Free Sands of Aggar: Amazons of Aggar Book 3 by Chris Anne Wolfe Page A

candle’s light, her corset and overskirt already on the floor. The flames cast rippling shadows across her woven linen chemise and the bare skin of her collar, arms and legs. Her body was a textured map of peaks and deep valleys. Adrian ran her tongue over the inside of her lip, already hungry.
    Mary looked Adrian over, her amarin whispering of lust, fear, and excitement. Adrian blinked, distancing herself from Mary’s emotions. “I’m glad you came.”
    Adrian loosened her cloak, letting it fall to the floor. Mary made a soft sound of appreciation as Adrian’s face and frame were revealed unhindered by the cloak.
    Adrian didn’t wait for further invitation. She pulled Mary close, kissing her rough and deep as Mary melted against her. Adrian lost herself in Mary’s softness, her scent like cream and fresh bread, her hair like strands of silk. She hadn’t had anything so warm, so sweet, since being banished from the Core. For a moment the energy she reserved for death shifted to passion, her restlessness sated with lust.
    Mary gasped, the sound ragged with desire as Adrian nipped and kissed down the lines of her neck and collar toward the curve of her breasts, her hands tugging and shifting at linen in search of bare skin.
    Mary wrapped a leg around her hips and an image of Rox suddenly flashed through Adrian’s mind. She paused in shock, pushing the other woman from her thoughts.
    Mary’s lips trembled with desire, her skin like caramel under Adrian’s hands, now dark with lust. “Who are you?”
    Adrian led her to the bed, laying her back as her teeth tugged at the laces of Mary’s chemise. “Does it matter?”
    Mary pulled Adrian’s shirt over her head and kissed her again. “No.”

    Adrian woke as dawn bled around Mary’s curtains, leaking sunlight into the attic apartment. Mary slept beside her, tangled in quilts, a woven tapestry of skin and cloth, her hair fanned out across the pillows and Adrian’s chest. Adrian sat up slowly, trying not to wake Mary as she climbed out of bed in search of her clothes.
    “Going so soon?”
    Adrian turned as she pulled her pants back over her hips and tied them close. Mary leaned up, resting on her elbows, her hair a tangled mass running down her shoulders and back. Adrian smirked appreciatively at the sight. Her restlessness was already returning, but for a few hours in the night she had been calm and centered, drowning in passion instead of death. “I have errands to run.”
    Mary pouted. Adrian grinned and rushed to her side, leaning over her and kissing her gently, the kiss deepening as Mary pulled her down toward the bed. Adrian grunted and pulled away, “I really do have to go.”
    Adrian searched for her shirt, spotting it beneath the end table. “I never noticed your tattoo before.” Adrian froze, glancing down at the small outline of a stone on her inner arm. It wasn’t a tattoo. “My cousin was a Blue Sight. She never understood why people tattoo a lifestone mark on their wrists. Do you think it’s romantic?”
    Adrian pulled her shirt over her head, hiding the mark. “It was a foolish mistake in my youth.”
    “She was always afraid of being bonded. Meeting a stranger and suddenly being tied to them for life? It’s terrifying.”
    “It keeps Blue Sights safe from the Plague. It’s evolution.”
    “It’s genetic slavery,” Mary grunted.
    Adrian held her arm through her sleeve. Her stomach twisted. “Only if a Blue Sight comes into contact with their bondmate.” Adrian pulled her boots on and stood, grabbing her cloak and pulling it over her shoulders. “I have to go.”
    Mary climbed out of bed and pulled Adrian into her arms. “Did I offend you?”
    Adrian kissed her, savoring the sensation. “No. You were just what I needed.”
    Adrian released her and left the room, descending the attic stairs back toward the common room. She glanced into the hostel rooms as she traveled, a knot untangling in her stomach as she spotted a half dozen