A View to a Kill

by Mandy M. Roth

  Rayna’s belly was swollen with Kabril’s child and she’d taken sick on more than one occasion. She and the babe were fine, according to doctors, but the news did nothing to lessen the need to stay on, assure the couple remained safe in the face of war. Their child marked the dawning of a new day for his people. For too long they’d been without the laughter of children or the pitter-patter of tiny feet scurrying about the halls of the castle. Centuries had gone by with no unions producing offspring. The longevity of their race of bird shifters meant they were, for lack of a better word, immortal, but even with that trait, wars throughout the realm had dwindled their numbers. The coming child was a sign from the Epopisdeus that hope lived. The bird gods were feared and worshiped by his people. This show of faith on their behalf was what was needed to lift spirits.

  I shall ensure their gift is protected.

  The Falco Peregrinus were the Buteos Regalis’s sworn enemies. Talk of a Falco attack had been circulating for some time. They had tried and almost succeeded in killing Rayna once before. Had one of the Falco’s own not defected, refusing to see harm come to Rayna, she would have died. Now wasn’t a time to waver in his duties. Sachin had to be vigilant.

  “My lord?” the guard asked, looking hopeful Sachin would end training early for the day.

  Taking pity on the man, Sachin nodded. “We are done here. Good fight.”

  “Good fight.” The guard bowed, touching Sachin’s shoulders and lowering his gaze, as was the custom between warrior allies, and then scurried off in the other direction.

  Sachin turned to walk away and found Rayna standing in the entrance to the castle. Her hand rested on her swollen belly and her blue eyes held mischief. She smiled, her long hair blowing in the slight breeze. A rosy glow overtook her. “Beating up on everyone already and it’s not even breakfast time.” She grinned. “Remind me not to bother you until lunch.”

  “My lady.” He inclined his head and attempted to go past her.

  Rayna caught his arm and halted his movement. He could break her hold with virtually no effort but respected her too much to dare. “Sachin, don’t my lady me. I’m Rayna to you and you know it.”

  An exasperated breath fell free from his lips. “Very well, Rayna.”

  She gave him a cross look. “Are you planning to continue scaring your guards to the point they don’t want to be near you or are you going to tell me what’s eating at you?”

  Glancing around to assure himself they were alone, Sachin sighed and ran a hand over the back of his neck. Several kinks had settled there a couple of moons prior and at the rate Sachin was going, they would become permanent. “There is naught amiss, my…erm…Rayna.” She was from Earth and while she now dressed the part of queen, she refused to be bound by titles. She also continued to think of them as close friends rather than that of a head guard and his queen. Kabril seemed to encourage the behavior. It was pure madness around the castle anymore.

  Sachin had always assumed when Kabril finally took a mate he would keep her far from him—especially considering Sachin’s lust for Earth women. Kabril did the opposite. He encouraged Rayna to seek Sachin out. All had remained platonic.

  Rayna kept her hand on him. “Sachin, Kabril’s worried about you. So am I.”

  “I am fine.” It was an untruth but one he was willing to stand by.

  She pursed her lips. “I never took you for a liar, Sachin. I guess I’ll have to pull my weight, huh?”

  Confused, he simply stared at her. Even though he spent a good deal of time in the human realm, he found there were some sayings Rayna used that he was unaware of their actual meaning. Pulling her weight was one of them. She had indeed increased in size since her arrival but that was due to the fact she was heavy with child. Did she think she could throw herself at him and perhaps sit on him until he conceded his days had grown dark and his mood sour? Even she was not large enough to pose any threat to him.

  “Sachin, you are to take one week’s leave, effective immediately.” Her eyes twinkled as she continued to rub her distended belly. “And you must take the time off on Earth.”

  He baulked. “Rayna, you cannot think I would leave you and Kabril undefended when—”

  She motioned to the hundreds upon hundreds of guards heading back to their homes. “They don’t count? And I’ve seen my husband fight. He’s a force to be reckoned with when he’s pissed. So, unless you want to ignore your queen’s orders, you should really get going.” Rayna spun on her heels and left him to stare dumbfounded in her wake.

