A Warrior's Quest (13 page)

Watching her with those black demon eyes of his. Half the time those eyes burned with lust—a lust she didn
’t quite trust was real—and the other half he watched her with speculation...and worry. Why was he worried?

As if he knew she was thinking of him—and she wouldn
’t put it past him; Incubi had the ability to slip into a woman’s deeper thoughts with little difficulty—he flashed into her room.

Into her bed.

Wearing nothing but his sleep trousers, bare skin, and an arrogant smile. “Spawn sleeping yet, female?”

“Yes. Why?” She took a step or three away from the bed, from the muscled demon looking at her with that arrogance that said
he was the prince of the sex demons.

“I heard his cries and was concerned.”

“He’s fine, now. You can get out of here.” He looked bigger without a shirt, muscled and hard. Perfect. His skin was faintly blue—his preferred color of confidence—but not too much so. His trousers rode low on his hips, hinting at what was beneath.

Goddess help her, she was
hungry
. For blood. And for her
Rajni
. “You can’t just come in my room anytime you want.”

“But pet, I was concerned.”

“Don’t call me that.” It was too reminiscent of Rathan and Kindara. And she somehow doubted he meant it with the same affection his brother used with her best friend. No, he was up to something, and it involved this fake seduction attempt. “What is it you want from me? We both know there’s no
real
attraction between us.” Except that put into place by her Goddess. But Aureliana wasn’t about to mention
that
. “So odds are you’re planning something. And it is probably something I’m not going to like. So…
out.
”

She walked toward the door, passing too close to the big blue creature in her bed. Blue wasn
’t his natural color—it was more a dark tan, similar to many humans—but he seemed to be that color around her a lot. He grabbed her arm, stopping her. He moved quick, pulling her down to the mattress with him. He covered her mouth when she tried to protest. “Shhh, female. You’ll wake the spawn-of-whatever. Neither of us wants that to happen right now. He has powerful lungs. I heard him clear down the hallway. And how do you know there’s no
attraction
between us? I am half-Incubi; there will be no female of any of the lesser Kinds who cannot resist me. Including you. I shall prove it to you.”

He removed his hand, but replaced it with his mouth. Hot, quick…skilled. Aureliana forced herself to push against him, when all she wanted to do was cling for a bit, take a little bit of comfort from the male who in a different life would have been her mate.

“Shhh. Why do you fight it so? You know this is not wrong.” He brushed a hand down her front, and the sleep
vestis
parted beneath his fingers. This time she wore nothing beneath. His hands were so damned skilled. Damned prince of the Incubi, trained in the art of seduction from youth. How could she fight him, when her very blood was calling out for him?

It wasn
’t fair, the position the goddess had put her in. Why him? Why? And why now?

***

Rajni.
That word hit him straight between the eyes when he slipped into the female’s mind the way Incubi were wont to do.
Rajni
. Him.

Was she thinking
he
was this mate the goddess of her people had chosen for her? He was fated by no one. His life was
his
choice, not some weak and puny goddess’s.

Ren jerked away from her, leaving her staring up at him, confusion on her face. “I am
not
your
Rajni.
You can stop thinking that.
”

“I wasn
’t. You are the last male who would ever be my
Rajni.” 
She rolled off the bed and righted her clothing, covering the soft skin he’d only seconds earlier been touching. She glared at him, a challenge in her eyes.

Still, was there
hurt
on her face? He hadn’t meant to do that. “Why were you thinking it, then?”

“How do you know if I was? Maybe I was thinking you wouldn
’t even compare to my
Rajni.
” He couldn’t miss the disdain her words now. “I think that mind-reading thing you do is a bit broken if you think I’d ever even for a moment believe a beast like
you
is my
Rajni.”

Had any female ever looked at him with just that expression of actual disgust? Ren didn
’t think so. He stalked around the end of the bed and grabbed the warrior girl around the arms. He dragged her off her feet, lifting her until they were eye to eye. “I’m not your mate, woman. But I will have you.”

“No. You will not. Even if you were my
Rajni
it’s obvious you wouldn’t want to be. Why would I ever sleep with someone who didn’t actually want me? I’m not that pitiful of a woman. If I want an affair there are plenty of males of
any
Kind who would be willing to accommodate me. Put me down, you damned barbarian.” She kicked him. Right in the groin. He shifted at the last moment, so that her heel caught his inner thigh.

Ren bellowed, and dropped her. She shoved him out of her way, then opened the door to her suite.

“Leave. You’re not welcome in here. Don’t enter again. Next time I won’t just kick you.”

“Is that a threat?”

“Take it for what you will. Don’t put your damned hands on me again.”

Ren didn
’t stop to think; if she wanted to act a warrior, then he would treat her as such. He lunged for her, grabbed her around the waist, and pulled her to the floor. He wrapped his hands around her wrists and pulled her arms above her head. It arched her chest against his.

She
hissed the sound angry Dardaptoans were wont to make right before they struck. She bit at him, her teeth getting extremely close to his ear.  His growl was bigger, deeper, than anything she could ever hope to accomplish. He nipped
her
ear, hard enough to draw blood. “Don’t threaten me, pet. Haven’t we discussed this before?”

“Get off of me, you asshole!” She bucked, her legs on either side of his waist.

