Ma'in, the Imperial city-state along the coast of the Arabian Sea
Lo'gan crossed the hallway to their room with slow, deliberate steps, dreading having to go back to face Mari and his stupid little display earlier. He had made arrangements with Harabi to leave in a half hour before the sun rose, but having made all the preparations already, he still needed to walk back to that room and somehow……face reality.
It was clear that Mari did not want to go with him, he didn't need to hear it to know, but for the time being she was still his responsibility. Looking down at the dress he hastily picked out of Miznih's store in his hands, Lo'gan clenched his jaw and leaned his forehead on the door that they had snuck into the previous night. It was green. Not as pretty as her eyes, but close. She would look amazing in it. Remembering the green silk she wore when he first spotted her crying silently in a golden cage, high over a crowd, Lo'gan swallowed the lump in his throat and with all the resolve he had left, pushed open the door.
Despite everything, they had little time to get moving and he had to put aside his disappointment if he was going to get them out of Ma'in alive. Stepping inside with the most neutral look he could muster, Lo'gan spoke out levelly.
"Mari, we have to le……"
Lo'gan stopped mid-sentence when he realized the room was empty. Turning to where Mari had hung her anabbayah the night before and seeing that it was gone, Lo'gan dropped what he was holding and ran to the window, hoping against hope that Mari hadn't decided to run. Seeing nothing but an empty alleyway in either direction, Lo'gan quickly responded to the rush of adrenaline that washed over him and ran out the room, not caring if he woke up every single one of Miznih's patrons in order to find her. His first stop was Miznih's room, where Harabi was still explaining the marks on his back as fight wounds to her.
"Get the hell up Dawasir, she's gone! I'm going after her, but you stick to the plan and get out. I'll catch up to you."
Pulling on his pants hastily, Harabi hopped after Lo'gan in utter confusion while Miznih rolled her eyes and ran after them both. By the time she reached them, Lo'gan was already practically out the back door and seeing that she wasn't going to be heard past his growling and Harabi's stupid questions, Miznih placed her two index fingers in her mouth and with a deep breath caught both their attention with an ear splitting whistle loud enough to stir some of her customers on the second floor. Irate beyond belief and still calculating that Mari had only a ten-minute head start, Lo'gan swung around to face Miznih's suddenly nervous expression and growled out.
"What??"
Miznih snorted and crossed her arms, trying unsuccessfully not to look as scared of Lo'gan as she felt.
"She's on the roof, genius. Snuck up there while you were busy talking to your horse. Maybe if you'd paid some attent……hey!"
Lo'gan brusquely stomped past Miznih and taking two steps at a time, climbed the stairs that he had taken that last time he had slept under the stars. Harabi and Miznih watched him go with annoyed expressions and simultaneously thinking the same thing a second later, raced back to their room, grateful at least for another little drama delay in their departure.
By the time Lo'gan reached Miznih's rooftop, however, the last thing on his mind was their escape plan. Looking around frantically, he took all of two seconds before spotting a small hooded figure leaning against the half wall facing the ocean. Clenching his fists tightly, Lo'gan walked in that direction, relief and anger warring to dominate his features. It was still very dark out and deathly quiet, but lost in her thoughts, Mari didn't feel Lo'gan's footsteps until they were practically behind her. Spinning around to catch Lo'gan almost about to touch her, Mari jumped.
Lo'gan paused at that, his hand just inches from where he was going to turn her around. It hovered there for a few seconds as Mari and Lo'gan contemplated each other under the Ma'in sky. Lo'gan bore into Mari's shocked eyes with his angry ones and slowly both softened into something similar to regret. All the resolve Mari had to tell Lo'gan `no' vanished just as quickly as Lo'gan's anger at almost having lost her and speechless, both looked at the other with no clue as to how to put what they felt into words.
