Prince of Flight

by Mandy M. Roth

  His hand went up to the top of his head, touching the black do-rag he wore that came down far, just missing covering his eyes. It hid a large portion of his scar. The rest of the scar was locked in the shadows as he kept his head bent, only showing the unmarred side of his face to her. It was hard to always try to hide his imperfections from her, but he did so anyway.

  “Keon?” Rossi repeated in a mocking tone, and Keonae considering knocking his baby brother out of his chair.

  “Enough, Rossi,” Sachin scolded, keeping his lips pressed in a thin line, appearing amused by it all even though he was trying not to.

  The Keonae of old would have punched his youngest brother in the face by this point. The new man, brought about by the blonde he’d been coming to the bar in hopes of catching glimpses of, was a changed man. At least, he was trying to be.

  “Lark,” Keonae said, acknowledging her with the slightest of head inclines. “These are some of the motley crew I told you about. Sachin, Lazar, and my brother Rossi.”

  “Ah, one of the seven brothers,” she said, grinning at Rossi. “I would have guessed that. The two of you look alike. Well, except for the eyes. And the fact you don’t seem to give off the ‘I will break you in two’ vibe your brother here does.”

  Rossi gave him a questioning look, but said nothing.

  “You’ve told her of your family?” Sachin asked, his underlying question clear. All eyes tracked to Keonae, as if the men in his company could not fathom that he would disclose anything to a woman, let alone personal information. Their gazes held concern. He knew why. They all held the same question on the tips of their tongues. What else had he confessed to her? That he was an immortal, able to shift into a hawk and that he wasn’t from this realm?

  No.

  But he had told Lark of his brothers, as much as he could. He didn’t think adding the fact they could shift into large birds, take flight, and were in a sense immortal would go over without a lot of questions and possibly a trip to the mental ward.

  “Kabril is the oldest, right?” Lark asked, balancing the tray on her hip, her smile still spread across her face. “Then Aeson, with Keonae rounding out the triplets? Then two sets of twins and the end one, Rossi, right?” She moved up close to Keonae and, unable to restrain himself any longer after wanting to make contact with her for a month, he snaked an arm around her waist, his hand settling on her hip, nearly engulfing it. He stilled, expecting her to thrust him away.

  She didn’t.

  She eased closer to him and he rejoiced silently at the victory. It was a huge step forward for them and whatever had been happening between them. It also gave him his first real feel of her. She was too thin. The woman needed to eat more. He liked his females with meat upon their bones. He caressed her hip gently.

  “Yes,” responded Rossi, his gaze keen as he questioned her knowledge of him with his eyes rather than his mouth. “I’m the youngest.”

  “Your poor mother,” she said to Keonae. “You’re hardly a small guy and Rossi is nearly as big as you. Tell me you were all tiny babies at least or I’m going to feel horrible for her.”

  Keonae hid his smile. “Actually, we were not that small, considering.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh dear, that poor woman.” Her fingers twirled the ends of his hair in the back. The action felt so natural, as if she’d done that very thing to him hundreds of times before. Yet, this was her first, but he hoped not her last. “I still can’t believe she had that many multiples without the aid of fertility drugs.”

  “Yeah.” He caressed her hip more, wanting to ease his hand down and over her backside. Hers was a bottom begging to be touched. “It’s certainly something.”

  “And you,” she said to Lazar. “You’re the friend from out of town who he’s known a few years now?”

  Out of town? More like a rival kingdom.

  Lazar offered a suave smile. “I am.”

  “Congrats on your marriage.”

  Lazar lifted one brow, his gaze finding Keonae. Keonae knew the man wondered how much Lark actually knew about them. “Thank you,” he said to Lark, though he continued to hold Keonae’s gaze.

  “Then you must be the childhood friend,” she said to Sachin. “I enjoy hearing stories about the trouble you’d all get in, even though Keonae is kind of cryptic at times. But still, they’re amusing. It’s nice to meet you all. He talks about you all so much I feel like I kind of know you.” She smiled at Sachin. “You’re the one with the little girls, right?”

