Dela's Hunters (The Harem House Book 1)

by Charissa Dufour

  “Wait, what?” Gareth asked, stepping forward.

  The swath of spears moved, rising toward Gareth’s chest. He raised his hands. The spokesman sighed, finally placing the butt of his spear on the ground, leaning against it. His companions followed his example and everyone took a deep breath as the tension dropped.

  “A few of us escaped Angel’s compound a few years ago. Since then, we’ve been sneaking them off as often as we can.”

  The girl frowned. “Do their mothers, I mean, the women help?”

  “The birther knows.”

  “Birther?”

  Gareth leaned toward Cap. “It’s an older woman who helps women give birth.”

  “Sometimes the birther pretends the child has died and smuggles it to us.”

  Gareth glanced at the girl. Her eyes had grown wide as she spoke, “You have infants in your group.”

  “We take care of them,” the spokesman said. “Only ever lost one, and even the Birther said she doubted it would survive.”

  The girl took a deep breath, her maternal instincts showing. Gareth felt a smile pull on his lips. He liked seeing this side of her. She would make a great mother.

  Her next words interrupted his thoughts. “These men are going to get some help and take on Angel’s crew. They’re going to free the women.”

  A rumble rolled through the group of children. The leader banged his spear against what looked like a make-shift breastplate. The noise brought his people to silence. Gareth cleared his throat, not much appreciating the girl’s flapping tongue. Their plan to attack Angel was still in the brainstorming stages. He didn’t even know if Josie’s husbands would join in. It was rather early to be announcing it to others.

  “You’ll kill Angel?” the teenager asked.

  Gareth scratched the back of his head, unsure what the boy hoped to hear. “If we can get a few allies, yes, we’re going to try to take him out.”

  “We will fight with you!” the boy cried, his companions matching his fervor.

  Gareth raised his hands. “No. No! We’re not taking children into a fight.”

  The kids let out another war cry, banging their spears against any metal bit hanging from their costumes. The volume increase as the children began chanting another word Gareth had never heard before. The girl leaned into his shoulder, bringing another little smile to his lips. He raised his hands again, trying to bring the attention back to the topic. Finally, their leader raised his hand, returning his troops to order.

  “Guys, you’ve seen Angel’s men. They’re dangerous…”

  The leader cut him off. “We have encountered Angel and his men more often than you. We know his compound inside and out. We have secret entrances. You need us.”

  Gareth swallowed the sudden lump forming in his throat. The kid was right. Information was more powerful than any gun or knife. Gareth let out a sigh.

  “Fine,” he finally said, receiving a glare from the girl. “We still have to get more fighters, but when the time comes, we’ll take a few of your oldest to help us get in and out.”

  “And my younger fighters can lead the women and children to safety.”

  Gareth ground his teeth together before nodding.

  “What!” demanded the girl. “You’re actually going to take these children…”

  Gareth raised his hand and cut her off. “You want us to free those women? Then you stay out of it.”

  She stared at him as though he had slapped her. Finally, she nodded. “Fine.”

  “We’ll be back in a week or so.” Gareth glanced back at the other men. They had been unusually quiet. With a glance, he suspected they were against the children’s participation, but wisely remaining silent. “Where can we find you?”

  “Return here. I’ll have someone on watch in five days time.”

  Gareth nodded. “We’ll see you when we return.”

  He realized they hadn’t exchanged names, but chose to leave it alone. After all, there was a chance they wouldn’t return to the children-warriors at all. It would depend on what the final group of men looked like.

  The girl turned with him, and he led his group south again.

  Chapter Eleven

  Dela tried not to squirm against Adrian’s lap. A day after meeting the child army, they reached their horses—still idling in a small pen, eating the green grass down to a nub. On the plus side, she didn’t have to walk any longer. On the downside, she rotated between the four saddles, practically sitting in their laps.

