"A show of delirium might be a nice touch, too," I suggested. "You know, call out or mutter in your sleep- in a different language would be best."

"I will remember that," he said, uncurling from his pallet to get to his feet. No, he didn't appear to be even slightly under the weather, and, except for the scars, he looked absolutely perfect. The man was simply designed and built to be alluring to women; he even tasted good!

Coming closer, I could hear him purring. "Tisana," he murmured, "it is time for my bath."

As I had bathed him every afternoon since his arrival, his suggestion wasn't out of line. I had, by this time, made love with him many times, but I still felt a certain reserve, almost as though he were some forbidden well or spring from which I knew I shouldn't drink. This strange show of reluctance on my part was getting worse as the end of the month loomed closer.

"Well, heat up some water, then," I said briskly, as though the prospect of bathing him was of no interest *56 *15*.

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to me. "In case you hadn't noticed, I'm busy fixing dinner. Besides, I think you're well enough to do your own bath now."

"But I am in your care," he said, still purring seductively. "You would not wish me to suffer a relapse."

"That's not very likely," I said, rolling my eyes. "You look disgustingly healthy to me, and I doubt that a little dirt would kill you, anyway." Leo had a tendency to get amorous while I was cooking, so he must have found domesticity appealing-either that, or he was attracted to knife-wielding women. Added to the fact that he had been asleep for a while-another thing which seemed to get him in the mood-I suppose I should have expected it, though we had begun the day in each other's embrace.

The time of day didn't seem to matter to Leo. But for some reason, even knowing what he could do to me, I was reluctant to drop whatever I happened to be doing.

I had never been particularly reticent with my other lovers, so such behavior wasn't typical for me.

Maybe it was the sneaking suspicion that Leo was only interested in me because I was the one who happened to be there. I reminded myself once again that he was a slave and, as such, couldn't afford to be too choosy when it came to women, but, like any woman, I still wanted to feel as though he wanted me for myself.

I had no cause to complain, because he had a way of focusing his attention on me that was unsurpassed by anyone I'd ever known. I'd spent time with other men, but there were always times when, even while I was in the same room with them, I'd felt alone. Leo never ignored me, but was continually interacting with me.

His earlier comment that I knew him well was probably *57 *15*.

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Cheryl Brooks truer than it had been with others whom I'd known for many years.

No, the real trouble was that I knew I wouldn't be able to be with him for years-or even months. We both knew it, and perhaps that was why everything had moved so quickly between us. No matter what happened, we would be parted from one another much too soon-unless we ran away together, and I'll admit, I was beginning to consider this possibility. If only we could simply pack up and disappear. I doubted that we would get very far, since my lack of currency would have slowed us down considerably. I suppose that never having any money was part of what kept a witch secure within her domain, and it was possible that somewhere along the line, someone had decided that bartering with the witch, rather than paying her, would keep her from straying-which made some sense, because there weren't very many of us.

It was tough having to remain a permanent fixture when you happened to come down with a bad case of wanderlust. I considered telling Rafe that if he (and everyone else in the region) wanted me to continue on as their healer, I wanted Leo as payment. It seemed fair enough to me, especially since Rafe had remarked that Leo hadn't been terribly expensive. Of course, now that I'd fixed him up, Leo was probably worth much more and could be resold at a profit, although the fact that it had been Carnita who'd wanted to buy him in the first place might make a difference. If she ever found out even half of what I knew, she'd refuse to ever sell him, much less hand him over to me.

Besides, Carnita didn't need a man; she had Rafe.

Come to think of it, perhaps she did need one. I'd spent *58 *15*.

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enough time with Rafe to know that Leo was a decided improvement, and if Carnita ever (literally) got a taste of Leo, she would probably feel the same way. Selling Leo or giving him to me was probably Rafe's best course of action. He could simply tell Carnita that Leo had died- which would work out just fine until Carnita paid me a visit-and she'd been known to do that from time to time, as everyone else did.

The truth was, I didn't know what to do with him! I wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of my life in his arms, but I also knew that it couldn't happen- not without several major upheavals in the process, that is. I kept telling myself to simply take it on faith and enjoy the time I had with him, but it's difficult to do that when you've been raised as I was. My mother had always told me that nothing was as simple as it seemed, and more often than not, she was right. I wondered what she would have said about Leo. Probably pretty much the same as she had when I was falling in love with Rafe-to be careful what I wished for. It was times such as these when I most regretted her passing, for where do you go to seek wisdom when you happen to be the local wise woman, yourself?

Of course, with Leo standing wet and naked in the middle of my floor while that big, ruffled cock of his secreted its magical fluid, the pursuit of wisdom should not have been first and foremost in my mind! How ironic it was that while I had been busy trying to envision the future, he could have taught me a thing or two about living in the moment! With a conscious effort to banish my depressing thoughts, I leaned back against the table to watch as he washed himself, the thick, foaming suds *59 *16*.

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Cheryl Brooks sliding down his body, smoothing the curls from the hair on his chest and legs before disappearing through the cracks in the floor.

"My back needs to be washed," he purred, "and the ointment applied."

"Your back looks just fine," I remarked. "It doesn't need any special treatment."

"Perhaps not," he admitted, "but it feels very good.

Having your hands on me makes me forget the pain I have endured."

"And I think you're playing the sympathy bit for all it's worth," I said dryly. "You don't need me anymore, and you know it."

