Agent in Distress Ch. 04

Warrick didn't look happy. "And what if they refuse?"

Darius was looking at her in a way that Lana found embarrassing. "Looking at her, I don't think they will refuse you." Then he held a hand to his chin. "They may however, want to inspect her a little. You know how these bureaucrats are . . ."

"Inspect me?" said Lana, anxiously. She didn't like the sound of that.

Darius nodded seriously. "And you must act properly obedient. If they think you are too . . . untamed and difficult, they might refuse you."

Warrick shook his head. "Darius, she is . . . not used to our ways. It will be difficult for her to act appropriately."

"Appropriately?" blurted Lana. "Is it appropriate that a woman taken against her will be nice and obedient?"

"You see what I mean?" said Warrick, trying to hide his amusement.

"I can concur," said Lamare, drawing a withering look from Warrick. Lamare continued, unfazed. "She has the most inappropriate responses to a strange man's touch. It will be a problem if she is interrogated."

Warrick bristled visibly. "Is this why the girl looks the way she does? You have been touching her?"

"The girl?" said Lana, huffing. "I have a name . . ."

"As part of the mission, to prepare her," said Lamare, a bit defensively. Perhaps the warrior had a temper, for Lana thought she saw fear in Lamare's eyes.

"And were you successful?" said Warrick, his forearm muscles flexed and thick. Lana felt a thrill pass through her when she realized it was all over her.

Lamare was looking at her, pausing before answering. "Successful? She is . . . strong willed."

"Successful at what?" said Lana, confused. All the men ignored her, a habit that was getting annoying.

"I'll take that as a no," said Warrick, his anger seeming to subside a bit.

"Then you had better succeed where Lamare failed,," said Darius, curtly. He looked at Lana oddly. "I thought Calambrian women were naturally submissive?"

Lana's eyebrows wrinkled up in protest. "I'm not really Calambrian . . . and I'm certainly not submissive!"

"You have some work to do, my friend." said Darius, looking pointedly at Warrick.

Lana thought maybe she understood. She turned to Darius. "Look, sir, I'm posing as a captured free woman. Why do I need to be submissive and obedient? Can't I just play the obstinate, unbroken free woman?" I can do that one in my sleep, thought Lana.

Lamare spoke up, scorn in his voice as he looked at her. "You were a free woman, but now you are a slave, with no hope of escape. You should be terrified. Dellune men begin training their captured slaves immediately. If Warrick were doing his job correctly, you would have learned some obedience by now."

Darius spoke up. "I agree, Warrick, what have you been doing?" He looked accusingly at the tall warrior at her side. "You're going to get both of you killed, my friend."

Warrick returned his glare, and Lana saw the store owner shrink a bit. "You watch your tone, friend. She is a guest of our nation, and a warrior. You both should respect all our traditions." Then he softened a bit. "In any case, what you ask is not so easy to accomplish." He turned to Lamare. "You spent a day with her on horseback, is she obedient to you now?" Lamare made a face, and Warrick turned back to Darius. "This young woman is afraid of nothing. We are going to have to rely on her acting ability."

"I should be the one to train her," said Lamare, giving Lana a look of disdain, mixed with something else. Lust, she decided with a shudder. "You are not the right choice - she desires you already."

Lana's mouth fell open, and when Warrick looked at her with a curious expression, her face turned a bright reddish color.

"You will keep your hands to yourself," said Warrick, turning back to Lamare to give him a withering stare. Lana was tempted to throw fuel on the fire by mentioning what Lamare had done, but she decided to keep silent for fear the room might erupt in bloodshed. A long few seconds passed, and Warrick spoke. "Lamare, your work is done here, leave us to discuss matters and retire to your room."

Lamare bristled visibly at being dismissed, but he clearly was not in charge out here in the field. Without a word, he stood, grabbed his pack and left, closing the door behind him. Lana resisted the powerful urge to say something rude to him.

She breathed a sigh of relief with Lamare gone. "Darius is right," she said. "I don't know if I can be convincing. I wish Nika were here, maybe she could give me some training . . ."

Darius chuckled good-naturedly. "Girl, if it's training you want, you couldn't ask for a better man than Warrick here."

Lana looked at him, not quite understanding why he was laughing. She turned to Warrick. "Is this true?" she asked with wide eyes. The warrior showed no expression, just looked down at her with an amused look. "Then you can help me, give me pointers."

"Pointers?" said Warrick.

Lana gestured in the air, "Yes, uh, tips, or show me how to act . . . I don't know, just teach me what I need to know!"

"You want me to teach you how to act like a slave girl?" said Warrick, an odd look in his eyes.

"Yes!" said Lana, a bit annoyed, as if he hadn't been paying attention. "Didn't all you men just say our mission may depend on me blending in?"

Warrick looked at her for a long moment, then finally he nodded, without smiling. "Very well." He turned to Darius. "Darius, do you have a suitable place that we can use? I'm sure you have any equipment I might need."

"Equipment?" said Lana, confused. Warrick ignored her, focusing on Darius.

"Yes, I have just the place," said Darius. "Let me take you there."

"Wait," said Warrick, holding up his hand. "It is late, we are tired from our journey, we will do this in the morning. I wish to take Lana to dinner; I'm sure she is starving, as am I."

Warrick thanked the storekeeper, and they left the store and returned to the horse. Warrick looked at the girl. "Lana, I think you deserve a fine meal tonight. None of that fruit, instead you can have whatever you like, from the finest meal house in the town. To hell with orders, right?"

