CALLEY (RIBUS 7 Book 3)

by Shae Mills

  “Don’t you think you should ask my permission first?” boomed a voice from the woods.

  Hugh and Dave reeled around. Chelan took a deep breath, releasing the tension in her coiled muscles. Then she watched as Dar stepped from the shadows, his shroud and black military uniform making him seem as though he were an illusion barely materializing.

  Seth staggered backward from Chelan, his hand still tangled in her hair. Dave held his ground. “We ain’t got no quarrel with you!”

  Dar nodded once. “You touched my woman. Therefore, you have raised an issue with me.” He entered into the clearing. His eyes burned into the man clutching Chelan’s hair. “I’d release her if I were you.”

  The blonde let her go instantly.

  Dar signed to Chelan in battle language, and she edged cautiously away from the trio.

  Seth moved up beside Dave and whispered, “He ain’t armed.”

  Dave nodded to him. “Go get the gun.”

  Seth moved slowly to the side and then turned toward the brush.

  “I suggest you halt,” came Dar’s low growl.

  But Seth shot into motion, running as hard as he could. Dar coiled and then drew, releasing a throwing knife with superhuman speed. The dagger sank deep into Seth’s thigh, and the man crumpled to the ground as though he had been shot.

  “Oh fuck. I’m hit!” he wailed. He writhed on the ground in pain, clutching at his leg.

  Dar glanced back at the other two men, their mouths agape. With cold-blooded decisiveness, he stalked toward them. Then he halted, and stared at them with a savagery that rendered them temporarily addled.

  Hugh eased up to Dave. “Look at those goddamn eyes. You ever seen anything like that?”

  Dave shook his head. “And them clothes. Almost as though he weren’t even here.”

  “Watch out—he’s a bloody big one,” Hugh said needlessly.

  Dave swallowed in an attempt to moisten his parched throat. “Look, mister. We weren’t gonna hurt her or nothin’. We were just gonna have a little fun.”

  Dar spoke with calculated ire, his voice deep and dangerous. “I have killed many a man who chose to have fun in such a manner.”

  Dave began to fidget. “Okay, okay, stay cool. How ’bout we just pack up and leave?”

  Dar reached down with lethal ease and pulled a combat blade from his boot. He stepped up close to the men and then stood very still. His voice became a deep rumble. “If it weren’t for the lady over there, I would slit your throats where you stand and leave your carcasses to rot in the sun. As I recall, she told you that I kill for a living. If you have any doubts, just let me know and I will go over there and put your wounded friend out of his misery.”

  Both men shook their heads.

  Dar’s piercing eyes looked down at the Dave’s crotch; the man’s pants were still undone. With the tip of his knife he reached for the hole at the end of the zipper. He moved with excruciating slowness, watching the man tremble violently. Then he tilted the knife up and raised the zipper.

  Dave thought he was going to faint.

  Dar looked into his eyes. “Just havin a little fun…” he said in an ominous growl. Then he took a step back. “Now, after I have retrieved my knife, you will collect your friend and leave. Should you return here again, I will not be so tolerant. Instead, I will send the lady away and send you to oblivion. Do you understand?”

  Both men nodded their heads frantically.

  Dar backed up. “To your knees,” he commanded.

  The men dropped.

  Dar continued to back up until he reached the groaning man. Then he reached down and unceremoniously yanked his knife out.

  “Oh Jesus! I’m gonna bleed to death!” the man cried.

  “You should be so lucky,” Dar shot down at him. He tossed the contaminated knife toward the tents. Then he continued to back-step into the bushes. There, with his eyes still fixed on the men, he crouched and picked up their rifle.

  Then he walked back toward them, stopping halfway. He reached behind his back and pulled out a small lazgun. “Should you doubt my career or my sincerity, allow me to demonstrate.” Dar swung the rifle in an arc, high out over the lake. Then, with ease, he raised the lazgun toward it and fired. The rifle disintegrated into a series of brilliant sparks, and then, nothing.

  Instantly, Dave and Hugh scrambled to their feet and dashed to Seth. Scraping him up from the ground, they ran for their lives.

