Raintree: Santuary

FOURTEEN

How could she have let this happen? She could have escaped. She could have stopped him. Why hadn’t she?

Because you wanted this. Because you want him.

Judah eased his hand out from under her dress, letting the skirt fall back down over her legs, the hem brushing against her calves. But he kept her pinned against the cabin door, her back to his chest, his erection throbbing against her buttocks.

As the aftershocks of her orgasm faded away, Mercy fought an inner battle, her heart versus her mind. Her heart whispered soft, passionate yearnings, but every logical thought commanded her to flee.

Fight your desires.

Fight Judah. Don’t let him do this to you.

“Let me go,” she pleaded. “You don’t want me this way, taking me against my will.”

“I’ll take you any way I can.” He murmured the words against her neck. “And make no mistake, sweet Mercy, I intend to have you. Tonight.” He shoved himself against her, grinding his erect penis against the cheeks of her ass.

Calling forth what strength the recent hours of sleep had regenerated within her, Mercy focused on overpowering Judah and gaining her release. She needed only a moment of forceful energy to take him off guard and free herself. As he ran his hands over her, his breath hot against her neck, she shot a jolt of electrical pressure from her body into his. He bellowed in pain as the shock waves hit his nerve endings.

She broke away from him, grasped the doorknob and yanked open the door.

Run. Fast. Get away while you can.

If only she possessed the ability to levitate, she could fly away from danger.

With her energy once again greatly depleted, Mercy made it only ten feet from the cabin before Judah caught her and whirled her around to face him. Hardened with rage over what she’d done, he focused his frigid glare on her body, raking over her from neck to toes. She felt the intensity of his gaze, a sensation of hot and then cold sliding downward, between her breasts, across her belly, between her thighs. Her dress split apart where his gaze moved over it, as did her bra and panties beneath.

Judah released her, then stepped back to view his handiwork.

Calling on what energy she had left to form a countermove, she sent a mental blast straight toward him, but he caught it mid-flight and crushed it as it were nothing more than spun glass. Her only hope was conjuring a spell. But did she have enough strength? And should it be a defensive or an offensive spell?

When Judah smiled, thinking himself the victor in their battle, she remained perfectly still, as if she were unable to move. But all the while she worked frantically, mentally reciting the ancient words in the tongue of her ancestors, casting a powerfully dangerous spell that would instantly infuse her with enough strength to defend herself.

Judah stopped abruptly, his big body rigid. Do you know what you’re doing? In your weakened condition, such a spell could kill you once its effects wear off.

How did he know what she was trying to do?

He was inside her head, listening!

How do you know the language of my ancestors? Mercy demanded.

Because they were my ancestors, too, and just as your elders taught you the language, my elders taught me.

“Doesn’t knowing to what lengths I’m willing to go to escape from you tell you anything?” she shouted.

Judah didn’t reply.

Suddenly she felt him probing her mind. No! He was trying to erase the mystical connections she had been creating. One by one, the words disappeared. She struggled to replace them, but he worked faster than she did, removing more than she recreated, until the magic of the words exploded inside her, shattering the last of her energy and leaving her completely vulnerable.

He came toward her again, determination in every step.

“You’re an animal! A brute!” She inched backward, intending to turn and run, but he was on her before she realized it, swooping down over her like a giant bird of prey capturing his quarry.

She struggled, beating her fists against his face and chest, flailing like a fish on a hook. While physically fighting him, she delved deeply inside herself, seeking the core of her strength. She might be weak and exhausted, but the essence of her powers remained. Always.

When Judah manacled her wrists in one hand and twisted her arms behind her back with the other, she kicked at him, hitting his ankles and calves. He thrust his left knee between her thighs and slid his leg around and behind hers, causing her to lose her balance. They fell together onto the ground, Mercy on her back, the wind knocked out of her, and Judah sprawled on top of her.

She gasped for breath, her chest aching as her lungs struggled for air.

He rose up just enough so that she could catch her breath, but before she had a chance to renew their sparring match, Judah plunged his hand between her thighs and ripped the torn fragments of her panties from her body. Mercy bucked up, trying to stop him, but inadvertently drew his exploring fingers into her feminine folds. He stroked his thumb across her nub as he delved two fingers inside her.

She keened softly as pure sensation spiraled through her.