  A guarded look moved over Sachin’s face. Keonae knew why. He was protective of his family. None could blame him. “I am.”

  “They’re adorable. Keon has shown me some pictures of them along with his nephews. I’m not sure what’s in the water in your hometown, but you all sure have a run on twins and more.”

  “Perhaps,” Sachin leveled his silver gaze on her, a knowing smile creeping onto his face, “you will find yourself having a set as well if you and Keonae act on the feelings you appear to have for one another.”

  Keonae jerked, accidentally whacking his knee on the table leg and bumping Lark. She fell and he caught her, dragging her onto his lap with one hand and steadying her tray of beers with the other. She set them on the table and remained on his lap. There was no masking his body’s reaction to her. She had to feel his erection through his jeans for it was pressed against her ass.

  “P-perhaps,” she said, making his throat go dry.

  Keonae grabbed a beer and chugged it, ignoring Sachin’s chuckle. He kept an arm firmly planted around Lark’s waist, wanting her to remain upon his lap a while longer. He’d wanted to have her this close for a month, from the moment he’d laid eyes upon her.

  “Though, all joking aside,” she said, facing forward, but leaning against him. “Multiples do kind of run in my family too.”

  Rossi laughed snidely. “Having them run in your family is very different from being one.” Rossi muttered something under his breath about stupid humans and Sachin growled from across the table.

  “And you know so much of this?” Keonae asked Rossi, his temper waning.

  Rossi grumbled, his mood foul as he spoiled for a fight. One Keonae would soon give him at the rate he was going.

  Sachin grabbed the beers and thrust one at Rossi, grunting. “Drink, it will keep your mouth occupied and mayhap keep nonsense from falling free of your lips.”

  Lark remained on his lap and he took the chance to take in the peach scent from her hair. He tightened his hold on her, wanting the clothing between them to be no more. He’d fantasized about having her on him. Having her ride him while she took him deep and hard.

  “Oh, I’m well aware of what it’s like to be a twin. There is a bond there that is really indescribable,” she said, loneliness in her voice.

  “Read that in a book?” his brother questioned, continuing to be as big of an ass as he could be. As soon as Lark was free from his line of sight, Keonae planned to level his brother. It was high time someone put Rossi in his place. He was far too pampered for Keonae’s liking.

  “Brother, I know not what has gotten into you, but continue and I will beat it out of you.”

  “He is not sleeping,” said Sachin. “Worry for his woman keeps him awake and in the foulest of moods. Consider not killing on this evening. Perhaps on the morrow.”

  Keonae glared at Rossi. It was hard to give his brother the benefit of the doubt when it was Lark he was being rude to. Any other and he might forgive it, but not her.

  Lark took a deep breath. “I was a twin.”

  Keonae stroked her back lightly, surprised to hear her confess to having a twin. “You never told me you have a twin.”

  She tensed. “Because I don’t.”

  Confused, he continued to touch her. “But you just said you—”

  “She passed away a little over thirteen years ago.” She patted his leg and tried to stand. “Enough talk of it.”

  Keonae tugg
ed on her, forcing her to lean back against him more. She did and he put his chin on her shoulder. It was a position he’d seen human lovers in bars assume on more than one occasion, though it was a first for him. “You could have told me that before. I’d have avoided talking about my brothers.”

  Her hand came to the side of his face with the scar. He flinched, but she kept her hand there. She did a semi hug-like move, their heads touching. “I like hearing about them. And I should get up and work, not sit on my backside.”

  “I disagree.” He resisted the urge to kiss her cheek. “I think you’re fine right here.”

  “I’m not sure my boss would agree.”

  “Then quit and let me take care of you.” The words left his mouth before his head could catch up to them. When his brain landed on what he’d said, he tensed, but decided against taking it back. He had more money than he knew what to do with. She didn’t need to work and he desperately wanted more time with her.

  She’ll hurt you.

  She laughed. “Right. Would that make you my sugar daddy? No. I think you’d have to be much older than you are.”