Eventually it was Lo'gan that moved in the stalemate as he finished extending his hand and finally reached out to cup Mari's face. Mari stared at the uncertainty in Lo'gan's features as he inched closer to her, slowly approaching with a look that she would never have guessed belonged to him. Closing her eyes when he finally reached her, the tears that wanted to fall all the time she was thinking on the roof, finally rolled down her cheeks. Lo'gan's heart turned at seeing that and hoping that what he was reading on her features was right and that she really didn't want to leave him, he cleared his throat and finally spoke.
"Mari."
Mari looked down as the thumb by her cheek started rubbing light circles into her skin and ordered herself not to cry. There was so much she wanted to say, so much she wanted to explain, but there was no way to really say it. Lo'gan watched her struggle with her tears for endless minutes and feeling the same frustration that she did, gently pulled her to him. Her cloak fell back with the movement and happy that he was at least buried in her fragrant hair once again, Lo'gan kissed the silky locks adoringly as they embraced.
Mari felt the gesture and taking in a deep breath to steady her crying, circled her arms tightly around Lo'gan's neck. Lo'gan squeezed a little tighter also before letting go. He had come to a decision and he needed to get it all out before he was tempted to just keep her there forever. Feeling that he wanted to speak, Mari pulled back too. Sniffling slightly, she blushed when Lo'gan took the edge of his robe sleeves and tenderly wiped at her face. He waited until she was looking up at him before beginning.
"Mari, we have to leave soon. I……I know you probably can't understand this, but we still have to move into the desert. You come from the north, so after I rendezvous with my clan, I'll take you to traders who go past the An Nafud."
Mari swallowed and backed away from Lo'gan a small step to get a better look at his face. She didn't catch most of what Lo'gan had said, but she did understand the name of the first desert land she had crossed. The An Nafud led to the giant sea that Battam and her crossed by boat and just after that were the Roman trails that led home. Mari gasped at the thought and Lo'gan stopped breathing, feeling absolutely miserable that she looked so happy. Her mind swimming with just how close it all felt, Mari finally spoke out in a small voice.
"Mari's home? Mari's……clan?"
Closing his eyes at the last word, Lo'gan nodded. In his rush to resentment he hadn't really considered that possibility. She was unique among Arabians, but Mari had come from someplace. She had had friends and a family, probably a whole lot of people, all sharing her fair skin and clear eyes. People that spoke her language and understood and knew all about her.
Stomach queasy with the realization that she would never need him like she needed them, Lo'gan finally did look up, ashamed that he had never even thought that Mari had a clan of her own to return to instead of just automatically staying with him. Cursing the fate that had brought her into his dreams and into his heart at all just to take her away again, Lo'gan nodded in agreement, mentally beginning the process of losing her before he ever really had her to begin with.
"Yes, Mari. I'll make sure you go home to your family……Mari's home……I promise you."
Mari blinked, letting a giant tear roll down her face all the while touching the map cuff on her arm, the last connection she had left to the home she once shared with everyone she loved. At least he understood. In a way she knew if anyone would, Lo'gan would. He was the kindest, bravest person she had ever met and somehow deep down in her heart, she knew he could lead her to Danea again. Crying through a radiant smile, Mari rushed forward to Lo'gan and pressed her head against his bare chest, tears now full of relief as well as loss.
"Thank you, Lo'gan. Good."
Lo'gan closed his eyes as he felt his restraint dissolve to nothing. Settling her head under his chin, he muttered something Mari knew was a thank you of his own. Happy that he at least understood, Mari circled her arms around his neck and held on with all she had, dreams of finding her home again brighter than ever.
Lo'gan held onto Mari with just as much fervor, content that she would be with him at least a little bit longer, at least until she had to move on. That was a thousand times better than the feeling he had when he walked into the room and found her gone. At least he would make her happy. He would take her home.
Feeling better now that his decision was made, Lo'gan brought his hands to cup Mari's head again. Pressing his face into her fragrant hair, Lo'gan breathed in deeply. It was a scent he could already make out anywhere and wanting to feel more of it, he moved to loosely thread his hands down the silky locks. Seemingly of a mind all their own, his hands continued skimming on down her back and eventually settled on either side of her hips.
