The passion burned there, the passion she’d never been able to resist. When he looked at her like this, Katina had been certain they were destined to love each other for all time.
“Alexander!” she whispered.
He smiled a little. “You remember.”
“Of course!” she said, then voiced her fear. “I thought you had forgotten me.”
Alexander shook his head, looking so sad that she wanted to hold him forever. “We were so lost, Katina, but now I am found.” His voice husky with a rare display of emotion, one that brought tears to her own eyes. “My Katina.” Alexander lifted his hand toward her and it was all the invitation she needed. Katina threw herself into Alexander’s arms and lifted her mouth for his kiss, just as she had done a hundred times before. His arms closed around her, unmistakably real and heartbreakingly familiar.
His mouth locked over hers, his kiss as potent as she recalled. He kissed her as if he couldn’t get enough of her, as if he would make up for every lost moment on this very day. Katina tasted her own salt tears in their kiss but didn’t care. She wound her fingers into his hair, running her hands over him, arching her back so that she was pressed against his muscled body. She wanted to feel the lean strength of him against her, and she wanted to feel the heat of his skin pressed against hers. As always, Alexander’s kiss kindled a passion that Katina couldn’t deny, and didn’t want to. His touch could make her forget everything except the desire between them, and Katina felt warm in his embrace for the first time in years.
It was a long, slow kiss and one that left her blood simmering.
Alexander finally lifted his head, his regret obvious, but didn’t release Katina. He studied her and smiled. Katina knew she wasn’t the alluring virgin she’d been when first they met, but Alexander clearly liked what he saw. He wiped her tears from her cheeks with his thumb and arched one brow. His dark eyes twinkled, as if they were filled with stars, and Katina smiled back at him.
“In the courtyard,” he teased and she blushed, knowing they’d been so impetuous more than once in the past.
“It wouldn’t be the first time,” she replied and his smile broadened.
“How you tempt me, my bold Katina.”
His tone was so affectionate that she impulsively kissed him again. “I would tempt you more,” she whispered wickedly. “But the slave girl...”
“Will be glad to have gossip to share,” Alexander said with that lazy confidence Katina had so missed. There was something so steady about him, a rocklike conviction that made Katina’s world seem secure.
How she’d missed him.
He glanced down at her hand, smiling when he saw his ring still on her finger, and Katina’s heart skipped with joy. Alexander brushed his lips across hers, then let his mouth hover over hers as he held her gaze. As always, he gave her the choice, which only make him more irresistible. “Or maybe you didn’t miss me in this way?” he murmured, clearly expecting the answer that was the truth. When he teased her, his eyes sparkling and his manner playful, Katina wanted him all the more.
“Of course!” She laughed at him, then caught his head in her hands, pulling him down for another kiss. This time, she was purposeful and passionate, intending to leave no doubt in his mind of his welcome. Alexander caught his breath when her tongue slid between his teeth, then hauled her even closer, kissing her with crushing intensity. His erection strained against his clothing, so large and hard that Katina had no doubt of his desire.
It was intoxicating to know that he wanted her as much as she wanted him. She met him touch for touch, loving the sense of communion she felt with in these encounters. Alexander groaned, then swept her into his arms. He strode across the courtyard, never breaking his kiss. Katina wound her arms around his neck, wanting all he had to give.
It had been so long.
His touch felt so right.
In fact, nothing had felt right without him. Katina was on her back on her bed, her belt untied and Alexander’s hands beneath her tunic before she opened her eyes. He kissed her again, the intoxicating leisure of his kiss making her forget everything but the magic of his touch. She could think of nothing but this man she loved with all her heart, this man she had feared to never see again.
Alexander’s hand closed over her breast, and Katina moaned as he rolled the taut peak between his finger and thumb. He cast back her tunic and bent to take her nipple in his mouth, suckling her so that Katina thought she would be overwhelmed by pleasure. His hands felt large on her body, strong and warm and firm, yet he was so gentle that she couldn’t have denied him anything. He was so determined to find pleasure together that Katina wondered how she had survived without him.
Alexander’s fingers slid beneath the hem of her chiton and she knew what he would do. Her heart skipped a beat, because she had loved this kind of play. She caught her breath at the heat of his hand on her leg, his touch sliding ever upward, and fell back in surrender. She was his for the taking, and she heard from his chuckle that he knew it. His fingers slipped between her thighs, his caress on her wet heat making her gasp with delight.
“Katina,” Alexander whispered with awe, then caught her mouth beneath his own once more. He kissed her again, his fingers tormenting her until she writhed on the bed. Her body was filled with a pleasure that surged to greater intensity, like a flame coaxed to burn brighter and brighter. Her hands were on Alexander’s shoulders, her fingers gripping his solid strength, his body providing an anchor for her in the storm he roused with his touch.
She was desperate to feel his skin against hers and see him nude again, but his clothing was so strange that she didn’t know how to begin to disrobe him. She ran her hands over him repeatedly, then shoved her fingers into his hair.
Alexander lifted his head, his eyes twinkling.