He lowered his head and nudged the tattered edges of her bodice and bra apart to reveal her left breast. He lapped her nipple with the tip of his tongue, the action eliciting soft whimpers from her throat. While his thumb worked her nub and his fingers explored, his mouth covered her nipple and areola, sucking greedily.

Mercy lifted her arms and pushed against his chest, her movements weak and ineffectual. Not because she no longer had the strength to fight him, but because she no longer had the will to fight herself. She wanted Judah as much as she had wanted him seven years ago when she hadn’t known he was Ansara. No, that wasn’t quite true. She wanted him even more now than she had then.

She brought her right arm up and around his neck. Her fingers forked through his long, black hair, cupping the back of his head, holding him to her breast. She slipped her left hand between them and rubbed her open palm over his erection.

Judah growled like the aroused beast he was, and flung her hand aside to open his trousers and free his straining sex. When he withdrew his hand from between her thighs and lifted his head from her breast, she whimpered.

He looked down at her; their gazes locked. Passion ignited between them, shooting sparks of energy all around their bodies. While she draped her left arm across his back and yanked his shirt free of his slacks, he shoved his hands under her hips and lifted her up to meet his swift, hard push into her body. He took her with relentless force, battering her repeatedly, completely out of control. Clinging to him, she gladly took all that he gave her, as wildly hungry for him as he was for her. For every thrust, she countered. For every hot, tongue-dueling kiss, she reciprocated. For every earthy, erotic word he uttered, she replied in kind.

A passion that intense had to burn itself out quickly, otherwise it would have destroyed them. Mercy came first, spinning apart, unraveling with a pleasure that bordered on pain, a sensation she wished could go on forever. While she trembled beneath him, gasping and moaning, he climaxed so fiercely that his release caused the earth beneath them to tremble. Judah sank into her, his large, lean body a heavy weight that she held close, longing to capture this one perfect moment while they were one, their bodies still joined.

He lifted his head and gazed down at her. “Sweet, sweet Mercy.”

She caressed his cheek.

He rolled off her and onto the ground beside her. When she glanced at him, she noticed that he was staring up at the starry night sky. She didn’t know what to say or how to act. Had what just happened between them meant anything more to him than a sexual conquest? Now that he’d had her, would he not want her again?

“Judah?”

He didn’t respond.

She lay there on the ground for several minutes, then sat up and pulled her tattered dress together, holding it at the waist. She rose to her feet, then glanced down at Judah and saw her ripped panties lying beside him. She turned from him and walked away, not caring in which direction she went.

When she reached the waterfall, she crept down the rough pathway that led to the small cave behind it. After removing the remnants of her dress and bra, she stepped beneath the cascading water and let the cool, clean spray rinse away the scent of Judah Ansara from her body.

Loving a man should bring a woman joy, not sorrow. The aftermath of lovemaking should be a time for togetherness. How could she love Judah so completely, so desperately, when he was an Ansara? How could she yearn to be with him, to lie with him, to be his woman forever, when she meant nothing to him?

Where was her pride? Her strength? Her common sense?

Without warning, Judah intruded on her shower. Totally naked, he stood under the waterfall in front of her, tilted his head and tossed his hair back over his bare shoulders. There in the moonlight, beneath the crisp, roaring water, he reached for her. She went into his arms willingly, unable to resist. He took her mouth in a kiss that spoke more distinctly than any words could have, telling her that he wanted her again, that he was far from finished with her. The kiss deepened as their desire revived, hot and overpowering. He lifted her up, his big hands cradling her buttocks. She straddled his hips as he walked them out from under the waterfall and against the boulder behind it. Balancing her against the rock surface, he buried himself inside. She gasped with the sheer pleasure of being filled so completely. He hammered into her as she clung to him, and within moments they came simultaneously. Judah eased her down and onto her feet, her naked body grazing over his slowly, his mouth on her lips, her cheeks, in her hair, on her neck, devouring her.

“I can’t get enough of you.” He growled the words, resentment in his tone.

“I know,” she whispered, unable to move away from him. “I feel the same way. What are we going to do?”

He cupped her face with both hands. “For the rest of the night, we’re going to forget who we are. You aren’t Princess Mercy Raintree, and I’m not Judah Ansara. We’re just a man and a woman, with no past and no future.”

