by Lily Graison
The sound of crunching bone was followed by a pain so intense, Marcy yelled the moment Jityria did. She’d never punched anyone before and hoped to never do so again. It hurt like hell.
She cradled her throbbing hand against her chest and narrowed her eyes on Jityria. “I ever see you touch him again, I’ll kill you with my bare hands.” She didn’t care how much it hurt. She turned to Jorrick. “Why is she here?” He opened his mouth to respond, but she didn’t let him get a single word out before pointing an accusing finger at Jityria and blurting, “She’s the one who handed me over to them. She knocked me silly and offered me up on a silver platter to Kr’Atek. She probably set the whole attack up!”
The expression on Jorrick’s face went from shocked surprise to nuclear fury as he turned to Jityria. “Is that true?”
Jityria’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water as she stared up at Jorrick. She made a small gasping sound when Jorrick started toward her. She flicked a quick glance her way, then turned and ran for the trees, Jorrick hot on her heels.
“Jorrick!” Marcy raced after him and grabbed his arm. “Let her go. Her running is all the answer you need.”
“I asked her before I went after you if she’d had anything to do with you being taken. She said she didn’t.”
“Well, she lied.”
“I assumed as much.” Jorrick stared into the trees, his fury etched into every hard line on his face. She pulled on his arm to turn his attention from Jityria. He reached for her hand when he finally looked away. Marcy hissed in a pained breath when he tried to uncurl her fingers. “You’ll be lucky if you don’t have a broken bone or two.”
“It feels like they’re all broken.”
He grinned. “Well, I know just the thing for that.” He looked toward the other females. “Are they all right?”
Marcy glanced at them over her shoulder. “As well as they can be, I suppose.”
“Good, then. Come with me.”
He led her to the path toward the pond and stopped along its bank to pick leaves from a flowering plant she’d seen dozens of times but never gave much thought to. He took her hand when he straightened and led her to the cave.
The sound of water echoed off the stone walls as they entered, the air growing cooler the further in they walked. As it had all the other times she’d been here, the sight inside the cave took her breath. The sun shining in through the hole in the ceiling of the cave made the huge crystals that made up the walls cast shards of shimmering light everywhere. The waterfall splashed water into the air and the sunlight shining through it produced faint rainbows in the mist.
Jorrick pulled her to a stop by one of the large boulders that sat near the entrance of the inner cave and lifted her hand, placing a soft kiss to her knuckles before he undressed her. Marcy stood silently when the last of her clothes hit the ground and Jorrick removed his own clothing. She’d never tire of looking at him. He was so unlike any man she’d known back on earth. All the boyfriends she’s had in the past had always been reserved, as if they were afraid of doing something wrong as they made love. Jorrick fucked like he meant it. As if every slap of their flesh was music to his ears, every grunt he pulled from her throat some sort of reward granted only to him.
But—being with him wasn’t always hard and rough. For all his brutish ways and his physical strength, there were times he was tender and treated her almost reverently. As if she was the most precious thing he’d ever had in his care. And maybe she was. She’d never asked about his life before ending up on Prison Moon One. She didn’t even know what he’d done to be sentenced to a penal colony. The reason had been none of her business so she’d never asked. Maybe she would—later. Right now, she had a very naked barbarian in front of her and she wasn’t stupid enough to spend her time talking.
Jorrick led her into the pool toward the waterfall. He washed the leaves he still held, then held them out to her. “Chew these.”
“Why?”
He took one and put it in his mouth, chewing the leaf as if it were completely normal. “It will help with the pain.”
She eyed the leaves. She knew of several other plants in the surrounding area that were good for various things so, she took the leaves and shoved them in her mouth and chewed. Jorrick grinned as she ate them, cupping water into his hand and drinking it as she swallowed the mouthful of greens.
“You’ll probably regret eating all of those.”
“Why?”
He laughed. “One would have done the trick.”
“And eating four of them?”
He leaned toward her, wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her flush against him. He was already hard, the length of him pressing into her hip. “You’ll feel no pain, that’s for certain.”
He kissed her then, and took his time about it, his fingers tunneling into her hair. She forgot about her throbbing hand the longer she stood there, the incessant movement of Jorrick’s tongue inside her mouth the only thing registering. By the time he backed her up to the large rock behind the waterfall, she felt dizzy. Whether it was from the leaves she’d eaten or the mind numbing attention given to her by Jorrick, Marcy felt nothing but tingling warmth through every limb.
He made love to her slowly, drawing out each movement as if it was the last time he’d ever get to touch her. The unyielding strength of his arms around her and the hard press of his hips between her thighs as he rocked against her was a slow erotic dance driving her toward orgasm. When she crashed over the edge, Jorrick’s grunts loud next to her ear, his hold on her tightened to near bruising. They stood silently for long minutes afterward, neither moving. When her heart rate had returned to normal, Marcy sighed contently. “What do we do now?”
“My first choice would be sleep.”
She laughed. “Not surprised.”
