16. Mercy

Aesylt hadn't expected the scholar to be so... carefree the morning after they'd crossed such a significant boundary.

He was a man who held tight to his shame, so she feared he would regret everything they'd done in their little tower apartment, the freezing rain their only witness. Or that he'd announce a swift end of their research, and an overblown concern for her precious chastity.

But he'd actually been playful as they readied for the day, ribbing her about silly things. He'd been a totally different man than the one who had been going out of his way to keep her at arm's length for weeks. When he'd suggested they get out of the keep for an hour or so and explore the great walled city, she hadn't known what to make of his unusual enthusiasm.

He laughedas they walked the path of stalls along Wulfsgate's Mercantile Row, Kezza and a few other guards holding a friendly distance. The freshly fallen snow was powdery and welcoming, perfect for the children playing in the banks while their mothers and fathers finished their weekly commerce. Even as an adult, she recognized good playing snow. She couldn't wait until Aleksy was old enough to pack onto a slab of wood and slide down the foothills with her.

"Watch this woman's face," Rahn whispered, leaning close. His warm breath sent a shiver down her spine, but she spotted the person he was talking about. "This isn't the first time she's tried to steer her husband away from the blacksmith, is it?"

Aesylt's face erupted in a slow grin. The poor woman wasn't even trying to hide her annoyance with her excited husband, who was perusing a display of gleaming knives like he'd not seen one before. "She should find something she enjoys. I would."

"And what would you choose?" Rahn asked. She felt his eyes on her.

"Hmm." She debated how to answer. She'd always loved the markets in Wulfsgate. They had a liveliness that was missing in Witchwood Cross, remote and uninviting for anyone but those already there. "I would go find the inksmith. He makes ink of all colors, not just black, and also mixes the most luxurious paints. You won't find any like them in the rest of the Northerlands."

"Do you paint?"

"I used to." In the before times.

He must have heard the reticence in her voice because he didn't push.

"And you? What would your favorite stall be, Scholar?"

Rahn tilted his head with a thoughtful look ahead. "Anywhere I can get fresh ink for my notes is?—"

She tsk-tsked her tongue. "Nope. Too easy. There's more to you than learning, and I'd like to know what it is."

"You fancy me a mysterious man?" He balked in surprise. "I hate to disappoint you."

Her eyes narrowed playfully as she waited for him to explain.

"Our world on Duncarrow was small. No markets." He gestured around at the bustling commerce. "No fresh wonders to discover, just a weekly ship delivering the necessities. The only thing I was given as a child was a quill, ink, and a modest stack of vellum I was told never to squander, for there might not be more tomorrow. And then I was told, we don't speak of Ilynglass, so when you teach these children, Adrahn, though you are but a child yourself, you must pretend as if it never existed. As if the White Kingdom is all there is and ever was."

None of this was a surprise to Aesylt, but him speaking of it so openly certainly was. She searched for the expected signs of tension or hesitance, but despite the acrimony in some of his words, he seemed at ease. "What did you teach them then?"

"More than I was allowed to. Less than I wanted." He angled his mouth sideways in a mischievous grin. His eyes traveled toward the sky. "Imryll will tell you, I was not quite the rule follower everyone believed me to be. When I was a little older, I befriended some of the merchants who made deliveries and got my hands on a few books from the mainland."

"You were the one who slipped Imryll the vellum, even though it would have gotten you thrown in the Sky Dungeon if anyone had found out." That had been one of Aesylt's favorite stories Imryll had shared from her Duncarrow years.

"She had so much curiosity. It had to go somewhere. The biggest mistake the crown made with her was trying to stifle her." He nudged Aesylt with a soft smile. "You two are very much alike, actually."

"You're not the first to say so." She sidestepped when a group of children went tearing by. Rich, gamey meats wafted on the winter breeze, and she was suddenly famished. "What other rules do you like to bend?"

