I might have kept on with this train of thought, but Leo's hard, hot cock in my hand was distracting me. The fact that a little while before it was beginning to seem as though I'd never get to touch it again made me appreciate it that much more-if such a thing was possible.

*209 *40*.

210.

Cheryl Brooks "Well, I'm very glad you're better now, and Rafe will be, too," I said, giving him a hug. "Oh, and you don't have to worry about Rafe taking you away from me just so Carnita won't be deprived of her exotic slave boy- he's seen this thing," I said, giving his cock a tug, "and I told him what it could do."

"He is envious?" Leo purred.

"Well, I'm not sure about that," I said, though I suppose he might have been-after all, it was quite a tool! "But while there are lots of things you could say about Rafe, being a foolish idiot isn't one of them, and he's not stupid enough to let you get anywhere near Carnita now!" I eyed him curiously. "Tell me something, Leo, is everyone envious, and did you really get beaten half to death by a jealous husband the way Gerald suspects, or are you just a really rotten slave?"

"I have been beaten many times," Leo replied. "But my last owner was more...energetic about it than the others."

"Energetic?" I echoed. "Well, that's one way of putting it. You really are irresistible, aren't you?"

Leo shrugged. "Our men had to be," he said simply.

"And why is that?"

"Our women were...uninterested."

I couldn't imagine anyone not being interested in sex with my Leo, but it did explain a lot. "I'll bet you were very popular in the slave quarters," I commented.

"Popularity can be dangerous," he remarked, leaving me to wonder if his owners had been the only ones to abuse him.

"Well, I don't suppose your last owner mentioned *210 *40*.

warrior 211.

anything about how much trouble you were, or Rafe would never have let Carnita talk him into buying you."

"I do not know," Leo replied with another shrug. "I was unconscious."

"Tell me something else, then," I said, as visions of women coming from all over to get a taste of the witch's big cat danced through my head. "Am I going to have trouble with you, too?"

Leo looked at me gravely. "I have never shared vows with anyone before this, Tisana, and I have never loved anyone as I have loved you. You say that I am 'the one'

for you, but you are also 'the one' for me. No, you will not have trouble with me."

I smiled at him warmly, but when I spoke, it was with a sigh of relief. "Well, that's good to hear, because I have no desire to wind up looking like a foolish idiot myself."

Which I might have done, if anyone ever got wind of Leo's special attractions. I had an idea that singeing the hair off of a few heads might deter the more persistent, but knowing what Leo was capable of, that might not be enough. Rafe's own dogged determination to find his sons was a good example of what I might face, and, to be honest, I now had a little better handle on why he was so upset. He really did love his sons, even though he didn't say much about it. I could understand him not wanting to waste any time going after those boys- though waiting until the weather improved might have been advisable-because the mere thought of losing Leo nearly had me unhinged. Before Leo came along, I'd simply never had anyone I'd ever cared this much about.

*211 *40*.

212.

Cheryl Brooks Oh, sure, I'd probably cared about Rafe once upon a time, but I got over that pretty quickly when he ditched me for Carnita.

"So, on the whole, how do you feel?" I asked solicitously. "Think you can ride?"

"Perhaps," he replied, still purring softly. "That feels very good."

I glanced over my shoulder at Rafe, who was going through our dwindling supplies for the makings of a meal. I shrugged, "Might as well keep doing this for a bit, then. It looks like it's going to be a while before we get any dinner-which is unfortunate, because I'm starving!"

Leo's smile was sinfully seductive. "You may have some snard to help allay your hunger until the food is ready."

The sinuous pelvic thrust that accompanied that statement gave me some idea of what he was referring to.

"By which I suppose you mean semen," I said dryly.

"I'll have to say, I've heard it called a lot of things before, but snard? Never heard that one."

"Snard is a Zetithian word," he explained. "I prefer it to...the others." He pushed against my hand again. "It is sweet," he reminded me.