  A hearty laugh drew his attention and he found Kabril walking towards him. Kabril’s golden gaze locked firmly on Sachin. “From the look on your face, my wife not only found you but she did as she threatened to do—order you to take leave.”

  “Kabril, she cannot force me to—”

  Putting his hand up, Kabril silenced him. “Ah, but she can and she did. After all, she is queen. Is she not?”

  Sachin exhaled deeply. “Yes.”

  “Go, Sachin. Take the time you need on Earth to do whatever it is you do that helps you find peace. We will be here when you return.”

  Defeated, Sachin held his tongue and stormed towards his chamber. Sconces lit the narrow hall. He had chosen to take the back way to his room, the servants’ corridor, in hope of avoiding any of his men. His foul temperament would only leave him challenging them to another round of sparring. He was up for it, though he doubted if they were.

  Soft moans and murmurs caught Sachin’s attention. He paused just outside of the buttery. He peeked into the slightly ajar door and watched a serving wench pulling her skirts high as Lazar, a defector from the Falco Peregrinus, undid his breeches. Sachin was taken aback to see Lazar with the woman for she was below the salt in every way possible. A lowbred whore. Public displays of affection were fine so long as the person you chose to be with wasn’t of a lower standing.

  Sachin watched as Lazar cupped the back of the wench’s neck, whispering sweet nothings to her as he readied her for the taking. His own cock grew hard at the sight and he made no qualms about fisting himself through his trews.

  Sachin held little worry about being stumbled upon. His race, the Buteos Regalis, were not only fierce warriors but well known for their prowess. Public displays of affection were not frowned upon but rather they were encouraged.

  The wench tossed her head back, sending long waves of golden tresses in every direction. She cried out and writhed beneath Lazar’s nimble fingers. Sachin had tumbled with the wench several times, many years ago, before she began accepting coin for her services—before he met Paige. And while the wench wasn’t lacking in the wants of a man, she did little to sate his need. Still, anything was better than nothing.

  He rubbed his clothed cock, enjoying the part of voyeur more than he should. Each time the wench attempted to kiss Lazar on the mouth, the man turned his head away. Sachin understood why. It was a means to avoid intimacy. Something he himself was prone to doing. There had been only one woman he’d kissed passionately while sinking deep into her and there would never be another. He would use other women for his baser needs but keep his heart out of the mix.

  Rubbing the flesh standing in stark relief in his trews, Sachin watched as Lazar brought the whore to peak with nothing more than his fingers. The woman bucked against Lazar’s hand and begged for more. Nodding, Lazar lifted her and repositioned her so she was facing away from him. Lazar’s gaze met Sachin’s over the whore’s head. A tiny smile tugged at the man’s lips and he yanked the wench’s skirts higher, before slapping her ass cheek. The resounding thud echoed through the area, exciting Sachin. He unlaced his trews and took hold of himself.

  Lazar spanked the whore again and rubbed the area. “You have been naughty, tempting a man so,” Lazar said, repeating his actions. “You should be punished.”

  The whore wiggled, her ass cheeks reddened. “Oh, yes. Punish me. Punish me!”

  Lazar dipped his fingers into the whore’s quim and used her juices to coat his c
ock. He lifted a brow in question in Sachin’s direction and motioned to the whore’s ass. Sachin knew it was a silent invite to join in the fun. He considered it but stood his ground, deciding instead to spit on his palm, adding his own form of lubrication as he fondled his shaft.

  Lazar delivered another set of soft blows to the woman’s backside and she squealed with delight, pressing herself back towards him. Lazar whispered, “Patience.”

  Sachin’s balls began to tighten and he knew he was on the verge of coming. He imaged it was he who was sliding into a wet sheath instead of Lazar and his wench. Sachin pictured red hair and skin dusted with freckles. He could almost feel Paige wrapped around his cock, her body tight, yet accepting. He continued to stroke himself as the sounds of sex surrounded him.

  Lazar pounded his body into the serving wench’s relentlessly. Sachin wasn’t sure how the woman could take such roughness but she seemed to relish it, screaming out for more.

