by Owner
“The STS are here.”
Mack lifted an eyebrow in question.
“It was a standard squad. I killed all I saw.” Var answered Mack’s unspoken question.
Mack cursed and nodded in Bess’s direction. “Better dry her off before she gets sick. Nothing worse than being wet and cold.”
Var gave the horse to Mack and moved her further into the structure where he pulled her clothes off while she stood beside a huge fire. Bess let him dress her like a doll, albeit a recalcitrant one.
She kept the blanket between her body and his eyes but, he paid no attention to her nakedness
Why would he? His plan was to turn her in for the reward. She knew what he was now. Somewhere in the recesses of her mind, she remembered hearing about the mercenary barbarian warlords of Kryst. That is what he was. She had received clearly from the STS leader. Now she worked to piece together those mostly forgotten bits conversations.
They were mercenaries -- fierce warriors for hire who performed unpleasant tasks for danon. Killers with no conscience. Money was all they sought. With quick motions, he had her undressed and covered with a large cloth to dry her. She swatted at his hands as if trying to keep a bug away.
Var chuckled as he covered her with blankets until she was wrapped up with them.
“The coms are still not working,” Mack said from behind Var.
“We will have to take her out across the plains.”
“More dangerous, and more time here than we planned to spend.” The match stick in Mack’s mouth barely moved when he talked. “We will have to go to the backup of the backup plan.”
Var pushed her down to sit on a stone. “So be it, brother.”
“I will scout a new path when the storm stops,” Mack said.
Var moved to put medication on her wounds. Her weak resistance was nothing to him.
Bess sat in front of the roaring fireplace. The rain was still coming down hard out there beyond the hidden entrance. As the Warlords talked, she studied their new shelter. The room smelled of dust and old, burned wood.
She had to see Var and Mack in a different light now. Bess had almost let herself believe that there was a place where the MX would find sanctuary. She had wanted to believe, but there was no denying the crushing reality. Var did not even see her as a woman. She was just a bounty to him.
Bess leaned back against the stone wall. The blankets Var had put around her gradually warmed her as did the fire. Maybe she could stop shaking.
Mack returned. Bess was surprised, she hadn’t even realized he’d left.
How could she have been so wrong about them? The thunder continued to roll, making an eerie sound within the ancient stone structure. At least she could not see the lightning. Too tired to care, she noted that this structure was man made.
She was watchful of the warlords while she sorted through what had happened. The scenes from the river kept replaying in her mind. The violence. The death.
She had read the STS leader. He expected Var to hand her over to them. The Conglomerate had a deal with the warlords. Their Warlord Leader had agreed to hunt empaths and hand them over to the STS. The warlords were well known for their ruthlessness. How could she have believed there was a real sanctuary? Because she wanted Var to be kind to her, that’s how. Var had fed her and given her water and she hoped that he cared about her. Her face heated with embarrassment.
The warlords had been hired to find her and turn her over to the Conglomerate. That was reality and it was time she faced it.
Var put some more wood on the fire and then took out a needle and threaded it. Bess watched as he sewed up a cut that ran along his chest. So he had been bleeding on her on their wild ride through the woods. He calmly stitched himself closed. There was another cut on his arm. He stitched it also, then cleaned up the blood and applied a thin liquid from a metal bottle in the bag to his other wounds and sword cuts.
Bess dared not try to heal him. Her emotions were too raw to concentrate well enough. Besides, should she heal her enemy?
Mack handed her a cup filled with hot chocolate. When she glanced up, she caught a glimpse of a completely naked Var pulling on dry clothing.
She let the cup warm her hands before she drank it. The heat flowed through her body and warmed her. Bess wanted to forget everything, but she couldn’t. The Conglomerate was after her. Var and Mack worked for them just like the STS did. She supposed Var did not turn her over to the Special Threat Squad this afternoon only because he wanted the reward for himself. Had he killed the STS rather than share the money?
She had to get away. Her emotions were raw. She would think of this later.
The fire made the small room feel warm and cozy.
When Var brought her a bedroll and moved it close to the fire, he reached to pick her up. She cringed. He stopped short. Bess moved to the bedding and sat on it.
She felt his confusion before he returned to the doorway to sit and talk with Mack.
Bess concentrated on getting warm and put the events of the day out of her mind. Her legs and arms felt heavy. She looked up to see Mack and Var watching her. Her body felt heavy. Had they drugged her or was she that exhausted? Unable to fight the drowsiness, she relaxed into sleep. Sometime during the night, she realized Var’s body was warming her own and his hot breath stirred her hair and even though she shouldn’t, she felt safe and cared for.
Chapter 14
Koda heard her come in, and breathed in her vanilla scent. Alone at his desk, shafts of sunlight falling through the windows onto the papers in front of him, Koda signed the last document and turned to watch her walk toward him. She was lovelier every day. Even though her frown said she was troubled, she took his breath away.
What he had ever done to deserve such a prize, he could not say. Koda knew only that he had her now, and nothing could take her from him.
Not today. Not ever.
