We had to tie him onto it. I knew he was dead, but I had some hope that maybe Nimbus could help with some sort of magic. I was wrong. It was too late. Jem had lost so much blood by the time we came through the gate; he passed within an hour as well. These things happen, but that was a day I had no pride.”
    She was silent for a moment and Drace could tell she was fighting emotion. Instinct told him to approach her now would be folly. She was prideful at that moment. He gave her time to gain control, but was surprised at his strong urge to comfort her.
    “Nevertheless,” she said after a moment, back in control. “I should not have assumed what your needs were.”
    He put a hand on her shoulder and moved closer. “It has been awhile since I’ve slept with a woman, true. My need however, is your fault. Earlier tonight you looked, and smelled, so good to me—as you do right now.” He moved his hand cautiously from her shoulder to her neck. He had seen and felt her anger and he didn’t know how she would react to a more intimate touch. He also didn’t know how much experience she had with men. Judging from the offer she had made, he felt that it wasn’t much.
    When Ki stood there quietly, Drace moved his hand from her neck to the back of her head, burying his fingers in that wondrous hair. He left his other hand by his side to give her an escape route if she bolted. He knew he was crazy to even entertain this idea, but he couldn’t seem to help himself.
    His voice was husky when he spoke next, “I’d like to kiss you if I may—only a kiss.”
    Ki felt the gentle tug in her hair but also noted how he had left her an opening to freedom. She chose to take a step closer to him. “Yes,” she murmured, surprised at the sudden desire to know what his kiss would be like and how glad she was that he did not accepted the offer of another woman.
    “Yes, what?” Drace closed the gap completely and then put his other hand on her upper arm. He still moved carefully, afraid to startle her.
    Ki felt a tremor move through her, knowing he also felt it. “Yes, you may kiss me.”
    He leaned down and barely tasted her lips then felt her sigh against his own. He pulled her against him and kissed her again, slanting his mouth against hers.
    He relaxed when her arms came around his neck. He pulled back and looked into her tawny eyes. One of her hands came up to pull his head back down. She moaned softly against his mouth. When he gently touched her lips with his tongue she rocked against him. He deepened the kiss, his tongue entering her mouth. She had eaten some sort of melon with her meal and she tasted both sweet and tangy. He tried to be gentle, but when she rocked against him again his brain fogged and his mouth became more insistent on hers. Ki returned his ardor equally.
    Drace suddenly became aware of a change in her participation at the same time he tasted blood. He jerked his head back as far as her hold in his hair would allow. Breathless, he cupped her face with one hand. “Ki, I’m sorry,” he said softly. He looked at her and could just make out the split on her lip where he had hit her that afternoon.
    Ki pulled his head back down so that their foreheads touched. She was breathless as well. “Please do not be. I had forgotten the hurt until just now.”
    “I should not have lost my head like that,” Drace whispered, referring to more than just the kiss. “I don’t rough-handle women.”
    “That was acting out in self-defense and surprise, and I did say for you to draw blood on me. Please do not apologize for that.” She was still pressed tightly against him. “I can feel your interest.” She wiggled to prove it to him. He closed his eyes with a groan as she asked, “Do you