Coletti Warlords: Just Desserts (17 page)

A boiling gray vortex popped into existence below me. Out of it marched several hundred Tai-Kok warriors.

Voss’s gravelly voice alerted me.
“Kaylee, our sensors show a wormhole opening by you. Do have a visual on it?”

The Overlord’s battle commander must have been a tad bit worried. Couldn’t have me and the kid getting kidnapped again.
“I do. A shitload of Tai-Kok are coming through it.”

“Define ‘shitload,’”
the Battle Commander instructed.

“Around two hundred monsters, but don’t worry. The sneaky bitch made a fatal mistake.”

“What’s that?”

“She forgot about my critter control.”
I reached out to the mother gargoyles, projecting images of the Tai-Kok with their razor-sharp teeth.
“Enemies. Want to eat your babies. Protect. Kill.”

The sky darkened as thousands took flight.

Whoa! “Am I good or what?”

“You good, Momma,”
Thor chortled.

Haki hid in my hair.
“No like birdies.”

I petted his fur.
“It’s okay. They won’t hurt us.”
I hoped.

The gargoyles swirled in formation, and uttering high-pitched cries, they swooped down on the unsuspecting warriors.

The Tai-Kok never stood a chance. It was a bloody slaughter. Within minutes the fight was over. The gargoyles picked over the shredded remains.

Zarek, Talree, Voss, and Wulf appeared around me in full battle armor.

“Hey, guys. Relax, I’ve got it handled.”

“So it seems,” Talree agreed. His helmet slid back.

“Daddy!”
Thor howled and held out his arms.

Talree took him from me. Cradling his son against his chest, he counted Thor’s fingers and toes.
“My little warrior.”

Zarek’s helmet retracted.
“Your son is fearless.”

“Me brave.”
Thor wrapped his hand around Talree’s finger.

Why did they seem to forget he was a newborn, not a full-fledged warrior? Time to move on to more pressing matters. “Please tell me the Queen Bitch is dead.”

Unbridled savagery tightened Zarek’s features. “No. The UR generator was disabled, and she escaped.”

I eased back a step. Okeydokey, someone was going to die horribly. “You figured out who the traitor is?”

“We will,” Voss promised darkly.

“Can you scan me for a tracker? The bitch is finding me a little too easily.”

Wulf obediently took a scanner off his belt and ran it over me.

When he reached my left thigh, the thing went nuts.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Fuck. I gave Wulf a hopeful smile. “Can you get it out?”

Wulf shot Talree a questioning look. “My lord?”

“I will attend to my mate.” Talree handed Thor to Zarek and took the scanner from Wulf.

Zarek scowled. “His diaper is soaked.”

I scowled back. “Yes, sir, it is, and I’m fresh out of clean ones.”

“I will attend to my grandson’s needs.” Poof. He was gone.

“Sonovabitch. Grandfather or not, he can’t just take off with my son. We are going to set some—” A sharp, stabbing pain stopped my tirade. “That hurt.”

Talree showed the chip to Voss. “It’s the DC3 model.”

Death flared in Voss’s eyes. “Valdez.”

My jaw dropped. “Mike Valdez? Uncle Saul’s aide?”

There was a nasty edge to Talree’s voice. “He took the bait like we hoped he would.”

That nice old man was a traitor?
Wait a minute. Bait?
“I was bait? You knew I would get kidnapped?” My voice had risen to a shriek.

Talree hugged me tightly. “I would never put you or Thor in danger.”

“Really?” I pushed against his chest. “Was getting sucked into the vortex from hell a figment of my imagination? Damn you, I went through childbirth alone and—”

My Warlord stuffed a piece of chocolate in my mouth. “Eat.”

Ha. Like that was going to work. One look at Talree’s scary face, and I chewed obediently.

Voss removed his helmet. “We knew someone was selling information to the Tai-Kok. Only two men had access to the data. Uncle Saul and Valdez.”

“Uncle Saul is
not
a traitor,” I intoned coldly. Another piece of chocolate appeared magically. I grabbed it. Yum. French Mint.

The Battle Commander continued. “We gave Valdez access to the armory. A week later, several of the DC3 trackers and a crate of the new Asus laser rifles disappeared.”

“Why didn’t you arrest him then?” I held out my hand.

Talree quickly gave me a nut-filled chocolate. “There was a glitch in the security system, and we couldn’t prove Valdez had taken them.”

“Wow, how convenient.”

