A Battle Lord’s Heart (8 page)

           
Yulen pointed to the doors on either
side of the curving stairwell. “Those go to the back bedrooms. That’s where
you’ll be staying as long as you’re here,” he told the couple. Giving his
wife’s hand a squeeze, he urged her to proceed upstairs, missing Tory and
Fortune’s glance at each other.

           
Atty gave her husband a questioning
look, then started up the steps.
 
Yulen
followed closely behind.
 
As she reached
the top landing, she stopped, a hand over her mouth as she gasped in surprise.
“Yul! Oh, my goodness!”

           
None of the furniture from their old
bedroom had been moved to the new one. Instead, Yulen had ordered all new
furniture made. “The old furniture was my father and mother’s, and my
grandparents’. I wanted something just for us. Something that reflected us.
What do you think, Atrilan?”

           
Atty continued to stare at the large
bed with the elaborately carved headboard. The massive oak trunk that was at
the head of the bed bore two intricate designs.
 
On the left, on the side where Yulen slept, a sword had been cut
into the wood at a right diagonal. On the right side, on Atty’s side of the
bed, a longbow was facing the opposite way at a left diagonal. In the center of
the bed, the very tip of the sword pierced the end of the bow right where the
string was tied to the shaft. The cuttings were life-size. Atty shook her head
in disbelief.

           
“Atty?”

           
“It’s...Yul, it’s
beautiful!
”

           
She quickly looked around the rest
of the room.
 
The bureau was no longer a
tall, five-drawer structure. It was now a lower standing, squatter chest
containing four drawers on both sides.
 
One side boasted the sword on each drawer panel, the other side, the
bow. There was another padded chair sitting near the huge window, although it
was not as thick or as large as the chairs downstairs. And the braided rug
beneath her feet was in intricate designs of blues and silvers.
 
Like the living room’s, the fireplace
upstairs was cheerfully warming up the upper area.

           
She glanced at him. “Did you make a
lot of changes to the bathroom? Or dare I ask?”

           
“It’s pretty much the same as when
you first saw it,” he admitted.

           
“How about the baby’s room?”

           
When she saw his silent grin, Atty
strode over to the far door and flung it open. Slowly, she walked into the room
as her eyes drank in the changes.
 
She
gazed in astonishment at the huge, carved crib with its detailed sides.
Throughout the room were varying shades of blue, from the quilted comforter in
the cradle to the painted walls and the scatter of rugs on the floor. She was
vaguely aware of her husband coming up behind her until he drew his arms around
her swollen middle and pulled her against him.

           
His touch sent bolts of lightning
through her, making her quiver as he spread his fingers and cupped her breasts.
Bending over, Yulen buried his nose into her hair and inhaled deeply.
 
“You told me we were having a son, so I ordered
the room done in blues. You’d better not disappoint me,” he teased,
half-serious.

           
Atty turned around and lifted her
face as she lifted her arms. It had only been a few hours since they’d held
each other, but it felt like years had passed since then. His mouth was hot
upon hers, hot and intrusive and begging to take the rest of her skin between
his lips. She whimpered as his hands slid down the side of her hips, down her
thighs, and stopped to clutch her buttocks. He devoured her, tasted and probed
and demanded more.

           
A gentle clearing of a throat from
behind them brought them suddenly into the present. Regretfully they both
remembered they’d left company downstairs. Instead of drawing apart, however,
they each turned their heads to see both Fortune and Tory standing in the
doorway of the nursery.

           
“This whole place is incredible,”
Fortune whispered in awe. “Did you design this all yourself?” he asked the
Battle Lord.

           
“I had two of my main contractors
here in the compound help me with the logistics,” Yulen responded. He detested
the thought of having to release Atty from his embrace. And for a brief second
a thread of irritability raced through him at the thought of the Mutah couple
interrupting something that would have eventually led to him and Atty
christening their new bed.

           
He could feel his wife pressing
closer to him, laying her cheek to his chest. Looking down, she appeared
content and patient. It was a deceptive calm.
 
He knew that a small fire remained banked beneath her embers. It
wouldn’t take much more than the right kiss, or the right touch of his hand,
and it would burst into flame.

           
To his amazement, Tory crooked a
finger in his direction. “Yulen, would you be so kind as to show me something
downstairs? Please? It’ll only take a minute.”

           
Reluctantly, he let go of his wife
and followed the woman out the door as Fortune began to tell Atty some
nonsensical story about a person they both knew in Wallis.
 
Following Tory quickly downstairs, he went
through the doorway and down the hallway to the bedroom at the farthest end. So
far it was the only other bedroom furnished with a bed, in case of unexpected
company. Yulen was glad to be have had the foresight.

           
When they reached the room, Tory sat
on the edge of the bed and patted the quilted cover with her hand, inviting him
to sit down beside her. Yulen opted to stand a few feet away, one hand
unconsciously resting on the pommel of his sword, the other hand on his hip.

           
Taking a deep breath, Tory looked up
at the clearly impatient man. “Yulen, there were many reasons why I asked
Fortune to let us come here. But, in the end, Atty is the main one. You already
knew that, didn’t you?”

           
“Of course. To be honest, I’m glad
you’re here. There aren’t many people Atty trusts, or whom I trust to be with
her. Your presence is unexpected but very welcome.”

           
“And, you know you can speak bluntly
with me, right?”

           
Yulen tilted his head at her. His
expression was unreadable. “I’m listening.”

