Sacred Dawn Ch. 01

She was glad she had on an old thick gown.

Sleep came soon enough for her.

She woke up drenched in sweat. It wasn't from the heat, her skin was cool. She sat up and opened her eyes and looked around the room. Everything was where it was supposed to be. She had had a bad dream, that was all.

"What's wrong?" Alex said, putting his hand on her shoulder, concern in his voice. "Just a bad dream."

"What was it about?"

"A... hunter."

"A hunter?" Alex's voice was cold.

"Yes. I was out in the woods, looking for something but could not find it. I was so angry. But the snow was to much. I had to turn back."

A shadow crossed Alex's face. "Have your dreams ever... come true?" "No." She thought a moment. "Yes."

"Were you close to your house?" His voice was full of urgency and worry. "I... don't think so."

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure, either way, he turned back right?"

Alex gave out a sigh of relief. "Promise me if you have another dream like this again, wake me and tell me about it. If you even dream that something is near this house let me know. I have heard about people who can see dreams that are true. I don't know if your dream was one of those, but I don't want to take the chance."

"Do you have experience with these kind of dreams?."

"I don't, but my... Sister." He paused looked at her then seemed to make a decision. "You deserve to know the truth."

She looked at him, a bit confused but attentive. His warm hand clenched her shoulder.

"Back home I was partnered with another Warden. It's how it works down there, you always need more then one to fix anything. My sister... She doesn't have healing powers like you, but I think she could do a bit. She came to me one morning looking like she hadn't slept a bit. She sat me down and said, 'Alex, take the next few days off. Make your partner sit out as well.' Confused as ever I demanded to know why. Her response was she had dreamt that something bad would happen to us. At the time I didn't believe in anything of the sort and scoffed at it."

He stopped talking and stared into the fire. The fire danced in his eyes, giving Sarah the impression that he was reliving the memories as he spoke.

"The next day... we were in a particularly nasty situation. My partner was killed and I was gravely wounded." His voice had gone soft, she could barely hear it over the dull crackle of the fire. "My sister had been right. I could of saved him."

"It's not your fault."

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. It doesn't matter that much, the past is the past. I can't let that happen again. So please, promise me you will pay attention to any dreams you have." His voice was almost pleading.

"I promise." She put her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it for now. We are safe here."

He sighed and let go of her shoulder. "Will you be able to get back to sleep?"

Its not the dream that would keep me up, but the thought of your body against mine. "I should be able to."

Being so close to him she could feel waves of sadness and grief radiating off of him, though she did not need a special power for that, anyone with an ounce of empathy would of been able to see it.

It was easy for her to forget her dream, wrapped in his arms. She lay with her back to him, at first she tried to keep his flesh from touching hers, but that became an exorcize in futility.

They lay there for a while, rigid, the firelight dancing over the ceiling. With a low sigh he tried to shift his weight but winced in pain. Reaching out his hand he groped for hers, taking it he whispered, "Can you scoot in a little closer, please?"

Sarah should of refused. But she didn't bother. There was a tone in his voice that was her undoing. She scooted closer to his warmth, letting it envelop her. He wrapped an arm around her and hugged her even closer, so that their two bodies were practically touching.

She lay there and wished that he would jump her. She could handle that. But this cuddling opened up a hole in her that she had long forgotten existed. She was surprised, the idea of sex didn't alarm or scare her at all. At this point she had accepted it, like an inevitable outcome of their time together. Especially since they were sleeping this close.

She closed her eyes and let the steady beat of his heart lull her to sleep.

Chapter Sevin

While waking up the lingering scent of a woman had been heaven in and of itself, waking up the to feel of a woman beneath his flesh was beyond paradise. In their sleep they had moved even closer together, their bodies pressed up against each other. Not much had changed since they had fell asleep. She had shifted in the night, her gown had ridden up so it was above her waste, leaving her rear exposed.

Except she was nearer to him. And his cock was hard.

