Traveler (27 page)

He smiled, sitting on the bed next to her.  “If you don’t mind, that is,” he murmured as he sat beside her.  “And I couldn’t tell you.  The woman who is my betrothed, and anyone who is connected to me...Bri, there is a huge mark on your head if anyone knows of your connection to me.  Being away from me, away from all the trouble I cause, is safer for you than being with me.”

She looked at him, cerulean eyes searching his face.  “But...Silvertongue should already know about the whole betrothal thing.  Snake works for him...even if he thinks I don’t realize that.  How would it be safer away from you when he doesn’t even know that you are the one he’s looking for?”

Rahim’s expression turned stunned.  “Snake...works for Silvertongue?”  Shit.  That meant that Silvertongue knew about Bri...and it wouldn’t take long to connect Bri to a long-dead prince.  And then, hopefully, that’s where the trail would end.  

“Yes...I have seen them together, conspiring like gossipy old women.  When they are plotting, they are not always as discreet as they should be...at least around me.”  She sighed softly, a hand hesitantly touching his forearm.  “I know...that he planned to come to the wedding for some reason...not that I had intended on being there.”

Rahim’s hand tightened into a fist on his knee.  He knew what the reason was, all right.  Silvertongue wanted to sleep with Bri.  He wanted to to use his right as ruler to sleep with the bride before the groom...and therefore claim Bri as the rightful heir, with him, to the throne of Avaldiir.  “That bastard,” Rahim growled, trembling in rage.  “It won’t happen now, Bri.  I will protect you until I die.  I promise you that.  Nothing within heaven or hell will stop that.”  He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it softly.  “Please, believe that.”

Bri didn’t quite understand why he was so angry at the thought of Silvertongue attending a wedding that wasn’t even going to be taking place.  She stared into his eyes, gently touching his cheek.  “Please...calm down...it is not worth to be angry over a wedding that will never happen.  Even if you hadn’t stolen me away, I would have run away the moment I had a chance.”

Rahim turned and kissed her palm.  “I know you would have...and when I had known it was you, I would have gone to the ends of the earth to find you.  Am I forgiven?” he asked softly.  “That’s the only thing I care about in the world, bird.”

“Of course...I could never deny you forgiveness...” She murmured softly, a faint blush creeping up her cheeks.  Lowering her eyes, she nibbled on her bottom lip for a moment before hesitantly asking.  “...are you going to send me away again?”

He chuckled softly, tilting her chin up to look at her and he brought his lips to brush against hers lightly, briefly.  “Does that answer your question?” he asked softly.  “I love you, Bri...it just took nearly losing you for that to really sink in.”

Her blush deepened as his lips brushed against hers, the brief touch vastly different from the kisses Snake had tried to steal.  Impulsively she threw her arms around him, burying her face against his chest.  Trembling slightly against him, she whispered softly, her voice nearly muffled by the way she was pressed against him.  “...love you too, Rahim.”

***

Aislin tried to hold back a tear that was going to run down her cheek onto the mattress.  She tried to muffle a sniffle, wiping a finger under her nose to dab her tears away.  That was...beautiful.  And they had truly made up.  It was nice to see a fairy tale ending, even if that ending was only temporary; the calm before the storm, so to speak.  She sniffed again, glancing at Alex to see how he was reacting.

Laying there, listening to Rahim pour his heart out to that girl, it had brought a smile to Alex’s face.  He was happy that the man had finally seen sense...but now it made things a bit harder for them all.  Thankfully the moment he had heard Rahim speak, he had the foresight to ward the cabin, not wanting any potential spies to overhear their confessions.  He glanced down at Aislin, gently running his thumb under her eyes to wipe away her tears.  “I guess he took my advice seriously, hm?”

Aislin slapped him playfully, feeling particularly emotional at this point in time.  It was a very grounding thing that they had just witnessed.  “Don’t be an ass,” she muttered, though her heart wasn’t in it.  “That was beautiful...”  She took a deep breath and tried to steady herself.  “Okay...get a grip, Oriole,” she muttered to herself.