"Only the ones which serve no good purpose," he said with a whimsical look at a stall teeming with furs. He'd been acting differently all morning, and it wasn't just his unusually upbeat temperament. When they'd entered the gates of the market, he'd made a strange detour to an unknown stall without her. Wait for me right here, he'd said and then hadn't bothered explaining himself when he'd returned empty-handed. "Squish, I can see you eyeing those rabbit skewers like you haven't eaten in days. Shall we put you out of your misery?"

"I'll take two," she responded, and he squeezed her arm with a laugh before jogging off to the stall. By the time she reached him, he was already handing over the coin.

"One for you, one for your lovely wife," the man said.

Aesylt almost told the merchant she wasn't his wife, but waited to see if Rahn would do it first. He didn't, so she let it slide too.

"Thank you, sir," she said distantly, watching Rahn, trying to figure him out. She was still studying him when he walked away, handing her the second skewer with a conspiratorial wink. "Didn't want one?"

"I'm not the one who skipped breakfast," he teased. "Though that does smell good..."

She yanked hers away with a smirk. "Should have bought one for yourself then."

"Woeful regret is my lifelong companion."

Aesylt abruptly stopped and slid a knot of steaming meat from the stick, then lifted it to Rahn's mouth before she realized how careless she was being. Kezza and the others, they were watching, and while she didn't believe they had orders to spy on them, how could she ever be sure?

But Rahn accepted her offer, his eyes fluttering back as he worked the bite in his mouth.

A smudge of food at the corner of his mouth had her leaning up to clear it with her thumb. She brushed it against the edge of his lips, glancing away when his gaze was too much. He licked the spot when she was done, and she had to fight the desire to stretch up onto her toes and kiss him.

But they were not in the celestial realm, and this was not research.

The market had been Pieter's suggestion, after Rahn had told him their intention to get out for a few hours. Nowhere safer in the realm than Wulfsgate, he'd said. It was the most fortified town in the kingdom, with walls taller than any man could scale on his own. The gate guards searched everyone going in or out, allowing only those in who were confirmed residents or approved visitors of the Derehams.

"If you're not going to eat that..."

Aesylt shoved half the meat from one stick in her mouth. His brows furrowed in amusement as she struggled to chew so much at once. She grinned, her cheeks puffed, and he threw his head back with a laugh that made her heart sing. He leaned in and tidied the edges of hermouth, still laughing.

She swallowed the half-chewed food with a hard gulp and handed him the second stick.

"I was only teasing. Eat up." He grinned and started walking again, then paused when they passed a stall of furs. "These are much more colorful than the ones they sell in the Cross."

"Vjestik like our furs like we like our hearts, Scholar. Rough and dark." Her heart slowly returned to normal.

Rahn shook his head and pointed. "You asked me what interests me. Cultures. How different they are. Why these differences exist. I can read a thousand stories about a thousand villages, but there's no replacement for experience."

"So the Vjestik are specimens to you?"

"They're fascinating to me, as all peoples are." He lifted his arms under his cloak. "When you visit other villages, do you not note the differences?"

Aesylt discarded her empty stick on a nearby burn pile and started in on the second one. "Of course I do. But I'm not as well traveled as you. I've never even been beyond the Northerlands."

"If you want a contest of who's been more sheltered, I promise I'll win." He smiled. "And I've only seen the realm in passing, on my way to you. Not much time to assess it."

On my way to you. Not Witchwood Cross. Not your family. I'm reading way too much into a single word. She sighed. "Is this something you want to do? Travel the realm?"

"One day." He took her last empty stick and tossed it in another burn pile. "With the right companion."

"I would happily travel with you."

Rahn smiled, but his eyes were on the path behind them. "They'll be expecting us back at the keep soon, but there's somewhere we need to stop first."

Aesylt held fastto the small keepsake under her robe, beaming as she marched in through the east entrance of Wulfsgate Keep. She wanted to take it straight to their tower apartment, where she could get a closer look, but she'd promised to visit Imryll after the market.

Rahn had already gone on without her. He said he wanted to read more of the books Pieter had left. She'd nearly swooned at the idea of it, and she'd never swooned in her life. Val and Nik would rather play than do just about anything else. They'd only joined the cohort for her. They never understood why she found her greatest solace when her nose was tipped toward a book.

