by Olivia March
But to Nefarion she’d been…everything good in his world. She’d always spoken to him softly, touched him gently, encouraged and praised him. Her love had been the soothing balm his soul had needed after the harsh discipline his father meted out, after the brutal training he’d received as the prince of his people, and after the deaths he’d had to carry out in combat and for justice. His mother, Aliane, had always been there to balance the savagery in his soul with kindness. That hadn’t made her a good Balruin Keeper, but he’d loved everything about her.
And then one day the Scourge had come. The attack had been unexpected, the Scourge swarming from their ships like so many bees out of a hive. They’d hit the populated cities, thinking Keepers would be easy targets because bigger cities were few and far between, and they didn’t use much technology or advanced weaponry. The Scourge were, of course, mistaken. The Keepers chose not to use such technology because they didn’t need it. Their natural talents held such latent brutality that all they needed was their steel and their gifts. The Scourge had quickly come to regret stepping foot on Keeper soil, and especially Balruin soil, where every man, woman and child could turn savage at a moment’s notice.
But the Scourge had succeeded in surprising the Keepers. There had been a period of disorientation before the Keepers had rallied their forces and fought back against the invasion. But in that time, while Nefarion had been gathering his men, the Scourge had attacked their castle. His father and the castle guard had fought them off, but his mother…his beautiful mother. She’d been out in her garden, as she always liked to be. Aliane had kept such beautiful gardens around the castle, it was her true passion. But Scourge had come across her there. Nefarion had found her, her body raped, and torn, and bloody, tossed aside like a broken doll. And something inside him had cracked and broken apart, letting everything that had been good inside him bleed out, leaving only the savagery behind.
But as he looked around at all the dead bodies, Nefarion realized that he did feel something besides satisfaction and a thirst for more blood. He realized that during this whole engagement, a very small, vulnerable human had been watching his every move. Annabelle had seen him at his worst and most animal, had watched him glory in the killings. He hadn’t restrained himself for her benefit, but had unleashed all the hate he had in his soul on these horrible creatures. Annabelle, like his mother, was a gentle woman. Nefarion saw in her the same compassion and kindness that his mother had possessed. Surely, she was up in that tree looking down at him in disgust. Perhaps she’d even refuse to travel with him any further. Perhaps the lust she always radiated for him had turned now to fear and loathing.
Though he wasn’t eager to see Annabelle’s reaction to the slaughter, Nefarion forced himself to look up at her. He wasn’t a coward, and no matter what she was feeling they still needed to continue with the mission. He looked up and let her see what he was, let her look upon his face and showed her the burning bloodlust that still lit his eyes and coursed through his veins. She was looking right at him, her gaze immediately locking with his own. He took a moment to enjoy that contact, too few people felt comfortable meeting his gaze this way, but Annabelle never seemed to have the same problem that others did. To his surprise, he didn’t see the disgust he expected, or the fear he was sure would be there now. Instead, she braced herself against the tree and then extended her hand towards him.
Shock thrummed through Nefarion. Annabelle was reaching out to him, not pushing him away. She wasn’t shocked and horrified by what she’d seen, but was inviting him to come to her. He wasn’t going to have a fight on his hands to get her to continue this mission. Annabelle wasn’t scared of him. He pulled in a deep breath, getting a sense for her through all the smells of blood and death. No, she wasn’t afraid of him. Instead she was relieved, happy even, as well as…aroused? She couldn’t be. But his senses weren’t lying to him. Annabelle was projecting the same lust for him that she had since the moment they met. His brutality hadn’t changed her opinion of him at all.
Seeing Annabelle reaching towards him sent his bloodlust spiraling into just straight lust. The itch he felt to kill more Scourge transformed into a desperate need to get Annabelle out of that tree and underneath his body. Or he could just climb up there and bend her over a sturdy limb, that was a delicious possibility as well. The fact that his virginal Annabelle would find that extremely uncomfortable was all that stopped him from joining her up in that tree. That, and the annoying crisis of conscience he’d been experiencing that insisted Annabelle deserved better than a Balruin Keeper on a long quest for vengeance. Both excuses were sad consolation for his aching cock. It didn’t want to be noble, it wanted Annabelle in just about every position that the human body could be bent into. He didn’t know how many positions that included, but was eager to find out.
