Enemy Prisoner

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'Iana, I¬--' his voice broke.

'Because your Prince found it amusing to keep me locked up, after he told me that our village was being burned to the ground!' She couldn't stop herself, all the emotions she had been carrying on her shoulders for the past years bursting through the walls of her heart. She whirled around, hands clenched into fists. 'Those are your masters, Alex, that is the family you pledged your allegiance to! Those are the people you chose over me!'

Silence. They glared at each other, each one hard and unyielding as years old memories hung between them.

Eventually, Alex looked away in disgust. 'You think it was easy? That I had a choice?'

'Oh please! Of course you had a--'

'I never had a choice, Iana. I was already an officer in the army. They knew everything about me, about my family. If I had left, they would have made me come back by threatening the ones I love.'

'That's not what you said at the time.'

'I was an idiot, then.'

'So you just gave up, never fought for what was right.' There was no question in her mind; he had chosen the easiest path.

'I did what I thought was right at the time. After that, it was impossible to leave.' He looked at her then, eyes filled with conviction. 'And after a while, I didn't want to leave.'

'So years later, we're on opposite sides of a battle field.'

'I can't go back. Neither can you. We can't change what has happened, Iana.'

Iana kept silent, the inner turmoil of her heart and mind struggling to settle, even under his calm voice. The trails of her tears grew cool on her face, and irritated at her show of emotion, she wiped at them distractedly. Her hand came away streaked in dirt.

Bloody hell, she'd been wishing for a hot wash the whole day and here she was, leaving a bucket full of steaming water go cold as she argued with Alex!

Immediately, she turned to find the bucket and lifted it into her arms. The water sloshed violently against the sides at the abrupt movement, causing some water to splash onto her shirtfront. The hot water made her shiver in anticipation.

Carefully, she walked behind a screen created by a thin blanket thrown over a rope. A waterproofed sack hung from a pole with a nozzle attached to its underside. Putting the bucket down, she detached the sack and lowered it to the ground. After filling it with most of the water, Iana reattached it to the pole.

She began to undress.

Hearing the rustle of clothing being shed, Alex called out in an oddly strangled voice, 'What are you doing?'

'It's been a long day, Alex, and the possibility of a hot wash-down is all that is keeping me sane at the moment.' Naked, Iana stepped under the full sack and twisted the nozzle. A divine, steady stream of water sprayed down onto her body.

'Ah...' She couldn't help sighing as the hot water poured onto her tired limbs, washing away a lot more than just the day's grime. Indulging in the feeling for only a moment, Iana quickly picked up a sponge set beside the shower area and began scrubbing at the stubborn areas where the dirt had ingrained itself into her skin. Constantly aware of the water running out, she quickly scrubbed her hair beneath the stream, quietly delighting in the melting sensation the warm water had on her scalp.

Timing it to perfection, the last trickle of precious water dripped out of the shower sack just as she finished rinsing off. Happy at the feeling of finally being clean, Iana reached for a drying cloth and rubbed the last of the clinging droplets from her body before putting on a man's large nightshirt. Made out of thick cotton, it would normally have reached knee length on most women, but on Iana the hem came to rest about half way up her thigh.

As the material whispered over her skin, the light friction caused a small shiver to chase goosebumps across her body. She felt her breasts grow taut and sensitive, and her mind immediately snapped to the bound man on the other side of the screen.

His description of her body as a pole had stung, even though she knew she resembled no such thing. Her physical lifestyle had molded her form into a lean figure while the extra muscle had just bolstered her natural assets, resulting in a firm but curvy body. She was confident in how she looked, but had never seriously considered taking a man to bed in the past years, so Alex's snide remark had hit a vulnerable and seldom explored corner of her ego.

A strange daring began to well in her chest, the turbulent emotions of the last hour feeding into her need to strike back in someway at the man who had turned her life upside down. If she could get a reaction from him, she knew that in some strange way, she would feel better.

So, before she could stop herself, she stepped around the screen. Avoiding eye contact with Alex, she crossed the tent nonchalantly to light a lantern. The day had finally turned to night, leaving the interior of the tent in a fast darkening gloom. She felt his eyes follow her as she padded past him, his gaze burning into her back as she struck a match and lit the wick. The orange flame danced into being, flicking back and forth as Iana's quickening breath disturbed its course.

