Engulf [New World Book 5] (12 page)

Abri was on her knees on their bed, she turned in his arms. She smiled as her fingers twisted into his single curl. She tugged playfully on it. Raiden breathed her scent in—nostrils flaring. For a Castian, scent was like a handshake, or a hug of recognition, a kiss on the cheek. Abri could tell he was pleased. She had been waiting for him—nude. She knew when his shift ended.

“We will be at the planet tomorrow,” Raiden said. “Cobra asked for me to accompany Cace for a small shift in duty. Our sensors are picking up some form of life. There’s also an Earth vessel.”

“Am I going with you?”

“No. You’ll be safe enough on board. If I sense anything at all from you, I can return immediately.” Abri frowned up at him. “Don’t worry.” He trailed his warm moist thumb across her cheek. “My sense of awareness is growing stronger. I can sense before each warrior walks into a room who it is. A bird of prey is huge. I’m guessing it could be a week away and I would sense it.”

Abri grinned at his cocky attitude. She was happy he no longer despised his partial hearing loss. Raiden may have preferred not to be deaf in one ear, but his other senses seemed to be the envy of many. Even Doss was amazed at his newfound skills and Abri could tell Raiden was pleased at the idea of not being so envious of his big brother.

Abri had the pleasure of getting to know Loy and Doss better. They spent a great deal of time with each other. All three brothers were close and Abri couldn’t wait to get back to Bagron to meet Zoe and Brandy—their mates. Though not as intimidated by Cobra, Abri went out of her way to avoid him. Raiden was right—he was a good person, but he was just too intimidating. She came to understand Cobra’s warriors meant everything to the man. He would go to any length to do what he deemed in their best interest. And surprisingly, his warrior mate was a thirteen year old boy—his son. Cobra had been the one to find out male children could be turned Castian warrior by a bite. Cobra had done it to spare the boy pain after he had been attacked by a Tonan. Cobra had saved his life and mated his mother.

“Are you all mine now for the night?” Abri asked.

“I’m yours until the planet comes into view.” Raiden slid his black pants down the length of him in a seductive way.

Abri slipped her arms around his neck. When their lips met, she welcomed his taste. She loved the fact he thought she was as sweet as honey. Large hands roamed across her shoulders, massaging her. There was just something about a man who was so large he could snap you in half yet be so incredibly tender.

Bright gray eyes shined with so much passion and yearning. Abri felt at times she didn’t deserve him—his love and adoration. Raiden had given up his hearing for her and he had mated with her to save her life. Everything he did was for her. He always saw to her comfort first. Why was it so hard to love him?

Because he could die.

Abri wished the thought would go away. She pushed it from her mind. She didn’t have to love him to make love to him. She lay back with Raiden following her. He stretched out beside her on the bed. His fingers trailed a path from her jaw to her thigh. Abri leaned closer and licked his chest. He shuddered and she knew he tasted her desire.

When her hand slipped lower to grip his magnificent cock, he groaned. He had the most perfect erection. Hard and straight, large and long. He had mentioned his dick would grow when in must. Abri wondered just how big he would get. Certainly she couldn’t take much more of his size and width.

As her hand stroked him, she thought there couldn’t be a more perfect man if she had created him herself. Raiden moved closer. If his scent emotions were channeling her thoughts he would be deliciously aware of how stunning she thought he was—how badly she wanted his cock to plunge and retreat.

“Abri.” He groaned. “Do you have any idea what you do to me?”

In fact she did. He did the same thing to her. “Show me what I do to you,” she said.

Raiden pushed her onto her back and kissed hard against her throat. His demanding lips and tongue ravished her body. His teeth claimed a nipple and she cried out. Each time they made love, their passion grew. Raiden’s sexy vampire fangs glistened with moisture when he lifted his face from her neck. He hadn’t bit her; he wouldn’t until she was spent.

The fangs disappeared when he closed his lips over a breast. So much about these warriors was instinct. His heavy thigh lay across her legs trapping her beneath him, but it wasn’t a crushing gesture. She loved the feel of him. His blond locks moved lower when he released her throbbing tit. Soon he was turned around and a swollen cock was pushed past her lips while Raiden feasted between her thighs.

