Overwhelmed by his strength, she felt a giddy sense of familiarity, reminiscent of a time when a tiny girl was held gently by her warrior father’s powerful hands. Yet Mara sensed no danger, for despite the power of those hands, their touch was only loving. Mara felt a chilly rush of air as she and Kevin separated, when he gently sat her upon the bench. Her robe had pulled askew. He did not stare at her exposed breasts but sought something within her own gaze. Her eyes followed his as he carefully stepped back, awaiting her command.
Mara settled against the stone seat and recovered the semblance of poise. Yet the control she had schooled to be second nature came with difficulty. Inside, she remained in turmoil; despite the memory of her former husband’s brutality, despite the ingrained fears, her body ached to be touched again by such tender strength. Kevin made no move toward her, and this only made her flesh cry out all the more. Battling to impose logic over confusion, Mara said nothing, which left Kevin the task of smoothing over the awkwardness of the moment.
‘My Lady,’ he said, and bowed again from the waist. For some reason the movement gave her the shivers. He turned his back, bent, and methodically began to gather the blossoms strewn across the path. ‘A man might also give a woman a rose if he admired and respected her. Keep the flower in your hair; it truly does become you.’
Mara reached up and touched the blossom which rested, still, twined in the lock above her ear. She became absorbed by the play of muscles under his loose-fitting white shirt. The sensation in her middle mounted to an ache. She shivered again as Kevin stretched and recovered the tipped basket. Lantern light caught his hair and his sinewy wrists as he laid the recovered flowers inside. A few remained, crushed by his body during the fall, and as he arose to return the basket to her, he grimaced and said, ‘Curse the thorns.’
Instantly Mara felt contrition. Moved by an unfamiliar instinct, she reached out and touched the back of his hand. ‘Did you receive a wound?’
Kevin looked at her wryly. ‘No, Lady. I’d hardly call a few pricks in the back on your behalf a wound.’
‘Let me see,’ demanded Mara, pressed by a recklessness that made her giddy.
The barbarian regarded her, his moment of surprise well hidden. Then his wryness expanded into a smile. ‘As my Lady wishes.’ He loosened the laces of his cuffs, shed the shirt in an enviably smooth movement, and straddled the bench by her side.
Presented with a view of his back, Mara hesitated. Plain in the light she could see scratch marks, studded with embedded kekali thorns. Shaky now, and frightened, still she fumbled until she found the handkerchief lent by Jican. Tentatively she dabbed at a cut. Kevin held motionless. The feel of his skin was silken smooth, not at all what she expected. The handkerchief fabric caught on a brier. Gently Mara drew it out. She ran her fingers down and down, found more thorns, and drew them, until finally none were left. Her hands did not want to leave him. She traced the side of his flank, felt the hard muscle there, and then flinched back with a gasp as memory of Buntokapi made her start.
Kevin swung his knee over the bench and spun to face her. ‘Lady? Is something wrong?’
The concern in his voice suddenly broke her heart. She fought against tears, and lost.
‘Lady,’ whispered Kevin. ‘What makes you cry?’ He gathered her to him, held her shaking against the hollow of his shoulder. Mara tensed, at any moment expecting his hands to turn brutal, to twist at her clothes and seek out her most tender parts. But nothing happened. Kevin simply held her, unmoving, and in time her fear unlocked. Mara realized that he was not going to be rough, but would only offer her comfort. ‘What troubles you?’ he asked again.
Mara stirred, then surrendered to his warmth and leaned against him. ‘Memories,’ she said softly.
Now Kevin’s hands did harden. He caught her firmly, lifted her, and resettled her in his lap.
Mara caught herself just short of a scream. Shame burned her cheeks, that she had so nearly disgraced her heritage. She choked a breath to call Lujan, but Kevin’s hold loosened. He stroked her hair, gentle once more, and relief made her cry all over again.
‘Your memories must be painful,’ Kevin murmured in her ear. ‘I’ve never seen a beautiful woman so frightened at a man’s attentions. It’s as if someone beat you when another man would have kissed you with tenderness.’
‘Bunto,’ said Mara, her voice lowered to a near whisper. Her coldness was unexpected, and prompted by a resentment she had never before given rein, except in confidence with Nacoya. ‘He liked his women bruised. His concubine, Teani, loved such abuses.’ She paused, then added, ‘I don’t think I ever could. Perhaps that makes me a coward. I don’t care. I’m just glad I no longer have a husband to share my bed.’
Now Kevin was silent, shocked to an outrage that made him cup her chin until she faced him. in my land, a husband who strikes his wife is nothing but a common criminal.’
Mara managed a weak smile. ‘How different our cultures can be. Here a woman has no power over her fate, unless she is Ruling Lady. A man may dominate his wife as he would a slave, and in the eyes of other men, his manhood is increased by her submissiveness.’