WARRIOR PRINCESS Read online

  "Thank you for coming."

  "We risk much, your highness."

  "More than you realize, my young friend. Come."

  He draped a fatherly arm around him and led Barron to the upper rooms. He waited until the door closed them in privacy before he spoke again. "I remember a time when I would have readily offered you and your father Turkolian brandy. Now?" He shrugged.

  Barron knew there was no money for luxuries of any kind. The palace had long since been stripped of anything of value to pay for food for the people and weapons for the Resistance.

  The king motioned Barron to a seat before the low fire. Barron stretched his hands toward it. The warmth seeped into his aching muscles.

  "Rhiannon is back."

  His heart skipped a beat. He tried to not let his interest show. His body had different ideas. Barron had often damned the war that had taken her away. Before its inception, their families had begun talks for their joining. The Ba-larks had chosen Barron as her mate. All they awaited was her consent. Taroog's attack changed everything.

  He glanced up. "Why?"

  Surely they wouldn't risk marriage now. That would target them both and put Rhiannon in grave danger. The last thing Taroog would want was a child of their union--a continuation of two strong houses.

  "She's brought the ship. It's to be placed in the hands of the Resistance for training while others are being built."

  Talk about risk. His heart swelled with pride. When this was over, he prayed he could still make her his woman.

  "There's more."

  Barron inclined his head waiting for the king to continue.

  Then he wished he hadn't. He didn't know what to think about Rhiannon's plan. Fear and pride warred with each other. He'd known brave women before, but this went beyond the call. She was truly a leader, a born queen. Ready to risk her life, her reputation, her future for her world and her people. By the gods, if he didn't love and want her before, he certainly did now.

  "When does this begin? I'd like to see her once before she goes." She had to know the depth of his feelings, even if their families had never made any official announcement.

  "That's why I called you here. Rhiannon has a request."

  Barron actually choked up. Who could deny her something so simple?

  "So we are to wed tonight?"

  The king shook his head. "You know that can't be. Ceremony involves too many people."

  He nodded slowly as he stared into the fire. "Does she know?"

  "That you were her Chosen? No. But she asked us to select someone for her. It seemed only right it be you. We chose you for a reason initially. You would lead by her side. A good match. Once this is over, I pray the match will continue. I know you would not judge her actions...the sacrifice she's making now."

  "Tonight then?"

  "Yes, and in the daylight, she'll be judged for banishment."

  Barron winced. There seemed little choice if her plan was to succeed. "I would like her to know I am her Chosen One."

  The king offered a smile. "She will be told. She and you deserve that much."

  * * * *

  "Wake, my darling."

  Rhiannon pulled herself awake and looked up at her mother's smiling face. She brushed her hair from her temple.

  "It's night and time. He is here."

  She sat upright. "He knows and agrees?"

  "Without question."

  "May I ask..."

  "Lord Barron."

  A quiver coursed through her body. A pulse thrummed at the center of her being. Barron. When last she'd seen him, he had smiled down upon her from the balcony above the greeting hall of his family home. A striking man, with a smile that devastated her and made her weak in the knees. Her parents had pulled her away to talk.

  Minutes later, their world as they knew it had crashed upon them.

  Glass had exploded. The walls tumbled in. She recalled half-dragging her mother to safety before Barron had found them both and carried them outside. When she saw him hours later, dust and ash had marred his handsome features. War was here. It was the last she saw of him.

  "He awaits you in the next room."

  Rhiannon glanced down at her underthings. She couldn't meet him in battle clothes.

  As if reading her mind, her mother handed her a diaphanous gown of white silver. A gown for a bridal night.

  "He is your Chosen. The night is yours."

  Her jaw dropped open while her heart beat in double-time. What bittersweet thoughts this invoked. "Does he know?"

  "Of course, dear one." She tugged Rhiannon to her feet. "Go. For tonight, leave the war behind."

  Sure strides carried her mother to the connecting door. Still smiling, she opened it, blew a kiss Rhiannon's way then left her alone.