           
“What I mean is...” She tried to
find the right words, but gave up.
 
This
man valued honesty above all else. Well, then, he would get blunt honesty.
“Yulen, there’s something about a Mutah woman’s pregnancy you don’t know about.
At least, I’m pretty positive you’re not aware of it.”

           
A flash of fear appeared in his eyes.
She quickly tried to quell it. “No, no. It’s nothing dangerous. It’s something
that happens during our second trimester. In Wallis, it’s an expected benefit.
Something we know about and anticipate. But with you being a Normal...”

           
“Go on,” he urged, curious and
cautious.

           
“Yulen, in the past couple of weeks,
have you and Atty found yourselves overly preoccupied with sex?”

           
She loved the way this giant of a
man not only started, but had the decency to blush at her question. Smiling,
she made every effort not to giggle. “It’s okay, Yulen. It’s Atty’s pheromones.
She’s producing an extraordinary amount, and we know what they do to the
husband.” She gave him a soft smile. “Mutah men look forward to their wives
coming into heat at that time. It’s a natural thing, Yulen. It’s a beautiful
time, especially with the changes coming over her body. It’s also an exciting
time. Kind of like the feast before the famine.”

           
Yulen’s expression remained blank,
although she could tell a hundred thoughts were going through his head. “Feast
before famine?” he reiterated in a deeper voice than usual.

           
“You know. Near the end of the
pregnancy, when you can no longer make love. And then the few weeks afterwards,
after the baby comes, when she has to heal enough before you can resume.” Tory
took a deep breath, suddenly glad to have gotten that part out in the open.

           
“Does it affect other men?” Yulen
asked her.

           
“Actually, no, because we don’t tend
to exude them until our husbands are around. And even then the husband is the
only person affected. They’re kind of selective.” Her eyes glanced toward the
bedroom door. “I noticed that back at the big lodge you seemed to keep your
distance from Atty. Is it because you can’t keep your hands off of her when
you’re together?”

           
He finally seemed to let go of a bit
of his stiffness.
 
Slowly shaking his
head, a small grin came over his face. “You have no idea how many times I’ve
wished I could come right out and ask you what in the hell you told Atty back
in Wallis.”

           
The remark was so off the wall, Tory
burst out in laughter.
 
“Surprised you,
did she?”

           
“Very.”

           
Tory tried to swallow her joy. “I
didn’t do anything more than any mother would have done for her daughter.
 
Atty never got the proper...let’s call it
‘explanation’. She never got the proper explanation about making love. Eenoi
gave her the rudimentary discussion about babies and sex and contraception, but
that was all. But there’s a huge difference between procreation and recreation.
You know that. Or, at least, I’m assuming that you’ve had the experience to
know the difference. After talking for hours with Atty, and being very open
with each other, I realized two things about you. I found out you were very,
very patient with her. I also found out you were not the kind of man who took sex
as simply another basic drive, like eating or sleeping. You love the
exploration and discovery as much as a gourmet chef discovering a new
dish.
 
So I just gave Atty some
suggestions. That’s all. She took it from there. You know how Atty is.”

           
Yulen crossed his arms over his
chest and smiled. Tory felt herself melting under his gaze. No wonder Atty had
fallen so hard for this incredibly handsome and strong man, especially if he
was as passionate as she said he was in bed. Even the glaring scar down the side
of his face seemed to emphasize his masculinity.

           
“She also told me about how she lost
her virginity,” Tory confessed. Her nose tickled, letting her know she was on
the verge of tearing up. “As a mother, as her pseudo-mother, and as someone who
cares for her as deeply as any mother could, I want to thank you for loving her
that much. For all you’ve done for her. I’ll never forget it.”

           
He bowed his head to her without a
word.

           
Getting to her feet, she swiped at
the tears in her eyes and sniffed loudly. “Oh, gosh, look at me, getting all
maudlin. We’d better be getting back before Fortune comes looking for us.
Heaven knows he’s probably having a hard time trying to keep Atty occupied.”

           
“Tory?”

           
She paused to look up at him.

           
“Does Atty know about this thing
about her second trimester?”

           
Shrugging, Tory said, “I don’t
believe so. It wasn’t something we discussed, or discussed with Teal.”

           
“Teal?”

           
“The woman with the baby, back in
Wallis.”

           
Yulen’s smile grew wider. “That was
deliberate, wasn’t it?” he accused her.

           
“Oh, yeah,” Tory nodded.

           
“Thank you.”

           
“You’re welcome. So, do you still
want us to stay here with you?”

           
“What do you mean?”

           
Tory pointed a finger upward. “You
know. New bed. I’m assuming you’ve yet to spend your first night in it.”

           
This time Yulen chuckled. “Don’t
worry, Tory. The walls are well insulated. I made sure of it.”

           
“We’ll see about that,” she
challenged him, adding a wink.

           
Laughing out loud, Yulen grabbed her
hand and led her back into the living room where Atty and Fortune were waiting
for them beside the fireplace.
 

           
Seeing her husband and Tory emerge
from the back in such good spirits, she asked them what they’d talked about.
For some reason, her inquiry only made Yulen laugh harder. She didn’t mind,
though, when he picked her up and whirled her about, and promised to tell her
later.
 
They were finally in their new
home, away from the kitchen, away from the curious eyes watching their every
move when they went in and out of their bedroom.

           
And soon, they would find out how
comfortable their new bed was.

Chapter
Six

Surprise
Attack

           
It was quiet. Too quiet.