He lifted his head and gave her another kiss, lingering a few moments before pulling away. “I want to leave this place. Take you and Aris and find somewhere else to live.”
“What about the others?”
“They’re free to do as they wish. I no longer want to be responsible for them.”
She frowned. “But what about Krista, and Celestia, and the others?”
He didn’t answer, nor did he have to. The look on his face was telling enough. He was going to leave them behind to fend for themselves. They’d be dead within the week or slave to some creature they weren’t strong enough to get away from.
She pushed away from him and washed the grime from her body, noting that the leaves she’d chewed had done exactly as he said they would. They’d masked the pain until she felt nothing. Or was it disappointment making her feel so numb? Jorrick wanted to take her away but in doing so, she’d have to leave behind those she cared about.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Jorrick stretched out a hand and found the space beside him empty. He opened his eyes to see he’d woken alone. Propping up on one elbow, he pushed his hair from his face then stood, lifting his arms and stretching the kinks from his back while looking around camp for Mar-see. His mate was sitting with the other females, their heads all bent as they discussed things too quietly for him to hear. Mar-see looked over at him, the disappointment in her eyes obvious from across camp. For a brief moment, he wondered if she’d fight him when they went to leave, if she’d refuse to go with him.
They’d left the privacy of the crystal cave the night before and had returned to camp, eaten a meager meal of roots and a few ground nuts someone had found, then laid down to sleep underneath the branches of several low-lying trees. He’d told her of his plan to leave, of finding a new place to make a life and she’d tried to persuade him to take the others. She’d pulled away when he again told her no and for the first time, a woman dared to argue with him. He’d been so impressed with her audacity, he’d let her berate him quietly under her breath until she’d finally turned her back to him and laid down to sleep, mumbling he could do as he wished. That if the others didn’t go, neither would she.
A growl crawled its way from his chest at the thought. He would not leave her behind. His mate was headstrong, but he was stronger. She’d come with him of her own free will or he’d carry her away screaming. Her choice.
Commotion coming from the trees had everyone rousing. It sounded as if a herd of drexun were trampling though the forest. Voices reached them a few moments later, then there were people invading his burned camp. He recognized them immediately. It was the Draegon and his mate.
“Marcy!”
Jorrick saw his mate’s face light up when she saw her friend—the dragons mate—Sara. The two were running across camp toward each other as Toren and several other men came into view. Each of them wore nothing more than a loin cloth and their eyes were the brightest shade of purple, the pupils slitted.
Dragons.
They stood on two feet and looked no different than he did but the men before him were of the Draegon race. He’d bet his life on it.
Toren glanced around the camp, straightening when he saw him. He headed his way and Jorrick met him halfway. He nodded his head in greeting. “I didn’t expect to see you again.”
Toren continued his perusal of the camp. “I had not planned to return. My mate made me sleep outside our dwelling for not bringing Marcy home to her. We came to collect her.”
His heartbeat slowed for a brief second, then resumed, pounding in his chest. “She is not going anywhere.”
Toren nodded. “I told my mate this but she refused to listen.” He turned to look at her. She and Marcy were chattering with the others, twin smiles on their faces. “Earth women do not know their place.”
“I can hear you, you know.” Sara and Mar-see both looked their way. “And there is no ‘place’ for earth women to be. Men are no better than we are. You just need to learn that most of us don’t take shit from overbearing neanderthals, is all.”
The dragon growled deep in his throat but a smile curved his lips. Obviously, Toren found his mate’s boldness as charming as he found Mar-see’s and so be it. If his Mar-see needed to be assertive and think she made the rules, then he’d let her. There was no harm in it letting her think she could do as she pleased.
Toren took in the camp. “Did the one we rescued your people from do this?”
“Yes. His name was Allok.”
He nodded. “My brother’s mate, Claudia, is a seer. She told us of him. She is the one who assured us you were worthy of our help, otherwise, Tharius would not have allowed us to come to your rescue. He is the highest ranking general that survived the wars. He is still doing as he’s always done—protecting the people. I could not have helped you even had I wanted to.” He nodded to the females. “My mate yelled loud enough to rouse the dead when we returned alone and when we relayed what had happened, Claudia said we should have destroyed the camp. That those who remained were not to be trusted and needed to be destroyed as well so, here we are.”
Jorrick raised an eyebrow. “Here you are, what?”
He nodded toward Mar-see and his mate. “I have reunited your mate with mine.” He turned to look at him. “I would ask you to help keep her safe until I return.”
“Return from what?”
“We mean to finish what we should have last night.”
He said nothing else. Jorrick followed as Toren headed toward the females, said something quick to his mate and gave her a quick kiss, then raced off into the trees. Two others went with him while the others remained in camp.
A loud groan and popping of tree limbs filled the air moments before several dragons sprung from the forest, the small orbs that follow all movement here in pursuit. He watched them until he could no longer see them but imagined what it was they saw as they raced over the treetops. He’d love to see the world from above. More than that, he’d love to see his Mar-see happy and at the moment she was. He could see it on her face and he knew, the moment he took her away from everyone that smile would vanish. He sighed. His word may be law but it only took a look at Mar-see’s face to know he’d do anything she wanted—even take a rag-tag group of females with him when they left.