The scholar's little gift was evidence he did think of her beyond the research, but his mind was still a quagmirical mystery... How any man could claim her the way he had the day before and then speak in clear sentences about the weather and other pleasantries defied logic. She needed to study his separation tactics, or she'd never survive the rest of their experimenting.

Assuming he even wanted to continue.

The present in her pocket did nothing to clear anything up.

She turned down the hall toward the guest quarters, still grinning when she ran straight into Lord Dereham.

"Ahh, Aesylt!" He chuckled and held her at arm's length with a fatherly sweep of his gaze. "Pieter tells me you spent the morning in the market with our enigmatic duke."

She straightened, swiftly restructuring her thoughts. "It was just as colorful and fragrant as I remember."

"That it is," he agreed, watching her closely. "Do you have all you need in the tower?"

"Oh, yes. Thank you again."

"And... Are you still comfortable sharing quarters with the duke?"

Aesylt's nod was fast and desperate as she thought of them being separated, stuck in quarters where they'd lack the privacy and seclusion they needed. She was still stunned Drazhan had endorsed the notion of her sharing the tower with Rahn, but he probably believed the man valued his life too much to overstep. "It's exactly what we needed, my lord. Now if the skies would only clear..."

Lord Dereham laughed. "All citizens are wishing for the same thing right now, albeit for different reasons." He released her. "Have you had the chance to catch up with Nyssa?"

"I hope to soon." She hoped no such thing, after her chilly reception, but nonetheless wanted to resolve whatever had prompted it.

"As does she, I imagine. She's never taken to many of the girls her age here, but she was always fond of you." He breathed deep, looking past her. "You're looking for the stewardess?"

Aesylt nodded.

"You'll find her in the study, going over her notes." He shook his head. "There aren't many women scholars in the realm."

"Imryll is brilliant and deserves far more acclaim than the Reliquary will ever concede to."

"Don't mistake my truthfulness for criticism, cub," Lord Dereham said. He clapped her on the shoulder and started to move again. "I respect what she's doing. What you and the scholar are doing. But the Reliquary is already powerful, and even in their infancy, their reach is long. The crown has funneled more gold into their efforts than anything else since they arrived on our shores. The Reliquary ministers aim to be the foremost authority in all things knowledge and spiritualism in the realm, and the crown would use them to regulate both. The best the stewardess and you can hope for is their allowance of this work to continue, but there will never be credit given. There will be no glory for the researchers in the north. You'll be fortunate if anything you submit even makes it into their precious annals, for neither the Reliquary nor the crown are concerned with facts that impede the ones they create for us."

Aesylt hadn't been expecting such candor from him, nor words that bordered on treason. The Northerlands had been the only Reach to rise against the installation of the usurper kings from Beyond, but they'd paid a heavy price for it—though nothing like what the Cross was still experiencing, years later. "You're right, my lord, and trust we know so as well."

"Good. Carry on then." He squeezed her shoulder and walked on.

When she reached the study, her mood was instantly restored at the sight of Aleksy scampering across the room, chasing after one of the Derehams' tomcats.

Imryll grinned and rolled her eyes playfully when she looked up. "Do you not miss the days when simple things could occupy your attention for hours on end?"

"I certainly miss simpler days," Aesylt answered, shutting the doors behind her. She knelt and hoisted Aleksy into her arms, spinning and kissing him. "How is my sweet wulfling?"

"Ace!" he cried, one of the few words he knew.

"That's right," she said, laughing in delight.

"Ready for a nap, I hope." Imryll stood, but Aesylt shook her head.

"No, don't get up." She kissed Aleksy once more and released him for more fun with the striped cat. "I'll come to you."

"I'm barely pregnant, Aesylt, I don't need?—"

"And it isn't what I meant." Aesylt held up her hands as she slid onto the chair across from Imryll. The table was positioned in front of a curved window full of colored glass, which bathed the snow outside in prismatic hues. "Anything from Draz since yesterday?"

Imryll's hands slid away from the stack of papers she was holding. Her eyes flicked toward Aleksy with a sigh. "This morning, yes."