“It was,” Voss agreed tersely. “Uncle Saul’s communicator was stolen while he was meeting with the Alliance on Fatsa. It had information on the Shivet warheads being transported to the eastern front. Wulf was the pilot, and we were sure Valdez would plant the tracker on him.”

“But he didn’t,” I added nastily.

“True.” Talree popped a chewy caramel in my mouth. “We were unaware of his involvement with the Queen Mother until you were taken.”

Clever man. My jaw was practically glued shut. I switched to mind speak.
“Where is our traitor now?”

“We don’t know. A wormhole opened on Sariel’s ship after the UR generator was sabotaged,”
Talree admitted, more than a bit pissed.

I chewed rapidly. How in the hell had Valdez eluded Zarek? The man was a master tracker. Once he had your brainwave pattern, he could find you anywhere. Had Valdez doused himself with Drakash? Nah, he was too proud of his psychic abilities.
“None of you could pick up his psychic signature?”

Voss’s mouth tightened into a hard line.
“No.”

With a touch of asperity, Talree growled,
“Why?”

“Valdez suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder or, as we humans like to call it, OCD. Uncle Saul was forever complaining about Valdez’s need for hand sanitizer. I don’t think the Tai-Kok or the Queen Mother will put up with his fussiness. I’d say he pissed them off about an hour ago, and they ate him,”
I answered.

The guys stared at me in astonishment.

“Just saying.”
I swallowed the last of the caramel.

Talree threw his head back and roared with laughter.
“I knew there was a reason I picked you for my mate.”

I gave him a cheeky grin.
“It wasn’t my big boobs?”

Wulf choked back a laugh.

“The Jones females are definitely unique,”
Voss said drily.

“And I want to apologize for being such a bitch. My hormones are a bit out of whack.”

Voss raised an incredulous brow.

“Don’t even,” I warned him.

The Battle Commander bowed slightly. “Your wish is my command.”

“Uh-huh.” I winced as fire ants danced in my head. Grandpa Gargoyle was back. “As much as I’ve enjoyed my little vacation, I think it’s time to leave.”

The Warlords eyed Grandpa as he circled overhead.

“He would make a great trophy,” Wulf commented.

“Not a chance, he’s got about a thousand kids. Let’s go home. Please.”

Chapter Fourteen

Snakes. Hundreds and hundreds of angry, hissing snakes slithered across a wailing Thor. “Momma. Momma. Help me.”

Screaming in fury and terror, I fought desperately to get to him, but I couldn’t break through the squirming mass of reptiles.

The Queen Bitch’s taunting voice echoed in my head.
“Your baby will die. Your baby will die.”

With a cry of horror, I jerked awake and fought wildly against the arms binding me to a rock-hard body. “Nooo! I’ll kill you first. I’ll kill you.”

“Shh. You’re safe. Thor’s safe. It’s only a dream. Shh. I’ve got you.”

Talree’s calming voice penetrated my blind panic. I clung to him in utter relief. “That nasty snake’s gotta go.”

His hands stroked and soothed. “She will. They all will.”

“You promise?”

My Warlord rained gentle kisses over my face. “Yes. I promise.”

“Did you get the UR generator fixed, and does it protect this battle cruiser too?”

“We did, and yes, the ship is protected.”

Thank God. A huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. My baby was safe.
Wait a minute.
I looked around our current bedroom. “Where’s Thor?”

“He’s with his grandfather.”

“Showing him off, huh?”

“Proudly.”

“And Haki?”

“He’s with Bey.”

I slowly ran the tip of my finger across Talree’s stomach. “So, we have some alone time.”

“We do.” He thoroughly ravished my mouth.

Talree’s hard torso flexed under my touch. All those luscious muscles had me rubbing against him like a cat in heat. His warm, silken skin slid against my body, sending jolts of pleasure cascading over me.

His tongue probed my ear.
“Sweet yet spicy.”

I nipped his nose. “I’ve never been sweet.”

“True.” Talree’s fingers caressed my ass. “But I do enjoy fucking my feisty little warrior.”

“Your sense of romance is underwhelming.”

His lips curled in a sensual smile. “How many orgasms have I given you?”

“A couple,” I teased before burying my fangs in his chest. Hot, rich blood flowed down my throat. Through our link, I could feel Talree’s voracious sexual hunger building. I mentally licked and sucked his penis.

Talree bucked beneath me.

I drew another mouthful of blood, and shazam! Talree’s body arched and shook as he came violently.

