Peace Offerings by Mandy M. Roth

PEACE OFFERINGS
Mandy M. Roth

Romantic Paranormal
Cover art by Kat Richards
(c) copyright 2004

By reading this excerpt your are agreeing that you are 18yrs or older.

An UNEDITED excerpt from Peace Offerings by Mandy M. Roth, coming in July from NCP!

Available July 2004 at http://www.newconceptspublishing.com/

I headed right for the tall, dark-haired stranger. I heard Dina’s cries for me to stop, and blocked them out. When I was within two feet of him, he stopped speaking to his friends and looked at me. His dark chocolate eyes scanned my body. They stopped to linger over my thin white gown, and to stare at my more than blessed chest. I blushed slightly. This caught me off guard, I never felt embarrassed or ashamed. What power was this that this man possessed? Yes, he was a gift from the Goddess herself, but still that ought not cause me to turn into a silly schoolgirl at the very sight of him.

I looked at his chiseled face and could not remember a time when I had seen a faerie with skin as bronzed as his. More often than not, we faeries ran a bit on the pale side. Some of us did, however, break the mold.

I held my hand out to him. “I’m Mackenzie. And you are?”

He stopped staring at my chest and directed his attention towards my face. “I am Rowan. So, you are the lovely Princess Mackenzie. I have heard much about you. I fear that my informants have understated just how magnificent you truly are.”

“What, may I ask have you heard of me then?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know, but the thought of not hearing that deep rich voice again made me shudder.

He held out his hand to me, I took it. His fingers were rough. He was most certainly a warrior. Men of wealth and honor rarely had coarse hands. I’d found that most of the men I’d bedded were as silky smooth as myself. Rowan was a refreshing change. “My dear Princess, your beauty is known throughout the lands. Lesser beings talk of your hair, as gold as the sun, with streaks as white as snow, of your eyes, as green as newly formed leaves, and of your body, which is rivaled only by the goddesses themselves.”

My pulse quickened. Many men had made futile attempts at flattery with me, but this one was different. This man called Rowan made me want to prove him right. He made me want to show him how much more I could really be.

“I dare say that you flatter me so with your kind remarks.” I gave a small curtsy. “Am I to assume that what you’ve heard about me is true then?”

His dark eyes lit up. “Oh no, I think that words cannot possibly do you justice.”

“Then how do plan on telling Prince Elwyn of me? It would have been so much easier for him to come personally to see me. I requested this, but of course, he never responded. Just like an Unblesser, thinking they don’t have to answer to anyone but themselves…. Are you to house an image of me in an orb?”

My obsession with human culture almost caused me to slip and say photograph, I was pleased that I caught myself. Orb images were livelier than a two dimensional photograph, but dated all the same. I’d not yet received one of the Prince. I was flying blind as to what he looked like. I’d impressed my image into an orb on the off chance he’d request it, but he had not.

Rowan looked amused by my comments. “I take it from your tone that you’re not happy about the current arrangement.”

I tossed my hand in the air and laughed. “Oh, please. Don’t tell me for a minute that if you were me, you’d be happy marrying that barbaric beast!”
Rowan and his two friends burst into laughter. The blonde one actually clutched his gut. I wanted to smack him square in the back of his head, but resisted. “Barbaric beast? What makes you think that the Prince is a barbarian?”

“Oh, that’s simple. He is to be King of the Unblessed Court one day, what else could he be? I hardly think they have kind gentleman roaming about to lead an army of demons. No thanks, I’d rather marry a Goblin and that’s not saying much, is it.”

Rowan’s grip on my hand tightened. I had offended him. I didn’t care. I had spoken the truth, and that’s all that mattered. I could respect his loyalty to his Prince, but even he had to admit that someone from the Unblessed Court had to be a scoundrel. I grew tired of this little game with him. I knew that he wanted me, and I him, so there was really no point in continuing.

“The Prince is not what I want to be focused on at the moment,” I said, as I took a step towards him.

He leaned closer. “And, what exactly is it that you are interested in focusing on?”

I stood on my tiptoes to be near his ear and whispered. “Why you, of course.”

His laughter bellowed out and around me. I felt as though I could wrap his deep voice around me, and it alone would be enough to bring me pleasure. He turned and looked at the men who had accompanied him on his journey. Without question, they walked away, leaving the two of us standing near one another.

“So tell me Mackenzie, now that you have my undivided attention, what do you plan to do with it?”

I smiled at him as I put my lips on his. I pushed my tongue into his receptive mouth and inched it around. We explored the deep recesses of the other furiously. A tiny moan escaped him. All would have been perfect if it wasn’t for a tiny tingling sensation that started on my arm. Someone’s negative energy pressed down on me. I reluctantly pulled away from Rowan, and turned to see Dina glaring at me.

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