Aesylt waited.

"Nothing new." She folded her hands and bowed her head. Her red waves fell over her shoulders. "Except I'm told it is no longer safe for me to send dispatches to the Reliquary, as protecting our location is top priority."

"What?" Aesylt leaned in. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know." Imryll turned toward the kaleidoscopic window. "The Reliquary has been waiting for this. For us to miss a deadline, submit errors in our work. And I sit here, pondering how they've played us, how they must be laughing at us, and wonder if my dream was the wrong one all along."

"Imryll." Aesylt slid both hands across the table and grabbed hers. "Look at me."

Imryll's chin dimpled. She turned to face Aesylt.

"Power knows no dreams." She shook her head. "Whatever the Reliquary is becoming, it is not what it was conceived to be. But if those of us who know this don't keep fighting, keep trying, that is the path it will take. What we are doing here matters. It matters. I promise you it does. Your dream is the one this realm needs, and we cannot give up."

Imryll smiled tightly and withdrew one of her hands to wipe her eyes. "The last time the north crossed the Rhiagains, they paid dearly. There's only so far I'm willing to go to protect this dream, Aes. And it starts and ends with the safety of our people."

Aesylt lowered her gaze. "We'll solve it. I promise."

"I didn't expect to miss my council, but I do. Anton and Jasika are both so different, and I value that."

"I may not be on your council, but I wouldn't encourage you to continue if I didn't believe it was the right thing to do." Aesylt pulled her hands back and into her lap. If she was going down a treacherous path, she had to be quick about it. "I was there when the Rhiagains retaliated, and I know one thing, Imryll. And it's an important one. Conceding to bullies, to tyrants, only empowers them. More than anything, I want to pretend that never happened, to keep our people safe in a bubble of warmth and love. But the Rhiagains must answer for what they did, and if we cannot best them in war, there are other ways. Better ways. And we're doing them."

The study doors opened, and Pieter walked in. "Ah. Forgive my interruption."

"Not at all." Imryll sniffled and stood with a politic nod. "Please, come in, my lord."

"My father is a lord. I am most decidedly not." Pieter's smile spread across his face. "I came to inform you both of a weather shift coming, and soon. The winds have turned off the range, and a blizzard is expected before nightfall. Our elemental diviners predict it will be over before we know it, but we should all be safe inside when it happens." He nodded at Aesylt. "So I came to escort you to the tower."

Aesylt understood the weather in a way most did not—the science of it, what caused the snow levels to drop, the pressure to change, and the temperature differentials required in the creation of storms. It was all knowledge the Reliquary would hold onto and parcel at their leisure, if allowed. Knowledge everyone in the realm had a right to. "Very well. Thank you, Pieter."

He nodded and waited for Aesylt to offer her good-byes.

She leaned in close as she embraced Imryll, whispering, "Don't lose hope. Don't give up. The scholar and I are conspiring our own ways to make this work. Trust in us, as we trust in you." She kissed her cheek and backed away.

Imryll's look was unreadable as she nodded, her eyes shifting into a slight squint.

Aesylt squeezed Aleksy and followed Pieter.

"And how are you finding the tower for your research?" he asked, gesturing for her to go ahead when they turned down the hall.

"It will be perfect once the skies open up for us," she said carefully, thinking of the lord's words, of Imryll's. Aesylt's nerves frayed in anticipation of the troubles closing in on all sides.

Guards opened the rear doors for them, and they stepped out into the wintry afternoon. The wind had already picked up, and snow swirled around them. "And I trust you and the scholar are getting on?"

"We always have."

"Quite well, it seems."

Aesylt's boot caught on a flagstone. "Pardon?"

"Have you looked through the books I left?"

She pulled her furs tight, puzzling over his earlier question. "Scholar Tindahl has, and I hope to soon. Tonight, perhaps, since we'll be sequestered and starved for the rest of the day and evening."

"Starve? Never. The kitchen will bring your meals up early," Pieter said. His gait slowed. "I know you must feel very isolated right now, but I am your friend. Before, now, always."