Feeling the slow drag of his hands down her back through the thin cloak and even thinner robe she was wearing, Mari looked up slowly. She met Lo'gan's eyes with a soft curiosity and hypnotized by their sparkle, Lo'gan squeezed at her waist and pulled her just a slight bit closer to him. Mari felt the air between them change and flickering her gaze between his eyes and his lips, stopped breathing when it became apparent that he was going to kiss her.
Watching her face intently for the slightest sign that he shouldn't, Lo'gan let the part of him addicted to the feel of Mari in his arms every night overtake him. Not stopping his kneading of Mari's hips, Lo'gan leaned forward to her in minute increments until his lips were barely touching hers. He felt her gasp then, but too far gone to go back, Lo'gan finished his journey and finally pressed into her.
Like his dreams, Mari tasted just as sweet and felt just as soft. Only the kiss they shared now was more intense than any of his dreams could ever be. At first, he simply pressed onto her, still feeling the texture of her skin and her willingness to touch him back, but then their kiss turned more heated as he smoothed his tongue over her lips and eventually as he pried her mouth open to his.
Lost in the exquisite sensation that he produced in her, Mari moaned slightly into Lo'gan's mouth, needing desperately to breathe, but unwilling to pull away from his tortuous ministrations. She had never been kissed before and knowing what little she did on the matter left her completely unprepared to what she was feeling now. Lo'gan was setting her on fire, spreading a tingling heat from her lips down to her very toes. Somehow she knew it would be like this. Lo'gan didn't do anything half way and in his furious, almost desperate hold on her, Mari glimpsed not just into his passion but his very essence. Needing a better hold against Lo'gan's assault on her senses, Mari reached up to clutch his hair, taking handfuls of the dark strands in her small hands.
Lo'gan grunted at Mari's take on him and knowing she was faltering in his arms, dove into her even tighter instead of letting go. He swept her tongue and ravished her lips feverently, afraid that if he let go for just an instant, she would vanish like she did in his dreams. His rational mind knew that was impossible but there was no reasoning with his heart. She was his for now and he would hold on for as long as he could. He continued to kiss her with all he had in him and minutes later when they finally pulled away and looked at each other under the now moonless sky, the only things that existed in the whole world was each other. In her wide eyes and warm panting breath against him, Lo'gan saw what made Mari a survivor and in the intense, tight feel of his body against her, Mari understood the fighter that was Lo'gan.
Lo'gan had never been one to even consider women. They commanded his courtesy and consideration, but never his time and certainly not his affection. It was simpler not to even notice or care, but Mari of course was different and not just in her appearance. Her eyes held a depth and mystery that called to his most primal needs and since meeting her, Lo'gan could barely stand not having her within arm's reach.
Mari knew this and wary as she was about being around him, the dark Bedouin held just as much pull to her as she did to him. All her life Mari watched her father and uncle come back from campaign after campaign with more scars and less life to show for it. Mari had learned to hate the warrior life, for it never provided security or safety and yet ironically that is all she felt from Lo'gan. He was what her uncle called a born fighter but his tenderness and compassion seemed limitless. It was intoxicating to be in his gaze and pressed against him, Mari didn't know how to feel over their situation. Having Lo'gan finally break their gaze and gently press into her neck next, however, made the dilemma vanish as her mind snapped back to the pleasure of his lips on her skin.
Mari's warm panting doing nothing to relieve the unbearable tightness in his groin, Lo'gan placed one of his hands to the back of Mari's neck to draw her even further into him. Mari let out a small moan in response and braced herself against the grate of stubble that prickled her skin as they resumed their caressing. Kissing spots up and around her necklaces, Lo'gan felt his body awakening to the fact that Mari was responding to him. He looked up from where he was nuzzling her neck and grinned wolfishly when he saw Mari's eyes closed to savor the feel of his hands. The move cause Mari to break the soft rubbing of his scalp and blink up at him, but Lo'gan was grateful, for now her haunting eyes were fully on his again and what he saw there was more than encouraging.
