Blaze (15 page)

Straightening a bit, he wrapped his arms around her and rolled onto his back. Melody couldn't stop herself from rubbing against him. Pleasure rolled through her entire body. Her pulse raced and she knew that within seconds she'd explode with passion.

"Ride me," he said, a wild gleam in his eyes and a lusty smile on his fine lips. "As hard, fast, and long as you like."

"Oh!" Melody straddled him, panting, unable to control the giggle that escaped her throat. "I like that idea."

Grasping his cock, she closed her eyes and drew an excited breath as she guided him to her pussy lips. It felt so good as she lowered herself onto him, swallowing his erection inch by decadent inch.

Blaze's hands settled on her hips, rubbing and squeezing. He caressed her lower back and reached up, brushing his thumbs across her nipples. Melody gasped and rocked upon him, desperate to feed the hunger raging inside her.

"Yes, Melody," he purred. "Hard and fast. Take what you want. I love giving it to you."

"Ah," she cried leaning forward a bit, her fingers biting into his steely chest. He was so gorgeous.

So warm and hard. His cock felt wonderful inside her, filling her, rubbing her in all the right places. "Blaze, oh, Blaze."

"Come for me, sweet Melody. Come."

Two of his fingers stroked her clit while his other hand caressed first one of her breasts, then the other. So many fantastic sensations were almost too much to endure. Melody's pulse throbbed in her ears. Her breathing ragged, she rode him faster.

"Yes, oh, yes!”

"Yes," he repeated. "Yes, my Melody."

The sound of his husky, passionate voice gave her the final push. She came, pulsing and quivering, pleasure breaking over her from head to toe. Throwing her head back, she rode the waves until the very last pulsation.

After a moment, she opened her eyes halfway and gazed at him, her hands braced against his chest.

His lips were parted and his eyes almost glowed with desire. His cock was still hard within her. A smile touched her lips. She needed to do something about that.

Dismounting, she gazed at his cock. It glistened with her juices, the skin stretched to the point of bursting. The head was thick and ruddy and a large, fascinating vein ran along the underside.

Licking her lips, Melody crawled between his legs.

* * *

Blaze's heart pounded when he realized Melody's intention. She was about to wrap her lovely lips around his cock. Never had a woman's mouth touched his cock. He'd imaged what it might feel like

and had even envisioned Melody sucking and licking him, but he had never asked her to do it.

He spread his legs and bent his knees, making it easy for her to kneel between them. She settled there, so small and lovely. Massaging his inner thighs, she bent her head. Her gorgeous wealth of

curly brown hair brushed his stomach and his pulse leapt. His excitement was so keen that he wondered how long he'd be able to last once she started. It was crazy, really. He'd read Master

Etah's scroll about how a man should learn to control himself. How many nights had he used his own hand to bring himself to the edge of pleasure as many times as he could endure without allowing himself release? Though many times it was torturous to maintain control while inside Melody, he knew it might be impossible to do so when her soft, moist lips—

By the Spirit, she was doing it now. Her wet tongue was laving him from root to head. Blaze's eyes focused on the top of her head. He tried to breathe normally, difficult when his cock ached in pleasure-pain.

She sucked him deeply into her mouth. His cockhead brushed the back of her throat and he resisted the urge to thrust hard for fear of choking her.

"Melody. My sweet Melody. You're going to kill me."

She giggled deep in her throat. The vibrations seemed to excite him even more. As she sucked, she swirled her tongue around his cockhead. Ripples of raw desire trickled down his spine. His buttocks clenched and he closed his eyes, panting. Nothing had ever felt this good. Nothing in his wildest dreams.

"Melody, stop," he gasped. One more second and he'd come right then and there. "Melody, ah.

Ah."

She used the tip of her tongue to tickle the underside of his cockhead before sucking faster. Stifling a cry of pure passion, he came so long and hard that he thought he would never stop.

* * *

That night, Blaze lay awake, gazing at Melody who slept soundly beside him. Moonlight shining through the open window bathed her face and bare shoulders in its pale light. Gently, he touched her unruly curls and resisted the urge to kiss her.

He loved her so much. He loved his life in Rubyshire, and he loved his duties, yet the restlessness inside him needed to find release. He had questions that needed answers. Such answers could only be found within himself. Before he could be of use to anyone, he needed to come to terms with the man he was, with or without the spirits.

He rose from the bed carefully so he wouldn't awaken Melody and walked to the table where he wrote her a note explaining that he needed to leave for a while but would return. Though guilty about slipping away in the night, he needed to go without the risk of being followed. With his feelings in such turmoil, he knew exactly where he wanted to go, but wasn't sure what might happen when he got there. He needed to stand on his own, away from those who loved him. If anyone was to be harmed by his actions, it wouldn't be the people he cared about. They had already done enough for him.

He quickly packed a few of his belongings. Every muscle in his body tensed when he removed a sheath from his trunk at the foot of the bed. He ran his hands over the leather. It was smooth in places and creased in others. Worn, though it hadn't been touched in years. Blaze stood and closed the trunk. He slung his pack over his shoulder and walked to the door. Pausing, he stared for a long time at Melody, part of him almost hoping she would awaken. He closed the door quietly and

walked to the great hall, now empty except for a couple of travelers who were allowed to spend the night.

Blaze approached the enormous fireplace that took up most of one wall. Eleven swords hung above the hearth. They belonged to the members of his faction who had traded them for the green sash.

The swords hung in the great hall to honor and symbolize the beliefs of the Green Sash Faction.

