Seared by Desire (15 page)

“
And I don’t intend for it to. As soon as the war is over, I
can act on these feelings.”

“
And what if I’m not willing to wait that long?” she
teased.

“
You will wait for me Sara.” His voice brokered no
compromise.

“
Really?” she drawled.

His lips met hers again, barely contained anger making the
previously gentle kiss wild, ferocious. When he pulled away she was
breathless, sucking in ragged breaths to calm herself. “Yes. You
will wait for me Sara. I need to feed now. Stay here until I come
back and then we’ll continue as we were before.”

He turned from her and walked from the room, not noticing the
wicked smile on Sara’s face.
We’ll see
about that.
It was one thing to leave him
alone when she’d thought he wasn’t interested in her and saw her as
nothing more than a business transaction, it was another thing
entirely to let him deny himself when there was nothing preventing
them from being together. She’d been drawn to Lucian since the day
she’d met him, not just because of Seraphina but something else,
something that told her she could trust him, could place her
happiness in his hands. Lucian deserved to be happy and she was
willing to help him see that.

Chapter Nine – War or
Peace?

The main hall was noisy, filled as it was with both humans
and vampires both becoming increasingly inebriated. The smell of
food was heavy in the air and Lucian supposed if he needed to eat,
the luscious aroma would have appealed to him. People danced around
him, clearly enjoying the merry music the band were playing but his
thoughts were elsewhere, namely on his conspicuously absent bride.
This temporary separation was her idea and it was so at odds with
her usual behaviour that he’d automatically been on his guard. Even
when she wasn’t by his side she was distracting him.

This feast was for her. After the previous day, when his
hunger had bordered on animalistic, he’d become acutely aware of
his bride’s all too human needs. He couldn’t remember ever seeing
her eat and the idea that she was going without while with him
niggled away at him until he’d decided to throw this feast for her.
She was small enough as it was without starving her further but
strangely she hadn’t wanted to come downstairs with him. All in all
she was acting very strangely. He’d initially blamed it on
performance anxiety, the smithy was ready for her use and a great
many people were expecting her to begin crafting, but when he’d
asked her about it she had smiled, happy to back in a familiar
setting. She was up to something, he could feel it.

When he next saw her, his eyes widened, bulging out of their
sockets in shock and as the music faltered, he realised he wasn’t
the only one staring. The amount of skin she was showing was beyond
indecent, it was criminal and he should lock her away permanently
for putting such a strain on his heart. Though she had worn dresses
since she had come to live with him, the first two times he’d seen
her she’d worn breeches and the sight of her in men’s clothing had
left him unaffected…no longer.

Her breeches had been cut; the length hacked away by her
sword until the material barely covered the cheeks of her arse.
Sara wasn’t particularly tall, especially when compared to him but
in her new attire her legs seemed to go on forever, the wealth of
bare skin displayed making his pulse race with desire. Her biceps
were bound tightly with leather strips though the bindings did
nothing to compensate for the indecency of her shirt. Again the
material had been cut, this time the sleeves suffering at her
hands, her flat stomach was easily displayed in the short shirt and
he cursed her actions. All around him hearts were speeding up,
blood rushing through people’s bodies as they looked their fill
of
his
bride.

He was out of his chair and moving towards her before he even
realised what he was doing. She was smiling as though she were
completely unaware of the havoc her attire was causing and his
scowl deepened. He stripped himself of his over coat, draping the
heavy material over her shoulders, engulfing her body within it and
hiding her from the lusty gazes of all those around
them.

“
What do you think you’re wearing?” he hissed angrily. He’d
expected her to feel shame when directly confronted but her smile
only widened.

“
Wearing? I’m going to be starting to make swords tonight. I’m
wearing what I always where when I craft. Well…” She looked down at
her clothing, pulling at the hem of her ruined shirt nervously.
“Well what I actually wear is back in my village so I had to
improvise.”

“
You’re going to wear this while you make swords? Are you
mad?”

She frowned at him. “No.”

“
You must be. It’s madness to enter the heat of a forge
dressed in that.”

“
I’m a fire elemental Lucian, the flames won’t burn me. It’s
how I make my swords, come with me and you’ll see.” She lifted her
hand to caress his cheek, her eyes sliding closed as heat passed
from her harmlessly into him.

“
Do you often invite strange men into your smithy while
dressed like that?” The very thought made his fangs lengthen in
anger.

“
So you’re a strange man then are you Lucian?” she purred, her
body slowly but surely closing the gap between them.

“
Answer the question Sara,” he responded, his voice tight,
trying to restrain himself. He was acting out of character enough
as it was, the last thing he needed was to succumb to the darker
side of his nature, to let the monster rein as thoughts of his
bride with other men made him wild and uncontrollable.

“
Others have seen me in my smithy but not very often. The
people in my village didn’t really use my swords, the only time
they even interacted with me was to collect the swords to sell.
That food smells good.”

“
Don’t change the subject Sara.”

“
I can’t help that I’m hungry Lucian.”

“
Don’t tell me you plan to eat in that!”

Her arms wrapped around him, pulling his head down to be on
par with her own. “Why Lucian if I didn’t know any better,” she
whispered into his ear, “I’d think you were jealous.”

“
I told you last night Sara, you’re going to wait for me but
until this war is over there can be nothing between us.”

She pulled away laughing cheerfully. “If there’s nothing
going on between us then I don’t see what the problem
is.”

“
Did you wear this get up to test me Sara?”

“
No. I’m serious. This is what I wear when I’m working. It’s
not my fault if you find me irresistible in it.”

