Champion

Chapter 44

Breaking from the passionate kiss reluctantly, he whispered to her, "I didn't say look around, I was just letting you know he was there. I don't want to spook him. So act naturally."

Coming back to her senses, a sly grin snuck onto Sapphire's face. "Considering that kiss," she began, "the only natural looking next step would be to sneak into the nearest doorway and f**k like rabbits."

David wasn't even sure how a person could choke on air, but he still managed to do it. That's when she winked at him, and pulled him into a warm hug. Reaching up to tilt his head down, she kissed his neck and whispered, "Where is he?"

Distracted by her succulent form pressed against him and her warm breath on his ear, he had to think about her question a moment. Eventually catching on to her deception, he whispered back, "on your left. Hat, beard, tan jacket, white shirt, brown pants, and really nice quality leather boots."

Feeling her head move slightly toward their quarry, he began to kiss and nuzzle her neck to cover the movement. He was able to enjoy the taste of her for a few moments before she said, "I see him."

"Are you sure," he said between planting kisses on the nap of her neck, "I think you should keep looking for a bit."

With the hand that was concealed from their observers view, she reached between them to stroke his throbbing hardness. His pleasured groan quickly turned to a hiss of pain as she squeezed it painfully.

"Focus!" she whispered sweetly in his ear. "Why do you think he's following us, or were you just looking for an excuse to take advantage of me?"

"It's complicated," he sighed, and she squeezed harder. "Okay. Okay. The short version is I've been trained to spot people following me, that guy doesn't fit, and that is the second time I've seen him." She released her grip and returned her hand to his waist as he continued. "There is another one I'm on the lookout for as well, but I only saw him once. It could be a coincidence, he might be after something or someone else, or he could be watching us. If we see either of them again it stops being a coincidence."

"What then?" she asked.

"Then we grab them, and have a chat," David answered, his voice hardening.

***

Quintus let out the breath he was holding. He had feared his newest team member had gotten spotted again, the i***t, but apparently the two lovebirds just wanted to take a minute for themselves. He was glad. The man they were watching was extremely observant. They had followed the two closely at first, but the guy had clocked two of his men, and he had to have them change their disguises. They were following at a greater distance now, but if they had to pull back much further they would probably lose the two in the crowded market. Which considering the fact that the woman was beautiful and wearing skin-tight black leather, while the man was the tallest he had ever seen and was wearing extremely odd clothing, that was pretty damn far.

He hadn't been able to learn much, other than they had visited numerous traders and crafters but had yet to buy anything. He had thought about sending one of his men into a shop to see if they could overhear what was being said, but the man worried him. There was no way he should have been able to spot his men, but he had. He was tempted to have his team grab them just to find out how the guy had done it. Except, this was a job directly from the Night Lord, and there was no way he was going to let it get screwed up.

Keeping an eye on his team, the four continue to rotate observers. There were always two men watching the couple, and the other two were watching the observers and would change places whenever one felt he might be drawing attention. It had taken them a year to figure this strategy out, but it worked.

At least, it worked until this guy,Quintus thought to himself.

***

David kept an eye out for the two men, but he didn't spot either for the remainder of the day. They stopped at the Traders' Rest Tavern and Sapphire ordered their lunch, taking a moment to speak with the owner. She had the same discussion with him as she'd had with the others, but got her first bit of useful information all day.

"Yeah, that guy sounds familiar," Cassius told them, after she had described Galen. "It was about two years ago. The only reason I remember him is because of the scars, they were pretty unusual."

"Do you know where he is?" Sapphire asked him eagerly.

"I think he said he was on his way to Calavius. He talked about starting a shop there."

"Oh," Sapphire said, frustrated.

"I could ask around, see if anyone else knows of him," he offered.

"I'd appreciate it."

*** The Blessings of...Sapphire? ***

241600MAR13 DW

Exitibus, Erosius

David and Sapphire finished visiting the rest of the taverns and inns in town, but no one else knew of Galen. She was disheartened when they returned to the temple, wishing she could have found him here in Exitibus, but David's feelings were more complicated.

What the hell was going to happen tonight? This was the major question on his mind as he walked into the temple with her. Did she intend to have s*x with him? Was she just setting him up to have s*x with Laurena? Did he even want to have s*x with Laurena? His mind was a jumble of too many questions and not enough answers.

Laurena and Phoebe greeted them warmly upon their return, and Sapphire and David offered to help with the final preparations for the service after he stored his gear. While he was away Sapphire told Laurena that he had agreed to come to the service that night, but neglected to mention that she would be joining him. Laurena was ecstatic.

"Thank you so much Sapphire," she said, "I really think this will be good for him." And for me, she thought to herself.

"You're welcome," Sapphire responded.

"Did you have plans for this evening?" Laurena inquired politely.

"I have something I need to do, but I should be able to join you two for dinner after the service," she explained to the acolyte.

