Averill: Historical Romance (The Brocade Collection, Book 3) (18 page)

It was clear the celebrating had gone on last night for some time after she and
Kareem had left the fest. Drunken snores and dying embers of fires were evidence that the streets were littered with inhabitants as Kareem and his band left Selantepe. Even the dogs acted laconic and stupefied as only one lifted its head before settling back down without a hint of a bark.

Averill turned back for a last glimpse of the
city before looking forward again. Selantepe may be a sandstone city of brigands, but it was where she’d found that her love was returned. The emotion seemed to multiply within her breast. She shut her eyes and breathed deeply as she settled the secret against the others in her memory. Then, she opened them again on the sight of Tenny’s back. He may be covered over in a burnoose, hidden behind a large dose of make-up, and acting like a murderous thief, but he was still the most handsome man she’d ever seen.

And,
they were in love.

~ ~ ~

Averill shifted her attention to the span of hills looming closer as the morning progressed. Bathed in light, it was awe-inspiring. Her feeble attempt at painting any kind of hill back in Cairo seemed like a weak imitation in comparison.

At the midday break, saddles were changed to fresh horses without a word being spoken
. Averill ate her piece of dried fruit and honeyed cake as she watched Tenny move about his men. Whatever was being said, it created a sense of urgency that hadn’t existed previously. And that’s when Tenny turned to her, looking at her from across the mass of horses, his eyes captivating and holding her. Everything else melted into insignificance. Averill’s bite dissolved on her tongue.

He touched his right palm to his heart
. Averill closed her eyes and let the shiver fill her. He hadn’t waited for her response or even if she gave one. When she opened her eyes, he was mounted and giving orders. And then starting off, setting a pace that was strange and uncomfortable. She wasn’t familiar with a trotting horse. It took some effort to stay in the saddle and not bounce with every step. She concentrated on that. She wasn’t riding sidesaddle, which was good for stability, but bad for keeping covered. The dress rode to the tops of her thighs more than once. It couldn’t be helped. She’d have fallen off, otherwise. Averill glanced about her. Tenny’s men were accomplished horsemen. She wasn’t going to slow them down. That might give Harvey a reason for his opinion of her.

They finally slowed w
hen the horses started climbing. That was fine with her. She was already nursing soreness just about everywhere. Then, she had to learn a different riding technique. She watched those about her to learn it. As the horse climbed, she leaned forward, clinging to its mane. When the horse went over the crest of a hill, she leaned back. The steeper the hill, the farther back she needed to lean. She hadn’t known that the first time, and almost lost her seat over the horse’s head. She hoped no one noticed.

It was odd, but as the sun
light faded, they didn’t look to have gained much distance. She could even see Selantepe on the flat land beneath them if she glanced down. It was cooler in the mountain passes, too. Averill huddled in the black cloak, lifting it over her nose for warmth. She looked forward to a warm supper, and then sleeping beside Tenny.

That is
… if he let her sleep.

The memory of
last night warmed and tantalized. Her nakedness pressed against his. Joining. Accepting every thrust…  She closed her eyes for a moment and could swear she felt him! Averill opened them in surprise, before fluffing the material about her head and neck for air to cool the sudden flush.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

When they stopped for supper, no one erected any tents. Averill leaned against a rock outcropping, nibbling on her portion of bread and cheese while the men exchanged saddles again. They looked like they were preparing to ride through the night. She eyed the darkening path uneasily. It wouldn’t be easy traveling a path no one could see.

“Averill
? You ready to travel on?” Tenny asked.

“Will you hold...the reins?”  She tried not to shiver
.

He chuckled
. “I’ll do better than that. I’ll take you with me up on Sabin. Come.”  He reached for her. “Look at me. I know I ask it too much, but I can never seem to get enough of your eyes. Have you been thinking of me?”

She nodded.

“I felt you every step we took today. Even though I dared not stop, here I’m the one stalling. I’m trying hard not to kiss you.”

“Don’t try
too
hard, my love.”  She raised her head to touch his lips with hers.

He groaned
just before his hard arms pulled her close. She didn’t care what the others thought. Her hands roamed over his back under his burnoose and down to his buttocks.

He stepped away
. “You shouldn’t tempt me, Averill. We must reach Istanbul within the week.”  He pulled her close again, pressed a kiss to her lips before releasing her. “Well. It appears The Lord has decided my punishment for all my varied sins. How, you ask? Well. He has sent me a perfect love…and no time to enjoy it. Good thing we have the future.”

He lifted her onto Sabin and sprang into the saddle behind her
. She snuggled into his chest, one leg tossed over his.

“I’ll be good, Tenny
. I promise.”

“
Oh no. Not with me, you don’t. You won’t change a thing.”

They started off, while Averill tried to find a comfortable position in which to doze.

