Ellora's Cavemen: Tales from the Temple II Read online

  His hands were at least twice the size of hers and Leah felt that blush turn hotter as she considered the confident way he handled his horse. Strength radiated from him in thick waves that caused heat to travel along her body and into her stomach.

  Leah dropped her eyes and hid her smile behind her hand. Now that she was a widow such open admiration wasn’t sinful, but it was certainly bound to get her into more trouble than she needed. Her body was actually warm and flushed. She felt bold enough to look him in the eye, but kept her face lowered instead.

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  Anger always interfered with empathy. Aaron didn’t notice the female’s interest in him until she dropped her face towards the ground. That angered him further but he strove to empty his mind so that he could feel her again. One slim hand was covering her face as she tried to dismiss him from her thoughts.

  The dress she wore was ugly and shapeless. But her fingers were smooth and slim and delicate. He couldn’t even tell what color her hair was because still more cloth was sitting on her head. A woman’s hair was her crown. Aaron didn’t understand why all of these females were swaddled up like infants.

  She had been looking his body over with appreciation. Aaron had felt the path of her eyes and he wanted to see her face. Reaching out, he gently stroked her mind. She jumped and her face flew up so her eyes stared directly into his own. Aaron didn’t touch her mind again because humans often reacted poorly to empathy. Instead he considered her large blue eyes and the tiny hints of light-colored hair.

  Leah went from warm to hot in an instant as his bold eyes moved over her body.

  Sensation erupted in places that she’d never really thought sensation should be. Her breasts felt heavy and her nipples tightened into little buds. She was grateful her dress hid the strange reaction as that heat seeped into her middle and down toward her sex.

  The sheer intensity of the heat made her shift in her tracks. The warrior’s eyes seemed to know far too much and she walked toward the back of the women’s group.

  A black eyebrow rose in response and Leah stopped her retreat. She wasn’t a coward and she didn’t like him thinking she was afraid of him.

  Leah bent to pick up a bolt of cloth as if that had been her reason for moving in the first place. She straightened her back and moved forward to place it along with the other goods that were being presented to the Tailarmarians. She raised her chin and took another look at the man’s muscular arms. As long as it made her feel so strange, she might as well enjoy it.

  There was little doubt that she’d never see him again. Once the land was paid for, the Tailarmarians wouldn’t disturb them. That was part of the agreement.

  “You have the luck of a God, Aaron.” Lucian felt the wave of interest coming from the female and lamented the fact that she was looking at his best friend. Boldness in a female meant she would be a good mate. Human women were always too afraid of their own bodies to become good mates. Looking at her blue eyes, he cursed silently. He would claim her in a second if her interest were for him.

  Aaron wasn’t sure if it was luck or a curse. His body was keenly aware of her. His staff had hardened in response to her arousal and he wanted to rip that cap off her head to find out what her hair smelled like. “It is most likely she has a mate.” Aaron said the words and felt his staff throb with protest. If she were Tailarmarian, he would speak to her father before the sun set.

  The men of her group began speaking and Aaron reluctantly looked at them. Their trade goods left a great deal to be desired. They had nothing as valuable as the land they wanted.

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  Worse yet, the pilgrims didn’t seem to have brought unmated women with them.

  There was a lack of females among the rougher terrains of Tailarmar. Men like Aaron’s father offered small amounts of land in order to bring in families that might then provide mates. His father had hoped that Aaron and his men might find females among the pilgrims. Now, it looked like there wouldn’t even be payment for the land. Sending them back towards the spaceport would be a death sentence. They were not strong enough to make the three-month journey again.

  Swinging off his mount’s back, Aaron let the men show him their offerings.

  “Enough.” The men fell back as a group. Aaron held his temper in check. They were so foolish. Showing such weakness was an invitation to be conquered. “You cannot survive without your horses. The cloth will barely be sufficient to keep your women alive when the snow begins to fall. Do not offer what you cannot part with. There is no honor is taking the things that would leave you at the mercy of death.”

  His stiff arousal was making him harsh but Aaron didn’t care. He didn’t want to leave such a rare female in the midst of men who would not provide for her. He had never considered capturing a mate before. This morning the idea sounded appealing.

  If he took her, she would be warm and fed and he would fill her belly with his seed until she swelled with his child. Instead she stood there trying to hide her desire while he felt it touch his mind. All of her companions were shaking with fear as they faced his men. But she displayed the type of courage that impressed him.

  “We have gold.”

  That captured Aaron’s attention. He aimed doubting eyes at the gray-haired man.

  These humans had promised gold in payment. It would seem they practiced deception.

  “Come, sisters.”

  The women of the group came forward as they pulled on the small gold bands on their left hands. They left their offerings in the elderly man’s hand. Aaron considered the meager pile of gold rings, but looked back at the woman who had not come forward. Her.

  “Why do you not have gold to offer?”

  His voice was as strong as his body. Leah felt her body tremble as the folds of her sex throbbed. She couldn’t rip her eyes away from him. Her thoughts were full of him, almost like he was inside her mind.