Nefarion gritted his teeth and forced his body to calm. He wouldn’t take Annabelle here, with him covered in Scourge gore and the bodies of the slain laying all around them. Mithrain’s scent was stronger here, and Nefarion knew he was getting close to finding his friend. It was getting increasingly unlikely that Annabelle was going to leave his protection a virgin. Indeed, it was becoming clear that he wouldn’t be allowing her to leave him at all, ever. Period. But he wouldn’t take her here, and not now. He sent his shadows up and plucked her from her perch in the tree and set her down far from the blood and the bodies. He wanted her in his arms, but his armor was coated in Scourge detritus that he didn’t want transferred to Annabelle.
“Follow me,” he growled, then stalked away. She didn’t speak but followed behind him. Nefarion knew Annabelle wasn’t intimidated by him. For some reason, she’d never shown the kind of fear she should in his presence. Even adult male Keepers usually feared him, if only just a little. Except for Helion, of course. The heir-apparent of the Light Keepers felt no fear at all, not even for the prince of assassins. Nefarion would never tell him so, but he appreciated that about Helion. And in truth, if they ever did decide to battle in earnest, he couldn’t be sure who would win, and that was a telling statement. Usually Nefarion felt more than a little confidant in his ability to best others in combat.
Nefarion led Annabelle deeper into the forest until he found what he sought. There was a bubbling stream here, that fed into a larger body of water. He needed to wash the Scourge filth from his armor so he could take Annabelle up in his arms for lightstepping. The idea of soiling her body and clothing with the remains of his hated enemies was not to be borne. It meant a delay in continuing following Mithrain’s scent, but not a large one at least.
“We will be here for a few moments while I wash off the blood Annabelle. If you need to relieve yourself, go back into the woods, but don’t go far.” Nefarion watched her nod, then turn around and head back into the trees. He listened until he was sure she wasn’t out of easy reach, and then walked straight into the water. It was tempting to remove his armor for a few minutes and let the water cleanse his skin. That would feel delightful, he had no doubt. Keepers were by nature a very fastidious species, they liked to bathe and were very meticulous in their hygiene. Now wasn’t the time however. The moon was high and Mithrain’s trail was strong. Once he got back to camp he’d bathe in the lake close to camp. Besides, he couldn’t risk disrobing around Annabelle, he didn’t trust himself that far.
* * * *
Annabelle sighed as she relieved herself, strangely happy to be peeing in such a natural setting. Sure, peeing in the woods would never be her first choice, but compared to doing her business in a bucket that she had to be careful when she emptied, this was lovely. It was such a beautiful night too. The unpleasantness with the Scourge had put a damper on things, as had the biting cold, but Annabelle couldn’t deny that the full moon bathing with forest with its soft light was a lovely sight. As she walked back to the stream Annabelle took time to inhale the crisp air, touch the leaves of nearby trees and just give thanks that Nefarion, and therefore herself, had survived the unexpected Scourge attack. Things
could have gone much differently if Nefarion hadn’t been such an efficient killer.
Annabelle couldn’t deny what Nefarion was after that display. He had destroyed those Scourge, and enjoyed doing so. He’d taken pleasure in every kill, and probably could have taken on way more than he had. Nefarion was a war machine, plain and simple. It should have disgusted her, but it didn’t. Killing those Scourge had been necessary. Nefarion hadn’t hesitated to do what was necessary, just like he had with those men that had attacked her. There was comfort in knowing that Nefarion was so strong, so fierce. Annabelle hated to admit such a weakness, but she needed his help to stay alive. He’d proven that twice already, and she knew he’d probably prove it again before long. The new reality on Earth was that no one was safe anymore. But when Annabelle was with Nefarion, he made her feel safe. Even if that safety was an illusion, she still craved it.
