Ma'in, the Imperial city-state along the coast of the Arabian Sea
"Lo'gan?"
Mari watched curiously as Lo'gan turned and handed her a prickly looking fruit on a clay dish, cut into little wedges. She took it with a smile and shuffling over to the bed, settled in to have her long belated meal. Lo'gan watched her with an expression of pure unadulterated lust in his eyes, but too engrossed in the sweet taste and rough texture of the fruit she was eating, Mari failed to notice. When she looked up again, having eaten almost the entire thing, he had his back turned to her and Mari wondered if he had had any at all.
"Lo'gan?"
The Jabir turned to look at Mari's playful smile and added the name. It was the game they had played the entire time they had spent crossing the beach. Whenever she said his name with that particular inflection, it meant that she wanted to know what something was called.
"Prickly pear."
Mari nodded, repeated the name a few times and finished off the fruit. Lo'gan waited anxiously as she came up to the table again, still hungry and searching for what else to eat over his shoulder. He smiled as best he could and added dates and milk to her plate from the tray. Miznih's pantry left a lot to be desired, but at least she had had something edible. Taking a bite of his own pear, Lo'gan waited until Mari was a distance from him before turning around to face her. Without even waiting to be asked, he added two more names to her vocabulary.
"Dates and uh, that there is milk."
Mari nodded as she processed the information and continued on her meal. She was still not used to the taste of camel's milk, having been raised on cow's milk herself, but she was far beyond being picky at this point. Lo'gan watched her eat guiltily, both wishing he had more to give her and cursing himself for wanting her so badly. Eating happily, she looked like a child. Despite all the trappings on her, she had an air of innocence about her that appealing as it was, was also troubling in its implications.
He knew that his failed mission to the palace was the beginning of something big. Did he really have the right to ask her to be a part of that? Was he even capable of taking care of her like she deserved? Watching her sit cross-legged on the edge of the bed eating between yawns, Lo'gan's mind wandered to the many directions his life with someone else would take. He was solitary by nature, choosing to be alone most of the time, but Mari made him feel different. She had a pull on him that started before he had even set eyes on her. That had to mean something. That had to be a sign. Lost in thoughts of the many conversations he had had with his father, where he insisted he never needed anyone but himself, Lo'gan failed to notice Mari calling to him until he felt her hand on his arm. Jumping back from her touch, Lo'gan banged his head on the wall to his back. Mari watched him with concern in her eyes, wishing she understood why he was so gone at that moment and wishing she had the ability to ask.
"Good?"
Lo'gan raised a hand to rub the back of his head and with a half snort eased away from her and walked to the window.
"Yeah. Just thinking."
Mari watched as he walked away and suddenly remembering, walked after him. To Lo'gan's surprise, she parted his outer robe. Her eyes darkened with concern and for some reason, those eyes looked different. When she had had the emerald green outfit on, her eyes were a blazing emerald. Now that she was wearing jade, they were darker, almost bluish in the dim light of the room. Either way, they were breathtaking and he wanted so much to touch her. He was tempted to reach out and yank her robes off, just to see what color her eyes would reflect with nothing on, but before he could let his foolish impulses overtake him, she was gone.
Shaking his head to regain whatever decency he had left in him, Lo'gan wondered what Mari was up to. He didn't have to wonder long however, as she came back with a bowl of water and another robe. She must have seen the slash at his side when he lifted his arm to rub his bump and remembered that it was neither cleaned nor properly bandaged. In her all business tone, he watched intensely as she pointed to the bed.
"Lo'gan sit."
Lo'gan froze in place, debating with himself what to do. On the one hand, he did not need Mari's hands on him to excite him any further. On the other hand, the slash the captain of the guard had given him was pretty nasty. If he left it alone, it could get infected and that was something that could potentially cripple them in their escape. With a half smile, he eventually complied and walked over to the cushiony bed. Moving gingerly, he kicked off his sandals and swung his legs onto the bed all the while not removing his eyes from Mari's face. Mari questioned her actions as she watched him move and deciding it was best to keep busy, started preparing her things. She split the robe in sections, folded some into strips, soaked the rest in water, and fetched both the oil lamp and the Khanjar Lo'gan had rested by the window when he left to find food.