Trying to look unaware of Alex's intense stare, she walked over to the last lantern that sat on a low stool, which also doubled as a side table. Lower than the last one, she had to bend slightly to light the wick.

She heard Alex's breath catch as her nightshirt raised up a couple of inches at the back and allowed herself a small smile. Turning around, she wiped the smug expression from her face however, not wanting him to know that her movements were deliberate. She knew the light from the lantern behind her would outline her body through the cotton.

'What's the matter, Alex? Nothing to say?'

'You know exactly what's the matter, you little siren.' His eyes were dark with desire, his tongue licking his lips as he took in her silhouette beneath her nightshirt.

'Do I?'

'Untie me, Iana.'

'Why would I do that?'

'So I can teach you why you shouldn't prance around like that in front of a soldier.'

'But what if I prance around like this every time a soldier enters my tent?' she asked slyly, a hand falling to trace circles on her thigh. She had never felt so womanly.

His answer was a low, warning growl.

'All this fuss over a man's nightshirt! Really, Alex.'

'When you take it to bed, does its owner join you?' he snapped angrily.

'What is it to you? I'm sure you forgot about me the day you left.'

'Damn you, woman! Don't you dare belittle me! Everyday I've thought of you, your body, and the way you moaned beneath me and said my name as you came. How we sweated and panted for each other on that bed, and how my muscles burned from fucking you over and over again. High One's Eyes, Iana! Most nights I still wake up, my body hot and ready for yours.'

Heat licked at her insides as memories followed his words. His hands on her burning skin, his lips tracing the valley between her breasts, his groans as she-- It seemed her plan had not worked. Instead of arousing him, he was arousing her.

His next words, however, were like a bucket of cold water. 'You don't know how hard it was hearing my superiors talking about you, discussing what they'd do to you once you were captured.'

'You never knew who I was,' she said through numb lips, her heart accelerating at his words. It wasn't possible, she'd been careful not to mention her involvement in the rebellion all those years ago.

'The morning before I left, I received a letter of promotion. And in it was a warrant for the arrest of a rebel leader. No name, just a picture. It was of you.'

'You knew? That last night we were together, you knew the entire time!'

'It's why I left, Iana!' Frustration was stark on his face as he jerked against his bonds. 'Aargh!' Alex cursed as he flinched to the side, his body leaning to compensate for the sudden pain that tore through his right arm. 'Damn it, you're guards sure know how to tie a man up.'

Iana didn't reply as she walked to his side. She did not trust herself to speak, his confessions having shaken her confidence and long held beliefs. Reaching his side, she hesitantly raised her hands to his arm.

When he jerked away, her eyes caught his. 'Alex, I just want to look.'

He clenched his jaw, his whole body rigid. He stared at her for a moment, then, obviously coming to some sort of decision, nodded. He breathed in deeply as she touched his pained arm, squeezing the lean muscle beneath his coat to determine where he had pulled it. Her fingers came away covered in blood.

She cursed and dashed to her desk to pick up her dagger, before coming back to the now glowering Alex. Without a thought she cut through the ropes that held him to the pole.

'Get out of that coat,' she commanded. 'Now!'

He just stared at her dumbly, surprised at his sudden freedom.

'Oh, for the love of--!' She stepped up to him and began yanking the heavy garment off his tall frame, the mass of coat falling of his body in a heavy rush. Immediately, her eyes found the dark, red stain blooming through the material covering his shoulder. A small rip in the white material told her where the wound lay. 'Alex, take off you're shirt. I need to get something to bind the wound, otherwise you'll bleed out.' Without a second glance she left him to undress as she searched her tent for some bandage, collecting the bucket with the left over water, the bottle of shampuk and a cloth on the way.

Finding a roll of bandage in a spare saddlebag, she turned back to Alex. And stopped dead.

High One Above, but he was magnificent. Shirtless and clad in his tight fitting breeches and boots, he seemed to exude primal power. When she'd last see him, his youthful body had been strong and lean, seducing her with its clearly defined muscle that jumped under her touch. But it had been seven years and a war since then, and Alex no longer looked like the boy he once was:

He was undoubtedly a man.

