Paladin (Book Two of the Elemental Paladins series)

by Montana Ash

  “Up.” She began to move but not fast enough to satisfy his current state of mind. He gripped her upper arms and dragged her to her feet, delivering a scorching kiss to her bee-stung lips. He smoothed his hands over her hips and gripping her jeans, pushed them from her body. He nearly swallowed his tongue. She was wearing matching purple lace underwear and the smallest G-string he had ever laid eyes on. Did she walk around every day wearing this kind of thing?

  Spinning her around, he nudged her face-first into the wall. Gripping the fragile lace, he tugged, ripping them clear off her body. Diana arched her back, her gorgeous arse and spine on clear display. He gripped the delicious mounds hard and squeezed, eliciting a gasp and shudder; “Darius.” Was that a whimper? Smirking in satisfaction, he took a moment to test her readiness with two fingers. She was already so wet and her wanton movements were proof of her own desires. Releasing her left butt cheek, he felt a surge of male satisfaction when a red mark the size of his hand remained on her skin.

  He thrust into her without delay, forging his way through her scorching depths. She gripped him tight and he took a moment to rest his forehead against the back of her neck savouring the feeling and burying the intense emotions it wrought. Snagging her hips, he began to move forcefully and was rewarded by a series of moans as he increased his speed. The wind picked up now, whipping around them as sweat made their bodies slick. His pants were still around his ankles, having never been removed completely, and they were outside where anyone could see. But everything about it was absolutely perfect. As was Diana’s inner muscles flexing and clamping along his length. Knowing it wouldn’t take much to nudge her over the edge, he gripped her breasts, briefly giving her nipples a sharp tug. He then spread his fingers, using his pointer and ring finger to spread her mound wide. It left his middle digit free to press down onto her clit, all three fingers gliding easily with each harsh thrust.

  “Holy … My God … Fuck … I ….” Diana babbled incoherently and began to buck her hips desperately. Two deep thrusts and strokes with his middle finger later and she orgasmed, archly strongly and crying out loudly. With no interest in denying his own release any longer, he pumped into her rippling sheath and groaned through the most pleasure he had ever experienced in his thousand years. Panting, he squashed the female paladin into the wall, willing the feeling back into his feet.

  He didn’t think it would be like that. Not even in his wildest fantasies did he dream she would take everything he had to give and still demand more. She wasn’t supposed to be as into it as she had been. Rather than being intimidated by his dominant behaviour, she had flourished with it. She wasn’t supposed to be so perfect for him.

  “I didn’t think it would be like that.” His muttered words had Diana glancing over her shoulder, face half-hidden by her black locks.

  “Huh?” She asked, a sanguine smile on her face. He did the only thing a man could do when confronted with everything he ever wanted.

  He ran.

  NINE

  She’d finally done it. After eight hundred years of holding out and waiting for Darius to come begging to her, she’d finally unleashed … and screwed Darius to within an inch of his life. Or had he screwed her? Either way, it hardly mattered. It was done now and she wasn’t at all surprised by the explosive nature of their lovemaking. She was surprised though, by Darius’s reaction. He didn’t think it would be like that? Be like what? And what the hell did that even mean? Did that mean he didn’t like it? She couldn’t fathom that was the case – the man had made some very interesting orgasm noises.

  Sighing she leaned against the window looking out into Lark’s perfect garden, when she found herself almost bowled over by an exuberant miniature Goddess. Steadying herself and Max, she looked up and wasn’t surprised to find Cali entering the room too. Looks like it was girl-talk time.

  “Well, well, well. You dirty, dirty hussy!” Max teased. “Outdoor sex with the prissy, ordered, Sir Darius!”

  Diana rolled her eyes trying not to smile. The woman was going to have way too much fun with this, she knew. When in actual fact, Max should be coming to discipline her for actions unbecoming of a sworn paladin. Paladins could sleep with other paladins, no problem. But not within the same order. Anything that detracted from their primary duties of serving and protecting their Warden was absolutely outlawed. So Max was perfectly within her rights to have Darius and herself reported to the council and punished by the Rangers. But Diana knew Max was not going to do that, and it wasn’t because she didn’t know their laws either. Darius had sat her down and explained every law in minute detail to the newly discovered Custodian. Max just didn’t care.