If you wanted to drive a Warlord mad, you took his blood. I scraped my teeth over his left nipple. “Wanna come again?”

He let out a low, husky groan. “Witch.”

“Is that a yes?” I slid my fangs into his skin and sighed. He tasted so damned good. I scraped a fingernail along his slit.

A guttural groan erupted from Talree. He flipped me over. “My turn.”

I lay beneath him, reveling in his merciless strength. An aching need blossomed in my belly as Talree nibbled at my breasts. “They’ve gotten bigger.”

Duh? “Because I’m nursing.”

“I never thought I would be jealous of my own son.” Talree sucked me.

My hips bucked. That felt…incredible.

His tentacles flicked my clit, enflaming every nerve ending. Dozens of phantom hands caressed every inch of my body until I was wild with need. “Like that?”

“Yes. Don’t stop.” I wrapped my legs around his waist.

With one thrust, Talree buried himself inside me. His tentacles did the Mambo in my womb, sending jolts of delight throughout my body.

I dug my fingernails into his bulging biceps, reveling in the sensation of his penis hammering deep in my womb. He drove into me, faster and faster. “Yee-flippin-haw! Ride ’em cowboy!” It felt like a rocket had gone off between my legs. A scream broke from me as my senses exploded.

Talree’s hoarse shout of release followed.

“Ack. Ack.”

“Knock it off, Bey. You’re turning into a friggin’ peeping Tom.”

Aunt Tess panted.
“Hon, I think my panties melted.”

“What?”

Caleb bellowed,
“I thought you had a handle on this. I almost crashed my shuttle.”

Horror iced my body. It couldn’t be happening again. The last time, the entire galaxy got a front-seat view of my sexual escapades.

“Dammit, Kaylee, I’ve got a Texas-sized boner!”
Jake yelled.

Talree howled with laughter.

I smacked him. “It’s not funny. You were supposed to stop my tendency to broadcast.”

“You’re right. It’s not a bit funny,”
my brother Quinn snapped.
“An Alliance lieutenant thinks I’m coming on to her.”

“Lucky you. My date threw a glass of wine in my face and called me a freak,”
Cousin Ethan said in annoyance.

“I told you not to date the preacher’s daughter.”
Aunt Tess giggled.

“God Almighty, my ticker can’t handle this much excitement.”
Uncle Saul gasped.

“I am so sorry,”
I cried, burying my face in the pillow.

Talree petted my back.
“It won’t happen again.”

“Good. The entire command staff are now demanding access to human females,”
Voss rumbled.

My face heated with embarrassment. It’d be a good month before I could look any of them in the eye again.

Tihar added,
“Several of my warriors have offered three times the bride price for one of your females.”

Fuck! Even the Askoles had gotten in on the action. “I’m never leaving this room again.”

From the foot of our bed, a highly amused Zarek asked, “Did you forget the birthing ritual?”

Shit. I had. The birthing ceremony was along the lines of a Catholic christening. I pulled the sheet over my head. “Okay, I’m a bad mom. Get. Out.”

“Kaylee, apologize,” Talree scolded.

When hell froze over. “Where’s Thor?”

“Voss is showing him the command center,” Zarek answered.

And my miniature Warlord was probably loving every minute of it. “Why are you in our bedroom, sir?”

“I brought you a gift.”

Pulling the sheet down an inch, I eyed the small silver box in Zarek’s hand. “Why?”

Zarek laughed. “Most females like receiving gifts.”

“I’m not most females,” I retorted.

“A fact we are all very much aware of,” Talree quipped.

The Overlord placed the box on the bed. “Please wear it to the ceremony.”

“Okay.” I’d agree to just about anything to get him to leave.

Talree slapped my butt. “Kaylee.”

“Thank you for the gift, sir, but it wasn’t necessary.”

“It was very necessary.” The Overlord teleported away.

I sat up. “What’s in the box?”

“Open it,” Talree commanded.

With a sigh, I did. Inside was an intricately carved silver ring with a glowing amber stone. “Wow, it’s gorgeous.”

“It’s a motherhood ring.”

“So, every kid I have, I get another one?”

“You get another stone.” Talree gave me a toe-curling kiss. “It’s a great honor to have my father give it to your personally.”

“I get that, but does he have to keep popping into our bedroom?”

Talree grinned. “You’ve got an hour to get ready.” He ruffled my hair. “And you’re going to need it.”