“Kyber?”
He moved to stand beside his cousin. “Farid?”
The green-eyed man silently handed him a tiny comm. device to slip into his ear. Farid was coming along to handle Jana’s parents. The diplomat would talk them into getting on the shuttle with them even though Jana hadn’t come herself. Convincing people was the man’s specialty, and he was more than welcome to it.
“Kyber!” Jana strode into the hangar bay, hastily securing a holster and razer to her waist. She wore the same dark gray tunic, blank pants, and boots that he wore. Beneath the tunic would be a thin undershirt of mesh armor that would protect her from Earthan bullets. She carried herself with the bone-deep confidence of someone who knew what she was doing, knew her place and her purpose. He scrubbed a hand down his face, dread wrenching at his insides. It was good to see her this way, he simply wished she’d chosen another time to be willful.
“Jana, I understand that you’re upset—”
“Upset? Upset?” Her mouth dropped open and she pounded a fist against his chest. “Yes, I’m upset. I’m fucking pissed, Kyber. You left me in bed alone to go throw yourself into a dangerous situation for me.”
“You did the same when you came to get me.” He searched her face, but all he saw was unyielding fury. “I have to take care of this, Jana. I’ll bring your parents back to you.”
“No.” She hit him again, then balled her fists in his tunic and shook him. “You don’t leave me, Kyber. You don’t leave me alone. Not ever.”
The breath whooshed out of his lungs as her desperation reached him. The beast within him writhed in agony at its mate’s fear. But the man couldn’t surrender on this matter. She was too important.
“Your Majesties.” Johar stepped forward, his gaze flicking back and forth between them. “We should go.”
She dropped her hands from Kyber’s shirt and poked a finger in the Guardians’ direction. “Don’t think any of you are off the hook for letting him try to leave without me. Every last one of you is on my shit list.”
A rumble of protestation came from the Guardians, each of the battle-hardened warriors scrambling to get back in her good graces. Kyber’s lips twitched. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one wrapped around her little finger.
She swung around to level a glare at him. “What are you smiling for? You’re at the very top of my shit list.”
“You are not coming. You’ve already tried to sacrifice yourself for me once. I don’t want someone else to die for me. My life isn’t more important than anyone else’s.”
Johar’s voice reflected disbelief. “You’re the emperor.”
Kyber turned to face him. “And what have I done to earn that title? It doesn’t make me better than anyone else. A life is a life. Mine is no more valuable than yours. I have to end this with Arthur. If I could do this alone, I would.”
“But that’s why it’s your destiny.” Farid shoved a hand through his blond hair. “That is exactly the kind of man I want as my emperor. Someone who puts his people before himself, who would die to protect them. You were born to rule for a reason, cousin.”
A muscle in the Guardian captain’s jaw ticked; he twitched his long braids over his shoulder. “You forget Arthur murdered my father and thousands of others who were on the Anshar. I want him dead as much as you do. I’m with you, Your Majesty. To the end.”
“And I,” said Farid. The words were echoed from every person there. Even Bren. Kyber closed his eyes, bowing to them to show his gratitude.
When he opened his eyes, it was to see both compassion and anger flashing across his One’s face. “Jana—”
She sliced her hand through the air, cutting him off. Her gaze darted to the gathered people. “All of you get in the shuttles, please. We’ll both join you in a moment.”
The tone was that of command, of an empress, and the Guardians moved to obey without question. He arched his eyebrows. “You can’t come.”
Folding her arms across her breasts, she lifted her chin. “You’re not leaving me here.”
He mirrored her pose, crossing his arms. “I’ll have you thrown in a holding cell if I have to and barricaded in by a legion of Guardians.”
“If you want my parents to go anywhere with you willingly, you’ll need me there. Farid’s charm isn’t going to cut it, no matter what you think.” She shrugged, her tone conveying nonchalance while the little emotion that trickled through their connection told an entirely different tale. “Sure, you could knock them out, but it’ll go a lot better and easier if they’re cooperating.”
