Dragon Lords Books 1 - 4 Box Set: Anniversary Edition (78 page)

Z
oran was
up with the dawn. His wife had spent the entire night on the couch. Although he wasn’t surprised, he was disappointed, as was his body that dreamed of her defiantly naked form in a myriad of different, lecherous ways.

“Faster!” Zoran yelled, ordering the men through the waist deep swamp mud. He’d decided that one day of grueling exercise wasn’t enough to purge him. Lifting his sword arm high into the air, he motioned to the side. Instantly, the men ducked down and began crawling through the muck. It was slow going in this part of the swamplands. The mud weighed their human forms down and kept them from moving with precise speed.

“Attack position!” Zoran commanded.

The men hollered, shooting up from the swamp. Muck flew everywhere as their dirty swords lifted high in the air.

“Attack!” he shouted with a growl.

Zoran watched as the warriors plunged forward as fast as they could. The target, a battalion Zoran had ordered to remain hidden within the trees, suddenly emerged to fight the muddy swarm. Metal clanged against metal as the heavily muddied hoard fought the outnumbered men.

Zoran hung back, watching the outcome of the fight. He crossed his arms over his chest, picking out the victors of the battle. The victors would be released early. The losers would have to spend three extra hours with him doing swamp drills.

Zoran thought of Pia and frowned. Maybe he’d better make it five extra hours.

“
U
gh
!” Pia gasped, eyeing Zoran as he came in. He was covered in a grayish-brown muck and stunk worse than a trolloch. She wrinkled her nose.

Zoran said nothing as he slipped out of his boots and left them by the door.

“What do they have you guarding anyway? A sewer?” she asked, waving her hand in his general direction as if it could keep the smell at bay.

“I spent the day in the swamps,” Zoran said, rolling his neck.

“Oh.” Pia wished he would elaborate. She’d just spent the entire day trapped in his house with nothing to do. She’d done a freestyle workout, taken a bath, and ate some leftover tiny pellet looking stuff from the refrigerator. That had used up about three of the twelve hours since she woke up.

Zoran eyed her. She’d pulled her hair back into a small ponytail at the nape of her neck and the sides fell forward to frame her face. As he studied her, she self-consciously tucked the sides behind her ears.

“I ate the grainy stuff in the refrigerator,” she said at last, when he didn’t look away.

“Fine,” he grunted, heading barefoot toward the bathroom to clean up.

Pia gasped, seeing his arm. It was bleeding. Looking for any kind of adventure, even a second hand one, she jumped over the back of the couch and went to him. “Did something happen? Was there an attack?”

“Just an accident,” Zoran said, as if wondering at her sudden concern. He couldn’t miss the light of excitement in her gaze when she asked it. She eyed his blood with almost a longing.

“What happened? Was anyone hurt?”

“No,” he answered.

“Oh.” Pia bit her lip. Suddenly, she realized she was standing close to him and he really did reek like putrid swamp. She took a step back. “Maybe you should take a shower.”

“I had planned on it,” Zoran chuckled, despite his obvious mood. As if he couldn’t help teasing, he added, “Is your inquisition over then, my bloodthirsty wife?”

Pia frowned. “Well, what do you expect? You trapped me in this house all day with nothing to do. That,” she pointed at the front door, “contraption won’t let me pass no matter how many different languages I yell at it.”

“That’s because it’s not programmed to your voice,” Zoran answered.

“Obviously,” she said, crossing her hands over her chest.

The motion pushed up her breasts and Zoran, being a healthy man of recently denied passions, looked unabashedly at them. Seeing his heated gaze, she screamed and automatically moved to slap him.

Zoran caught her hand in his muddied grip. Her wrist slid along his palm. His eyes lit with promise.

Pia tried to slap him with her other hand. He caught that one too.

“Come bathe with me,” Zoran invited. His tone dipped as he made a show of ogling her breasts. There was nothing she could do to stop him.

“I already had a bath,” Pia said, wishing her voice was more forceful. “I don’t need another.”

At that, Zoran smiled. Pulling her forward into his arms, he crushed himself to her cotton pants and white shirt. Mud plastered their clothing together as if they wore nothing at all. Pia shrieked in dismay. Her eyes narrowed angrily.

