Love's Blazing Ecstasy by Kathryn Kramer Page A

silky hide. The Roman had no doubt that he would be able to catch up to his companions if he rode day and night, pausing only to let the animal rest when necessary. He realized that his senses must always be alert to any danger. He would never again be taken as easily as he had been that fateful night after becoming separated from his legion.
    His thoughts were at war as he rode on, anxious to catch up with his legion, yet yearning to look upon Wynne’s lovely face again, to hold her in his arms. She would  be branded forever on his heart and soul. No other woman could ever take her place.
    “Wynne!” he cried aloud. The blending of their bodies had been a forging of their hearts as well, strengthening them both in the process.
    Onward the horse and rider traveled, Sloan’s hooves thundering upon the ground, taking Valerian farther and farther away from the woman he had grown to love.

Chapter Eight
     
     
    With his powerful arms folded across his chest, Adair greeted his daughter upon her return to the lodge. “And where have you been, my daughter?” he asked sternly. His blue eyes, so similar to her own, stared at her. “Your bed was not disturbed last night. Brenna tells me that when the fire was banked you were nowhere in sight. Is this true?” His expression told her that he wanted her to tell him that Brenna was wrong.
    Wynne looked up into the face she dearly loved and she could not lie. “It’s true, Father. I was not in the lodge last night.”
    Anger flamed across his face. “Where were you?” he asked, his brows furrowed in fury.
    Before she could answer, Brenna seemed to come out of nowhere, her face set in a treacherous smile. “Adair, I’m sure Wynne has a reason. After all, this is not the first time she did not sleep with us in the lodge. There was another night as well.” She swept toward her husband’s daughter, standing between Wynne and her father.
    “So, you disobey my laws and shame me before the entire tribe!” Adair growled.
    Wynne shook her head, devastated by her father’s scolding. “No, Father. It was not like that. I did not willfully disobey you. I had to do what I did.” She could only hope that he would understand.
    “For what reason?” He looked into Wynne’s eyes, compelling her to bare her very soul to him.
    At that moment Wynne knew that she must tell him everything and hopefully make him understand her feelings. Hadn’t they always been of like mind? Didn’t her father also abhor unnecessary killing? And yet something made her hold back her words from him, a voice inside her head that warned her to keep silent.
    “I believe your Wynne has become a woman,” Brenna whispered. “No doubt it was to meet her lover that she stole out into the night.”
    Remembering the passionate night she had shared with her Roman lover, Wynne blushed a deep crimson.
    “A lover!” Adair sputtered, grabbing his daughter’s arm. “But you have been promised to Edan, son of Cedric, our chieftain. Tell me that it is not so. Tell me that you would not bring such dishonor to your father.”
    Wynne could not answer, for she could not lie to her father, thus her silence betrayed her.
    Brenna walked over to where her husband’s clothing chest stood and slowly lifted the lid. “My husband, where are your ceremonial crys and your favorite tunic? Did you take them with you to hunt?” Her eyes were all innocence.
    This time Wynne could not remain silent. “I took them, Father, along with your braccae and your foot coverings.”
    He looked at her a long time before he spoke, his eyes full of misery. “Ah, Wynne…Wynne, thus you would steal from me too, you whom I have loved beyond reason--my golden-haired child.”
    His voice held such sadness that Wynne’s heart ached. “I did no wrong. I only meant to give help to one who was in great need of aid. Father, I have seen the evil darkness cult at the edge of the forest. They sought to offer human sacrifice to their hungry god.” Her