  “Sister Leah is widowed. Her ring was buried with her husband. That is our custom.”

  Aaron felt his staff grow painfully hard. He grinned as he looked the woman over.

  “A female would be considered fair payment for the land.”

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  Chapter Two

  The humans reacted with frantic whispers. Aaron didn’t care. He was only interested in her reaction. What he saw pleased him immensely. She lifted her chin and refused him with her eyes. The silent challenge fired his blood because she would pass that strength on to their sons.

  “We do not sell our women.”

  “And we do not buy them,” Aaron snapped his response out. “But we do barter for mates. If this woman is without a provider, I would bargain for her.”

  “That’s barbaric.” One of the older women pointed her long bony finger at him as she labeled him. Lucian stepped up beside him and Aaron considered the defiant form of Sister Leah again.

  “Few women brave the harsh conditions of the Dritimti valley. Any woman that can make the journey is to be commended.” At that, the older woman’s face lifted with pride.

  “You have little to provide for your people. Trade Sister Leah for the land. She will have her choice of mate from our warriors. That will leave you with one less mouth to feed this winter as well as settle your debt. Unless there is one of your own that has offered for her?”

  “We have no unmarried members.”

  Aaron kept his eyes on the gray-bearded man. Victory was within his grasp and he would not leave without his prize. “Then I offer for her, unless she would choose another of my men.”

  “She would have a choice?”

  Aaron gave the older woman a sharp nod in response and left it at that. Their customs were different but he wasn’t leaving without Sister Leah.

  Leah felt her temper rise. All around her there were sympathetic mutters but the hands that patted her shoulders began to push her forward. That big brute stood grinning as her own people offered her up to him
in trade for their future! A future that was to have been her own. Instead, she was being fed to the local predators by her own herd so they could be safe.

  The hands on her back became more forceful. Elder Samuel was giving her a smile while motioning her forward from behind the warrior’s back. Her temper became boiling hot and she stepped forward with her chin held high. She would not be tossed out like some bleating lamb.

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  Elder Samuel caught her hand and pulled her closer. He leaned down as if to embrace her and whispered in her ear. “Bless your sacrifice, child. The kingdom of heaven shall reward you.”

  The Elder laid her hand into the warrior’s huge one. Leah watched his fingers close around her own. It was a capture. Complete, secure, unbreakable. The warrior’s dark eyes looked at her with an arrogance that Leah had never seen before. Over his shoulder his companion preened at her as well.

  “It is done.” His voice cracked open the morning air as his men gave a loud cheer from their mounts. The mutters of relief from her fellow pilgrims hardened her heart.

  Leah raised her chin higher. She refused to look back at the people she’d once called family.

  The warrior turned and took her with him by their joined hands, then broke that contact as he swung up onto his giant mount’s back. He held his hand out to her and Leah looked at the palm in indecision. The harsh round of gasps from the Fellowship made her thrust her hand into his with fury. No one cared what might become of her.

  Instead they were worried that she might keep them from their goals. At least this bunch of warriors look like they might eat better then she had in the last few weeks.

  Her body left the ground as he pulled her up. Two solid hands grasped her waist to lift her so that her shoulder wouldn’t take too much pressure. Leah turned her head to see the warrior’s companion lifting her up to his friend.

  She landed in front of the man and he immediately bound her to his body with a solid arm. His foreign smell wrapped around her senses as her body exploded with heat again. But Leah found herself battling the sharp sting of tears as she watched her people wave goodbye to her.

  Some of them even had the nerve to look sorry. Leah fought off her tears as the animal beneath her turned and moved off in a powerful motion that made the wind slap her cheeks.

  She must face forward.

  * * * * *

  “Welcome to Dritimti house.” His lips grazed her ear as he leaned down to speak with her. Leah suddenly became hot as she tried to look at the immense but beautiful stone fortress carved into the canyon wall. The walls rose forty feet with the canyon.

  She was pressed along his entire length and his strength surrounded her. His arm was draped across her and her breasts seemed to be swelling up to touch him. Leah suddenly hated her dress. She absolutely wanted to rip the thing off. She was too hot!

  That arm moved across her nipples, making her gasp. The movement brought a moment of pleasure before the ache began to pulse from her nipples again. The motion of the horse between her legs made her ache far more.

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  But it was the feel of his engorged staff that held her thoughts the most. His arm secured her to his length and his staff was a solid rod pressed into her bottom. The folds of her sex became moist as she considered cradling that rod in the most primitive of fashions.

  Leah struggled to clear her mind. She couldn’t think such things! They were strangers, not only in name but also in species. What sort of man traded for a woman?

  He must have a harem full of consorts.

  Aaron’s lips lifted with pride as he rode into the inner yard of his home. Her strength raised his pride another notch. So did her desire. He knew her head was filled with his body filling hers. Riding her until she cried with pleasure.

  “I am Aaron Dritimtar.”

  His lips nipped her ear again and then pressed a gentle kiss onto her neck. She wanted to lean her head back and let him kiss her neck even more, but scolded herself for wanton behavior. She must be in shock. There was no other reason for her to be so brazen with a man she’d met an hour past.