Aesylt smiled, her eyes locked on the tower ahead. The candles were burning in the topmost windows. "I know, Pieter. Thank you."

He held the door open, his eyes following her as she stepped inside. "Anything you need, ask." His eyes held hers with enough intensity to make her glance up the stairs for a moment of relief. "Stay warm tonight. Both of you."

Aesylt breathed deep and forced a smile through her sudden discomfort. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

Pieter bowed as he backed away, closing the door.

For the past hour,Rahn had been poring over the stack of books Pieter had left. They were all about the Wintergarden. But it was the tome on top, The Aphrodisiacal Flora of the Wintergarden, that had him the most perplexed about the man's intentions.

He'd sifted through the entire book page by page, all of which featured a different plant in the garden and how it could be used for enhanced sexual pleasure. Citrus, when consumed, was purported to make his semen taste more agreeable. There were several fruits listed that were said to change the physiology of a woman's privates as well. He wondered if anything written had also been considered for the compendium, or if they should include it in their own submission.

By most standards, the book was not appropriate as a gift, but it was especially peculiar under the circumstances. Pieter Dereham hadn't left it accidentally, but his true intention was hard to guess. Perhaps the man was just indulging his devious, playful side?

The door flew open, and Aesylt marched through. He heard her cloak snap when she tossed it over the rack, and he turned and found her flushed and serious. She passed him the briefest unconvincing smile before disappearing behind her curtain. The bedframe creaked as she dropped onto it.

Rahn pushed back from his desk and walked to their sleeping area. He paused, listening for any sign she was changing, but there was nothing, so he carefully stepped around the curtain and found her lying on her side, the wooden squirrel he'd commissioned for her cradled in her hands. The one that said Squish on the bottom... the one he'd talked himself out of buying a dozen times before he'd finally handed over the coin. The one so like the hawk statuette someone—he couldn't remember who—had gifted him in kindness before his life had upended.

What's a squish? The merchant had asked when he'd jotted down Rahn's request.

A reminder for someone dear to me. That strength is like branches in a tree, some harder than others but all part of surviving.

Right. Give me a full tick of the sun.

"Aesylt?"

She scrambled, pulling her legs up as she quickly sat. "Scholar."

He gestured toward the end of the bed, seeking permission. She nodded without looking up. He couldn't read whether it was solitude she craved or company. "Did you see Imryll?"

She nodded and shoved her hands, and the squirrel, under the folds of her gown. "Drazhan is afraid that sending dispatches to the Reliquary puts our location at risk and has asked us to hold off for now."

"Ah." He wasn't surprised Drazhan had made the request, only that he hadn't made it sooner. "How does Imryll feel about it?"

"I'm sure you can guess." Her tongue passed along her lips and then she closed her mouth tight.

"How do you feel about it?"

"She sees a defeat; I see a challenge." Aesylt's shoulders lifted with her breath. "Then, I am radically disobedient at times."

"No. You?"

Her mouth twisted into an almost grin. "Not everyone agrees with me that we should never hide from our fears but confront them, even if it leaves us quaking with the promise of the unknown." She shrugged. "How are the books?"

"Illuminating... and confounding." He told her what he'd found, watching her eyebrows slowly rise and then fuse. "Do you suppose he's being cute?"

Aesylt blew out. "I... Perhaps? He wasn't so mischievous as a boy, but I haven't seen him in years." She seemed to be holding something back. "But did you learn anything?"

Rahn blurted a laugh. "Oh, plenty." He had the urge to grab the stack and join her in bed so they could read them together. But there was something in her expression he couldn't ignore. "What's really going on, Aesylt?"

"Nothing. I'm just tired."

"We promised to be open with each other."

Her hands moved around in the velvet of her skirt. She withdrew the squirrel and put it on her nightstand, her gaze lingering on it a moment before she spoke. "If I ask you an honest question, will you give me an honest answer?"

"I will."

"Because I cannot read you, Scholar." She lifted her gaze to meet his. "And, oh, I've tried, but you're a confounding man."

Rahn chuckled softly. "Then my efforts have not been in vain."