Giving up only a slight pause in hesitation, she sat at the edge of the bed and parted Lo'gan's outer thobe. She faintly heard Lo'gan suck in his breath when she touched him but figuring it was just the pain, Mari began carefully cleaning around the hasty bandages he had tied on earlier, trying to remember everything her uncle Cloarin had taught her. Without exchanging a word, Lo'gan watched Mari heat the edge of his blade on the oil lamp and use it to cut away the old bandages. He grimaced a little as she pulled them away, but was overall mesmerized with her skillful moves. It occurred to him that she had probably done it before, but he remained silent, taking advantage of her intense concentration on the task to try and absorb every inch of her.
With the help of the lamp at their side, Lo'gan took in every curve of Mari's face; the prominent nose, the rounded cheeks, the big eyes and arched brows, the plump lips, the dark rich color of her hair, and of course, the clear eyes that seemed to take up most of her face. He watched the reflection of them from under her long eyelashes for a long time, but eventually his gaze traveled past the angles of her jaw and down her long neck.
She was still wearing close to a dozen necklaces, but he could see her pale skin peek through the warm metal perfectly. It was the palest, creamiest skin he had ever seen and wondering just how on earth a creature so divine could have been made just for him, Lo'gan continued his exploration of Mari's body. She had on a robe tied tightly around her, but the very paleness of her skin made the covering almost nonexistent. His eyes eased down the valley of her breasts and up over the rounded flesh that was calling for him. Against all better judgment and knowing that it would only heighten the tightness he felt in his groin already, Lo'gan brushed his gaze over Mari's breasts again and almost choked when he saw something glitter through the meshy fabric over her left nipple.
His reaction caused Mari to jump as well and looking up at Lo'gan with a guilty expression started apologizing profusely. Lo'gan stared back at her with an almost groan and feeling positively mortified, tried to calm her down.
"Look, it's okay. You didn't hurt me. Really……really."
Mari evaluated the sincerity in Lo'gan's face for a moment before tying the final bandage on his torso and getting up. Despite his best efforts not to look, Lo'gan followed the little glimmer of gold circling her left nipple as she brushed past him. Wondering when exactly he turned fourteen, Lo'gan gave his raging hormones one last final order to calm down before finally reaching for her arm before she walked off.
"You need to rest. We have to leave soon."
Mari blinked at the words, not fully understanding, so Lo'gan tilted his head to the side and closed his eyes with an exaggerated snore. Like always, Lo'gan's silly pantomimes brought a smile to Mari's lips and understanding what he had wanted to say, Mari nodded and added a word she learned on her own.
"Okay."
Still not getting off the bed, Lo'gan pulled Mari down to the bed and pressed her down. Mari stiffened a little, but she complied as Lo'gan took the water and things from her hands and placed them on the far table. He went to the lamp next, lowering the flame to where it barely emitted any light at all. When he walked back over to his place by the window, she finally eased back, simultaneously anxious and relieved that he was staying.
Lo'gan watched this struggle play out across her features from where he sat on the sill. He was going to stay with Mari to make sure the guards weren't going to burst in, but he sure as hell wasn't going to sleep next to her. She was just too tempting and by the way she had pretty much followed him around all day long, Lo'gan knew she wouldn't put up much of a resistance if he went to her. She would do it for sure, but that was something he could not do to her.
Flashes of what Harabi had told him earlier came back to him. He needed to ask her if she would come with him into the desert. He needed to be sure and he needed to do it quick, but looking at the feline way Mari curled onto her side on the bed, Lo'gan lost his resolve. She was dead tired and thinking back to the way she was on display for the Sultan that morning, Lo'gan wondered when was the last good rest Mari had. For a second, his thoughts strayed to whether or not she had slept alone, but digging his nails into his palm, Lo'gan shook those thoughts free from his mind. She was obviously a new acquisition and might not have even been used that way, but whatever had happened to her as a slave was certainly not her fault or even her choice.
