Chapter 13

Early that morning as they made their way to the castle, Nathan and Ariel had a few more questions for the man that they each thought about overnight. So they decided to head back early that morning to see when they could get another audience with the man.

But when they went back to the castle the castle staff was in disarray and they were told that he passed away in his sleep that night. The only thing that they could learn was that he went peaceable and without any pain, but he was no longer able to give them anymore information. And then they were dismissed.

As they left it struck them odd that he would die that way. Nothing in what they saw yesterday suggested that his constitution was weak enough to have something like that happen to him. If anything he was the picture of good health.

But as they talked while they were leaving they wondered about the young woman who came to visit. And as Nathan brought it up, he didn't seem to see that Ariel looked away visible ticked off about it for a moment, before she turned back to continue the discussion.

Some about that woman still really bothered her and she couldn't put her finger on why. Just thinking about her got her hackles up and she wanted to keep her as far from Nathan as she could.

But it was obvious that she was a bed companion and the man knew her well. Since he told them his wife was out of the city early in their conversation, and then how quickly he pushed them out the door when she arrived, it only made common sense that's who she was. But did he have a heart attack or something during or after sex?

Well even if he did they know that the castle staff wouldn't tell them, preferring to keep it quiet within the castle itself.

As they traveled around the city most of the day, they decided that they had collected all the information that they could and most of it was only dead end, so they decided they would leave the following morning and head back to the guild.

The four of them were busy comparing things they had done during the day before they headed to bed to call it an early night before they started for home the following morning.

As they were talking Rory announced that it was Ariel's turn to buy, as he had just returned with the previous mugs earlier, and she got up to go to the bar to get the next round. It was so crowded that the serving girls weren't coming around as often as they should.

While she was gone Nathan was looking at Rory talking when he saw Rory seem to gulp and stare past him at something just over his shoulder.

As Nathan turned to look he saw an utterly gorgeous woman headed for their table.

Her hair was a rich strawberry blonde and wavy as it hung down behind her in a ponytail tied high on her head. She was almost his height and had to be almost about 5'10, and she had long and very well formed legs that they all could see under her very short skirt.

As she approached them they could see that she had very crystal sky blue eyes and deep dimples on both sides of her face. Her figure was perfect and appeared to be a physically fit one that was complete with a narrow waist, but she had very large breasts for her frame.

When Nathan looked her over the thought of how Andrea looked from his youth came unbidden to his mind. Then almost as quick in his mind Ariel also seemed to overlay on top of that picture.

It was then it struck him that if someone had crossed the two of them, then this young woman would be what they got.

But as she walked towards their table, it wasn't hard to see the sexy sway of her hips. And every man between her and them received instant boners from her approach. That was the walk Andrea had the last time he saw her at the party in his honor.

Even though Nathan found her very attractive, he didn't seem to get an erection like everyone else.

And for some reason the thought that he didn't, when he could see Terrance and Rory's tongue almost hanging out, crossed his mind as she approached and he couldn't understand why he had that thought which was so out of place for him.

"So how are you boys tonight," asked the woman staring down at them all.

She looked at them all as she approached, but it seemed that her gaze finished on Nathan and continued to rest on him as she spoke. She gave them such an intense smile that he could feel a deep desire for her that didn't make any sense.

And as she spoke, her voice had a rich deep smoky sound to it.

Again he was struck by the thought if someone crossed the two women then this is what they would received as a by product.

"We thought we were well, but we're doing much better now that you came in," said Terrance quickly as he looked at her.

For some reason Rory was all eyes and closed mouth. He could be quick of wit as well, but tonight it wasn't working for him.

"My, aren't you a sweet one," said the young lady as she looked at Terrance and touched his face briefly before she returned her intense gaze back on to Nathan.

"Well, we'd like to offer you a seat, but I don't believe my wife would understand," said Nathan looking her way.

As he continued to look at her something felt off to him. He just couldn't put his finger on it. Something about her was pulling at the edge of his mind. Like something he should know about her was eluding his grasp as he trying to concentrate on it.

"Don't tell me your one of those men who has a mousey woman at home. The type of woman who just doesn't understand you and is jealous of the time that that you spend with the boys," asked the woman with a deep smile.

The smile was completely dazzling with all of her white teeth showing.

"No quite the opposite. We spend most of our time together, she understands me better than I understand myself, and I would say that she was anything but mousey. If angered she is down right scary," smiled Nathan at her.

Rory and Terrance both nervously lightly laughed at that.

They as well knew how dangerous Ariel could be. But they both had a guilty moment where they remembered the previous night's actions by her as well.

"If that's the case then why are you even here without her?" asked the woman.

"Who said I was without her?" asked Nathan with a smile.

The woman didn't say anything, but continued to just make eyes at him and if anything the smile she had went up another notch or two.

"Honey, give it up. This is one of the last honest men. His wife is utterly gorgeous and he doesn't even notice other women because of it. Trust me on this, he's not going to fall for you any time soon," said Terrance trying to insert himself into their conversation.

"Is that true? Are you really that devoted to her? Are you really that incorruptible?" asked the woman slowly looking back at Nathan in a very seductive manner.

She had raised one eyebrow as she finished speaking and just smiled at him.

Rory and Terrance thought they were hard, but the way she kept talking and the way her eyes twinkled made them so hard that they could have hammered nails.

But Nathan didn't seem to be effected like that.

He raised an eyebrow and looked at the woman for a moment.

Something was really off about her to him and was killing the initial desire he felt as he saw her. His mind had instead switched over instead to concentrating on why that was.

And the way she insisted on continuing to luring him away from Ariel was bothering him. It was like she wasn't use to not getting the man she was interested in to leave with her. She must really have never had a man say no to her before.

