Denying Ecstasy (The Guardians of the Realms Series)

by Setta Jay

  He pushed those thoughts away as he watched her back arch and her body tremble as she finally came. His dick jerked at the sight of the water riding her pussy and gliding over her torso, bringing her down. Fuck. He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. Everything had gone dark. She’d probably closed her eyes.

  He opened his and pulled on his dick, thoroughly disgusted with himself. His dick throbbed, but he knew it would stay that way. Painful blue balls were to be his constant companion until he found a way out of this fucked-up situation. His dick hurt, and all he could do was lay there and try to think of anything else. He couldn’t stop himself from looking again. He gritted his teeth as he searched, only to see plain tan tile walls.

  He was fucked. He didn’t want to think about what would happen if he couldn’t find a way out of the mating.

  Chapter 6

  Kane’s Compound, Tetartos Realm

  He hated the redheaded bitch with a passion. Kane truly wished she would fuck up and refuse to use her gift. Her ability was the only thing keeping her alive. He didn’t want anything to do with her, but it was the only choice he had unless she decided not to work for him.

  “Elizabeth.” He infused the name with the disdain he felt for her. “You either use your power to contact Cynthia as I’ve instructed, or I finally kill you.” She was testing him, and it was irritating. “Either way I’ll get what I want. If you’re unable to get me more females from Earth Realm for Ian and the others to work on, I will take my chances with finding some here on Tetartos. Ian is the new head of the labs, and as such, we get him what he needs to do his job. I don’t care how.” He would rather not risk getting test subjects in Tetartos again after the last massive failure.

  The blame for that had fallen completely on Cyril’s arrogance in taking the young Hippeus that interested the Guardian Gregoire. He’d had a bad feeling about taking her, and it ended up with the Guardians descending on Cyril’s old compound. With the bastard dead, it fell to him to make decisions on how the place was run. He hadn’t worked his way through the ranks and done vile things only to allow the research to fail now. Cyril had been a sadistic bastard, and he didn’t mourn him in the slightest. He only wished the son of a bitch hadn’t taken his knowledge with him to the grave.

  Elizabeth’s silver eyes swirled with a mixture of madness and calculation. She made his skin itch. He had been made her keeper by Cyril before he’d died, but it wasn’t a pleasant task. She was a twisted and demented female. He’d fucked her during that initial punishment, but he’d not been able to stomach touching her again.

  She grinned evilly before purring, “Yes, you could get other females here, but you’d never be able to contact the Tria without me.”

  “I don’t give a fuck about the Tria. That was Cyril’s shit. They mean nothing to mating research, which is the only thing I care about. You really are expendable to me,” he spat out. He’d never liked dealing with the sadistic fucks in Hell. It had always unsettled him, and he’d be damned if he shipped any other females to them. Their bodies couldn’t go, those were trapped on Tetartos like all the other inhabitants, but Cyril had no qualms about sending their souls to the demented beings. That was one thing he wouldn’t do now that he was in command. Elizabeth’s grin fell, and he saw the moment she realized just how fleeting her existence could be under his reign.

  He grinned wide at how pale her skin had grown.

  He hated her with a passion that ran deep, but he would rather use her power than attempt to get more Mageia in the cities of Tetartos. Her ability was the one thing that kept her alive when Cyril was the leader, and it would be the only thing that kept her alive now. As long as the bitch used it. If she screwed with him, he’d kill her and be happier after having finally rid the Realm of her existence.

  “Fine, Cynthia will be in desperate need of a fix by now, and she’ll be in an entertaining amount of pain.” Elizabeth’s eyes shone with pleasure at the thought of the Earthbound Mageia suffering.

  He clenched his jaw at having to work with such a disgusting creature. She’d treated him and his men sadistically for the centuries he’d worked for Cyril. That changed when Kane had been charged as her keeper; it was the only good thing Cyril had done in his reign. Kane had allowed his males to dole out some pain of their own, and she seemed only more twisted for it. She’d more than earned every bit of suffering she’d experienced, though, and those males had deserved the retribution he’d given them. She’d tormented them while under Cyril’s protection, and before, when she was Apollo and Hermes’ pet. None had dared to raise a hand against her, fearing that Cyril would punish them. He’d been a scary bastard.