  Clutching the gown to her chest, Rhiannon walked to the portal. Candles lit the far corners of the room. Fire spread warmth throughout. It was as if time had never changed their circumstances. Trays of fruit, bread, meats, and cheeses were set about. Bottles of wines sat at the ready. Her parents must have raided their food stocks for weeks to come. Soft rugs. A plush bed.

  "You are more beautiful than I remember."

  She glanced in the direction of Barron's voice. He stood in the far corner of the room beside the huge copper tub. Steam rose above it. A bath awaited, much as the one which would have been prepared for her bridal night--their night.

  He was leaner than she remembered, but that did not detract from his looks. His dark hair dipped toward the collar of an open white shirt. Light threw shadows on the sculpted planes of his bare chest. A sprinkling of hair dusted his navel then disappeared into the band of his matching white trousers. The bulge throbbing below gave promise of the night to come.

  He extended his arm. "Come, love. The night grows quickly and I refuse to waste a second. I have dreamed of loving you forever, and tonight I want to do so until the sun rises once more."

  Mesmerized by his voice, his looks, and the spell cast by the room around them, Rhiannon let her feet carry her to him. It was only when she reached him that she realized she still clutched the gown to her chest.

  Barron drew her fingers to his lips and kissed each one. "Tonight will be as it should be. Although, I know maids would've attended you and prepared you for it. Don't fear. Your mother briefed me thoroughly on my roll in that capacity."

  He peeled the gown from her arms, leaving her standing there in underthings only. She'd thought she would've been frightened, yet anticipation raced in her veins. The mysteries of a union were not unknown to her; only the feelings that went with it. She was torn by the desire to grab him and make them one, and curiosity to see what seductions he had planned.

  He hooked her straps with gentle fingers and slipped them from her shoulders. "Your skin feels like the finest silks."

  Rhiannon closed her eyes as his lips brushed her shoulder. The fresh scent of male wafted around her, seeping into her senses. She reached for his torso, slipping her fingers around his ribs.

  Barron sucked in a breath and released her breasts into his palms. She arched her neck as his lips drifted a lazy circuit around her nipples. Heat coursed between them, melding their skin where they touched.

  His rock hard maleness throbbed against her belly as if knocking at the door demanding entrance. She brushed against him, answering the call.

  A low groan rumbled in Barron's throat. He dove his hand into her bottoms to tug them free. A wiggle of her hips urged them down, but the garment refused to budge. Barron danced a line of kisses down her throat to the curve of her breasts, down the valley between to her navel. There he laved circles around it while he freed her of the last barrier to nudity.

  Rhiannon dusted her fingers over his shoulders. "Your shirt. Take it off. I want to feel your flesh against mine."

  Dark eyes gazed up at her as he followed her orders. Her breath caught. She could spend hours exploring each perfect muscle and still not have enough.

  Barron's fingers drifted up the
inside of her legs. Reaching the top, he found the hooded guardian.

  "Oh, yes!" She grabbed his shoulders to keep her balance.

  "Not yet, love." He slowly slid his hand away, adding more fuel to the fire that consumed her. "It's time for your bath before the water cools."

  Taking her hand, he helped her into the water like it was a golden coach ready to take her away.

  "Your hair. It should be up. You wouldn't want to dampen those beautiful red curls tonight." He handed her a small bowl of pins.

  Rhiannon lifted her mass of hair. Before she could seat the first pin, his lips closed over her nipple. "Oh, Barron..."

  His tongue flicked circles around the hard peak, then suckled deep. Only his arm around her waist kept her from falling. She dropped her hair and clutched his head to her breast. He pulled back and glanced up. Rhiannon offered the second breast. With a smile, he seized the prize.

  She heard the clatter of pins as they fell to the floor. A heartbeat later, his fingers dipped into the well of her heat. She parted herself, silently begging for possession.

  "By the gods, you are hot," he muttered against her breath. "And moist."

