Aura by M.A. Abraham Page A

The grating sound the steel made against the stone of the cave floor woke Aura and she jumped in reaction.  Sitting up she looked to see what was the matter.  She was just in time to see Roger rear over the man.  She watched how the man swung his sword at the snake in a reflex action, cutting the head from the body.
 
A split second later Roger coiled and thrashed about in his death throws.  The man moved to escape the path of the flailing body of the snake while Aura threw all regards to safety to the wind and ran towards her dying pet.  As she brushed past the man she felt an arm wind itself about her waist and she was slammed backwards against his solid body.

"Do you want to die?"  He growled out at her, to shock her back into using her sense.

She just turned on him and hit at his chest with clenched fists.  He stood stationary and let her pommel him.  She was not as strong as he had thought.  In fact, she was not very strong at all.  She quit, her body shaking with the effort she seemed to be making to control her grief, and he felt sorry for her.  He raised his free hand to stroke the hair on the back of her head until she calmed and seemed to regain her composure.

When she was crying quietly in his arms he looked down into her face, to view the pain and devastation that was stamped across her features.  She felt him watching her and she raised her head to look up at him.  He was, she noted, very tall, as she reached no higher than the top of his collarbone.  His eyes met hers and she felt as if she was suddenly caught in a web.

He had almost choked on the depth of despair he saw in her eyes and was amazed.  Why?  Could she have actually loved that huge snake?  He found that impossible to imagine.  What kind of life had she led that would make her cling to something like that?  Didn’t she have anyone in her life to love her?

As he held her close, another thought came unbidden to him, one that threatened to take over both his mind and body.  He felt his muscles bunch in reaction and felt himself harden against the soft curves of her body.  She was, his instincts told him, a woman, and she not only felt good, but so very, very right in his arms.  He almost groaned as his shaft swelled and stiffened painfully, and before he could control the demands of his body, his soldier's mind went with it.  After all, this was life was all about, was it not?

Aura's eyes widened as his arms tightened around her and he lifted her off of her feet until her face met his.  She squirmed, kicked, and pushed at him to get away.  His lips lowered to claim hers, demanding her response, and she gave a muffled exclamation of objection.  She clamped her lips together tight to refuse him entry, and his lips ground against hers, bruising her lips with his kiss.  He was paying no heed to her weak attempts at freedom as he laid her with care onto the moss that had served as his bed.  His body covered hers as he moved his lips from hers to nuzzle her neck in an attempt to coerce her into a more cooperative mood.  He moved his hands from the small of her back to cup her breasts and fondle them as he stroked her mindlessly.

Aura felt the unfamiliar effects on her body from his touch.  She felt her breasts swell against his hands, her heart pounding in her ears, and a small part of her sought to reach out to him.  Something told her that if she gave him even the slightest indication that his attentions might be welcome, that his movements would gentle, and his touch would become seductive.  It was this that she feared the most.  She doubted whether she could resist the lure of his essence if his touch became softer.  She felt his hands on her breasts as they kneaded them through the material of her nightgown, and a response shot through her that set her trembling.

Thorn felt her begin to wake to his touch and he groaned as he trailed fiery kisses down her neck to her breasts, which he nuzzled and nipped