  He gritted his teeth, needing to focus on the task at hand. Ian and the others were going through the samples he’d taken before they’d left the lab. The male was attempting to understand why Cyril had ordered Kane to find more Mageia with rare offshoot powers. Not the normal air, earth, water and fire, but some mutation of the ability. Anticipation filled him. He knew Cyril had been close; he may have even found the answer before he was killed by the female he’d taken and secreted away. In the back of Kane’s mind he knew that the only way she could have killed him was if she’d gained Cyril’s power as a mate. He didn’t believe even an ounce of the story the Guardians had fed to the cities. They were hiding the truth of that death. He wanted to know why. If Cyril really had mated the female, it would explain the Guardians’ lies to the others in the Realm. They wouldn’t want the others to know that Cyril succeeded in finding a way around the mating curse.

  He glared at Elizabeth. After all the decades he’d suffered with Cyril’s maniacal behavior, all the time he’d spent working his way through the ranks, the answers he needed were almost his.

  “I’ve already made arrangements to transport payment. Do not screw this up.” He gave Elizabeth a deadly look that promised pain if she went against him. He truly would enjoy ending her. The fingers of one hand wrapped around her throat, and he lifted her off the ground to make his point. So easily he could snap her delicate neck. They were both Aletheia, but he’d been honed and battle ready for longer than he could remember, whereas she was merely a sick whore that spread her legs for any that would keep her safe from the Guardians’ wrath. There were more Immortals than he could count that wanted her dead for her part in Apollo and Hermes’ labs before the Immortal exile. She was hated nearly as much as Cyril had been. Her death would eventually be his gift to the Realm.

  She looked at him, defiance bright in her silver eyes. Her long curly red hair ran down his arm and over her bare chest. He’d not allowed her clothing as part of her punishment. His cock twitched, and the response disgusted him.

  He’d gone too long without a female if the sight of Elizabeth’s naked body had any effect on him. He would never allow his dick to touch her again. He would finish here and have Angus, his second, take her back to the cell he’d made for her. She couldn’t be trusted outside of it. After his duty was seen to, he would go in search of a female to slake his needs with. He knew better than to wait too long, but with Cyril gone, there had been much to do in cementing himself as the new leader. He’d given many assurances that they would find the answer to the mating curse and fought all the challenges that arose. Most had stayed with Cyril for the promise of a mate, or like Elizabeth, to avoid the wrath of Immortals and Guardians for whatever heinous part they’d played in the Gods’ labs those centuries ago. The minute they went to Cyril’s side, it assured they’d never be accepted again by the others, so in reality they had little choice but to follow Kane.

  Much as he disdained his own choices, they were the only ones he’d had. They were finally close to the answers that would make it all worth him having become a monster. He blew out a harsh breath and dropped Elizabeth to the ground. There was work to do. He’d bargained with evil, and he would see it through. He had to.

  Chapter 7

  Guardian Manor, Tetartos Realm

  Rain rolled her shoulders, tryi
ng to relieve some of the tension that irritated the crap out of her. She’d taken to avoiding the interior halls and even the courtyard, where so many liked to sit when the weather was so beautiful. That meant taking the back path around the big mansion to the door she’d used to escape from Dorian the day before. She hated what her existence had become. She’d never snuck around like that in her life, always facing life head-on. Lack of sleep and the thought of catching the sultry or cocky grins from the Immortal staff members changed that. She hated that they scented her constant arousal and assumed it was for them. They weren’t privy to the fact that she was Dorian’s mate. Claimed or not, Sirena suggested keeping that information quiet.