He froze. Damn it, he was hard. And that's why he knew her ass was naked. His penis engorged in typical morning splendor. Though he was sure that was only half the cause, the other half laying in front of him, cushioning him.

Sarah shifted in her sleep, rubbing her butt unwittingly against his engorged head, causing him to almost whimper in frustration. He firmly restrained himself from letting go and grinding up against her.

He wasn't lying last night. His intentions for wanting him to sleep with him was not so that he could have sex with her. Selfish yes, but not for sex. After being disconnected from other humans for so long, he needed the touch and feel of someone. It just so happened that the someone he found was a walking fantasy. He restrained himself though, gaining Sarah's trust was more important then sex.

Even though the sex would probably be the best he had ever had. Damn it.

He needed to gain her trust. She had been hurt, and he wanted to help her. Even though she had slept in the bed with him, he could tell that she did not yet trust him completely. But it was certainly a start.

Maybe she would be able to help him too.

He quickly let that thought go, she already had helped him enough. He didn't need to burden her any more then she already was.

She was not the only one who had had a nightmare last night. He had dreamt about the past, how he sat and watched his partner get murdered. That is why he woke up when he did. He had not had dreams about that for awhile, but it was not uncommon. Sometimes while in battle he would freeze for a moment and relive that past. He had tried to move on, but for some reason part of him still lingered on that moment in the past.

But that wasn't anything new, it had happened and continued to happen. He still led a normal life, had a good job... No, the person who needed help the most was Sarah.

Without him realizing it, his hand spread out gently on the curve of her ass and he slightly squeezed the flesh, reveling in the way it yielded to his probing fingers.

His mind seemed to scream at him. He quickly released her ass and slid his hand over to her stomach, accidentally causing her flesh to rub against his hardened cock. For a brief moment he felt himself lose control and his hips thrust slightly forward, relishing in the feel of her resilient skin yielding to his cock.

Immediately Alex slowly slid onto his back, removing his aching cock from her warm skin. He couldn't gain her trust by waking her by sliding his cock into her, causing her moan. He would slowly kiss her neck and he fondled her breasts, waking her in a slow, pleasurable way...

He shook his head. That would not be happening... At least not this morning. He had never had a one night stand, they never appealed to him. Casual sex just wasn't his thing. And despite her tough attitude he didn't think Sarah was someone who did either.

But there was a connection between them. There was no use denying that. That first morning, when their eyes had met for the first time there had a been a spark between them. He was insanely attracted to her, and not just because she was the one that saved him. Though there was a large deal of physical lust there too, he was sure there was some sort of mental connection between them.

Since it wasn't like he could be leaving any time soon, if he did get the chance to fuck her, that probably meant that... he would have to stay around. You mean get to fuck her some more. He turned his head towards her and looked at her face. It would take him a lifetime, maybe more to ever get tired of seeing it. He wanted to hold her close to him and whisper in her ear, "You're a special person. And not just because of your power. There is just something wonderful about you."

She sprawled out next to him, throwing the furs off of her skin. The sun trickled down and illuminated her perfect breasts. He wanted to reach out and grab them, but his hands had already done quite enough grabbing. Instead he reached down and pulled the furs up, enclosing her in their warmth.

She turned her head and gave slowly nestled it into his side. Her soft hair danced upon his skin, sending shivers throughout his body. He could definitely get used to waking up this way.

"Morning." His voice was raspy and dry.

"Good morning." She was obviously still out of it, scooting herself a bit closer to him. "Sleep well?"

"Mmmm."

Suddenly she lurched away from him, consciousness fully returned to her. She yanked her gown down faster then he had thought was possible. "Err, how are you feeling?"

He was glad she had woken up with him on his side, if she hadn't he was sure her face would of burst into flames. "Better."

And he was feeling surprisingly better. His body ached a lot less and he could move around a bit without feeling pain shoot through his body. Last time he had been injured it had taken him weeks to get to this point.

She reached over and handed him some water which he drank gratefully. It was surprising how much water he needed to drink even though he was doing nothing. His stomach gave a low rumble.