“No.” He couldn’t even consider it. The thought of her within a thousand miles of Arthur or his men was untenable.
Shadows gathered in her gray eyes, hurt reflecting there. “You don’t trust me. You think I’m weak enough to be as easy a target as he imagines.”
“What?” Shock rocketed through him. He reached for her, but she stumbled back. “Don’t you understand? What if something happens? What if Arthur hurts you again, or kills you? I can’t risk it.”
Her mouth worked for a moment and she pushed a hand through her short auburn locks. “What if something happens to you? What if Arthur hurts you again, or kills you? The Sueni need you to lead them. It’s your destiny, remember? I just got you back, Kyber. I just learned to live again. I’m not going to stand around and watch something happen to you. That would be seriously not okay with me. This was my idea and these are my parents. I’m coming with you.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Her lips trembled, and she shook her head. “I can be of use here, Kyber. I can help. I want us to have the chance to bond again. I want us to break down these damn walls, but it won’t happen if you really don’t believe in me.”
“I believe in you.” He laughed, and salty moisture stung his eyes. If she only knew how badly he wanted that bond with her, but even without the barricades, he couldn’t consider reforging their link when he might still die. If something were to happen to him, she would feel every moment of it. He couldn’t do that to her. He couldn’t put her in a position where she might die or where she might be willing to kill herself. As she’d said, she’d only just learned to live again. And he wanted her to live, even if it couldn’t be with him. “Jana, I can’t do it. I can’t lose you.”
“Neither can I.” She cupped his face in her small, warm hands. “We’re in this together, Kyber. We finish this together. Don’t make me beg.”
He choked, closing his eyes as his chest tightened to the point he couldn’t breathe. “By Anun, you know how to cut the deepest.”
Slipping her fingers into his hair, she pulled him down so his forehead rested against hers. “I learned from you.”
“That’s not comforting.”
Her soft breath brushed his lips when she spoke. “I want us to have a future together, but neither of us can move on until we finish what we started.”
As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. He chuckled, the noise little more than a rasp of air. “I cannot believe I’m agreeing to this.”
“I can.” Tightening her hands in his hair, she took his mouth in a hungry, desperate kiss. Then she broke away with a gasp. “Oh, crap.”
“What?” He jerked back to look at her. “What’s wrong?”
“I forgot my mesh armor.” She latched on to his hand and dragged him toward the door to an armory storage room. “Come with me.”
“Afraid I’ll leave you while you’re changing?” He grinned, allowing himself the pleasure of watching her backside sway as she walked. It might be the last time he got to enjoy it. He squelched the thought.
She shot a look over her shoulder. “You said you’d let me come, and I believe you.” A wicked little grin curved her lips. “I just thought you might want to watch me take my shirt off.”
A shout of laughter exploded from him as she pulled him through the storage room’s door and shut it behind them. He couldn’t believe that in a time like this,
the woman had gotten him to laugh. She constantly amazed him and usually confounded him. He wouldn’t have it any other way.
Dropping his hand to rifle through a storage locker, she came up with a small shirt of mesh armor. It was made of the same dark metal as everything else from Suen. She tossed it on the end of a long table in the middle of the room, unstrapped her gun belt, and set it down as well. Her nimble fingers flicked open the fastenings on her tunic, and before he even knew what he was doing, his hands were unhooking his own holster. Her top hit the table at the same time his razer did, and they shared a look of understanding.
It was possible neither of them would survive the coming confrontation. This might be the last time they had together, and they were going to take it. A grin kicked up the corner of his mouth, and he stepped farther down the table, away from their gear. “Well, they won’t leave without us both, will they?”
“There are a few perks to this whole royalty thing.” She followed him, her fingers going to the placket on his pants. One hand opened his trousers, the other stroked him through the fabric. His fingers dipped into her bra, stroking her nipples until they were hard little points. Each sweep across them made her shiver, made her eyes burn to molten silver.