  Dar remained still, his chest rising and falling deeply. Chelan teetered for a moment and then steadied herself. She glanced at Dar, but his eyes were unseeing. She took a hesitant step toward him and then froze. He looked at her, his eyes igniting once again with a blue flame fueled by rage. He approached her, nostrils flaring. Chelan flinched as his gloved hand grasped a stand of her hair. “Did they hurt you?” he demanded, his voice strained.

  Chelan shook her head. Dar’s hand reached behind her head and held her firmly. Then he leaned down, his face close to her neck. Chelan shivered with trepidation. “I’m okay,” she whispered.

  But Dar withdrew from her and threw his thick mane back. His eyes focused sharply on her. He could smell their scent upon her, his heavily muscled body flinching with poorly constrained fury. “Did they hurt you?” he repeated in a menacing tone.

  Chelan took a reflexive step back. But Dar reached for her with catlike speed, tearing the front of her shirt open as though it were tissue. His eyes scanned her for injury. “Please, Dar,” she said, “they hardly touched me.”

  He stood still as death itself, watching her as tremors devoured her body. Then he stared into her eyes like a demon possessed.

  Chelan felt her knees weakening. Though the men had barely touched her, they had intended to do so much more. As the ramifications of the whole ordeal hit her, her eyes welled. And as the first tear dropped, Dar was gone.

  Chelan gasped. “Dar!” she yelled. But he had vanished. “Oh, no, Dar. Please come back!”

  Chelan clutched the tattered shirt to herself and turned toward the tents, but she knew not what to do. Her breathing was coming in short erratic sobs. Then finally, after what seemed an eternity, she looked up and saw an ebony specter enter the clearing.

  She swallowed hard and watched as Dar swung a large lazgun out from under his shroud. Then he withdrew his hood, his eyes having regained their normal glow. He stared at her for a moment and then moved over to the tents. There he set the weapon down and shed his shroud.

  “What did you do?” she croaked.

  Dar glanced at her. “They will have their fun no more,” he told her coolly.

  Chelan shivered. “Someone will come looking for them.”

  Dar began building a large fire. “They will find no traces.”

  “And their vehicle?”

  “Vanished.”

  Chelan squatted down, her knees too weak to support her. She watched him from a distance, too afraid to touch him. “What are you doing?”

  Dar grabbed a large pot. He walked to the water’s edge and filled it. Returning to the fire, he placed it in the center. Then he picked up his discarded knife and set the black blade in the flames. Finally, he looked down at her, his features unreadable. “I am cleaning up.”

  After a time, Chelan pushed to her feet, still a little unsteady. She stared into the fire, the water in the pot starting to steam. Dar reached into the lapping flames as though they did not exist, his uniform protecting him. He hoisted the pot and took it to the middle of a grassy area. Then he turned to Chelan and approached her slowly.

  Chelan shrank from him but then looked up into his eyes as his finger brushed her cheek. The hostility had faded from them, the rage replaced with concern. She dared to breathe again.

  Dar reached for her ragged shirt and took it from her. Then he tossed it into the flames. Kneeling down in front of her, he reached for her jeans and undid them, pulling them and her panties to her ankles. Chelan closed her eyes as he leaned to her and kissed her slender belly. Then he rose a
nd retrieved some soap and a soft white cloth. Taking her by the hand, he led her to the steaming pot. With the heated water, he slowly began cleansing her.

  Chelan quivered before him, the massive man gently attending every inch of her. Rinsing her slowly, his fingers brushed tenderly over her flesh. Then he kissed her again, his lips feathering over her breasts and her abdomen, and finally coming to rest just above her soft folds, where he paused.

  He looked up at her, his eyes moist. She watched as he removed his gloves, his chest taking in a badly needed breath. Then he looked down at the soft golden mound of hair that concealed her femininity. Tenderly, he touched her.

  Chelan gasped but held still. Dar closed his eyes. “They wanted to violate what is so beautiful. They wanted to take what is mine.”

  Chelan reached for his face and tilted him to her. Her eyes welled. “But they did not, my Lord. They did not.”

