He left his post near the center of the ship and came up behind Xandra, eager to explain to her the realities of the land.
She started and turned quickly, apprehension marked in her wide eyes. When she saw him, she sagged against the railing.
“Is something wrong?” he asked when she didn’t speak.
Tiny frown lines appeared between her eyes. “Perhaps it is this strange land, but I feel…uncomfortable. As if someone or something is watching me.”
He glanced around. No one paid the least attention to them. “You’re tired. Our journey hasn’t been easy. I have business on shore again, but when I return, we’ll have dinner and relax.”
He’d hoped to see her eyes clear. Instead her frown increased. “I want to go with you. I don’t feel safe here.”
“You are far safer here than on shore. Felican Castle is beautiful and in any other circumstances we could visit. I have—had—friends there who might still welcome us. But this trip it is not to be.”
He drew closer, eager for her touch. He wanted to drag her close and take her into his arms for a kiss, but he resisted. He ached to return to the cabin and slide deep into her silky, wet heat. What he wouldn’t give to take her away from here now and make certain she never had to worry about ruthless men again.
Huh. That would mean she wouldn’t be exposed to my basic nature again either.
The thought of leaving her life ate him alive. No, he couldn’t do it. He’d just have to take whatever measures necessary to keep her safe.
“Rayder, there’s something wrong here. I can’t tell you what it is because I don’t understand it myself. I feel it in here.” She touched her midsection.
Worried, he asked, “Are you ill?”
“No, no. Nothing like that.” Her smile was strained and uncertain. “It is instinct, if you will. It tells me that I shouldn’t stay here. I need to go with you.”
He pondered, but the answer came swiftly. “No.”
Anger tightened her mouth and blazed in her eyes. Before she could retort, Yoanda wandered toward them from across the deck. Unlike the last time he saw her, she appeared unmarked—perhaps Aramus had let off beating her for a blessed while. Self-assured steps brought her closer. Her eyes seemed brighter and more at ease than normal. Perhaps she’d found a peace somewhere in the life she led aboard this godsforsaken ship.
Yoanda waved at them and came to a stop close next to him. “There you are. It is good to see you both. Are you going ashore today, Rayder?”
“I am.” He gestured to Xandra. “Would you keep a close watch on my wife so no one will bother her while I’m gone?”
Yoanda looked delighted with the idea as she turned her attention to Xandra. “Most definitely. I’d be pleased to spend time with you.”
“I’m afraid I’m not feeling as well as I’d like.” Xandra’s face turned icy.
Yoanda’s face showed concern. “I can give you some holic tea. I hear many a new bride experiences discomfort or tiredness after her wedding nights.”
“I’m not sure it is fatigue.” Xandra tossed a long length of hair back from her face. She rubbed her belly again. “I think my stomach is complaining.”
“Yoanda is known as a healer. If she has a potion to help you, you should try it.”
Bleekness marred Xandra’s eyes. “Very well. Husband, I will retire to our cabin while you go ashore.”
Yoanda touched Xandra’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry, my dear. Should I send for the medical man?”
Xandra shook her head. “I am certain it will wear off as soon as I’m inside the cabin.” She glanced at Rayder expectantly.
Rayder sighed but kept what he really wished to say to himself. “Pardon us, Yoanda. I’ll see Xandra to the cabin.”
Yoanda nodded. “Of course. Stay safe, Rayder.”
After Yoanda left, Rayder turned to Xandra, ready to question her thoroughly. “What in the seven hells was that about? You told me you’re not ill.”
He’d never seen his wife look as angry as she did now. “I think my mood suffers from being on this wretched ship for so long.”
She left it at that, and from the high color in her cheeks and the taut line of her mouth, he guessed she couldn’t be ill.
“Very well,” he said as he took her upper arm in a light grip and started for the cabin.
He walked fast, eager to see her safe in the cabin. She trotted alongside him, and he made no concession to her smaller steps.