“And come morning?”

He didn’t respond. But she knew the answer to her question. In the morning they would be enemies again, warriors in an eternal battle, tribe against tribe, Raintree against Ansara.

Judah roused at dawn, the sound of his cousin Claude’s voice a wake-up call inside his head. He rolled over and felt the soft, naked body lying beside him, her arm draped across his waist. Mercy. His sweet Mercy. They had spent the night having sex again and again until they were spent. And yet just the sight of her aroused him, strengthening his morning hard-on.

Judah, answer me, Claude called.

What do you want?

Why aren’t you answering your phone?

His phone? Damn, where was his phone?

Give me a minute.

Judah eased out of bed, careful not to wake Mercy, and spied his slacks lying on the floor where he’d tossed his clothes when he and Mercy had returned to the cabin after their tryst at the waterfall. He walked quietly across the room, bent over, picked up his pants and delved into the pocket to check for his phone. It was still there, vibrating away, signaling an incoming call. After slipping into his pants, he left the bedroom and went into the living room.

He put the phone to his ear. “Claude?”

“About damn time you answered.”

“What’s going on?” Judah asked, keeping his voice low.

“I’ve been trying to reach you for the past hour, and finally gave up and used telepathy, despite the risks.”

“Do you know what time it is? It’s not even daylight here.”

“You should know I wouldn’t bother you if it wasn’t urgent. We’ve got big trouble here in Terrebonne.”

“Hold on.”

Judah glanced back at the open bedroom door. Mercy still slept. Moving silently so he wouldn’t disturb her, he went outside and made his way a good thirty feet from the cabin.

“Okay, now tell me what’s going on.”

“Cael’s minions have been quite busy throughout Terrebonne, spreading a rumor that Dranir Judah has sired a half-Raintree child.”

“Son of a bitch,” Judah cursed. “How widespread is the rumor?”

“It’s just begun, but it’s spreading like wildfire. By daybreak, half the island will know. By lunchtime, the other half will have heard the news. You have to know that Cael is hoping this will incite a rebellion.”

“We need to do damage control right away. Call an emergency council meeting. Tell Sidra that I need her to address the people this evening and tell them about her prophecy.”

“You have to come home, Judah. You need to be at Sidra’s side when she confirms the rumor that you have a mixed-breed daughter.”

“I can’t leave Eve,” Judah said. “Cael expects me to rush home when I learn of the rumors about Eve’s existence. One of the reasons he’s done this is to lure me back to Terrebonne, to leave Eve unprotected.”

“If it comes down to a choice between Eve and your people…”

“There is no choice. Sidra has prophesied that Eve’s existence is necessary for the continuation of the Ansara tribe. She told me that if I am to save my people, I must protect Eve.”

“I don’t know how well Sidra’s prophecy will be received. She has said that Eve will be the mother of a new clan, that she will transform the Ansara.”

“The people know that in her ninety years of life, Sidra’s prophecies have provided us with unerring truths about the future. The Ansara revere her and believe in her prophecies.”

Claude remained silent for several long moments. Judah simply waited, knowing his cousin would speak his mind after giving Judah’s words more thought.

“If you feel you must stay there and protect your daughter, then I will stand at Sidra’s side tonight when she addresses the Ansara kingdom,” Claude said. “Since you can’t return in person to Terrebonne, may I make a suggestion, my lord?”

Claude did not have to explain to Judah what he must do. He knew. “You want me to make a psychic connection to you and speak through you to my people.”

“I will contact you later when our plans are finalized and the time is set for Sidra’s address.” Claude hesitated for a moment, then added, “These are dangerous times for the Ansara. It would be unwise to let your guard down, especially around anyone who is Raintree.”

Claude hung up, leaving Judah to decipher his cryptic message. Claude could be referring to Eve, since she was half Raintree. But he suspected that the Raintree Claude believed he would be most susceptible to was Princess Mercy.

When Mercy woke at dawn to find herself alone in the cabin, she considered it a blessing. How could she have faced Judah in the cold light of day and accepted the fact that they were no longer lovers but once again bitter enemies? She crawled out of bed, dragging the top sheet with her to cover her naked body and protect her from the early morning chill. As she made her way to the bathroom, she stepped on the dress that Judah had sliced in two last night.

