DarykRogue

by Denise A. Agnew

  “This is amazing.” Wind blew through his night-dark hair. “It still does not explain why she stayed away so long. Why she let me believe she was dead.”

  “She was angry. I think she believed…”

  “That I was responsible for her betrothed dying. Yes, I know. As we’ve said before.”

  “From what you told me, you couldn’t have been responsible. It was a horrible accident. Maybe her guilt is misplaced. She blames herself for what happened.” She clasped his biceps, drawing strength from his solid muscle. “After she’d been away so long and made you believe she was dead, perhaps she couldn’t face you. This Marc Gampia, she said she didn’t want to see him. I have the feeling their relationship was more complicated than we know.”

  Rayder’s eyes narrowed. “I think he loves my sister.”

  “He certainly appears to.”

  He scrubbed a hand over his face. “My guess is that he feels guilt too.”

  “For believing that he should have rescued her. For not knowing she was so near. Three years is a long time to believe your loved one is dead.”

  Rayder’s eyes filled with dark intensity. “If he feels anything like I do at this moment, I can understand.”

  “What do we do now?”

  “Take my sister back to Marc’s compound to recover.”

  He brought her close again, and as they stood together, her head on his shoulder, she drew strength from him. “Aknada is an extraordinary woman. I see a lot of her in you.”

  He drew back far enough to cup her face. “Come, let us tend to Aknada.”

  * * * * *

  Rayder stared down at his sister for a while longer as she lay on the bed in Marc’s quarters at the compound. They’d taken turns carrying her through the jungle back to the compound. Marc had insisted on putting her in his rooms, an expanse of luxury even Felican Castle couldn’t boast. He’d ensconced her in his own bed. Rayder didn’t know what to think of that. When Aknada awakened, she’d either be relieved to see where she’d landed or mad as all the levels of the hells. After all, she’d told Xandra the last man she wanted to see was Marc.

  Rayder glanced at his sister’s face and saw three years had changed her. She was younger than Xandra anyway, and that youthfulness hadn’t faded though she’d lived in the desert. Her high cheekbones, full lips and much longer hair gave her a femininity she hadn’t possessed before. Long muscles and tall body held a Daryk One’s strength and the capability to fight. Or had it?

  How had two men managed to break her arm and cause a head injury? She should have been able to cut them down. She’d had a sword according to Xandra. He shook his head. It did not matter. Love pierced his heart as he looked down at her. Yes, he wanted to throttle her for allowing him to believe she was dead for three years. But if she blamed him for her betrothed’s death, then her attitude stood to reason. She didn’t want to be a part of his life. Perhaps she still did not. His heart ached at the thought. Maybe if he was fortunate, he could let Aknada know that he forgave her. And if she forgave him, he could ask for nothing more.

  He gathered her hand in his and gently pressed. “Aknada, can you hear me? It’s Rayder. I am here now. You need to wake up. I’m happy to see you. Marc is dying to see you.”

  Rayder and Xandra had practically had to drag Marc from Aknada’s bedside. He’d protested, but once on a bed in the room next door, he’d fallen asleep in an instant.

  Above all this, Rayder was grateful to Pian. Under the guise of slavery, Aknada actually lived a better life. Rayder had vowed he’d protect Pian’s secret.

  Xandra was also exhausted, and she’d fallen asleep in a room down the hall. Every time he realized how close he’d come to losing her, he went to her room and checked on her. She always lay sleeping, alive and well. By the god, he had to stop obsessing.

  Two more hours passed, and Aknada didn’t stir. Marc arrived at the door, looking far more rested and cheerful than Rayder expected. As soon as he saw Aknada resting on the bed, Marc’s features softened.

  “Any change?” Marc asked as he moved toward Aknada and stood by Rayder.

  Rayder hated saying it. “None.”

  Marc clapped one hand on Rayder’s shoulder. “She’s strong. She will come out of this.”

  Rayder cleared his throat. “It is my truest hope right now.” Shifting out from under Marc’s hand, Rayder stood and headed for the door. At the open threshold, he said, “I never thanked you for helping find Xandra.”