“
You’re far from irresistible.” The lie slipped from his lips
as he sought to regain the upper hand.

“
Good.” She clapped her hands together in triumph, her actions
serving only to confuse Lucian further. Just when he thought he had
her figured out, she would change again. She was irritatingly
satisfying. The contradicting term suited his bride perfectly.
“Seeing as everyone here will be able to resist me, I’m going to
eat and then I’m off to the forge, I have swords to make, we have a
deal after all.”

Taking him by the hand, she guided a stunned Lucian back to
his chair, rushing off to fill a plate full of food for herself.
She could feel Lucian's eyes on her as she moved and her gait
altered accordingly, the simple stride becoming alluring and
inviting. She could feel eyes on her as she approached the table
and a blush rose to her cheeks. While everything she’d said to
Lucian was true, she’d neglected to tell him that the people who
visited her to collect the swords she made were often old men, more
focused on returning to the comfort of their homes than on her
figure and under normal circumstances she would wear a long apron
over her revealing attire. Having so much attention cast on her now
was unnerving. The plate was soon full and she raced back to
Lucian, sitting on his long legs and positioning his cool palm on
the small of her back.

“
Do you want some?” she offered, holding out a morsel of beef
to him.

“
I don’t need to eat food like you.” His words were short, his
voice terse.

“
So? That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it, unless…will it make
you sick?”

“
No.”

“
So why don’t you want to taste some.” She brought the meat to
her lips, licking her fingers clean as she chewed. “It tastes
good.”

“
I don’t want to eat Sara.”

“
You’re not feeling very talkative tonight are
you?”

“
No.”
Not with you dressed in that!
I’m having enough trouble trying to control my body with you
pressed so closely against me and in such an intimate position as
well. Not to mention I really want to tear the eyes out of everyone
in the room. It leaves little room to think properly enough to have
a conversation.
He groaned.
You really are trying to kill me
bride.

“
Fine.” Sara shrugged, returning to her meal.

Her face hidden by the curtain of her curls, Sara let a small
smile form on her lips. Lucian's possessive actions were well worth
the embarrassment of her situation. It was a strange feeling to
have someone want to protect her from others, one she was quickly
coming to realise she enjoyed, almost as much as she did teasing
him. Though he was doing his best to act as though he were
indifferent to her, she only had to remember the dumbstruck
expression on his face as she’d walked down the stairs to know
better. Stifling a laugh, she ate her meal quietly.

Once she was finished eating, Sara stretched, lifting her
hands above her head and unwittingly pushing her breasts against
Lucian's chest. A low groan slipped past his lips as she stood,
pressing her body against his. Sara held out her hand expectantly,
waiting for him to take it. He didn’t disappoint though he grumbled
under his breath.

“
What was that Lucian?” she prompted.

Lucian's head snapped up, his eyes alive with agitation. “I
said that this is a one off. I have a war to win Sara, I can’t
afford to spend my nights in a smithy watching you craft
swords.”

“
I know that Lucian. Tonight is going to be a test run. I want
to see just what I can do with my flame before Seraphina tries to
take over. Please.”

He rolled his eyes in disbelief. His bride was making him act
completely out of character and he loved it. “Gareth,” he
called.

Gareth was quick to move to Lucian's side though uneasiness
filled him. He and Lucian had been friends for decades and he’d
never seen the older man act as strangely as he had in the last few
days. It was disconcerting to know that it was all because of the
mere presence of his bride. A vampire finding their bride was a
rare thing and he was never gladder of that fact than he was at
that moment. Now he never wanted to even lay eyes on his own. If he
found her he would run as fast as he could away from her rather
than subject himself to what Lucian was going through. “Yes my
Lord?”

“
Gather the others, we will be having our meeting in the
smithy,” he sighed.

“
My Lord?” he asked, his confusion clear.

“
We are having the meeting in the smithy Gareth, please don’t
make me repeat myself.”

Gareth bowed deeply in apology. “Of course my Lord. I am
looking forward to seeing the legendary Quicksilver at
work.”

“
Don’t look too hard,” Lucian scowled angrily, pulling Sara
closer to his body and leading her from the room. Letting the
drunkards catch a glimpse of her was one thing, they probably
wouldn’t remember seeing her in the morning, but to conduct a
meeting with the sober commanders of his army was asking for
trouble.

Their hands linked, their bodies pressed closely against each
other, they walked down the hall towards what was to be Sara’s
forge. The room had long been out of use, since there was no longer
anyone qualified to use it, but it had been cleaned out and readied
for Sara’s use.

The forge was well lit, though the charred stone still made
it seem dark and as soon as Sara’s eyes landed on the familiar
tools, she pulled away from Lucian, relishing in the smell of metal
and heat. Her fingers trailed over the hard metal anvil as she
walked towards the furnace. At a simple thought, fire blazed to
life within the large heater. She stood, smiling as she turned
towards Lucian. He was no longer alone, but that wasn’t important
anymore. Crafting swords was the only thing she’d ever been good at
and now that she was back in familiar terrain, she wanted nothing
more than to get started.

“
Lucian,” she called, instantly gaining his attention.
“Catch.” She threw his jacket towards him, unconcerned with the
shocked stares directed at her clothing; it was time to get back to
work.

The small space was beginning to feel cramped but Lucian
barely registered the voices clambering for his attention entranced
as he was by Sara’s movements. He was quickly coming to realise why
it was that she wore so little. A simple glance from her caused the
fire within the furnace to explode and he, and all those around
him, took an instinctive step back, ancient survival instincts
coming to the fore.