The urge to walk back to the palace and kick the crap out of the Sultan filtered through Lo'gan again, but one look to the corner where the remnants of Mari's concubines outfit lay in a torn heap helped him calm down. She was his now and no one would touch her. He would make sure of it. His only hope was that she would allow him to be the one. Not out of gratitude or whatever, but out of love. Lo'gan turned the word in his head as he ran his fingers over the fresh bandage she had just applied. Yeah it was love. He loved her. Didn't really think he had it in him, but he had fallen for her in a big way. Wouldn't his father just die? Smirking at the thought, Lo'gan ran his gaze softly over the shape curled on the bed's edge. He loved her and maybe she might love him. He would know tomorrow. For now she had to rest and he was going to take care of her.
Letting loose the impulse to touch her take over him again, Lo'gan rose from where he was sitting on the window's sill and walked over to the bed. Already half asleep, Mari stopped rubbing the bracelet cuff on her upper arm and watched Lo'gan walk to her. He had been nothing but kind with her and she didn't mind if they did. Valeria had told her all about it and despite the flutter of fear she felt in her stomach, Mari would do it for Lo'gan. She would.
Coming down to rest on one knee, Lo'gan sat on the floor by the bed and started idly running one hand over Mari's highly decorated, but marvelously soft hair. The bit of moonlight that made it into the room set the little gold clasps in her hair on fire and comparing them to the flicker in her eyes, Lo'gan smiled. Mari smiled too and summoning all her courage, sat up slowly and brought her legs back down to the rug-covered floor. Swallowing nervously, Mari then brought her hands to the prim double knot on her robe. Lo'gan watched her fumble with the sash and immediately realized what she was thinking. He brought his hand out to still hers and instantly on his feet, leaned over her with an almost growl.
"No! That's not what……"
Lo'gan rethought his words. It was certainly what he wanted, but it was wrong. He looked right into Mari's scared eyes and blinked at the uncertainty and confusion there. It was not like in his dream, where her eyes smiled and beckoned to him. They were not there yet.
"Don't be scared Mari, it's not……it's not something we need to do right now, okay?"
Mari wrinkled her brow slightly, the sign that she was working to decipher what he had just said. She thought it was what he had wanted. But now he was mad at her, she could tell by the way he was breathing a little harder and she didn't really know what to do. Wiggling the fingers that were growing numb in his grasp, Mari blinked back the tears in her eyes. She felt rejected, stupid, and angry that she couldn't even say so.
"Lo'gan, please."
Lo'gan looked from Mari's watering eyes to the fingers turning blue in his hand. He had grabbed at her hand so quickly to stop her, that he hadn't even noticed he was hurting her. Letting go immediately, he turned the hand over in his.
"I'm sorry, just……here move your fingers a little."
Lo'gan rubbed at the digits to get circulation going again, but Mari's wince quickly alerted him to the fact that something was wrong. Catching herself before she cried out, Mari bit her lip in pain and wrenched her hand back, but Lo'gan had already seen the swollen joints. Taking her hand back gently, he leaned into her and pleaded with his eyes.
"Please, let me see. Let me see, Mari."
Mari wiped at the tears now freely rolling down her cheeks and cautiously moved her hand back out to him. She didn't want to show him, cause him more trouble than she already had, but it did hurt and the ache was getting worse. Running from the guards had kept the adrenaline high and the pain at bay, but now that she was finally still and about to fall asleep her fingers were stiff and hurting from her run in with queen Zainab's cane.
"See."
Lo'gan took the fingers cautiously this time and brought Mari's hand up towards the fading light of the brass lamp. They were swollen and not just from his clumsy handling, this was something else. Moving to the sheath he held his Khanjar in, Lo'gan unlaced one of the small pockets built into the tanned leather. Mari held her hand and watched him silently, deeply tired and wanting the day to end once and for all.
When Lo'gan finally unlaced the sheath, he withdrew a small little brass pot. Inside was a salve the clan's healing woman made for him and his horsemen. It boasted over fifty ingredients, each more secretive than the next. Opening the little pot carefully, Lo'gan scooped a dab with his index finger and went to sit on the bed's edge. He looked into Mari's face and asked softly.
