decide to accept or decline. The heart simply swelled with happiness, and at that moment she was flooded with affection.
Janus frowned for a moment. “You cannot stay here. It is unsafe.” All traces of tender concern were now hidden in a firm tone of authority. He moved right past her 74
Janus’ Conquest
and brightened the room. Looking around, he took notice of the box she had already packed.
“This is my home.”
Janus looked at her for a moment before he turned and pulled three of her colorful robes off their hangers and placed them on top of the practical ones she had decided to take with her into the penal sphere. “Any Hunter may open that door. I should not have overlooked that fact, but I assumed that my brethren would conduct themselves with honor. It appears some of the younger males have yet to mature past their impulses.
You will come with me tonight.”
“But you may open your door. I will not be able to keep you outside.”
Janus turned and smiled at her. It wasn’t a kind expression. Determination flickered in his eyes as he moved across the room and captured her waist. He pulled her snug with his body. A shiver raced down her frame as the robe she’d donned felt too thin to offer any true protection. She felt so vulnerable with him, as though he held the ability to strip aside her practiced social façades to get at the female who craved him. “I will follow you anywhere you go, Fay. But for tonight, you need rest, so let us not quarrel until sunrise.” The corner of his mouth twitched back up into that boyish grin. “I wouldn’t want to take advantage of you while you weren’t at your fighting best.” He slapped one side of her bottom as he released her and turned back to the box of clothing. He placed two pairs of her beaded silk slippers on top before lifting it.
“Get what else you want and come out. We’re leaving.”
He left her sleeping chamber and it felt like a challenge. She did not have to obey him, but there was a part of her that wanted to. Chewing on her lower lip, she cast a look around the room she had slept in since her birth. Without her father, it was only a place, with little value. Reaching for the photo album, she hugged it close and stepped into her shoes. She could not sleep here anymore, not when the two younger males might return. Emerging from the chamber, she found Janus watching the doorway. A look of relief mixed with approval filled his features as she stepped into the outer room.
75
Dawn Ryder
Reaching for her personal bag, she hid the uncertainty that was racing through her. Her life was stretching out in front of her like a vast desert. She had no clue as to what she might find on the journey.
“Come, Fay. Let us find someplace private.”
“All right.” The concession in his order pleased her. Two days ago, he hadn’t wanted privacy, but he was tempering his desires with her own whims. Now he was meeting her in the middle, and that filled her with enough confidence to step away from her family home. It was enough for now. Maybe she might be intent on joining her sire at the week’s end, but for this night she would enjoy the company of her lover.
* * * * *
“They say you were a Hunter.”
Edric noticed the sneer his profession provoked and clenched his teeth against the urge to dress the convict down with a few well-placed words. It would be a waste of time. A look at the male standing in his doorway showed him a scruffy individual, who, from the scent drifting on the evening breeze, didn’t bother to use his ration of water for bathing his body. His was as ripe as two-week-old cheese.
“I’ve been a lot of things. Still am.” Edric kept his hands moving in the steady motion of assembling. It was mindless work and that made it simple to continue to observe his guest without alerting him to the intense scrutiny he was under.
“Yeah. I heard that.” The male looked around the dwelling and sniffed. “You might fit in around here.
Janus frowned for a moment. “You cannot stay here. It is unsafe.” All traces of tender concern were now hidden in a firm tone of authority. He moved right past her 74
Janus’ Conquest
and brightened the room. Looking around, he took notice of the box she had already packed.
“This is my home.”
Janus looked at her for a moment before he turned and pulled three of her colorful robes off their hangers and placed them on top of the practical ones she had decided to take with her into the penal sphere. “Any Hunter may open that door. I should not have overlooked that fact, but I assumed that my brethren would conduct themselves with honor. It appears some of the younger males have yet to mature past their impulses.
You will come with me tonight.”
“But you may open your door. I will not be able to keep you outside.”
Janus turned and smiled at her. It wasn’t a kind expression. Determination flickered in his eyes as he moved across the room and captured her waist. He pulled her snug with his body. A shiver raced down her frame as the robe she’d donned felt too thin to offer any true protection. She felt so vulnerable with him, as though he held the ability to strip aside her practiced social façades to get at the female who craved him. “I will follow you anywhere you go, Fay. But for tonight, you need rest, so let us not quarrel until sunrise.” The corner of his mouth twitched back up into that boyish grin. “I wouldn’t want to take advantage of you while you weren’t at your fighting best.” He slapped one side of her bottom as he released her and turned back to the box of clothing. He placed two pairs of her beaded silk slippers on top before lifting it.
“Get what else you want and come out. We’re leaving.”
He left her sleeping chamber and it felt like a challenge. She did not have to obey him, but there was a part of her that wanted to. Chewing on her lower lip, she cast a look around the room she had slept in since her birth. Without her father, it was only a place, with little value. Reaching for the photo album, she hugged it close and stepped into her shoes. She could not sleep here anymore, not when the two younger males might return. Emerging from the chamber, she found Janus watching the doorway. A look of relief mixed with approval filled his features as she stepped into the outer room.
75
Dawn Ryder
Reaching for her personal bag, she hid the uncertainty that was racing through her. Her life was stretching out in front of her like a vast desert. She had no clue as to what she might find on the journey.
“Come, Fay. Let us find someplace private.”
“All right.” The concession in his order pleased her. Two days ago, he hadn’t wanted privacy, but he was tempering his desires with her own whims. Now he was meeting her in the middle, and that filled her with enough confidence to step away from her family home. It was enough for now. Maybe she might be intent on joining her sire at the week’s end, but for this night she would enjoy the company of her lover.
* * * * *
“They say you were a Hunter.”
Edric noticed the sneer his profession provoked and clenched his teeth against the urge to dress the convict down with a few well-placed words. It would be a waste of time. A look at the male standing in his doorway showed him a scruffy individual, who, from the scent drifting on the evening breeze, didn’t bother to use his ration of water for bathing his body. His was as ripe as two-week-old cheese.
“I’ve been a lot of things. Still am.” Edric kept his hands moving in the steady motion of assembling. It was mindless work and that made it simple to continue to observe his guest without alerting him to the intense scrutiny he was under.
“Yeah. I heard that.” The male looked around the dwelling and sniffed. “You might fit in around here.
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