Dark Thoughts

by Cynthia Sax

  Logic told him that should happen. His nanohumanics had healed the rest of her. The blood transfusion should allow them to live inside her forever, replicating, growing stronger.

  But that was a guess. Kralj had never fed another being his blood. He didn’t know what would occur.

  His uncertainty must have shown in his eyes.

  “If I don’t heal, don’t blame yourself.” Dita’s voice was soft with understanding. “You did your best, gave me more moments of living, another chance to see your handsome face, to hear your voice, to touch you. When I was fighting, I only had one regret—that I had never told you I loved you. You gave me that gift.”

  “You won’t die.” He’d pour the last drop of his blood into her, drain himself dry before he allowed that to happen.

  “Kralj—”

  “You will survive this.” He tightened his grip on the dagger’s hilt. “Look at me, little one.”

  Her gaze locked with his.

  He pulled. A thousand points of light exploded in Dita’s blue eyes. Her spine straightened. Her scream bounced off the walls of the crater, the sound tearing him emotionally to strips.

  “It’s done.” Kralj licked her blood off the blade. The taste of her coated his tongue. He flung the dagger away from him, drew her onto his lap, and wrapped his body around hers, trying to give her his strength. “You’re all right.” He said that for her and for himself.

  Dita clutched his arms, her tiny form shuddering, her breathing ragged, painful to hear yet also reassuring. His little female lived. She had survived her solo adventure.

  It would be her last one. He would never let her out of his sight again. Where she went, he went. She was too valuable to him, too much his.

  Kralj held her while she healed. Dita maintained his gaze, never looking away. It was as though she drew power from her connection with him.

  “Let’s not do that again.” Her voice was hoarse. “I can think of much more pleasurable ways to pass the time.”

  Only his female would joke about almost dying.

  “No one will ever harm you again.” Kralj no longer regretted having his powers. He’d need all of them to protect his reckless female.

  “Ahhh…” Her eyes sparkled. “That must mean I’m not being reprimanded for this.”

  “No one other than me will ever harm you.” He forced himself to be stern. “You’re being reprimanded. Harshly. When we return home, I’m applying my right hand to your backside. You won’t be able to sit down for ten planet rotations.”

  “Oh.” Her sigh contained more contentment than distress. “We have to retrieve the battle-axe you gave me first. I left it in a bearded male’s gut.”

  “I’ll have a new battle-axe crafted for you.” He’d replace all of her weapons. His little assassin would have the best of everything.

  “There’s no rush to replace it.” Dita’s lips quirked upward. “I never thought I’d say this but I’ve killed enough beings for one planet rotation.”

  He had killed enough beings also. Kralj’s gaze drifted to the pools of darkness next to them. They were all that was left of the males who’d attacked her. “I saw some of your handiwork. My beast was pleased.”

  “Your beast would have enjoyed itself.” Her grin stretched from ear to ear. “I had fun…up to a point.” Her smile dimmed. “I would have had more fun if you’d been by my side.” She wiggled. “I like hunting with you.”

  He liked hunting with her also. Kralj reclined on the sand. He turned her to face him, layering her body over his.

  She sighed with happiness, parted his coat and snuggled against his bare chest, her breath caressing his skin. He stroked her curls, her back.

  There were rips in the back of her body covering, those wounds thankfully healed. She’d been beaten and battered yet she hadn’t lost her resilience, her sense of humor.

  “I don’t merely care for you, little one.” He told her softly. “I love you. More than my rules, more than the Refuge, more than anything in this universe.”

  “You left the Refuge.” She lifted her head, her eyes widening. “You never leave it.”

  “For you, I would always leave it.” He played with one of her curls, pulling on it, watching it spring back in place. “We can rebuild the settlement. There’s no replacing you.”

  “That’s because I’m unique. I’m not a normal female.” Judging by her happy expression, that no longer bothered her.

  “Nothing about you is normal.” He drifted one of his fingers over her upturned nose. “That includes the love I feel for you. There will never be a male who loves his female as much as I love you. My power is yours to wield. My monstrous heart and my beastly soul belong to you.”