Koda almost lost her more than once when the Conglomerate got their hands on her. He’d been foolish to send her from him. He did it hoping to keep her safe, but Claire had been separated from Lodi and Destiny and taken to that cursed arena where the STS planned a horrific and painful death for her.
It was fate that no empaths or Warlords had died that day. That none of the audience or STS had been alive when they left the arena was a source of comfort to him. Claire and Destiny had as much to do with that as the warlords.
He was most ashamed of lying to Claire. When she found him out, he discovered he had nearly broken her with his deception. Her reaction had sent out a projection of emotions that brought everyone within his castle to their knees. That had been a terrible night. Claire, feeling betrayed, had escaped and ridden headlong into a group of males sent by his uncle to abduct her.
Koda shuddered when he remembered pulling the male off her just as the ruffian was about to rape her. He had killed every one of them as was his right. No one touched the mate of a warlord and lived to tell of it.
He had only himself to blame for Claire’s misunderstanding and near death. Koda thought to give her time to adjust to his society before telling her the truth. He never intended to let her go back to the Facility where she had been raised. His idea to give her time to adjust had backfired. She found out that he had kept information from her and her distrust of him had threatened the relationship he wanted with her.
Koda was determined to make Claire feel safe and guarded for the rest of her life. A tall order when they were threatened on every side.
The sight of her gliding toward him pulled him from his reverie. Koda’s breath caught. “Good morning, pita,” he said.
Her face relaxed into a smile. “Good morning, Koda.”
He stood to hug her.
She seldom entered his office. “I am honored by your visit.”
“I just wanted to check in on you.”
Koda picked her up and set her on his desk. He stepped between her legs and pulled her to him inhaling her scent of warm vanilla. He drew back and drank i
n her beauty. Her skin was flushed. A little pink tongue darted out of her mouth to moisten her bottom lip. Kissable lips. “I would know if everything is all right, pita.”
She nodded and smiled. Koda could tell that everything was definitely not all right. He scented her worry and her lie. Over time, their mate bond developed, but it needed work. They could feel each other. It was a new experience and it still required a lot of work. He did not know how or why it worked better some times than others. He’d assumed it was one of the advantages of mating with an empath. They had unexplored powers and gifts. Patience would win the day in this endeavor. She would tell him what bothered her. In time.
Koda smiled back at her. “I hope the area I provided for your training, or whatever you do in there, is adequate.” The area he selected for the empaths was far away from where he and the Warlords trained. He did not want the females to be too close to them.
“It is fine, Koda. We practice using our gifts. They were suppressed for so long by the handlers at the Facility, now we have to learn to control them. We are making good use of the area you gave us. Thank you again.”
Koda thought he could sink into her green eyes. “Yet you were rented out so that others could benefit from your gifts. They were not totally suppressed.”
Claire smiled. “You are correct. I was always able to feel the emotions of most others. Yet after I came here and was no longer getting the suppression drugs in my system, my power to feel the emotions of others increased. In fact, I began to “see” the thoughts of others sometimes. So much more information came through to me. It was overwhelming at first. I had to learn to block things on a larger scale.”
Koda hugged her. “That must have been frightening for you.”
Claire nodded. “There were times when I feared I was losing my mind. It was an adjustment.” She looked up at him. “Just know that I sincerely appreciate the area you gave us and the fact that you gave it to us.”
“You do not have to thank me. I want all of you to feel comfortable here.” One of these days, he wanted to see what they were doing there.
Claire rewarded him with a beaming smile. She very likely read his thoughts.
“You are wise, Claire. I am happy to have you as my mate.”
She tilted her head. “There is something bothering you.”
Koda sighed. “Attacks against us have increased. We are working on defense plans and ways to keep the civilians safe.”
“You are busy. I will go.” She tried to wiggle off the desk.
Koda leaned forward and planted his hands on either side of her hips. “Do not be in such a hurry to leave, pita.” He inhaled her scent and put his face closer to her hair.
Claire smiled. “Your work is important. We can talk later.”
Koda leaned down and nuzzled her neck. “Keeping my mate satisfied is also important.” He kissed her, softly at first, but harder and more thoroughly as his senses raged into unabated lust.
She made little sounds in her throat.
He gloried in her nearness, the scent of her hair, the soft, luscious curves of her body, and her willing mouth drove him to take her.
Koda soon had her legs spread wide. When he reached for her undergarments, he found none. Heat flashed over him like a furnace. He touched her and smiled. She was ready for him.
Her hands pulled at the cloth that covered his groin. She frantically tore at the laces of his leathers to free him.
When her smooth hands touched his shaft, he groaned. No other female had ever made him feel like Claire did. He waited, forcing himself to control his need. Pulling her to the edge of his desk, he gazed into her green eyes as he slowly knelt between her legs.
She was frantic when his mouth found her core. With her hands in his hair, she tried to control how he pleasured her.
Koda laughed and flicked his tongue. How he loved those helpless little sounds she made, and how she lost control when she broke apart around him.