  “Sooo … hit me with it.” Max demanded.

  Feigning innocence, Diana asked, “Hit you with what?”

  “Diana!” Max whined, “Did I make you beg for deets? No! Hit me with Darius’s dick of course!”

  Stuttering out a shocked laugh, Diana saw Cali’s ice-blue eyes widen before she too began laughing uproariously. Max, apparently just hearing what she said, slashed her hand impatiently through the air, “You know what I mean. Not literally. Although …” She trailed off, humming to herself.

  Diana whacked her playfully, “Greedy much? You already have a dick to play with. It’s attached to a smokin’ hot giant with nipple rings.”

  “I know, I know. But lookin’ and listenin’ is free, so …?”

  Diana roved her eyes back and forth between Max and Cali. Clearly their express purpose in seeking her out was to interrogate her about her sex life. She took a moment to think about how much she wanted to reveal. She was actually a private person by nature, loving her solitude just as much as her social time. She also came from a time when women did not speak of such things. Hell, they weren’t even expected to like sex much. It had been a duty, an obligation between a husband and wife in order to produce heirs. And heaven forbid you indulged outside of wedlock. Women were branded as whores and their prospects of marriage and a family were ruined. Diana could only be forever grateful that she was a paladin and therefore blessed with long life so she could witness the evolution of women’s rights.

  Eyeing the other two women, who were practically salivating waiting for her to talk, Diana smiled, knowing her old sensibilities would not extend into girl-talk time. Besides, Max had held nothing back – as in nothing! She leaned forward and whispered, purely for theatrics;

  “Darius’s dick is glorious … so wide, I’m sure I have rub marks and I bet he has friction burn.”

  Cali fanned herself and shook her head, “I knew it! I knew that man was packing. I’d heard rumours …” She trailed off.

  Diana had too. Now she knew they didn’t do the man justice.

  “And does he know how to use it?” Max asked, turquoise eyes all shiny with feminine hope.

  “Oh, yes! The man was like a demon possessed. He literally threw me against the wall and ripped my pants off! He also did this thing with his hand …” Diana went on to describe the air paladin’s nifty clit-trick in detail, leaving them all breathless and a little in awe.

  “Sir Darius; the Panty Destroyer.” Max intoned sombrely when she was done, as if she were bestowing a title.

  They all burst into unrestrained laughter again and Diana was so very grateful for these two women. Although, she was concerned about what this would mean for her and Darius’s relationship and the dynamic of their Order, she couldn’t bring herself to regret the act. She had wanted Darius for over eight centuries when she had first seen him wielding his sword in the Crusades.

  All three women quickly cut off their evil cackling as Ryker, Beyden, Lark and Axel entered the room. All four men stopped in their tracks and eyed them with equal parts suspicion and wariness. Diana knew her girls all wore identical expressions of feigned innocence.

  “What are you three up to?” Ryker asked, squinting through narrowed eyes.

  “Nothing.” Diana answered calmly.

  Axel snorted. “Yeah, right! If I didn’t know
you three females were on my side, I’d be pissing my pants right now. Those doe eyes of yours are just plain creepy.”

  Diana shook her head at his exaggeration, but apparently Bey was on the same page, staying well away from them on the other side of the room.

  Max, relishing any opportunity to make her man squirm, answered him, “We were just comparing you and Darius in the sack.”

  Ryker stilled, horror likely setting in. “You were not!” It was a statement but Diana heard the underlying plea. Poor man.

  Max’s grin widened, “We so were. Di, tell him about that thing Darius does with his left hand when he –”

  “Woman!” Ryker roared, interrupting.

  “What? Aww, babe. No need to feel insecure. Sounds like Darius has you beat in the girth department but you’re still in the lead for length.” She turned to Diana and Cali, “Seriously, guys. It’s like my freaking tanto sword!”