"Let me see, darling."
Mari thought a second about the last word Lo'gan said and deciding she'll think about it later, stretched out her hand. Lo'gan took it guardedly and with a look of complete concentration, spread the herbal salve lightly on each of her fingers. Moving extremely slowly, Lo'gan then began to work the salve in, reverently smoothing and massaging her hennaed skin as he went. To Mari's surprise, it barely hurt at all. Checking her face for the slightest hint of pain, Lo'gan continued to work Mari's sore fingers until he was fairly sure they were numb and warm. Before long, Mari's eyes were beginning to close and hearing her yawn tiredly, Lo'gan decided that she shouldn't be up for not even a second longer.
Without pausing in his gentle massaging Lo'gan motioned for Mari to lie down and without hesitation, she complied. She eased down to the soft covers and still not letting go of her hand, Lo'gan shifted so that he was lying next to her. The whole time they moved neither took their gaze from the other's face, just a breath away. At first, Mari thought he might have changed his mind, but his look was one of concern for her. It would not be today.
In all the chaos of that day, Mari had yet to contemplate her brave Bedouin up close, but as he rubbed her hand gently, there was no better time. Memorizing the contours of his sunburned features like he had done to hers just moments before, Mari smiled softly at the man that fought so valiantly for her. Marveling at how her clear eyes twinkled when she smiled, Lo'gan smiled too, surprised that he was so close to her and yet not touching her sexually. It proved to him how much she meant to him. Only there was still something amiss about her face.
Letting his carefully constructed restraint slip just a little, Lo'gan eased down to taste the skin he dreamed so much of. He heard Mari's breath hitch in reaction, but already too close to go back, Lo'gan gathered his courage and pressed his lips to Mari's cheek, removing the last trace of her tears. Mari blinked her eyes closed and sighed, too weary to care that she was pressed into a man, but so glad it was Lo'gan. Lo'gan in turn lingered on Mari's skin a few seconds longer, enjoying the soft feel of her skin under his lips and the delicate brush of her eyelashes against his nose. When he finally pulled back, Mari's eyes were still closed and Lo'gan watched completely mesmerized as she curled her lips together to speak.
"Lo'gan."
Bursting with something akin to pride, Lo'gan resumed rubbing her injured hand with his thumb. He felt stupid at having dragged Mari all day long by it and not having noticed it hurt her, but he would make it up to her now. Bringing it tenderly to his lips, Lo'gan placed a languid kiss on the hand.
"Beeutifoll Mari."
Mari smiled even wider in her almost sleep and actually nestled in closer to the warm heat at her side. After months of sleeping alone, Mari had almost forgotten how welcome a weight next to her was. Lo'gan was definitely larger and harder than Danea, but he felt just as comfortable, just as familiar. Cuddling her head to his bare shoulder, Mari basked in the feel of Lo'gan's soft lips and prickly stubble as he brushed past her palm and further down to her wrist, where the remnants of her chains rested. The skin there was even more delicate than that of her hand, but she was already too far-gone in her tiredness to respond. With a final deep sigh, Mari fell into a deep sleep, still feeling the lingering tingle of Lo'gan's lips on her skin.
Lo'gan watched her fade away with a tenderness he never thought he possessed. It constricted his heart and made him almost dizzy with implication. It was stronger than his physical need for her and even challenged his ironclad rule of never sleeping alongside someone else. But that was exactly what he had done and shifting Mari slightly in his arms so that he could snuff out the light by the bed, Lo'gan pulled at the sheets that served as a coverlet and tucked it over their bodies to block out the chill filtering through the open window.
Finally bringing his head close to Mari's so that he could smell the myrrh that was washed into her hair, Lo'gan eventually welcomed sleep, content that he was keeping Mari safe and that she trusted him enough to welcome him into her bed. Resuming the slight rubbing of her injured hand, Lo'gan stared at Mari's peaceful features until he himself slipped away into unconsciousness and the familiar landscapes of his nightmares.
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