MAN OF WAR

10

Jade returned to the house. She entered quietly and hung the cape back up on the hook. She turned and found Titus watching her from the doorway of the bedroom. She had not been as stealthy as she had hoped. He had noticed she had left. “Cannot sleep?” He asked quietly. His tone was soft, emotionless, and his expression was unreadable. It was impossible to know if he were suspicious of her.

            “I needed some air,” she lied, coming farther into the dark room.

            “Is that all?” He asked. His tone and expression made it difficult to know hat he was thinking, but the look in his eyes led her to believe that he did not believe her. However, much to her surprise, he did not push the subject. “Come back to bed,” Titus said, holding out his hand to her. She came to him as he bid, and he took her by the hand, lifting it to his lips, kissing the tips of her fingers. “The bed is growing cold,” he smiled, causing Jade’s pulse to flutter. She wished he would not look at her so.

            Her gaze travelled over his bare torso. The evening was warm, and Titus had slept in nothing but his britches to fend off the heat. Jade had gone to bed that night in only her cotton chemise. She had to admit that he was oh so very tempting undressed in the night. So very close, she could feel the heat radiating off him. Her gazes lifted once more and locked with his. She could see the longing in his eyes — the heat and the hunger that was always there.

            Her flesh tingled with anticipation, craving his touch, remembering the way it had felt when he caressed her when his lips worshiped her body. Jade recalled the feel of his skin against hers, and she trembled with need. “Are you cold?” Titus asked, leading her back to bed.

            “No,” she said as he sat down on the edge of the mattress on the rickety old bed.

            “Are you in pain?” Titus asked with genuine concern, turning her hands over to view the bandaging he had dressed her wounds with earlier that night. “Are the dressings too tight?”

            Jade smiled at his concern. “No. It is not my hands that cause me to ache,” she said, staring down into his dark eyes.

            “What is it that causes you such distress? I will do my best to relieve it,” Titus promised. She believed he could do just that. Jade should resist, she knew, but there in the dim moonlight filtering in through the closed shutters, Titus tempted her, and she could no longer resist.

            Jade offered Titus a smile; she moved closer and raked her fingers through his dark hair drawing from him a contented sigh. His head fell back as he looked up at her, and she could not resist the call of his lips. Jade bowed her head, and her lips found his in a soft kiss. His hands came up and framed her face, and he deepened their kiss. Titus’ hands slid down her neck slowly, over her shoulders, and down her back, pulling Jade into his lap, her thighs straddling his narrow hips.

            Jade sighed as his mouth broke away from hers and placed hot kisses along her throat and shoulders. She could feel the full length of his arousal pressed firmly against the confines of his britches as she sat in his lap. It rubbed and pressed against her womanhood. The solid feel of his engorged s*x rubbing against her own, teased and tantalized Jade’s senses. Making her crave the satisfaction he could give her so much more.

            Titus pulled the front of her chemise down to expose her breast. His hot mouth closed around her n****e, and sensation shot through her. She shuddered with pleasure and ran her hands over his back, exploring his strong body. Titus pulled the leather lace from her hair and worked her long locks free from the loose braid she wore.

            “I love your hair loose,” Titus whispered against her lips. “So wild and untamed,” he kissed her, and she moaned with satisfaction. She wanted him; God help her; she did. “Tell me you want me, and I will put an end to the ache that plagues you,” he promised, lifting the hem of her chemise high above her waist. She felt his hand slip between her legs, stroking her in the most maddening way. Jade could deny it no longer. She needed him. She needed what he offered her.

            “I do want you,” she confessed, reaching down and taking hold of him through his britches. “I need you,” Titus lifted her chemise off over her head and let it fall to the ground. His lips claimed hers in a passionate kiss, and he rolled Jade beneath him on the bed. Jade’s hands moved down his sides feeling the hard muscle beneath her fingers. Her hands moved lower over his waist and tugged at his britches. “Why are you still wearing these?” She asked impatiently.

            Titus chuckled and reached down quickly, pulling open the buttons to his britches. He shed the last of his clothes with haste and found his way between her legs. His hands caressed her thighs and pulled her legs up around him as he slowly pushed into her. It was heaven, and she arched to take him farther. “It has been a test of my strength to resist touching you,” he whispered, moving inside her slow and deep. “I have wanted you so fiercely,” he said, kissing her with such wild abandon she felt dazed. “You will not turn me away again.”