  She saw partial relief on his face and watched as he leaned forward and kissed her womanhood with reverence, lingering and inhaling her soft alien scent. Then he stood, reaching for her moist body and crushing her to him. Finally she cried out, one quick, explosive sob, before calming herself. Her arms surrounded his hard waist. “I thought you would never come back,” she said. “Where did you go?”

  Dar scooped her up in his arms and returned to the fire. There he sat with her on his lap. “I drove high up into the mountains, where I have supplies,” he whispered softly. He reached for his shroud and pulled it over her as she curled up against his chest.

  “Is that where you kept the uniform?” she asked.

  Dar rested his head on hers. “Yes.”

  Chelan took a deep breath. “The men—you knew they were coming?”

  “The hidden sensors alerted me. I detected them when they first arrived. I tried to get here as fast as I could, but I was far away.” He hugged into her neck.

  Chelan felt his warm tears on her flesh. She looked at him, and her heart broke at the pain reflected in his eyes.

  “I am sorry,” he whispered. “I was almost too late.”

  Chelan shook her head and then pressed a finger to his lips. “You were not too late.”

  Dar took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. He glanced down at her soft, full breasts. His fingers gently traced over her. “Why do they always try to hurt what is so precious?”

  Chelan reached for his hand and pressed it to her fullness. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “But you have never hurt me, Dar.”

  “I hurt you when I left.”

  “That was long ago, and now you have returned.”

  Dar opened his mouth but no words formed. He continued to look at her, his bronze hand highlighted against her powder-white flesh. “I wish I could take you somewhere safe. Somewhere you would never have to endure any of this again.”

  Chelan reached for his shimmering hair and kissed his neck. “No one will hurt me here,” she whispered. “Not again—not as long as you are with me.” And she kissed his lips.

  Dar removed his hand from her and hugged her tightly. “We have to go up, my Lady, far into the mountains. It is not safe here anymore. More people will come.”

  “And then what?”

  Dar became still. “That will ultimately depend on you.”

  Chelan traced his jaw and stared deep into his azure eyes. She touched a tear that ran down his cheek and tasted it lovingly. Then she sat up and straddled his waist, her fingers lacing through his hair. “I love you,” she whispered.

  She did not wait for a reply. She simply reached down between them, her hands seeking out his male softness. As his hands flowed about her waist, she released him from his pants. Then she licked his lips seductively, her gaze never leaving his. As he hardened in her grasp, she rose up and then lowered herself down upon him, ever so slowly. She moaned, his thickness filling her completely, piercing her deep.

  Her fingers returned to his hair, and she hugged his face into her breasts. As his mouth found her hard nipples, she began to stroke him, so exquisitely. “Do you still want me?” she asked in a diaphanous whisper.

  Dar released her breast, his tongue running up her slender neck. His hands surrounded her buttocks and opened her wide. “With all my heart, all my body, and all my soul,” he rumbled.

  Chelan eased down him again, his organ buried fully within her. “Then we go to the mountains,” she cooed. She grabbed his thick hair and pulled his head back sharply. She kissed his lips hard, her tongue exploring him thoroughly. Then she withdrew, the blue flame in his eyes, dancing with passion. She rose up until his steely tip just touched her swollen folds. “And there you will give me your heart, your body, and your soul, over and over.” She took a deep breath, her hands still grasping his hair. “I want you, my Lord. And I want to be yours, and yours alone.”

  Dar sucked in a deep breath. He pushed on her hips forcefully, driving up into her, possessing her innermost sanctum.

  Chelan threw her head back and gasped, her body heat igniting. Then he grabbed her waist, and instantly, she was on her back. He thrust into her again, his controlled power filling her with desire. He kissed her mouth hard once and then looked down into her deep brown eyes. “You will not be disappointed, my Lady.”

  Chelan reached for his hips, spreading her legs wider for him. “I know, my Lord, I know.”

  He hunched over her and responded to her pressure, his entry plunging deeper still. Chelan closed her eyes, his dominion of her rough and fast. She bit into his neck, drawing blood. She saw the glazed look in his eyes, and she smiled. He was as much hers as she was his. They were one.

