by Ruby Storm
He’d told her about love and Kella instantly realized her senses filled with the emotion. She craved his warm touch, she yearned for the feel of his gentle hands on her body, coaxing her to the heat. Her biggest desire was to gently gaze at him across the room and know she would always be safe.
“Down!” Biligan shouted. He snatched her arm, bent it behind her back and forced her to her knees.
“I will not! I—”
Kella’s reply was cut short as a bloodcurdling scream filled the dark night. The hair rose on arms. She scrabbled to her feet as Biligan held her firmly. She fought to run, but he yanked her close, his fearful gaze darting at the dark edges outside the fire.
A twig snapped and his hold on Kella tightened. Marte was yanked to her feet. Both warriors pulled the women along with them as they quickly retrieved their spears.
Another hair-raising screech echoed from the forest.
A knowing smile curved Kella’s mouth.
Jaggar. She had heard his war cry before. A singular tone that had sent shivers racing across her skin when she’d been trapped in the cave on the day of her capture. She pictured his dark features, his muscles bunching in preparation to attack. Yes, he was out there and suddenly she needed to see him, to know she would get another chance at the thing Jaggar called love.
Her brain shifted into motion. She kicked back, her heel landing squarely against Biligan’s shin, but the meager attempt to shake him off only enraged the man farther. He spun her around to face him, lifted his arm and backhanded her to the ground.
His mistake because the action brought Biligan’s devil into the light.
“No one touches my woman!” Jaggar bellowed as broke from the forest’s thick cover. Crete followed closely on his heels.
Jaggar raced forward, ramming Biligan in the abdomen with his shoulder. The force of his rage sent both men tumbling to the ground.
Kella scrambled to get out of the way. The two men were now in a deadly hand-to-hand contest and there would only be one victor, one man left alive when it was over. A feminine scream grabbed Kella’s attention away and she swung about just in time to see Tao pitch backward with a spear embedded in his chest. Crete had wasted no time. Pulling Marte close to him, he watched Jaggar’s battle.
The two warriors were back on their feet, circling one another. Blood streamed from both their noses. Their harsh breaths could be heard.
Kella blinked and missed who made the next move. Both warriors now held each other by the necks, each exerting as much force as they could muster to knock the other one to his knees. They moved forward as one, then moved back, at a stalemate. Muscles rippled and flexed in the firelight, and it seemed no one man made headway against the other.
Jaggar worked hard to find a better grip on his opponent. Finally, he was able to force Biligan down inch by inch until the man tumbled onto his back. Jaggar was quick with a punch to Biligan’s jaw. The crushing blow stunned the man and he lay sprawled out, his limbs spread wide and unable to protect himself. Time after time Jaggar continued to pummel the man’s face, his rage uncontrollable and unstoppable.
“Jaggar!” Crete hollered across the short space. “Finish it.”
When Jaggar looked up, it was to see Kella leaning limply against a tree. Tears streamed down her cheeks. He was done. He would waste no more time. He pulled Biligan upright for the last time and drew his fist back for the deathblow.
One painful gasp was uttered and Biligan stared unseeingly to the heavens. Jaggar’s chest rose and fell with labored breaths as he towered over the dead body, then turned and held out his arms.
Kella raced across the grass and flung herself into Jaggar’s embrace.
* * * * *
Candles flickered, casting warm shadows across the room. Kella perched in the middle of the bed, her trim calves curled beneath her as she brushed her long, damp tresses. Her eyes constantly watched the big wooden door, a door she knew was not locked from the outer side.
Warmth settled in her chest as a smile turned up the corners of her mouth. Soon she would hear his footfalls, and then the night would begin. Yes, eventually they would take their turn on the Seven Nights of Joining. But not tonight.
Whether it happened or not, Kella did not care.
