A Warrior's Quest

by Calle J. Brookes

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  She couldn’t fight any longer. She knew that. She wanted her Rajni, and he was right there in front of her, claiming to want her, too.

  She’d be far stronger than she knew herself to be if she was able to resist him now. Aureliana held out her arms to him. He laughed, that arrogance of his so much a part of who he was.

  His skin was still blue.

  Blue, for the Goddess’s sake. She was paired with a giant blue demon. Or purple. Or red, green, or whatever color he wished. How could it be that way? “I will be no male’s. I make the choice, Ren. Not the goddess, not some arrogant purple incubus halfling. Me. I’m choosing to do this with you. And when the time comes I’ll choose to walk away.”

  “Maybe you will not be able to walk away.” He pulled the pardus from her legs and flung them. He flipped her on her back and smacked her smartly across the most perfect feminine ass he had ever seen. And in two thousand years he’d seen more than plenty.

  She squealed, like he knew she would. A strong woman like her—or like she thought she was—would not like being put in such a position by a male. Even her mate. Especially her mate. He lowered his body to cover hers, and wrapped his hands around her wrists, spreading her arms out to the sides. He nipped her neck and had her squealing again. “Yes, that does drive you wild, doesn’t it?”

  His bite was sharper when he nipped her shoulder. He backed away from her and flipped her over. She was so small; it would be so much fun to dominate…if she was up for it.

  Later; now he just wanted to taste her, feast for a bit. There would be time for games—many, many games, and he knew them all—later. He stroked a hand down her side and watched her shiver. Watched her eyes darken with the hunger they both felt. Beautiful. So different than the Warrior females of his past.

  He kissed her.

  She wrapped her wrists behind his head and locked her legs around his hips. Her hands were not soft; the skin was calloused from her sword work. Why did the contrast between her soft, sweet, feminine body and that excite him so?

  Ren didn’t know. But it did.

  She was impatient, his little gamata, pulling him closer. Nipping him with her pretty little fangs. Such pretense at fierceness, but did she see herself at all like he saw her? Beautiful. Soft. Vulnerable.

  He gentled his hands, so wanting to please. But she didn’t seem to want that; she seemed to want hard and fast and furious.

  She definitely wasn’t untouched. Her hands in the battle that was sex were just as sure as they were during swordplay.

  He knew it was his Warrior blood that made that thought so damned exciting for him.

  She reared up, throwing him off balance. Ren laughed. His female would always be a fighter; why wouldn’t that extend to bed play?

  She pushed against his chest, and he let her, knowing what she wanted. He fell against the pillows, and dragged his female to straddle him. She was beautiful, more so now that she was naked. Why had he ever thought her lacking when compared to Warrior women? She was curved and soft in all the right female places, but she had strength and the toned body of an athlete.

  She was a mix of attractions, and he couldn’t wait to find them all.

  She was not the smallest female of her Kind he had ever seen—both his sister-in-law and the blind healer Bronwen were significantly smaller—but compared to females of both Warrior and Succubae ancestry she was too small. Was that what had him both intrigued and nervous? He did not want to hurt her…

  “I will not break by rough handling. Even in the bedroom.” She used her hands on his chest to balance her weight. “If you think that, then we need to stop this right now. I will not break. I am far stronger than you think.”

  His gaze landed on the scar—one of the only ones marring her body. Dardaptoans rarely scarred. Only the gravest wounds left a reminder. Where he had nearly killed her was the worst on her body.

  He covered it with one palm. “You will never know how I regret this.”

  “Don’t. It happened for a reason. It might not have been a good reason, but it was meant to happen.”

  He slipped his hands around her waist and pulled her closer. Her chest pressed against his. Soft, warm, perfect. His.

  He’d die protecting this female without hesitation. Did she know that? Had he ever told her that? “I will protect you.”

  “From? I’m kind of semi-mortal, you know? Long lived and all that. I don’t need you to protect me.” She bit him, sank her teeth deep in to his neck. Pulled from him. “But no babes. Promise me.”

