This Battle Lord's Quest (5 page)

She was defenseless against his assault as he
claimed her mouth before claiming her body. Warm, calloused hands restlessly
roamed over her, pausing once to cup her breasts and playfully squeeze them
before taking her face between his palms to deepen the kiss. He only broke away
long enough to jerk her blouse over her head and guide her down onto the pile
of hay covering the dirt floor.

“Just sitting beside you played havoc with my
concentration,” he muttered against her hair. “All I could think about was
having you, taking you, loving you.”

She felt him unbutton her pants. His hands were
shaking in anticipation. “Here. I gotta take my boots off first,” she
whispered.

Yulen chuckled and worked on removing his own boots
and pants. It didn’t take her long to stretch out on her back and reach out for
him.

He buried his face in her belly to nuzzle and lick
the skin that reacted to the coolness within the bin. She shuddered slightly.

“Cold?”

“Warm me up.”

He lifted her knees and crawled between her legs,
draping himself over her while keeping his weight on his arms and knees. Atty
reached down between them and grasped his hard length.

“Don’t make us wait,” she pleaded.

His response was to press into her, filling her until
she felt ready to explode. She could hear his raspy breathing as he began to
move in and out of her, coating himself with her cream before the onslaught.

And it would be an onslaught. There was no time for
extended love play. They were starving for each other, and at any moment
someone might come pounding on the bin’s door because one of them might have
been seen entering the silo.

Yulen dipped his face into the crook of her neck. Atty
could smell his sweat and the unique musk that was him. Grabbing his shoulders,
she dug her nails into his tunic just as he started to pound into her. It was
hard and fast, giving her no chance to lift her hips to meet his. He was taking
her with force, working feverishly to assuage their needs. It felt fantastic.

“Squeeze me. Squeeze me, Atrilan.”

His plea came as grunts, hot puffs of air over her
skin. She obliged, and was rewarded with a ragged groan. He adjusted himself
slightly to increase the pressure and depth of his lunges, and the next instant
she felt herself beginning to soar, rising higher and higher until her body
flashed at its peak. She threw back her head to cry out, when a hand clamped
over it, muffling the sound within the chamber. Yulen pressed his mouth into
the curve of her neck as his own orgasm thundered through him moments later.
His body continued to take hers, and eventually began a gradual slow-down from
the sweet experience. Coming to a halt, he removed his hand from her face and
kissed her shoulder.

“I love you, woman.”

She couldn’t answer. Her body was still thrumming.
His presence was a warm blanket spread over her, keeping her from becoming
chilled. “You had a great idea,” she finally managed to whisper.

“I spent the majority of our meeting on the hill
with Fortune and the others trying to find a way to get you alone,” he admitted
with a chuckle. She laughed with him, and felt him remove his softening
erection.

“You had a good plan.”

“So do you,” he murmured. “Let’s get dressed and
take this conversation elsewhere. The last thing we both need is to be caught
screwing in the food storage bins.”

“This bin is empty. We’re not contaminating
anything.”

“No, but the straw in our clothes and hair might be
something we can’t easily explain.”

That comment made her laugh aloud, and the issue
was compounded as they fumbled around in the dark, trying to find their
clothes. Eventually, they managed to make themselves presentable, and Yulen
cautiously opened the door to check outside.

“Looks clear.” He glanced back at her and smiled.
Reaching up, he pulled several bits of hay from her hair. “And now
you
look clear.”

“And less stressed?” She winked.

“Definitely less stressed. Come on.” Taking her
hand, he led her from the containment area. But instead of heading for their
lodge or the main hall as she expected, he took the path toward the apartments
centered in the back of the main compound.

“Where are we going?”

“To Fortune’s.”

“Oh, to pick up Mattox. Right.” She still couldn’t
think straight. Her mind remained focused on the delicious sensations coming
from between her thighs in the aftermath of their coupling. She vaguely
remembered how their son had protested when she’d taken him back to Tory to
baby-sit before joining the men.