The slap made him smile before he leaned down and kissed her softly.  “Relax...it was beautiful, I agree.  I’m just glad that he finally got his head out of his ass and went after her.  Rahim has been in love with her since she was a tiny child.  He’s just been in denial.”

Aislin kissed him back softly, though she still felt a little sullen.  “It’s...been that long?  I can’t imagine being in love with someone for that long...and for them not knowing.”  Aislin shivered a little.  “That must be the ultimate torture, don’t you think?”

“Yes...and with his family having been slaughtered, I understood his decision to leave her behind.  Even highly trained, there was simply no way for a twelve year old to safely hide himself and a four year old.”  He sighed softly.  “Now that he has her back...and you have appeared, my dear Traveler, things are in motion.  We shall have to be prepared for things to get very dangerous...”

Aislin frowned.  “Dangerous?  Will you be in danger, Alex?”  Her eyes were wide with fright.  “Please tell me you’re going to be okay,” she whispered, nearly trembling beneath him.  “If there is...then maybe we should just stay behind.”  It was irrational to say that.  She knew they needed to come to this world, to make things right.  But this was
Alex
.  

Alex pressed a finger against her lips, his blue eyes meeting her green ones.  “Hush, munchkin.  When I said that, I did not necessarily mean me.  You must understand...your position as Traveler...that makes you a highly desired ally by anyone’s standards.  It is my job and my honor to protect you.  Once...in what seems like a previous life now...I was in training to be the bodyguard to the royal heir.  While some might say that duty ended when Silvertongue eradicated the royal family...I cannot help but to feel a certain amount of...responsibility towards Rahim still.  However...
you
are my top priority.”

Aislin listened to what he said, a soft frown crossing her features.  “You were...Rahim’s bodyguard?”  Looking at him closely, she took note of something interesting.  “Hmm...maybe that’s why he was so attractive to me at first...before he opened his mouth.  He looks a lot like you.  What
should
be your top priority, though, is to protect the royal heir.  If I’m this...great Traveler or whatever I’m supposed to be...shouldn’t I be able to protect myself?”  She looked down at her hands.  “Can you teach me to protect myself?”

He frowned slightly before pulling her onto his lap and holding her close.  “Aislin, you may have the title of Traveler, but you are still learning how to control your abilities.  Besides...even if you were the most powerful being in the entire cosmos, you would still be my top priority.”  He placed a soft kiss behind her ear, murmuring softly.  “If you wish to learn how to protect yourself, I would be more than happy to teach everything you need to know.”

Aislin kissed him softly, cuddling closer to his chest.  “Thank you,” she whispered.  “And I would love to learn everything an assassin has to teach me.  Especially so this doesn’t happen again.”  She glanced down at the now-fading bruises on her wrists.  “At least this problem is taken care of, right?  Are we going to be staying here longer?” she asked, glancing up at him.

Alex wasn’t quite sure that he wanted to teach her to
everything
he had learned over the years.  Some were quite unsettling for someone unused to bloodshed.  But he would cross that bridge when he reached it.  He smiled down at her, lightly caressing her cheek.  “No...I think it’s past time for us to return home.  Unless you want to stay longer...?”

“No...I want to stay home.  I think we should give them some alone time,” she smiled gently.  “They have a lot of...catching up to do.”  She sighed.  “It’s so romantic, isn’t it?”  Her gaze was far off and dreamy, eyes slightly glazed.  Definitely off radar.

He watched her for a moment, an affectionate look on his face as he wondered if she would even notice when he brought them home.  Chuckling, he murmured softly...more to himself than anything else.  “Catching up?  Light, at the rate Rahim moves, I bet sweet little Brileia will still be the shy blushing virgin the next time we visit.”  Tightening his arms around Aislin, he buried his face in her hair, inhaling the scent of lilacs before he abruptly opened the gateway back to his bedroom, leaving them sitting in the middle of the bed.

Aislin chuckled and held him close as he inhaled the scent of her hair as they jumped, cuddling even closer to him once they were back home, safe in his bed.  “I would hate to be a virgin that long, once I’d found the man I want to be with,” she murmured, glancing up at him.  “What I’d like to do, though...” her eyes took on a little mischievous glint.  “Is to be able to get out of this dress...and get comfortable.”