  He tightened his arms around her, until she was cradled in his arms. He rolled to cover her again. Kissed her again. Gently this time.

  Why did he feel this overwhelming urge to be gentle with her? “No. You terrify me; you are so small…I will not hurt you. You have my vow on this.”

  “I never thought you would.” She sank her nails in to his shoulders. Arched her hips in a way designed to torture him. She laughed. “You know, I was expecting more from a son of an Incubi King. Or are you more Warrior in the bedroom?”

  “Female, I can be both. Sex can be a battle as much as a dance.” He manfully resisted yelping when she sank those fangs into a part of his chest that he was not expecting. This little Dardaptoan female was definitely a stereotype of her race—Dardaptoans were little biters. He pushed her deeper in to the mattress with his far superior weight. He wrapped his fingers in her hair and pulled roughly, exposing her pale neck to his own teeth. He was not a bloodsucker, but Dardaptoan females liked it. He had enough of his father in him to want to give his female what she wanted. He bit, hard. Not enough to draw blood but enough to have her gasping and trembling.

  Yes; he would show her that she was vulnerable to him. Especially in this battle between the sheets. He slipped his hands up her arms and around her wrists. Yanked her hands over her head. Her eyes darkened; she did not like being in that position, under his control. But she would soon learn; he was in control of this. How could he not be? He was Incubus, after all. When it suited him to be. And it definitely suited him to be, now. What would a female like her want most in a bedmate?

  She believed herself to be a strong woman and would want a male who was equal. But she was female, and they were inherently softer, weaker, and more receptive. He shifted his hands until he could grasp both of hers in one hand.

  He dropped his other hand to her knee and yanked it around his back, the move putting her softness against every hard angle he possessed. If he believed in gods and goddesses he’d be thanking them now. The female was perfect against him.

  She kicked the knee he still held, surprising him out of his satisfied thoughts, then hooked it around his waist. That put her in even more intimate contact.

  He took advantage, not caring that they had just started this battle of theirs. There would be plenty of time for more leisurely exploration of each other. But he had waited for so long to have this female beneath him, it seemed. Why would he want to delay what they both wanted playing games?

  He hooked her other knee and pulled her into the position that he wanted her. Beneath him; vulnerable and in a position to receive all he had to offer. And he took what he wanted in return.

  The warrior girl was as active a participant as he could ever have wanted. When they were finished he near-collapsed on top of her, shifting his weight at the last moment to avoid crushing her.

  Once on his side he hauled her over his chest until he could sink his hands in her hair and pull her to meet his kiss. When he was finished he looked at her. Her cheeks were flushed still, her eyes beautiful. Her lips were swollen from his. Yes, she looked soft and perfect, like a female well satisfied.

  The way a woman like her should look—satisfied from sex, not from sparring with a sword. Perfect. Just the way he’d imagined it.

  “You are mine. Don’t ever forget it.”

  He’d remind her of that every day if that’s what it took.

  Chapter Twenty-Four


  What think you you’re doing?” Ren’s words were tight, but the fingers wrapped around her arms a few hours later were tighter.

  Aureliana shifted her arms around Thas. Her Rajni continued to glower down at her. Several of the healers surrounding them stopped to stare at the prince in their midst. He got attention wherever he went; she’d noticed that before. Gaia. Relaklonos. Levia. All stopped to stare at the large and imposing Warrior prince.

  “Answer, female.”

  “Excuse me?”

  He ignored the bite in her tone. Was he that arrogant? He was; she knew he was. “Tell me…why would you be so foolish to bring yourself and our spawn directly amongst so many beasts? We know not who was behind the Shojo attack. Not all of these lesser beings will understand that you are not just servila.” He slipped his free hand in to her hair and pulled her roughly into his embrace. “They will see you as little more than chattel. To be stolen; or just taken where you are. And you are mighty tempting.”