"Yes, it is," I agreed. "Very sweet, and under different circumstances, I'd love to have some, but somehow, I don't think Rafe would understand."

"But you have been upset," he said seriously. "It would help you to feel better."

"I'm sure it would, but-"

"Suck me, my lovely witch," he said, punctuating his words with a loud purr, "and I will-"

*212 *40*.

warrior 213.

"Yeah, I know," I said. "Give me joy unlike any I have ever known. Not that I'm disagreeing, mind you, but I don't think-"

"Use your hands then," he suggested, "and I will tell you when I am ready to give it to you."

His cock was already slick and wet with his fluids, and I slipped my hand out from under the blanket to lick a droplet from it. My orgasm followed quickly. "Well, that's one way to get warmed up!" I declared as heat flooded through my body clear down to my toenails.

His eyes were partially closed, but I could see them glittering beneath his lashes, and a soft smile played across his lips. "Better than a fire," he said, then added, "but, as you know, snard is even more effective."

I took a quick look at Rafe, who was still busy with the dinner preparations. "Okay," I said. "Tell me when."

Actually, he didn't really have to tell me, because I'd already gotten pretty good at recognizing the signs. And he was right about one thing, because I was feeling better already, the horror of seeing his nearly lifeless body almost forgotten as I stroked him.

My hands were warm by then, and I slid one up and down his shaft while massaging his chest with the other. He felt so good to me-all of him, too, and not only what was in my hand.

Our voices had been quiet, so I doubt that Rafe had overheard us, and had he bothered to look in our direction, he'd have only seen my hand on Leo's chest. I did my best to make it seem like a magic ritual of some kind.

I thought perhaps I should be muttering some sort of incantation to go along with it, too-a revival spell, or something of that nature-but what it wound up being *213 *40*.

214.

Cheryl Brooks was encouragement for him to "Come to me," which would have applied whether I was trying to wake him up or get him to ejaculate.

His purring grew louder as he reached his climax, and I nudged the blanket aside as he let out a growl, just in time for his snard to come shooting out in a long arc to catch me right in my open mouth and land upon my waiting tongue.

As sweet and creamy as I remembered from that first time on the floor of my cottage, I savored it and waited for the burst of euphoria and warmth that followed.

Sighing deeply, I said admiringly, "I'd be willing to bet you're one of the few men on this world who could do that after being buried in an avalanche."

"I would not be able to do it, if it were not for you,"

he purred. "Do you feel better now?"

"Much better!" I agreed. "But then I wasn't feeling all that bad to begin with. How about you?"

"I believe I will survive," he said.

"Very funny!" I growled, giving him a playful slap.

"You'd better do more than that!"

"I will," he chuckled. "With my talented Tisana to care for me, how can I not?"

I'm not certain that talent had anything to do with it, because I was pretty sure that any woman alive would have dearly loved to do what I'd just done to him and would have done her very best to give him pleasure. And not just for the snard, either-which was great stuff, mind you!-but because simply watching him come was guaranteed to bring out the raging sex goddess in anyone.

Leo wanted to be caught up on the events of the day he had missed during his little catnap, so I told him about *214 *40*.

warrior 215.

Craynolt and repeated the creature's cryptic words. "'I am the wind and the desert. The wind will bring you light, and the desert will not fail'-I mean, really, did you ever hear anything so obscure?"

To my relief, Leo didn't seem as stumped as the rest of us. "I believe I know what it means, Tisana."

"Really? That's great!" I said. "Let's hear it."

"The wind is both him and his ability to fly, the light is the information he can obtain, and the desert refers to his reptilian wings, which are strong and will not fail us."

"Uh- huh, " I said dubiously while trying to work this one out in my head. "Wonder why he couldn't just say: Hey, I can fly pretty well, and I'll do the best I can to help you?"

"It is not his way," Leo replied in a maddeningly patient fashion that made me long to give him a quick elbow in the ribs; but since I was so pleased that his ribs were still intact after the avalanche, I decided against it.