Being so conflicted was making her stomach hurt. Marcy watched Jorrick stare after the dragons. His hair was sleep-tousled, and he still had that sexy half-awake look about him.
Sara nudged her arm with an elbow. She didn’t have to look at her to know what she wanted. Jorrick had made it clear the night before what his plans were and she’d disagreed with him about it. Now, she had another option, one Sara let him know about immediately by saying, “Marcy is going to come to Dra’Lera with me.”
Marcy gasped at what she’d said as Jorrick’s head whipped around. Without a word she knew Sara had said the wrong thing. Tight lines bracketed his mouth and his amber eyes had darkened to the point they looked nearly brown. The dangerous warlord who had taken her from the arena was standing before her and she grabbed Sara’s hand and squeezed with everything she had in hopes she’d keep her mouth shut.
She cleared her throat to pull his attention from her friend. “Sara said Toren’s people would allow us to come live with them.”
“The humans,” Sara corrected, squeezing her hand back. “Tharius balked at the idea but he said humans are a weak species and were no threat so, he agreed. You’re welcome to follow but you won’t be allowed in.”
“Then my mate will not go.”
Marcy opened her mouth but shut it when Jorrick looked at her. A question lingered in his eyes. She didn’t think he’d forcably keep her from going with Sara but she’d given up trying to figure out his every response a long time ago but that look said he wasn’t sure she’d stay with him. “We could make a camp outside their walls.” Her voice shook. She cleared her throat, hating that she felt so rattled.
She’d wanted to go with Sara since Jorrick had found them, then run them off but that was—before. Her life was very different from what it had been all those months ago. Now, she was in love with an overbearing barbarian warlord and leaving him to live with Sara didn’t hold the same appeal.
Their argument the night before had kept her awake until just before dawn. Him wanting to leave this place was a given, but he wanted to leave the others behind. The other females were the closest thing to a family she had now. They were her friends and knowing they were out in this cruel world unprotected would give her nightmares for the rest of her life. She couldn’t leave them behind.
She couldn’t go with Sara and leave Jorrick either.
Letting go of Sara’s hand, she took a step closer to Jorrick. “Sara said a river flows nearby the entrance to Dra’Lera. We could make a new camp there.”
He shook his head. “I will not be responsible for these people any longer.”
“You don’t have to be.” She reached for him, taking his hand in hers as she stepped closer. “On Earth, I lived alone. I had a shitty little one-bedroom apartment and the only protection I had was a metal baseball bat I kept by my bed. I was responsible for myself. Most all humans are once they reach adulthood. Having protection is nice, but it’s not something we need to survive.”
“This is not Earth. Prison Moon One is a harsh, brutal place. Here—you do need protection or you will be slave to any who captures you.” He raised his hand, the back of one finger sliding over her cheek. “Just as you were when I took you from the arena.” The corner of his mouth turned up into a half-smile. He lowered his head until their foreheads were nearly touching, his voice when he spoke again so soft she barely heard him as he said, “I do not care what happens to anyone save you and Aris. Your safety and happiness is all I care about.” He glanced over her shoulder, looking at Sara if she had to guess. “Do you wish to go with Sara and the Draegon?”
He’d only ever shown her his vulnerability once. Him believing Aris was dead had put it on full display and the look she’d seen on his face then was there again.
She kissed him, leaned into him and slipped her tongue into his mouth and kissed him as if no one was watching. His arms wrappi
ng around her felt like steel bands holding her to his chest, his grip alone telling her he wasn’t ever going to let her go. When she pulled away long moments later, she whispered, “I want to be where you are. Here—there—anywhere.” She laughed suddenly.
“What is so funny?”
She shook her head and grinned. He’d never get her Dr. Seuss reference so didn’t mention it. “If you want to hike to the other side of this stinking little moon, then I’ll hike there with you, Jorrick. I want to be with Sara and the others but I want to be with your more. You are my home.”
“And you are mine.”
Epilogue
Six Months Later
* * *
Dra’Lera really was Paradise. Marcy stood at the door of her stone cottage, a mug of tea that was bitter enough it tasted more like coffee warming her hands. The sky was a clear blue with only a few clouds hanging low over the mountain top. Two dragons were circling the wide expanse of the volcano opening and seeing them always took her breath. Today was no exception.
She took a sip of her tea. People were moving along the streets already, the sun not even high enough to chase away most of the shadows lingering over the city. The moon flowers hadn’t closed yet, their curling petals still open, but the day was bright enough you could barely make out their soft glowing luminescence. Not only was she serenaded by the humming flowers, they dotted the ground everywhere here and illuminated the pathways and made it seem as if she was living in some magical enchanted forest.
Dra’Lera was nestled inside an ancient volcano, the ground beneath her feet always warm which was nice now that the seasons had changed and it was getting cooler at night.