She tilted her head back and offered him her mouth. He took it, shoved his tongue between her lips, and savored the way she moaned into his mouth. Her scent intoxicated, her flavor bursting over his taste buds until there was nothing but her.
He gritted his teeth as she brought him to full, aching erection in mere moments. She slipped inside his pants, pulling his cock free. His hips rocked as she pumped his dick hard between her fingers. Fire rocketed through him, and his hands fisted in the short strands of her hair. Her eagerness, her frantic need shot through their link and made him groan. He broke the kiss and pulled her head back to suck and bite his way down her neck.
“Oh, God, we have to hurry or they’ll send someone to look for us.” The sweet smell of her wetness intensified each time he nipped her throat, and the feline was wild for her, the man even more so. Bracketing her hips in his hands, he spun her around to face the table.
“Hold on to the other side,” he growled.
She bent forward and stretched to grasp the far edge of the table, her body already undulating in a carnal rhythm that made desperation fist in his belly. He had to have her, one last time, had to have this one memory to hold on to. Reaching around her, he opened her pants and jerked them down around her thighs.
His fingers plunged between her thighs and into her hot, welcoming sex. She cried out, and her pleasure at having any part of him inside her billowed through their connection, spurring him on. He wanted her hard and fast, wanted the reassurance of his body joined with hers. He needed it, her. Now.
He dipped forward and bit the soft globe of her ass. She jerked and squealed, and when he straightened, he saw her knuckles had whitened on the table ledge. “Hurry, Kyber. I can’t wait.”
“Neither can I.” And he proved it, plunging his cock hilt-deep into her slick pussy. Her back bowed as she pushed against him, her hips working him as he worked her. His claws dug into her waist as he held her for his thrusts. He could hear how wet she was as their skin slapped together, smell how wet she was, how needy. As needy as he was. His stomach spanked against her ass, and he drove them ruthlessly, pumping inside her until their breathing was ragged and sweat beaded on every inch of bare skin. Anun, he was going to come, she got to him that fast. But he was taking her with him into the madness, the rush of ecstasy sweeping from him to her made her sob. He moved one hand around to flick a single claw over her hard clit, and she jolted beneath him.
“Oh, God. Kyber, Kyber, yes! Just like oooh.” He heard her nails rake against the table, her hips heaving upward as she took him as deep inside her as she could and came hard. Her inner muscles squeezed him so tight he groaned, wondering if a man could die of such intense pleasure. Her ecstasy came spiraling through their connection, slammed into him, and shoved him hard and fast into his own orgasm.
His cum burst into her, and he filled her, plunging deep and loving the rough friction. She whimpered and came for him again, her walls closing around him in rhythmic pulses that matched the satisfaction echoing in their minds. He threw his head back, clenched his jaw to keep a wild roar in, and hissed between his fangs as his orgasm dragged everything out of him.
Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her back against him and buried his nose in her soft hair. He held her tight and prayed harder than he ever had in his life that she made it through this. He didn’t bother with pleas for himself. All his hopes and dreams for the future rested in this slim woman’s hands. Without her, there was nothing.
He loved her more now than he had ever imagined possible.
6
Arthur was there, Kyber could smell him.
The ships had started taking heavy fire before they were anywhere near the ground. The fighter wings had their hands full dealing with the planes and helicopters Arthur had waiting for them. The shuttle jolted and spun midair as the pilot dodged missiles. More than one of the Guardians had turned green at the constant roll of the aircraft. Jana’s fingers were white-knuckled where she gripped her seat’s harness.
His heart hammered in his chest, and he asked himself for the millionth time how he’d been talked into bringing his One along on this trip. She should be safe aboard the Vishra, not landing in the middle of a battlefield. They’d gotten no more than a single raised eyebrow from Johar on why it had taken them so long to climb aboard the shuttle, but no doubt even a Kin could scent the sex on them. He gazed at Jana now, saw her jaw was clenched tight, her lips set in a stubborn line.