She would have to mend it.

As she picked up the tattered garment, just the feel of it beneath her fingertips set off her empathic powers. The cotton material held fragments of her own energy and all the emotions she had experienced when Judah’s cold, penetrating glare had cut her clothes apart. Anger. Fear. Desire.

She hugged the fabric to her and buried her face in its softness as she relived the experience of Judah overpowering her and taking her savagely on the hard ground.

Carrying the dress with her, Mercy went into the bathroom, where she relieved herself, then washed her hands and splattered cold water in her face. She had the look of a woman who had spent the night making love.

Stop thinking about Judah, about the hours of pleasure you shared, about how much you love him.

Mercy lifted her dress from the hook on the back of the door, where she’d left it, closed the commode lid, readjusted the sheet around her chest and sat down. Fixing her gaze on the repair job at hand, she concentrated on using the heat she could generate with the touch of her hands to fuse the material together.

She had almost completed her task when she heard footsteps beyond the bathroom door. Her hand stilled. Her heartbeat accelerated.

Judah?

She flung the dress aside and opened the door. Wearing only his wrinkled trousers, Judah stood in the middle of the bedroom. They looked at each other for one heart-stopping moment; then he moved steadily, purposefully, toward her. She waited for him there in the bathroom doorway. When he reached her, he grasped the edge of the sheet where she’d tucked it across her chest, gave it a strong tug and peeled it from her body.

“It’s dawn,” she said.

“Then we’d better not wait. It’ll be full daylight before long.”

He lifted her into his arms and carried her back to bed, then stripped off his slacks and joined her. They mated with the same fury they had shared the first time they made love last night.

Would this be the final time? she wondered. Would she never lie in his arms again, never belong to him again, never possess and be possessed with such passion?

They had walked halfway back to the house together, then Mercy had gone on ahead and managed to sneak up the back stairs without getting caught. She had showered and dressed before she heard Sidonia stirring, then started her day as if everything were normal. Although Sidonia hadn’t questioned her about why she hadn’t returned home last night, she had given her several damning looks during the day, especially whenever Judah was nearby.

And to complicate matters even more, Eve apparently thought that her parents were now a couple. She was too young to understand anything about sex between adults, but she was intuitive enough, possessing some of Mercy’s empathic talents as well as both her parents’ basic psychic gifts, to know that things had changed between Mercy and Judah. Even if Judah didn’t love her, Mercy accepted the fact that she did love him and always would. A Raintree mating with an Ansara was as improbable as a hawk mating with a tiger. But not impossible. What did seem impossible was that a Raintree truly loved an Ansara.

How would she ever be able to explain her feelings for Judah to Dante and Gideon? God help her, how would they react when she told them that Eve was half Ansara?

Dante could be stern and unforgiving, but he was always logical and usually fair. As with most people born into a position of supreme authority, he had grown up with a sense of entitlement, expecting to make all the decisions for his younger siblings. For the most part Gideon had followed in his big brother’s footsteps until they grew to manhood; then he had become his own person, not always agreeing with Dante and occasionally locking horns with him.

When Mercy had told them she was pregnant, both Dante and Gideon had demanded the name of Eve’s father. The fact that she had refused to name the man had enraged both her brothers, but in time they had let the subject drop. She knew that they assumed Eve’s father was one of the Ungifted, or maybe a “stray,” as Dante referred to humans who had developed gifts independently but were neither Raintree nor Ansara. Only with Sidonia’s help had Mercy been able to keep Eve’s unusually powerful abilities hidden and the truth of her paternity a secret.

But this was one secret that couldn’t be hidden for much longer. Once Judah had dealt with Cael, he would try to take Eve.

No matter how much she loved Judah, she couldn’t give him their child. And there was only one way to stop him.

But could she kill him?

After dinner that evening, Judah left the house without any explanation. He chose an isolated area more than a mile from the house and far from any of the guest cottages. Standing alone and insulated from all that was Raintree, he telepathically linked with Claude. He could hear what his cousin heard and see what he saw. He listened as Sidra addressed the assembled council, the highest ranking officers and many of the nobility, all congregated in the great hall at the palace. Through closed-circuit television, her message was carried to every home in Terrebonne.

