On a Barbarian World: A Phoenix Adventures Sci-fi Romance

by Anna Hackett

  Kavon tensed. Hell, he’d hurt her. He’d never been this rough or demanding before.

  “Aurina.” He cupped her jaw and forced her face back to him.

  She was smiling.

  Everything in him relaxed. He’d pleasured his woman and he felt damn good. But now he wanted to take care of her.

  He scooped her up and stood. She curled into him, and he loved it.

  Kavon took her into the bathroom. He set her on the edge of the tub and turned the taps to set the water flowing. He sprinkled in some of the bath salts he never normally used, and was happy they smelled pleasant but not like a flower-laden meadow.

  Once it was ready, he lifted her again and stepped inside. He sank into the warm water and settled her between his legs, her back pressed to his chest.

  “This is good,” she said. “The water is great.”

  He grunted his agreement. The water was nothing compared to how she felt resting against him, sated from their loving.

  “I could get used to this,” she murmured, turning her face into his neck.

  So could he. But it was something he couldn’t let happen.

  ***

  Aurina woke slowly from sleep, blinking at the bright morning light streaming through the windows. She stretched slowly, and realized a hard weight was clamped around her waist. She turned her head.

  Kavon was holding onto her tightly. She smiled. Even in sleep, he looked like a hard, tough warlord. There was no softening of those features, or of the pain of loss that was buried deep there. Pain she could now read so easily in him.

  She traced a finger along his jaw and the stubble there. He was alive. Her throat tightened. So alive. He’d proved that over and over again throughout the night. She shifted, and between her legs she felt an achy throb, not to mention the scrapes from his stubble on her breasts, her stomach, her inner thighs.

  Her gaze fell on the flawless bronze skin of his neck. Her heart skipped a beat. He’d almost died. In a brief moment, all that vital male strength could have been gone…but he wasn’t. She steadied herself. Instead, the gorgeous, big male animal was right here with her.

  And she was falling for him.

  God. A million emotions flooded her, leaving her mouth dry. Carefully, she slid out from under his arm and stood beside the bed. She wasn’t going to think about that right now. She padded across to the bathroom.

  Once she’d finished freshening up, she headed back into the bedroom. Her steps slowed.

  He was awake, propped up on the pillows, his gaze on hers.

  His eyes were gleaming gold again.

  She walked closer. “Your eyes…they change color, from amber to bright gold. I noticed it last night.”

  “The nanami do it.” His gaze roamed her naked body. “It happens when our emotions are running high. We can’t control it.”

  She stopped a few meters from the bed. He stayed there, lounging like some sultan waiting for the world to see to his desires.

  “Good morning, Aurina.”

  “Good morning, Kavon.” She swallowed. “I am so very happy you’re alive.”

  “I’m happy about that as well.” He nudged the sheet off his body.

  Her breath caught. Stars, the man was so well built. His erect cock was arching straight up and she licked her lips.

  He moved to the edge of the bed and set his feet on the floor. “Come here.”

  Her pulse jumped. “Why?”

  “You said you were happy to see I was alive. I want you to show me.”

  She took a step toward him. Hell, she felt drawn to him. “What did you have in mind, warrior?”

  “Get on your knees.”

  The order should have rankled. But this wasn’t a battle of wills for him to recognize her opinions. No, this was something private and possessive, just between them. But most of all, this was for their pleasure. This time, the blunt words excited her.

  “Kavon—”

  His eyes glittered. “Please, Aurina.”

  The words were harsh, rough, nothing pleading about them.

  She closed the distance between them and fell to her knees between his strong legs.

  Pressing her hands to his hard thighs, they felt like rock. As she leaned toward that generous cock, she smelled the earthy scent of his arousal and felt herself grow even damper between her legs.

  Leaning forward, she swirled her tongue around the thick head of his cock, and he groaned. She opened her mouth wide, sucking him in, then relaxed, opening wider for the broad shaft that followed.

