Hi there! Here it is again, chapter 7. I know, it's been a while. Actually, I've had ch. 7 ready for two weeks, but my computer been in the shop! Talk about Email withdrawls here! Well, now I'm up and running, better and faster, yeah! Sorry to the folks that I haven't replied to. I'm still trying to sort through all my mail. Well, pretty soon I'll have more free time to work more extensively on this story. Yeah, and I'm already almost done with ch 8. Hold on to your horses. I'm almost done with all my projects at work. Of course, after that I start a bunch of classes! Yuck, I haven't been back to school in years! Hey, does anyone know of a good editor for my stories? I thought I had one, apparently I must've offended the person? I'm sorry if I did! But, I'm greatly in need of one, if anyone is interested in offering their services. I would seriously appreciate it! Oh, guys need to visit Sailor Novemeber's site, 'Usagi & Mamoru's Fanfiction Archive'. It's pretty cool! Moonlight gets posted there first! Anyhow, let me get going. All the usual disclaimers apply. Happy reading! Lady M. Harris.

 

 

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Is this the horrid dragon beast

Of sinew strong and deep of chest

And never needing rest?

A steed, the best?

Then seize a saddle from the rack

And strap it on the beastie's back,

Of courage never have a lack,

No turning back.

 

The beast has served and flown the earth around.

You've sought your treasure, forced him to the ground.

He turns around.

 

Long of fang, the fiercest eye and talons, not discounting,

No fault of choice, nor better beast you'd ever take ahunting.

But now you're caught and find the peril is dismounting----

 

Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

 

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MOONLIGHT MIDNIGHT GLORY

 

Chapter 7

 

Serena closed the curtains to the windows that overlooked Madame Winsdor's bordello. She looked out of the large window, gazing at the full moon that hung in the dark sky. She longed for the familiar, palace midnight settings of home. She sighed quietly as she turned her mind away from all those whom she missed. Her gaze wandered away from the moon and back to earth.

In spite of the late hours of the night, many people could still be seen entering and leaving the mansion. She shivered slightly from the slight coolness of the room, dispite the fire burning in the fireplace. Of course, it didn't help that she was completely naked. It was an almost instinctive habit now as surely as breathing was. A week ago, she would have never strutted boldly about like this in her own chambers. It just wasn't done. Yet, last week she had not been married to an intricate man she called her husband. A man she considered still a stranger, but one she knew physically well as she knew her own body. She got back into bed with Darien, who dozed on top of the covers. Her gaze followed the strong lines of his naked body. She sighed quietly again, thinking earlier of how her fingers had explored the planes of his muscles. How her lips had followed and traced where her fingers had been. Tonight she had been a wanton. He had lead the way for her to abandon herself. It had not been easy for her to do so. Her face flushed with heat as she thought of how her body had betrayed her again and again. It had started when they had retired for the evening.

"Do you know Lady Beryl, Darien?" Serena had asked as she brushed her long hair. She sat before one of the many mirrors in their room as Darien began removing his tuxedo. She missed the comforting effect of brushing her hair every night did for her. It was a calming and intimate moment her mother and her shared most evenings together. Her mother would brush her long hair while humming a little moon song as Serena would hum with her from time to time. She wondered if those days were gone now. With them on the constant move and no accommodations, Serena had to make do with sleeping in braids. Yet of late, she had been awaking with tangles, especially when she found herself no longer sleeping alone. Her eyelids were beginning to droop as exhaustion took its toll on her.

"Yes, I do. Her home borders my cousin's. Why do you ask, darling?" Darien asked arching a dark brow at her. There was a sardonic smile playing about his lips. She couldn't read what was in his eyes or in his thoughts.

"Well, because of the way she stared at us during dinner. Or rather you, that's why." She nearly snapped. "How come I get the distinct feeling that she's more than just a neighbor?" She said as she turned away from him, looking at him through the mirror.

Coming up behind her, Darien's gaze met hers in the mirrors. He smiled insolently at her. "Do I detect jealousy, Serena?"

Her eyes flashed angrily at him.

"I'm flattered by all your attention, sweetheart." He laughed quietly as he removed his shirt. Involuntarily, her eyes dipped to the broad expanse of his chest. Her nostrils flared as she tried to ignore the flare of arousal. She raised her silver eyes back up to his face and found a knowing smile on his lips. She wondered if he was reading her thoughts now. Did he know how much she wanted to touch him?