“Don’t stop,” she whispered and he grinned.
“Not yet.” Alexander slid down the length of her, parted her thighs with his hands, and lowered his head to flick his tongue across her arousal. Katina moaned from the depths of her soul. Only Alexander could give her such pleasure. Only Alexander could make her act like a wanton.
And Katina didn’t care.
She wanted him, over and over and over again. No matter what price she had to pay, she would have this moment, with no regrets. She felt the heat of Alexander’s breath as he paused in his torment of her, then he kissed her in that intimate place and all coherent thought left her mind.
There was only Alexander, only the pleasure he gave and her surety of her love for him.
And in this moment, that was enough.
* * *
Alexander’s welcome couldn’t be mistaken. Katina’s body told the truth of her thoughts, as always it did. It had always been easier for them to communicate by touch than with words, and as far as Alexander was concerned, they could talk later. First, they would restore the power of their union. First, they would recover the magic.
Then they could resolve the details.
There was nothing in his universe in this moment except Katina, and his joy to be with her again. For the moment, there was the love shining in her eyes, the dark majesty of her hair, the supple strength of her body and the wet welcome between her thighs. She was as much of a feast as Alexander recalled, so sweet and hot and responsive that he knew there could never be another woman for him. There was no pretense in her and he loved the honesty of her passion. He never had doubted what Katina had wanted of him, and he was profoundly glad to learn that that had not changed.
He was more than ready to give her all she desired, and wished he could make her dreams come true.
He felt a strange flutter on his skin when his heart swelled with love, but couldn’t make sense of the sensation that he’d lost something. He’d found something precious here, against all odds, and he was going to make the most of it.
Alexander urged the tide to rise within Katina, proud beyond all that he could still please his wife so well. He teased her and drove her higher, then
withdrew in the right moment, knowing her well enough to extend her torment and her pleasure. She moaned and protested incoherently, but Alexander wanted this union to be perfect.
He wanted to prove that it was worth the wait.
On the third time that her passion rose, he waited until that ideal moment to graze his teeth across her turgid clitoris. Katina gasped, then gained her release in a shaking torrent. Her legs locked around his head involuntarily and she moaned as if her world was ending. Alexander savored her pleasure. She was flushed when her breathing returned to something like its regular pace, and her eyes were sparkling.
She was so beautiful that his heart ached at the time they’d lost.
Alexander rose to his feet, knowing that Katina watched him with a hunger for more. Her thoughts were so easily read when they made love, and he was glad that she’d never had any inclination to play games with desire. She was impetuous and passionate, but utterly true.
Alexander unbuckled his belt and cast it aside, liking how she smiled as he shed his clothes. She sat up on the bed, reaching to touch each exposed increment of skin, as if she were as anxious to caress him as he was to caress her. Alexander shed his clothing and boots with record speed, his boots falling to one side, his shirt and trousers to the other.
“Your clothing is so strange,” she said, and a question filled her gaze. “I wouldn’t have known where to start.”
Alexander didn’t want to talk about where he had been. Not yet. The tale would take too long and he wanted this reunion first.
“Is that why you watch me so closely?” he teased. “To have me naked whenever you so choose?”
“Maybe I’ll keep you naked for a while. Until you please me enough.” Katina laughed, then stopped, confusion lighting her gaze. She stood up and reached a fingertip to touch the tattoo on his upper arm, the one souvenir he still bore from the future. Alexander winced when she touched it, not because it hurt but because he didn’t want to explain all of that as yet. “A magical beast upon your skin,” she said with wonder, and met his gaze. She clearly was curious.
“It doesn’t matter,” Alexander said, his voice rougher than he intended. He knew that once her questions began, she would not fall silent until she knew everything of where he had been. Her inquisitiveness was one trait he admired, but he needed her touch first. He put a fingertip on her lips, savoring their softness. “This first,” he urged, knowing he would beg if he had to. “I’ve been without you too long to keep to the thread of any story otherwise.”
“So honest.” She smiled. “You never could lie.”
Alexander shook his head. “Not to you.”
Katina was clearly pleased by this. She drew him into her embrace, then granted him a thoughtful glance. “How many other women?” she whispered when he would have kissed her again. Her gaze was searching. “Just tell me that.”
“None,” Alexander said with finality. “For there can be no other woman for me.”
“Only you could have managed that feat,” she said with pride, which confused him.
“I don’t understand.”
“Your word is your bond, Alexander. I knew that long ago. It is something I admire about you.” She ran her hands over his head again and her eyes glowed. “Only you could have denied your pleasure so long to keep a pledge to me.”
Alexander took that as an invitation. He kissed her and his embrace soon turned hungry, his passion for her contained far too long. Now that he was with Katina, he wasn’t certain how long he could last. He’d denied himself for so long, and his passion was a tide that couldn’t be denied. He moved them with purposed to the narrow bed, not wanting to rush her, but compelled by his body’s need. Katina smiled and leaned back, opening her thighs to him in invitation.