  "And ready for you," she whispered.

  Barron pulled back. "Not yet, love." He retrieved the pins and lifted her hair. "Sit."

  Reluctantly she did as he asked. He twisted her hair and secured it in place.

  "Now?"

  He laughed lightly. "You tempt my patience, love."

  She draped her arms over the edge of the tub, then traced a finger across his chest. "How can you be patient if you've wanted me forever?"

  "It isn't easy. If you were any other woman, I'd have stripped you naked and pounded my flesh into yours by now."

  "And, of course, I'm not just any other woman. I am Rhiannon, Princess of Ba-lark."

  "No. You are Rhiannon...the woman I love."

  The revelation caught her off guard. Her mouth dropped open of its own volition, only to be captured by his questing lips. He draped his tongue around hers in a kiss that spiraled her emotions out of control. He traced each nubbin on the surface of her tongue, the ridges in the roof of her mouth, each tooth, and she swore, her tonsils, too. He sealed the kiss just as slowly.

  Speechless, all she could do was stare at him.

  "I promise you a night we will remember all the rest of our days. We might not be joined in the eyes of royal law, but the gods themselves will bless us tonight."

  He reached for the bar of spring moss soap and lathered his hands. "Just lean back and let me enjoy you."

  Rhiannon rested her head against the pillow of the tub. His hands drifted over her in a glorious exploration, tracing each curve, each divot, each hidden place. His touch stoked the fires higher, until she had to curl her hands over the edge of the tub to keep from crying out.

  "Oh, please, Barron. I cannot bear another second. I must know."

  "Yes, love. So must I. I crave to see your beautiful face wrapped in wonder when you come as a woman." Without another word, he slipped his hand between her legs.

  Sure circles brought her hard bulb to attention. Rhiannon strained against his hand, urging him onward. Barron moved at his own pace, taking control of her pleasure. Soft cries left her throat. Tension built and built and built...and built. She hovered on the edge of a precipice, then exploded into a wondrous release.

  * * * *

  By the gods, she's beautiful. Barron clutched at the wedge in his trousers in an effort to keep from spilling himself. That she could pull this response out of him when he was outside of her was true testament that they were meant for each other. Already his trousers were damp where release threatened. Once inside her molten heat, Barron doubted he'd last ten seconds.

  "Come. More awaits."

  He yanked the plug from the water and pulled her to her feet. Her blue eyes were dilated from pleasure as he patted the droplets of water from her. She lifted her arms, exposing her breasts to his lips. He couldn't refuse. Without hesitation, he suckled one deep into his mouth. He felt her jerk, then a curtain of flame red hair draped around him.

  "It is time for you, too," she said.

  Pushing him back, Rhiannon reached for the snaps on his trousers. "Do you think me too bold?"

  He shook his head. "I think you are a woman schooled in the ways of men, yet untried."

  "Correct." She made quick work of the snaps then dove her hands inside.

  Barron tossed back a groan. He felt himself surge and ground his teeth against the rush. He longed to tell her to stop, but speech was impossible. She wrapped thumb and forefinger around his penis, then stroked.

  "Ahhhhhh...love...no..."

  "It hurts?"

  The humor in her voice taunted him. "You know it doesn't."

  "If it does, I should kiss and make it better."

  Before he could stop her, Rhiannon wrapped her mouth around him. Barron's knees buckled. He clutched the chair behind him in an effort to keep from falling. Innocent, be damned! He craved to know in what book she'd learned that.

  Her tongue flicked maddening circles around his foreskin, then fluttered across the slit at the top. The rush built again. He yanked her back.

  "Not yet!" he said through pants of breath. "Bed. Now."

  Smiling, Rhiannon edged toward the bed, spreading herself wide as she crawled on top.

  "Woman, I'm going to give you the ride of your life." He hovered over her.

  "I do hope so." She traced the inside of her thighs then peeled back her folds for him to get a good view of what awaited him. "Now, my lord?"