"Well, as long as you can translate for us," I said glumly, "I guess he can help. He's all we've got, it seems-and since you were the one who said we needed a bird, you can deal with him."

By the time I had helped Rafe get our meal cooked, dusk was falling, and the day's thaw was turning to ice.

Even Rafe reluctantly agreed that there wasn't much point in trying to travel until the next day. After dinner we divided up the pack so Goran didn't have to carry so much, which would enable us to travel more quickly, but, even without that change, his pack was still getting lighter. We might make better time as a result, but I still *215 *40*.

216.

Cheryl Brooks worried that we wouldn't have enough to get us home, and I said as much to Leo.

"We may not leave the same as we arrive," he said mysteriously.

I wasn't sure exactly what he meant by that, and I wondered if he'd had another "vision" regarding the boys. Then another scary thought occurred to me. He was starting to sound a bit like Craynolt-a trend that I'd just as soon didn't continue-and I began to rethink having him act as interpreter.

Still, even if he did sound like Craynolt, I enjoyed working with Leo, and we seemed to be falling back into the easy companionship we'd had while we were alone together in my cottage. Now that Leo was free to do or say whatever he liked, he didn't hesitate to offer suggestions, unlike the way he'd been during the first part of our journey. Rafe, for whatever reason, seemed to keep away from us. I didn't know if he was trying to isolate himself, so I didn't have the opportunity to ask him any difficult questions, or if he simply thought Leo and I should have some time alone together. Either way, it was very comfortable.

Craynolt returned, looking like some strange prehistoric bird on the wing, for while his head was like that of an owl, he flew more like a bat. He looked kind of creepy even in daylight, and fluttering around at night, he would have startled anyone, as silent as he was on the wing. Landing near the campfire as though drawn to its warmth, he tucked in his long wings, settling into the snow with strong talons that could have killed Gerald in an instant. I'd have to remember to ask him not to attack my squirrel. Then it occurred to me *216 *41*.

warrior 217.

that I had no idea what otterells ate, so-silly me!-I asked him.

"The fates sustain those who are patient and dili- gent," he replied.

"Meaning you'll eat anything you can get, I suppose."

Craynolt cocked his head to one side, still following me with his huge, round eyes, but didn't reply.

"So, what did you find out?" I went on to ask.

"Anything interesting to report?"

He raised his head, staring off into the sky. "Quiet warmth is upon the land, what is sought is beyond reach, what is desired is no more."

I decided I was either getting better at understanding him, or he'd driven me nuts, because I had a pretty good idea what he meant, but I went ahead and asked Leo anyway.

"Leo!" I called out. "See what you make of this."

Having heard Craynolt's report, Leo merely shrugged, so I gave him my take on it.

"Well, I think it means that while the snow was melting and we've been delayed, they've been moving faster and are in the village now-probably locked up tight and beyond our reach-and if that's the case, how the devil are three of us going to storm the village keep?"

"What's that?" Rafe asked suddenly. He'd been so quiet that day; I'd almost forgotten he was there. "A keep? Who said anything about a keep?"

"Oh, sorry!" I said sheepishly. "I've been talking to Darley. He says the lord of his village doesn't have any children of his own and thinks that's why he took yours."

Rafe looked grim, and I had an idea that the worst of his fears had been realized, but all he said was, "Who is Darley?"

*217 *41*.

218.

Cheryl Brooks "One of the horses we captured," I said impatiently.

"The big bay gelding." Eyeing him suspiciously, I went on, "You know something about that village, don't you?

And don't you go telling me to keep my mouth shut again, because it's too late for that! Honestly, Rafe! If we're going to end up tangling with a small army, I think you'd better tell us about it now."

Rafe lifted an eyebrow. "We've already tangled with a small army," he said with a slight grimace. "What we will be facing now is a rather larger army."

"Rafe!" I all but shouted at him. "That's impossible!