  “It was the least I could do.”

  “I’ll be with Xandra if there’s any change.”

  Rayder left the room and closed the door, his body and thoughts more drained than he could remember experiencing before. His footsteps echoed on the stone floor as he traversed the wide hallway. Marc had built a strong, solid structure sure to keep them safe while they recovered from their ordeal.

  Rayder looked forward to seeing Xandra and giving her a gift he’d obtained from a special vendor in the compound. He’d tucked the gift in his pack. He hoped she’d like it.

  He smiled. Of course she’d like it, once she got over the shock of seeing the thing.

  When he reached Xandra’s room a few steps down the hall, he hesitated. He didn’t want to frighten her when she’d been through so much. Out of respect, he rapped softly on the door.

  Quicker than he expected, the door eased open and Xandra peered cautiously around the corner. She wore a diaphanous gown of white that drifted across her body like a soft cloud. It didn’t cling to her shape but teased by covering her arms and down to her toes. In contrast, the bodice dipped down and revealed cleavage. His hungry gaze took in every sweet inch of soft, white skin.

  Beyond her, a bed draped in silky, brightly colored materials stood against one wall. Two large windows were half covered.

  “Rayder.” She smiled but faint dark circles marred her pretty eyes. She stepped back from the door to let him inside and yawned. “Pardon my rudeness.”

  “Not at all.”

  He glanced around area. Various amenities such as a desk, a long lounging couch and a private bathing room gave luxury and comfort.

  “Did you sleep well?” he asked.

  “Some. I keep thinking about…things.”

  “Such as?”

  “I… Everything. My thoughts are scattered in so many directions.”

  “You’ve been through a great deal since your ship was destroyed. It will take time to feel normal again.”

  She laughed softly, her smile almost mocking. “What is normal? I cannot even imagine it.”

  He returned her smile, eager to reassure her. He eased his pack to the floor. “You will find it and know it when you see it.”

  She stared at him for some time before she spoke. “Rayder, I’m so glad you’re with me.”

  Before he could move, she leaned into him, arms around his neck. As his arms came around her and their lips met, heat bolted through him. Without hesitation he knew what he wanted and needed. As her fingers speared into his hair and held him tightly, he tangled his tongue with hers. Stroke after stroke, he took and gave. She tasted delicious, like some fruit. He groaned as arousal hardened his cock instantly. He broke their kiss and started to remove his clothing bit by bit. He stripped quickly, tossing items this way and that in eagerness. Her mouth popped open—he didn’t think she’d ever seen him undress this quickly. Before long he was naked.

  She glanced down at his cock and her attention made heat rush to his groin.

  Her gaze traveled over his chest, and when she licked her lips, his body reacted with burning need.

  Aware of her delicate state and not wanting to frighten her with his growing passion, he cupped her shoulders and brought her against him slowly. When their bodies touched, she gasped. Her hand slipped upward over his chest, exploring with definite purpose.

  “What were you going to say?” he asked softly, aware of her slim body beneath his touch.

  “I understand Aknada’s poetry now. I read the entir
e book when I was with you on the Beast. She spoke of more than mountains and shores and beauty. Aknada understood…love. When a man and woman are so connected they cannot imagine it any other way. Did she feel about her betrothed that way?”

  Rayder shook his head. “I don’t remember seeing any passion between them, but I assumed that meant they hid it. Some people do.”

  Warmth spread through him as Xandra’s fingers caressed his naked chest. “Do you know why she didn’t want to see Marc Gampia?”

  “No. And yes. There was something between them, but I’ll damned if I know what it is.”

  She sighed, and his heart clenched at the woebegone expression marring her face. He tilted her chin up. “What is wrong? Are you all right?”

  “I’m well.” She stretched upward and slipped her arms around his neck. “I am here with you. All is very well.”

  “You’re not smiling when you say that.”

  “You’re not either.”

  He cupped her face and kissed her nose. “We’ve been through a lot.”