  Adrian’s arm wound around her waist, drawing her closer to his chest. Thankfully, the pain that had been in her ribcage had eased over the last few days, allowing her to relax back into his chest. Truth was, she was weary. Weary of traveling. Weary of being nervous. Weary of sleeping in the dirt. Weary of wondering what the men were thinking of her. And weary of worrying about Quiq.

  “You okay?” Adrian whispered in her ear.

  She nodded; there was nothing to be said. Dela felt Adrian’s mouth draw near to her ear.

  “I don’t believe you.”

  A tickle ran down Dela’s spine. His breath caressed her neck, causing her breathing to hike. Even with the aches and pains of her healing bruises, she wanted to press her body back into his. Over the days, Adrian had come to the forefront of the group, proving his skills in the wild. Though he often bowed to Mason’s leadership, it was not due to his own incompetence. And when he had saved her from a rattlesnake, Dela finally admitted it to herself—she was thoroughly enamored with him.

  Problem was, she had similar feelings for all the men. Lath made her laugh. Mason drew out her passions—not all sexual. Adrian made her feel safe. And Gareth… Dela frowned. She couldn’t figure out why she was drawn to Gareth, but whatever had brought them together for a kiss was strong. She suspected it was mutual as well. More than once, she caught Gareth staring at her. She desperately wanted to get him alone, but her efforts had all failed.

  Dela blinked as she realized they had come to a stop. They were in a little grove of trees, growing alongside a small pond. By the looks of the undergrowth, Dela suspected the pond had once been much larger. On the other side of the grove, she spotted two long swaths of brown grass, growing in such a way that she knew it was in some way affected by something from the past—like old cement roads or a building. It almost looked like two extremely wide streets running side by side.

  A gentle cough caught her attention. Mason stood beside Adrian’s horse, reaching up for her. She placed her hands on his strong shoulders, a tingle of excitement shooting up her arms. Mason grabbed her waist and dragged her down to the ground, allowing her to stumble into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, giving her a little smile.

  “I missed having you in my saddle.”

  Dela’s breath caught in her chest. She missed being in his saddle too, though she would never admit it. Unlike Gareth, Lath, and Adrian, he had no pretenses about being good. His fingers and lips had both roamed. As the memories came back, Dela felt a blush begin to build. She squirmed out of his arms and headed toward the center of the clearing.

  Gareth was already unsaddling his horse. Like the previous nights, Dela began scouring the nearby area for firewood. She found an old stump and began digging bits free, a few slivers received as payment. By the time she returned, the men were scrubbing the horses down. Dela piled the wood for a fire in the way her father had taught her. She pulled the flint and steel out of Gareth’s saddle bag and began trying to light a few dried leaves. She struck the steel against the flint over and over, her patience disappearing. Quiq, or her father before him, had always built the fires. Though she knew the mechanics of it, it had always fallen to the men to actually do the building. Then again, it was also rare they had a fire if they could avoid it. After all, fires were easy to see from a distance, and they avoided being seen at all costs.

  When she was about to throw the tool into the heap of dry wood when she heard Lath chuckle. “So close.”

  Dela grumbled. “Wh
at did I forget?”

  “You’re too far from the tinder. The sparks are dead by the time they reach the leaves. You gotta be right upon them.”

  She tried again, only to receive another laugh for her efforts.

  “Now you’re smothering them. Fire needs air to breath.”

  Dela pulled her hands back and tried for a third time. Finally, a spark caught a leaf, the ember glowing brightly for a moment. Dela held her breath, willing it to come to life. Instead, the little glowing bit turned black.

  “Dammit!” she cursed, throwing the flint and steel to the ground.

  Lath chuckled again, pushing her last button as he knelt beside her and picked up the tool. “You got so excited you held your breath.”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “Yes. You did,” he said as he gave the flint one strike, bringing a spark to the leaf; he bent to blow on it, bringing a fire to life. “You have to give it a little blow.”

