Shields Lady (24 page)

            He pulsed under her touch and felt the thrill that went through her as she learned the extent of her own power over him. He didn't know whether to laugh or groan. He knew from past experience that Sariana was a woman who enjoyed exercising her strengths and abilities. When she discovered just how much talent she had for manipulating him, Gryph told himself, he was going to be in big trouble.

            But a man could die happy in this kind of trouble.

            "It's worth the risk," he told her, knowing she wouldn't understand the cryptic statement. "Besides, two can play at this game."

            He flattened his palm on her stomach and swept his fingers through the triangle of hair below. She flinched when he unerringly found the.nub that was the core of her sensations. Her fingers flexed on his leg and he felt the tips of her silvery nails digging into him.

            Gryph stiffened in reaction and closed his eyes against the excitement that swept through him. For a few seconds he lost his grip on the control he was exerting. The power of his own emotions was too strong. They slipped from his grasp and poured into Sariana. She quivered beneath him, drawing back instinctively as his raging desire hit her mentally as well as physically. She let out a soft protest.

            Gryph swore violently as he felt her trying to retreat. 'No," he grated, anchoring her with one leg while he pushed her back into the pillows. "No, it's all right. I've got it now. Relax, Sariana, I'm in control. It's all right. Relax, my sweet. It's going to be okay. Don't be afraid. It's just that I want you so much." He rained small kisses across her breasts, his pulse thudding with the mental and physical effort he was exerting.

            "I know," Sariana's voice was husky with the discovery she had just made. A thread of fear underlined her words. She clutched at him, her nails gripping his skin. "For a minute there I knew exactly how much you want me. It was like this the other night. I was so aware of how you felt. Gryph, what's happening

between us?"

            "Nothing that wasn't meant to happen." He hushed her with a kiss and rolled onto his back, taking her with him. He had to halt her agile mind from going down this path tonight. Now was not the time for her to acknowledge what was really happening. She might panic. He had to find a way to distract her.

            He knew the exact instant passion reasserted its grip on her. It occurred when Sariana discovered herself astride him, his hot, throbbing manhood in her hands. She looked down at her prize and her thighs tightened convulsively around him. Her lashes were dark sweeps against her cheeks.

            "There's so much power in you." She stroked him in wonder. "Everything about you is large and solid and beautiful in a way I can't quite explain."

            He vibrated with the genuine pleasure she was taking in his masculinity. Gryph had to brace himself against the waves of desire beating at him. He locked his muscles, willing himself to take a step back from the edge of the climax that awaited him.

"Sariana, I keep telling you, you have a way with words."

            He found the damp, hot flesh between her widely spread thighs and slowly slid a finger into her. She gasped and tightened around him. Gryph fought harder for his self-control. Slowly he withdrew his finger, his thumb gliding lightly over the small, secret bud of her desire in the process.

            Sariana gave a tiny, choked cry. She rose to her knees in response to the new level of tension he was inducing. Gryph took advantage of the new position to trace the valley between her buttocks with his damp finger. Sariana quivered and inhaled deeply.

            Gently he eased her back down until she was again sitting astride him. Her eyes were closed and he could see her tiny white teeth sinking into her lower lip. Her breasts were high and full with sexual tension. He could feel her reaching for the unknown conclusion to the exquisite torture and deliberately he stroked the fires within her with another slow insertion of his finger.

            Again and again he repeated the slow, tantalizing caress, never filling her damp sheath as much as she craved, never removing his finger entirely. And always he finished the withdrawing stroke with a gentle circle around the beautifully sensitive nubbin sheltered in the triangular nest of hair.

            Her climax hit her without warning. Gryph was taken as much by surprise as she was when it struck. One instant she was straining toward release, lost in the powerful new sensations that he was coaxing from her, and the next she was convulsing around his finger, crying out his name as her head tipped back and her eyes squeezed tightly shut.