"Do you have many regrets in life?"

He wasn't prepared for the question. And the answer... If he said yes, would she leave it alone? "All men do, if they live long enough."

"But do you?"

With a threaded inhale, he nodded slowly. "Yes, I do. What's this about, Aesylt?"

Her hands twisted in her lap, but her eyes stayed locked on his. "Do you regret agreeing to partner with me? Please... Think about this before you answer. Really consider it."

"I don't need to think about it," he said, though he had been thinking about it, all morning, all afternoon. Between every word he'd offered the woodcrafter who made her the squirrel, something he'd done on a whim but not without careful consideration. Every time he'd made her laugh in the market. When she'd brushed her thumb to the corner of his mouth to clear the smudges, and when he'd done the same for her—how easy and natural it had all felt. It had been his way of saying nothing has changed. We're still friends, still partners. "The only thing that would give me regret would be if I saw it in you. If I thought what we'd done—what we are yet to do—was harming you. And I trust you to tell me if that were to happen. Or if it already had."

Aesylt looked at her hands. "It has not." She glanced up again, fire dancing in her crystal eyes. "And you should know I will do every last thing on the Reliquary's list if that's what it takes. Battlefield and all. There's nothing out of bounds for me because I trust you. So please don't... look at me and see the girl you invited to be a disciple a year ago. See me as a woman who is more than ready to rise to the challenge after a year of your tutelage."

Rahn's flesh tingled from the force of her intensity, the depth of her stare as she waited for his response. The temptation to read her notes from the day before was so compelling, he'd nearly caved, but it would have grossly violated her trust. She'd told him they were private, for now, and he needed to respect that. "And it's your choice to continue our efforts, even though we're bound from sending any of our notes to the Reliquary for now?"

Aesylt pushed up onto her knees and slowly crawled toward him. "When we finally send these notes, I want those stodgy old relics to be in awe of our commitment."

Rahn lifted his hand to her chin, tilting it. His mouth parted in anticipation of the kiss he hadn't decided if he should give. "They'll be expecting us at dinner."

"No they won't." She grinned and rocked back on her heels. "There's a blizzard coming, and we're to stay safe... and locked away..." She pitched forward and danced her lips against his. He swallowed a soft moan. "Until morning. So, we can watch the snow fall and wait it out, or we can climb the ladder a little higher and find our own warmth on what looks to be a very, very cold night."

Rahn cupped her face in his palms and delivered his response as a kiss that had her whispering, "And another with me, and another with me, for the love of the bloody Ancestors."

Aesylt lay backon the bed as Rahn slowly climbed over her. His erection brushed between her legs, sending blood straight to her head, but that wasn't the rung they were on. They had to go in order, or it could compromise the entire experiment.

"We go as slow as you need." Rahn traced his words along her jaw. The way he studied for her hesitation, reading her at every step, almost tricked her into believing it was all real. "If you're not ready, it may hurt more than it should."

"You'll soon see how ready I am," she purred, feeling recklessly bold as she squirmed to lift her dress. She wished they'd taken it off altogether, for his clothes to be scattered around the celestial room as well, but there was intimacy and there was science.

Her legs fell to the sides, inviting him to direct the next phase.

"Gods," he whispered, so low she almost didn't hear him at all. His chest rose and fell, hard and fast, as he first stared and then dipped down to kiss between her legs. Her head rolled back with a silent scream of pleasure as he dragged his tongue along the length of her. "You are ready, aren't you?"

Aesylt nodded, but he couldn't see her because he was still nestled betwixt her thighs. Her throat rasped under the skill of his gentle but demanding tongue, her heels digging into the hard mattress as her ass tightened and lifted when an orgasm ripped through her, quick and thunderous. Her scream echoed across the celestial stones, heightening to a shrill whine as he held on.

Finally she pushed on the top of his head, unable to take another moment. Panting, he peeled back and wiped his mouth, watching her. "I thought you might... enjoy beginning with that," he said between breaths.

"You do know..." She caught her breath, her eyes fluttering briefly closed. "That this means I'll be returning the favor before the night is ended."