David returned from his room, and they finished setting up the worship room with nearly half an hour to spare. Laurena confirmed that David would attend the service, and he nodded while shooting a furtive look at Sapphire who was standing to the side of, and slightly behind, the acolyte. She returned his look with a wink that Laurena did not see. The acolyte gave him a robe to wear, and suggested he take his time changing. He countered that he would change in his room, and be back when the service started. After he had left Sapphire slipped away from the two clergy members, who were discussing their plans for the worship service, and selected a robe for herself.

David did take his time changing, and it wasn't until he had put on his robe that he noticed a problem. Specifically, he noticed that the robe he had been given barely covered his crotch. It had looked similar to the same one he had worn in Wolfsvale, but it was apparently for someone much shorter than him. Shaking his head, he re-dressed and went to find a longer robe. Unfortunately, after spending five minutes searching the closet, he gave up. It appeared the robe he had been given was the longest one they had. This reminded him of something else he had noticed earlier.

He had been surprised how short everyone else was today. He hadn't interacted with many people in Wolfsvale, but today he had seen hundreds of men and women going about their business. He was easily taller than everyone else he had seen today, with most of the men the same height as Laurena, a full head shorter than him. Sighing, he decided to conjure a longer robe; he refused to walk around with his genitals hanging out. Going back to his room he changed into it, and was relieved to see it hanging down nearly to his knees. Figuring he would wait until the temple was mostly full before returning to the main room, he was surprised when he heard a knock at his door. Wondering who it was, he opened the door, and stood there stunned.

Before him was Sapphire, and she was wearing a ceremonial robe as well. Except on her form the robe looked beautiful. She had it tied loosely in the front, and the two sides of the robe had drifted apart above the sash exposing more of her cleavage than he had ever witnessed before. He also got his first unobstructed look at her legs, and they were as glorious as her breasts. With smooth, blue-tinted skin, slender thighs and calves, and delicate ankles they were a vision of loveliness. She had also taken her hair out of the braid, and her silken tresses flowed around her gorgeous face.

"Ready?" she asked him with a seductive smile.

She had also taken a few moments to inspect him. The robe he wore was not as revealing as she had hoped it would be, the thin material was still able to highlight his broad shoulders, tapered waist, and strong arms; and of course, his face was still just as handsome she had always found it to be.

After a few moments trying to remember how to speak, he realized he was staring and tore his gaze away from her beauty, looking down. That was when he noticed that his manhood had awakened from its shock sooner than his brain and was standing at painful attention. Worse, it had worked its way between the overlapping sides of his robe, and was poking out directly at Sapphire. He quickly turned away and tried to deal with his little soldier's betrayal, but not before Sapphire had followed his gaze and received a shock.

It was huge! She had felt his hardness earlier in the day, but his size hadn't really registered from that touch. She had never lain with a man before, but there was no way it could possibly fit! While she tried to master her surprise and deal with her fears, her eyes absently took in his form from behind. Damn, he had a cute butt too.

Damn it, he thought, what the hell is wrong with you. You knew she wanted to go with you to this service and now you've embarrassed her. Please God don't let her walk away. I really need her there tonight. While brow beating himself, he tried to tuck his erection into the sash at his waist like last time, and while doing so he noticed something alarming.

He knew his equipment was average in size, but what he was sporting today seem bigger. It was too big. Worried, he did a quick check and realized that it had grown larger by almost half. What the f**k?

"I guess you are ready," Sapphire stated behind him, deciding to tease him to cover her discomfort.

"Just give me a minute to take care of a problem," he mumbled in embarrassment.

"Are you sure you don't need a hand," she said with a giggle. "It looked like a pretty big problem; the kind of thing that might require 'help'."

"Sorry about that," he said, hanging his head in shame. "You just look so amazing in that robe it surprised me, I couldn't help it."

"It's natural," she consoled him, flattered by his compliment. Then she added with a naughty thought, "Well, it may not be natural, but the reaction is."

Red with shame, he turned back around after managing to secure himself with the sash. He had to re-tie the simple bow knot with a sturdier square knot. His eager little soldier wanted to storm the field, but he refused to let the bastard embarrass him further.

"I'm ready, let's go," he told her.

Smiling she nodded and took his hand in hers, leading the way to the temple's worship room.

***

"My men followed the trader woman and the man, all day. They visited a number of shops and crafters in the morning. The woman spoke to each at length, but they bought nothing. After stopping for lunch they spent the afternoon visiting all the taverns and inns in the city, speaking with the owners at each," Shadowmaster Blade gave his report to the Shadow Lord. "We were unable to determine what they talked to each of these people about, but I will have my men make inquiries tomorrow. I personally watched the acolyte, but she never left the temple, and no one of note came to visit her."

"There is no need to make those inquiries Blade, it is known to us what they seek," Cassius instructed his subordinate. "Do we have eyes on them now?"

"Yes. They are all attending worship this evening, so I had a new team set up to watch the temple while my best team rests for tomorrow."

"The Night Lord commends you for your work today," the Shadow Lord told him. "We will be in touch if your instructions change."

Nodding at his dismissal, Shadowmaster Blade departed the meeting.

What do you know Shadow Lord? The Night Lord asked him once the Shadowmaster had left.

"I know what they seek Lord," Cassius whispered. "Sapphire is searching for a man she believes may have information about her father's murderers."