            Jade rocked and moved with Titus. Clinging to him, she matched his motion, his pace. She kissed him with fierce desire and explored every inch of his glorious body. Titus sat back on his knees and pulled Jade up with him into his lap. Blissfully impaled on his manhood, she slid up and down on him, loving the way he felt, the way he filled her so completely.

            Titus’ hands moved to Jade’s hips as he guided her pace. Forcing her down on him harder until she felt like she would surely blackout from ecstasy. He kissed her neck and rocked her hips quicker, and she felt the waves of pleasure crash over her. Her climax shook Jade, and she clung to Titus as he trembled and quivered. As it passed, Jade rested her forehead against his, sighing contently.

            Titus kissed her softly and stroked her hair. He lay Jade back against the down-filled mattress and stretched out beside her. He lifted the blanket up around them and pulled her into his arms, holding Jade close. It felt so right laying there in his arms. She closed her eyes, comfortable for the moment.

***

            The pounding on the door startled both from their sleep. The banging was relentless, and Titus heard a horn blow. It was a call to arms. He leapt from the bed, throwing the blanket aside. He snatched his britches up from the floor. He hastily dressed and threw open the chest to find the chain-linked armour he kept inside.

            “What is going on?” Jade asked in a panic, scrambling to her knees and clutching the blanket to her breast to cover herself.

            “I do not know. It is a call to arms,” he said, pulling the heavy armour over his head. He rushed out to the main room and stepped into his boots. Jade wrapped the blanket around herself and followed him. He picked up his belt and sword and buckled it about his waist. “I must go,” he said, framing her face between his hands and kissing her deeply. He then headed to the door and threw it open. The yard was a bustle with activity, and Titus rushed to the stable where the boy already had more than half the steeds saddled and ready.

            Titus grabbed the reins of his mount and leapt up onto its back. He rode out into the chaos and met up with Logan on the way up to the main courtyard. “What is the commotion?” He asked.

            “A prisoner escaped,” Logan informed him.

            “Who has escaped?”

            “The shifter, during the night. He ripped the door right off the hinges and simply disappeared.”

            That was impossible. Without his crystal, the man was as harmless as they were. There would be no way that he could conceivably tear the dungeon door off. “How is this possible? He would have no power without his crystal,” Titus said as they rode up to join the others gathered to hear the Emperor speak.

            “The word is he had the crystal,” Logan whispered.

            “How is that?”

            “The crystal was discovered missing from the Emperor’s very chambers this morning. Someone had pilfered it and given it to the shifter to free him.”

            “A spy, in the palace?” Titus looked up to the balcony and watched the ailing ruler address his fighting forces. Now he understood the call to arms. If there was a spy within these walls, they would need to find him before his heir arrived this evening to find his new Empire in chaos.

            “Perhaps it was your w***e,” Logan suggested, causing Titus’ heart to skip a beat. If the Emperor believed for even a second that Jade had anything at all to do with this, he would have her tortured and publicly executed. She had indeed left the house last night, but not for long; he did not believe she could have pulled this off. If she could have stolen the crystal, why would she have not taken her own as well? No, she was not involved, and he would not have her put at risk.

            “She was in bed with me all night. She could not have done this,” he insisted. He listened to the Emperor speak, ordering his men to comb the palace and the countryside for the prisoner. To take into custody anyone that might be the traitor that helped him escape. He wanted both found, and all deployments were placed on hold until the traitor was either found or he gave the order to ship out.

            Gulliver rode up beside Titus. “What do we do, Sir?”

            “Send a messenger out to the men. Keep the ship at the ready with a skeleton crew. Tell the rest of the men that their leave is up, and they are to report to the palace. I want men I can trust at my disposal if something happens.”

            “What will happen, Sir?” Gulliver asked quietly, looking back at the others.

            “I am not sure, but something does not sit well with me. Luck favours the prepared.”

            “Aye Sir,” Gulliver said, nudging his horse forward.

            “And Gulliver,” Titus called back to him.

            “Aye, Sir?”

            “Tell the men to keep these orders to themselves. Let us not be raising any alarms.”

            “Aye, Sir,” Gulliver rode off, and Titus turned his horse around and followed Logan as he joined the General.

            General Carter glared at him. “Admiral, out of sorts on land, are we?”

            “I am apt at hunting traitors General. I have just sent a message to call in my men. Until they arrive, I shall offer you and your unit assistance,” Titus offered bitterly.