Abri sucked him deep and hard, her throat arching to take more of him. Her hands massaged his rock tight sculpted ass. She moved faster wanting to taste more of his flavorful secretions. Raiden was doing wonderful things between her thighs. He played mercilessly with her clit before parting her outer lips with his tongue. Abri whimpered when his stiffened tongue slid back and forth into her at a fast pace.

Abri closed her eyes. Raiden ran his tongue back up to her clit and licked her softly. His warm mouth and secretions made her writhe with her mounting orgasm. When he pulled his cock from her mouth Abri could have screamed as he inched his way back up her body. His lips and breath hovered over her skin in a caress. The pads of his fingers barely touched her and yet it was so sensual.

“Raiden, please.”

She knew that he knew exactly what she was feeling. Abri wanted that cock of his inside of her so bad she would go looking for it if she had to. When she felt Raiden hovering over her face, she opened her eyes to gaze into his smiling face. Yes, he knew damned well he was driving her wild. Abri sank her hands into his hair and pulled him down. When he kissed her he played with her lips, tormenting them with butterfly taunts.

The tip of his cock rested right at her wet pussy and try as she might she could encourage him no closer. Again, she begged for him to have her. Abri was breathing so hard and so fast when he ground his mouth onto hers she was left breathless. He pulled up and thrust his cock into her making her groan. She wanted all of him. She lifted her legs higher to wrap around his waist and hung on tight while he took her on the ride of her life.

Raiden pushed in deeper. His cock was slippery and hot. His hands slipped under her shoulder blades and he turned her sideways for a moment to plant his feet firmly on the floor. He unwrapped her legs from around his waist and pulled them onto his shoulders. His grip tightened onto her hips and Abri was bounced back and forth onto the bed with the pressure of his hammering thrusts.

Abri’s hands fisted in the sheets. She couldn’t stop her screams of pleasure. Raiden was making a deep growling sound in the back of his throat. The power of the man was phenomenal. It sounded like a clap of thunder each time their hips met. Soon Abri was gasping. Her body shook when she came and she lay spent with Raiden still thrusting and retreating. A hand on one of her hips moved up to grip her behind her neck, and with sheer strength, Raiden lifted her.

Fangs sank into the side of her throat and Abri collapsed. Beautiful lethargy swarmed across her body making her deliciously limp and accepting. Raiden slowed his thrusts and turned her onto her belly. Abri felt her feet on the floor and was kept bent over with a strong arm around her waist.

Remaining gentle, Raiden slipped his cock in and out of her. His hand caressed her back and behind.

“I love you, Abri.”

Abri knew he did. She wanted to love him, but she had tried so hard to turn off the emotion she wondered if she had succeeded. She felt something for him. They had all the time in the world. The words could wait until she could figure out exactly what it was she was feeling. When Raiden slipped from her and scooped her into his arms, he laid her on the bed and stretched out beside her.

His gentle hands massaged her shoulders. She looked into his face and saw a small smile. She did what she had wanted to do so many times. Abri face planted against his solid chest. At the moment he could love enough for the both of them.

* * * *

Morning came too early for Abri. She had watched Raiden leave a few hours previous. Her belly was in knots. When Cobra came storming into the room, Abri jumped from the bed startled. She had been looking out the window at the planet. Her heart was thumping, she was sweating. Something was terribly wrong with Raiden. For a brief moment, her mouth had filled with the taste of fear—then it vanished. Abri tasted nothing more. She sensed nothing, felt nothing. There should have been something.

“Thank the heavens,” Cobra said and pulled her from the bed to look her over.

“What happened?”

“Raiden is missing,” Cobra said and Abri’s hand flew to her mouth. “I had feared he was dead, I can’t sense him at all. But you are alive—which means he is.”

“What happened to him?”

“There is an evil on the planet.”

“Tonans?”

“No. Worse. It’s a nothing. We can’t fight nothing.”

“That makes no sense.”

“I know,” Cobra shouted. Abri jumped and he took a deep calming breath. “Abri I need you to come to the planet with me. You’re Raiden’s only hope.”

“Of course I’ll come. But Cobra—I sense nothing.”

“You’re his mate, there has to be a way to get him back.”

They moved swiftly. Cobra had his armor up and her in his arms and was on the move in a second. The ship hovered at least twenty feet from the ground and Abri stifled a scream when Cobra jumped. He had her curled within his arms. He landed like an agile cat—just like the Tonans had. The planet looked like a vast wasteland of sand, desert-like. It was hot. The air was thick. Abri coughed.