And speaking of cravings…when Annabelle retraced her steps, she found Nefarion standing in the water. He was splashing and rubbing his armor to clean it, but to Annabelle’s eyes all she saw was Nefarion rubbing himself. His armor was skintight after all, and she could just imagine him without it. She could also imagine herself rubbing him down with the water, and licking any lingering drops from his skin with her tongue. With his long black hair trailing in the water and his luminous skin reflecting the light of the moon, Nefarion looked like some fairy creature, a god of the water. He was so beautiful that Annabelle felt an ache in her heart, wanting him so desperately that she feared it bordered on obsession. He’d said he wasn’t for her, and he really wasn’t. But oh, how she wanted him to be.
“Do not stare at me so, young one,” came his voice. That dark musical voice was just one more tally in the column of too hot to handle. It was a good thing he didn’t speak much; Annabelle’s system couldn’t handle it.
“Do you ever take off your armor? You sleep in it, and fight in it, eat and apparently bathe in it. I’m beginning to think it’s actually an extension of your skin,” Annabelle replied, attempting to lighten the mood. Her little joke fell flat though. Nefarion locked eyes with her, his expression blank but his eyes still burning.
“You don’t want me to take this armor off, Annabelle.”
Annabelle hesitated, but couldn’t resist asking, “Why wouldn’t I want that?” Truthfully, at the moment, she couldn’t think of anything she’d like more.
“If I take off this armor, you’ll be underneath me, and I’ll be inside you, in moments. I can taste how much you desire me. Only my restraint and this armor is keeping you safe. Do you really wish me to remove it?”
Annabelle’s breath stilled at the weighted question. What he was really asking her is if she wanted to have sex with him, right here and now. Lord was she tempted, so damn tempted. After all the stress of the night, nervous energy was humming through her veins, begging to be released. And here Nefarion was, basically offering himself to her if that was what she really wanted, if she could accept the consequences. Could she accept the consequences? Annabelle cursed her inexperience with men in that moment. How could she make an informed decision when she had no real idea of what she was agreeing to? Knowing the basic mechanics of sex wasn’t the same as actually knowing what it was like to be with a man.
“You hesitate. That’s very wise Annabelle,” Nefarion said, before he began to walk out of the water. Her mouth went dry watching the water sluice off his body as he came towards her. No, she wasn’t wise, not one bit. If she were, she’d have yelled ‘YES’ when he’d asked her the question. Yelled it, wrote it in the sky, took out an ad in the newspapers, anything to get her point across that she wanted him no matter what the danger was. Instead she’d hesitated, and lost the chance. Again.
“I sense no more Scourge in the vicinity, more’s the pity. Mithrain’s trail is still strong though, and we can cover a lot more ground tonight. Come.”
Annabelle sighed, realizing more lightstepping was waiting for her now. She opened her bag and pulled out her two extra tops, donning them quickly. She then added a pair of sweatpants on over her jeans, and that was about the best she could do with that. Man, would she love a pair of thermal undies…maybe some fleece lined leggings and a heavy winter coat. Oh, and a pair of warm gloves would be nice, with boots, lined boots. Of course, with all that on she’d weigh even more than she did now and Nefarion might complain about carrying her around. And that would be a pity, because she liked being carried around by him.
“What were you just thinking about Annabelle? Your expression was far away.”
Annabelle looked to Nefarion to see he was staring at her, head tilted. It was a familiar expression on others when she was around. Sometimes people spoke to her and depending on where she was with her internal monologue she might or might not have even heard them. People often thought her odd and socially awkward, but really, she just had a lot of thoughts sorting through her brain all the time, and when she focused in on them everything external just melted away. It had been a very useful skill when her parents had indulged in some of their more spectacular fights.
“I was just thinking of how nice it would be if I were better equipped for cold weather. We’ve traveled so far north that the fall chill has become downright frigid.”
“Hm, yes, of course you’re cold. Now that you mention it, I remember that Lady Gwen can’t regulate her body temperature very well either. I forgot humans were so susceptible to the elements, my apologies. I don’t have the talent to create such things, but there is a town nearby where we might be able to find the items you seek.”
“Regulate our temperatures? Don’t tell me Keepers are immune to extreme hot and cold…and who is lady Gwen?” Annabelle gaped at him. Was he serious? Did Keepers need that many more advantages over her own species?