  Chapter 30

  Over the next few days, Dar lead her high into the Cascade Mountains. Upon reaching a small alpine meadow, the Warlord stopped at last and began setting up their final camp. Chelan sat down in a heap, her lungs burning. “I think this is about as isolated as it gets.”

  Dar looked around at the surrounding forest, the boughs sheltering them and providing cover. He glanced at her. “Never underestimate your fellow man, Chelan. There are very few places upon which he has not intruded.”

  Chelan twisted her hair and then piled it on top of her head. “I am sweating to death. I need to wash.”

  Dar began to peel off his uniform. “You are?” he mused. “If I ever have to go through this again, my Lady, I will vie for your hand in your Antarctic. I have had enough of this heat.”

  Chelan grinned as he shook out his long hair. It was now just below his shoulders, and was once again the beautiful silver blonde she remembered and loved so much. It shimmered in the sun like feathered tinsel, exotic by Iceanean standards and just as alien by Earth’s.

  When he had shed all his clothes, he turned to her. “Come with me.”

  Chelan rose on weary legs and followed him a short way through the trees. Dar led her uphill a bit and then clambered over some boulders. Chelan scrambled up beside him and looked down. “It’s a pool!” she exclaimed.

  Dar nodded. “A little cool, I might add, but you could probably tolerate it for a bit.”

  Chelan watched as he slid into the water, luxuriating in its glacial grip. “I will go back to camp and get some towels and soap,” she said.

  Dar pointed to a crevice in one of the rocks. Chelan smiled. “Guess you have been here before.”

  Dar watched her as she began to undress. Then, from her hiking boot, she withdrew her blade. “What is that for?” he asked with a glint in his eye.

  Chelan sat down and began at her laces. “From now on I am taking it everywhere with me.”

  “Why?”

  Chelan stopped and looked at him. “You bloody know why. Because I want to be able to defend myself if need be.”

  Dar smiled. “Could you have used it on those men?”

  Chelan yanked off her boots. “If they had hurt me, yes.”

  Dar raised his brows. “They were going to hurt you, Chelan.”

  Chelan glanced down. “I could have handled what they intended to do. I had pl
ans for them. But barring certainty of success, I was not going to struggle.”

  Dar shook his head. “You would have had to be successful. If you had failed, your actions would have only inflamed them. And no matter what, you should not have had to endure them. They would have infected your mind and your body with their filth. And those types of animals thrive on fear and dominance. They would have pushed you to your limit until they obtained what they desired. They do not want you to participate as a docile corpse. They want to break down and terrorize their victim.”

  “If it had gotten that far, I still would not have struggled. I would have taken it.”

  Dar frowned at her. “You have been brutalized before, pretty lady, but on the whole you have fared well. You do not know the full extent to which a male can mutilate a female in order to extract the fear his lust feeds upon.”

  Chelan faltered, a pit forming in her stomach. “And you know?” she asked softly.

  Dar looked away. “Like Korba, I have fought more wars than your Earth has ever seen.” He looked back at her. “I have seen how the victors in some cultures mark out their new territory: they do not care if they leave their brand on the land or on the women. And I know it is no different in your world.”

  Chelan rocked herself gently. “Is that why your culture holds such a strong stance on these things?

  Dar stared down at the clear water. “That and so much more. It is a coward’s way of making his point. It is not enough to dominate the military of his enemy; he must dominate and humiliate the women. He strives to sow the seed of his victory in the bodies of the vanquished, just as a fly deposits its eggs in the festering wounds of its host.”

  Chelan looked down at the knife. “I would have used it if I had had it,” she uttered.

  Dar smiled. “Good, my Lady. But remember your training well. Any weapon you possess must be used quickly and effectively. If not, it can be used against you.”

  Chelan thought about her next words carefully. “What would you have done if you had not made it back to me in time?”

  Dar’s eyes narrowed. “I would have made it back one way or the other. On foot I cut it close, but had I known I was going to be too late…” He hesitated. “I would have used a fighter to get to you.”