  “That’s enough, devil-woman!” Diana quickly moved out of the way as Ryker picked Max up threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, before striding quickly from the room.

  “One guess where they’re going.” Cali said dryly, sending them once again into hysterics.

  “Diana.” Beyden’s soft baritone had her turning to see the beast paladin shuffling his feet in apparent discomfort.

  “Yes, Bey?”

  “I know it’s none of my business but Darius is my friend. Is he okay? I was angry at him before but when I calmed down, I realised how much the discussion must have hurt him. That’s why he was so upset.”

  Diana smiled gently. “Yes, he was upset. You all know he would never ever speak to Max that way if he was in his right mind.”

  “So he’s better now?” Beyden asked again.

  Diana barely contained her grimace. No doubt the man was feeling very relaxed physically. She had taken a power nap after her shower, herself. But emotionally? Yeah, she didn’t think the whole screwing her brains out thing was going to be conducive to Darius’s mental health. This was going to create disorder in his very ordered brain and he wasn’t going to cope. Particularly when he seemed to be going through some kind of crisis of self. “He’ll work it all out.” She answered Bey.

  “So, the Lady Diana and Sir Darius finally got it on, huh?” Asked the ever-forthright Axel as he plonked himself onto the exceedingly comfortable lounge.

  “Axel!” Beyden scolded.

  “What? That’s what the evil females were discussing when we walked in.” He fluttered his lashes in her direction and there was no way she could take offense at the charmer. “Don’t tell me – my chances with you are now ruined, just like they are with Max.”

  “I wouldn’t count yourself out yet.” She answered, fluttering back. The easy comradery between them felt good.

  “So are you two, like, a couple now?” Lark asked adorably.

  “No. Not in the slightest.” She answered quickly, ruthlessly shushing the tiny whimpering voice in her head.

  “Why not? You two make as much sense as Ryker and Max. You’re the perfect match.” Lark was a true romantic at heart. Probably because of all those trashy romance novels he insisted on reading.

  “It’s not allowed for one.” She stated. She really didn’t want to discuss this given she hadn’t had the opportunity to discuss it with the man in question yet.

  Cali snorted, “Yeah, because your new Lord and Master, Max, isn’t going to give you the freedom to do anything you want. She’s going to report you to the council and the Rangers are going to come storm the place and that will be the end of you both. Max is a real heartless bitch and Ryker is going to agree with her.”

  Diana turned to her slowly, “Sarcastic much?” Cali could be a real hard-arse when she wanted to be. She had her own demons to slay when it came to Orders and lieges and even sex. She had been born in Sweden almost one hundred and fifty years ago and had been a member of the Order of Neptune – a traditionally male Order and a very misogynistic one. She had the bad luck to catch the attention of the Water Warden and the even worse luck that there was a natural connection between them. He had put in a bid to have Cali join his Order on the basis of that innate link – tenuous though it had been on Cali’s part. Cali loathed the man. Diana could understand the depth of loyalty Cali felt toward Ryker – a male who had allowed her to be a true knight rather than a piece of eye candy who produced vitality. And now there was Max, her new liege, who was easy-going, a rule-breaker and a friend. Cali believed they should all just embrace the casualness of Max. Diana was half on her side. Yes, she craved the freedom and the changes Max represented, but she still understood the necessity of a hierarchy.

  “I’m sorry.” Cali was quick to apologise after hearing herself. “But you truly have the chance to be everything you ever wanted with Max here; a paladin, a friend, a consultant, a lover. Why aren’t you embracing it?”

  Diana had the feeling this was more about what Cali was hoping to embrace with Max here. She desperately wanted permission to just be herself – she wanted her cake and she wanted to eat it too. Well, Diana didn’t think she could personally afford all those calories. “It’s not just my choice remember? Or even Max’s. It’s also up to a certain ancient air paladin.” And Darius was going to freak out, undergo extreme self-flagellation, and then cock the situation up further by being a man and acting like a moron. That was Diana’s prediction anyway.

  And what do you know? She was absolutely right.