Once inside the cabin, she turned on him with pure fury. “There is something not right going on here, and I don’t know what it is, but this entire day feels wrong. You cannot leave me here.”
Tired of her nagging, he made a chopping motion with his right hand. “No amount of caterwauling or arguing will make me change my mind. You aren’t going with me.”
“There is no safe place on this ship. Unless you count the dungeon. Maybe if I was down there with Malena Humbola and the other slaves, I could count on strength in numbers.”
“The admiral could try to trick you again if he was there.”
She shrugged. “He wouldn’t dare with so many women ready to come to my aid.”
“You don’t understand how evil he can be.”
She shrugged. “He seemed ineffectual to me.”
He snorted. “You haven’t seen nor felt his true wrath. We can’t trust him with your safety.”
“If he wanted to get into this cabin while you’re gone, he could anyway. Yes?”
“Perhaps. But he knows what I’d do to him if he tried.”
“Then let me spend time with the women downstairs. I could take them more food.” Desperation gleamed in her pretty eyes as she twisted her hands together. “Since I am as much your slave as I am your wife, maybe I belong in the bowels of the ship like the other women.”
Anger as he hadn’t known in some time boiled up. He growled his answer. “That is rubbish. You know I don’t think of you that way.”
“I know you think of me this way.”
She headed toward the bed. With her back to him, she drew her tunic over her head and dropped it on a chair. She leaned over to remove her shoes and tossed them aside. His gut clenched. What the hells was she doing? With a shimmy she slid her pants down to her ankles and kicked them away.
By all the gods above and below. He drew in a startled breath as his body reacted instantly. Sweat beaded his forehead as his gaze took in the creamy length of her back, the smooth rounded shape of her ass cheeks, the long line of her legs. Her body fascinated him even though he’d mapped it time and again with his tongue, his lips and his hands.
She turned toward him, hands on her hips. Her expression held pure heat and desire. Surprised, he watched in stunned fascination.
A fine-edged blade of anger overran caution. He stalked toward her. “Are you trying to drive me mad?”
“Why would I want to do that?”
He towered over her, his cock aching with an instant desire to find a home within her. “To stall me leaving.” Before he could register that he’d moved, his arms surrounded her, his mouth hovering near hers. “Do not tempt me. Whether you like it or not, I’ll go on this venture to Felican Castle and no amount of pouting will change it.”
Before she could protest, he kissed her. Hot need slammed him in the gut, and with merciless desire, he reached between her legs. As his tongue took her, his fingers explored, his arousal spiking as he realized she was already wet. He smoothed her cream along her femininity and over her clit. As he stroked her with mouth and fingers, she shivered and twitched.
He groaned into her mouth. “You are wet. Ready.”
“I’m always like this with you.” It sounded real and raw, but he wanted proof. Her eyes were wider, lips parted and luscious. “I can’t seem to control it.”
“Neither can I.” He resented it, wanted it, couldn’t deny it.
He lifted her, laid her on the bed and crawled over her. He opened his pants, lowered between her thighs and slid str
aight inside her. She gasped, eyes open and staring into his with shocked delight.
“Rayder.”
“I know, my beauty. I know.”
“This is…”
“I know.”
Xandra hadn’t expected this. She’d thought maybe seduction would slow him down, give him time to revaluate and reconsider leaving her behind. Instead, the feral heat she felt within his arms surged with such force she couldn’t escape. Her arousal around him didn’t abate, refused to leave her even in her anger. As his cock stretched and plunged deep within, she gasped at the overwhelming pleasure.
Two days without sex with him had driven her mad. Despite his coldness, she couldn’t seem to stop craving him.
He glared down at her, eyes red. “What are you doing to me?”
“I just wanted to get you into the cabin so we could have this at least one more time. No matter what you think of me, you won’t be able to forget this.” Her voice sounded raspy and weak in her throat.
He thrust, and the friction made her belly clench and her pussy walls tighten over his thick, hard length. He ground his hips against hers and touched that special area deep inside her channel. “No.”