  “Then that would be their foolish mistake, not mine.” Fight him off? Draw even more attention to the two of them? Neither option appealed. “Let me go, Ren. I’ve things to do.”

  “There was plenty to do in my bed this morn. But you were not there when I woke.”

  Was that what his anger was about? Heat hit her face as his meaning sank in. “Isolde…Thas…he was fussing. He wanted me.”

  “You could not wake your mate to tell him thus?” He wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck. Aureliana’s pulse jumped. His grin told her he felt it. “You wronged me, pet. From now on, you stay in our bed until I wake.”

  Now she knew he was an idiot. “Our bed?”

  “Yes. I am having your things, and the spawn’s, moved to our suite now.” His fingers tightened on the back of her neck. He pulled her forward until her nose was nearly buried in his tunic. “You need only tell the servants where you want your things arranged.”

  “I want them back in my room.” Surely he didn’t think things between them had changed that much? Enough that he got to even dictate where she and Thas slept? “You and I…it won’t happen again, Ren. I didn’t want to discuss this now…”

  “What is there to discuss? I have chosen you as gamata and you have admitted I am your Rajni. In my realm, we are as good as married. You cannot break or escape that bond, now.” He let her pull away, but reached out and patted Thas on the rump. “Even if it were possible, I would not allow it. You are gamata.”

  “Not without a choice, I’m not.” Even as Rajnis they had choices. There had been a few rumors and legends of Rajnis choosing to be apart. It wasn’t entirely unheard of. He had said nothing of gamata last night. And she knew he didn’t want that. He hadn’t wanted to be her Rajni. And it was basically the same damned thing. What had changed between then and now? “You cannot force it on me.”

  He took Thas from her and bounced him gently. “No. I cannot. Because I consider it already done. You will adjust. We are Rajnis, are we not? Therefore your very own goddess has decreed that you and I spend our lives together. What possible objections could you have to that?”

  “A thousand!”

  “Then tell me of them, so that I can resolve them for you. Before our spawn here needs fed.”

  He was leading her down the hallway toward his suite. Why had she not noticed that? Was he that much in need of control? “I don’t wish to be.”

  “But we are.”

  “No, we’re not.”

  “We will not be arguing it. You and young Thas will be in my wing. He will have his own nursery, next to Cerridwen’s and Isolde’s rooms. You will be in my bed; where my female belongs. There is no question of that now. Rathan has been informed of your new status. As has the head of your own family line. Both approve. Notice has been sent to all of the lesser kingdoms of your new status. The congratulations are already arriving.”

  “You did all this just today?” She couldn’t fathom it. Why had he done this? “Without even bothering to consult me.”

  “Of course not.” He pulled her in to the stairwell. “I started days ago. There was much to be done, as prince of Relaklonos, my taking gamata was newsworthy.”

  “We slept together. Once. It does not mean we are bonded now. Far from it. I have slept with other males. You were not the first.”

  His expression darkened. “You will not speak of them again. Lest I be tempted to find them in Gaia and kill them. You are mine. None will ever see you and think differently.”

  She took Thas back from him. The boy was wide awake, and seemed to be paying attention to the conversation between the adults around him, though she knew that to be foolish. He was just a babe, after all. “I belong only to myself. My family. My Kind.”

  “And to your mate.”

  He meant it. He honestly, to the goddess’s last breath, meant it. “You seriously think this changed things between us? To the point where I would be willing to tie my life to yours indefinitely? It was just sex, Ren. Sex. I’m sure you’ve heard of it before—your father was Incubus!”

  He shocked the three hells out of her when he simply lifted her off her feet, one arm going beneath her knees, the other her back. She squeaked. For the first time in four hundred plus years, she squeaked. Her arms tightened around the now giggling babe.

  Everyone was staring at them. Ren didn’t seem to care.

  He tilted his head back and yelled. “She is mine! I claim her gamata!”

  “Ren!”