"Hungry?" She asked.

"A bit."

"Let me go get changed and I will throw on some breakfast." She left the room, and he tried to regain control of his raging cock. By the time she had changed he was thinking of his teachings, he could talk now without fear of embarrassing himself.

When she returned, dressed in a plain white tunic and faded pants, he had his cock under control. Thankfully, since she immediately handed him the chamber pot. "I can walk outside today." "That may be true. But you won't be walking around yet."

He sighed. "Please?"

She stared at him. "You wont be up and moving around for two days. And if you keep complaining I will make sure you wont move for three."

"I should warn you, I don't take orders in bed well." He smiled.

She blushed furiously, "So it seems... For now."

His smile turned into a large grin. He wasn't the only one flirting any more. "You're right, I'm usually the one giving orders... from on top."

"So crude." Her smile turned into a determined look in a blink of an eye. "Chamber pot for now though. I will go gather the stuff I need for soup in the back room."

He grumbled but complied and took care of his needs once she had lad left the room.

When that was over they enjoyed a quiet breakfast. He enjoyed watching her ;lick her lips after nearly every spoonful of warm soup. Each time he wanted to groan a little bit. Gods he wished he was filling better.

As she cleaned up after breakfast, he sat up and tried to find a comfortable position, but no matter where he turned his wounds either hurt or itched.

"Stop that. You will hurt yourself."

He rubbed his bandage. "These damn things itch like crazy."

"Don't touch those."

"Can we do something to distract me then?"

She looked at him searchingly, "Like what?"

Something involving both of us being naked. "What do you normally do up here during the winter?"

"There is always more to be done on the cabin."

"That's work, what do you do for fun?"

She blushed furiously, "Normally I err, whittle things."

He wondered why she was blushing so furiously at the thought of whittling sticks... "Anything else?"

"I read too... and draw. I also spend a lot of time outside, even in the winter. Its not that bad." All he activities were solitary acts, nothing including other people. It sounded so lonely to him. Alex was accustomed to being around others. "Could you read some more to me?"

She smiled. "Sure." She picked up the book and crawled back onto the bed, propping herself down next to him. He put his arm around her to see how she would react. As soon as he touched her, she tensed up a moment but relaxed and leaned back against him. Electricity shot through his arm, if he didn't know better he would of sworn she was using magic on him. But he was pretty sure it was just a pure old fashioned physical reaction.

"You remember where we were?"

He gave her a smile "Yup. I didn't fall asleep while you were reading."

She sighed, "I really should be working, not reading in the middle of the day."

He smiled. He was sure she would of said the same thing if he suddenly propositioned for sex in the middle of the day.

She wouldn't keep that point of view for long.

"There will be plenty of time later. Right now I need to not itch these bandages.

She crossed her legs and opened the book up. He liked how she looked, his arm around her, her pants stretched around her thighs and butt. Mmm that ample, soft butt which his hand had... Shit.

"Are you okay? You are gritting your teeth."

I'm trying to keep my dick from poking out and saying hi. "I'm fine, its the itch."

She blinked before looking back down at the book. "Just a few chapters, you will need a nap later."

Alex tried to unclench his mouth, but it was hard. It would be even harder to actually pay attention with her delicate pastoral scent beckoning at his nose.

Chapter Eight:

"Isn't there anything else to do besides having you read to me? I'm getting restless."

Sarah finished washing the dishes they had used earlier that day for breakfast. They'd had a fun day reading yesterday, only taking breaks for meals and chores she had invented to make him sleep. Usually she hated distractions while reading, but the romance books they had read had created a very charged atmosphere between them where they seemingly couldn't help but stop and playfully banter with each other. By the beginning of the second book she had been curled up again him, his head on her shoulder, it all just seemed natural.

It was like the outside world had ceased to exist for the. She could almost forget that she was a witch and he wasn't really the Captain of the Warden Guards. That's not how things were.