  “Aurina.” His voice was so guttural she could barely understand him. He slid his hands into her hair and rocked his hips forward, pushing farther into her mouth.

  She moaned, and under her hands she felt the hard muscles in his thighs tighten. She loved the feel and taste of him, and even more, she loved driving her hard, controlled warrior wild.

  Suddenly, with a growl, he pulled her off him and tossed her back on the bed.

  He spun, rising above her, stroking his hard cock in his hand. Mesmerized, she watched those rough strokes, loved watching him pleasure himself.

  But his hot, golden gaze was on her. Leaving no doubt how he felt.

  Desire was a restless emotion inside her. Aurina slid her hand down between her legs, strumming her clit, her gaze on her warrior. She lifted her hips in a jerky rhythm, already feeling another orgasm shimmering close.

  With a groan, Kavon gave his cock one last pump, then he started coming. His warm come splattered on the skin of her belly. She tweaked her clit again and her own release pulled her in and shattered her apart.

  As Kavon rose, she snuggled into the soft sheets, pretty darn happy with the world. He returned with a wet wash cloth and cleaned off her belly. Then he settled on the bed next to her, gently stroking her skin, like he wanted to touch every part of her.

  “I like waking up with you, warrior.”

  A kiss to her shoulder. “I feel the same.” His lips traveled over her shoulder, along her collarbone.

  She felt his cock press against her thigh, hard and ready. “So soon?”

  “I told you—”

  “A warrior’s stamina.” She pushed him onto his back and climbed on top. “I’m not complaining.” She smoothed her hands over his chest.

  His hand slid between her thighs and she moaned at the touch.

  “So slick and ready,” he murmured. “Do you want me, Aurina?”

  “Yes.”

  “Tell me.”

  “I want you, Kavon.” She cupped his cock and lined it up. She sank down so just the head of him pushed inside her.

  He sucked in a sharp breath. “Open for me, little sunset.”

  “I want all of you.” She pushed down, feeling him stretch her.

  They moaned together, then she rose, dragging herself off him. Then she thrust down on him, taking him to the hilt.

  “Aurina. You know how to bring a man to his knees.”

  She pressed her hands to his hard chest. His eyelids were half closed, and his breathing was fast. Oh, yes, she loved driving her warrior wild.

  His big hands cupped her breasts, flicking at her nipples. “Ride me.”

  She didn’t care if he was asking or ordering. She knew it was what they both wanted. She lifted her hips and then let them fall, taking more and more of him inside her. She rode him with steady, firm strokes, panting as she felt the sensations overtaking her.

  He lifted his hips on a groan. “Close.”

  She felt it, the tension in his big body. Then his hands abandoned her breasts and one reached between her thighs. He flicked at her clit, tweaking in time with her strokes.

  “Kavon, I’m going to come.” She felt the first tiny spasms low in her belly. “I can’t hold back.”

  “Come.” He kept one hand on her clit and the other clamped on her hip.

  He thrust up as she thrust down, and Aurina cried out his name. As the orgasm crashed over her, she threw her head back.

  A second later,
his fingers dug into her flesh as he roared her name in reply, and she felt him come inside her.

  She collapsed on his chest. Under her ear, she heard the thunder of his dual hearts.

  He slid a hand down her damp back. “Mine, Aurina. You are mine.”

  She closed her eyes, and that part of her that had warned her away from Kavon, broke. She couldn’t stay away from him, didn’t want to. She pressed a kiss to his chest.

  Chapter Twelve

  Late in the afternoon, after a lazy lunch with Kavon, Aurina took a nap. She grinned to herself. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had the luxury of an afternoon nap. She kind of liked it.

  Then, she had gone out and watered the plants on Kavon’s balcony, and snipped off a few dead leaves. Since no one had been watching, she’d sunk her hands into the rich soil and wiggled her fingers around with glee. She was planning to ask Kavon for some seeds and another flower box. There was enough room to nicely fit another one on the balcony.