A grin played at his mouth, one he was visibly attempting to restrain. "Does it?"

Aesylt bit down on her lip, nodding, her breaths still ragged. Maybe we can even climb to the very tippy top of this ladder. "But first..."

His lips screwed together, still trying not to smile. "For the science."

"Of course, if you don't get enough information for your notes..."

"We can always do it again..."

"And again." Aesylt smoothed her hands along her inner thighs. His eyes followed her movements. She brought them to rest where his face had just been, sliding a finger down herself, knowing exactly what it would do to him despite her inexperience in the matter. "I'm not afraid of a little pain, Scholar."

He blinked hard in visible restraint. "I'll start with one finger."

Aesylt traced her tongue along her bottom lip.

His cheeks flexed to contain himself, but Ancestors, how she prayed he wouldn't. In some of her wildest fantasies, she imagined his entire fist delivering her across the delicate line between pleasure and pain.

Rahn came down over her again. He seemed reluctant to kiss her, so she kissed him first, showing him it was okay.

She guided his hand between her legs, relishing the abrupt groan that escaped him when his finger traced the outside of her mound. Even with Val, it had not been prudence keeping her chaste. Before the scholar had stormed into her life, waking her soul all the way up after so many dormant years, she'd not known true desire. Had never understood that pleasure started as an ignition within the soul before it became a physical need.

His middle finger traced the length of her once, twice, and dipped down, teasing her. She pressed on his hand, and in his finger slid, causing her breath to catch and hold as she waited for him to push all the way in.

"Is this all right?"

"I'm ready for more," she cried, squeezing onto his finger.

"Already?"

"I'm not a delicate flower, Scholar."

"We'll see about that," he whispered, withdrawing long enough to add a second finger. But that wouldn't be enough either; she knew it before he re-entered her, even as the first murmur of pain had her clenching down.

She spread her legs wider and closed her eyes, her breathing riding the gentle rhythm of his two fingers working in, out. She locked her hand atop his wrist and guided him to go faster, and this time he didn't ask her if it was all right. His teeth latched onto her bottom lip as he pumped, panting in tune with her soft cries.

"More," she commanded, guiding him out so he could fulfill her demand. He peeled back to catch her eyes, and whatever he saw must have given him the confirmation required. A third finger joined the mix, and this time the pain was utterly exquisite. She squirmed, but never relented on her guidance, both hands on his arm as he impaled her with his hand.

"I'm hurting you," he said, even as she shook her head to the contrary.

"Not nearly enough," she cried, yanking on his arm until he speared her hard enough to send stars shooting into her eyes.

"You like pain, Aesylt?" It was not the same man who asked the question. He was different now, a primal, feral creature like herself, ascended beyond the realm of right and wrong and whatever rules governed how their trysts were supposed to go.

"Oh, yes," she moaned. "Do you, Scholar?"

"Mm, yes, I do," he croaked. "But even more..."

"You enjoy giving it," she said, finishing for him. Her eyes flashed open. Her urgent command of his arm never lost pace. "Don't you?"

Rahn's mouth parted against hers. His eyes rolled back as he nodded.

"Will you put that in your notes?"

"Not a chance."

"Just for us then?" Her hips lifted higher as a new pleasure took hold. She felt like she was climbing another mountain, her feet practically folding down the middle.

Rahn's other hand traveled to his trousers, his cock straining against the fabric.

"I invite you to hurt me. I give you full permission to act out your darkest fantasies with me, whatever they may be. It will never be too much. I will never regret saying yes," she said, using her other hand to cup his cheek, forcing him to look at her. Her chest fluttered as the force of his hand sent her hurtling toward release. "You'll find my limitations are not the same as others."

"You don't know regret. Not yet." His mouth turned up in a sinister grin she wanted more of. "You don't have any idea what you're asking."

"If I say I do?"

"With a flick of my hand, I could turn you inside out." He parted her mouth with his thumb and tugged it wide. "Make you forget your own name."

"Oh, please." Aesylt moaned, her head rolling back and her jaw still in his hold. "Do that."