She hadn't even bothered about trying to sleep on the floor. Though they did exchange sexual banter and he may touch her with body with familiarity, he was always careful about where and what he touched. He had kept everything platonic, which she was glad for, she didn't know if she could tell him to stop if he did otherwise. She had woken in the night with Alex wrapped around her, his arm warmly fastened around her.

She shook herself out of the daydream when he repeated himself, "Is there anything else to do today?"

She smiled at him. He was definitely feeling better. They had both enjoyed the book marathon yesterday, but such a strapping man was not used to or suited to lying around in bed all day. "You need to rest more."

"That's all you ever say I should do. Did you always live alone up here?"

"No, my mother lived here for awhile too."

"Well what did you do with her?"

"Talk mainly and play games."

"What kind of games?"

"Card games, a few board games that we made."

"That works for me, you should go get them."

"You assume I have nothing else to do." "Please? If I don't do something I am going to go stir crazy here. Plus its not like you can even go outside, the weather seems like it is just getting worse."

She looked outside. He was right. The snow had just kept piling up for the past two days. It was easily up to her waste, if not a bit higher. Every few hours she had gone outside and cleared a bit of a path for them to use so they could leave the cabin later. When she was outside it was like her cabin had sunk underground and she was making a way to get down to the door.

She looked at him and stamped her foot with a smile on her face. Damn, that man was just too hard to say no to, for his own good... Actually for her own good more then likely. She brought a deck of cards from the back room where it had gone unused for many years.

He was already sprawled out, leaning up against the bed. His eyes were aglow with anticipation. Despite his demure appearance Sarah guessed Alex was extremely competitive. He glanced up with a wicked grin that almost made her melt. "Care to make this more... interesting."

She had called it, very competitive. "Just how interesting are we talking about?"

She could feel his eyes as they roamed her body from head to tow, making her squirm a bit. "Clothes."

"Sure. I won, what's next?"

"Savor your victory, it's your fault I'm naked anyway. You know with the you cutting off all my clothes then not giving me any more. Admit it, you just like looking at my chest."

She raised an eyebrow and made an effort to control her increased breathing. "You want to wear some woman's clothes then?"

He spluttered, "Err no, that's not what I meant."

"Sure, I believe you."

"Well, since I lost the first round anyway, I should get to choose what we play for then. I say we play for questions. We both have them I imagine and this will be a fun way to ask them."

"Questions?"

"Yes, I am sure you want to know more about me, and I certainly want to know more about you. When I win a game I will ask you a question, and when you win the same thing happens." Sarah paused for a moment. She did want to learn more about him, but there were things she was not going to to talk about him about. "What if there is something we wont answer?"

"You will have to pay a forfeit." He grinned hungrily at her. "A simple kiss will do."

"You're on." She didn't mind that forfeit, hell she may have to forfeit some questions for fun. "So what game?"

"Poker."

She grinned, she was good enough at that. Just a couple minutes later they revealed their cards. She had three kings while he had only a pair of aces. "That was easy."

"Beginners luck."

"You think I am a beginner at this? If you had clothes on I am sure I could beat you without even removing my shirt."

He grinned up at her. "Someday I may just have to take you up on that offer."

She blushed, she had not thought about what she had said before she had spoken. "I err..."

"So the question?"

"Right the question." She paused for a moment, thinking. She meant to ask him a question about his family, or history but she blurted out, "What do you do to let someone that you are interested in know that you like them?"

"A personal question, awesome. I assume you mean like, but not in a typical friendly manner?" She stilled her beating heart. She should laugh and ask another question. "Of course."

"Well apparently it involves getting cut up and wandering around a forest nearly dead."

"Come on, be serious. We can gamble with colored stones or something."

"I am being serious."

"No, you're just flirting with me like you have done since you gained consciousness."

"And why do you think I have been doing that? I am not someone who likes to sleep around, one night stands just aren't my thing. I have never had many girlfriends. I'm being serious. And I guess I am also very direct when trying to tell someone that I am interested... You don't believe me, do you?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "We both know I am not anything special, especially for a person who looks as good... who looks like you."