Cobra was racing across the ground, eating up the distance. In the vast remoteness were mounds of mountainous dirt. It looked so empty. So lifeless. Abri hoped no humans had ever landed on this planet. Her entire body quivered. Raiden must have sensed this. She had known the second he landed on the planet. The taste that filled her mouth had been hard to determine but she knew it now. Raiden had been feeling intensely worried. He had sensed something.

Cobra stopped when they reached three other Castians. Loy, Doss and Cace were un-armored. Cobra set Abri on her feet. She knew he must have sent his men back to the ship. If only close family and Raiden’s warrior mate was here it was bad.

“Abri, do you sense him?” Doss asked her.

From the look on all their faces, she knew they were relieved to see her alive. Abri strained for a sense of Raiden. There was nothing. Goose bumps dotted her arms. The fine hairs on the nape of her neck stood tall. Her heart still hammered in her chest. Cace moved closer. From his look she knew he scented her terror.

“Don’t touch her,” Cobra shouted and everyone froze. “Do not calm her. The more frightened she is, the more of a chance Raiden can pick up on her senses.”

“Where did he go?” Abri asked. Her teeth were clicking together and she could feel her body calling out to Raiden. He was supposed to be able to sense her from a universe away—what the hell was this place?

Abri followed the four men behind a mound of dirt and gasped. There was a hole in the ground. She saw no bottom, no end to it. Blackish gray swirls of smoke billowed around. It looked like the gateway to Hell.

“There was an Earth shuttle that sat over there. Raiden went to look. It was a decoy. A trap,” Cobra said with a growl.

Cobra pulled her back as more of the ground fell into the hole. The sand vanished. Abri could feel an evil presence.
Oh God what’s down there?
Raiden was in there. Cobra turned her to face him.

“Abri, we haven’t much time. The hole is expanding. When Raiden was first sucked in, the area was smaller. Every warrior here would go in there if I thought it would help, but we tried sending Cace in first. He can’t scent Raiden at all. He can’t find a connection. Neither could Loy or Doss. You’re our only hope—our last hope.”

“We can’t leave him in there,” Abri cried out.

“Abri, I’m going to tie a thong around your wrist. It’s unbreakable.”

Cobra slipped a padded black band around her wrist. It was at least two inches wide. Attached was a cord. Abri shuddered. They wanted her to go into the hole—without armor, without Raiden for protection.

“Abri you need to listen to me carefully,” Cobra began. “I can’t send you in there with my warriors. Their shields will stay up—they can’t lower them, the armor won’t permit it. If you touch one accidentally, you will find yourself tucked into his armor. If you go in with one of them, Raiden can’t scent you beneath the armor. Abri, I’m not trying to be cruel, but if you are filled with emotion, it might be easier for Raiden to detect you.”

“What’s in there?” Abri whispered.

“So far all we can ascertain is the nothingness—a very strange new life form to us. It feeds on our senses. There is a real and bigger danger, Abri. If Raiden can’t scent you and you can’t scent him, he might accidently harm you if you bump into him. Even my warriors can see nothing down there. I don’t know if his armor can scent you down there. He needs to know you’re down there first. Loy, Doss and Cace already know you’re here, they’ve seen you and their armor would be aware of you even if it can’t scent you. Raiden’s unaware you’re here.”

Abri shook harder. His talons could rip her to shreds. Images of Tasha all covered in blood came to mind. If he felt the rope on her wrist he would follow it back. If he killed her, he would die the second he lowered his shield. He loved her. He would lower his shield. Abri knew it. They would both die. Raiden would be devastated if he harmed her in any way.

More of the sand gave way and again Cobra pulled her back with a taloned hand. All of them had their armor suddenly come up.

“Damn,” Cobra yelled. “My armor won’t come down.”

Abri knew Cobra couldn’t shield her, regardless. He stopped Doss from approaching her.

“Doss, if you touch her, your shield will drop and instinct will kick in. You won’t be able to help yourself. She is family and in danger. You’ll have her in your arms before you can stop yourself. Your armor will not drop to release her until she is free of this place, and you will take away Raiden’s only chance.”