  “I adore your monstrous heart and your beastly soul.” Dita nipped at his fingertip. “I love all of you, the good, the deadly, the civilized, the savage.”

  Kralj’s beast purred with happiness, rolling over on its back. Her words were an emotional belly rub, taming the primitive parts of him.

  Dita’s inner musings, however, must have been less peaceful. Her head tilted to the right.

  Kralj silently groaned. She often did that before suggesting a reckless, certain-to-be-deadly course of action.

  She’d involve him in that wild plan because he wasn’t leaving her side. That was the price of loving her, a fee he’d happily pay over and over again.

  “You said we could rebuild the settlement.” She frowned. “Will we have to do that?”

  “It’s a possibility.” Kralj shrugged, trying not to think about that. “The Refuge is outside my range.” He couldn’t monitor it from here. It could be serene or in chaos. “I don’t know its state.”

  “And that bothers you.” Her eyes gleamed.

  He said nothing because it did bother him.

  She kissed his chest. “Let’s go home, handsome.”

  Home. He had a home and a mate who loved him. Kralj leapt to his feet, taking his little assassin with him.

  He was the luckiest monster alive.

  Chapter Eighteen

  They didn’t have to rebuild the Refuge.

  Dita had seen the apprehension in Kralj’s eyes as they’d approached its walls. But the settlement had been as calm as it could be.

  The beings waiting to pass through its gates hadn’t protested their temporary delay. Warriors hadn’t attacked, seeking to topple the Refuge’s Ruler. Not one resident had rebelled.

  No one, other than his males, had realized Kralj had been gone.

  That irked her proud male, a reaction Dita found amusing. “See? Nothing happened. You can leave the settlement.”

  “We’re never leaving the Refuge again.” Kralj scowled at her as he carried her into the medic bay. “There’s no need.”

  “Because this is our home,” she murmured.

  “This is our home,” he confirmed as they entered Azalea’s private chamber.

  The young female slept. A covering cloth was tucked around her slim form. She looked delicate, small, peaceful and Dita made no attempt to speak to her, to touch her.

  Azalea’s body and mind needed the rest to recover. Seeing her, confirming she lived was enough to calm Dita, to reassure her that Sari hadn’t died in vain.

  Hulagu sat by Azalea’s side. “She’s strong and survived. Thank the stars.” His gaze didn’t move from the young female’s bruised face. “But I should have been with her. I should have put her first.”

  “You can’t change the past.” Kralj’s tone was brusque. “Focus on the future.”

  “My future is with her. I’m never leaving her side.” Hulagu’s declaration held the strength of a vow. “I’ll protect her with my life if I have to.”

  “If you stay within the Refuge, that sacrifice won’t be necessary.” Kralj’s fingers splayed over Dita’s ass. “Your gerel will have my protection also. No one would dare harm her.”

  Dita stared at him. Since the moment they had met, he’d been adamant about residents fending for themselves, abou
t not involving himself in their business. As long as his rules were followed, their dealings were none of his concern, he’d told her.

  Why was he extending his protection now to Azalea?

  Kralj met her gaze and Dita read the answer in his eyes. He was doing this for her. She glowed, touched by his actions. Her male was breaking all of his rules to make her happy.

  “I can protect my own gerel.” Hulagu wasn’t as appreciative of the gift.

  “And I can protect my own mate.” Kralj countered in a way that preserved the young warrior’s pride. “Yet I’ve erected high walls around our domicile and have surrounded myself with the best warriors in the universe, warriors who will safeguard my mate as though she was their own.”

  She could also protect herself. Dita kept that insight to herself because Azalea couldn’t do the same. Not yet.

  “You don’t have to make your decision now. Talk it over with your gerel.” Kralj motioned toward the sleeping girl. “But know if you stay, I expect your loyalty. You will report to me, train intensely, follow my orders without question.”

  Hulagu turned his head. His brown eyes were tinged with red. Dita’s heart twisted. The warrior had been crying.