            “Very well, boy, but do not slow us down, or I shall leave you behind,” Carter snarled, digging his heels into his horse. He hated that man so very much, but duty was duty. Titus spurred his horse forward and took off after the others as they charged out of the main gate to search the surrounding countryside.         

***

            They searched for hours with no luck. The shifter could have been anyone, anything. He could have been anywhere. He had a whole night’s advantage on them, and God only knew how fast and how far the man could get once on land and free. Well, perhaps there was someone who knew.

            Titus burst into the house, furious after their futile search. Jade jumped to her feet when the door flew open and slammed against the wall. Titus fixed her in his sights and advanced. He grabbed her by her arms and held her so she could not escape him. “Where did he go?” He demanded, his voice trembling with rage. He did not believe she was the spy that released him, but he was sure she knew something about the matter.

            “Where did who go?” Jade asked, trying to pull away from his bruising grasp.

            Her false innocence insulted his intelligence. “You left last night to be with your lover, who has escaped,” he snarled. “Do not think me a fool? I know that you know where he went.”

            “I do not know what you mean,” she insisted, trying to pry his fingers loose and free herself.

            Her lies infuriated him. “Did he f**k you before he abandoned you?” Titus snarled. Jade’s face took on an expression of shocked offence. She pulled her arm free and slapped him so hard across the face his flesh stung. Titus growled with outrage. How dare she strike him? Fueled by anger and jealousy, Titus grabbed Jade by the wrist. He spun her around, her back to him. Titus held her hard against his body. His frame engulfed hers to restrain her. “Do not hate me for his sins,” he growled. “It is he who has forsaken you.”

            “He did not!” Jade snarled, kicking and struggling against Titus’s hold.

            “He ran like a coward and left you here to rot.”

            “No!” She screamed. “I sent him away,” he knew it. He knew she knew more than she had been letting on. “He loves me. He came for me, and I made him run without me,” she snapped.

            “Where did he go?” Titus demanded.

            “I do not know?”

            “You are lying.”

            “It does not matter. By now, he is long gone, and you will never catch up to him,” she laughed. “He will have changed into a wildcat or a horse and have run all night or have grown wings and flown away. He can travel farther and faster than any of you, and he has a whole night’s advantage over you and your armies,” Jade snickered, mocking him. “You will never find him.”

            “And you will never see him again,” he snarled. Titus could not fight the jealousy that was threatening to consume him. He had Jade with him. Her body was his to kiss and to hold, to warm his bed, but her heart and soul belong to another. She was deceptive when he held her when he kissed her. It was impossible to tell that she had another lover on her mind. Then this blasted man again stepped in and reminded Titus that his sweet siren longed for another.

            Titus had never felt so possessive over any woman as he did over Jade. Something about her made him insane with a selfish, greedy need to own her body, heart, and soul. The need to be her world, to be the only man she desired. Evidence to the contrary only infuriated him. A painful reminder that she would never be his, not really, not in the way he desired. Her heart may never be his, but her body belonged to him. Titus dragged Jade over and bent her face down over the table. She tried to fight him, but with one hand on her back, he held her down, and with the other, he threw up her skirt.

            Jade protested and tried to wriggle free while Titus opened his britches and freed his erection. He would make her forget her lover ever existed. He kicked her feet apart and drove deep inside her. Jade’s resistance faded immediately, and she cried out with the pleasure she felt from being filled. It was a favourable response, the one he had hoped for. Her slick muscles tightening around him. He loved the way she felt wrapped snuggly around his s*x.

            Titus took her fast and hard with primal need. Jade did not fight it. She panted hard and cried out with ecstasy, rocking back to meet his powerful thrusts begging for more. It was a fierce, angry coupling. He wanted to banish any other men from her heart and mind. To make her forget everyone but himself, to bind her to him not only in body but completely. He would not share her with any man.

            Their bodies shook, and Titus spilled into Jade. He felt her tremble a moment after and instantly felt ashamed. He had practically raped her, forcing her down in the heat of an argument to have his way with her. Sure, she had, without doubt, enjoyed it, but did that really excuse his outlandish behaviour? Titus backed away, letting Jade’s skirt fall. He felt like a brutish cad. The guilt was too much; Titus reached for her. “Jade…”

            Jade stood up and spun on her heels, her tiny hand balled into a fist, and she punched him in the square in the chops with all the strength he diminutive stature could muster. Titus’ head snapped back from the sudden force, and he shook his head dazed from the unexpected assault. He rubbed his sore jaw, and stared at her, surprised the power behind her assault. Jade glared at him shaking her now hurt hand. “You deserved that,” she snarled. He could not fault her; he had deserved it. Titus smiled and reached for her once more. Jade balled up her fist again and pulled it back, making to strike him again should she need to. “I will pop you again,” she warned.