  A deep frown placed furrows between her brows. “What will happen next? You’re not planning on returning to the Beast, are you?”

  Indecision rattled him. Several things jumbled around in his mind on what to do, and he was compelled to tell her. He lifted her into his arms and laid her down on the bed.

  Naked and aching to take her, he hovered over her. She slipped her warm hands up over his biceps, and he considered kissing her instead of talking. He smiled. It was possible to experience both pleasure and conversation.

  “First, I don’t want to leave you again.” His throat tightened as emotion rose swiftly. “I want you with me. Safe. But I know I cannot always be with you. Second, I refuse to leave the rest of the slaves behind on the ship. We need to free them somehow. Marc and I will plan it.”

  She smiled, her soft lips tempting him. “Are you sure Marc will want to help? After all, isn’t he a type of slaver?”

  His hand trailed up her side, teasing the side of her breast with a light stroke. Her breath hitched, and he smiled in satisfaction. “Not so much a slaver as a rogue.”

  Her eyes went warm and languid as she caressed his shoulders. “Like you?”

  “Of a sort. Marc is a different man than I thought he was. He said he’d help me.”

  “After Aknada is well?”

  Rayder nodded. “I don’t want to leave her either.” Worry carved a hole in his gut, but he had to believe Aknada would recover.

  “She’s strong.” Xandra cupped his cheek with one hand and brushed her thumb over his mouth. “I predict she will open her eyes soon and tell us we are all silly for worrying about her.”

  “I doubt she’d let us off that easy. She always worded things a lot stronger.”

  A soft smile curved her mouth and made two aches fill him—his cock and his heart. Xandra had entered his life in a rush, in a chance meeting. A few moments one way or the other and they wouldn’t have met. She would, most likely, have died. The thought made his blood run thick and cold.

  Then he recalled how he’d left her, the rough and tempestuous sex they’d shared. What did it mean? Why had they gone at each other like mad beasts?

  She yawned, and he lay back on the bed. He pulled her into his arms. Nestling her close made him feel as if he could protect her—at one time he thought he could. Now he understood that he couldn’t save her from everything. Fear slid through him like the thrust of a cold sword.

  Her warm palm slid over his chest, brushing his nipples with a sweet touch that sizzled through him. “Are you all right?”

  “Of course.” He tightened his arms around her, brushing one hand down until he could squeeze her bottom.

  She wriggled and sighed. “Please, Rayder.”

  Temptation scaled him.

  He sighed, drew in her fresh, enticing scent. By the god Draconus she smelled good. She felt even better. All silky skin and warmth. His hands started to caress, to feel each curve and dip in her form. He kissed her temple, ready to murmur whatever endearments she required. Each full breast under that gown drove him mad. He wanted to touch. To cup. To lick with ravenous attention. He traced the plump line of one breast just peeking from under the neckline. Her breath hitched and she shivered. Good. She liked that. Her hand came up to caress his neck and his face, rasping over the stubble. A woman’s touch relaxed him, but her touch did more. She turned him into something he’d never been before. Maleness inside him tried to rebel, to refuse softer emotions. But it did him no good. His mind went toward the emotions without asking his permission or giving him time to erect other harder emotions.

  For the first time he realized fear so different and heady. He feared her abandonment. If she left him, what would he do? She needed his protection, yet she’d shown such strength and bravery. More than ever he understood how Dane Charger must feel about Ketera Aldrancos. This was it. This was the feeling.

  He wanted her with a rush of hard feeling. She was precious. That was the only word he had to describe the strong emotions bombarding him. She belonged in his life, in his home. More than a mate, she completed a part of him he’d never known existed until he met her.

  By the god, he would have her. He would feast and take and show her his strength. She would know again and again that he was her mate and no other man would ever have her. She would never want another man.

  Unable to resist her, he tilted her chin up and kissed her.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Xandra sighed in contentment as Rayder’s mouth covered hers. She’d longed for the touch of his mouth, even through the hectic and hurried excursion back to Marc’s compound.