"Fuck," Rahn mumbled, and she looked down and saw the dark stain spreading across his pants. The sight of it was too much, and she shuddered around his hand as an utterly different orgasm hurtled through her. She held fast to his arm, pinning herself under him, riding the waves until there was nothing but their heavy, labored breathing.

He fell onto the bed beside her. It was several moments later when he said, "I don't think I need to ask if you enjoyed that."

She turned to her side to cuddle into his shoulder. "Nor I you."

"That part was unfortunate," he muttered with an annoyed look down.

"It was sexy." She slithered against him. "I feel as though I know you a bit better now."

"Do you?" He raked a hand through her hair and locked it behind her head.

"Don't be ashamed. I'm not." She kissed him. "It's yet early. We could continue to collect observations for our notes... and I have designs on giving you a more proper finish."

He licked the tops of his teeth. "How could I refuse?"

Aesylt climbed atop of him. All it would take was a quick reach between his legs, but no matter how much of his resistance she'd broken down, there was yet some remaining. As long as he could convince himself he was doing it for the research, he could live with it. But she knew better. She knew what he was refusing to acknowledge. She might understand little about sex, but what had happened the past two days was far beyond clinical.

He slid his hands along her ass and then pulled one to the front, dipping it between her legs and working his fingers into place. "You sure you don't need a rest first?" His eyes narrowed in mischief. "I went easy on you, Aesylt. I won't be so gentle next time."

"I'm far from crying mercy." She grinned and urged him on by riding his hand. "So you have work to do."

Rahn's headwas a spinning mess by the time he sat to do his notes for the evening. Aesylt bathed behind a curtain, the gift of hot water left by the kitchen staff and brought up by pulley. How he'd wanted to stay with her... to sponge her back when she was too tired... to see with his own eyes the bruises along her inner thighs that she'd urged him to inflict—and then tend to them. But she'd smiled sleepily and insisted she welcomed the time alone with her thoughts, and that was just as well. Things were already confusing enough.

He squinted, wiping more sweat from his brow as his quill struck the page. Male researcher continues to be intrigued how female is always physically ready for his advances. Not just ready but in a state of total desire, as though there had been hours of foreplay preceding the activity.

He tapped the feather of his quill, his head tilted back to catch his breath. What else could he write? And how could he possibly write it without bringing in the illicit, consuming power of the past few hours, the barriers they'd broken between them, and the closeness that had been present before but had become all he could think about.

Rahn's eyes traveled toward her desk. She'd done her notes swiftly, hovering over her chair when it had been too painful to sit. Even the thought made him hard, because gods, how she'd wanted it. She'd begged for the fist, but he had to draw the line somewhere, even if she couldn't.

But if she could take three fingers, she could take him.

Not that his cock could offer anything more to the evening. She'd taken him into her mouth twice, which was to say nothing of the mortifying premature release he'd made in his pants when she had asked for more pain. Not his first time around her. Probably not his last.

Rahn adjusted in his seat, his gaze still on her desk. The locked drawer. "You still all right in there?" he asked, clearing his throat.

"Enjoying the warmth, Scholar. Care to join me?"

"We're not in the celestial realm, Aesylt."

"And?"

Oh, she was a crafty one. Perhaps she even meant the invitation. But the celestial realm was all that stood between him and the last vestiges of a belief that he was a good and decent man. "You finished your notes quickly."

"I had lots of thoughts desperate to escape." She laughed. The delightful sound echoed across the stones.

"I think we should compare ours soon, so we know if we need to backtrack, collect more experience."

"You just want to read mine."

He grinned to himself. Of course she'd seen through him. "I confess I do. But calibrating our findings is an important part of research. It's how we assess whether we're aligned on everything."

Her tone was heavier when she responded. "I know. I just need a little more time with mine before they're ready for anyone else's eyes. This isn't quite the same as watching the sky and reading the stars, is it?"

He closed his eyes to center himself. There was a reason she didn't want him to see her notes. He just didn't know what it was yet. "If you need anything, just call out."

"You can go on to bed. I think I'll stay here a while, watch the snow and soak my limbs a bit longer."