  If she only knew.

  He grinned and then nipped at her palm, moving it from his face, thankful she’d not touched his scars directly. “I’m older than I look.”

  Chapter Four

  Lark sighed and turned her face enough that her forehead touched Keonae’s cheek as her stomach knotted. He was a complication she couldn’t afford. She should have been on her way already.

  Never plant roots for more than a few months.

  The bad guys always managed to find her if she did. But she couldn’t leave Keonae. Couldn’t just vanish. He’d become important to her in ways he couldn’t possibly realize. She felt something for him. Something more than she was willing to state out loud. And something more than he probably felt for her.

  She smiled, enjoying the closeness he was permitting her. He was usually so standoffish, always avoiding looking at her directly or encouraging any sort of real contact.

  As much as she knew she should stay removed from people and keep her distance for their own safety—she had her own demons, except hers pursued her in real life instead of her dreams. She desired him and the comfort he provided. Hers was a lonely existence and he had filled a void for her. Getting close to him and sharing anything real about her past was beyond foolish, yet she’d found herself doing so again and again with him. Life on the run certainly wasn’t an easy one. Keonae made it at least bearable. Even from the moment they first met he’d helped her without realizing as much.

  He was quiet, at first often listening more than he contributed in the way of conversation. Gradually, that had changed, and he’d opened up more and more to her, though still guarded. Most days he showed up an hour or so after she arrived and stayed until closing, before going with her to the twenty-four-hour diner down the road. She enjoyed the company. As much as she pushed him to be around other people because of how alone he was, she wasn’t much better. He was her only friend.

  The guy had a badass-biker vibe. Plus, he rode a big motorcycle that roared so loud there was no mistaking it was him. Every ounce of him was ripped to the point she had a hard time tearing her gaze from him. Come to think of it, all the men at the table were built in that manner.

  Lark rubbed his forearm gently, marveling at his body as she did. His friends razzed him about various things, mostly the motorcycle he owned. They seemed to get a kick out of it, although she wasn’t sure why. All she knew was that she liked touching him and being near him. He made her feel safe.

  Groaning, she stood, not wanting to get back to work, but knowing she needed to. Keonae’s hand skimmed her ass and excitement raced through her. He tugged on her, dragging her back to the spot on his lap. Damn, the man felt good.

  Too good.

  She’d often lain in bed, thinking of what it would be like to have him above her. To have him buried deep in her. Every time she pictured it, she rubbed herself and came long and hard. The man screamed sex appeal. Just the thought made her body tingle.

  “Sit and stay,” he pleaded. He’d never asked her to remain near him before, and she had to admit she liked hearing him voice his yearning to keep her closer to him.

  She bent and kissed his cheek with the scar on it. He tensed and she remained there, making a point to kiss the scar itself. “Thank you for giving me something to look forward to every night.”

  The expression on his face was unreadable.

  She put her lips to his ear. “Did I do something wrong?”

  “No,” he returned tersely.

  “I need to get back to work. I’ll leave you all to enjoy yourselves.”

  He stiffened. “Stay.”

  She glanced past him at his friends and brother. They were all gawking at them. Uneasy, Lark wiggled on Keonae’s lap, drawing a gasp from him in the process. “I said something that upset you.”

  Bewilderment coated his expression. “No.”

  “I saw you shut down on me,” she confessed, glancing away.

  He took hold of her wrists, moving her hands from his face. He kissed her palms. “My demons are showing through. You did nothing.”

  It hit her then. He’d shut down on her when she’d kissed his scar. Her jaw set and she freed her hands from his grasp, placing her fingers on his cheek once more. He flinched, confirming her suspicions. With deliberate slowness, Lark eased closer, her lips finding his scars once more. She planted a row of tiny kisses upon them and then kissed his lips chastely, despite wanting more.

  When Keonae tensed to the point he was stiff as a board beneath her, she leaned more, putting her lips to his ear. “You are so fucking sexy.”

  His breath caught and his fingers dug deep into her hips. “L-Lark?”