  Her symptoms were officially getting worse. Before it would hit at awkward times; now it felt more intense. She needed to ask Sirena if there was anything she could do, if there was anywhere she could go. She needed to get the hell away, but she wasn’t stupid, she needed to be safe. She just wanted to be alone while she suffered, instead of having to put on a happy face for the world when she was a damned mess.

  She slipped through the door to the hallway to the infirmary. All doors were magically coded to allow access to only those that were supposed to be there. A few more feet put her in the same place she’d been pinned against the wall and nearly screwed. Shit, she couldn’t even look at the wall without wanting to rub against it. She frowned, thoroughly annoyed at having zero control of her urges. She knocked at the entrance to the infirmary and waited impatiently for Sirena to come and open it. No one else was in the hall for the moment, but who knew how long that would last?

  Sirena opened the door. The beautiful female never had a blonde hair out of place, always resembling a petite version of an Earth pin-up girl. Rain wondered if she could pull off that look. She was tired of her purple-tipped blonde hair and had been itching for a change. She was itching for a lot of things…

  Sirena frowned at her. “What are you doing here?”

  Rain frowned right back at the Guardian. She was in no mood to take crap from anyone. “I have questions.”

  Sirena shook her head as if to clear it. “I only meant that I thought you would be with Dorian.” Her gaze morphed quickly to concern. “What happened? Alyssa asked me yesterday, and I told her I thought you were off working through the frenzy.”

  She blew out a frustrated breath. “It was a bad plan. I waited for him, wanting answers, but all we did was snap at each other and make out. If I’d have let anything more happen, he would have hated me. I would have hated me. I honestly don’t know if I could mate that asshole if I was dying and screwing him was the only option for my survival,” Rain said with an annoyed bite. She was exhausted. Her sleep had been tormented. She felt unsettled and, oddly… stalked.

  She found the nearest stool and sat. “He fought it?” Sirena seemed shocked, and that reaction set off Rain’s defensiveness.

  “I fought it.” She felt ridiculous and childish that she’d said it. “Shit, yes, he was fighting it too. He said a lot of shitty things about not wanting a mate, and basically insinuated I was a Guardian groupie wanting him for power and Immortality.” She inhaled deeply, managing to get it all out there without getting hit with all of the feelings that came from remembering all that was said. It had hurt, every damn word somehow striking her nerves.

  She’d never been an emotional female, but her life had flipped upside down. She was selling her business, her home and had a mate that was unlike anything she’d ever dreamed. Not in a good way. He was an asshole. An asshole she wanted to jump at the first chance, pride be damned, and she hated herself for that weakness.

  Sirena gritted her teeth. “He said that?”

  She needed to let it all out. She hadn’t known Sirena long, but felt like they were friends, plus she had insight into all the mating stuff as well as Dorian. “Pretty much, and as much as I wanted to deny every bit of it, a part of me thinks maybe he’s right. I don’t know him. He doesn’t know me and has no desire to get to know me. And I would rather be an Immortal with enough power to protect myself and those I care about than a mortal that is weak and a liability.” She fidgeted on the stiff seat. “I don’t want to get old and die. I’ve made the most out of my life, but now I’m supposed to live in hiding because I’m not strong enough to protect myself. If I try to go back to my old life, I risk being taken and used as an experiment or they take me to use me against Alyssa.” She shook her head. Sirena watched her carefully. “That doesn’t mean I’m willing to forgo my pride and open myself up to a male that hates me. I want a male that can’t wait to claim me, not one that is forced to.”

  “He doesn’t hate you, Rain. I think there’s a lot going on in his head, but you’re right, he doesn’t know you, so he couldn’t hate you.” Sirena sat down on another stool that was under the counter along the wall.

  Rain hadn’t seen or heard anyone else in there. A curtain divided part of the room, and she wondered if Vane was still out cold and recovering there.

  “He used to be a completely different male, fun, playful, with way too much energy. When he was betrayed and his friend was killed in front of him, he changed.” Sirena’s eyes filled with sorrow. “Drake thinks it’s because he was denied vengeance for Cahal’s death. The females were killed when we went for him. The bodies were accounted for in the wreckage.” The healer looked away. “I think there’s more to it that Drake hasn’t said. He refuses to push Dorian now, but says he will when the time is right.”