  As Rayder released her from the kiss, she shifted from his arms and crawled over him. He grinned, and her heart warmed with joy. Something different entered that smile and had changed in only the last few moments. She didn’t know how or why, but it resonated inside her like the key to a question.

  The key to everything within Rayder that had seemed closed off to her before now.

  “What are you thinking?” she asked, hoping to solve the mystery.

  “That you are the finest woman I’ve ever met, and there will never be another for me.”

  Joy broke over her in a potent wave. Tears welled in her eyes. “Rayder. But I took that potion. I can never have children. How could you want me? It’s so important for Dragonia to repopulate.”

  He swallowed hard, and she saw the naked pain in his eyes. “It is true. I want children. I…I promised to my dying mother that I wanted children. She made me promise because she believed Aknada was dead. Right after you told me about the potion I was angry and hurt. But I understand now why you did it.”

  Hope blossomed inside her. “And you still want me? I have so much to atone for. If I hadn’t done it, my parents and my brother would still be alive.”

  He cupped her face, his voice as fierce as his touch was tender. “Listen to me. Taris Elian was an evil piece of shite. He would have found another excuse to murder them because he wanted power over you. When you took the potion and denied him children, he had the excuse. But he would have found another reason regardless. Their deaths aren’t your fault.”

  Perhaps she should have reasoned that out, should have known. But something in his understanding and forgiveness set her free.

  She met his kiss halfway, diving into the moment. As his tongue took her, she gasped into his mouth. His hands landed on her bottom, squeezing and caressing. They moved in unison, in a dance that had never felt as right as it did now.

  Powerful muscles moved beneath her. Skin slipped against skin. She was intoxicated. Breaking from his kiss again, she opened her eyes and sat up.

  She undid the tie at her neck and hurried to lift the long garment over her head. He grabbed the material and jerked it over her head. She dropped it on the stone floor. His gaze smoothed over Xandra, features sharp in the fading light. Blistering desire etched his face, those eyes glowing again in that primitive sign of ar
ousal or aggression. She knew he’d never hurt her, gloried in the passion she knew would come.

  Heat sliced through Xandra as she enjoyed his long thickness pressing like a hot bar between her legs. His dark eyes so intent, so warm and filled with desire. She loved the sensation. Loved knowing he wanted her. Ownership filled her. This was her man. Her lover, and all the sins she’d once believed about sex had disappeared. Freedom engulfed her in happiness. Despite all they’d gone through, it no longer mattered if she returned to Magonia. There was nothing there for her. Everything she cared for and loved resided in Dragonia.

  Loved.

  “I love you.” The words left her mouth before she could stop them.

  His eyes widened slightly then turned ferocious. He reached behind her neck and drew her down to him, breasts against chest, mouth against mouth. His tongue plundered, stroking inside her. Her body reacted, her pussy clenching and releasing with need, damp and aching. Rayder let her go long enough to prop up on one elbow and to lash the tip of one nipple with his tongue. She gasped in delight as his tongue flicked and tasted. The tip beaded, hardened even more as he suckled strongly. He tormented that breast for an eternity before moving to the next. With every caress she writhed, squirmed as elemental craving flashed to life.

  As she leaned over him, he clenched her hips and drew her down. His cock head teased her pussy lips. She couldn’t stop the moan that left her lips. With a growl and one hard thrust, his cock plunged inside her. Pleasure streaked straight up from the point where they joined. Buried deep, his cock was a firebrand inside, and she pulsed around his strength. He felt so good. So right.

  She closed her eyes and savored the sensation of his thickness sliding in and out, caressing her with a motion that made her catch her breath. She wanted more and she wanted it fast.

  His hips lifted, gyrating in a slow but steady motion. Her body didn’t understand anything but this, didn’t want anything but this. Groaning, she plunged into the sensations bombarding her. Their breaths coming fast, her heartbeat pounding, her body rushing toward a climactic explosion. They groaned like animals as their bodies came together hard thrust after hard thrust. The silken bed covers shifted against her skin, cool in contrast to the heat spreading along their skin. Frantic to reach a peak, she moved with him. Wanting. Undeniable.