"I wouldn't say I'm incorruptible. But I would just say that I love my wife so much that I wouldn't ever consider any other alternatives. I love her so much that there isn't room for anyone else," said Nathan flatly.

"True love huh? I didn't believe that it existed anymore. Devotion and monogamy is something that I don't see often around me. Life is too short to not take advantage of all advantages presented to you," said the woman trying to give Nathan a steamy gaze.

But as she tried Nathan's eyes narrowed as he looked at her and said "Well I can't speak for the others you may have encountered, but when you truly love someone the only thought you have is how to make their life enjoyable and how you can prevent them from experiencing the same pain you wouldn't want to happen to you," said Nathan watching the woman.

For a second Nathan was sure that she frowned for a moment before her steamy gaze was back. Something in what he said must have struck home. So she wasn't above having been hurt herself he realized.

"Well, I'm sure what she doesn't know won't hurt her," said the woman smiling again.

And suddenly the intense smile was back, but Nathan was starting to grow more irritated than anything. She appeared determined she was going to get him to cheat on Ariel

"No, you might actually be wrong in that. But even if she didn't, I would know and that would damage our relationship. I would feel like I was saying that she didn't deserve my best and could hide what I'd done because I wasn't honest or man enough to face what I did because I didn't want to pay or face the consequences.

"And that would change our relationship. Because that would be an action that I would always remember having done, even if I tried to pretend I hadn't ever done it for the rest of my life. And as it stands, I already need to explain to her why we talked as long as we did when I didn't have any interest in being with you like that," said Nathan slowly

"Well, you could always tell her that I saw something that I really liked and I thought I'd come over and see if I had what it took to borrow it for awhile," said the woman throatily as she slowly rounded the table and tried to touch Nathan's face with her left hand.

Her engagement ring that glinted in the light caught his eye, and it equally shored up his resolve. If she had someone why was she trying so hard to get him? Again Andrea came to mind before he realized it.

But as she reached out for his face, Nathan leaned back in his chair and then quickly stood up. He tried not to touch her or let her touch him.

"Thank you for the interest, but I'm very married and I love my wife. And I love her enough that I wouldn't ever consider doing this to her because I wouldn't want to see her hurt," said Nathan smiling at the woman holding up both of his hands to fend her off.

The young woman looked at him stunned for a moment unable to react. She really wasn't use to anyone resisting her at all. No one ever fought her this hard to get away.

"Well at least I only have to kick one person's ass tonight," rang out a voice behind the woman startling everyone and catching them all completely off guard.

As she turned she saw a very angry Ariel staring back at her tightly gripping four mugs. So much so that they quivered and shook in her hands in her anger.

Recovering the woman quickly said "I'm sorry but he is very attractive. You can't fault a girl for trying can you? I promise I won't try for him again."

"You damn right I can fault, and I know you won't!" said Ariel with her own eyes seeming to flash.

Nathan was looking for a way to calm her down because he was sure she was a heart beat way from truly becoming enraged.

"Look, I can understand why you're pissed if it was my husband I would be too. And I'm truly sorry for what happened. I just thought he was just trying to play hard to get to make me prove I was interested in him. It has happened before. Tell you what, let me buy a few rounds to show how sorry I am and we can try again," smiled the woman at Ariel.

As Ariel went to speak again Nathan caught her eye and lightly nodded his head yes at her as his eyes narrowed. At first she was shocked, but something in his eyes made her realize something else was up.

So she closed her eyes and took a very deep breath.

"Ok, I'll accept your apology," said Ariel stiffly as she resumed her seat.

As the young woman disappeared, Ariel looked at Nathan curiously as he watched her walk away. Nathan's eyes narrowed even further as the woman got further and further away and Ariel realized that he was still considering something. Eventually he would tell her what he was thinking.

"Nate, you don't mind if I have a go at her do you," asked Terrance without looking back at Nathan to check.

"I have all the woman that I will ever want right here so go for it," said Nathan smiling as he put his arm around Ariel when Terrance turned back to look at him once the other woman was swallowed up by the crowd.

When the young woman returned, after telling the barkeep to deliver new drinks to the table in a few minutes, without asking any questions she seated herself across Terrance's lap and put her arm around his neck as they proceeded to talk to only each other.

Ariel was sure she did it as a concession to prove that she wasn't trying for Nathan any longer. But the other woman's presence still rankled her.

The woman eventually introduced herself as Teresa Stevens during the course of various conversations and after an hour the woman eventually looked down at Terrance and asked out of the blue "Are you sharing a room or do you have one of your own?"

"I'm alone. Why, what did you have in mind?" asked Terrance breathlessly.

"Well something tells me that you would like to get out of here and I'm curious if we would fit well together. It feels like you might have something that I want," said the woman as she softly kissed Terrance.

"Gotta go, night folks!" said Terrance quickly in a rush as he picked her up from his lap and led her to his room.

As they disappeared from view Ariel turned to Nathan and asked "Ok Nathan spill it. Something about her set off your sense of warning and you wanted her close by. Why?"

"Honey didn't she feel wrong to you. Like something wasn't quite right? And not just because she was trying to get me to sleep with her?" asked Nathan looking at Ariel.

As Ariel stopped and thought about that for a moment Rory asked "What do you mean?"

While he was quiet throughout most of the conversation while Teresa was there, he did speak up from time to time, but not like he normally did. But now he was surprised how jealous Ariel was acting by Teresa's proximity given how she acted with him last night.

"Something was off with her. I mean when she first arrived I was hit by such an intense desire that it didn't make any sense," said Nathan.