  TEN

  He had fucked Diana. Like, really fucked her. Not even a little bit fucked her. But a lot fucked her. And he kept saying the word fuck. He never said the ‘F’ word. Never! He didn’t believe in foul language. But there was just nothing else that even came close to describing what he had done … other than that four-lettered expletive. He was pacing the length of his attic bedroom trying to find a sane solution to the madness that had been his day. First, there had been the shopping; second, the chades; third, Max’s ridiculous theories; and fourth … well, fourth there had been the fucking. He had been hiding in his room since the sun had gone down and it was now just after midnight. Even stargazing hadn’t been able to soothe his frayed nerves, he thought, smoothing a gentle hand over the wide shiny surface of his telescope.

  His Celestron telescope was his pride and joy. When he had left his home, he had left with nothing more than the clothes on his back. At the time, he had just wanted to escape and hadn’t given any thought to taking any treasured belongings with him. And treasures he had – his astronomy collection was definitely a treasure … as was his full set of Star Trek VHS. Yes, he knew VHS was outdated but there was just something about forgetting to hit pause on the ads and catching a few seconds of annoying, cheesy advertisements that a DVD just couldn’t replace. He had them all, plus more, on BluRay now with all the extras. He loved extras. It hadn’t taken long for the others to figure out his two – very minor, in his opinion – vices. The stars and Spock. The first time he had watched the rigid, pointy-eared Vulcan he knew he had found a kindred spirit. Now that man truly appreciated the meaning of the word rules! He was economical, loyal, polite and unemotional. He was the perfect soldier!

  He found it rather amusing that his two favourite things were linked with space – the vast unknown – given his aversion to the mysterious. But he couldn’t shake the sentimentality associated with the stars and his childhood. After a vague reference to astronomy one day, Darius had walked into his room to find a top of the line telescope with perfect aperture, brightness and clarity. Ryker. Ryker had purchased it for him. And how had he now repaid the man for his continued nobility and kindness? By engaging in public sex with a fellow paladin! And on top of that, he had disrespected Max – the man’s new reason for breathing. Hence, his current level of agitation. What if they decided to kick him out of the camp? What if they decided to notify the IDC? Max was well within her rights to do so. He didn’t really believe she would, for that would mean severe consequences for Diana too. And although he knew Max
was legitimately angry with him, he also knew that she adored Diana and had formed an instant bond with her. Surely she wouldn’t do anything to purposely hurt her?

  “Darius?” The sound of Max’s voice had him thinking he might just be cracking for real before he saw the door push open an inch and the fall of dark red hair slither through the gap. A turquoise eye soon followed and he immediately strode forward to open the door fully. “May I come in?”

  “Of course, My Lady. You needn’t ask.” He was quick to respond formally.

  She frowned. “Why are you speaking so fancy? And of course I need to ask before I enter your room.” She looked around curiously, taking in the black and grey scenery. He liked dark, neutral colours. Besides, they caused less reflection of a night time. She cleared her throat, “I wanted to apologise to you. I’m sorry Darius. You don’t need to ever talk about the chades again if you don’t want to. Please don’t hate me!” She finished, her voice wavering, and Darius thought he might just cap off his day by having a heart attack. She wasn’t going to cry was she?

  One look at Max’s stricken face and he felt immediately guilty for his continued anger and resentment at the young Custodian. “Come here little sister.” He opened his arms wide and Max all but threw herself into them. He immediately wrapped his strong arms around her like a cocoon and rubbed his hands up and down her back in a soothing motion – the act a comfort to him as well. He felt like he could breathe for the first time in hours. “I’m not mad at you sweetheart. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to yell at you. You hit a nerve is all.”

  Max sniffed, decidedly improper, as she peered up at him from under thick lashes. “I know I did. I meant to. Well, sort of meant to. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just …”

  “You wanted to force my hand.” He said, realisation dawning.

  She nodded her head. “Darius. I adore you. Everything about you, including your sense of duty and discipline. But honey, all that pent up pressure? It’s just not natural. You don’t need to hide yourself from me or from anyone in this house for that matter.”