She understood now what the true mating ritual was, according to her Stoneman. It was a bonding like no other, an emotion that joined two hearts and made them one. It was knowing she had nothing to fear because a man claimed her, not in the brazen and uncaring way of the Magya, but in the slow, sensual manner her Jaggar happily revealed to her. Kella still found it hard to believe she might have lived her life without ever knowing.
The door opened.
Her heart beat harder as she pushed herself from the furs, slipped from the bed and stood waiting for her warrior.
Jaggar stepped into the room and as he closed the door behind him, his hot gaze raked Kella’s slender body from head to toe. He took a step, then halted, holding out a steady hand, waiting for her to come to him.
Kella crossed the floor quickly. His muscular arms wrapped securely but gently around her and he pulled her up and against his chest. Wrapping her thighs around his waist, she sighed her contentment. There was no other place she wanted to be at the moment, not now, not ever.
Kella leaned back in his hold, knowing his strong arms would keep her in place. She reached to touch his full lips. Jaggar instantly captured one slim finger and sucked it into his mouth. Excitement rippled from her fingertip to between her legs. A soft groan left her throat.
Jaggar held her tight as he retraced her steps to the bed. Gently he laid her down, and in one motion his hands circled from her back to between her thighs. He parted them.
“I can see how ready you are.” He followed the line of her damp cunt with a fingertip. “Now you understand truly what the mating ritual is. You want this, Kella.”
“Yes, Jaggar. Forever.”
She welcomed him into her arms and closed her eyes as he entered her slick wetness.
About Ruby Storm
Picture Ruby with her hair on fire! Yup, that’s her every morning when she bounds out of bed and heads for her home office. Ruby thanks her lucky stars that she’s a full-time writer and a part-time matchstick. Although, there is a hint of a bulldog somewhere in there, too. Once she sticks her teeth into something, there’s no turning back until it works. Her husband says she reminds him of that little mouse who stares up into the sky at a swooping eagle (this would be the mouse with his middle finger up), daring that darn bird, and just about anyone else, to screw up her day when she’s got writing on the brain.
Ruby loves to write, plain and simple. So much so that she took a leap of faith in herself and quit her “professional” job, stuck her butt in front of a computer and finally discovered what brings her true happiness in the wilds of Minnesota.
Some might think that the life of a writer is glamorous and enviable. This is what Ruby has to say about that: “Glamorous? Think of me in sweats and an old t-shirt just beneath that flaming head of mine, typing with one hand and beating out the fire with the other. Envious? Most times my “new” job consists of long hours of dedication and damn hard work, cramping leg muscles from sitting too long and a backside that for some reason is widening by the week. But I wouldn’t change my life for the world.”
Most people who fantasize about strange people and occurrences are sitting on the sixth floor of some psychiatric hospital. Not Ruby—she gets paid for it!
Ruby welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email addresses on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
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Also by Ruby Storm
Cracked: Prelude to Passion
Diamond in the Rough
Drag
con’s Snare
Essence of Emerald
His Toys
Keeper 1: Keeper of the Spirit
Keeper 2: Keeper of the Dream
Keeper 3: Keeper of the Heart
Lucy’s Double Diamonds
Mr. Fullservice
Payton’s Passion
Perfect Betrayal
Perfecting Pearl
Sapphire’s Seduction
Twilight Kisses
Virgin Queen
Winter’s Rose
Print books by Ruby Storm
Cracked: Prelude to Passion
Diamond Studs anthology
Keeper 1: Keeper of the Spirit
Keeper 2: Keeper of the Dream
Keeper 3: Keeper of the Heart
Lucy’s Double Diamonds
Mr. Fullservice
Payton’s Passion
Perfect Betrayal
Precious Gems
Twilight Kisses
Winter Studs anthology
Work and Play anthology
Ellora’s Cave Publishing
www.ellorascave.com
Mating Ritual
ISBN 9781419945908
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Mating Ritual Copyright © 2013 Ruby Storm
Edited by Briana St. James
Cover design by Fiona Jayde
Cover photography by Syneca
Models: Rodney and Shannon
Electronic book publication September 2013
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