It was very late; he should sleep. Tomorrow would be a long hard day of riding across the open Plateau, but he was still too energized and despite the numerous threats closing in on them, he couldn’t keep his thoughts from returning to na Gall. Since their return from Cassinni, thoughts of the Traveler were consuming him. He tried various methods to banish her from his head, but his mind was being completely insubordinate. Images of Jess kept returning and playing themselves out in a seemingly endless loop of fantasy. Finally, now that he was completely alone, Lonogan surrendered his thoughts to her with relish. He wondered if she was having her fantasies about their kiss or if she was already soundly sleeping next door…no, not next door. He had to remind himself again and again that she was staying down below in Manse at Taylor’s brand new hotel. She was not close…not right across the hall as she’d been in Parma. It was a sad, sobering thought.
His mind relived their kisses once again and he sighed, shaking his head in disgust. A general should have more discipline over his body and his mind. He stood and went to the water basin and splashed a bit on his face. He should sleep. They would be preparing to ride in a little over six hours. Hell, they were going to war and he would need all his wits about him, but he didn’t return to his bed, instead he held his wet hands over the candle flame enjoying the warmth as the heat evaporated the water left behind. When his hands were dry he blew out the candle, determined to get some rest but as he turned he felt a small disturbance in the air and suddenly she was there before him, floating like an apparition in the darkness. His eyes were not yet fully adjusted to the dark and he could not see her well, but her wonderfully familiar scent filled the room.
“I couldn’t sleep,” she said very softly and Lonogan’s heart soared. Taking a Traveler as a lover definitely had its advantages.
“Nor I,” Lonogan whispered back and quick as a flash she shrugged and let the cloak she was wearing fall from her shoulders. She was wearing nothing else. Lonogan breath caught in his throat and he stood completely still, enthralled, straining to see in the darkness.
She moved toward him. He wanted to see her and briefly considered turning back and to the candle, but then she was next to him and he could feel the warmth coming off of her skin in waves.
“I couldn’t stay away,” she whispered, her face so close to his that he could feel her breath as she spoke. “If something were to happen…”
Lonogan finally moved and reached out, touching her shoulders first. His hands moved down her arms and then found her waist. It was small, nearly small enough for his fingers to circle and touch at her back. And then her arms went around his neck and they embaced tightly and he was lost in the feel of her. She smelled amazing and her skin was so smooth and warm and oh so soft to the touch.
“I’m glad you came,” he whispered and then they were kissing in earnest. Lonogan was dimly aware of her pulling at his clothes as they kissed, but how he rid himself of them was a complete mystery. When he was finally nude they stood, pressing hard against one another then somehow…as if by magic, they made their way back to his bed and dropped as one onto it. They never broke contact and never spoke, they just kissed and explored until the heat of their passion became too much then he was on her…in her.
Three times their passion rose to a swell and was sated, before mercifully they fell asleep in each other’s arms, both gloriously happy and content. They slept for just a little over two hours before a knock, startlingly loud in the quiet of the morning, woke them.
They came instantly awake and as the memory of the previous night returned, they smiled.
“General,” a voice sounded from the far side of the door and Jess jumped to cover herself, giggling as she fought with the blanket which was knotted around their bare legs.
“One moment,” Lonogan answered, grinning in the dim morning light then he jumped naked from the bed and looked about for his pants.
Jess giggled again.
“My pants,” he whispered to her and she pointed to the far side of the room. He retrieved them quickly but had a bit of trouble sliding in to them and had to hop twice for balance. Jess laughed again, as he picked his shirt off the floor.
“Funny eh?” He asked and smoothly ripped the covers from the bed so she lay surprised and naked, scrambling once again to cover herself.
“Lonogan!” she shouted in a whisper and it was his turn to laugh. He stared at her perfect body for a moment, then tossed her the covers and tucked in his shirt. She spread it over her and pulled it up to her chin as he went to the door.
“Sergeant Hoxley,” he said in greeting, pulling the door only partly open.
“Sir, the Toranado are mustering…we leave in an hour,” Hoxley answered spotting the cloak on the floor. He moved his head slightly to see farther into the room but Lonogan slyly moved to block his view.
“Very well Sergeant. I’ll be with you momentarily,” Lonogan said and quickly closed the door.
Jess was immediately up and out of the bed moving toward the cloak, but he reached out and stopped her, holding her still as he gazed down at her pale, flawless body.
“I want to remember this,” he added, his breath quickening as his eyes darted over her body, from the long lines of her legs, to her breasts with pale pink nipples, then down to her soft belly and beyond.
“You’re absolutely stunning,” he finally managed to whisper.
“I’m absolutely freezing despite the warmth of your eyes…now let me dress,” she said briskly, though she was well pleased. She quickly slipped into the cloak, kissed him and closed her eyes and then using one hand to hold the cloak on she began weaving the other about until a bridge was formed. She kissed him again, then stepped through to her own room and was gone, leaving behind only the scent of her body and their passion.
ǂ
Gwaynn and Samantha traveled south with Prince Phillip and the Toranado heavy infantry and reached the eastern edge of the Aleria Pass four long days after leaving Manse. Lonogan Bock, who quickly grew impatient with the plodding foot soldiers, rode ahead with the Traveler Jess na Gall to join with the Massi army already positioned near the pass.
For Gwaynn, finally joining the main army was something of a relief, but did little for his peace of mind. It was a very long trip across the Plateau; they were never underway early enough in the mornings; they never moved fast enough during the day and they always stopped way too early. He could understand his general’s impatience and would have joined him but not at the risk of insulting their Toranado allies. They needed these hard, tough soldiers…every one of them.
For the past few nights just before sunset he and Zarina Monde took turns projecting over the Scar Mountains to check on the progress of the Palmerrio, who also seemed to be moving slowly. Somehow it added to Gwaynn’s feelings of unease.
“You must focus on the coming battle,” Tabernas said to Gwaynn one evening as he sat apart from the others, mired in worry. The Toranado Weapons Master had great respect for the young Massi King and was well aware of the immense amount of pressure the young man felt, but he also knew that Gwaynn could do little for the people in Lynndon or Manse or for the Massi cavalry out on the plains. Albas thought that their battle plan was a good one under the circumstances and now they would have to just be patient and wait for the outcome. Patience, however, was not something easily practiced by the young, and Gwaynn was no exception.
Gwaynn smiled at the older man, feeling a wave of affection for him, and missing his old mentor Afton Sath with a pang of regret.
“My mind is a mess right now, flying from battle to battle. If I could only figure out how to be in more than one place at a time,” Gwaynn replied.