“Yes.” She arched against him, closing her eyes as she shivered in pleasure. It felt so good, so incredible she didn’t believe she could stand it a moment more.
“No.” His hips gyrated, small thrusts that rubbed and caressed.
Sparks of pleasure shot outward, making her squirm. “Rayder.”
He pushed up onto his palms and the action shoved his cock deeper into her welcoming body. She couldn’t stand this. Anger moved her to restrain the desire, to corral it until he’d come deep inside her. He would fall before she did. She struggled with her body’s desire to climax, wrestling with her wanting.
His lips slid down, down until he captured one nipple and sucked. A hot flush spiraled outward as desire climbed higher. As his tongue lapped at one nipple and the next, he stirred his hips into a seductive retreat and return that burned her from the inside out.
“You can’t keep me here. You can’t make me your slave forever.” Her voice broke, tears coming at the same time the pleasure vaulted forward in leaps and bounds. “Maybe you should just let me go. Let me go. I don’t want to be with another man who hates me.”
His mouth buried in her throat as he growled his next answer and thrust hard. “You are mine. Never forget it.”
“Then you can’t ignore me. You can’t pretend that I didn’t tell you that I can’t have children.” She said it with anger and force and watched his eyes widen. “Why won’t you talk to me?”
He growled. “Don’t push me, Xandra. You don’t know what I’ll do.”
Her hips lifted into his next push and powerful waves began to build from her womb and in the hot, wet folds that caressed his cock. She’d wanted to hold off. To defeat him at his own game.
Pleasure slammed her so hard she wasn’t ready for it. She screamed.
“Yes!” His triumphant yell didn’t stop his motions, his thrusts sure and steady and powerful.
He bucked, cried out gutturally as his cock spewed hot liquid into her.
Shivering, she lay there in a mindless pleasure, her pussy continuing to convulse around his thickness. As the throbbing pleasure finally subsided, he withdrew his cock.
Before she could speak, he slid his fingers into her pussy and drew out the sweet cream. He spread it between her butt cheeks, inserted one finger and then another with slow deliberation into her back entrance.
“Rayder, what—”
“Tell me you don’t want this.” His eyes were fire, his lips parted. “Tell me to stop and I will.”
She opened her mouth but it wouldn’t come. He waited, but his fingers still plied her back entrance. He slipped another finger into her backside, stretching, preparing her for what he wanted next. Two fingers plundered her body.
His breath came quickly as he hooked her knees over his arms and tipped her buttocks up. His cock touched her back entrance. All the while he kept his gaze on hers. A second later he nudged into her.
“Open to me,” he said softly.
She relaxed, wanting this as much as him, hating that she did.
His hardness took her ass, sliding with slow deliberation. She’d expected it to hurt in this position, but he’d prepared her well. His thickness pushed forward until his entire cock filled her ass.
Without more hesitation, he began to move, thrusting in and out. “Touch yourself.”
Puzzled, she didn’t speak.
“Touch your little button,” he said.
So she did, as heat filled her face. As she caressed her button, excitement rose higher and quicker. The forbiddenness, the luscious desire forced its way into her and required more.
He whispered harshly as he moved faster, his cock working inside her ass with steady strokes. “Come on my cock.”
At his demand, she writhed, gasped and refused. “No.”
He moved faster and picked up speed. “Come.”
Her fingernails bit into his shoulders as she roared another answer. “Damn you, Rayder!”
Her flesh was hot and out of control. Her mind refused to think, all sensations melded together until only pleasure mattered. Thoughts of anger only fired desire to bigger heights.
This wasn’t seduction. This was animal need, a potent action of body to body, of need against need.
Her desire for him wouldn’t be destroyed, no matter what she thought or said or did in defiance. She trembled, her body betraying her as the heady, sweet tingling shot out from her womb, throbbed in her pussy and pulsed into her clit. She cried out sharply as her body shuddered around the cock still moving in her ass. He thrust one last time.
He growled as his cock shot his life force into her body.