~ ~ ~

“
Look! There’s a lake ahead, but no trees!” 

She leaned forward from her position against
Tenny and pointed, and then frowned as the image vanished. She settled back against him, grateful he’d dozed through her outburst. It was a mirage, shimmering briefly in the distance, only to disappear.

It wasn’t the first she’d seen
. They’d left the Taurus Mountains the previous afternoon, stopping for a change of horses, a snack of dried fruit and another honey cake, as well as a quick sip of water from their canteens. That was all Tenny allowed. They weren’t resting until they reached Bolvadin. He tempered that with saying there would be trees and water, because Bolvadin was beside a lake. Perhaps that was why she kept seeing water.

Harvey
had looked askance at her position when they changed mounts, and Tenny put her back on his own horse with him. Averill tried to ignore Harvey’s worried look, but it weighed on her mind. He was foolish to worry. She’d never harm Tenny. She loved him too much. Almost too much, she decided, shuffling a bit. The soreness from Tenny’s loving had faded, leaving a vaguely uncomfortable feeling. It was growing with each step of the horse, too.

If someone had told her that once
she tasted lovemaking, it became a nagging longing, she’d have thought them crazed. And if this was lust, it certainly explained all the warnings she’d been told. Averill closed her eyes and rubbed her back against the chest behind her, rewarded by a slight groan. No. It wasn’t lust. It was much more than that. It was love. It had to be.

She raised and lowered her eyebrows
repeatedly. She’d felt Tenny’s rod growing hard sometimes behind her, before he’d shifted away. That made her wonder if he suffered the same problem.

She couldn’t wait
to reach Bolvadin!

And just like that, it appeared
. Maybe. Averill squinted. There was a long blue streak ahead but this time the image didn’t vanish. “Tenny?” she whispered. “Is that Bolvadin?”

“You ride poorly, Averill
. I can’t get any rest if all you do is squirm and talk, talk, talk.”

“Tenny!” 

She turned to argue and saw him smiling, creasing the dirt and makeup he wore. He looked disreputable and dead-tired. “I see water ahead, though.”

She turned back and he
rested his head atop hers to contemplate the view.

“That’s Tuz, Averill
. Little more than scrub grass and salt water. Look for trees. When you spot trees...”

He halted Sabin and the column came to a stop at Tenny’s upraised arm
. He waited until Harvey turned back and joined them before leaning Averill forward in order to slide to the ground beside the horse.

“How much water do we have?”  Tenny poured some into his hands and let the horse lap it up after he asked
.

“We should make Bolvadin by nightfall,” Harvey replied, “if we don’t spend our horses unduly by carrying double.” 

Tenny laughed and swiped an arm across his forehead. Then, he turned to Averill. “Are you rested enough to ride?” he asked.

She nodded
. Even if she weren’t, and fell from her horse’s back, she would’ve done anything for him. Still, she couldn’t prevent a glance toward Harvey as she was lifted to her horse again. She knew he saw it, by his smile.

~ ~ ~

It was dark long before they reached their destination. Averill was exhausted. Her horse was exhausted. Her hands were numb and her back was a solid ball of ache. She’d ceased caring if she fell off. Not even the lights in the distance raised her head from her chest.

“
Find water and feed for the horses, Harvey,” she heard Tenny say. “Set up camp in the usual spot, beside the lake. We’ll need the water. I’m in dire need of a bath.”

“A bath
? I’d rather drink it than bathe in it,” one of them answered and she heard laughter at that.

“Come, Averill.”

Her head came up. What light there was came from an oil lamp’s glow shining between slats of wood from the building beside them. Tenny was in shadow, holding his arms out to her. Averill tipped sideways to fall into them.

“I shouldn’t have listened to him,” Tenny whispered
. “I’ve missed you terribly. It’s been torture. I can’t begin to tell you.”

“I can.” 

She clung to him as he walked toward a bench beside the stable wall. Averill would’ve sat beside him, but he perched her atop his lap. The torment started again as she felt his hardness beneath her.

“Tenny!”

“Torture. I already said as much. Don’t move an inch, not one. Oh…blast. Come. We’ll find the tents later.”

He
stood and started walking, and didn’t stop until they’d reached the edge of a lake. It wasn’t possible to see size and depth, only a glassy surface littered with the reflection of stars. Averill caught her breath as Tenny slid her down his body, placing her feet into the water beside him.

“Go ahead, Averill, show me.”

“Show you...what?”

“How much you’ve missed me
. Show me exactly how much.”

Averill’s tiredness
melted as she stepped into the water, peeling her clothing off as she went. She’d worn the red dress and sari for three days of travel. She couldn’t wait to shed it. Night air caressed her nakedness as she pulled the final layer over her head and tossed it at the sandy edge. Then, she approached him.