  “I would be part of your team?” he asked.

  Kralj nodded.

  “I will always place my gerel first, putting her above all others.” The young warrior’s chin lifted. “You are a skilled leader but she is the light to my darkness. I love her with everything I am and cannot live without her.”

  “I would never ask you to live without her.” Kralj glanced at Dita. “A gerel, a mate is an extension of our own being. To be disloyal to her is to be disloyal to ourselves.” He paused. “Consider the offer, warrior.”

  He hefted Dita over his right shoulder, turned and strode out of the medic bay.

  “Thank you,” she whispered against his back.

  “He’ll be a great warrior… some planet rotation in the far, far future.” Kralj’s voice was gruff.

  He carried her to their domicile. They strode through the doorway. Dita glanced around them. Patrons gambled, drank, fondled the breeding females. Everything was reassuringly the same.

  “As there were no consequences to us leaving the Refuge.” Dita watched Kralj’s coat swirl around his big boots as he walked through the public chambers. “There’s no need to reprimand me.”

  “There’s a need, little one.” Kralj patted her ass.

  She frowned.

  There was no reason for him to be gentle with her. She was completely healed. Energy zipped through her form, pulsed in her veins.

  And, emotionally, she required more than a pat on the ass. She had lost a friend and had almost died. Dita craved a mind-cleansing, soul-purging rough fuck with her savage male.

  She knew how to get one.

  “If there had been ten fewer males, I think I could have defeated them.” She deliberately taunted him with that boast. “At sunrise, I’ll gather some of the best warriors in the universe and test my skills.”

  “There will be no testing of your skills.” Kralj slapped her ass harder.

  She felt the contact through her body covering. It was good but could be better. “It would be hand-to-hand combat only.”

  He kicked open the doors to their private chambers. “There will be no hand-to-hand combat.” His palm connected solidly with her backside and she jerked, surprised and pleased by his reaction. “There will be no combat of any kind.” He smacked her again, thrillingly hard.

  She could take more than that. “But—”

  “No.” Kralj sat on the edge of the sleeping support, drew her over his knee, and cuffed her wiggling ass. “No.” Smack. “No.” Smack. “No.” Smack. He slowed.

  Dita didn’t want the punishment to end. “But—”

  “No.” He spanked her again and again. Tears streamed down her cheeks. The burn spread over her body, lighting fires within her. Her pussy dripped. Her breasts ached.

  Her dominant male was as turned on by the reprimand as she was. The bulge in his ass coverings pushed against her. His breathing was strained. She lifted into his hand, offering more of her to punish.

  “You will not take unnecessary risks with your life.” His voice was terse with emotion. “I won’t tolerate that.”

  He worried about her, cared about her. She heard that in his words.

  “Yes, sir.” Dita floated, her head fuzzy.

  He spanked her once, twice, three more times, then rubbed her curves, dipping his fingers between her legs, heightening the pleasure, extending the pain. “Did I hurt you?”

  “Not enough,” she mumbled.

  His chest shook. “You would test the patience of a rock.” Kralj flipped her over, handling her as though she weighed nothing. “You’re too reckless, little one.” He stroked his thumbs over her cheeks. “Some planet rotation, you’ll push yourself too far.”

  She gazed up at him, feeling the tenderness in his touch, seeing the love in his eyes. “And you’ll be there to save me.” Dita summoned a smile, her ass on fire. “Like you did this planet rotation.” She cupped his cheek.

  Kralj pressed his face into her palm. “I wasn’t there soon enough.” He removed her boots, pulled the tattered and stained body covering off her. “You were injured.”

  And her overly responsible male blamed himself for that.

  He and Hulagu, his young protégé, were alike in many ways.

  “I was injured.” She wouldn’t insult Kralj’s intelligence by claiming she hadn’t been hurt. “But you healed all of my wounds and I survived.”

  “Hmmm…” He slid his hands over her neck, shoulders, chest, stomach, moving lower, inspecting every part of her, his perusal exciting her. She spread her legs and pushed her hips upward, silently asking for his fingers on her pussy.