  The strangest sensation came over her again and Leah recognized it from the moment she’d first stared into his eyes. It was like he was inside her head. Touching and examining her emotions. His presence communicated its amazing strength to her.

  “Do not push your feelings aside. It is a natural thing to desire a man. To want his touch.”

  A vivid picture of him thrusting his staff into her body erupted in her brain and she did let her head fall back onto his chest. A tiny moan escaped her lips because the picture continued to move through her head with perfect clarity.

  “I promise you, I will make that happen, Leah.”

  “Are you some kind of psychic?” Leah panted her question as she grasped for any tiny amount of self-control. The picture suddenly vanished and all she felt was the throb of denied hunger.

  “We are empathic.”

  “Even with other species?”

  “With humans, most definitely.”

  Leah felt her cheeks explode with color. He knew every last idea that had crossed her mind. His hand moved to cup her breast. Pleasure rippled down her body from the touch.

  “Hum… I will remember that you like that.”

  Leah knew her eyes had to be as wide as saucers but that didn’t keep her from arching her back and offering her breast to his touch.

  They reached the stables and he pulled the animal to a stop. His friend appeared and lifted her from the saddle as Aaron dropped to the ground beside her. He tipped her chin up to meet his eyes as he probed her face for information.

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  The strength Aaron found on her face pleased him. Strain stared out of her eyes but she returned his look without cowering.

  “We will make fine sons together, Leah. Strong sons just like their mother.”

  His mouth caught hers and he parted her lips in a swift movement that demanded obedience. His tongue thrust forward to discover her tastes as she moved her lips in unison with his. There was nothing else to do. His smell was overpowering. Her body jumped forward and Leah used her own tongue to find his taste. He pulled back and his breath was rough as he smiled into her face.

  The surrounding men laughed in low rumbles as many nodded their heads with approval.

  “Best we finish this inside.”

  * * * * *

  She had to be in shock. Leah stood in the middle of a bedchamber and twisted a part of her skirt. What was she doing?

  Howard had never kissed her like that! Well, for that matter she’d never really dreamed about Howard thrusting into her.

  There was something wrong with her. There had to be. It must be wicked to think about a man’s…penis so vividly. It was sinful at the very least.

  But it was making her wet as she stood there trying to figure out her new tendencies to daydream so vividly.

  “Accept it, Leah. We are destined to be mated. The intensity is our calling to each other.” Aaron came back into the room and aimed his dark eyes at her again. His stance was arrogant as he folded his arms across his chest.

  “That makes no sense to me.”

  Her honestly pleased him. Aaron considered her a moment. “What I do not understand is that fabric covering your hair. Take it off.”

  Leah reached for her cap but stopped as she realized she was jumping to his commands. His face tightened as her action displeased him. Leah smiled back at him.

  She would not be his doormat.

  “Aaron, stop bellowing at her like your warriors. You must learn to ask.”

  A woman came around the corner and aimed a wide smile at Leah. She was the most exotic thing Leah had ever seen. Her hair flowed down her back and her dress was the sheerest of fabrics that was hooked together under her breasts and draped behind her as she walked. Her large distended belly poked out and the pants she wore rode low on her hips. The
outfit seemed to praise and frame her pregnant state perfectly. Leah looked again at the bare rounded belly that her child rested in. She couldn’t imagine a more beautiful woman.

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  “Myra, if you bend me to your will, Leah will reject me for being too weak. Have mercy on me today and go find your mate.”

  Leah stared at Aaron in disbelief. His eyes had softened as he became the model of charming maleness. He rubbed the mound of Myra’s belly with a large hand while she gently stroked his cheek.

  “A woman wants more than iron strength in her mate. Now be gone with you until Leah sends for you again.” Myra waved her hand and smiled at Leah as Aaron frowned.

  “Myra…”

  “What? You would have your mating night without giving your mate the chance to bathe? Crude. What is wrong? Do you doubt that Leah will send for you?”

  Aaron did doubt it. Humans were not as accepting as Tailarmarians about mating.

  The intensity of their mutual desire was all the confirmation he needed, but Leah might reject him out of fear. Staying with her now would prove the issue once and for all.

  “What happens if I do not send for you?”

  “You would have your choice of which warrior to ask into your bed.”

  So that was what he had meant by choice. Leah looked into his dark eyes and straightened her spine. It was him. Could only be him. She couldn’t recall a single other warrior’s face because she had been drawn to Aaron. There was no reason to debate the issue with her conscience. Lying to herself would be just as grave a sin as wantonness.

  “Go. I will send for you.”

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  Chapter Three

  A completely different bliss captured Leah just five little minutes later. Myra pulled her across the room and through a doorway that led to a bathing chamber. A large steaming pool of water tempted her with its sparkling depths.

  Leah hadn’t had a hot bath in months. Her skin suddenly felt the weeks of grime and dirt that the trip had left on her. Myra began pulling pieces of her clothing off and Leah was most happy to help.