“Actually, I have an alternate plan regarding what
you said out there to the caste. I want to run it by the both of you.” He
looked over to grin at her. “And also to pick up our son while we’re there.”

Chapter
Five

Adventure

Yulen knocked on the wooden door. Tory answered,
and actually blushed to see the Battle Lord standing on her welcome mat. Atty,
she was accustomed to having over, but not D’Jacques himself.

“Hello, Tory. Is Fortune in?”

“Y-yes. Come in. Come in.” She moved aside and
gestured for them to enter the apartment. Still holding hands, Atty followed
her husband inside, to find Fortune sitting at the kitchen table where he was
sharpening his knives. Like his wife, the man paled when he noticed their
guests.

“Yulen? Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing’s wrong. We’re not here to deliver bad
news, but I do have a few issues I’d like to discuss with you.”

“Is this a private matter? Do I need to make myself
scarce?” Tory asked.

Yulen shook his head. “You’re welcome to stay.”

“Where’s Mattox?” Atty spoke up.

Tory pointed behind her. “He’s taking a nap on our bed.
He finally calmed down after you left him this morning. Let me go close the
door.” She left the room, and the rest of them took a seat at the table.
Fortune started to remove his weapons, but Yulen stopped him.

“Keep on doing what you’re doing. Listen, I’ve been
thinking about your plan to send out advance squads into the forest.”

“You want to talk about taking a group east?”
Glancing up to see the Battle Lord’s surprised expression, the Mutah hunter
smiled. “No, I don’t read minds. You appeared particularly concerned when that
issue was argued.”

Yulen laughed softly as he placed his arms on the
table and clasped his hands together. “I’m concerned about the time issue.”

Atty spoke up. “What time issue?”

“Our stores are low. No, strike that. They’re nonexistent.
We have so little food left, we won’t make it through the week.”

“I spoke with Berta today. She says she has enough
provisions for maybe three more days,” Atty confirmed.

Fortune eyed both of them. “What about the other
hunters? Are you suggesting we don’t wait for them?”

The Battle Lord looked down at his hands, as if he
were inspecting his nails. “I think your idea is very doable, and once the
other hunters show, we’ll go through with it. But, for the time being, we need
to send out an advance scout.” He glanced at Atty, then back to Fortune. “We
need to gather more meat for the compound, and we need to do it as soon as
possible. You’ve hunted this area many times. Is there enough game here locally
to support us through the winter?”

The Mutah hunter grimaced and shook his head. “No
way there’s enough. So, you’re thinking we could go ahead and take a day or so
to scout out east, and hopefully bring back enough game to tide us over until
the others arrive? And then we go back out in full force?”

“How many of us would go this first time?” Atty
questioned. There was no arguing she was included in the search.

“Fortune, how many of the caste do you think would
agree to go with you and Atty?”

“You mean how many are willing to forego their
superstitions?” At Yulen’s nod, he cleared his throat. “Three, perhaps four
others.”

“How about the hunters we spoke to today?”

The Mutah briefly considered. “I think they would
all go.”

“Even Vashayn?” Atty mentioned, noting the
superstitious hunter.

Fortune nodded. “Yeah. Vash has always been a
naysayer, but when it comes down to the nitty gritty, he’s right behind you.
The guy’s a powerhouse with an axe.”

“Altogether, you would make a small but powerful
force,” Yulen acknowledged.

“I know of two others who would put up a fight to
accompany us,” Atty added. “Paxton and Renken.”

“Definitely,” Fortune said. “Both men may not be
good hunters, but they’re superb swordsmen. If we encounter something
dangerous, they will be invaluable. I’m also thinking about asking Meesel to go
with us. He’s young, but he has amazing instincts, and a nose for blood.”

“Blood? So you’re thinking we’ll definitely
encounter dangerous animals?” Glancing at both men, their faces gave her the
answer. “All right. It’s decided. When are we leaving? Tomorrow morning?”

“The sooner, the better,” Fortune agreed.

Yulen nodded. “So do I.”

