“Yes, yes,” I said distractedly then looked to the horses getting ever closer. “I’m fine.”

“I see it is now penetrating,” Diandra said softly and my dazed eyes swung to her to see hers, not dazed but understanding on me. “I kept telling you, my dear, you are a queen. I see you now understand you are a queen. A queen of a vast number of men, their wives, their children and the nation of people who they protect…” she paused, “all of whom serve you.”

“Yes, Diandra,” I whispered, “it’s penetrating.”

She leaned into me. “You have saved a child’s life, and your people witnessed it; you have sung a beautiful song to a woman whose spirit has been tramped to death inside of her, giving her mind a brief moment of harmony and your people witnessed it. You make your husband’s laughter, something never heard before by those other than his brothers, as well as the sounds of his pleasure ring out from your cham and your people hear it. I tell you there are whispers and these whispers are soaring, Circe, with a speed that would astonish you. You don’t know it but your actions have already built strong bonds of loyalty in the hearts of people you’ve never even met and you’ve been our Dahksahna for two weeks. Your king builds loyalty through providing riches, safety and cunning; you, my beautiful Circe, are building yours, and therefore his, through matters of the heart. This makes you strong and it makes you weak. There will be those who will seek to target those weaknesses. Use caution, be watchful and stay safe.”

I swallowed and nodded, my eyes flitting to Narinda who was looking on, her own eyes wide and her face slightly pale.

Then I turned to the advancing procession and watched part of my husband’s ginormous army arrive.

* * * * *

“Linas, rah,” he whispered before his lips moved over both of my eyes.

I was in trouble.

My king had just made love to me… yes, made love to me, slow, sweet, gentle, tender. It was, no other words to describe it, beautiful. And I liked it, a lot. So much, I didn’t think I’d ever forget it, not a touch, not a taste, not a stroke, not a second, not any of it.

And now he was lying on top of me, his weight on a forearm in the bed beside me, his other hand curled around my neck, thumb gently stroking my jaw and he was whispering to me.

Man, he was good.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that, but really, my eyes are more a very light brown,” I muttered to try to break the mood.

His chin tipped down, his eyes locked on mine and at the look in his, my belly melted.

Okay, message received, Lahn didn’t want the mood broken.

“Eyes, rah,” he whispered then his hand slid up my cheek, fingers sifting through my hair at the side of my head and down before he bunched a length of it against my neck. “Lipa, rah,” he muttered, his thumb back to stroking my jaw.

“In my world, we don’t call it gold, we call it blonde,” I whispered, his eyes caught mine, that warm, sweet, contented look was still in the depths of his and my heart skipped.

Then his head dipped, I braced and his lips skimmed the skin on my cheek. “Leeka, rah,” he rumbled in my ear.

I wasn’t going to argue with that. That was true, with all the sun I was getting, my skin was gold.

His head came back up as his thumb swept over my lips, his fingers moving so his hand could cup my jaw, “Lapay nahna lisa rahna, kah Lahnahsahna?”

I knew what he was asking. Is your mouth golden, my tigress?

My heart skipped another beat.

Shit.

“Lahn,” I whispered then closed my lips as his head dipped again and he brushed his against mine.

Okay, he might not have kissed a woman before, but he did that really freaking well.

“Mm, kah rahna fauna?” he urged quietly, his mouth moving against my lips.

Oh yeah, he was good.

I just stared in his eyes which were all I could see and did my best to keep my mouth shut.

What I wanted to do was kiss him.

And I wanted it bad.

He stared back.

“Lapay tee?” he whispered, Is it?

I shook my head and watched up close as his eyes smiled at the same time I felt his lips do the same.

Then, his eyes never leaving mine, his tongue traced my lips.

I shivered and my limbs, all four of which were wrapped around him, tensed.

Oh shit, yeah, he wasn’t good. He was good.

“Yes it is, Circe,” he whispered against my lips, his tongue slid along them again and then he murmured, “rahna honey.”

Okay, I’d had some nice compliments in my life. One, I had to admit, was Lahn telling me I had rare beauty the like he’d never seen. Another was, of course, him telling me the spirit that shone from my eyes was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

But his telling me my mouth was golden honey just notched itself right smack in the middle of that list.

“Sahnahsoo kay neenkah,” he whispered.

I knew that too. Let me inside.

My belly dipped, my heart surged and the area between my legs tingled.

Shit!

I shook my head again and got another touch of his tongue.

Oh God.

“Sahnahsoo nahna Dax neenkah, kah Dahksahna,” he murmured.

Let your King inside, my Queen.

Oh God!

I had to stop this, like, now.

One of my hands slid up his back, under his arm, up his chest, his neck and I cupped the side of his jaw, sliding my thumb between our lips.

“No, Lahn, kah lisa lapay kahna,”** I whispered.

His eyes smiled again, a knowing smile, therefore a scary smile.

“No, baby, your mouth is mine,” he whispered back then his thumb swept across my cheek, my lips, taking my thumb with it and when he had access, he bent his head and touched his mouth to mine again.

I held my breath but he only lifted his head and whispered, “Okay, my Circe, anah na vatay. Anka, ta junay tooka.”***

I didn’t catch any of that but I felt extreme relief mixed with almost devastating disappointment when he slid off my side but tucked me close under him, tangled his legs with mine and muttered, “Trahyoo.”

I wanted to trahyoo, I needed to trahyoo.

But all I could do was feel the specter of his lips against mine and the phantom of his tongue.

So it took me awhile.

Then, tangled with my warrior king, I trahyooed.

*Translation: “This is not the part of me you love but it must do.”

**Translation: “No, Lahn my mouth is mine.”

***Translation: “Okay, my Circe, tonight you win. Tomorrow, we play again.”

Chapter Nineteen