  The sound of a throat clearing brought her back to the present, and the meeting of Kavon’s mining supervisors. Aurina had wanted to join in, curious about how they conducted their mining, and what minerals they mined.

  At the same time, Kavon was off with his warriors, busy assuring all his people he was very much alive.

  She shifted in her seat and felt a twinge. Yep, he was very much alive. They’d just about killed each other with sex.

  Except it wasn’t just sex. At least, not for her.

  “Aurina?”

  She blinked and focused on the man and woman with her. “Sorry, Gadiel. What was that?”

  “We have encountered this rock with the following properties.” The woman in charge of Kavon’s mines rattled off a description. “But we aren’t certain if it is worth mining.”

  Aurina frowned. “It doesn’t sound familiar to me. Could you get me a sample? If Kavon allows me some of my tech back, I can scan it.” She stared down at the miners’ papers, with their very accurate, hand-drawn pictures. She paused and pointed to one image. Was that what she thought it was? “What do you do with this?”

  “It’s waste,” the man, Gadiel’s top mining superintendent, said. “We have the nanami consume it during mining.”

  Aurina sat forward. “It looks like zanite. Tell me its properties. Color, weight, hardness.”

  The man nodded and listed the answers to her question.

  “Stars,” she said. “It’s definitely zanite. It is a highly valuable mineral in the central systems.”

  Gadiel frowned. “Used for what?”

  “Just about everything. Mostly it’s added to other metals to strengthen it. You could use it to do the same with your metals.”

  The man started scribbling furiously, and Gadiel nodded. “We can rework the nanami to start collecting it.”

  “I wanted to ask you all a question.” They looked at Aurina expectantly. “Do you know anything about the mines in the Caverns of Riom?”

  Both faces went blank with shock.

  The man cleared his throat. “They are a legend. The Lost Mines of Riom are said to be filled with bad, unstable ground. No one knows their location.”

  “I know. I suspect Durendal is in those mines. It’s worth the risk.”

  The mining supervisors looked at each other.

  “The mine tunnels are said to be haunted,” Gadiel said. “Old adventurers who risked entering them either never came back…or came back sick or crazy.”

  “Something in there messes with their nanami,” her superintendent added. “It drove them out of their minds.”

  “Plus,” Gadiel said, “there are monsters far worse than the naga in there.”

  Aurina couldn’t imagine much worse than the naga. “It’s the only plan I have. Of course, it will be Kavon’s decision on what he wants to do.” She stared at the papers. “Do you have any maps of the old tunnels?”

  Gadiel sighed. “Yes. They are very old, and, we suspect, not very accurate. And it is possible things could have changed over the years. Tremors cause tunnels to collapse or new tunnels and caverns to open up.”

  Aurina nodded. She wondered how much of what they were telling her was warlord-manufactured stories to keep Markarians away. “Show me what you’ve got. Please.”

  After another hour with the miners, Aurina had a somewhat workable map of the tunnels. Okay, so it was a thousand years old and pretty sketchy, but it was something. She also had a workable plan. There was a closed-up entrance to the mines at the base of the mountain. From there, they could follow the map to a few of the places marked as interesting or dangerous.

  Now, all she had to do was convince a certain hard-headed warrior to give it a shot.

  She made her way to the training yard. She heard the clang of swords and saw a small crowd of spectators had gathered.

  She pushed through the villagers, and heard the whispers of how strong the warlord was.

  “He was at death’s door, but now look at him,” one woman said.

  “I’m looking.” Her friend let out a gusty sigh. “The warrior is a mighty fine sight.”

  Aurina cleared the crowd in time to see Kavon strike his sword against one of his warrior’s. The warrior stumbled back and landed in the dirt. The crowd cheered.

  Yes, the warlord was a mighty fine sight, indeed.

  Kavon called out to his warriors, and with laughs and slaps on the back, they ended their training. Aurina walked toward Kavon, and when he saw her coming he stopped, pressing the point of his sword to the ground.

  God, that beautiful blade suited him. It was strong, and deadly, but beautiful at the same time.