“Ah, well, she doesn’t know any better...but that is simply the way of the nobility...they shelter their daughters, hoping to sell them to the highest bidder.” Alex replied calmly, a hand sliding around her back to tug on the laces of her bodice.  His fingers idly brushed against her skin as he took his time, loosening the fabric enough for it to slide down one of her shoulders.  “I don’t blame you.  You’re not used to wearing something laced so tightly...”

She made a small sound in her throat.  “That sounds...completely unappetizing,” she murmured.  “I would much prefer to choose the men I sleep with.”  She let out a breath, nearly ecstatically, as she was able to breathe freely again.  “No, not at all...which is surprising.  I am used to wearing tight garments, like that dress the other night...but something that you can tighten by yourself is an entirely different matter.”  She turned to him a little, holding up the rest of the bodice with her hands.  “Thank you for unlacing that for me,” she said with a smile.

“You’re welcome...”  He smiled back, playfully tugging on a lock of her hair.  “Perhaps next time...we’ll choose something easier for you to wear, hm?”

Aislin cocked her head to the side, looking at him curiously.  “But I thought these were standard gowns...what else would I wear, there?”

“I am sure that we could find something else that would be less constricting.”  He frowned slightly.  “...though I must admit that I’m drawing a blank as to what.  And no, those dresses are more suited to rich nobles than common folk.”

She nodded, taking another deep breath.  “I suppose I will have to find out for myself then,” she winked, smiling at him.  “Now.  I think I may go change into something more...comfortable.  Unless you’re opposed to that?”

Alex laughed softly, his fingers playfully poking her sides.  “I could make a new rule about changing clothes.  But I think we’ve already been quite naughty today, don’t you?”

Aislin arched her eyebrow at him.  “I don’t know...your mention of
our
bed when we were in my cabin on the Dragon’s ship spoke otherwise.  But, as  you wish.”  She slid off the bed, glancing back at him and letting the rest of the dress slide down her body, looking completely unashamed to show her nakedness underneath.  “Oops,” she murmured innocently, turning to walk out of his bedroom, towards her room.  “I’ll come back for that...”

He nearly choked on his tongue when he saw the dress fall to the floor, his blue eyes wide and dark with arousal.  He almost couldn’t think for a moment before he suddenly leapt to his feet and followed her.  Reaching her bedroom doorway, he stalked towards her with a predatory grace.  “You did that completely on purpose.  I should call you vixen rather than munchkin.”  

Coming to a stop just a few millimeters away, he stared down at her, determination and arousal in his eyes.  Fingers slid into her hair as his other arm slipped around her waist to pull her close, deliberately pressing her against his body. “You have a really bad habit of walking away before I have a chance to respond to your comments.  If you are going to keep testing my control, my dear, you might find that I’m more than you can handle.”

Aislin had stood next to her closet, going to grab pajamas from her drawers, looking at him with an amused smile as he stood in her doorway.  “I like the sound of vixen,” she murmured, her own eyes darkening a little as he pulled her against her, her hands resting against his chest.  “Oh..? And how would you have responded in this particular situation, my dear Alexion...?  And you have no idea whatsoever about just how much...I can handle.”  She slipped one of the hands on his chest down to caress between his legs briefly, teasingly.

A shudder coursed through his body, a growl escaping him before he suddenly lifted her off her feet.  His eyes were nearly glowing with a heady combination of desire and power.  The sound of water turning on in the other room echoed through the house as he claimed her lips in a fierce kiss full of hunger and promise.  Easily holding her up, he carried her into the bathroom, steam wafting from the open doorway.  “You’re about to find out, little vixen.” He growled against her mouth, waving his hand absently,  making the door slam shut behind them.

Chapter 15

Four days had passed since Aislin had surfaced from the house, too busy spending time alone with Alex to focus on anything else.  The next weekend was almost over by the time she got around to asking him to really start her training.  His world needed her, after all, and if she was going to be the one to help him defeat Silvertongue, she would need all the advantages she could get.  They were outside Alex’s house now, Aislin dressed in a pair of yoga pants and a sport’s bra along with her pendant, trying to purposefully send herself to his world.  So far, it hadn’t worked.