  Dela rolled her eyes, biting her tongue to keep from being a brat. He was just trying to help. “Thanks,” she said instead of the thousands of rude things that came to mind.

  He patted her on the shoulder, grazing a bruise. “You’ll get it.”

  Again, she had to work to keep her thoughts to herself. “I’m going to bathe.”

  “You’re going to what?” Adrian asked.

  Dela looked up to find all four men looking at her. She couldn’t read their expressions. Their eyes glowed. Mason’s tongue slid over his lips, while Gareth bit his bottom lip. Lath’s mouth hung open, his cheeks turning pink.

  “I haven’t bathed in weeks. We are camping beside a pond. I am going to go down the bank a ways and get clean.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Gareth finally said.

  Dela stood up from the growing fire. “You think I’m gonna run?”

  “You’ve done it before.”

  “I’ve already promised you that I won’t run. You may not think me worth much more than a sex slave, but I do keep my word.”

  With that, she turned and marched into the underbrush toward the lake. She was being rude. She knew they thought more of her than that, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. They weren’t her husbands or her brothers. They would drop her off soon enough and leave her to her fate. Whatever their relationship was, it wasn’t meant to last.

  After a short walk, she found a thicket of tall undergrowth that blocked the camp from her view. She stripped out of her boots, vest, and trousers. She squatted down beside the bank and scrubbed her clothing. Lacking soap, a washboard—or anything like—or a scrub brush, she did the best she could, scrubbing the clothing against itself and repeatedly rinsed it. Finally, Dela draped her trousers and vest over a nearby bush. She glanced around before slipping out of her underwear and chemise. She repeated her ministrations and draped them beside her clothing.

  Finally, certain the men were being honorable, she stepped into the lusciously cool water. A sigh of ecstasy escaped her lips.

  The men lounged around the fire, each quietly going about their own business. Lath had no doubt the others were thinking of Cap naked in the pond, just as he was. Adrian had already covered his waist with his blanket. Lath knew it had little to do with a chill as it was still hot enough to sweat. In fact, the fire was only there for cooking and after the sunset.

  Lath scratched at his neck, eyeing his fingers. Dirt encrusted his nails and the creases in his knuckles. He grunted and climbed to his feet before realizing what he was doing.

  “Where are you going?” Adrian asked.

  Heat coursed up into his cheeks, having nothing to do with the temperature or the fire. He cleared his throat. “Do I really have to say it out loud?” he asked, his eyes flicking the blanket laying over Adrian’s lap.

  The men chuckled, each turning away and busing themselves with something other than their penises. Lath stomped into the underbrush, making sure to hit every dry branch he could find as he headed away from the pond. After a few yards, he ducked down and began to sneak around the campsite. If the men knew what he was doing, they’d tie him to a tree.

  After a slow, agonizing crawl, he reached the pond. The girl had waded out into the center, where she appeared to be floating though Lath doubted it was all that deep. Her wet clothing hung over a bush. Lath quickly began to strip from his own gear.

  “What are you doing?” Cap cried just loud enough for him to hear.

  Lath yanked his grimy shirt over his head, ignoring the buttons. Before she could say anything further, he had his boots and pants off. He waded into the water as quietly as he could and made a b-line for her.

  “What are you doing?”

  Lath suspected she feared the other men finding them together… naked.

  “A bath sounded like a nice idea.”

  “Then wait your turn!”

  He drew closer to her. “What’s your name?” he asked, changing the subject.

  “I don’t think that matters right now,” she replied, splashing him in the face.

  He took another step toward her, still ducked down into the water to match her height. “It does if I want to whisper your name before I kiss you.” His knee bumped into hers and he adjusted until it slipped between her legs.

  “Lath,” she hissed, her hands instinctually going to his bare shoulder. “What if they find you here?”

  “What’s your name?”

  She turned her head away, and he trailed kisses from her ear down her neck.

  “What’s your name?’