            Titus laughed and held up his hands defensively. “I surrender,” he said with an apologetic smile. “I should not have lost my temper. This is not your fault,” slowly, Jade lowered her defences and rubbed her now aching hand. “You are hurt,” he said, reaching for her hand to examine it.

            “Your face is harder than it looks,” she confessed.

            Titus carefully felt the bones in her hand to make sure she had not broken something when hitting him. There seemed to be no serious injury. Satisfied she was well, he lifted her hand to his lips and placed a tender kiss to her knuckle. Much in the way a mother did to soothe a child when they scraped a knee. “You will be fine.”

            Jade pulled her hand from his and walked away. She paced the room and peered out the cracked shutters at the commotion outside. “So, all this is because of Miya?” She asked.

            Hearing her speak his name, stoked Titus’ annoyance once more. He swallowed hard, trying to keep his emotions in check. “No. This is to find the traitor who set him free. He did not break out of the dungeon by himself. There is a spy within these walls, and the Emperor wants them found,” he explained, coming to stand beside her. Titus took Jade’s chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing her to look at him. “Right now, you are the suspect everyone wishes to blame for his escape. I will defend you with my life, I swear it, but I must know the truth. What do you know of this?” He asked, looking into her eyes. Searching them for answers.

            Jade looked afraid and uncertain. “He did not say, nor did I ask,” she finally said. Regretfully he believed her, and unfortunately, he had no other suspect to present the Emperor in her stead. Titus was not sure how he would keep Jade’s head out of the noose, but he would do his best, perhaps if he reasoned with them if he explained that she could not have done it.

            “I must get ready,” he said, heading into the other room to find his formal uniform.

            “Ready for what?” Jade asked, following him.

            “There is a ball tonight to welcome the arriving heir. The Crowned Princess meets her husband this evening. We are all expected to be in attendance,” Titus said, removing his armour and his sword. He opened the chest and reached inside, taking out an off-white tunic trimmed with silver. Titus laid it out on the bed, along with a pair of black britches and polished leather boots. “Fetch me some water to wash,” he ordered, stripping away his clothing. He was layered in dirt and dust from the search and needed to wash.

            “I am no dog, and I do not fetch,” Jade snapped, her hands planted on her hips.

            Titus shot a stern look at her. He had no time for bickering. “You will mind your place, slave. I am your master, and I shall tolerate only so much defiance. Now run along,” he ordered once more.

            Jade lifted the hem of her skirt and curtsied. “Yes, My Lord,” she said with mockery and disappeared. Titus removed the rest of his dirty clothes and left them in a heap on the floor for Jade to later wash. Jade soon came back into the house with a bucket of water and walked over to Titus. “Your water,” she said and threw it at him.

            Titus yelped as the frigid water drenched him from head to toe. It was ice cold, and he shivered, standing there dripping wet. He glared at Jade, who was trying hard not to laugh at him. He should have been furious with her, but that cheeky smirk and that mischievous sparkle in her eye made it hard not to laugh himself. The girl was all spirit and fire; Titus could not help but admire her fortitude. In spite of her dire situation, she remained strong-willed and defiant to the end.

“Well, at least I am now clean,” he said with a smirk, fixing her in his sights. He moved toward her, and she casually retreated. “How about a hug?” He suggested holding out his arms and chasing her around the room.

            “Do not touch me,” Jade squealed, dropping the bucket and rushing out of his reach. “You will get me wet too.”

            “Oh, but darling, I feel a compelling need to hold you,” Titus teased, coming around the table and catching her wrist. She squealed once more, trying to get free, and Titus pulled Jade close, hugging her tightly, pressing the full length of his body against hers. Using her dress to dry himself. Jade pushed him away and observed how wet her dress now was. “Oh, dear, you are damp,” he chuckled. “Now, I must get dressed.”

            “Really?” He heard her say behind him. Titus turned around to see Jade pushing the sleeves of her dress down, letting the garment fall to a pool around her feet. “I cannot wear that now,” she smirked, standing nude before him. “Whatever will I do?”

            Titus could not help the grin that graced his face. Well, perhaps he could spare a little more time. A lusty grin curved the corners of his mouth. “I can think of one thing.”