"But I do, my lovely witch!" he disagreed. "I need your magical touch." His lids lay heavy over his glowing eyes as he smiled seductively. "You make me beg for it each time, Tisana. Tell me why."

"Maybe because I like the way you beg," I said hoarsely. Actually, I liked everything he did, no matter how mundane it might have seemed. Continuing to stare at him, my chest tightened until my breath caught in my throat. "By the gods, Leo!" I exclaimed, the words bursting from me in a rush. "You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life! You know that, don't you?"

His smile broadened into a grin, displaying his potentially deadly fangs. As killer smiles went, his fit the description better than most.

"Perhaps," he conceded. "But, beautiful or not, still, I must plead for your touch. You know how it can be and yet you waver each time. Come, Tisana, and I-"

"Will give me joy unlike any I have ever known?" I *60 *16*.

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mimicked. "Really, Leo! Don't you think I know that by now?"

Nodding, he asked, "If you know it, then why do you resist?"

Why did I continue to resist, when only a fool would do such a thing? With a sudden spurt of anger at Rafe, at my situation, at Leo's predicament, as well as my own, I shouted, "Because I keep remembering that you belong to someone else!" I could feel my body shaking, my anger and frustration barely contained. "That I can only have you for a short time, when I want you forever! It's impossible for me to be with you and not think it!"

My words echoed into the silence that followed.

Leo's expression was unreadable-almost blank-as if he were staring back through the mists of time. His voice, when he spoke again, sounded equally distant.

"Had you ever been a slave, you would know that such pleasures are seldom to be enjoyed, and you would take them where they are offered-without hesitation and without question."

He was right, of course. Sighing deeply, I shook my head and said with a rueful smile, "And here I was wondering where to go to find wisdom! You know something, Leo? You're a very wise man."

"I have lived through much," he said with a nod, "and I have suffered pain and hardship. During that time I have learned not to shun such moments of joy, or even to question them, for they are rare and precious gifts."

His lids lifted slightly, and his golden gaze focused on my own eyes. "You are also wise, Tisana, but you have known pain-of a different kind, perhaps, but you have known it-just as I have. I look into your lovely green *61 *16*.

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Cheryl Brooks eyes and see there the scars of loneliness and despair.

Do not refuse this gift."

Smiling, I said quietly, "But if I hadn't been so reluctant, I would never have heard you say those words.

They are true ones, Leo, and I thank you for them."

"Then come, and do as I ask," he said, his voice a soft, rumbling sigh. "Love me and care for me, Tisana, and let me give you joy. Do not waste a moment of this time we have together, for it is beyond price."

Which was the only thing he'd said thus far that wasn't true because the unfortunate truth was that our time together did, indeed, have a price, though I couldn't pay it. It was the price of a slave. I let it pass, though, and lifted the kettle from the fire, delighting in his soft groaning purrs of pleasure as I rinsed the soap from his skin. Yes, he was beautiful; handsome didn't even begin to cover it. He was positively stunning to the eye, and sent swirling rivers of desire cascading throughout my body, making me long to touch him, taste him, feel him...

Suddenly, my arms seemed weak, too weak even to raise the kettle to pour water from it. It made a loud clang as I felt the handle slip from my fingers and, dropping my hands to my sides, I looked up at him in despair.

"Leo," I whispered hopelessly. "What will I do when you're gone? How will I go on?"

"We go on because we must," he murmured in reply.

"There is no why or how. These things just are. Some things we may choose, but most are chosen for us. We are here, together, for now. That is all that matters."

Reaching down, he removed a droplet of fluid from his cock and touched it to my lips. "When I am gone, *62 *16*.

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you will remember this," he promised, "as you will remember me. But you will go on."

Gasping as the first shuddering climax took me, I shook my head in denial. "But I won't want to," I protested.

"Without you, how can there ever be any joy?"

"You will find it," he assured me, "for I am not the only source of joy in this life."

"Just the best," I sighed, melting into his embrace.

"The very best of all."

"I am pleased that you think it," he said, as his clever fingers became engaged in deftly removing my clothes.

I felt his hands, warm and damp upon my skin as he caressed me, filling me with overwhelming desire for him. "Come closer to the fire, Tisana," he murmured, his voice deep and rumbling. "Stay warm and soft in my arms and forget your pain. This gift of my love is all I have to give you. I cannot give myself to you forever, but I am yours, for a time."

Sighing as his lips gently teased my own, I opened myself to him, as I always did. And, as always, it was as though I were discovering him for the first time. The feeling never changed, never wavered. It remained just as before; that sense of belonging, of coming home to find the warmth of love waiting for me. Kissing him deeply, I lost the will to move or speak, wanting only to feel.

But Leo wanted more. "Lick me, Tisana," he urged, pushing me to my knees. "Let me drive you into a frenzy of delight. Suck me until I am empty and I have filled your mouth with the elixir of my love." He slid his big, ruffled cock over my face, rubbed my cheeks and lips and tongue with it, before seeming to change *63 *16*.

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Cheryl Brooks his mind and then pull me back into his arms. "No, I was wrong. It is not enough. I must have all of you, Tisana. Wrap yourself around me. Love me with your whole body, your entire being. I want all of you. Leave nothing behind."

I took him in, holding him as closely to my heart as was humanly possible, realizing then that all of the joy and the ecstasy meant nothing to me, for he was what mattered most-only him, and how much I loved him.