            The last of Gryph's self-control slipped from his grasp. The sudden onset of Sariana's intense climax pushed him into the heart of the storm he had- been trying to manipulate and he was lost. He dug his fingers into her hips, lifting her and positioning her above him.

            Then he pulled her down onto him with all his strength, sheathing himself in her tight, hot channel. Crying her name, he began to explode inside her almost at once.

            Gryph could not shelter her from the force of his own release. It spilled into her, through her, over her just as his seed spilled deeply into her body.

His last coherent thought was that fte could make Sariana pregnant. The knowledge filled him with joy.

Chapter 11

PREGNANT.

            The word had seared its way into Sariana's mind at the climax of the lovemaking the night before and it seemed to be permanently implanted in her brain. She had been thinking about the implications most of the night. Her mind still reeled with them. She was fairly certain she was still in the safe zone of her monthly cycle, but every woman knew how unreliable such a method of contraception was.

            As the anxious thoughts went through her head, Sariana was kneeling, fully dressed, on the cabin bunk. She was watching the activity on the docks of Little Chance through the muttipaned window. The windrigger had just finished tying. Through the glass she could see laborers loading and unloading cargo from neighboring ships. In the distance she thought she could make out several rows of colorful pennants.

Perhaps there was a fair going on in town.

            "Little Chance looks like a busy place," Sariana remarked to Gryph as he moved purposefully about the cabin. He had bathed and shaved earlier and now he was intent on making preparations to go ashore.

            "It is a busy place. Busiest port on the coast outside of Serendipity. Like most port towns, it's got its share of rough areas. That's why I want you to stay on board while I take care of my business. I'll only be gone a couple of hours."

"I can take care of myself, Gryph."

            "The way you did yesterday morning in Serendipity when you tried to run from me?" He gave her an admonishing glance as he finished fastening his worn belt buckle. The buckle had definitely seen better days. The man carried a fortune in prisma in the form of a pouch lock but that appeared to be the sum total of his wealth. "Forget it. You stay right here and try not to get into any trouble. I'll have my plans made by the time I return. We might be taking a sled upriver. I'm not sure yet."

            Sariana glanced over her shoulder. "What, exactly, are you going to do here?" He sat down on the edge of the bunk, putting a sizable dent in the mattress, and tugged on his boots.

"I'm going to see someone I know. An old friend. I want to discuss this matter of the cutter with him."

            "He lives here? I thought Shields lived in the frontier towns. Little Chance is hardly a frontier town." "Most Shields do live on the frontier. But not all. Delek chose to live in Little Chance because he no

longer makes his living chasing bandits. And his lady prefers to live here. It's her home."

            "Lucky woman. You mean your friend Delek actually gave her a choice?" Sariana didn't bother to hide the sarcasm.

            Gryph raised one eyebrow at the tone of her voice but kept his own even. "Where they live isn't too critical in the case of Delek and his lady. They have no sons to be trained."

            Sariana was suddenly very interested. "You mean the main reason Shields live out on the frontiers is because of the way they educate their children?"

            "The main reason Shields prefer the frontier is because that's where the best employment opportunities are," Gryph muttered. "But educating sons is also a reason. It's difficult to train a young boy in the ways of the Shields while living in a city or town." Gryph stood up and reached for his jacket. "Too many distractions."

"Why doesn't Delek have any children?"

            Gryph gave her a straight, blunt look as he fastened the plain buttons of his short jacket. "Delek and his lady, Alana, are not linked. She doesn't have the potential to be a Shieldmate, therefore the relationship is sterile."

Sariana stared at him in astonishment. "But Delek lives with her?"

            "He's lived with her for years."

            "You mean Shields sometimes get seriously involved with women with whom they don't believe they can, uh, link?"

            "It's rare," Gryph said quietly, "but occasionally it happens. Sometimes a man just gives up the search for a Shieldmate. Sometimes a Shield loses his mate through death or adultery and he doesn't have the heart or interest to search for another, so he settles for a relationship that promises companionship or love. That's what Delek did."