The breeches he wore only outlined his muscular thighs, but beyond that scant article of clothing, he was bare to her admiring gaze. Unable to tear her eyes away from the man before her, she followed the strongly defined lines of his chest to the solid muscle that rippled along his stomach, before following the tapering V that ended below the waistband of his breeches. With broad shoulders and arms powerful enough to swing a broadsword with ease, he posed a very dangerous threat to her if he decided to take advantage of his freedom.

Sure her thoughts were clear on her face, she walked briskly forward, hoping to hide them beneath her suddenly productive manner.

'Hold this,' she said, thrusting the alcohol and bandage into his hands. Holding the bucket beneath an arm, she dipped the cloth into the now lukewarm water and carefully dabbed at his bloodied arm. Wiping away the excess blood to expose the wound, she found his skin was torn in a shallow scrape, ending in a deep puncture just below his shoulder.

'Must have been a spear,' he murmured, craning his neck round to watch her actions.

'Lucky it didn't find your neck,' she muttered, swapping the damp, stained cloth for the bottle of shampuk. Alex hissed as the alcohol settled into the wound, stinging away any infection.

'Don't be such a child,' she scolded, biting back a smirk as he scowled down at her.

Before the wound could drown itself in blood again, Iana quickly unrolled the bandage, folding the end to create a pad before applying it to Alex's injured arm. As she wound the bandage tightly around his shoulder, she couldn't help but lean towards him slightly, unconsciously attracted to his male warmth and smell.

It had been so long since she'd been with a man; felt the happiness of being wanted, the safety of being in the arms of another. For years she'd set aside her personal wants and needs for those belonging to thousands and thousands of followers who expected her to be a leader and a god in one, never tiring, never wavering, never giving up. There had never been time for Iana to rest, not even a moment. To rest was to allow oneself to be open to attack, and there had always been the possibility of attack.

But now...now the last major battle of the war was over. The Monarchy's military power was broken and no longer posed a threat, and for the first time in a very long while Iana had the opportunity to relax.

Dangerous thoughts to have, especially when a hot-blooded male stood just inches from her, his powerful frame towering over hers.

Trying to control her wayward thoughts, Iana surveyed her work. The bandage was neat and tight and should stop the bleeding. She just hoped the wound wouldn't get infected.

'Thank you.' Alex's low voice reverberated through her, the deep tone causing a delicious jolt of pleasure to shoot unexpectedly from between her thighs.

Not knowing whether or not to be dismayed at her body's response, she just shrugged and made to step away, the close proximity to him confusing her senses.

A large, warm hand at her back halted her, however.

'Where are you going, Iana?'

Licking her lips nervously, Iana froze in place and just stared at the expanse of chest in front of her as she tried to regulate her breathing. 'Alex, now that you're wound is dressed, I must retie you.'

'I don't think so.' He sounded amused. The hand at her back began to stroke her gently, seducing in its gentleness. 'I can think of other things I'd rather be doing than handing myself over willingly to be held captive again.'

'You're in enemy territory, Alex, you won't be able to escape.'

'Who said anything about escaping?' His other hand joined the first, the combined heat searing through her shirt. Bending down slightly, he breathed in the scent of her skin at the nape of her neck.

Closing her eyes, Iana tried to fight the wave of want that crashed through her. There was no denying what he wanted. It was in his voice, in the heat of his hands and in every ragged breath he took. And she wanted the same. Dear High One Above, she wanted him.

'Alex, I...' She couldn't find the words to resist him.

He swooped in to kiss her, his soft lips taking hers with a desperation borne from years of need. Without hesitation she opened her mouth to him, the banked fire of passion turning into an inferno of desperate desire, forcing her to hunger after everything he gave and more. It was a kiss of anger, of reunion, of hopelessness and hope.

She groaned as Alex's tongue rasped against her own, the wet heat of it mirroring her need further south. Her hands had risen unconsciously to run through his raggedly long hair, tugging at clumps of it to bring him closer to her.

His hands seized the firm flesh of her bottom and jerked her to him, forcing her to fall against his hard, muscular body and the straining bulge of his erection. Alex let out a tense breath as she pressed up against him, shifting beneath her to rub his arousal against her stomach, branding her with dark promise.