  Lazar smiled. It was unkind, and a flash of hate moved through his eyes as he fucked the woman. For Sachin it was like looking in a mirror. He too wore that look when he needed to see to his manly needs. Only with Paige it had been different. After her, he hated himself for being weak and needing to find release in someone else.

  Lazar stopped taking the wench from behind and spun her around to face him. He held her chin as she spat at him, talking about how he was nothing more than a dirty falcon that no women of hawk descent wanted to touch. She looked excited by the words, as if the knowledge somehow gave her power over him. She tossed her legs over Lazar’s shoulders, allowing the man to go deeper with his thrusts.

  Sachin stroked himself, feeling the man’s hate of the woman he was with but understanding the need to feel like a man regardless the price.

  “Fuck me harder, you dirty beast,” the wench said, biting at Lazar’s hand.

  Lazar slapped her face lightly and narrowed his gaze on her. “Bite me and I will deny you the chance to come again, wench.”

  “No,” she cried, reaching between their bodies in an attempt to grasp Lazar’s cock. Lazar thrust her hand away and pummeled her body with his own. Sachin matched his strokes, fisting himself, nearing release.

  Lazar ripped the wench’s bodice open, causing her large breasts to spill out. They were not the prettiest breasts he’d ever seen but they did help to push Sachin nearer to peak. He watched as her nipples hardened in the cool air. Biting at his lower lip, Sachin pictured Paige in his mind. It was her face he saw in place of the whore’s, her body and in his thoughts, it was he who was giving her pleasure. He moaned as his balls drew up tight and his cock twitched. He came, jetting his seed onto the floor.

  Pulling free of the wench, Lazar came too, allowing his seed to splash over the whore’s thighs. She hissed at him and tried to strike him. “I didn’t come again. I—”

  Lazar stared down at her before shifting his haunted gaze towards Sachin. “Your turn.”

  Sachin shook his head. “I am done and have no need for the likes of her.”

  A genuine smile came over Lazar. “As am I. Off with you.” He yanked her skirts down and swatted her backside.

  She huffed and shrieked away, her gaze coming to Sachin. “M-my lord, I-I did not—”

  Sachin waved his hand dismissively. “Be gone.”

  She nodded before rushing off in the other direction, muttering curses under her breath.

  Lazar tucked his cock back into his trews and Sachin did the same. Sachin looked at the floor and the side of the table and laughed. “The cook will have our heads for messing up her kitchen.”

  “Then we best be off.” Lazar pulled two gold coins from the leather purse on his belt and tossed them onto the table. “For her time.”

  Sachin shook his head. “She was only worth one.”

  “I know,” Lazar said, heading out of the room. He stopped just outside of the kitchen. “Do you think there are any women left in the world worth more?”

  Sachin thought of Paige. He smiled and let out a long breath. “I am positive there are women worth more than we could ever hope to give them.”

  Lazar stared silently at him before speaking. “Mayhap you should find and hold tight to one should you ever cross her path. I know I would.”

  “Such insight from one so…”

  Grinning, Lazar adjusted his covered cock. “Hungry for a commitment-free fuck?”

  “Your words.”

  Lazar watched him closely. “Rumors of you bedding Earth women and going through lines of them to get your fill are high with the guards. Are they true?”

  At one point in his life the rumors had been true. After Paige, no human woman could come close to what she made him feel. “You cannot believe everything you hear.”

  “Really?”

  It was obvious Sachin wasn’t successful in his lies. He exhaled and scratched at his inner arm. “I have been ordered to take leave…on Earth. Care to join me?”

  “Ordered?” Lazar pressed, merriment twinkling in the man’s eyes. “By whom?”

  “The queen.”

  Lazar snorted. “By all means, I would not wish to miss this, but alas, Kabril has asked me to prep him for a possible peace negotiation with the Falcos.”

  “Peace?”

  Lazar looked as though he thought the chances of obtaining peace were as slim as Sachin believed them to be. “Yes.”