“I wouldn’t call it an immunity. We can raise or lower our own body temperature as needed, however. And lady Gwen is the mate of Commander Helion, who I report to.” Nefarion turned and started walking through the woods then, and Annabelle had to scramble to keep up.
“Keepers bring their wives with them on campaign? Wouldn’t that cause problems? I mean the Scourge found one of the human refugee camps, what if they can find the Keeper camps too? Wouldn’t your wives be vulnerable?”
“First, I do not have a wife. Second, Keepers are not allowed to bring their wives on campaign. Lady Gwen is a human female. Our Commander saved her life and later ended up mating her. He won’t send her to Arloren without him, so she will remain in our camp until the campaign is over.”
And then he kept walking, like he hadn’t just detonated a bomb between Annabelle’s ears. Gwen was a human…she mated a Keeper male…Annabelle stopped dead in her tracks, just staring at Nefarion’s fast moving back.
“Dude, what the actual fuck do you mean Gwen is a human mated to a Keeper? Haven’t you been telling me for the past twenty-four hours that it would be dangerous for a human to hop in the sack with one of your kind?”
Nefarion stopped, and slowly turned back to look at Annabelle. His face was inscrutable as usual, but his eyes hadn’t lost their glow of intensity. For a moment, he didn’t speak, just stared until Annabelle started to fidget and had to fight the urge to lower her eyes submissively. The Keeper was a master at intimidation. He didn’t have to say a word, but Annabelle wanted to hit the ground and hope she didn’t get mauled.
“Yes Annabelle, one of my kind, a Balruin Keeper, would be dangerous to you. Other branches of Keepers would no doubt be safe enough for you to sample in general. But they’d die for the effort, so don’t attempt to lure one.”
Annabelle’s jaw dropped again. That had sounded suspiciously like jealousy. But they weren’t a couple, what right did he have to be jealous? And so dangerously jealous too, threatening murder and mayhem, and Nefarion looked like he meant every word.
“Why are Balruin Keepers different from the other Keepers?” she asked, not wanting to touch the whole threat of violence to her potential but completely nonexistent Keeper love
interests.
“We are the assassins and savages of our species Annabelle. We fight in the shadows, fuck like animals, and destroy any perceived weaknesses in our ranks. A different Keeper could be gentle with you, initiate you with care, make you feel loved and cherished. I, on the other hand, would bear you to the ground like the beast that I am. I would tear your clothes away and be inside you in the space of a heartbeat, and you would get mercilessly pounded until we’re both exhausted and unable to stand. And then I would do it again, and again, and again. Does that sound like what you want?”
Annabelle swallowed, unnerved by the graphic descriptions. How to tell him that it sounded exactly like what she wanted? Being taken gently sounded something more in the vein of what a virgin should want. But it’s not like there were one of those softer, gentler Keepers here. She probably wouldn’t ever meet one, and even if she did Nefarion had already threatened his life.
“So…you’re saying that you’d be too rough with me, but if I opt to try out a different Keeper you’ll kill him?” Annabelle waited and got an affirmative nod. “Uh, ok then…what about a human? Am I allowed to find one of those?”
“No.”
“No?! Nefarion, you’re not the sex police. You’re also not my brother, or my dad. You’re beginning to sound ridiculous. You don’t want me, but no one else can have me. I’m not saying that I’m looking or anything, but what kind of sense does that make?”
“It doesn’t have to make sense to you Annabelle, it just is what it is. Don’t try to tempt another to your bed and everything will be fine.” Nefarion turned then and continued walking away, as if he hadn’t just blown Annabelle’s mind several times over.
Shocked and disturbed, Annabelle hurried after him. She still wasn’t afraid of him, but this new conundrum needed to germinate in her mind for a while. Because no matter what Nefarion thought, losing her virginity was at the top of her to do list. She wouldn’t risk getting caught again, and raped, while still a virgin. At least one good memory of what lovemaking could be like wasn’t too much to ask. And if Nefarion thought sleeping with her was too dangerous, then logic dictated that she find someone else. And now it seemed it needed to be someone who Nefarion couldn’t kill on sight. Annabelle sighed. That was guaranteed to be a short list.