Claimed by the Warlord

by Maddie Taylor

  Instantly, memories flooded her head of lying over his lap, her bottom bared to his gaze, with his palm bringing her skin to a warm, tingling, slow burn. Afterward, he seemed to like having her hands on him, although while she explored, her warlord wasn’t idle.

  Since determining his touch didn’t have an adverse effect, he did so often, whether by his hand resting at the small of her back or slipping an arm around her waist or brushing her skin lightly with his fingers. And there were kisses, lots of kisses. When they were intimate, he liked all of her parts—breasts, nipples, and the warm wet place between her legs—but his hands seemed to gravitate to her lower curves quite a lot.

  No matter when and where they joined, his passion for her burned as hot as he did. But after they’d argued, and he’d spanked her then taken her the first time with her back against the wall, their emotions had been amplified. She thought she’d seen sparks of his passion dancing in the air all around them. That the warlord could lose control while making love to her pleased her greatly, and she wanted to experience it again. If it meant a spanking to recreate the fiery moment, she had no problem with that.

  A grin curved her lips. “I’m ready for directive number one, my lord. If it involves the placing of my hands on your body, all the better.”

  His laughter filled the room, becoming muffled when his mouth sealed over hers and his tongue swept inside. His eyes remained open, peering up into hers with an intimacy so intense her humor faded as pure lust sizzled through her.

  His hands caught her around the waist and he lifted her astride his hips. “First, I want to feel your mouth on me. We’ll see where that leads us.”

  Her eyes immediately dropped to his hard fully erect shaft pointing upward along his belly.

  “Have no doubt you’ll get there, little one,” Darios told her with a wicked smile before he tapped his lips. “I’d prefer you begin here with a kiss you initiate.”

  Aurelia’s hands splayed over his broad chest, and she slowly leaned forward. “It will be my pleasure, my lord,” she whispered, a deep sensuality in her voice she didn’t recognize.

  Unused to taking the lead, she stopped a fraction away, uncertain. Instead of the devouring kiss she imagined, she brushed her lips gently over his.

  Darios had other ideas. Because he was allowing her to explore did not mean he wouldn’t participate fully.

  “Relax. If it feels good, you’re doing it right. Try something like this.”

  He sank his hands into her hair, his lips demanding more as he took charge. Aurelia soon became immersed in the passion he stirred in her and lost her shyness. Her hands began to roam, gliding over the smooth skin of his shoulders and chest, and she sighed, savoring the way his muscles bunched and rippled beneath her fingers.

  Too soon, he tugged her head up. “Done exploring?”

  Her gaze dropped to his neck and the sunburst of ink adorning his skin. Her tongue slipped out to lick her lips. “I’m just getting started.”

  He chuckled as his thumb slid along her jaw then sideways to glide slowly across her mouth. “I am yours to do with as you will, sweetness. Just don’t expect my patience to last long.”

  As big as he was, it would take days to fully discover every smooth plane, ridge, and hollow, but that didn’t deter her from trying to squeeze it into right now.

  With the tip of her tongue, Aurelia did as she’d dreamed from the first moment she saw his dark markings—she traced each line and swirl, slowly moving down the side of his neck to his wide, glorious chest. Eagerly, she moved to a nipple and lapped at it with the flat of her tongue. Next, she closed her teeth around it, nipping lightly then soothing with little wet circles.

  She chanced a glance up at him and nearly swallowed her tongue.

  His eyes were molten with lust, and it spread to her. Unable to look away, she held his gaze as her parted lips trailed down the ridges of his abdomen, coming to an abrupt halt below his navel when her chin nudged the head of his fully erect cock.

  Uncertain, she raised her head.

  “It’s all right. Do whatever you feel comfortable with. Use your hand to squeeze and stroke,” he urged gently, “and your mouth to suck, lick, and taste. Whatever you do will feel good for me. Just no teeth, and make sure to get it nice and wet because it’s going inside you next.”

