Rise Read Online Free Page A

stallion’s bowed neck.
    Toshach swished his tail and wandered to the spot where Caber was foraging for spring shoots.
    Though the copse of pines felt well protected, it was also very dark. Ember rubbed her arms, trying to chase away the sense of isolation that crept over her.
    “We can’t risk a fire,” Barrow told her. “I’m sorry for the chill.”
    “Don’t worry about me,” Ember said. “Of course we must stay hidden.”
    Though she didn’t want to, she shivered. The tremor hadn’t been brought on by cold, but by a heightened awareness that many more nights of hiding awaited her.
    Tentatively, Barrow reached out for Ember. She smiled, surprised that he’d worry she’d do anything other than step into his embrace.
    Once Ember was close, Barrow folded her into his arms. She took a deep breath, noticing the way the astringent scent of pine mixed with the warm spice of his skin. He held on to her, his fingers running over her hair, down her neck.
    Ember lifted her chin. Barrow looked down at her. She could barely see his face in the darkness. Raising her hand, she found the curve of his cheek and let her fingertips run over the rough stubble of his jaw. When she touched his mouth, his lips parted in a sigh.
    “Kiss me,” she breathed, taken aback at her willingness to voice her desire so boldly.
    But Barrow was already bending close. She felt his breath on her lips for the barest moment before his mouth touched hers. Her hand moved from his face to wrap around his neck as he kissed her hungrily, discovering the contours of her lips and neck with his teeth and tongue.
    Ember’s limbs began to quake. She gripped Barrow’s shoulders, no longer trusting her legs to hold her upright. As she swayed, Barrow slid his arm around her waist and lifted her off her feet. He was still kissing her when he took them to the ground. Ember looked up at the tangle of branches that stretched over their hiding place like a canopy of ebony lace. Barrow paused, looking down at her, hesitating.
    Grasping the front of his tabard, Ember pulled Barrow to her. When his weight pushed her against the earth, Ember swallowed a moan.
    “Ember.” Barrow kissed her temple, her ear. His hand moved over her, tracing the shape of her body from her collarbone to her hip. His other arm slid between her back and the ground, lifting her up against him.
    “Please,” she murmured, shuddering as this strange longing took hold of her body.
    Barrow unbuckled the leather belt that held Silence and Sorrow. It fell away and he slipped his hand beneath her tabard and then her shirt. His fingers rested briefly on her stomach, making her draw a sharp breath. His lips touched hers softly as his hand moved up. When he found the edge of the cloth that bound her breasts to her ribs, he traced the line of fabric.
    Ember swore, and he laughed.
    “I didn’t know that was a word you used, Lady Morrow.”
    “Only when it’s appropriate,” she answered. “I’ll have to take my tabard and shirt off. There’s unwinding to be done.”
    She felt his smile when he kissed her again. “Perhaps… or…”
    Barrow’s hand moved away from the tight wrapping of cloth around her chest, his fingers traveling along her skin, over her stomach and down. Ember went very still, suddenly unable to breathe.
    Her hips moved, and she drank in the cool night air, its contrast sweet against the heat of her blood.
    Ember reached for Barrow’s hips, drawing up his tabard. Her palms molded against the strength of his thighs. She slid her fingers up, wanting to learn what it was to touch him.
    But before she could, Barrow pulled back and, instead of holding her, knelt beside her.
    Startled, Ember scooted up to rest on her elbows. Not sure if she should worry or just shout at him, Ember did neither, because Barrow spewed out such an array of curses that she almost blushed.
    “Barrow?” Ember rolled onto her side, watching him.
    “By all that lives on earth and in heaven,” he