  “Lath. Stop.”

  Her words said stop, but the delicate sigh to escape her lips said, “do it again.” And so he did.

  “Lath, we can’t. Remember the deal. If we… if you… I have to be a…”

  “Virgin?” he finished for her.

  She nodded, tilting her head to give him more of her neck. Lath pulled her closer, the feeling of her smooth skin against his fingers sent another burst of blood toward his nether regions.

  “What’s your name,” he repeated.

  “Dela.” It was a sigh. A sigh of longing, and it, combined with her name, nearly made him burst.

  Lath grabbed her neck and covered her mouth with his. She returned the kiss, giving him more access. His lips spoke of longing and desire. Lath plunged his tongue into her mouth, searching it as if it held her innermost secrets. Who was Dela? What made her so strong? What gave her the ability to be compassionate to complete strangers? He wanted to know it all.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing closer to him. He felt her round breasts press against his chest and groaned into her lips. Dela felt so small and delicate in his arms. He wanted her to stay there. The longer he kissed her the harder it was to imagine her with some other band of men. He could handle the idea of Gareth with her, even Mason and Adrian, but some stranger was impossible!

  Dela pulled away. “Lath.”

  “I know. I know.”

  Before either of them could say anything more, the others burst from the underbrush, their faces red with rage.

  “Lath!” they each called before breaking into an impressive three-way cursing match.

  Lath smiled at Dela, keeping his hands on her smooth skin. He wasn’t ready to release her. To his astonishment, the other men began yanking their own filthy clothing off. While he was used to living with too many men, Lath had hoped to never see so much man-thigh, much less what lay between them.

  Adrian, Mason, and even Gareth plunged into the little pond. Gareth grabbed the girl around the waist, pulling her out of Lath’s arms and dunking her in one swift motion. At the same time, Mason and Adrian ganged up on Lath, quickly putting his head under the water. They quickly released the culprits. Lath took a deep breath and laughed. Though he was plenty annoyed with them for interrupting his time with Dela, he couldn’t help but laugh at their antics.

  Dela’s head burst from the water, a big smile on her face.

  Chapter Twelve

  Dela waved them off, panting from
the efforts of their water play. Though there had been plenty of moments where a hand grazed something extra sensitive, any time one of them tried to draw her body up against his the other three men would intervene, stealing her away. Still, in the end, she was plenty agitated by their presence… especially considering they were all naked as the day they were born.

  “I can’t… I…” she panted.

  “We should check on the horses, anyway,” Gareth said, ever the practical one.

  Gareth dragged himself out of the water, followed by the others. Dela turned away as the men bent to scrub their own clothing. She couldn’t handle looking at their naked bodies. Partly due to the desires coursing through her body, and partly because men were not exactly attractive when squatting down in their birthday suits.

  As the dirt in the water settled after their playtime, she scrubbed at her body, finally able to have a little peace and quiet. A few minutes later, she heard one of them inform her that they were going back to the camp. She turned in time to see one last naked backside disappear into the underbrush.

  Dela stayed in the water for a few more minutes before dragging her tired body from the pond. Her clothing had mostly dried, so she dressed. She almost felt as if the last few days had never happened. One look at her bruised reflection in the waters reminded her that she was far from the same girl, and it wasn’t just on the outside.

  Slowly, she made her way back into the camp. The men had all put their damp underwear on, but nothing else. Their clothing hung from various branches as close to the fire as they could manage.

  “Hungry, Dela?” Lath asked.

  Gareth spun on his bare feet. “Dela?”

  “Yeah, that’s her name.”

  Gareth, Mason, and Adrian all stared at her. She gave them an awkward little wave.

  “You told him?” demanded Adrian.

  Dela cleared her throat. “He seduced it out of me.”

  Three angry faces turned to look at Lath, who was grinning like a fool.

  “That fool,” began Mason, “is the one who you finally caved to?”