“Shhh. You’ll wake that spawn-of-whatever.” He twisted the fingers of one hand so he could hold both her wrists, and then dragged his free hand down her face, brushing his finger over her lips. Next he brushed her neck, knowing where the Dardaptoan females were the most sensitive. He spread his fingers around her neck. She felt so delicate, so fragile. Did she even realize that? He would have to be careful not to hurt her when he took her.

She was still cursing at him, an almost sense of desperation in her movements. That puzzled him. They
’d sparred before, albeit with swords, but surely she knew he would not hurt her, not ever again? Was she frightened of him?

“Shhh.” He brushed his lips over her rapid pulse. “Shhh. We do not need to fight each other so.”

“Leave me alone, Ren. Just leave me alone.” Her words were almost a sob, and that—more than anything—had him pulling back. “Please…”

He had never heard the girl so vulnerable. So frightened. So hurt.

Why?

***

Why wouldn’t he just
leave?
He obviously hated even the mere idea of being her
Rajni.
Why wouldn’t he just get out of her room, get away from her, and leave her alone if she was that repulsive to him? He wanted her, but not on a deep
forever
basis. Didn’t he understand that for her there was no real choice in the matter? If he ever realized that he was her
Rajni
that would give him so much power. Power she couldn’t resist.

Aureliana kicked again, trying to dislodge him. He had to weigh more than three hundred pounds, solid muscle, and he was just as determined to stay where he was as she was to get away from. “Get off of me!”

“If I don’t?” He was still stroking her hair, her neck, and just using his superior weight to hold her in place. “What will you do, pet? Why won’t you let me taste you
here
? It won’t hurt either of us to enjoy each other for a bit. And you might as well get the idea of any other male touching you out of your head. You’re mine.”

“For now, you mean?” She injected as much disdain, as much sarcasm, into her voice as she could. She
was
his. In every way. Dear Goddess, she was. Even though he was a brute, a big bastard, careless and unfeeling in a lot of ways. She
wanted
him to kiss her, to stroke her. To love her.

To
love
her. Forever. And he so obviously didn’t. Couldn’t. She wasn’t even entirely certain that he wanted her. At least not for real. No, he was using sex against her because he wanted something from her and because as an Incubus halfling that was a tool he possessed. But that didn’t mean she had to fall victim to his manipulation. She was tougher than that.

He still had a death grip on her wrists and Aureliana pulled against his hand. Why could he hold her in place with only one hand? It wasn
’t right that he was so much stronger. What had the Goddess been
thinking
? “Let go of me!”

“Or what? What can you do against me, kitten? I am bigger, stronger, more powerful in every way. You cannot fight me. We both know that.” He bit her, hard, on the side of the neck. Aureliana hissed again, this time the sound one of protest
and
pleasure. Damn him, he
did
know about Dardaptoan women, didn’t he? “And your body tells me you truly do not
want
to fight me. Or is it that you are fighting yourself?”

“Off! Now!” She couldn
’t. She could not be so weak. If she gave in now, she would never be able to let him go. Not when it really mattered. “Please! Just let me go!”

Even she heard the tears in her voice now.

He jerked away; the suddenness of his move startled her. She lay on the floor, breathing heavily for a moment. She rolled to her side, then stood. Looked at the creature that she told herself she wanted to hate. She knew it was a lie. “Leave me alone. I don’t want or need anything from you. And whatever it is you’re planning, I want no part of it. I don’t ever want you to touch me again.”

***

“The worlds hinge upon the warrior girl.” Rathan stared at Renakletos. “And you’re just
now
mentioning it?”

“You have enough to worry about. This is a task that I have been given. And one I will assume. The girl will be safe and protected within the walls of this castle, raising spawn. My spawn. And the one she calls Thas. She will
finally leave the fighting to the males, as it should be. Still, I am wanting a guard of my own men, the ones I trust the most, assigned to her at all times. We mustn’t be foolish; not with her. She is more important than all of us. That was made very clear to the gods of her people.”

“And then she was taken by a Laquazzean and given a spawn of indeterminate Kind to raise. And the Beansidhe still screams for her. A war is brewing between realms, within realms. And the success or failure hinges on the warrior girl. And she does not
kno
w
? And we are tasked with guarding her; against what, we do not know. For how long, we do not. Brother, are you sure you are up to the challenge?”

Ren
’s skin flashed red. He did not like being questioned, even by this brother. “Rest you this, brother. The warrior girl shall be mine consort soon. She will be protected by
me.
Nothing or no one shall deny me that right. As I
claim
her, as my
gamata
.”

Rathan
’s eyes widened; his surprise so easy to read for one who knew him. “Does she know thus?”

“No. I have not told her, yet.” He knew why his brother was surprised. A
gamata
was more than just a consort; the only term he’d found like it in all of the worlds was the
Rajni
bond the girl’s people saw as customary. More, actually. There were no power-hungry deities overseeing a Warrior Demon’s mating choices. A
gamata
was something a Warrior Demon
chose
to have, chose to be a part of. It was not something a deity fated into place.

No, he had complete choice and freewill in this decision to
gamata
with the warrior girl.

Many Warrior Demons never made such a choice, fearing the deep bond that existed between
gamata
pairs. Ren had never contemplated it before, either. Especially with a woman who was not his first ideal.

While he found the girl attractive, she was by far not the most beautiful he had been with. He was the prince of Incubi, after all, for all that his Warrior blood was dominant.