  Barron forced himself to shake his head. "I promised your mother I would do things right. I refuse to break my word. No matter how badly I want to lose myself in your heat."

  He shoved himself away from the bed and retrieved one of the oils left for their use. Knowledgeable as she might be, Rhiannon was still a maiden. He refused to cause her pain. By the queen's word, the oil would prevent that. He prayed it worked.

  He dipped his fingers into the jar as he knelt between her legs. Her sigh as he touched her urged him onward.

  "Relax, love."

  She sagged into the pillows.

  Barron traced the folds and valleys of her womanhood. The flower at the top started to swell until its fruit beckoned him to taste.

  Rhiannon cried out at the first touch of his tongue. He flicked slow circles around her, drawing her up once more. One hand wrapped around her pillows while the other drifted to his head, holding him in place.

  One finger divided her folds and moved inside with a circular motion. He moved as far as the membrane allowed, then returned with two fingers.

  She felt the push, the resistance, then he was in. He pumped his hand in slow motion, mimicking what he'd be doing to her soon. Rhiannon longed for him to possess her, to wedge that hard, thick rod deep inside her. But, to do so would mean his mouth would have to move. She couldn't bear that. Not when she was so close to...

  "Ooooooooooo."

  Barron squeezed his erection as the orgasm overcame Rhiannon. His penis twitched in his fist in protest. He was never going to last. He waited until the last of her spasms died, then kneeled back on his haunches. His pulsing erection bounced before him. Droplets hovered at the tip waiting for completion. He pulled in ragged breaths, struggling for control.

  Rhiannon draped one leg around him. "Please, sweet lord, give it to me." She nudged him closer with her heel.

  The fight went out of him. Covering his body over hers, Barron captured her lips. She opened herself to him fully.

  In one hard thrust, they were one.

  Liquid fire enveloped him, racing up his spine. It was like being engulfed in a laser blast.

  * * * *

  Rhiannon's eyes widened. She felt gloriously impaled. Each throb of his penis bounced against her walls. And he had yet to move. She was spread wide, his to do with as he wished.

  Barron dug his fingers into the flesh of her buttocks. He pulled back slowly then thrust h
ard again.

  "Oh, yes, love. Hard. Pound me into oblivion."

  He needed no other encouragement. Thrust after thrust beat into her body. Another rise grew. She dug her heels into his backside, rocking with him. He touched every part of her, pulling her with him as he mounted the summit. A spasm seized her. Rhiannon let it, crying to the stars as it washed over her.

  He reared back, taunt with release. It spewed from him to her like a jet of molten flame. As still they rocked as one.

  The moment died slowly. Barron peppered her cheeks and lips with kisses. His thrusts were gentle this time, building them both up once more. Again they came as one then collapsed in exhaustion.

  Barron rolled his weight from her body then pulled her into the crook of his arm. "I have been to many places. None are as wondrous as where I've just been with you. I curse this war that has kept us from one another."

  "And the man who caused it?"

  "Especially the man who caused it."

  "And yet you will not stand in the way of what I need to do."

  "I would never dishonor you that way." He seared a kiss onto her lips. "No matter what the years bring, Rhiannon, always remember I love you."

  She cupped her palm to his face. "The night is still young. A little nourishment will do us well."

  He forced a smile. "Then you can show me what else you've learned from those books of yours."

  Chapter 3

  Banishment

  * * *

  Rhiannon stood before the tribunal in the palace meeting hall. They'd all watched her grow from a child. She hated deceiving them, but they'd understand when the truth could come to light.

  Her father was at the head, ready to pronounce judgment. Her mother had refused to attend. She claimed shame to any who asked. In truth, she couldn't see her daughter undergo punishment. Hours before, shortly after Barron had slipped away, her mother had given her a potion to help her deal with the pain. Grateful, Rhiannon swallowed it all. Now she wanted to get it over with before her courage failed.

  "Rhiannon of Ba-lark, you are accused of treason. How do you plead?" Her father's voice boomed across the hall.