A Warrior s Desire - By Pamela Palmer Page 0,19

used to be that all a person had to do was wish for food and a fruit tree appeared.

A wish for water created a pond.

Now we have to ask, and even then it doesn't often work if there's already a stream or a fruit tree nearby."

"Such a hardship," he drawled.

Tarrys tried to lift an imperious brow as Larsen would have done, but found herself smiling instead.

"You don't think walking to the tree is hard?" The smile that crinkled the corners of his hot eyes charmed her.

Pleasure fluttered inside her chest.

And something else.

Excitement.

Anticipation.

"Show me how it works."

His low, softly cajoling tone caressed her senses.

She cut her gaze at him.

"Why don't you try it first using Kade's directions.

I'll critique your efforts."

"Critique my efforts, huh?" Knowing laughter lit his eyes.

She motioned him toward one of the trees at the edge of the wide, dense wood.

"Come.

Let's test your fruit-calling prowess."

As they crossed the blue ground, Charlie walked closer than he usually did, so close that his arm accidentally bumped hers, and their hands caught and momentarily tangled.

She was starting to feel winded, her heartbeat quick and sharp, though she was barely exerting herself.

Together, they approached a large colin tree, its dark blue bark slick as silk, its leaves as orange as the fruit Aunt Myrtle sometimes squeezed for juice at breakfast.

Tarrys rested her hand on the bow slung over her shoulder as she turned to Charlie, who was standing so close their hips nearly touched.

"Do it," she urged.

His gaze snagged hers, his eyes burning suddenly with a bright fire.

She forgot how to breathe.

"Call the fruit."

Her words dissipated into nothing, but she ducked away, putting space between them.

Charlie watched her with those hungry eyes for several more seconds before he turned to the tree, taking a deep, long breath.

Finally, he stepped forward and placed his palms against the bark.

He grunted with surprise.

"It's soft."

"Yes.

Say the words, Charlie."

"I feel like an idiot," he muttered.

"Provide, tree."

Tarrys grimaced, then shook her head with a laugh.

"You have to say it like you're asking, not as if you're disgusted with the whole thing."

The look he swung her way was half glare, half amusement.

With a put-upon sigh, he tried again, his words monotone.

"Please, oh mighty tree.

Provide me with the fruit my stomach craves."

"You're going to starve, you know."

Charlie stepped back and motioned to the tree with both hands.

"Your turn."

Though a smile lingered on his mouth, there was an uneasiness in his eyes that told her he was still very uncomfortable with the strangeness of her world.

As she'd once been with his.

She stepped past him, placed her own palms against the smooth trunk of the tree, and murmured, "Please, oh Esria, provide."

A short distance above her head, two fat colin fruits appeared suddenly.

With a smile, she turned to find Charlie closer than he'd been a moment before, his gaze not on the fruit but on her smile.

Her mouth.

Her pulse leaped to her throat, a blend of desire and fear that echoed from all those times the Esri had forced that desire.

Like those times, she was helpless to pull away when Charlie lifted his hand and stroked her cheek with infinite gentleness, his thumb sliding over her bottom lip, soft as air.

A desire unlike any she'd ever felt rose inside her, filling her lungs and her chest, sending her heart into a fury.

He must stop.

She had to tell him to stop.

But she remained rooted, unable to pull away as he lowered his head to kiss her.

His mouth touched hers, featherlight and warm, igniting a fire inside her like kindling torched.

With a ragged breath, she pressed her mouth against his, desperate for more of the glorious feelings that made her breasts ache and sent damp, throbbing heat to pool between her legs.

Charlie groaned, one hand sliding into her hair, the other going around her, pulling her against his hard body as the kiss turned from soft to desperate, from sweet to fierce in a hot instant.

His need poured over her, driving her own to heights she'd never imagined.

A need all the more powerful because it wasn't wholly physical, but encompassed her spirit, her mind and her heart.

Everything inside her longed to immerse herself in this man, to have him immerse himself in her.

To get closer to him in every way.

And he clearly felt the same.

His hands were suddenly everywhere.

Her hair, her back, her buttocks, pressing her against the hard thickness of his arousal.

She slid her arms around his neck, holding on as his tongue moved against her lips.

When she opened her mouth in surprise, his