“You need one now,” Zoran said, leaning down to catch her lips with his. She turned her head and he hit her cheek with his mouth. He pulled back disappointed. “One kiss, wife, and I promise to let you go.”

“Let me go and I promise not to beat the ever-living sh—” Pia’s gaze shot daggers, but her words were cut off with his swift mouth. He pressed his lips firmly to hers in a dry kiss. She froze, wide-eyed, not knowing what to do. As suddenly as he began the kiss, he ended it with a loud smack of his lips to hers. Zoran let her go, seeming very pleased with himself.

“Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?” he mocked.

“You’re right,” she answered carefully. She made a great show of looking him over before wrinkling her nose in disgust. “It was nothing at all.”

Zoran’s grin turned sour. “Well, as long as I have no effect on you, you should have no problem helping me out of these clothes.”

Pia saw the challenge. He was daring her to run away in fear. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

“No problem at all,” she tossed back lightly, turning to walk into the bathroom first. “It’s not like looking at you would do anything to me anyway.”

“Oh,” he said, following her. “Then you wouldn’t mind helping me wash up, would you? I couldn’t tell how deep my cut was. It may need to be bandaged.”

Pia wasn’t so quick to respond.

“No,” she squeaked at last. “No problem at all. It will be like washing the dishes.”

“Good.”

“Fine.”

“Fine,” he mimicked, his voice dipping ever so slightly.

Pia’s jaw stiffened, as she ground out, “I’ll start the shower.”

“Fine,” Zoran repeated.

“Ah...?” Pia looked at the shower for a handle. There was none. She looked for a spout. There wasn’t one of those either.

“Here,” Zoran said from behind her. He came close to her back and waved his hand in front of one of the tiles. It read his palm and automatically went to his preference settings.

Pia watched as little doors opened in some of the tiles. Water sprayed out at waist level and at shoulder level. One spout came down from the ceiling and rained softly overhead.

“Would you mind helping me with my shirt?” Zoran asked, his tone sultry.

Pia lifted her jaw. She couldn’t force herself to do it.

“You should get in just like that,” she said. “That way you can rinse most of the smell off your clothes. Besides, that blood looks dry and if I rip the shirt off your arm, it might start bleeding again.”

Zoran smiled, as if knowing she stalled. Stepping into the shower, he let the warm water run over him without shutting the door. He turned around to look at her and placed his hands on either side of the shower. There was enough room for her to join him.

“What about your clothes?” he asked, his accent rolling thick over her. She shivered. He directed a pointed look at her white shirt. It was stained from where he’d touched her with his chest. When she hesitated, he challenged, “You’re not scared of me, are you?”

“No,” Pia said. She boldly stepped before him into the water.

Leaning forward, he purposefully drew closer to her as he leaned to pull the door shut behind her. Pia jolted at the sound.

How did I get myself into this?
she thought, briefly closing her eyes.

“Are you all right?” Zoran asked when she swayed lightly on her feet.

“It’s just this stuff smells awful,” she lied. In truth, it was the way the water made his clothing cling to his muscular flesh that made her nearly swoon. The material adhered to his every muscular curve, lifting and shifting with each breath he took. The large shower didn’t seem so big with him looming close to her. She swallowed nervously.

Scowling at him, she commanded, “Move, let me rinse off.”

Z
oran complied
, as he sat down on the stone bench in the corner. He leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest.

Pia turned her back to him. She had no idea how the wet material of her pants clung to her backside, outlining every lush curve, or else she’d never have done it. Of course, he was too much of a gentleman to point it out to her. He hid his smirk.

She pulled out her shirt, letting the stream of water beat against it until all the mud was gone, leaving a faint stain. Then turning, she took out her hair and leaned back to get it wet, raising her hands to push the shorter locks from her face.

Zoran tensed. It was clear she had no idea how the thin shirt was displaying her naked chest underneath. The shirt clung to her chest to reveal the shape and muted color of her breasts. When her hands lifted to her head, it pushed her breasts up and out. Her darker nipples shone through the transparent barrier. His fingers twitched. His shaft became achingly erect.

He knew she’d scream if he touched her, but he wondered what she’d do if he touched himself. The water hit upon her flesh. He blinked, his mouth suddenly dry. Her darker nipples were budded against her wet, clinging shirt—hard, erotic. His mouth bit at the air, almost tempted to...