After she reached her orgasm, he stood and kissed her gently. When her legs wrapped around his waist, he eased inside her.
Hot. She was hot inside and wet, and tight. Her muscles gripped him.
How she was so frantic again after just having an orgasm amazed him.
He smiled down at her.
“Move, please. I need it,” she begged.
“A warlord could never refuse such pretty pleading.”
“Oh, now!” She would do anything for him in that moment. He saw it in her eyes. She fed his need to take her. Claire knew he needed to feel her yield beneath him. She wanted to give that to him. The gift of her surrender to him was potent for both of them.
Her eyes filled with desire. She looked at him, “Don’t stop,” she whispered, her voice hoarse.
Koda finally let go of his iron control and began to move.
She beat her fists against him. “Faster, please, more.”
“Tell me what you need, pita.”
“Harder, faster, please, please.” The last was a plaintive wail.
Koda drove into her hard and fast, her moans and whimpers almost sending him over the edge.
Claire screamed in ecstasy. Her muscles clenched rapidly as another orgasm ripped through her.
Koda loved that he could feel it. She projected her emotions as well as her physical feelings during sex. When she slowed, he moved his hand between them and stroked her, held her, moved inside her again and again. When her begging became constant, he released her knowing she would orgasm again for him.
She screamed as he put his fingers against her lips. She licked her essence from him and greedily sucked his fingers into her mouth. Her tongue flitted over his hand as her muscles tightened on his shaft. Yet another orgasm shook her entire body. She never stopped sucking his fingers, screaming around them.
When her climax eased, he moved his hand from her mouth. She chased it, kissing his hand and licking him.
“Take off the top,” Koda said.
Her fingers fumbled as she unfastened her top and pulled it open, exposing her breasts to him. He could have ripped it, but this time he preferred to watch her bare her body to him.
Koda smiled as she pulled his hand to her breast. He loved the look in her eyes when he plucked her taut pink peak with his wet thumb and forefinger. Koda pinched lightly and pulled at her nipple. She moaned when he bent over to use his mouth and teeth on her other breast. His hand never stopped moving as he pulled and played with one nipple, while he sucked and bit the other one.
Claire’s need was driving her now.
Koda grunted his satisfaction. Giving her a final bite and lick, he straightened and took a breast in each hand. He strummed his calloused thumbs over her nipples as he drove into her harder, faster.
The sounds she made drove him mad. She begged for more as he plunged into her and then pulled almost completely out again.
“Tell me what I am,” he said.
“You are my warlord! Don’t stop.”
Koda let go then. He moved faster and harder, bringing them both to the edge and then …
She let go with a scream, her back arching.
It was all he could do to hold onto her. Seeing her, hearing her, he finally allowed his own release with a guttural, “Claire, my heart.”
He supported himself on his elbows as their breathing slowed. He kissed her gently then, on her mouth, her face, her hair. “You are precious to me, pita.”
Claire smiled up at him. Her eyes had the drowsy look of the completely sated. It was a look that agreed with her.
Koda drew much needed comfort from her.
Later, when they had both recovered, he sat in his chair with her across his lap.
She leaned against his chest and nuzzled his neck, then tried to tie her top back on.
“I prefer you naked,” Koda said.
“Surely you realize I cannot be naked all the time.” She giggled.
“Do not ever think that, pita. I am barbarian enough to want it.”
She
gave him a look.
“But I love you too much to demand it,” he went on, “Still, I like the idea of you always being naked and ready for me. I like that you wore nothing under the dress for me. I know you are accustomed to wearing those things.”
Claire laughed. “I think your barbarian ways are wearing off on me. I should go and let you get back to work. As soon as my legs will support me, I will leave you to your endeavors.”
Koda grinned. “This was good, pita. It saved me time. You know I would come hunting for you.”
“You will have to learn to go more than a few hours without -- that,” she said.
“Like I said, I like having you near and accessible. Perhaps you should always be naked in our rooms.”
When she rolled her eyes, he gave her a light kiss on the forehead.
Koda saw a shadow in her eyes. “Claire, you are important to me. I worry that you feel you have to ply me with sex. And I worry that I am allowing you to do it.”
He moved a strand of dark red hair behind her ear. “I want you to know that I love you. I have never said that to a female and I probably did not do this right. The responsibilities I bear have not left much time for romance and learning how to treat a female properly. I will do better.”
Claire smiled and it was beautiful. “My Warlord Koda. I know that you are as new to a mate bond as I am. And I know that it is as difficult an adjustment for you as it is for me. We had a rough start to our relationship. You did not mean to mate me.” When he started to speak, she placed her delicate fingers against his lips. “I touch you and I read you now. It was difficult at first, but now, I read you well. The intimacy is enjoyable to me as well. You give as much as you take. That is not a problem. Please don’t think it so.”
He leaned in to give her a soft and gentle kiss, the kiss of a lover who revered her. She smiled.
After she dressed, she stood to move away. “I hope the rest of your day goes well, Warlord Lover.”
“Pita.”
On her way out the door, she turned to face him.