Page 103 of Warlords, Witches & Wolves

Chapter 8

Shuree froze as her mind caught up to the fact that Dagar was kissing her. His lips were warm, gently brushing her mouth, and with a groan, she kissed him back. Hot, tingly sensations spread through her body. She’d been kissed before, but not like this. Not with so much intensity, Dagar’s firm arms around her, him controlling every touch. She wanted more from him, but suddenly Gan’s words sprang to her mind. She stepped back, pushed him away, catching her breath. “We can’t do this.”

“Why not?”

She shook her head, trying to clear it. She wanted to step forward again, into his arms. Instead she stepped back, into her yurt. The walls gave her strength. “There’s too much at stake. I can’t afford to be distracted.”

He shifted, and smiled. “Isn’t the point of the exercise to improve relations between our tribes?” he asked. “What better way to show you mean what you say?”

Shuree stiffened. “There are people in my tribe who already disagree with what we’re attempting. If they see me kissing you, they’ll think you’ve seduced me, think I’m not capable of leading, think I’m weak and easily led.”

“There are those who already believe that,” he said. “Why should we let them stop us? I admire you greatly.”

He truly didn’t understand how much more her actions would be judged because of her gender. “I can’t risk it.” She reached for the door. “Don’t kiss me again.”

The door closing shut off anything else he might have said. She exhaled and closed her eyes.

In any other situation she would follow her feelings, but she didn’t dare now.

Out of everything she had done, everything she was attempting, why was this the most difficult?

* * *

“We should hold a wrestling tournament tomorrow,”Turgen announced a few days after the Kharil tribe had arrived. “Our warriors are getting restless and it’s best they are kept occupied.”

“Good idea,” Kublai responded. “Where’s the best place, Shuree?”

“I’ll get Amar to arrange it,” she replied. Everyone enjoyed watching the tournaments which were held at the summer gatherings and it would be nice to have a day spent outside.

The next day, the sun shone brightly as most of the tribe gathered on the outskirts of camp. Shuree had let Amar choose the Saltar warriors who would take part and Gan was among them. Gan shouldn’t be rewarded considering the unrest he was spreading, but perhaps Amar believed it would allow him to let off some steam.

Someone had erected pavilions for shade around where the wrestlers would fight. She joined the other khans and Dagar in the centre one from where they could see all the matches.

“Dagar, you should take part,” Bat said, clapping Dagar on the shoulder. “You’re the only Erseg warrior here, and my men need new challengers.”

“Your men need to learn how to wrestle first,” Kublai joked and all the khans laughed.

“That would leave us with an uneven number,” Dagar said.

“You can sit out the first round,” Turgen offered. “Then we’ll draw names to see who will sit out during the next round.”

Dagar glanced at the warriors, already shirtless and barefoot, spreading fat over their upper bodies to make them less easy to grip. “All right.”

Turgen called out the pairs and then banged a drum for the fights to start.

Watching wrestling had never interested Shuree, but she cheered as Gan and then another of her tribe members made it through to the second round.

It was Dagar’s turn to wrestle and he stripped off his tunic to reveal hard, rippled abs underneath. Suddenly the wrestling became far more interesting.

Over to one side, Tegusken and Badma viewed the wrestlers with interest, giggling and whispering to each other. Shuree hadn’t had a chance to catch up with them in days. Badma pointed to Dagar and whispered something and then spotted Shuree. She waggled her eyebrows in Dagar’s direction and grinned at her.

Shuree’s cheeks flushed and she ignored her friends’ laughter. Dagar was a warrior, so of course his body was strong.

The next round began and Shuree’s attention was fixed on Dagar, who wrestled one of Turgen’s men. Turgen shouted encouragement as the men circled each other and then grappled. In a blink of an eye, Dagar flipped the Horkham warrior over his back and onto the ground. The man swore and Dagar gave him a hand up.

“Damn he’s quick,” Turgen murmured. Shuree didn’t answer. She’d suspected Dagar would be a good warrior, though he had had the chance to study the fighters before his own match.

Dagar’s opponent didn’t seem too disgruntled as they moved into the crowd chatting. Gan glared after them, rubbing more fat onto his head in preparation for his next bout. He’d always bragged that shaving his head made him stronger, and gave his opponents less opportunity to grab him.

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