Anastasia shattered in his arms. The reins fell from her hands as she slumped against him and he released her nape. He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and the other around her waist to stop her from falling off as orgasm raked her body in waves, as bright sparks of pleasure splintered in her blood, in her mind. 

When she opened her eyes, she tilted her head backwards and kissed his chin. Anastasia's breath was shallow. Somehow she managed to stay still till the sensation ebbed. It was nothing compared to every pleasure she had in her life. She wanted to thank him, hold him and give it back to him. She whispered, "You want to know why I didn't come earlier to you at Vilinski? I saved you from Maple's wrath by not coming next to you…" she explained. Gods, the connection was much deeper, and had she discovered it long back? It couldn't be. She didn't want to think about it. So she closed her eyes and buried her face in the crook of his arm. 

He kissed the crown of her head. "There were times when I wanted to kill her." 

Her lips downturned and she said, "I thought you loved her proximity,  and so I stayed away." 

He grunted. "No, it was she who loved my proximity. I detested it." 

She chuckled, her mood lifting up.

He gathered the reins in his hand that she had left in throes of pleasure. "You left these," he said with a sexy expression. "This will incur punishment." 

Oh my! She gasped. "You don't expect me to stay still with all that you were doing." 

"I will be tying you next time when I suck you from there," he said, pressing his finger on her nub. 

Her muscles drew together over there. Her skin became heated like a thousand suns. She stopped breathing. The anticipation was too much. 

He leaned towards her ear and whispered, "Breathe Ana." 

Devil! He knew the effect he had on her. 

For the next one-hour, they continued to ride through the snow. 

Anastasia was relaxed. Even after they would part in Óraid, she would always remember these days with him. As she watched the jagged peaks in distance that spanned on the left, she realized the sublime natural settings they were riding into. The towering rocky peaks dwarfed the valley they had entered. They glowed yellow in the light of the afternoon sun and were shrouded in wisps of low clouds. 

"Óraid is past those mountains," he said. 

"That looks like one treacherous climb." She shaded her eyes with her palm and looked at the snow-covered jagged peaks. 

All of a sudden the ground under them rumbled. The horses neighed and Aidan's horse who was now right in the front of the cavalcade, reared. 

"Down boy!" He tried to calm the horse, but it deviated from the path and started trotting in the opposite direction. 

"What's wrong?" Ileus shouted. 

Carrick raced his horse after him. It took them ten minutes to get the horse back in the path. 

However, the ground beneath them rumbled again. This time the horsemen patted and rubbed their agitated horses to continue walking. 

Darla came next to Ileus and gave Anastasia a cursory glance. She pointed at the jagged peaks and said, "The rocks are slippery there. Should we take the tunnel at the base of the mountain?" Her gaze went back to him, as if he was her possession. 

"What do you think Darla?" he asked her while looking at the mounts. 

"They are not easy to cross if you try to crest them, but the tunnel is dangerous too. In my opinion, we should take our chances and go through the tunnel. Cresting them seems like a gargantuan task," she replied. Her eyes went to Anastasia who was watching ahead with tight expressions. 

Ileus exhaled heavily. "It does Darla…" 

The way her name rolled off his tongue, she looked at him proudly. The man made her feel… crazy. And the girl in front of her was plain interruption. She stared at her and said, "You know Ileus, once this gets over, we are going to hang out at our favorite joint at Romulus and trust me I am going to drink till I pass out!" she started laughing. "Both Kaizan and me are making those plans from a long time." 

Ileus looked at her and gave a pained smile. "You deserve that Darla." 

She chuckled. "I think I deserve more than that and you have to give me what I deserve!" 

Ileus gave her a fond look. "Sure, tell me what it is that you want." 

"Well, you have to promise me that you are going to give it to me."

"But I should know what you want," he replied as he stroked Anastasia's thighs inside the cloak as if it was a natural thing to do. "How can I promise without knowing?"

Darla's lips twitched with a mischievous grin. "Uh huh!" She shook her head. "You have to promise me first." 

Anastasia looked at Darla with narrowed eyes. She wanted to interrupt them but she decided not to because she knew that they were great friends. Darla had made her well aware of the fact that she was highly interested in Ileus. However, if Ileus were truly interested in her, wouldn't he be with her? It was very confusing and she turned her gaze away. To come to think of it, she was planning on leaving them once they reached Óraid. They could be together forever. Jealousy flared. 

Ileus gave a throaty laughter. "Okay, I promise." 

Darla clucked her tongue. "You have made a promise. Don't break it!" 

"I won't," he replied. 

"Great!" she said excitedly like a child and then focused on the path. They rode in silence for a few moments and then after a while, she said, "By the way I had to tell you something."

Ileus frowned. "About what? You sound so mystic." 

She gave a side-glance to Anastasia and then her gaze glided back to him. She said, "Can we talk in private?" 

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