            "Love." Sariana went very still, her mind whirling as she absorbed this new information. "A Shield might fall in love with a woman even though she isn't a Shieldmate?"

            Gryph smiled wryly. "Haven't you lived in Serendipity long enough to know that love doesn't always respect custom, law or social traditions?"

            Sariana traced the intricate details of a massive reptilian head that had been carved into the bunk's headboard. "But if a Shield finds a mate with whom he thinks he can link - "

            "It's not a question of thinking he can link with her," Gryph said impatiently. "He either can or can't. The link isn't a function of a man's imagination. It's very real. A Shield knows almost as soon as he meets a woman whether or not he can mate with her. One of these days you'll understand that."

            Sariana focused her attention outside the window again and prepared to pursue her next question with quiet determination. She had to know the answer, she realized. "All right, I won't argue that right now."

"That's a relief."

            Sariana lost her temper for a few seconds. "What I want to know is whether or not Shields ever marry for love. Or does this… this linking eventually create love between a Shield and his mate?"

            There was a heartbeat of silence behind her. Then Gryph answered coolly. "Do easterners ever marry for love?"

Sariana swallowed uncomfortably. "Rarely."

"They usually marry for business reasons, right?" Gryph persisted.

            "Yes."

            "Well, Shields many for business reasons, too. In our case, the business is that of ensuring the survival of the next generation. Love is not an essential factor in that business. Sometimes it's present, sometimes it's not."

            Sariana swung around to confront him. "But what about the passion that comes with this linking thing?" "What about it?" Gryph replied offhandedly. "Linked sex is usually great sex for both people

concerned. That kind of passion can form a strong bond between them. But that hasn't got anything to do with love. Don't tell me a sophisticated easterner like you doesn't know that passion can exist without love? An interesting, passionate relationship without the complications of love was exactly what you planned to have with me when you made the decision to start an affair, wasn't it?"

            He was taunting her and Sariana was suddenly furious. It was all she could do to keep a grasp on her selfcontrol. What she really longed to do was pick up her slipper and hurt it at him. For an instant the satisfying image of Gryph ducking the small projectile was very vivid in her head.

            Gryph held up a hand. He gazed briefly at the slippers lying beside the bunk. When he lifted his eyes to her face again, they were glimmering with a cryptic satisfaction. "Please don't. I haven't got time this morning to use that slipper on your backside which is what I would feel obliged to do if you throw it at me."

            Sariana glared at him. "Don't pretend you can read my mind. I know that's impossible. You just took an educated guess. It wouldn't be hard to figure out I'm annoyed with you and that slipper is the only convenient object at hand."

            "And you do have a penchant for throwing things at me when you lose your temper," he concluded helpfully as he started toward the cabin door. "You're right, Sariana. It was just an educated guess. I'll see you early this afternoon. Try to stay out of trouble while I'm gone."

            Sariana knelt upright on the bunk, her hands clenched. She stared at the door as it closed behind him. "And you, Gryph Chassyn," she informed the empty room, "have a penchant for giving orders. But I never agreed to obey them. We have a business arrangement. Just a mutually beneficial truce while we hunt for that cutter. That's all I agreed to last night. And I've got news for you. Lord Chassyn: when it comes to conducting business, I'm a thousand times faster and smarter than some dumb, arrogant, muscle-brained frontier lord who scrapes out a living hunting bandits."

            She jumped off the bed and went to find her walking shoes. The scarlet-toe peeked over the edge of a cloak pocket where it had spent the night and hissed inquiringly.

            "That's right. Lucky, we're busting out of here. There isn't a jail made that can hold us, pal. You and I are going to escape this joint for a few hours. Come on, let's go."

            She picked up her cloak, settled the lizard onto her shoulder and made for the door. She was involved in a business arrangement. She had that on good authority. The best. A Shield