"I don't need to read your thoughts to know what you're thinking, Serena." Darien said huskily as his gaze locked with hers in the mirrors, again. "You're about as open as a book."

"You still haven't answered my question." She frowned, as his hands reached over to caress her exposed shoulders. Why did he have to do that, she thought? All he had to do was touch her and she was ready to melt like butter for him. She could feel her skin flushing and her pulse leaping, and she was angry all over again with herself.

His eyes narrowed, perceptively, "What difference does it make? When I married you, I closed the doors on my past. I do not take my vows lightly, Serena. I will never betray you. And I will expect the same from you."

Serena set the brush down and turned around to face him. Their gazes locked for a moment, their thoughts disguised from one another. "Do you love her?" She asked, her voice breaking. Ah, how could she betray her feelings to him? Especially, since she was so unsure of them herself.

"This is ridiculous!" Darien snapped, turning away from her, nearly yanking his pants off. "And no, I do not love her! Love is for the birds, Serena! Now, lust I can associate with. Want, I can comprehend. I even understand hate. Love? " He laughed harshly at the word as he watched her face flushing. "Love does not exist." He stated.

Now she understood what demons drove him. "Who hurt you, Darien?" She whispered quietly into the silence of their room. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she watched as an invisible wall closed off his face. It solidified like granite, pinching tiny lines around his mouth. Tenderness overwhelmed her and another feeling surfaced. So great it was, that she did not want to examine it. She was scared witless of what those feeling might reveal. Yet, her heart ached and opened like a bursting dam. She wanted to hold him in her arms and take the pain away. She wanted to hurt whoever had caused this great pain. Yet, his stance before her was aloof. Handsome, powerful and proud, he was to her.

"No one anymore, Serena." Darien rasped out as he reached over and took one of her hands into his. He pulled her up from her sitting position so that they were facing each other. The wall was still in its place, but another aura was beginning to take its place in him.

Her steady, heighten powers of her destined was programmed deep within her. Perhaps it had been there since birth. She didn't know. Yet, she was helpless but to follow the direction of the stream. The steady stream of desire.

"No, Darien!" She pulled out of his grasp. "We need to talk." She insisted. Before she had a chance to say anything else, Darien's eyes darkened and smoldered like the burning embers. She gasped out as hiss hands clasped the front of her flimsy nightgown and pulled it down, mightily. There was an audible tear as the gown was torn in two. Serena grasped the material trying to hold the pieces together as her full breasts spilled forth.

"Damn you!" She shouted as he swept her up into his arms, walking towards their bed. Her small hands beat on his shoulders and chest as he laughed at her futile attempts to be free of him. "Let go of me! We need to talk, Darien!" she cried out

"Not tonight, love. Perhaps another time. There's an inviting bed next to us. I did not wish to speak of my past anymore, Serena." He said as Serena continued to squirm in his arms. Then without warning, he threw her on the bed causing her cry out as the material of her nightgown tore again. Darien's sapphire eyes darkened with desire as he gazed at her firm breasts. The skirt of her nightgown rode high on her thighs, exposing her long, shapely legs. He quickly covered her with his body and closed the distance between their lips.

Her response surprised him. For every thrust of his tongue, hers parried in dance of pleasure. Her fingers caressed the locks of his dark hair, causing him to groan from the sheer force of her desire. He had never met a woman whose responses had ever been this demanding or naturally abandon. His heighten senses of power could feel the true pleasure running rampant throughout her. His body responded to hers, trembling in anticipation.

Then it happened. Another presence was watching them. More than one. His lips stilled as he heard the whispering in his mind throughout the walls of their bedroom. Serena's body stilled as well. At the same time, they both became aware of other people on the other side of the mirrors watching them through their open curtains.

Their gazes locked in understanding as Darien got up from the bed, grinning like the devil himself. Serena's wide eyes searched the mirrors where they were being watched.

"Really, Madame Winsdor! I pay dearly for some privacy here. Next time, I will charge admission, if you should truly wish to watch!" Serena heard Darien laugh, abolishing the occupants on the other side of their room, as he came towards the mirrors. She reached for a sheet on their bed as she tried to cover her nude body from the prying eyes. She watched as Darien closed the curtains to the mirrors and came back to their bed, chuckling deeply.

This time, when he reached for her, she did not fight. She nearly whimpered as she clasped her arms around his neck. She threw caution to the winds and gave herself to him again and again, that night. She would worry about these strange feelings that were coursing throughout her tomorrow. Those same emotions that she sensed were deep within Darien. Feelings he did not want her to know of.