Chapter Seventeen
As harsh animal voices made a cacophony, the jungle parted for the contingent of four men, two of them Farcam and Oscan, one a sailor named Conto and one Rayder.
Perspiration ran into Rayder’s eyes and he swiped his forearm over his face. Menacing clouds gathered directly to the east, and Rayder’s gut told him they’d barely make it to the encampment before the storm burst. But he had more pressing matters to worry about than threatening weather.
Rayder knew he couldn’t depend on these men if anything happened in this god-forsaken jungle, but Aramus had insisted Rayder take them as a so-called show of strength. Rayder stayed at the back, supervising and making sure no man could come up behind him. Rayder refused to take women with him this trip even after Admiral Aramus tried to demand it. Rayder had argued they couldn’t guarantee Drakus Fina’s ally Marc Gampia would want their slaves. These things had to be negotiated. Aramus had reminded him that he’d failed miserably to negotiate with Drakus. Rayder hadn’t apologized, and Admiral Aramus made a threat Rayder knew he couldn’t ignore. Aramus said he must negotiate a successful meeting with Marc or Aramus would sell Xandra.
“Over my dead fucking body,” Rayder muttered under his breath as Oscan and Farcam used swords to cut swathes through the jungle. “He will not touch her.”
Rayder’s blood came up at the thought of Aramus touching Xandra. Rayder’s anger had surged when he’d learned Xandra would have offered herself to Aramus to save him. He couldn’t abide the thought. At the same time, indefinable emotions had swamped him. Warmth. Gratitude. Lust. Staggering affection. Feelings he’d never experienced for another woman. Magonian or not, it was clear Xandra had feelings for him. Rayder had found his reaction to her seduction overwhelming and had fucked her with an intensity he couldn’t have imagined with another woman. Few women pursued a Daryk One with the boldness she had, but she was his wife. He’d wanted her so badly, so fiercely it had seemed like a feral force out control.
Still his mind reeled from the realization she couldn’t have his children.
He still didn’t know what to feel about that. All his life he’d been decisive. Sure of himself except for wh
en he’d let down his sister.
Now another woman made him doubt himself and what he wanted and needed all over again. Damn Xandra and the powerful force driving him toward her. He didn’t like needing someone so fiercely, and it shook him to the core.
He turned his thoughts back to what had happened before he left the ship.
Rayder had also argued with Aramus that if he took women with him, they would make slow progress through the jungle. Rayder had catered to Aramus’ incorrect belief that women were weaklings and also said once the party reached Marc’s encampment, Marc might try to take the women away from Rayder. Aramus had agreed and reconsidered. Telling the greedy bastard they could lose money made all the difference. Rayder knew enough about Marc, who he had known since childhood, that Marc wouldn’t harm a woman. But he didn’t want Aramus to understand that.
“Let me bring Marc and his men to the ship. We can turn the women over to him at that time,” Rayder had said. “This puts us in a more powerful position.”
Of course Rayder’s plan would fail if he couldn’t convince Marc to agree. Knowing what he did about Marc, Rayder suspected he’d get what he wanted. Marc’s greed, his connections and his attitude would assure that.
Aramus had finally relented, and brimming over with relief, Rayder had left with the other men. Rayder had ulterior motives. He’d meet with Marc, arrange for Marc to come to the ship. Marc was also known as the least nefarious slave trader, a man with more scruples than the ordinary and a sense of fair play. Unlike Drakus, Marc had a huge dislike for Aramus. Marc would relish any plan to bring Aramus to his knees. Rayder couldn’t help but feel on the edge of victory. Gaining Marc’s trust would go far toward Rayder’s ultimate goal.
They’d passed Felican Castle’s farthest south boundaries and came near the desert sands. In between the castle and jungle and the desert, Marc had created a territory where slave traders and free people came and went unharmed. It was live and let live to the fullest extent anywhere in Dragonia could be. As far as Marc was considered, only Magonian women could be traded as slaves, and only to men who had proven they would take care of the women and treat them well. It was a dichotomy Rayder found odd.
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