  Eager for all of it, the touching and tasting, and eventually having him inside her once more, Aurelia took his length in her hands. She licked her lips and was on the descent, lowering her mouth to the tip when a loud knock sounded at the door.

  She jumped, sitting back on her heels as Darios roared, “Flaming hell!” at the inopportune interruption.

  NOT BOTHERING TO DRESS because he intended to quickly get rid of the fool at the door and return to where he’d left off, Darios stalked across the room

  “This had better be a matter of life or death,” he grumbled as he flung open the door.

  Cogar stood on the other side.

  His usually unflappable second blinked in surprise at the state of his undress. He also shifted uncomfortably.

  “Out with it, man!”

  He got right to the point. “A message has arrived from Aeldor.” He held a paper out to him.

  Darios frowned. “It isn’t like we weren’t expecting a response.”

  “Yes, but not like this, I’m afraid.”

  He took the message and opened it.

  “The prince has accused us of illegal trespassing, thereby violating the truce,” Cogar explained.

  “And demanding the return of the princess,” he added in a mutter while he read. “We have hours to comply or they will retaliate.”

  “Yes, they believe we are the aggressors.”

  “Flaming fucking hell,” he bit out harshly as he crumpled the paper in his fist. “Send a response and set a meeting at a neutral site.”

  “Communications are still sporadic, but we will try.”

  He held up the badly creased message. “Then how did we get this?”

  “Ambassador Klymon from Kholocea delivered it on his way home from Aeldor. He reports Princeton Axton was enraged and Aziros practically catatonic with worry.”

  “It’s like he didn’t receive my message about how we found Aurelia at all.”

  “Because they didn’t, not fully,” Cogar said grimly. “It came through in indecipherable bits and pieces, apparently. Then they heard reports of a fair-haired princess being offered at a special auction by the Napsalese slavers and a Voltarrean battlecruiser lurking nearby. They put the two together and found us guilty by proximity.”

  “Playing judge and jury without giving us a fair trial.”

  “There is more.”

  “Of course, there is,” he muttered tiredly.

  “According to Klymon, the prince is calling for your head if you so much as looked sideways at his sister let alone touched her.”

  “Damnation!”

  “I passed by the princess’s room coming to you. It’s under repair.”

  “Yes, she is with me.”

  His eyes dipped then darted away. “Due respect, my lord. She was rumored to be a maiden. Was that wise?”

  “Probably not, but it is done.”

  Cogar guarded his reaction well, but having known him since childhood, Darios caught the barely detectable tightening of his jaw. “If you have something to say, get on with it.”

  “If we convince the king we rescued her—”

  “Which we did.”

  “Yes, but when she goes home, and he learns she is no longer chaste, we’ll be back to square one.”

  “That won’t happen.”

  “How do you intend to prevent it?”

  “She’s not going back.”

  “You intend to keep her? As a bedmate?” His usually cool second’s anger flared. “Darios, you cannot—”

  “As a wife, man,” he retorted sharply—insulted. “Even I would not have the balls to take a royal princess as a bedmate. I’ve claimed her.”

/>   “But—”

  “She’s mine,” he growled, tired of explanations. “That’s the end of it.”

  Cogar, who’d been with him a long time, persisted. “I understand you feel possessive—”

  “You don’t understand, my friend. This is more than a fleeting attachment. She is the one meant for me—the bride of my heart.”

  He stared back at him. “Your destined one is Aeldorian?”

  “I’m as shocked as you, believe me. But I have no doubts. I knew the moment I saw her, and the connection is there.”

  “How does it work when you...and she—” He waved his hands, implying rather than speaking the awkward question.

  “She cannot feel my emotions, so that isn’t an issue, and the physical chemistry between us is explosive. Her powers are strong. She says the only other person she cannot read is her twin brother.”