Letting out a shaky breath, Lo'gan mouthed Mari's name and brought her into a kiss again, only this time he scooted down just a little before lifting her up off the floor. Mari gasped and held onto his shoulders, but too flustered to remember how to speak, continued to stare into Lo'gan's dark eyes as he slowly walked them to the slight incline draping over the south face of the roof. Backing her up as much as possible, Lo'gan then lowered Mari down onto the stone incline and settled before her.
In a surreal moment when all they could hear was each other's heavy breathing, Mari and Lo'gan contemplated each other. Mari took in the dark skin pulled taut over well-developed muscles and Lo'gan, the dips and valleys draped by dark fabric that constituted his green-eyed girl. Catching a twinkle in the meshy fabric that his imagination told him was a ring on her breast, Lo'gan huffed and in a painfully slow move, pulled open the outer cloak that obscured her from him.
Mari's eyes widened as he took a step into her that spread her legs and brought him flush against her core, but before she could protest, he had descended back down on her neck again, kissing and nipping at random spots over her heated skin. This time his hands did not rest, moving urgently over every inch of her. Breathing in shallow pants, Mari looked down at Lo'gan's body arched over hers and with a slight frown breathed out his name in a shudder.
"Lo'gan."
The Jabir warrior smiled slightly at that and determined to find out once and for all just how deep Mari's blush ran, moved his hands up from her waist to where her breasts were waiting for him. Once there, Lo'gan paused, wanting Mari totally cognizant of what was happening. Cradling her face gently with one hand, Lo'gan pulled back for a second and waited until Mari opened her eyes to him before moving again. Starting at her shoulder, he slipped his hand under the teal robe and slowly slid it down to where he knew a little surprise awaited him.
Not taking his dark eyes off her light ones, Lo'gan kneaded the bare flesh firmly in his hands and was rewarded with a half gasp, half moan from Mari's reddening lips that made his blood boil. Overwhelmed with feeling, Mari closed her eyes when she felt the callused hands pinch her. Letting out a faint grunt of approval, Lo'gan brought the hand that was still cradling Mari's face to the junction of her robe and together parted the fabric. What he found made his throat go dry and suddenly very self-conscious, Mari snapped her gaze back to him imploringly.
"Lo'gan?"
Lo'gan somehow managed to catch her hands before she moved to cover herself and running his tongue along his bottom lip answered her back in an equally breathless manner.
"Mari, darling, you're so beautiful."
Pinning her hands together high above her head, Lo'gan then moved his lips down to the gold ring that circled Mari's left nipple. The flesh under his lips immediately tightened and opening his mouth, Lo'gan took the entire tip into his mouth, suckling gently on her breast. Mari moaned loudly under his assault, her skin still sensitive from the piercing only a few days old. Feeling Mari squirm against his kisses, Lo'gan grumbled in primal satisfaction and moved to other parts of her full breasts. Mari's writhing eventually led him to let go of her hands and clutch her creamy mounds instead. They were crossed with hennaed designs and countless gold necklaces, but the pale skin was almost luminescent in the dark.
Her hands now freed, Mari found Lo'gan's hair again and clutching the black locks in her hands tightly, held on as he flickered his tongue over her mercilessly. The heat that twisted around in her stomach eventually trickled down to her core, where Lo'gan's hips had begun grinding into her. She hadn't been aware of it earlier, but she clearly felt his erection now. It was hot and pressing and the implication flustered her enough to shift back from Lo'gan's caressing. Feeling her hesitation, Lo'gan paused, quickly moved up over Mari's body and asked a question to her in a whisper.
"What's wrong, darling?"
