Justice by Rhiannon Paille Page A

unexpectedly, but he eased into them. She pulled away, her eyelids drooping, but Krishani shifted so he was covering her, and pulled her more urgently towards him. She melted into him, wrapping her arms around his waist. He moved his lips down her neck, kissing her collarbone, his hand cupping her breast. He tugged down the neckline of the nightgown and continued trailing kisses lower. Kaliel breathed hard. She caressed the lean muscles in his back, running her fingers over the smooth white skin.
    “We need to be quieter. Melianna sometimes checks on me at night,” she whispered.
    Krishani stifled his disappointment and pushed himself up so he could stare into her eyes. “It’s so hard not to want you.”
    She pressed her lips together and sighed. He knew she felt the same waves of emotions coursing through her, but she let out a deep breath. “I want you, too.” Krishani went to kiss her but she sat up and put a hand on his chest making him lie flat. Nervousness washed over him as she idly moved her hands to the hem of his tunic.
    He eyed her carefully as she pushed it up and he obliged, sitting up so she could pull it over his head. She shifted so she was on top of him, her pelvis digging into his. He eased into the bed, uncertainty flitting through him. He tried to stave off his desire but she leaned forward, placing light kisses on his chest and he gripped her upper arms, a question on his lips.
    “What are you doing?”
    She shot him a teasing, seductive expression and tingles ran down his thighs. “Do you like what I’m doing?”
    She didn’t wait for an answer as her lips moved south, claiming his clenched stomach muscles, and the hair on his navel. Her hands found his hips and the hem of his breeches and he let out a gasping breath, unable to control himself. “Yes,” he said, his voice ragged. Whatever she wanted to do to him he was powerless against her. She glanced at him, a daring look in her eyes and slipped a hand into his pants, gripping him hard. Krishani couldn’t think, the sensation overwhelming, he arced his back, rocking his hips as she moved her hand back and forth against him.
    “Where can I kiss you?” She asked, her eyes on his.
    Krishani faltered, trying to find words. He stared at the grooves in the ceiling, pure exhilaration ricocheting through his body. He fought for control as she pressed her hand tighter and then something warm, wet and soft closed over him and he tensed, unable to hold it in.
    “You have to stop,” he rasped, his hands finding her shoulders. She looked up, the pressure coming off him and he relaxed.
    “You don’t like what I’m doing?”
    He smiled and pulled her towards him, kissing her long and deep, his tongue caressing hers. She settled next to him her hand on his stomach. “I like it too much.” Kaliel laughed. He kissed her lightly on the lips and held her more tightly to him. “One day when this is all over, I will marry you and not the land.”
    She mumbled something in response as she ran her hands along the protective arm he draped around her torso.
    Krishani nestled himself into her. He wanted to stay there forever, but as she drifted off to sleep, she faded from his arms. He tried to pull closer to her, but she was no longer in the bed beside him. He sat and looked at her empty room in the Elmare Castle. His dreams always took him back to her, but they always turned into nightmares.
    He tossed and turned in the cot he was in and tried to conjure her again. Despite his grogginess he felt her essence surrounding him.
    He settled into the cot and drifted back to his dreams.
    A deafening sound pierced the silence.
    An Explosion.
    Death.
    He came for her.
    Krishani shot back to consciousness, his breathing heavy. There are more Flames somewhere, he thought. He pushed the blanket off and stumbled to his feet. Careful not to trip over something, he ambled to the door, trying to catch his breath.
    He pulled open the door and clambered down the hill