She’d always understood him so well. Alexander couldn’t have refused her to save his life. He slid into her wet heat with a sigh, unable to remember when any sensation had felt so good.
Or so right.
Katina ran her hands over him, her delight in her eyes. Alexander rolled on the bed so that he was on his back and she was sitting astride him. She smiled as she pulled her tunic and longer chiton over her head then tossed them to the floor. He surveyed her, knowing she was even more beautiful than he had recalled. Her nipples were tight and dark, her breasts high and just large enough to fill his palm. Her waist was narrow and her belly not quite flat. He ran his hands over her, remembering how he had loved the look of her when she’d carried his son, and wondering if they would have more sons.
The idea made his chest tighten. It seemed impossibly wonderful that he could have a future again, that he could plan his days and nights with his beloved, that the darkfire had given him such a gift as this.
Then Katina unfastened her hair and shook out the braids, letting it fall over her shoulders like a dark veil. It was as glossy and thick as he remembered, as wavy as the curl of the ocean’s tide and darker than a river at midnight. It flowed over her shoulders and down her back, cascading all the way to her hips. He’d always loved her hair. At the sight of its loosened splendor, Alexander was lost all over again.
Katina moved atop him, caressing her own breasts as she rode him, her smile making Alexander dizzy. He ran his hands over her slender strength and let the scent of her skin inundate him. How he adored her. How he had missed her. How could she have imagined there could be any other woman who might compare or even suffice? He gripped Katina’s hips and urged her to move faster as his need built.
Alexander murmured her name even as his heart pounded with greater intensity. She tormented him as he had teased her, building his passion to a peak then slowing her pace, before building his desire again. Alexander heard himself moan and the bed creak, even as all rational thought left his mind.
There was only Katina with her slick heat, her shining eyes and her sweet smile. He lost track of how many times she teased him, but suddenly knew he could bear it no longer. He whispered her name with greater urgency and she leaned over him, surrounding him in the dark spill of her hair. Alexander closed his eyes and held fast to her, wanting to lose himself in the embrace of the woman he loved. His heart pounded as her breasts fell against his chest, his breath caught when she kissed him. The tide rose within him with sudden vigor and this time, he couldn’t hold back.
Alexander caught Katina’s nape in one hand and wrapped his other arm around her waist, driving deeper and faster. Her sweet perfume inundated him, her soft curves were crushed against him, her hair tickled against his skin. Her fervid kisses eliminated his awareness of anything but his lovely lady wife. Alexander came with explosive force, an orgasm that seemed endless and left him shaking with exhaustion.
And then he kissed Katina’s temple, feeling more fortunate than he had ever expected to be in this lifetime.
Alexander was finally home.
Chapter Two
The hot spill of Alexander’s seed recalled Katina to her senses.
How could she have been so foolish?
Alexander dozed in her arms as he always did after his release, looking so handsome and relaxed that Katina wished she could let him sleep. But that was impossible. She’d put everything at risk with her impulsive and passionate greeting. She wanted nothing more than to stay wrapped in his warmth, but she heard the slaves preparing the evening meal. It was becoming darker, which could only mean one thing.
Her husband, Cetos, would return. What would he do to Alexander?
“Wake up,” she whispered urgently to Alexander. “Wake up! Alexander, you must leave.” She tried to get out of the bed, but he wrapped himself around her, holding her close to his warmth. He kissed her temple sweetly and she knew he’d fall asleep with her trapped against his nude body.
If only she could have enjoyed that pleasure.
“Not yet.” Alexander opened his eyes and granted her a sleepy smile that wrenched her heart. “Give me a moment, then we’ll greet each other again. The second time is always slower, and better.” He slid
his fingers into her hair and would have pulled her back down for another kiss, but Katina squirmed out of his grip.
“No!” she commanded in an undertone. “You have to leave before there is talk.”
Alexander’s sleepy smile didn’t waver. “There’s probably already talk. I didn’t sneak into the village.” Katina backed away from him, searching for her clothes. “The meal can wait,” he murmured, then patted the bed beside himself.
Katina turned away from the temptation he offered, wishing she had been able to resist him the first time. She tugged on her chiton and knotted the belt swiftly around her waist, noting that her hands were shaking.
Cetos had such a temper. He’d only shouted at her in the past, but she feared that finding her first husband naked in her bedroom might push him too far. She already knew that he resented her choosing Alexander over him the first time.
The one thing they argued about was her determination to continue to wear Alexander’s ring.
“What’s wrong, Katina?” Alexander asked softly and she spun to find that he was watching her closely. His eyes glittered and he already sat on the edge of the bed, so taut that he looked poised to leap. She hadn’t even heard him move.
“Everything is wrong!” she whispered, not knowing where to begin.
“Everything is finally right,” Alexander corrected firmly. He got to his feet with purpose and crossed the room to her side. “I’m home, and we’re together again. We’ll raise our son and maybe have a few more.” He lifted her hair and pressed an enticing kiss to the side of her neck. Oh, how well she remembered that Alexander was never satisfied with one mating.