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Dane waited for his contact to arrive at the tavern, they drank ale and didn t talk. After
that last kiss, Dane didn t know what to say to her. His body and mind hadn t been this
confused in a long damned time. She sat next to him on a bench, her elbows on the
wood table, her hands wrapped around a half-full tankard. She stared into the drink,
her eyes haunted, her mouth sullen.
Pipe smoke drifted from one corner of the room and assaulted his nose. He sneezed.
He drew his tankard up to his mouth and took a healthy swallow. Not a good time, if
he was honest with himself, to become a raving sot. But it would take far more than one
tankard to souse him. He decided to relax, hoping the place would drain off the heady
lust still singing through his veins for the woman next to him. The tavern nestled into
one side of the castle, its crude stone construction an afterthought in design. Loud and
boisterous, at least it served its purpose. Utter distraction.
Men milled about the congested tavern, doing what they did every day and night
there, talking, drinking and whoring. Someone played a Stigian hornpipe and another a
Bodgian drum. An ancient love melody spilled from their instruments. He recognized
the song as one his mother used to play on her hornpipe. A deep pang touched his soul.
Mother, if only you were here now. You could tell me what to do with Ketera.
By the god, he knew what do with her body, and he still ached with need to sink his
cock deep inside her hot cunny. If he had his way, if she d only surrender to his desires,
he d show her so much pleasure she d be dazed for hours.
When he d kissed her after battling the dragon, he d recognized the blood fever
upon him& and the natural lust. The one that said she was his prize and therefore his to
take to bed. When he d held her naked in his arms, he hadn t wanted to stop. With her
inexperience, he deduced he would have succeeded in bedding her, but it would have
been wrong. She was an innocent, reluctant, and besides that, guilt racked Dane. He
understood her searing pain at losing a loved one, and he knew if he didn t try to rescue
her father, she would attempt another foolhardy escape in her desperation. If she left
his protection, she would die. Plain and simple.
The problem was he didn t know if he could rescue her father.
Not when his physical need to possess her pounded in his skull, in his heart and in
his gut. He drew in a deep breath. Ketera aroused him with an almost overwhelming
pull that frightened him to the core. Whether he would admit it aloud or not, kissing
her for the entire castle to see declared more than a ravenous need to slake desire. He d
staked a claim.
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Denise A. Agnew
No honorable man who d seen the kiss would dare touch her, and he d see to that
or die trying.
Now that he d tasted her intimately and brought her knowledge of a woman s true
desires, he couldn t release her. The other night he had almost thrown away personal
integrity to seduce her into lying with him. He d wanted to thrust his cock in her so far
she would never forget him. To the deepest hells, he would never forget Ketera s sweet
taste as she had spilled her pleasure over his tongue. He d wanted to take her up
against the wall, to fuck her until he poured his lust deep inside her in a final claiming
she would never wish to escape.
He put his head in his hands and groaned. His father had described the mating lust
to him when Dane was a boy.
 You will know, son.
 How, Father?
 The lust will seize you more strongly than anything you ve known.
 More strongly than battle lust?
 Much more. You will want the woman now. But without restraint you ll be
nothing more than an animal wishing to breed. Remember that when the time comes
and you find the woman who is the one.
About that time Dragonian numbers had started to dwindle, and yet it had taken a
generation to understand the true impact. His lust to breed grew hotter at the thought, a
need to populate their continent stronger with each driving day. Yet he couldn t do it
with any woman, and he knew that.
His father s words hadn t made much sense to him then, and in the intervening
years he d almost wondered if the mating lust could be a myth. Most every man he
knew, especially Daryk Ones, wanted sex when they wanted it and the drive could be
pretty extreme. Yet he d seen other Daryk Ones and more ordinary men succumb to the
mating lust for one woman. It must be true. He d just never imagined it for himself.
But this& oh this. He d never wanted a woman as violently as he wanted Ketera.
His drive to keep her safe had slammed into him from the moment he d seen her lying
on the sand with the ruins of a great sailing ship piled around her.
He looked around the room at the comely women who would comply in a
heartbeat if he tossed them coins, took them to a back room and lifted their skirts to take
them. Not one of the women tempted him. Wenches strode along with platters of food
and drink, some of them wearing low-neck blouses designed to show all they had to
sell. One young woman of around twenty-five years came his way. She d served him
drink before. Like most women, her clothing was simple, either tunics or long skirts or
filmy pants that flowed along their legs.
 Can I be of service, Daryk One? the woman asked.
Well aware that Ketera watched closely, he stated the truth.  Nothing for me,
Samhala.
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Daryk Hunter
The young woman s gaze traveled to Ketera. The woman frowned and strutted
away.
One of Ketera s brows rose and she pursed her lips before she spoke.  What did she
want?
 Samhala is mated and doesn t tempt me. Don t worry about it. He smirked and
then took a big swallow of ale.
She sniffed and pushed her hair back from her face. Her eyes sparkled with
something that almost appeared like jealousy. Good. He wanted her jealous.
 As if I cared who you copulate with.
He chuckled.
To his surprise, her frown grew deeper. Good. He liked the way her eyes sparked
when he made her angry.
 Have you had& relations with her before she was mated? she asked.
Satisfaction flowed through him. She was jealous. The slightly petulant turn to her
mouth and the glitter in her eyes gave her away.  Why does it concern you, Ketera?
 Because I  She cut herself off then her lips tightened.  I m curious about this
place. There are so many men and women playing with each other I wasn t sure what
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