War Bringer by Elaine Levine Page B

something bigger than ourselves. Like the earth is nothing without the pull of the moon, and night would never know light without the sun’s transformative burn. You and I together are part of the infinite that is. Without you, I am nothing, not even an afterthought of the universe.”
    Fiona blinked. A tear spilled free. How could she argue with that? Locking her eyes with his, she lowered one shoulder of her loose gown, then took her hand from his heart and lowered the other, slipping the fabric from her body, letting the gown drop to the floor.  
    She heard his sharp intake of breath. Her eyes flashed his way while his were still moving over her. Tension had etched itself on his face. Thinking something had to be wrong with her, she looked down at herself and noticed the gross makeup that had been all over her face was also on her nipples, and the tawny hair that was neatly patterned in a triangle on her mound had been artificially darkened.
    She looked at him in horror, folding her arms over her breasts. “Kelan, it’s here, too.”
    He eased her arms apart. “It’s only cosmetic. We’ll get it off.”
    “Why did they do this to me?” God, they—someone—had touched her while she was naked and unconscious.
    “I suspect they wanted to enrage me in that arena so that every time I looked at you, I would see your beauty and what your gown barely covered. Like a spear in the neck of a bull at a bullfight, seeing you exposed and in danger was meant to motivate me to fight.”
    “It did. You never stopped.”
    “Nor would I.” He stepped over to her sink and grabbed the container of coconut oil.  
    “Kelan, what if…what if they raped me?”
    He looked at her, then set the coconut oil on the bench in the shower and came back to stand before her. She was glad he didn’t just brush her fear away.
    “Do you have discomfort down there? Are you bleeding? Sore? Is there any odd discharge?”
    “Does that happen after sex?”
    “Sometimes. You wouldn’t normally bleed after consensual sex, but if you were taken against your will…”
    She shook her head. “I didn’t feel anything—until I was here, with you. I’m achy and…wet.”
    He smiled. “Good. That’s all good. If you didn’t feel those things while they had you, I suspect they didn’t touch you—other than to prep you for your ‘appearance.’” He kissed the side of her forehead. “Let’s take that shower and wash this day off us.”  
    He turned the water on. It spilled from a half-dozen steel heads. He held his hand in the water until the temperature was just right and steam began to rise. There were two sides to the big shower, but Kelan shared one with her, letting her stand in the streams of water with him.  
    She liked the feel of the water and his hands on her, the smile that lifted the edges of his lips, the anticipation in his eyes. When their eyes met, his smile widened.  
    “Let’s get that stuff off you.” He reached for the coconut oil. He dipped his fingers into the thick white stuff, melted it between his palms, then rubbed it on her breasts.  
    Fiona sucked in a sharp breath. Her back arched into him, pressing her nipples against his palms. Once both had been slathered, he held one breast and rubbed his fingers over the sensitive peak. His fingers were warm and sure and strong. When he repeated the process on her other breast, she gripped his biceps. His muscles were so wide that her hands were spread open. He looked down at her. Her lips parted to pull more air.  
    He bent close to her and kissed her mouth. Her fingers tightened on his arms as he pulled her against his body. His rigid penis pressed against her belly. His tongue entered her mouth. She opened herself to him. Her hands moved up from his arms to lock around his neck as he bent toward her. She stood on her tiptoes, but the inches she gained did little to even out the disparity in their heights. Still, she could feel the entire length of his body against