“You
need an assist?” 

She reached
him, watching her in the starlight. He didn’t move, so she pulled the
ghotra
from his head and tossed it atop her discarded clothing. Then, she opened the belt tying his burnoose and pushed the robe off his shoulders. Tenny still wasn’t helping, while the heap of clothing grew. Averill reached to undo his long shirt, fumbling with the buttons, then glanced up. The glitter of his eyes caught her just before he helped. A moment later the garment was unfastened and flung aside.

His trousers fell
next, and he reached for her hand. Averill followed him blindly, stumbling into blackness that cooled fevered skin as it lapped against her thighs. Belly. Breasts. She ducked beneath it, surfacing to stand beside Tenny.

“I
’ve got soap, somewhere. Here.” 

He reached for her
. Their bodies glided, lubricated by the suds he lathered over them. She rubbed her bosom against his chest, enjoying the difference, while her fingers entwined in his hair and moved to his shoulders.

“
Je t’adore
, Averill, my love.”

His words of adoration were whispered on the night mist
. Averill’s heart pounded so hard, it hurt.

“Just as I love you, Andrew.”

He stiffened at her use of his Christian name. She nipped at her tongue.

“
You know…I could get fond of hearing that name…if it comes from your lips.” 

He sucked along
her neck, and she gasped, alternately clinging to him and pulling away. It was torture and pleasure simultaneously. And then he lifted her into his arms. Warmth thrilled against the cool water drying on her skin. Her lips clung to his chin, and then his neck.

A
coarse surface met her back as he set her down. She rolled onto her side, her knees skimming the blanket as she moved atop him. Her hands roved across his chest, fingertips grazing the skin, then he gripped her waist and lifted her. And pulled her down onto taut strength that scared. Averill tensed for pain, but there wasn’t any. There wasn’t anything save pleasure as her body embraced him, rocking instinctively with each thrust. Flicks of sensation titillated her, joining the beauty of the stars, the soft sigh of the night, the heat and power of Tenny. His movements. The slight grunts he gave.

The slip of sensation strengthened
. Grew hot. Fierce. Magnetic. Powerful. And so close! Each thrust brought it nearer. Dearer. Harder. Averill’s entire body tensed, poised on a precipice of wonder, and then with a rush it came. She flung her arms skyward, her head back in order to inhale huge gulps of air. Ecstasy flooded her, turning the night into a rainbow of shattering crystal.

He chuckled,
the resultant feeling bringing her head down. It wasn’t possibly to see him, but she sensed the smile.

“
And now, darling…it’s my turn.”

He
rolled while she kept her ankles locked, keeping them joined. And then she was meeting each thrust, every lunge…all of it lit majestically by the stars. He lowered his head, their lips fused, and her entire being erupted with fireworks. She barely heard his accompanying groan, the shudder of his body as he arched upward, his entire frame shuddering in place. It was wondrous to behold. She hadn’t known such heaven existed. Or that it could ever be hers.

~ ~ ~

“We’ll be in Istanbul by midday. I can feel it.” 

Tenny
rode alongside her. He glanced at her, gave a quick grin, and then returned to contemplating the sands about them. Averill didn’t answer. He didn’t seem to need one.

“I’ll probably have to report to duty as soon as we arrive.”

“What of your guns? Your mission? Your…,” she hesitated a moment before finishing, “…failure?” 

He chuckled
. “I didn’t fail, Averill. They got into the right hands at Selantepe.”

“Your friend, Salazar?”

“Salazar isn’t my friend.”

“But
…you embraced him. You acted like long-lost friends. I don’t understand.”

“Salazar
doesn’t have friends. You never know if he’ll shake your hand or slip a knife between your ribs. At best, we have a mutual distrust of each other. Unlike most, I have his respect. I earned that last year. Didn’t you see the scar on his throat?”

“No,” she answered.

“Trust me. It’s there. I told him next time it’ll be a lot deeper. I’m fairly certain he believes me.”

Averill looked over at him
. His eyebrows were lifted. She considered him for long moments as their horse continued walking, and he just waited.

“If
…Salazar doesn’t guard the trade route, then who does?”

“The young men who moved, remember them?”

“Those boys? They didn’t look capable of guarding dinner. Surely, you’re not suggesting that they...no. I don’t believe it. Your commanding officer needs to know this.”

He
put his head back and laughed. “The best disguise is the least probable, Averill. You restore my confidence completely.”

“They truly are the Turkish underground you spoke of?”

“And very capable. Trust me.”

“I do,” she answered.

“Good, because I have another friend with lodgings – don’t look at me like that. At least we’ll be alone.”

She glanced
about her, looking at men who’d been with them for the past month and couldn’t prevent the answering smile.

“I thought you’d see it that way.”