Lana smiled and nodded eagerly, as he climbed into the saddle and then helped her up behind him. She put her arms around him, and surprising herself, she gave him a squeeze. Her mind was still rattled by the things Lamare had done to her, and by her body's reactions. It felt good to simply hold the warrior in her arms, or at least as much of him as she could encircle. The warrior's chest was impossibly broad. Lana rested her head on Warrick's back as he maneuvered the horse skillfully through the dusty streets. He seemed to know his way around the town, for he took her down a confusing combination of winding side streets. They passed mostly dwellings, and she peered into open windows and doorways to get a glimpse of daily life in Dellune. The scent of grilled meat wafted out of a window and made her stomach growl in response to the delicious odor. She saw women washing clothes by hand, and chopping vegetables, or sewing linens. From one window drifted the sounds of vigorous lovemaking, and Lana giggled softly as they passed that one. The locals certainly weren't shy, she noticed.

She heard the inn long before she saw it. Loud sounds of laughter and merrymaking drifted down the alley as they approached the well-lit, boisterous establishment. More delectable smells emanated from the open windows, and Lana sighed as she drew in a deep breath. Warrick tied up the horse and they went through the front door. Lana felt some relief that the inn was so busy, for no one turned to look at them. They found a table far in the corner away from watchful eyes, Warrick taking the seat against the wall, just as Lana's combat instructor had advised. Warrick ordered a delightful spread of fire-cooked meats, breads, tangy vegetables and some things she couldn't identify, but tasted delicious. He'd also encouraged her to drink wine, to help her sleep, and dull the effects of the fruit. When he commented that she seemed to be holding up well in that regard, she dismissed it, without mentioning the salve. Even though she trusted the warrior, it wasn't a conversation she wished to have. Lana couldn't believe how hungry she was, and she was grinned when Warrick praised her appetite.

When she began to feel the effects of the Dellune wine, Lana slowly and tentatively opened her mental shield. The pain in her head was considerably reduced, and she could feel traces of mental images beginning to trickle in, but her abilities still hadn't recovered. Perhaps after a good night's sleep . . .

After the incredible meal, they retired to a room upstairs. Warrick must have requested the best room in the inn, for there were two large beds, soft couches, and an enormous bath. She offered to let him bath first while she did her Arbiter exercises. Lana had to quickly turn in embarrassment when the warrior began disrobing in front of her. She discretely closed the door behind him after he'd entered the bath. Later, she took her turn in the bath, and enjoyed the feeling of getting clean after a dusty day of riding a horse. When she toweled off, she was reminded of her heightened sensitivity, despite the salve's cooling effect, as the soft material of the towel teased her nipples into erectness, and for a second, she imagined it was not the towel rubbing her breasts, but the man in the next room. Shocked by her own thoughts, she immediately swore a vow to do a double session of mental exercises, to purge her mind of such inappropriate thoughts.

Once finished in the bath, she applied more salve, and then put on the nightgown that Warrick had laid out for her. It was long and modest, and completely covered her down to her knees. Still, she waited until her nipples were no longer poking into the nightgown before she reached for the bathroom door knob. Lana paused. The room had two large beds, but what if Warrick intended to share a single bed? How would she respond? He was incredibly attractive, and she had to admit, her body responded eagerly to any thought of intimacy with the handsome warrior. In fact, the more she thought of it, the more her body was preparing itself. But she'd only just met him, and it would complicate the mission.

Lana decided she'd know what to do when she confronted him. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and strode into the bedroom. There he was, her warrior protector, sprawled out on one of the beds, his mouth open and breathing softly. Typical, she thought. Moving closer as quietly as she could, she noticed he was dressed only in short linen pants, perhaps a form of underwear. She found herself staring open mouthed at his muscular chest and arms. Even in sleep, the man was an imposing physical specimen, and Lana tiptoed closer to get a better look. His skin was smooth and tanned, and she could see every outline of his stomach muscles below his slowly rising and falling chest. Her eyes flicked nervously lower down his body, to the white covering over his groin area. Lana felt a tingling in her belly as she gazed on the sleeping warrior, and her nipples began to press into her gown again. The men from her world simply were not built like this. It was probably all that animal matter they served at meals. She couldn't seem to take her eyes away from his toned body, nor could she stop thinking about what was underneath the white linen shorts.

Finally she tore her eyes away and looked at his face, only to find his eyes were open, and looking at her. Lana nearly jumped in the air like a frightened cat. "Warrick, you scared me!" she yelped, self-consciously putting her arm over her chest.

"What are you doing?" he asked in a sleepy voice, not noticing her nervousness.

"Umm . . . nothing!" she stammered, feeling her face turn red. "I . . . just came over to, uh, make sure you were ok . . ." She felt like an idiot. Every time she opened her mouth, nonsense threatened to come out.

Warrick simply smiled. "You know, you look lovelier every time I look at you. Good night, Lana," he said, closing his eyes again.

Lana stood there, confusing emotions roiling around in her brain. He makes a comment like that, and then goes to sleep? She thought she'd be relieved that the first man she shared a room with on this mission would be such a gentleman. But instead she felt disappointment that he'd gone to sleep. She found she enjoyed talking to him, and she especially liked the way he made her feel. Feminine.

Feeling dejected, she went over to the other bed and crawled in, trying to think of why Warrick had gone to bed without even talking to her. Thinking about the handsome warrior only a few arms' lengths away, she forgot all about her Arbiter mental exercises; her mind wandered to thoughts of tomorrow's training. She had not a clue what that might entail, and that thrilled her. She glanced over at the softly snoring warrior again, and briefly considered crawling into bed with him. But she wasn't even sure he wanted her in his bed. Frustrated and confused, Lana lay back and looked at the ceiling. Maybe she'd find her answers tomorrow. The bed was so soft and comfortable that she soon relaxed and stretched, yawning. It took some time to clear her mind, and when she did, sleep came quickly.