  “Aurina.” His eyes flickered gold, the corners of his lips lifting.

  She felt an instant flush of heat. “Kavon.”

  “You are supposed to address me as warlord out here.”

  “You aren’t my warlord.”

  He raised a brow. “Am I not?”

  That heat intensified. “Kavon—”

  “I like the way you say my name.”

  “I came to talk about Durendal.”

  His smile slipped away.

  “No, listen.” She drew a deep breath. On the way out of the house, she’d practiced what she planned to say a hundred times in her head. “I spent time with your mining supervisors. They’ve given me maps of the old Riom mining tunnels. I’ve planned a route I think will take us to where the ship would have crashed.”

  He made a noise, but she hurried on.

  “I’ve made a list of gear and supplies we’ll need to navigate the old mine.” She dragged in another breath, aware that his face was impassive as he watched her, and she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. “I saw some tech of mine when I got the medscope. We should bring the medscope and the scanner. It’ll make the journey much easier.”

  “I think—”

  She wasn’t letting him dismiss her ideas outright. “And lastly, I have another idea. I think we should get some of your warriors to create a diversion to distract Drog. Keep him busy, so he doesn’t know we’re heading to the mines.”

  She finished and clenched her hands together.

  Kavon was quiet, looking at her steadily.

  “Well?” she prompted. It was best he started all his “impossibles” and “absolutely nots” now, so she could rebut them and bang some sense into his head.

  “I agree.”

  She blinked. “What?”

  “It is a sound plan.”

  She dropped her hands to her sides. “I was expecting you to put up a fight.”

  He leaned closer. “Believe me, I do not want you in danger. Especially now that I have tasted the pleasure of your sweet body.”

  Her cheeks heated. Damn her pale skin. “Kavon—”

  He held up a hand. “But I want Durendal and I will not let the mountain beat me. And we have a deal. Besides, it is a well-thought-out plan.”

  The praise left her warm inside, but as she watched him, another thought snuck in. “You l
et me ramble on with my sales pitch just to humor me, didn’t you?”

  “Of course not.” His lips were twitching again.

  She slapped his chest.

  He yanked her close so fast she barely had time to react. Then, she was plastered against a warm male chest, and a second later, his mouth was on hers.

  She moaned, opening for him, kissing him back. Her fingers dug into hard muscles, and she felt every part of her flame to life.

  “An interesting way to end training.”

  The deep voice made Kavon raise his head.

  Licking her lips, she saw Colm beside them, smiling.

  “Find your own woman, Colm,” Kavon said.

  “I like the variety of different women each night, my warlord.” Colm winked at Aurina. “Although, if I had a skyflyer as pretty as yours…”

  Kavon kept his arm tight around her. “We have a mission to plan for.”

  Colm’s face turned serious in an instant. “It is too soon. You were recently injured—”

  “You can see I’m perfectly healed. I feel better than ever.”

  “So, we’re headed back to that damned mountain?” Colm did not look happy.

  “To the Riom mines beneath it.”

  Colm groaned. “That’s worse. Remember, that damned naga pulled itself out of the bowels of the mountain…and now that is exactly where you want to go. Wonderful.”

  “I thought you big, tough warriors were afraid of nothing,” Aurina said.

  “I am not afraid, Aurina,” Colm said. “But neither am I stupid.” His gaze swung back to Kavon. “It won’t be an easy trip.”

  “Aurina has laid out the plan, the route, and the supplies we’ll need. We’ll also need a little distraction to keep Drog busy.”

  Now Colm’s face sharpened, a faint smile appearing. “Now that sounds like an excellent idea.”

  “Good. You can be in charge of that aspect of the mission.” Kavon looked down at Aurina. “Let’s get the preparation done, then we can leave at first light.”

  She nodded. “Let’s do it.”

  The rest of the afternoon was a whirlwind of tasks. Kavon bellowed for different people, and soon, hargon beasts were being readied, supplies—ropes, food, healing kits—were being stacked near the stables, and warriors were checking their weapons.