'How do you do this to me?' he gasped between their frantic and bruising kisses. 'Years and years go by and I still want you as much as I did that first night.' His hands slid down to her exposed thighs and began to slip up beneath her nightshirt, each finger forcing a shiver to run through her as the calloused tips scraped up to her sensitive upper thighs. At the crease between her bottom and thigh, he paused briefly to caress the underside of her cheeks.

Iana felt him smile as her bottom clenched. 'You haven't changed. You always did like me touching you here.' To demonstrate his point, he allowed one hand to lightly trace the crack between her cheeks as the other continued to tickle the underside, causing bolts of shivery pleasure to ripple from the whispery contact directly to between her thighs. She moaned into his neck as she felt herself grow damp.

Abruptly his hands moved to cover her whole bottom and squeezed roughly, testing the firm flesh as fingers sunk in to massage her.

He was driving her insane! A strange restlessness developed in her limbs, making her want to hike her leg up to his hip, entangle her arms around his neck and rub her breasts against his chest all at once. A fuzzy heat had enveloped her as he'd caressed her arse, and now as he fondled her, her body strained to feel the whole of him against her, around her, in her.

'Alex,' she gasped, trying to maintain her control, 'I...'

'What is it, my darling? Tell me.' He licked the underside of her ear, his hot, ragged breath melting her sense.

'I...want y-you. Please, I want to feel y-you!'

'Damn, Iana.' Abruptly his hands swooped up the sides of her body, dragging her shirt with them. Lifting up her arms, she felt the material scrape past her face in his rush to divest her of her garment before tossing it to the side.

The breath rushed from him as he gazed down at her.

It had been many years since he'd last seen her bared to him like this. In his dreams, insubstantial wisps of memory had been potent in their ability to arouse him with the merest thought. The real, living, breathing woman in front of him set him on fire.

Lean and toned, Iana's body was a testament to her life as a leader and commander. While her arms and thighs were strong from the warrior's life of fighting and riding, they were softened by her feminine curves. In every way she was more alluring than before; the way she stood, her confidence and her direct gaze, which watched him with the same, gut-clenching intensity.

But as Alex's eyes traced her full breasts, tight waist and high hips, he couldn't help but notice that her smooth skin was broken here and there by white scars. They marked her skin in uneven intervals, each one a different size and length.

He reached out to trace a thin white line that lay across her collarbone, but she caught his wrist tightly. Her eyes looked pained. 'I no longer look they way I once did, Alex. These scars--'

'Are beautiful,' he interrupted forcefully, pulling her to him. He gave her a hard kiss before bending to press a softer kiss to her collarbone. 'How did you get this?'

She breathed in unsteadily as she felt his hot breath against her neck. 'A failed assassination attempt.'

He stopped at another scar, his tongue tracing the tender cut. He looked at her, the same question in his eyes.

'Stabbed by a royalist in the street.'

He moved to the next one, a circular white mass on her shoulder.

'Archer's arrow at the battle near Mieron's Valley.'

A long, thin line running diagonally across one breast.

'Ambush just inside the city gates of Dashret.'

He carried on in this manner, slowly making his way down her body, licking, kissing and scraping every marked piece of skin, listening to her increasingly breathless explanations as he passed her chest, stomach and hip until he came to her soft inner thigh. Pausing only to press his lips to her skin, he moved up and covered her intimate flesh in a hot open-mouthed kiss.

Iana arched her back. 'You, only you!' she cried out.

Alex stilled, her passion laced confession causing his body to tauten unbearably. A fierce possession squeezed his heart. If he was honest, he had hoped that he was the only one. It had been irrational and egotistical, but it was there, nevertheless. Yet to hear her confession fall from her lips...well, it made him feel invincible.

Adrenaline pumping through his veins, he pressed his mouth more firmly into her quivering lips, his tongue tracing a searing line from her clit to her wet entrance. Her hips jerked as pushed his tongue deep into her tight channel, slowly swirling it around until she grabbed his head in pleasure. 'Oh, Alex, please don't stop!' Her head fell back as she fought for breath. 'Uh!'

Replacing his pulsing tongue with a finger, he picked up the pace, rapidly thrusting the digit into her as he moved to take her engorged clit between his teeth. Gently, he bit it.