  “What do I do? I’m not forcing it. I don’t even think I could live with myself if I went to him again. I refuse to let him fuck me while hating me. The thought alone makes me want to hit something.” Her jaw clamped down tight at the thought. “Have you come up with anything for the symptoms? I’m exhausted and horny as hell. It’s awkward since I’m basically trapped here at the manor. Add that to the new effects I’m feeling today and I’m hating my existence.” She fidgeted in her seat.

  “What new symptoms?”

  “I feel odd. Something’s going on in my head, and I feel paranoid like I’m being watched.”

  Sirena’s blonde brows furrowed. “What exactly happened when he saw you?”

  Rain explained what little there was.

  “Okay. I’m guessing your links are clicking in place. You’ll start to feel his power too. Do not try to use it.”

  Crap, what does that even mean?

  “I’ll keep looking for something to dull the effects, but even if we manage it, where does that leave you? I had no idea how hard he’d fight this; Drake did.” Sirena’s eyes held sadness.

  “I don’t know about what’s going to happen with any of it, but at least we’d have relief. I wish we could find a way to talk, but he’s in full flight mode. I’m trying to understand what he might be feeling, but he’s such an asshole to me. I haven’t seen one redeeming quality about him. I know its destiny, but she’s being a total bitch.”

  “He’s really not an asshole. He’s pushing you away,” Sirena said softly. “He’s loyal and will be a total sweetheart when he finally gets through his issues.”

  “Do you really think I’ll see that side before I kill him?” Rain said without humor. If she started getting his power, she would not take responsibility for using it against him if he pissed her off. It actually made her feel marginally better knowing that she would get power even without being fully mated.

  “So the weirdness in my mind is the start of a mental link with him.” Damn, this is really happening.

  “Yeah, you’ll be able to talk to him that way.”

  She knew that Alyssa was mentally linked to Gregoire and, through that, all the Guardians. “I have to direct the question to him, right? He can’t just get in and take a look around, right?”

  “Guardian matings are still new. Yes, you direct your questions to him, but as a Mageia, you might project without thinking about it. Immortals usually have family links and are conditioned young to shield. You’ll likely be mentally open.”


  Talking in their minds might actually be a good option. She could have a conversation with him without going insane with lust, but she didn’t like the idea that he might be hearing random thoughts.

  “Can I block my thoughts?”

  Sirena sat there a moment, seeming to think about it. “Uri should be able to help you with that.” Uri was an Aletheia. That meant he had the best mental skills of all the Immortal races.

  “I need to check on Brianne and Vane again. Do you want to wait and we’ll talk some more?”

  “Brianne’s here too?” Rain was surprised. Alyssa hadn’t said anything about Brianne being injured.

  “She tried to suck the poison from Vane’s wounds, and it affected her too.” Sirena blew out a breath.

  Rain could see a hint of worry flash in her eyes before she leveled them out. What wasn’t the healer saying? “Are they going to be okay?” She’d originally felt confident that Vane would be fine. He wasn’t just any Immortal, he was a Demi-God. A little hell-beast bite should’ve been nothing to him… Now she wasn’t so sure.

  “They’ll be fine,” Sirena said, a little too fast.

  “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help,” she offered, not liking that she lacked any skills that might prove useful. She had no purpose in general. In a week her shop would go to a new owner and she’d have nothing.

  “I’ve got them covered.” Sirena smiled as she declined Rain’s help.

  It didn’t feel right staying when Sirena was obviously busy. Rain had a sick feeling in her gut from the healer’s reactions regarding Brianne and Vane. What was that all about? She shook her head; they would be fine. She needed to talk to Conn. She went down the hallway and upstairs to the room she remembered was the war room and where he said he always worked if she needed him. That had been part of his tour when she moved in. He was so damn sweet to her. She knocked when she finally came to the door.