ICE BURIAL: The Oldest Human Murder Mystery (The Mother People Series Book 3) by Joan Dahr Lambert Page A

attention. Her eyes drew him in, and the scent of her skin; everything about her was perfect, was all he wanted. Leaning down, he kissed her soft cheek gently.
    Rofina smiled then, a wide smile filled with certainty. This was a good feeling; it could not be otherwise. Delight suddenly transformed her features. Grabbing Durak ’s hand, she began to run, light and swift as a gazelle, through the fragrant flowers. Durak followed, entranced. Around and around they ran, laughing, clinging to each other, until finally they collapsed in a small hollow, gasping for breath. The tall flowers hid them, sheltered them.
    For a long time, they lay still, their bodies touching from shoulder to foot, separated only by the soft linen garments they wore in the summer. Durak raised himself on one elbow and looked down into Rofina ’s face.
    “ I care very much for you already, Rofina, ” he told her. “ Never have I cared for a woman in this way before. ” He stroked her face with tender fingers.
    Rofina looked startled. “ I have not cared for a long time, ” she said. “ I had forgotten. ”
    “ Why is that? ” Durak asked, puzzled by her words.
    Rofina ’s face was suddenly suffused with torment as a memory came rushing back. Closing her eyes tightly, she pushed it away. “ I do not know, ” she said helplessly, and he saw tears forcing their way under her closed lids.
    “ It does not matter, ” he soothed her. “ But if anything pains you, you must come to me. Remember that, Rofina. If ever anything pains you, you must always come to me. ” He pulled her stiff body gently against him.
    “ I will remember, ” she promised, holding him tightly. “ I will remember. ”
    Durak did not speak again, only held her until he felt the tension leave her body. Slowly, gently, he began to stroke her back, her smooth arms and shoulders. Desire built inside him but he ignored it. Rofina was too fragile for Akat. He knew that intuitively. But one day...
    A rustling sound aroused him. Was someone coming? He lay perfectly still . Fear made his heart pound, but Rofina did not seem disturbed. She was almost asleep, he saw, and her face was filled with contentment. His heart beat still faster at the sight. Already, Rofina was dearer to him than life itself, and he wondered anew how such a thing could happen in such a short time.
    The rustling stopped and he dared to raise his head. A deer bounded away, and he relaxed. Still, he must not keep her here any longer, lest her absence be noted. As Mara had warned, the Leader would not like her to be alone with him. To think that harm might come to Rofina because of him was unbearable.
    He roused her gently. “ You must go back now, ” he told her. “ The Leader may be looking for you. ”
    She smiled up at him, unafraid. “ I do not think he will mind, ” she answered gently . “ I have been happy here, and he likes me to be happy. ”
    “ Perhaps, but still I think we must leave each other now, ” Durak said, wondering at her innocence. “ Others may look for you , too . ” His thoughts were on Korg, who seemed to see everything, but he did not say the name to Rofina lest he alarm her.
    He stood slowly, scanning the field and the woods beyond for faces, but no one was there. They had been lucky.   Rofina sighed as he helped her to her feet. “ I do not like Korg, ” she remarked abruptly, as if she had heard his thoughts. “ The Leader says he watches me for my safety, but I still do not like him. ”   There was no alarm in her voice, only resignation.
    “ I do not think he is a good man, ” Durak answered. “ You must be careful not to anger him, Rofina. ”
    Her answer surprised him. “ He cares for me, ” she said slowly. “ I do not think he would harm me. ”
    “ He cares for you? ”
    Rofina did not answer, only smiled at him and took his hand as they walked back across the field. The gesture felt familiar to Durak, as if all their lives they had been joined in this