Snapped back into herself, Mari smiled shyly at the man still rubbing circles into her breasts under her robe. The act made it hard for her to think and knowing what effect it was having on her Lo'gan smiled mischievously. He knew at some point she would hesitate. She blushed more than anybody he had ever met and it would have actually disappointed him if she hadn't. He watched as she fidgeted slightly and tried to close her legs a little. That alerted him to the fact that he had still to run his hands over Mari's legs, something he had thought of often during their ride across the beach. Bringing a hand over to a diamond starburst pattern sketched on her thigh, Lo'gan began rubbing the skin there softly. Mari startled a little but kept in place giving Lo'gan all the incentive he needed to forget he asked a question and start kissing small places around her face again.
Moaning slightly in response to Lo'gan's labored breathing at her ear, Mari grasped Lo'gan's shoulders and smiled at the rough feel of his stubble tickling her neck and jaw. Lo'gan felt her smile against his forehead and remembering how delicious her lips tasted just a few minutes before, tightened his hold on her and moved his lips over hers again. Mari arched into the kiss and lost in each other's arms once again, Mari and Lo'gan did not notice Harabi come up from the stairs until he cleared his throat loudly for the second time.
"Umm, hello?"
Leaping off Mari with a growl, Lo'gan glared at the Dawasir while Mari quickly clutched her robe shut.
"What is it??"
The goofy grin Harabi was wearing as a result of having caught Lo'gan with his pants down – almost, was gone immediately.
"I, ahh, I though……it's getting late."
Lo'gan pulled at the sash around his waist and looking back to see that Mari had turned around to readjust her robes, looked up at the sky. It was true that it was late and it was careless of him to have abandoned the plan so easily, but they had time and well, he had better things to do.
"We can make it if we leave right now."
Harabi nodded, fighting every natural born impulse in his body to glance at Mari in the background. Lo'gan seemed to have read his thoughts, however, because he stepped forward and growled out.
"Now."
Harabi opened his eyes wide and figuring he needed his organs intact if he was ever going to visit Miznih again, quickly nodded and half ran back where he came from.
"Sure thing Lo'gan. Umm, the horses are suited up already………uhh…bye."
Lo'gan waited until Harabi had squirreled out of sight and he had calmed down a bit before turning around to face Mari. She was apparently watching him, but diverted her gaze down as soon as he turned around and quickly stood up. Lo'gan watched her try and disappear into her cloak and cursing time for never cutting them a break, grabbed at her hand before she had a chance to walk by him. Pulling her slowly, he brought her toe-to-toe with him and then raised her chin with a finger.
"You okay?"
Mari colored brightly and not able to suppress her wry smile, nodded bashfully.
"Mari okay……good."
Lo'gan snorted at her choice in words and fighting the urge to abandon the plan altogether and carry her back to the room and finish what they started, kissed the top of her head and gave her a loose hug.
"Fine. Then we have to leave now."
Mari nodded against Lo'gan's chest. While she had been watching Lo'gan, something had occurred to her. Lo'gan needed her. Just as much as much as she needed to find Danea, visit her father's gravesite, and see Valeria again. The thought was even more staggering as it dawned on her that she needed him too. Rubbing her cheek slightly on the course hairs that covered Lo'gan's chest, Mari wondered why she had allowed the dark Bedouin into her heart. It would only make things more complicated, but they needed each other and for now that would have to suffice. Shuddering slightly in a sudden wind that whipped her hair around her, Mari clutched at her robe and looked up at Lo'gan who in turn smiled down at her. Admitting that Harabi was right and they were dangerously close to being behind schedule, Lo'gan turned and led Mari to the stairs.
At the stairwell, Lo'gan took one last look at the sky and wondered if what he had been seeing for weeks would come to pass. It certainly looked that way by the dark clouds building over the ocean. Deciding it would have to wait until he was at least back in the desert to really contemplate, Lo'gan descended down the steps to join Mari who was waiting a few steps down. Without really looking at each other, Lo'gan and Mari walked down to their old room quietly to collect their things before leaving, each wondering why exactly it felt so right to be in the arms of a virtual stranger and whether it was worth it to fall for someone who they would eventually never see again.
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