Chapter 72

Amelia stroked Rikash s hair out over his back. Just the afternoon before, she thought with sorrow, she had done the same to Nadyr, and she might never have the opportunity to do so again. Both men were so similar the from this angle that with his face turned from her, Rikash could be Nadyr. His hair was almost the same length, the breadth of his shoulders and the bulk of muscles so alike. But the scars were not the same. She could see Nadyr s hand behind the scars on Rikash s back now, the shape of the cuts much like handwriting, unique to the person who formed them. She lay her cheek on Rikash s shoulder and pressed herself tightly against his side as she trailed her fingers through his hair. The strands were much thicker than her own, thicker than Nadyr s, and warmed by his body. His skin beneath was soft between the scars and she followed the soft furrows to where back curved into buttock. She remembered Nadyr s grimace of pain when Rikash had taken him over her the nig