  “Is it possible...” He paused mid-sentence, brow creased. Darios gave him a moment. Cogar’s excellent fighting skills weren’t the only reason he’d appointed him as his second. The man was an excellent strategist and highly astute. “Could it be it’s the same with all Aeldorian twins? They can’t use their skill and be certain of the one closest to them, so they become even more suspicious.”

  “It certainly would explain a lot.”

  “What about your powers? Can you scry her truth?”

  He met his friend’s eyes. “There is a dampening between us.”

  “Remarkable—like with our destined ones.” He paused, his expression changing swiftly from surprise to baffled as it sunk in what this meant. “Has this happened before?”

  “Never. Whether in a contentious interrogation with a captured Aeldorian fighter or during diplomatic negotiations with the one of their emissaries, including their king, my ability hasn’t ever been affected, which is more proof we are fated for one another.”

  “Could this lead to conflict between you? Like with the twins, if you can’t separate truth from lie, and she can’t read your emotions?”

  “Absolutely not.”

  “How can you say this with such certainty, my friend?”

  “Because I would never allow that to happen.” He turned, ready to be done with the intense conversation, but stopped after a few feet. He twisted, glancing back at his most trusted friend and confidant, aside from his brother. “She is unlike any other woman I’ve known, which is why she isn’t going back. Send the message to Aeldor and ready the Atagan.”

  “She’s in space dock for maintenance.”

  “Tell the engineers it will have to wait—again. We’ll leave to retrieve our men within the hour.”

  “And pray to the gods the peace holds.” Cogar nodded respectfully and left to follow his orders, while Darios walked back into his suite, and to Aurelia, the threat of war heavy on his shoulders, and, in light of what it could mean to them, on his heart.

  Chapter Twelve

  WHILE LYING IN BED, Aurelia could hear the hum of their muffled voices and an occasional growled exclamation from Darios. Though she strained to hear the subject of the lengthy conversation, she couldn’t make out a word. From the heat and tension emanating from the next room, it didn’t take psychokinetic abilities to conclude something was seriously wrong.

  Anxious to find out what new catastrophe had struck, she slipped out of bed, but another dilemma arose when she picked up her rumpled gown from the floor. In his eagerness, earlier, he’d ripped two of the seams. This left her only options his red cloak or a sheet.

  She chose the latter and was tucking the ends between her breasts when he came storming back in.

  He threw her a brief glance. “Get back in bed, Aurelia, and try to sleep. You haven’t had much of the rest Crynar ordered.”

  Sleep was the furthest thing from her mind.

  “I’m feeling much better. I haven’t had a single coughing spell all day.”

  Her gaze followed him as he stalked around the room gathering his clothing. She could tell by the rigid set of his jaw and his impatient, jerky motions when he sat on the bed and yanked on his leather calf-high boots, whatever was going on, wasn’t good.

  “It’s bad news,” she observed quietly, still standing swathed in linen in the middle of the room.

  “I must leave, but you’ll be safe here under guard.”

  “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  His head came up, his expression thunderous. She took an instinctive step back, which was a mistake.

  “No,” he snapped, his eyes blazing amber fire. He extended his hand. “Do not back away from me. You have nothing to fear.”

  Easy for him to say; he wasn’t seeing what she was. He looked like a volcano about to blow and as big as he was, that would scare anyone. But as she walked toward him, she opted not to tell him so and make matters worse.

  “Why do I need an escort to be safe suddenly? I walked around freely these past few mornings, and no one bothered me.”

  “While you were supposed to be in bed resting,” he replied, no longer meeting her gaze.

  “Please, don’t change the subject. Tell me what’s happening. I heard you shouting.”

  He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and buried his face in his hands. It was the first time she’d seen him appear frustrated, tired, and uncertain.

  “You’re scaring me, Darios,” she whispered. “Talk to me.”

  He reached out a long arm, caught her wrist in one hand, and towed her toward him. Once she stood between his spread thighs, his arms slid around her hips, anchoring her in place. He tipped his head back and looked up at her. “I received a message from your brother.”