Blaze's had rested there for sixteen years. He stared at the gleaming blade that had at one time seen its share of blood. Even before forming the Green Sash Faction, Blaze had never struck a death blow. It had been against his nature from the first. Or had it simply been fear of the spirits' retribution that had kept him from killing?

There were no ghosts with him now. There was nothing except his conscience. Where would it lead him?

He leapt, his feet landing on the stone shelf above the hearth where he balanced precariously for several seconds before grasping his sword and dropping lightly to the ground. He sheathed the blade, then headed for the stable where he brushed and saddled his gelding.

The guards at the gate didn't question him when he left. As the moon rose higher in the sky, Blaze galloped away from the Ruby Order's fortress without looking back.

Chapter Eight

Melody sat at the round wooden table in Sir Mahir's study. She stared at the Knight, her fingertips caressing the note from Blaze that had been beside her on the bed when she awoke that morning.

At first she'd been stunned that he had left without telling her in person. Still, she knew how upset he was regarding the events of the past month. He was doubting himself, something he had probably never done before. She knew it troubled him that people sometimes thought him mad.

Then, he truly did seem to lose his mind and confirm their suspicions about him. Now, to make matters worse, he had completely lost his connection to the spirit world. No wonder he was in turmoil. Why, when he most needed support from those who loved him, had he disappeared?

"Don't worry too much." Mahir held her gaze from across the table. "Blaze can take care of himself, probably better than any man I know."

"That's not what concerns me. With all due respect, Sir, it's hard for someone who has never communicated with the spirit realm to understand what he’s going through."

"I don't pretend to understand what he, or you, have experienced. Sometimes a man wants to sort out his life on his own."

"And sometimes a man’s pride makes him think he should be invincible."

Mahir smiled slightly. "If you know Blaze well enough to have accepted his proposal, then I think you realize he is not that sort of man. His strength lies more in his gentleness. I have faith in him."

"So do I. However I also know that sometimes what a man wants and what he needs are two different things."

"Dame Melody, it is he who has done the abandoning. Wherever he's gone, he will be back. No matter what he might be going through right now, Blaze will not leave you waiting at the altar."

"That's not what I’m worried about."

"Even if you did decide to follow him, we have no idea where he's gone."

"Yes, I do."

A spark of hope burned in Mahir's eyes. "He did tell you something more, then?"

"Not directly, but I do know where he's gone."

Melody recalled the time Blaze had admitted his desire to return to his home village to confront those who had called him mad. She knew he was headed there.

"Your mind is made up?"

"It is. I'll be leaving as soon as I send a message to my Order."

"Good luck to you." Mahir took her hand and squeezed it. "He's lucky to have found you, Dame Melody."

Melody stood, slipping the note into the pouch at her hip. She hoped she was right about Blaze going to his home village. If he wasn't there, she had no idea where he might be. A tiny voice inside her suggested that Mahir might be right. She was going where she wasn't wanted.

But it's where I’m needed.

As she opened the door, Mahir said, "My prayers are with you both."

"Thank you, Sir."

She left the chamber and went to the stable where she saddled her horse and set off to the north. If she traveled steadily, she would reach the coast in a day and a half. From there she would take a ship to Vivondra in the kingdom of Warefield, Blaze's birthplace.

* * *

Squinting through the downpour, Blaze waded through calf deep mud as he guided his horse toward the light shining in the window of an inn. Thunder clamored overhead. Every few moments lightning illuminated the sky. The island of Warefield was even larger than Travelle with miles stretching between each of the villages.

He had spent the first night of his journey in a field on Travelle, the second on board a cargo ship, and the third in a forest clearing in Warefield. The inn was actually a welcome sight, providing it

was clean. Spending a night outside in the rain was preferable to a vermin infested bed.

He and the horse had been traveling for hours in the rain and both were soaked to the skin. The gelding was a faithful companion and had accompanied Blaze through many battles, but he hated

being wet. The horse blew and shook his head in disgust.

"Sorry." Blaze patted his neck. "There's a barn behind the inn. You'll be dry soon."

He had to admit that getting out of these drenched, muddy clothes and having a nice meal by a fire sounded good to him as well.

Finally reaching the inn, Blaze stopped by a fence and tethered his horse before stepping inside.

The single room was mid-sized and warm. A fire leapt in the hearth that took up most of one wall.

Several guests sat in front of it, drinking from wooden mugs. Two other men shared a meal at one of the tables. The innkeeper glanced at Blaze from behind the bar.

"What can I do for you?" asked the tall, gray haired man.

"I need a place to keep my horse for the night and also a room, if you have one."

"You're in luck. I've one left and there's room in the barn for your horse. Pay first, then I'll give you the key."

Blaze approached the bar and placed coins upon it. One of the men at the table stood and approached. Tall and burly with long black hair, he wore an expression Blaze knew meant trouble.

"Don’t get many strangers around here." The black haired man stared at Blaze hard.

"You can bring your horse around back," the innkeeper said, glancing nervously from Blaze to the other guest.

"Thank you." Blaze turned and headed for the door. A heavy hand fell on his arm.

"Are you ignoring me?"

Blaze turned to the black haired man. Bar fights had always annoyed and disgusted him. He preferred walking away from violence whenever possible and usually felt no regret about doing so.

Common sense told him to do the same in this situation.

"Are you deaf?"

Turning to the man, Blaze held his gaze. The urge to finish what the fool was starting churned inside him. Odds were he could take the bastard with a single blow.