  Kralj’s eyes glittered. He deliberately avoided that part of her.

  She huffed with frustration. “It’s a dangerous universe. I will incur injuries again.”

  “No, you won’t.” His voice was firm with certainty. He wiggled her toes, one by one. “I’ll ensure you’re not harmed.”

  “You’ll be the beast protecting me in my dreams.” Dita twisted the words he’d once told her. “The comfort I feel in the dark, the warm breath wafting over the back of my neck telling me I’m never alone.” She smiled at him. “You’re a monster and you’re mine.”

  “I’m yours.” He turned her onto her stomach, glided his palms along her body. She twitched as he squeezed her burning ass. “And you’re mine. You will obey me.”

  “Or you’ll ravish my mouth?” She kicked backward, wanting that punishment.

  “I’ll show you what I’ll do.” He picked her up, lifting her high in the air, and tossed her behind him.

  Dita instinctively reacted to what her assassin mind perceived as an attack. She curled into a ball and tumbled onto the sleeping support, coming to a stop in a crouched position, her arms raised to defend herself.

  Her heart pounded. Her body, already aroused by the spanking, pulsed even more.

  Kralj stood. His lips twitched. “You can’t defeat me, my little assassin.” He shrugged out of his coat. The leather fell to the floor, revealing golden skin, delineated muscle, his pecs flat, his abs sculpted. The scars on his shoulder, his biceps, were proof of his power, his ability to survive, to conquer.

  He was right. She’d never defeat him but she would spend all of her now long lifespan testing herself against him. That challenge thrilled her. “You’ll be the first one to come.”

  “You’ll come twice before I do.” Kralj kicked off his boots. “But only because I allow that.” He unfastened his ass coverings slowly, revealing more and more of his long, thick cock. “I control when you find release. Your orgasms belong to me.”

  “Do they?” She wet her bottom lip with her tongue, her need for him escalating.

  His cock bobbed. “They do.” He stripped faster. “Move over.” Kralj pushed her to the far side of the sleeping su
pport. The friction against her skin titillated her.

  She was in a bad way.

  And judging by his smug expression, Kralj knew it. He reclined, lying flat on his back.

  Dita’s blood raced. She’d ride him. He was giving her that control over him. She trembled with anticipation, with wanting, with a yearning impossible to deny, the pressure inside her building. “Sir?”

  “Come here.” Kralj patted his thighs.

  “You don’t have to issue that order twice.” She straddled him, eager for the contact.

  “If only that were true of all orders I give you.” He grabbed her legs and pulled her snug against his cock, her pussy lips hugging his shaft.

  She inhaled sharply, her form shaking with pleasure. He was warm and rigid and pressing against all the right places.

  “Work me, little one.” Kralj gripped her hips, coaxed her to move against him.

  She undulated, slicking his cock with her juices, making him glisten. A drop of pre-cum already formed on his tip.

  “If I work you, you’ll come first.” It was an empty warning. She was one stroke of a finger away from fulfillment.

  “You’re coming now.” His eyes gleamed with erotic intent.

  Dita froze in place, mentally bracing for his sensuous attack. She wouldn’t help him win the challenge. “That’s not happ—”

  Kralj forced her to move, grinding her beleaguered ass against his unrelenting thighs and she gritted her teeth, unable to stop him, his strength far superior to hers.

  Her hips were swiveled once, twice, the pain exquisite, intense. It was too much, too good, but she could resist it. She could—

  He bucked upward.

  Dita broke, splintering into pieces. She screamed her satisfaction, clutching his forearms, arching her back, her body gyrating in the air.

  Bliss, hot, intense, and primal, pounded her, blasting her brain to dust, decimating the trials of the planet rotation, her grief, her anger, her regrets. All she knew was him, her male, his touch, his scent, his breathing.

  Kralj cupped her breasts, kneading them, ruthlessly prolonging her pleasure until it was spent, until she had nothing left.