  “The cloud is gone? Communications have been restored?”

  “No. It came by way of special messenger. Before I tell you what it contained, you should know we have intercepted a distress call from one of our supply vessels. Though broken up and missing every other word at least we know they were fired upon by an Aeldorian ship and heavily damaged.”

  “No,” she breathed, her hands moving up to cover her mouth.

  “Yes, your brother’s message confirmed it. Demands were made.”

  “What kind of demands?” she asked, though she knew his next words before he said them.

  “The release of their princess in exchange for the twenty-five men taken by force. We have three Euphyrion-standard days to comply.”

  “Or?”

  He didn’t reply; he didn’t have to.

  Her father would do anything to protect her, as would Axton, who was the highest-ranking military officer in the Aeldorian army. Although her father and brother didn’t include her in military matters, she read the news and heard stories. Her brother could be merciless in battle and under his leadership, their forces never shied away from conflict, especially in the protection of their people.

  Neither would rest until she returned safely.

  Feeling sick to her stomach as they faced war, yet again, she swayed. Darios kept her from falling by drawing her closer.

  “You need to send me home, at once.”

  “No.”

  “But it will mean war, and as the enemy in your midst, I will be as guilty as if I’d personally fired upon your ship.”

  He nodded once, eyes dark with concern. “Word will spread, emotions will run high; it is inevitable. I’m afraid that is how some will see it.”

  She curled her hands around his thick forearms, her nails digging into his skin. He didn’t so much as flinch until she asked, “Do you?”

  His dark brows slammed together. “How can you ask such a thing?”

  “I’m sorry, but this is quite distressing.” She tried to keep hold of her fragile control, but fear crept into her voice regardless. “I am no longer safe here because of this.”

  “I ensure your safety, princess.”

  “If only I could talk to my father. I would assure him of your innocence and explain this is all a terrible misunderstanding, that your women were victimized the same as me.”

  His hand
covered hers and squeezed. “I sent word of that. Apparently, it didn’t go through. It’s unfortunate your brother chose action first over diplomacy. Misunderstanding or not, this was an unprovoked act of aggression. If any of my men were harmed, or worse, I don’t know how our worlds get back to where we were yesterday.”

  “We must. Not doing so isn’t an option.”

  He raised her trembling fingers to his lips. “I will do my best, princess, but I must act quickly.”

  “Send me home. I know Axton and my father must be frantic, but when they see I am fine and hear the explanation—”

  “You know how I feel about that,” he said brusquely as he set her aside and rose to his feet.

  “Things have changed.”

  His answer came blasting back to her, his tone hard and inflexible. “My answer has not. You are not setting foot on Aeldor until I find out who wants you dead.”

  With his back to her, a clear sign he was done discussing her plan, he resumed getting ready. He wrapped a wide leather belt around his waist and cinched it. It topped another type of loincloth, with three wide strips of leather falling vertically to a point at mid-thigh in both front and back.

  These weren’t as abbreviated but still revealed yards of smooth bronze skin and bulging muscle. She could see them ripple as he crossed to a tall chest and tucked several gadgets into the slots and loops on his belt. Except for the wicked-looking blade he slid into a short casing, she didn’t know what any of them were for.

  Next came tooled leather wrist cuffs. All the soldiers wore them, but Darios’ were trimmed in gold with etchings she assumed signified his rank.

  Whether as bare as the day he came into the world or dressed in his warlord trappings, Darios was a magnificent male specimen. Except seeing him this way, readying for a fight, brought on an ominous sense of foreboding.

  “What do you plan to do?”

  “Get my men back. If I can arrange for civil negotiations with your father and brother, I will do so, but I cannot let this act go unanswered.” He crossed to her and pulled her into his arms. One hand came up to cradle the back of her head as he took a brief kiss. “Sleep,” he insisted. “When you wake we’ll know more.”