They were interrupted by the sound of a door
opening. A moment later, Mattox waddled in, still rubbing the sleep from his
eyes. Seeing his father, the tyke hurried over and lifted his arms, mutely
asking to be picked up. Yulen obliged, parking the child on his thigh.

Atty watched the interaction between the two with a
bit of wistfulness. It was evident their son was forming a strong bond with his
father, but it also meant he was becoming less dependent on her. In some ways,
the realization saddened her.

Getting up from her seat, she straightened her
blouse, and discovered a blade of hay hiding inside the neckline. Plucking it
out, she glanced around to see where she could toss it, when Tory held out a
hand, a knowing grin on the woman’s face. Silently, Atty gave it to her but
didn’t explain. There was no need to. Tory always had a sixth sense about their
love life.

“I’m heading out to let Renken and Paxton in on our
plans. At what time and where will we gather?”

“Let’s meet at the east gate an hour before dawn,”
Fortune said.

Nodding, Atty bent to give her son and husband both
a kiss on the temple. “See you two later.” Adding a wave goodbye, she left the
apartment, keeping an eye out for the men she needed to find.

Several yards away was a guard tower. Shielding her
eyes, she peered up to see who was on duty, but the man has his back to her.

“Ho! Guard!”

The man turned around. It was Stanus. “Ho, Madam!”

“Have you seen Paxton recently?”

“He just went by, heading in the direction of the
main hall.”

She thanked him and took off in that direction,
dodging a man with a wheelbarrow full of dung from the barns. Another woman and
child hurried by, their arms full of freshly-washed clothing. In fact, the
whole compound seemed unusually busy.
Or maybe I’m just noticing what
normally occurs on a daily basis.

Yulen often commented that she was single-minded.
Once she focused on something, very little managed to interfere until she
accomplished what she set out to do. Atty never saw it as a bad trait, but she
understood why people sometimes told her to slow down and get a chance to enjoy
the rewards she’d earned. The term rewards was one that puzzled her. She never
considered what she did at Alta Novis as anything more than what was required
of her from day to day.

A shout from a distance caught her attention. It
was a man trying to lead a horse to the rear courtyard, but the animal was
balking at the narrow gate. Two more men rushed to his aide, and they quickly
got the horse to go through. It struck her she had no idea who those men were.
Alta Novis was growing at such a rate, she no longer knew everyone by name. She
had never lived some place where she didn’t know each inhabitant by name, or at
least by reputation or skill. Even during that first tumultuous year here at
the compound, she’d made it a point to learn who was who. Thank goodness for
Berta, who happily kept her up on the latest gossip and goings-on.

Those days were over now. What had Warren told her?
That the compound was twice its size? Yulen had mentioned once that he was
seriously considering closing Alta Novis permanently to new residents, and
sending all newcomers to New Bearinger. The compound had been rebuilt and staffed
with many of Yulen’s trained men, most of them with families, and who wanted or
were willing to relocate. Although it was smaller than Alta Novis, it was less
than a quarter occupied.

The scent of ozone wafted through the compound. She
turned around to see a bank of gray-black clouds hanging on the horizon and
heading in her direction. If it rained that night, hopefully it would let up
before morning, or else they would have a soggy start to their hunt.

Hunt.
Only, her mind hadn’t said hunt. Instead, it had flashed the word
adventure.
Either way, she felt herself tensing up at the thought. How long had it
been since she’d gone on a full-scale hunt/adventure to bring back game?
Should
I take an extra weapon, besides my bow and Ballock?

Reaching the main hall, she entered through the
side door and scanned the big room. Several men were in the far corner,
laughing and talking over mugs of drink. They immediately spotted her, and one
stood and detached himself from the group to stride over to her.

“Madam?”

“Have you seen Renken?”

The Second shook his head. “Not since yesterday.”

“Find him, and meet me at the armory in fifteen
minutes. We’re going on a...adventure,” she informed him with a smile.

Paxton grinned. “Get Renken and meet you at the
armory in fifteen. Will do,” he said, and brushed past her to follow orders.

An adventure.
Yes, she should have listened to her inner voice. As always, it was
right the first time.