“What are you doing?” Pia demanded. Her wide eyes had found his and she was staring at him like he had just developed boils.

“My jaw hurts,” he lied, reaching up to rub his chin as he flexed. “I was punched.”

“Punched?”

“There’s nothing to tell, so retract your fangs my bloodthirsty ruffian,” Zoran mused. Gently, he added, “Now move so I can rinse off.”

Pia stepped aside. She eyed his sleeve. “Here, try to lift your arm.”

Zoran watched her, as her tone became most businesslike. She worked her hand beneath his sleeve, the fingers gliding over the ridges of his muscles as she lifted the material carefully up from the wound. Zoran thought with wonder that she had an amazingly delicate touch for someone with such a wicked right hook.

“There,” she murmured, pulling it free. “Lift up.”

Zoran lifted his arms, letting her work his tunic off his chest. He tossed it outside the shower stall. She leaned to the side, taking his rigid biceps and moving his arm to the water to rinse it off.

Probing the wound with her fingertip, Pia said more to herself than to him, “It’s not so bad. I’ve had much worse.”

Zoran’s injured arm flexed beneath her hand as he moved to touch her face. His broad shoulders dwarfed her in size.

Pia looked up at him, momentarily surprised by the contact.

Zoran drew his hand down to the bottom of her shirt. His eyes narrowed slightly. He longed to see her, to touch her, to drink the water off her parted lips. Lifting the edge of her shirt, he kept his gaze steady.

Lightly, his fingers spread across her stomach to her side. He found the long, jagged scar puckered by her ribs.

“Like this one?” he asked.

Pia blinked, transfixed by him. Leaning forward, he gently kissed her. He slid his fingers along her long scar, moving up one side of it and down the other.

Zoran’s head angled down, persuading her to fall against the waterspout buried in the tile. Water rushed over her back onto his fingers. His lips were wet as they glided over hers. He opened his mouth wider, trying to consume part of her as he deepened his intent. He dipped his tongue forward, drawing a taste. He moaned into her, letting her hear his desire for her.

Pia trembled. She tried to touch him but held back, too afraid. When he pulled his lips away, she wanted to follow them and urge him on.

Zoran waited for a reaction. She hadn’t really kissed him back, only allowed him to take his taste of her. Her wide eyes stared at him through the thick set of her lashes and he felt her quivering beneath his fingers. He had to remind himself that she was innocent, pure. It wasn’t hard looking down into her hesitant eyes.

Zoran’s body lurched with rough ideas, with bold and fiery longing. However, he couldn’t just back her up into the shower wall and have his way. He had to be gentle. It took a lot of effort to hold back. Warriors weren’t exactly known for their gentleness, and he was one of the best.

“How did this happen?” Zoran asked softly, keeping his forehead drawn close. The water beat a hard, steady rhythm around them.

Pia stiffened, as if remembering herself at the question.

Even though she still stood before him, Zoran could tell she’d pulled away from him mentally. Little droplets of water sprinkled her downturned lashes. Her breath deepened and she edged away. When she opened her eyes, she was no longer looking at him.

“It was a gift,” Pia said, her voice coming out in a quiet whisper. She turned and his hand was forced from her waist. She quietly stepped out of the shower, shutting the door behind her.

Zoran sighed, watching her trail out of the bathroom in her wet clothes. She didn’t look back. The water hit his body as he leaned his forehead against the side. He could still feel her softness under his hands and against his lips. Letting her walk out was the hardest thing he’d ever done.

At moments, when she looked at him, he thought she wanted him. Then, an instant later, it was as if she felt nothing at all. He couldn’t figure her out. All he knew was that she was driving him mad every waking moment, and tormenting him every sleeping one.

He checked the wound on his arm. It was as he’d said. It had been an accident. One of the men lost his footing on a high perch. When Zoran caught him, the man’s knife had nicked his shoulder.

He was weary from the two grueling days, though he was much better off than the men were. He’d have to reward them with a lighter workout tomorrow morning. He should give them a day of rest, but he needed an excuse to leave the house. He couldn’t sit in her presence for a day and not strangle her or kiss her.