Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Tarr took the center seat on the dais while Raynor and Odo flanked him.
As soon as drinks were poured and plates filled, Tarr asked, “Tell me what you know of the twins’ abduction.”
“There is not much to tell. One day they were safe in their cradles and the next day they were gone.”
“What of the slave who kidnapped the twins?”
Odo shrugged. “I knew little about her private life, just that she spent most of her time tending to Anya, Raynor, or the twins.”
“She cared for the twins?”
“Aye,” Odo said. “She knew her place and her duty.”
“Who else could possibly mean the twins harm?” Tarr asked.
Odo shook his head. “We went over the same questions years ago and found no answers. We could find no reason for the abduction. No one would benefit from the twins’ disappearance. There simply was no reason for their abduction.”
“There had to be a reason,” Tarr argued. “And I intend to find it.” Then he left Odo feasting with his men and Raynor, and met with Kirk in his solar.
“What have you learned?” he asked his trusted friend.
“Whoever does this, leaves no tracks.”
Tarr frowned. “How is that possible? There are always tracks to follow.”
“Not with this one. The men have gone over the whole area and have found nothing. They grumble amongst themselves, insisting it is a ghost who haunts the twins.”
Tarr pounded his fist on the table. “It is no apparition, but a man of flesh and blood who hunts the twins.”
“How do we find him if he leaves no tracks?”
“Every hunter leaves a track and we are going to find it.”
Tarr crept into his bedchamber after giving further instructions to Kirk. Fiona was curled in his bed sleeping and he did not wish to wake her. He merely wished to make certain she was all right.
He went to the bed, slipping out of his shirt and tossing it to the floor as he went. He would change into a clean one for the evening meal. He tucked the strip of plaid that ran over his shoulder around his waist as he reached the bed.
Fiona was sound asleep and completely naked, the blanket only partially covering her. One long leg and part of her firm backside lay exposed. Her bright red hair crowned her like a wreath of flames and her cheeks were rosy from their recent scrubbing.
“Beautiful,” he whispered, and shedding his plaid and boots he crawled in next to her.
He only wanted to hold her, nothing more. He pressed his body gently to hers and draped his arm over her, sliding his hand beneath the blanket to cup her breast. She was warm and her skin soft and smelling fresh, and it felt so right to be there beside her.
He loved to touch her, but then perhaps it was because of the way she responded to his touch, eagerly and with a sense of excitement that flamed his own already raging desire for her.
She was a woman comfortable with making love and she was adventurous. She had not shied away from his nakedness or his eagerness to please her, and welcomed him and all he had to teach her.
She stirred and her hand joined his at her breast, forcing a gentle squeeze out of him.
He nibbled at her ear. “You are awake.”
She wiggled her backside against him. “I was waiting for you to wake.”
He trailed kisses down her neck, turning her skin to gooseflesh while his hand left her breast and drifted down between her legs. As his finger slipped inside her he pressed himself hard against her.
“Is that awake enough for you?”
“Mmm, not sure; let me feel that again,” she laughed.
He bit playfully along her shoulder as his finger worked a magic that soon had her moaning with pleasure.
“Damn, but I want you,” he whispered harshly in her ear, then flipped her around on her back and eased over her.
A sharp knock had them both holding their breaths until Tarr finally called out, “Who goes there?”
“Shamus. You are needed in the hall.”
Fiona grabbed his arm and demanded in a whisper. “You will finish this before you go.”
He grinned as he shouted. “I will be down shortly.”
“Aye,” Shamus acknowledged, and walked away.
“I would have liked to take my time with you.”
“Tonight when every one is abed, for now”—she reached out and took hold of him and guided him into her— “fast and hard will do.”
Tarr obliged entering her with a solid thrust that had her tossing her head back and moaning. Her moans grew as he plunged into her time and time again, and when he emptied into her she joined him, her head spinning, her heart thumping, and her body tingling with satisfaction.
He lay on his back a moment regaining his breath, his hand reaching out to take hers.
“That felt wonderful,” Fiona exclaimed with a smile. “I do not even feel tired anymore.” She hopped out of bed and stood with her hands on her naked hips. “I will dress and go see how Aliss is, then join you in the hall.”