A concussive boom just outside the shuttle made his sensitive ears pop. He hissed as alarms blared in the small interior. The pilot yelled from the cockpit, “Everyone hold tight! We’re landing, but it’s going to be a rough drop.”
As long as we hit the ground in one piece, I’ll be happy. Kyber made his mental voice sotto voce. The Guardians around him chuckled, grateful for the release in tension.
“Arthur’s evacuated the town, so there are no civilians here.” Bren’s voice came through their ear comms., broadcasting from the second shuttle. “But some of those guys in uniform are working with us to defeat Arthur, so do your best not to kill anyone that doesn’t try to kill you first.”
Jana reached up and cued her comm. “My parents?”
“They’re still here.” Bren hesitated for a long moment as though bracing to give bad news. “He’s keeping them as bait.”
Assuming he was keeping them alive at all. No one said those words, but they all finished the thought themselves. Kyber pulled out his razer, flipping the setting to full charge. A silent Johar calmly pulled out an enormous razer rifle and charged it. The static was enough to raise the hairs on the back of Kyber’s arms. Every other Guardian followed their lead, and the shuttle was soon filled with the sound of loading weapons.
He worked hard to steady his breath, to rein in the eager feline that wanted to hunt and kill its enemies. Soon, he promised himself and the beast. Glancing over, he saw that Jana had her weapon drawn as well. She met his gaze, terror and rage roiling like dark clouds in her eyes. He nodded, wanting to assure her he understood, but there was no time to talk now. They would have to save that for later.
If there was a later.
The shuttle jolted sideways, throwing everyone against their harnesses, and metal squealed as they bounced over rocky ground, but they were down. The door hissed as it opened, and everyone rose to ready themselves for the attack they knew was coming. Anticipation roared in Kyber’s veins and his hand tightened on his razer.
Johar nodded to two Guardians, who slipped from the shuttle, silent as spirits. Two more Guardians took up positions on either side of Jana, and Kyber recognized them as Natheem and Dhalesh. The Kinsmen smiled grimly. Johar swung in beside Kyber. The remaining Guardians would ensure the safety of the shuttle. It did them no g
ood to accomplish their mission if they had no way to leave once it was done.
As soon as they hit the open air, Kyber’s psychic powers went dead. Arthur had obviously refined his white noise makers. Where before, Kyber had only been numbed, now it was as if the ability had been completely cut away. The beast rose greedily to the surface, always wanting to break free. He could smell the stench of Arthur. He didn’t need the psychic side to know the man lay in wait, a serpent in the grass.
“This way.” He pointed his razer to the left of the shuttle.
Jana’s hand touched his back. “That’s the way to my parents’ house. Two blocks up, three to the left.”
He nodded to indicate he’d heard her, and let Johar lead the way. Kyber’s cat’s eyes adjusted to the night, and he could see every detail clearly. His senses went on alert, taking in everything. The rattle of a bush from the breeze, the distant thunder of fighter wings that vibrated through his body, and streaks of orange flames and blue lasers trailed across in the sky as each side fired at the other. He wished his men well.
They’d gone no more than three of the five blocks they needed to go before they were engaged by enemies. Chaos unleashed around them as each side opened fire.
Blue lasers from the Sueni weapons lit the dark streets of the quiet little town. Men screamed, Kyber smelled death. Jana’s slim body tucked in behind him as they crouched against a brick building. She aimed and squeezed the trigger of her razer, her shoulders rocking back each time a laser burst from the muzzle.
Natheem went down, a bullet ripping through his throat. He was gone before he hit the ground, his warm blood spraying over Kyber’s face and chest. Fury pumped through him at the loss of one of his men, but there was no time to grieve. He wanted to tuck the emotion away, lock it tight within him, but the beast wouldn’t allow it. It had control, and it fed on the full brunt of fury.
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