  “Best of luck. They aren’t to be trusted, but I suppose you know that.” Sachin pivoted and made his way through the kitchen, in a rush to simply make it to his chambers. He walked into low-hanging herbs put there to dry and cursed silently as he backed into another table. One of the kitchen cooks appeared and gave him a cross look before waving a wooden spoon at him. He flashed an innocent smile in the older woman’s direction and she shook her head.

  “I’ve known you since you were but a babe, Sachin.” She shook her spoon at him. “You were still on your mother’s tit. You are nothing if not a troublemaker. I can guess the smell of sex in the air is from you and one of the castle whores.”

  “No. Not I.” He blushed from his toes to his ears and glanced back to find Lazar was long gone. The last thing he wanted was someone mentioning him being on his mother’s tit in front of his men. “I am innocent, sweet maiden.”

  “I’ll sweet maiden you.” She threw the spoon at him and he laughed, stumbling on his way out of the kitchen. For such a fearsome warrior, he seemed to be having trouble staying on his feet.

  Rayna was right. He needed to take leave and get away from it all but the knowledge didn’t make going any easier. He’d spent nearly four hundred cycles protecting Kabril. To leave him in his most vulnerable time seemed wrong. Still, a direct order, by his queen, had been issued. Sachin had no choice but to accept.

  He kicked the heavy wooden door of his chamber open so hard and so fast, it splintered down the center before slamming into a tiny side table. An open saucer filled with oil and a floating wick crashed to the floor, its contents coating the broken door and table. Kabril would remind him of his temper when he saw the damage. Not that Kabril hadn’t been known to break a door or two in his four hundred cycles.

  Sachin wiped the sweat from his brow and fixed his gaze on the side table. There, a piece of leather was threaded through a lone amber crystal. It shimmered as the light from the window shone in, causing various patterns to appear on his chamber-room walls. There was a time Sachin was never found without the leather tied around his neck. Guilt had caused him to finally remove the item that reminded him of Paige. He had given her a matching one in the beginning of their friendship and she’d done something similar with hers, threading a black cord through it. The crystals were magikally charged, allowing the wearer’s thoughts to be amplified. When Sachin was still wearing his, he would sense Paige’s need to see him and he would go to her. She’d stopped wanting him near after he’d left her a year ago, in the grass, alone and vulnerable.

  I wonder if she still wears hers.

  Closing his eyes,
he tried and failed to push thoughts of Paige from his head. He’d made himself a promise to stay away from her. She was an addiction, one he couldn’t seem to shake. As Rayna’s order to go to Earth filtered through Sachin’s mind, the need to go to her was great.

  A warrior he may be but he’d tasted defeat the day he’d lost his heart to Paige. Looking in on her couldn’t harm anything. He just needed to be sure she was well.

  Chapter Three

  Earth

  Paige double-checked the horse’s bandage and rubbed his upper leg. The injury had been slight and the horse was expected to make a full recovery. It, like many of the people who passed through the ranch, had come to her broken—abused. “You’re a good boy, huh? That’s right. A good boy.”

  The horse turned its head towards her and seemed to understand her concern. It had survived neglect from its previous owner and had been brought to her barely able to support its own weight. That had been a little over a year ago. With much love and care, it was well on its way to being whole again. It did have a tendency to be rambunctious and had ended up hurting itself in the process. They went out of their way to safeguard the ranch, in hopes it would prevent injuries to the horses but domesticated horses were notoriously accident-prone. This one was no exception He was young and finally free of abuse. She couldn’t blame him for wanting to enjoy his time to the fullest.

  The early summer air was drier than normal and she wondered if another drought would hit the area. The ranch had made it through the year prior, when just about everything in the surrounding area had dried up. Their income came mostly from boarding animals and the onsite animal hospital. Sarah was a veterinarian. Paige was in her second year of school to be a veterinary assistant.

  Smiling, she stood and patted the horse’s back. “Go ahead. Let’s see how it’s holding up.”

  The horse walked away and she kept a close eye on the wrapped leg. Even though Paige knew the horse would be fine, she couldn’t help but worry. His mood had been surly as of late and his temperament unpredictable, reminding her of somebody she once knew.