“I have seen a child with golden hair and golden eyes. She has been born for her father’s people, to transform the Ansara from darkness into light. Seven thousand years of Ansara and Raintree noble blood runs through her veins.”

Gasps and grumbles and cries of outrage rose from the audience.

Judah spoke through Claude. “Do you dare question Sidra’s visions? Do you doubt her love for our people? Has my brother’s madness infected all of you?”

Nine tenths of those assembled rose to their feet. Their shouts of faith in Sidra and allegiance to Judah completely overshadowed the handful of dissenters.

Sidra spoke again, her words of wisdom reassuring the Ansara that Judah’s mixed-breed child was unlike any child ever born. “Eve is the child of our ancestors, the seed of a united people. She is more than Ansara, more than Raintree. Our fate is in her hands. Her life is more precious to me than my own.”

The assembly listened with reverence, and through Claude, Judah sensed their doubts and concerns, but also their acceptance and hope.

A single request came from numerous Ansara, all wanting to know if, when Judah returned to Terrebonne, he would bring the Princess Eve home to her people.

“Princess Eve will come to Terrebonne when the time is right for her to take her place as your future Dranira,” Judah replied through Claude.

When the cheers died down, a lone woman stepped forward and posed one simple question. “What of the child’s mother?” Alexandria Ansara asked. “Are we to believe that Princess Mercy will simply give her daughter to you?”

A deafening silence fell over the assembly as they waited for Judah’s reply.

You must answer them, my lord, Claude told Judah.

As he contemplated his response, Judah felt Sidra’s hand on Claude’s arm and sensed that she wanted to speak to him through his cousin.

Your fate is tied to hers. Your future is her future, your life, her life.

If you die, she dies. If she dies, you die.

Every muscle in Judah’s body tensed, every nerve charged with electrical energy. He understood that if Sidra could have explained further, she would have. Her prophecy was open to interpretation, but Judah knew that she spoke of Mercy, not Eve, and if he and Mercy fought over possession of their child, whichever one of them survived would die a thousand deaths during their lifetime.

“When the time comes, I will do what must be done,” Judah told his people.

Sunset colored the evening sky as Mercy searched for Judah. He had left the house shortly after supper and had not returned. While she had been giving Eve her bath, Eve had stopped splashing her array of tub toys in the waist-deep, lukewarm water and grasped Mercy’s hand.

“It’s Daddy. Something’s wrong. He’s very sad.”

“Are you talking to your father? Didn’t he tell you not to-”

“I’m not talking to him,” Eve said. “I promise.”

“Then how do you know that he’s sad?”

“I just know.” She placed her hand over her heart. “In here. The way I sometimes just know things. He needs you, Mother. Go to him.”

So here she was, sent off by her daughter on a quest of compassion. But when she found Judah, would he accept her comfort, or would he turn her away?

There was no point in wasting time taking useless routes that wouldn’t lead her to Judah. She used all her senses to home in on his location. Once she picked up on his presence, she followed the energy trail left by his powerful aura.

She found him alone and lost in his own thoughts, sitting on one of several stone boulders in an isolated clearing deep within the woods.

“Judah?”

He turned his head and looked at her, but said nothing.

She took several hesitant steps toward him. “Are you all right?” she asked.

“Why are you here?”

“Eve sent me. She’s concerned about you. She said you were sad.”

“Go back to the house. Tell Eve that I’m fine.”

“But you’re not. Eve is right, something is wrong, and-”

Using a psychic thrust, Judah shoved Mercy backward, just enough to warn her off but not knock her down. She staggered for only a second.

“I get the message,” she told him.

“Then leave me alone.”

“Is it Cael? Has something happened? If you’ll tell me, I can help.”

“Leave me!” Judah shot up off the boulder, hell’s fury in his eyes. “I don’t want you.” As he came toward her, he pinned her to the spot, and she didn’t try to break through the invisible bonds that kept her from moving. “I don’t need you. Damn you, Mercy Raintree!”

Judah grabbed her shoulders and shook her as frustration and anger and passion drove him hard. She felt what he felt and realized that he hated her for making him care.

“My poor Judah.”

He clutched her face between his open palms and ravaged her with a possessive kiss. Swept up by the passion neither of them could deny, Mercy surrendered herself. Heart. Mind. Body.

And soul.