  “I don’t want to get up. I want to sit here and kiss every inch of you, Keon,” she whispered.

  He ran a hand up her back.

  “Nothing to say to that?” she asked.

  He appeared to be at a total loss for words. “Yes?”

  She laughed.

  “Do I get to kiss you back then?”

  She wanted to ravish the man. What girl wouldn’t? “Deal.”

  With that, she stepped away from him just as a few stragglers came into the poolroom area, and it was easy to see they were going to be a rowdy crowd. Not only that, she’d been told by the owner the back pool area was off limits to everyone but Keonae and his buddies. She didn’t question why.

  “Hey now, look at that,” one of the guys said, sounding as if he had showed up drunk. He lifted a pool stick. “Bobby, check her out, man. She’s fucking hot.”

  “Keonae, leave it be,” one of the men at Keonae’s table said. “They are intoxicated. Nothing more.”

  Suddenly, strong hands were on her hips. She gasped as warmth spread through her. Leaning back, she settled against the wall of muscle behind her, catching the scent of Keonae. Just being near him made her body quiver.

  The frat boys snickered, showcasing their immaturity and stupidity. “Oh, look out, Ray, or the big bad boyfriend will threaten to kick your ass.”

  “Actually,” Lazar said. “He will not bother with a threat. I am fairly sure Keonae will simply kill you.”

  Whatever the frat boys saw made them glance nervously at each other and then start into a game of pool as if they’d not just gone out of their way to be total dickheads.

  Lark tried to turn to face Keonae, but he held her in place. “Why don’t you go ahead into the main part of the bar, Lark?”

  She put her hand over his and caressed it gently. “Because you want to get into a fight without me in here to see it?”

  “Yes.”

  She laughed softly. “At least you’re honest. But, Keon, I don’t need you to get into a bar fight over me. I get by fine on my own. Thank you, though. The gesture was nice.”

  “Did someone actually refer to Keonae as nice?” Keonae’s brother said from the table behind them.

  �
�Shut up, Rossi,” Keonae said, keeping his hand on her shoulder.

  She used the moment to twist and face him. He was breathtaking. His squared jawline and hard features combined with jet-black hair that hung just past his shoulders and golden eyes were oddly familiar. Her womanly parts screamed at her to jump his bones, that he’d be the best she ever had and then some. Whatever the man had going on, her ovaries were totally weak to it. They were bordering on begging.

  Hurt flashed in his eyes as her hand found his left cheek. Scars ran down the entire left side of his face, starting somewhere up and under the do-rag he wore. She’d caught sight of others in their time together. Some ran from his hands up his forearms, deeper on one arm than the other, and she knew he had some on one side of his neck as well. She’d never seen him shirtless, but her guess was, he was scarred under there as well. It didn’t matter to her. Even with the scars he was gorgeous. In fact, they somehow added to his appeal.

  They told a story. They said he’d been through something horrible and come out the other side of it. She had scars too. Some on the outside; most on the inside. All of them had a story of their own, but combined to make her the person she was today.

  He attempted to jerk away from her touch, but she put her other hand on his steely chest, her lips curving upward. “Hi.”

  His brows met. “Hi?”

  Lark grinned.

  Slowly but surely, Keonae did as well. His smile was barely there but a smile all the same.

  “Keonae,” Rossi said, sounding annoyed. Lark got the feeling Rossi didn’t want his brother to have anything to do with her. She’d have taken offense, but Rossi’s instincts were spot on. She was nothing but trouble. She knew it. Keonae would learn it soon enough if he stuck around that long.

  “You can wait a moment, brother.” Keonae’s hands came up and over hers.

  Rossi snorted. “Or you could get your ass over here and discuss what we traveled here to talk to you about.”

  His brother wasn’t as funny and nice as Keonae had described him, but he had a point. They’d come far to see him and she was monopolizing his time. She separated from Keonae and put a bit of distance between them. “Go talk with them. You told me they don’t live close. He’s right. Kind of a dick, but right.”