  He grinned as he carried her out of the large assembly hall. “There, now it has been said amongst witnesses—and you did not object or stop me from carrying off my female. You are mine. Mine. And I shall keep you well.”

  ***

  It took her hours to extradite herself from his presence. He followed her everywhere, even on her assigned tasks for the Summit. Kindara was far too fragile to handle most of the administrative and organizational duties of running such a huge conference, and Aureliana had several strengths in those very areas. She had long handled those duties for her brother’s men. Back in Gaia.

  The first place she went after shaking herself free of Ren was to her brother’s suite. If anyone would understand her fears, it would be her sister-in-law Mallory. Mallory had accompanied Aodhan to the demon realm, but Aureliana knew the young woman was very nervous of this place. And how could she blame her? Until nine months ago, Mal lived in a world where demons—and Dardaptoans—didn’t exist. To travel to another realm was something the girl could never have foreseen.

  And to be surrounded by these demon beasts with their very different than human appearances, demon beasts that all knew weren’t to be trusted, would make the often fearful Mallory very nervous.

  But Aodhan had claimed Mallory without her consent back then, too. At the time Aureliana had been on her brother’s side. Now she wasn’t so sure.

  Mallory opened the door at Aureliana’s knock. “Auri? Are you ok? Aodhan is off with Rathan right now.”

  “I’m fine. I just need to speak to you. Can I come in?”

  “Of course.” Her sister-in-law stepped to the side and Aureliana carried Thas into the suite. “How is the baby?”

  “He seems to be thriving. We still don’t know what he is, though.” Aureliana stepped to the window and looked down to the courtyard below. Ren was down there, drilling with his men and organizing them into ten-team security bands to patrol the area surrounding the castle. Her sister-in-law stepped up to her side. Mallory was quiet for the longest time.

  “You’re scared. Of the Beansidhe?”

  Aureliana thought for a moment. The Beansidhe was a very real threat—in Gaia. As long as she stayed in a realm other than her home one, she should be safe. She could live another thousand years before the Beansidhe managed to come for her. “No. Not of the Beansidhe.”

  “Of this place? It’s definitely not what I pictured Rathan’s home being like, by any means.” Mallory and Rathan were particularly close friends; Aureliana knew and understood that. “
There’s quite a few creatures downstairs that would like to eat us—or so your brother warned.”

  “I got that impression, too. Ren threw a fit when I tried to go help out. This place isn’t much different than the sixteen hundreds.”

  “So what’s bothering you? It can only be a guy.” Mallory took Thas and cooed at him. He grinned back, then nipped the finger the redhead held out to brush his little lips.

  “Yeah, I wouldn’t do that. He’s a bloodsucker. Literally.”

  “He’s beautiful.” Longing was in the other woman’s voice. A longing Aureliana understood. “Your brother still wants to wait until Kindara and the others can find more about potential demon-based drugs before we have a baby. But…”

  “But your arms still ache. I understand.” And she did. She’d waited so long for a babe to call her own. But she could not fault her brother for his fear. Dardaptoan females were so often lost during delivery—he brother would not want to risk his female. Not for anything. Many of their males felt the same.

  “Why did you come up here, Auri? What’s bothering you?”

  “Him. The big purple demon.”

  “He’s a bit different than his brother, isn’t he?”

  “Rathan is charm and sophistication coating a male chauvinist. Ren is who he is, and nothing will hide that.” And how could she not admire that about him? He was honest in who he was, at least.

  “He watches you. He’s really in to you.”

  “Is he? Or is it because I am here, and he’s up to something?” That was what had her hesitant. He might have claimed her as his gamata but she knew he didn’t mean it. Not to the same degree that he was portraying.

  Ren wanted her, but he did not love her. So what was he up to?

  “Do you really believe that?” Mallory continued to rock the babe, seemingly unbothered by the fact the babe was nursing from her finger. “Why would he do that? I understand that a gamata is a pretty serious thing over here. I guess he spoke with your brother today.”