Read Burning Stone for Free Online

I need some sleep as well.”
    She nodded and gave him a small smile. “Thank you, Bohr.”
    He stood and narrowed a look at her. “You are welcome, now go to bed.” He left her room and the door closed behind him.
    Leyhara peeled off what was left of her top and she shimmied out of her briefs before tucking herself into bed. For a moment, she thought about covering herself with flame and calling Bohr in again, but she fell asleep giggling.
     
    * * * *
     
    Torment. He was in for weeks of torment. Bohr breathed in and caught nothing but Leyhara’s scent. She was everywhere in his ship, and it was not doing his self-control any good.
    Her skin was far softer than he had imagined and getting close had pushed the bounds of his logical mind over his instinct. Iskan had offered him this chance to court and become a partner to Leyhara. If he pushed too hard, his maiden would draw back, and right now, that was her opposite direction.
    Her overtures were gratefully received but pulling back and not encouraging her to continue her innocent flirtations had cost him. Knowing that there were two or three more nights of the same, he felt like weeping.
    Sighing, he set the security systems for the night, grabbed his own meal and headed to bed. If he was able to sleep, he would dream of Leyhara, but in the meantime, he sang her to dreams of her own.
     

Chapter Six
     
     
    Leyhara is standing on a volcanic field with jets of fire spurting up all around her. The heat waves ripples her skirt and tugs at her hair.
    She hears the song and follows it. Her feet float her above the roiling heat as she seeks the point of origin for the music that plays in her thoughts.
    The gouts of fire around her obscures her vision, but suddenly, she is standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking a green meadow untouched by the flames.
    Within the meadow, she sees a house built of stone and glass, turrets rising from the main house and a wide doorway open and inviting her in.
    She starts toward the building and a shadow rises from behind it. A creature made of rubies and smoke flies up and over the house before landing in front of her and approaching her.
    As he touches down and extends his frightening head, Leyhara feels her heart speed up and she jolts.
     
    Leyhara jerked upright and rolled her flaming bedding into a pile, smothering it in her cloak.
    She sat on the floor and slapped at the fabric, putting out the fire. She hadn’t set the sheets on fire in years.
    Leyhara sat and leaned against the door, chuckling. Bohr had said he wanted to be called if she was on fire, but she had handled it herself.
    She checked the chrono and it was an hour before dawn. She had slept long enough.
    Leyhara got into her clothing and brushed her hands over her hips, checking to make sure that her skirt wasn’t tucked into her bodice. One time was enough.
    She wadded up the charred sheet and dropped it into the recycler, hung up her robes on a peg in the wall and crept out of her room as quietly as she could.
    Bohr’s door was closed, so she tiptoed down the hall and made a pot of tea as quietly as she was able. She knew he had been cutting into his own sleep on her behalf and that was going to have to stop.
    She dialled up her breakfast and noted that Bohr’s selection from last night was still on the screen. His food code was gold and it wasn’t one that she had seen before. She was going to look it up and find out a little more about her pilot and guardian.
    She pulled a data pad toward her and brought up food codes. All it said about the gold code was that it was a high-protein blend.
    Leyhara cross-referenced species that required high protein, were bi-pedal and had pointed ears. She got three hundred results and she started scrolling through them.
    Her breakfast was gone and she was sipping at her tea when Bohr came out of his quarters and stumbled to the galley. It was nice to see that waking wasn’t easy for him either.
    She held up a cup. “Here you go.